Sports Round-Up
Men's basketball(5-20 overall, 3-13 North Coast Athletic Conference [NCAC], eighth place)
Records can be deceiving. That was certainly the case for this year's basketball Lords, who were among the most competitive teams in the NCAC from start to finish. Eleven of the Lords' losses were by ten or fewer points, including five by six or fewer. Kenyon fell just short of registering some major victories, including two tight regular-season contests against the Scots of the College of Wooster, the eventual league champions.
The Lords return four of their top five scorers for the 1999-2000 season, led by the top two in junior Dave Houston and rookie Chad Plotke. Houston
averaged 13.6 points per game, while Plotke was close behind with 13.1. While Houston did most of his damage inside, Plotke loomed as the leading three-point shooter in the league, knocking down eighty-two triples overall.
Plotke is not the only one returning to do damage from the outside, however. So will sophomore Nate Aldinger, who canned fifty-two triples this season.
Kenyon will have to replace solid floor leader Shaka Smart, who graduates with the College's career record for assists. He led the league with 184, a Kenyon single-season record.
All-NCAC honorees: Second team, senior Shaka Smart; honorable mention, first-year Lord Chad Plotke.
Women's basketball
(12-13 overall, 6-10 NCAC, sixth place)
A promising campaign with a youth-dominated team took a detour in the middle of the season when injuries plagued the team.
The Ladies, who won their first six games, owned an impressive 9-3 record before the injury bugaboo took hold. Kenyon then dropped six consecutive contests and nine of the next ten before finishing the season with two victories in three games.
That season-ending upswing was good enough to land the Ladies in the NCAC semifinals. Kenyon stunned favored Denison University 56-53 in the opening round and pushed Wittenberg University to the wire before falling by 65-60.
Junior Stephany Dunmyer continued to pace the Ladies' scoring, averaging 16.8 points per game, the third highest average in the NCAC. She was also the league's leader in three-point shots made per game (2.9) and assists per game (4.0).
Senior Karen Schell was named the NCAC Player of the Year after another solid effort inside. She averaged 15.2 points per game and led the league in field-goal shooting accuracy (57.4) and blocked shots per game (2.0). She also ranked third in rebounding (10.0 per game). It was the fourth All-NCAC honor for Schell and the second consecutive year on the first team.
All-NCAC honorees: First team, senior Karen Schell; second team, junior Stephany Dunmyer.
NCAC Player of the Year: Schell
Men's indoor track and field
(Placed seventh in NCAC championship meet)
Senior Ryan Snyder made things interesting in the 1,500-meter run by challenging All-American Joe Dunham of Denison University for the championship. Snyder pushed to the wire but finished as the runner-up with a time of 4:11.54. He finished fourth for Kenyon in the 5,000 (15:33.65). Sophomore Ken McNish placed fourth in the triple jump (42-4), while rookie Mike Sriprasert placed fifth (42-1.5).
The Lords recorded a runner-up finish in the 3,000, where senior Crosby Wood finished with a time of 8:53.75. Senior John Jordan placed fourth in the 800 (1:59.22).
All-NCAC honorees: Seniors Ryan Snyder and Crosby Wood.
Women's indoor track and field
(Seventh in NCAC championship meet)
Distance runners set the pace for Kenyon in the indoor championship. Senior Christine Breiner took the runner-up spot in the 3,000-meter run (10:37.68), and sophomore Molly Sharp placed fourth in the 3,000 (10:48.83) and second in the 5,000 (19:05.56). Junior Laura Shults placed third in the 1,500 (4:53.91). The Ladies also picked up a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash behind the efforts of sophomore Dana Mondo (1:02.45). Junior Gelsey Lynn gave Kenyon a fourth-place showing (2:25.35) in the 800, where Shults finished fifth (2:25.47). Mondo, Shults, and Lynn also teamed with sophomore Erica Neitz to place fourth in the 1,600 relay (4:17.77).
All-NCAC honorees: Senior Christine Breiner; juniors Gelsey Lynn and Laura Shults; sophomores Dana Mondo and Molly Sharp.
Men's swimming and diving
(3-9-1 overall, first-place in the NCAC; first place in National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] Division III championship meet)
The Lords overcame a huge advantage for Denison University in diving events by dominating in the swimming competition en route to winning the 1999 NCAC championship. Denison managed to sweep the top three places in both diving events, which did not include a Kenyon diver.
But the Lords used depth to pile up the points, eventually outscoring Denison 939-935.5. Allegheny College took third place with 406 points. The championship was the fourteenth for Kenyon in fifteen years of NCAC competition and a historic fiftieth conference title in sixty-two years.
Overall, the Lords won eight of nineteen events, led by sophomore Tom Rushton, who placed first in the 500-yard freestyle, the 400 individual medley, and the 200 backstroke. Junior Darrick Bollinger was a winner for Kenyon in the 200 freestyle, and first-year Lord Michael Bonomo recorded a stunning victory in the 1,650 freestyle. First-year Lord Estevao de Avila was a winner in the 100 backstroke with a conference record time.
All-NCAC honorees: Senior John Newland; juniors Darrick Bollinger, Colby Genrich, and Mike Holter; sophomores Lloyd Baron, Tom Hinckley, Brett Holcomb, Tom Rushton, and Josh White; first-year Lords Estevao de Avila and Michael Bonomo.
Women's swimming and diving
(9-5 overall, first place in the NCAC; first place in NCAA Division III championship meet)
Kenyon dominated the NCAC championship meet from start to finish, claiming first-place finishes in twelve of nineteen events en route to scoring 1,005.5 points, the Ladies' highest point total since 1994 (1,021). It was an effort that gave Kenyon its twenty-third consecutive state or conference swimming and diving title, including its fifteenth straight in the NCAC.
Denison University took the runner-up spot with 889 points, followed by the College of Wooster with 400 points.
Senior Amelia Armstrong was named the NCAC 1999 Swimmer of the Year, after placing first in the 400 individual medley and the 1,650 freestyle (17:15.26). It was the third consecutive victory in both races for Armstrong. She became only the second woman in the College's history to win the 1,650 three times, following the lead of Jessica Berkowitz '94, who won in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
Junior Becky White was named the NCAC 1999 Diver of the Year, following a first-place showing in the one-meter competition and a runner-up finish on the three-meter board. Her victory in the one-meter event was her second in three years, returning to her the crown she won in 1997.
One of the most impressive efforts of the meet was turned in by senior Adie Curtner, who swept the breaststroke events, winning both in conference record times. She won the 100-meter race in a time of 1:05.32 and the 200 event in a time of 2:23.64 to become the first Kenyon woman to take both titles since Jeannine Gury '89 did it in 1989.
Sophomore Erica Carroll was also a double winner for the Ladies, taking both backstroke events. She won in an NCAC record time of 58.75 in the 100 and recorded a winning time of 2:06.66 in the 200.
Other individual event winners for Kenyon were senior Marisha Stawiski in the 100 freestyle (52.81), sophomore Michelle Engelsman in the 50 free (24.15), and sophomore Nicole Watson in the 200 free (1:56.01).
All-NCAC honorees: Seniors Amelia Armstrong, Adie Curtner, Marisha Stawiski, and Katie Varda; juniors Jenny Kozak and Becky White; sophomores Erica Carroll, Michele Engelsman, and Nicole Watson; first-year Ladies Abby Brethauer and Madeleine Courtney-Brooks.
NCAC Swimmer of the Year: Armstrong.
NCAC Diver of the Year: White.
Do you have feedback on this page?