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Greylock Boys Basketball Sweep Tourneys
 The Greylock Travel Team ended the season as three-time champs. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Greylock Boys Basketball Travel Team rolled over the competition on their march to tournament victories over the past few weekends.
The team, comprised of boys in Grades 5 and 6 from Williamstown and Lanesborough, won the Housatonic Tournament, Berkshire County Championship and the Adams Tournament.
The three-time tourney champs pictured above are Cal Messina, left, Evan Sheridan, Henry Rauscher, Colton Adams, Dom Paris, Eli Ostheimer and Alex Backiel. In the back are Sam Dils, left, Demaggio Paris, Josef Soza-Foias, Sean McCormack, coach Clint Chase, Phillip Guest, coach Travis Clairmont and Brady Foehl.
MCLA Honors Graduating Winter Athletes
 The men's basketball team had two players reach 1,000 career points this season. That's worth a hug. |
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' athletic department honored its winter athletes and previewed the spring season on Tuesday at the end-of-the-season Blue and Gold Luncheon.
Reeling in most of the honors were the three basketball players who have lifted the women's basketball program into two championship games in the last three years— Jen Wehner, Alie Dobrovolc and Olivia McMullen.
The biggest name the team is losing is Wehner, who set career school records with 1,606 points and 1,211 rebounds. Her trophy case is filled with all-conference honors and a postseason MVP award and she was the school's first conference player of the year.
"Opposing teams go into games against us and for defensive purposes, all they want to try to do was stop Jen," coach Holly McGovern said. "She's a phenomenal player and it's not too often a player like this walks through our doors. I'm very proud of what she accomplished."
Right by Wehner's side was McMullen, more of a behind-the-scenes player whose dedication to the team pushed Wehner in practice, and Dobrovolc, the team's second star.
McGovern said Dobrovolc was forced to change positions and, immediately the team's turnover stopped. She is ending her career just 13 rebounds shy of 500, set the school record in assists and was the fifth player in school history to score at least 1,000 points.
"She's probably the most explosive player in the MASCAC and we're very proud of her and her accomplishments," McGovern said.
 MCLA President Mary Grant said the sports programs are continuing to grow - including a new tennis team. |
The team is losing seniors Jamal Brown, Chris Harris and Tyrell Mosley. The team was led by Harris, who was the school's 18th player to score more than 1,000 points in his career.
"He was the first of two Trailblazers to surpass 1,000 points," Morrison said, the other being Mosley.
Mosley transferred to MCLA and played with the team for two years. His 1,000th point came in the playoff game at the end of the season. Morrison said that while Mosley was disappointed in the team's loss, the milestone is still special.
"Anytime you score 1,000 points in your career, high school, college, it's really a testament to your work and fortitude," Morrison said.
Brown was an All-Conference second team and one of the top 10 rebounders in the league. Brown's leadership was the biggest reason the team started playing well toward the end of the season, Morrison said.
While the coaches were saying goodbye to their players, MCLA President Mary Grant changed the tone from sadness to happiness.
"We're not losing key players, they're graduating. That's what we want," Grant said. "You raised the bar. All of you raised the bar."
Grant said she has watched the sports programs grow for the last decade and that they have helped the entire school. With the caliber of players and coaches, the sports and education are only getting better, she said, winning ethics and academic awards, drawing large crowds to volleyball and soccer games and promoting new sports, like the start of a men's tennis program next year.
"I hope you know how important you are to this institution," Grant said.
Spring sports are right around the corner and athletic staff are expecting some "growing pains" because both the baseball and softball teams are very young. According to baseball coach Jeff Puleri, a lot of talent has been recruited to ensure the future of the program.
Baseball team is also taking a step toward being more integrated into the Northern Berkshire community this year by, hopefully, playing their first three games at Joe Wolfe Field, Puleri said.
Williams College Falls in Final Four
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A photo from the live-stream video of the tournament while Williams watches Wooster celebrate. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — After blowing an 18-point lead in the second half, Williams College men's basketball team will not be playing for the title.
The Ephs were dealt a crushing lose Friday to the College of Wooster in the Division III semifinals at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va. Williams blew an 18 point lead in the second half and could not get a last ditch effort by Taylor Epley to fall - losing the game 73 - 71.
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Williams fans who made the trip to Virginia had a lot to cheer about in the first half but that changed in the second half. Williams blew an 18-point lead to lose out on a championship bid. |
Williams stormed out of the gates hitting 7 3-pointers and out rebounding Wooster 17 to 13 in the first half. The Ephs returned to the locker room with a 42 - 28 lead.
But with about eight minutes left the complexion changed dramatically. In less than three minutes later, Wooster had cut the 18 point lead to three with 15 unanswered points.
Wooster took its first lead, 65 - 64, with only about three minutes left in the game.
But they fought back. Led by Troy Whittington, who finished the day with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, the Ephs jousted with the Fighting Scots - exchanging baskets in the waning minutes.
Nate Robinson put the Ephs in the lead from the free-throw line with about one minute remaining. Robinson had an outstanding day sinking 21 points but when the Ephs were down by one with 35 seconds to go he missed a layup to give Wooster the ball.
Wooster's Nathan Balch was fouled to stop the clock and made only one of the two shots - giving the Ephs what could have been the final possession. They took the ball down the court and James Wang launched a 3-pointer for the win but missed.
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But that was not quite the end, the rebound was tied up and the Ephs got another chance for the tie. With 2 seconds remaining the Ephs in-bounded the ball from the baseline to heavily defended Taylor Epley who could not send the game to overtime from the post.
Wooster outscored the Ephs 45 - 29 in the second half while Williams turned the ball over 10 times. The Ephs shooting percentage dropped from 65.2 percent in the first half down to just 36.8 percent in the second.
Wooster was led by their star Ian Franks who scored 24 with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Wooster's Justin Hallowell scored 18 with 8 rebounds.
For Williams, Wang was held to 14 points and 6 rebounds.
| Tags: Williams College, Ephs, Wooster |
Introduction To Blog And Sox Roster
The boy of summer started playing down in Fort Meyers and the sun has begun to shine in Massachusetts. With that us baseball fans get antsy. So, with the introduction of a new baseball season, iBerkshires will be introducing a new sports blog.
I will be in charge of this blog though I may not be the only one posting. I am a staff writer here at iBerkshires and I am a Boston sports fan. My coverage plan for this is whatever I feel like writing. My projection is that it will be heavy on the Bruins and the Red Sox. I will try to snag some local sports too.
We got that out of the way so let's talk some baseball. What do we think about this starting lineup? I'm already thinking about October.
Lineup
1) Jacoby Ellsbury - Steal bases and stop crying about your poor little ribs.
2) Dustin Pedoria - Looking creepy with the slicked-back hair but an all-around great player.
3) Youk - YOOOOOUUUUUKKK!
4) Papi - Let's try to start hitting in the first month this time.
5) A-Gonz - Great addition. Smaller ballpark, power pitching, protection in Papi - there is a lot of unseen possibilities here.
6) Crawford - Even better addition. Crawford was the best pick up because of the options. He can leadoff, he can steal a base, he can hit for power and average and play defense. A great baseball player and should be fun to watch.
7) Drew - Bad back, bad knees, a great arm and can still hit.
8) Saltalamacchia - Who knows. I think Tek might come alive and take this spot in the lineup.
9) Scutaro - Solid and fundamentally sound player and I'd like to see him bump to number 2 in the lineup. He is an intelligent player and will help move the runners. Imagine starting off the games with Ellsbury getting on, stealing second and then Scutaro putting a little ground ball to the right. With 1 out to start the game you are looking to Youk and Papi to hit a deep fly ball - that's doable.
Rotation
1) Beckett - Nasty but I think these hitters are getting used to him a bit. Still strong enough to win 15-games.
2) Lester - Even Better. Staying healthy with this lineup, he could be a 20-game winner.
3) Lackey - Should have a better season now that he's seen the AL East hitters and knows the city. The East Coast and West Coast are drastically different and I'm sure Lackey was a bit distracted by the adjustment last year. Maybe 10-10 or 12-12ish but he will have some important ones.
4) Dice-K - Frustrating but effectively eats innings. Ideally, I'd like to see Dice-K pitching last in the rotation so he'll pitch before Beckett. Teams will have to deal with his pitter-patter on the edges and then the next day face Beckett's fastball pounding the zone. 10-14? Maybe? I have no real projection here.
5) Buchholz - Best on the staff rounding out the rotation. Stay focused, keep it down, throw strikes and he'll have another great season. Two 20-win pitchers on the same staff? It is March, so I say yes.
Pen
Bard, Paps, Jenks - We might be on closer by committee for a bit of this year. However, that committee consists of closers and not middle relievers like we used to have. Jenks, Paps, Bard will be lights out in the back end.
Okajima - Poised to have either a great season or a terrible one. We might be seeing Okajima on the trading block.
Wakefield - Mop until a starter goes down. How many wins does he need?
Wheeler - Great addition. In the heavy hitting AL East you can never have enough options out in the pen.
Aceves - Good pick up. Expect Doubront or Atchison to move into this back-end too.
Other faces we shall see.
Tek - I think his hitting will come around and take over the starting position.
Lowrie - I like him as a utility player but not as a starter yet. He could be in the future.
Cameron - Not sold on him yet. Let's see how he does.
Darnell McDonald - How can you not like Darnell? He may not be an all star but he is a fan favorite.
Lars Anderson - Trade him. We have enough first basemen and we'll need something at the trade deadline.
Kalish, Nava, Reddick - Last year's starters in AAA. They've shown they can step up and any of these guys could fill in a backup outfielder role.
Bowden, Atchison, Tazawa, Doubront - I expect all four of these guys to get a chance and all have a chance to compete for a permanent bullpen spot.
Jose Iglesias - This kid has good hands but I don't expect him to make to the show this year.
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