Lasers' Updates 03/03/2009
Women's Basketball
Lasell's Shauna Kelly (Quincy, Mass.) was selected
to the GNAC All-Conference Third Team for the 2008-2009
season. The senior co-captain was the Lasers' leading scorer
and rebounder this season, averaging 16.4 points per game and 6.6
rebounds. She also dished 48 assists and made 24 steals over
the course of the year.
Kelly recorded four double-doubles this season, finished 22 games in double-figures for scoring, seven of those being 20+ point games, and one being a 30+ point game. Kelly was ranked 3rd in the GNAC in scoring (16.4) and 8th in offensive rebounds per game (3.2). She finishes her career at Lasell with 910 total points, 416 total rebounds, 144 total assists, and 116 total steals.
Men's Basketball
The Lasers fell to the third seeded Emmanuel College Saints in a double-overtime thriller of a game on Thursday evening in the semi-finals of the GNAC men's basketball championship tournament. Lasell's season could have ended right then and there, however the Lasers have been selected as the first seed in the upcoming ECAC New England Championship Tournament, and will host the tournament starting on Wednesday night.
The Lasers went down by as much as 19 points in the first half before rebounding to take the lead in the middle of the second stanza. After two overtimes, the Saints came away with a three point victory and moved on to the GNAC finals, while the Lasers season halted at the 18-9 mark.
Lasell's senior forward Jose Guitian (Miami, FL) had a 28 point, 17 rebound, 4 assist, and 3 block performance in the Emmanuel contest. Brad Caravoulias (Dracut, Mass.) ended with 18 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals and Junior Sainval (Miami, FL) finished with eight points and 3 steals. Freshman Javon Williams (Mattapan, Mass.) added nine points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Lasell senior forward Guitian was selected as the Great Northeast
Athletic Conference Player of the Year in a vote by the conference
coaches. Guitian, a first-team all-conference selection last year,
leads the league in scoring (24.1), rebounds (13.5), and blocked
shots (2.3), and also ranks in the GNAC for field goal percentage
(.511), assists (2.8), and 3 point field goals made (1.7). Guitian
is also making a mark nationally where he is ranked secondfor
rebounding, seventhin scoring, and 18th in blocked shots per game.
He has surpassed the 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds this season.
He was recently named one of ten finalists for the prestigious
Jostens Trophy and this season has earned GNAC Player of the Week
nine times, ECAC Player of the week four times, and D3hoops.com
Team of the Week three times.
Fellow senior and co-captain Caravoulias was awarded a spot on the All-Conference second team. Caravoulias earned his place as one of the top three-point shooters in the conference, as well as in the nation this year, ranked 3rd in the GNAC in made three-pointers, averaging 2.9 per game, and 54th in DIII in the same category. Caravoulias scored his 1,000th point earlier in the year, and currently stands 4th in Lasell's all-time scoring leaders with 1,319 total career points.
This season alone, Caravoulias has scored 397 points, 77
three-point field goals, picked up 84 rebounds, and dished 46
assists. He is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.7
points per game.
Williams (left) was named GNAC Rookie of the Week after averaging 7 points, 11 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2 steals in the GNAC tournament game for the Lasers. In the semifinals against Emmanuel he had 9 points and 12 rebounds, including 6 second chance offensive rebounds, adding 4 assists and a block. Against Norwich, Williams had five points, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Men's Volleyball
It was an exciting week for the Lasell men's volleyball team who
had a 4-0 week, won the Bard Invitational Tournament, and had two
athletes named to the GNAC Weekly Awards. Dave
Rogers far right (Belchertown, Mass.) was
selected as co-Player of the Week, while Zack
Smith right inset (Agawam, Mass.) was named
co-Rookie of the Week. Both Rogers and Smith are being
honored for the first time by the conference.
The Lasers started out with a quick 3-0 sweep of Albertus Magnus: 30-6, 30-10, 30-17. Trevor Foster (Ashford, Conn.) led for Lasell overall with 9 kills, 3 digs, 4 aces, and 3 solo blocks. Wes Sackman's (Sands Point, NY) .545 clip was the highest of the match, culminating with 7 kills and five digs. Setters Zack Smith (Agawam, Mass.) and Gary Gay (Belchertown, Mass.) put up 33 assists between them, and Tyler Hammond (Hadley, Mass.) ended with 7 kills, 9 digs, 4 aces, and 3 assists for a great all-around night.
Lasell then traveled to Bard College and took home the Championship title with three match victories. The Lasers opened with a 3-1 defeat of Purchase College on Friday night. Dave Rogers had a team best 13 kills in the match, adding 8 digs, while Matt Roberts (Agawam, Mass.) and Mike Harrington (Billerica, Mass.) each added 10 kills. Roberts hit 46.7% in the match, also contributing 3 aces, 4 digs, and 3 blocks. Smith had 40 assists, 4 digs and 2 kills in the match and Dustin Foster (Ashford, Conn.) put down 8 kills, picked up 6 digs, and threw in 3 service aces and 5 total blocks in an impressive showing.
The Lasers faced Medgar Evers College on Saturday in the first match, controlling the game on their way to a 3-0 sweep. Trevor Foster (Ashford, Conn.) made 11 kills on 14 attempts for an impressive 78.6% hitting while adding 3 solo blocks. Smith had eight service aces and 18 assists, and both Joe Lipski (Burlington, Conn.) and Harrington had five digs each.
In the championship match, Lasell took on the hosting Raptors of
Bard College, and won in three, 30-19, 30-20, 30-23. D.
Foster once again put in a fine performance with 7 kills, 4 aces,
and five blocks for the Lasers, while Dave Rogers complied 8 kills
and 10 digs for an all-around strong presentation. Roberts hit 9-11
with no errors for a .818 clip and Smith put up 27 assists to lead
Lasell to the 3-0 weekend. The Lasers hit 43% as a team in the
match, averaging 3.33 aces, 14.33 kills, 2 blocks, and 13 digs per
set in the championship match.
Dave Rogers was selected Most Outstanding Player at the tournament after averaging 2.89 kills per set, and 2.77 digs per set while hitting 35%. Smith and D. Foster left were each chosen as representatives on the All-Tournament team along with Rogers for their efforts in the 3-0 weekend.
Women's Lacrosse
The Lasell women's lacrosse team will look towards a new coach and try to build off the momentum from last year. Marushka Eddy takes over the team that finished last season 7-7 overall and 3-2 in the GNAC. It was the inaugural year for the team competing in the GNAC and they were very competitive, making an appearance in the GNAC semi-finals, though they were defeated by Norwich.
The team will return a core of veterans that aided in their success from last year, including leading goal scorer Caitlyn Murphy (Katonah, NY). As an attack, Murphy scored 60 goals and totaled 70 points in the 2008 season. Joining Murphy will be sophomore Tina Canavan (Stonington, Conn.) who had a very impressive first year scoring 45 goals and dishing out 13 assists. Chelsea Caren (Redding, Conn.) and Andrea Ward (Hingham, Mass.) will look to contribute up front with each of them scoring more than 10 goals apiece last year.
The defense will be anchored by seniors Cassandra Haase (Ridgewood, NJ) and Kendall Barreiro (Ossining, NY), who will bring leadership and experience to the field. Kristin Coderre (Monson, Mass.) will once again fill the role of goalkeeper for the Lasers, bringing confidence and experience in the net.
Lexi Giatrelis (Mashpee, Mass.), Meredith Hessler (Middletown, RI), Sheila Johnson (Hyde Park, VT), and Riley Fickett (Nottingham, NH) will be the new comers this year and will all play a significant role with their speed and athleticism.
The Lasers are ranked 3rd in the GNAC preseason poll this season behind Norwich and Emerson.
Men's Lacrosse
Expectations are set high for the Lasers men's lacrosse team as they head into the 2009 season. Though Lasell is ranked fourth in the Pilgrim League, the Lasers return several key players, including three who were named to the preseason All-Conference Team as released by Inside Lacrosse Magazine Face Off Yearbook. With a solid core of veterans and a talented group of newcomers, plus coming of a strong 2008 season which culminated with the team's fourth trip to the ECAC tournament, 7th year head coach Tim Dunton sets his sights on a successful season.
The Lasers finished last season with a 10-7 overall record and a trip to the 2008 Men's Lacrosse ECAC New England Championship Tournament. The Lasers were ranked 3rd in the tournament and unseated 2nd seed Plymouth State University in the semi-final round (10-5) before finishing the season as the runners-up to the no.1 seeded Endicott College Gulls in the Finals.
This season, Dave Bulhoes (Billerica, Mass.), Mike Maggio (Winchester, Mass.) and Matt Stambler (Bay Shore, NY) were all selected as preseason All-Conference members and were also Pilgrim League All-Conference selections in 2008. Maggio, a senior midfielder, returns for his final year as the leading scorer from the 2008 season with 33 goals and 44 total points. He finished ranked 3rd in the league in goals, 4th in goals per game, 5th in points per game, and 4th in total points. He also set a career season high with 11 assists and moved to 10th in the Lasers' all-time records with 68 total goals.
Lasell also returns their second and third leading scorers on the team in junior Brandon Keith (Marston Mills, Mass.) and senior attackman Buhloes. Keith scored 27 goals and added 12 assists, while Bulhoes contributed 32 points on 24 goals and 8 assists. Another senior to look out for is Ryan Koerner (Floral Park, NY) as he brings loads of experience and leadership to the table. Koerner contributed 9 goals and 5 assists to the mix last season, as well 13 ground balls.
Anchoring the defense will be Stambler who proved to be one of the top defenders in the conference last season. He finished 2nd on the team in ground balls in 2008, and 6th in the Pilgrim League with 62 total ground balls, and led the Lasers' forcing 14 turnovers. Joining Stambler along the defensive line will be junior Matt Haversat (Monroe, Conn.) and sophomore Alex Engels (Weston, VT) who both rose to the occasion last year and are going to be two of the best defenders in the league.
Patrick Bresnahan (Manchester, NH), Adam Foss (Billerica, Mass.), and Matt Gagne (Longmeadow, Mass.) will be among a solid group of new comers who are expected to play significant roles this year. Sophomore Mike Kelliher (Weymouth, Mass.) will have tough shoes to fill when he replaces one of the nation's top goalkeepers from last year, however having a year's experience under his belt will give him an edge as the Lasers starting goalie.
Upcoming Games:
Wednesday, March 4th
- Men's Basketball ECAC Quarter Finals vs. Salve Regina, 7:00 p.m.
- Women's Lacrosse Season Opener @ Curry, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 5th
- Men's Lacrosse Home Opener vs. U. of New England, 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 7th
- Women's Lacrosse Home Opener vs. Westfield State, 12:00 p.m.
- Men's Lacrosse vs. Roger Williams, 2:30 p.m.
- Men's Basketball ECAC Semi-Finals, TBA
Sunday, March 8th
- Men's Basketball ECAC championship, TBA