Basketball player Ryan Carmichael ’11 (in white jersey) helped his team to its first 3–0 season start since 1996–1997; conference play was another story.

Men’s Basketball
(6-19, 3-15)
Will Gates ’13 put together another spectacular season to lead the Garnet during the 2010–2011 campaign. The sophomore earned Centennial Conference honorable mention honors after leading the team in scoring average (18.3), rebounding average (6.5), and three-point shooting (33.1). With 851 career points, Gates has scored more points through his sophomore season than any player in program history. He scored in double figures in 23 of the Garnet’s 25 games during the 2010–2011 season, including a streak of 39 consecutive games spanning his first two seasons. Gates also scored at least 25 points in five games during the season, including a career-high–tying 31-point performance against Moravian on Nov. 30. For his efforts during the season, he was named to the Equinox Classic and NYU New Year’s Classic All-Tournament teams as well as MVP of the 11th Annual Wall-O’Mahony game at Johns Hopkins, which is played in honor of Johns Hopkins alumni Glen Wall and Matt O'Mahony, both of whom died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

As a team, the young Garnet started the season strong before stumbling in Centennial Conference play. Thanks to tight victories over Widener (74-72) in the season opener and Clark University (69-66) in the Equinox Classic, Swarthmore began the year at 3-0 for the first time since the 1996–1997 season. Conference play was highlighted by a convincing 73-59 victory over Centennial Conference runner-up Dickinson and a thrilling comeback win over Ursinus, in which the Garnet stunned the Bears by rallying from down nine points with less then 90 seconds left to play.

Several first-years put together impressive rookie campaigns, lending hope to the future. Jay Kober (11.8 points per game), Jordan Federer (8.1 points per game) and Jordan Cheney (23 blocks) all showed promise during the season and will be counted on to play an even greater role in 2011–2012.

Women’s Basketball
(15-10, 11-9)
It was a season of milestones for the women’s basketball team, which finished the season at 15-10, the program’s best record since the 2004–2005 campaign.

Senior women’s basketball players Summer Miller-Walfish, Kathryn Stockbower, Ceylan Bodur, and Sarah Brajtbord and junior Brittany Schmelz sport the pink socks their team wore in the annual WBCA Pink Zone game promoting breast cancer awareness.

Swarthmore opened the season by winning eight of its first 10 games, capturing championships at the season-opening Swat Tip-Off Tournament and NYU Holiday Classic in the process. After struggling at the start of Centennial Conference play, the Garnet regrouped, winning three of its last four games. Thanks to a thrilling 65-60 season-ending victory at rival Haverford, the Garnet finished the season in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Centennial standings. Unfortunately, Swat missed out on a playoff spot, losing out on tiebreakers for the final two playoff spots to Ursinus and Franklin & Marshall.

Leading the way for Swarthmore throughout the season was Kathryn Stockbower ’11. The senior wrapped up one of the most decorated careers in program history by breaking several national, conference, and program records. On Feb. 5 at Johns Hopkins, Stockbower recorded the 80th double-double of her career, breaking the NCAA Division III record. Just three days earlier, she became Swarthmore's all-time leading rebounder in a game against Muhlenberg. At the conclusion of the season, Stockbower found herself as Division III’s all-time leader in career double-doubles (83), Swarthmore’s all-time leading rebounder (1,335) and third-leading scorer (1,677) as well as the Centennial Conference’s fifth-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. For her efforts, she was once again named to the All-Centennial Conference First Team, becoming only the second player in Conference history to be named to the First Team all four years of her career. Stockbower was just as impressive academically, as she became the first Swarthmore student-athlete since 2005 to be named to the Academic All-America College Division First Team.

Last but not least, Ceylan Bodur ’11 became the eighth player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau—a milestone that would not have been possible if not for a touching display of sportsmanship from Tri-Co rival Bryn Mawr. After suffering a career-ending knee injury on Jan. 29 with 999 career points, Bodur was allowed to score the 1,000th point of her career on an uncontested layup after the tipoff in the Garnet’s home finale against the Owls. Adding to the aura of the game was the fact that President Rebecca Chopp and Jane McAuliff, president of Bryn Mawr College, served as honorary coaches for their respective schools to show their joint support in promoting breast cancer awareness during the Garnet’s annual WBCA Pink Zone game.

Men’s Swimming
(3rd in CC Championships)
Relying on depth across the board and contributions from members of every class, the Swarthmore College men’s swimming team recorded a milestone-filled dual-meet season and finished third at the Centennial Conference Championships.

Swimmer Daniel Duncan ’13 (above) won four medals at the men’s Centennial Conference championship.

Daniel Duncan ’13 had a breakout sophomore year, recording the team’s top times and cracking the Conference top five in three events. He led the Garnet at the Championship meet with four medals, taking silver in the 200 IM (1:57.91) and 400 IM (4:12.33), and bronze in the 200 butterfly (1:56.95) and as a member of the 400 medley relay. John Flaherty ’14 and Samuel Bullard-Sisken ’12 grabbed three medals apiece at the Championship meet. Flaherty earned silver in the 200 butterfly (1:56.66) and bronzes in both IM distances (1:58.29, 4:13.01), and Bullard-Sisken set a new school record on his way to a silver in the 100 backstroke (52.73) in addition to a pair of relay bronze medals. Jake Benveniste ’13 accounted for Swarthmore’s final individual medal, touching third in the 1650 freestyle (16:27.41); Tim Brevart ’12 tied the Swarthmore record in the 50 freestyle (21.23) in a fourth-place effort and also took home a couple of bronze medals along with teammates Bullard-Siskin, Duncan, and Stan Le ’14 in the 400 medley and Bullard-Siskin, Le, and David Dulaney ’11 in the 200 medley relays.

Travis Pollen ’12 continued his personal assault on the S9 Paralympics record books, taking down the American record in both the 50 (24.74) and 100 (54.73) freestyles at the championships.

The dual meet season (6-2, 4-2) peaked in a decisive victory over Franklin & Marshall on Nov. 13, snapping the Diplomats’ 22-meet Centennial Conference winning streak.

Women’s Swimming
(3rd in CC Championships)
One season removed from a fifth-place finish at the CC championships, the Swarthmore women’s swimming team rebounded, thanks in part to an impressive group of freshmen, to take third place this year.

During the dual-meet season, the Garnet raced to a 6-3 overall record (5-2 CC), improving dramatically on last season’s 4-6 (2-5) mark. Highlights of the season included wins over rivals Dickinson and Ursinus and performances by the Class of ’14, with Rebecca Teng, Erin Lowe, and Maggie Regan regularly contributing top-point totals to the Swarthmore scores. Seniors Chelsea Brett, Sarah Bedolfe, Stephanie Su, and Allison Bishop also turned in successful final seasons.

At the Centennial Conference championship meet, Regan broke out in a big way, taking gold in the 400 IM (4:39.55) and silver in the 200 breaststroke (2:26.76). She also placed fifth in the 500 freestyle (5:19.01). Teng set the school record in the 200 IM (2:11.96), earning a silver medal. Lowe touched second in the 200 butterfly (2:09.69), and Hannah Gotwals ’13 nabbed bronze (2:12.82).

Women’s Indoor Track and Field
(6th in CC Championships)
Kenyetta Givans ’12 defended her gold medal in the 55 meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in an NCAA provisional and school-record time of 8.29, while also earning a bronze medal in the 55 meter dash with a personal-best time of 7.29 to highlight the Swarthmore College women's indoor track team’s performance at the Centennial Conference Championships. As a team, the women finished sixth, improving by one place on last year’s result.

After defending her gold medal in the 55-meter hurdles at the CC championship, Kenyetta Givens ’12 went on to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Div. III Indoor Championships, capping one of the top individual seasons in program history.

Swarthmore earned a total of four medals at the Championships, including Givans’ double-haul, as Rebecca Hammond ’13 took silver in the 800 meter dash with a time of 2:22.07 and Chelsea Hicks ’14 picked up bronze in the triple jump with a jump of 10.56m, which ranks sixth in program history.

Hicks started off her collegiate career with a bang, entering Swarthmore’s all-time Top 5 in both the 55 meter hurdles and the triple jump at the season-opening Jack Pyrah Invitational at Villanova.

Men's Indoor Track and Field
(9th in CC Championships)
Chris Mayer-Bacon ’11 finished in sixth place in the 55 meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.56 to lead the Garnet at the Centennial Conference Championships at Haverford College. Daniel Ly ’12 also performed admirably at the meet, taking sixth place in the triple jump (13 m) and eighth in the long jump (5.97m). In the relays, the Garnet's best finish came in the distance medley, as the team of Henry Ainley ’12, John McMinn ’13, Aidan DuMont-McCaffrey ’13, and Jake Weiner ’14 took sixth place with a time of 10:59.59. As a team, Swarthmore finished in ninth place at the championships. At the Boston University Valentine Invitational two weekends before the Centennial Championships, Jacob Phillips ’13 turned in one of the team’s best individual performances of the season, finishing the 5,000 meter run in a time of 15:10.44, ranking eighth on the College’s all-time performance list and nearly 40 seconds faster than his career-best time.