Katie Lytle ‘14 enjoyed an All-Conference season in women’s basketball

Women’s Basketball (9-15, 7-13 CC )An All-Conference season from Katie Lytle ’14 and extraordinary debut season from first-year Elle Larsen helped the Garnet achieve a nine-win season in 2011–2012. Lytle led the Garnet in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg) during the season, finishing seventh and fourth in the Centennial Conference (CC) in each category, respectively. Lytle also finished the season with 12 double-doubles, tied for third in the CC. Larsen finished with the highest shooting percentage in the entire CC (50.6), finishing second in scoring among Centennial first years (12.5 ppg). Major contributions came from Kayla Moritzky ’14 (7.9 ppg, 3.1 apg), Madeline Ross ’13 (7.8 ppg ), and Genny Pezzola ’12 (6.5 ppg ).

The combo of Lytle and Larsen helped the Garnet string together impressive victories over Widener, Middlebury, Dickinson, and Washington before the winter break. Following a dominating 71-57 win against CC semifinalist Haverford on Jan. 18, the Garnet was just one game out of a playoff spot entering the final month of the season. The team lost six of its last seven games to miss out on the postseason.

Will Gates ‘13 led the men’s basketball team in scoring for the third season

Men’s Basketball (3-22, 3-15 CC)
A tough-luck season ended well for the Garnet, as the team rallied to win two of its last three games, including victories over CC semifinalist Washington College (84-78) and rival Haverford (91-80), the latter particularly satisfying, as it marked the team’s first win in the series since 2007 and the first in the careers of seniors Mike Giannangeli and Marc Rogalski. Playing a critical role in the upset victory, Giannangeli netted a career-high 19 points, and Rogalski recorded his second career double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). Also pivotal in the Garnet’s season-ending win over Haverford were Davis Ancona ’14 (19 points, six blocks), Will Gates ’13 (20 points), and Jordan Federer ’14 (nine points, seven assists).

Leading the team in scoring (18.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg) for the third-consecutive season, Gates earned a spot on the All-CC Second Team. Gates also continued his assault on the program’s record book, reaching a pair of career milestones as a junior. On Dec. 3, in a victory over Ursinus, Gates became the 18th Garnet player and fastest in program history to reach 1,000 points (57 games). Against McDaniel on Feb. 15, Gates eclipsed the 500-rebound mark for his career, becoming just the 13th player in program history to reach 500 career rebounds and the eighth player to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

With six gold medals, swimmer Supriya Davis ‘15 was named most outstanding female performer of the Centennial Conference;

Women’s Swimming (4th, CC Championships)
In one of its best championship meets in a decade, the Garnet women earned 23 medals and smashed several school and conference records. The performances of Supriya Davis ’15, Kate Wiseman ’15, and Margaret Regan ’14 will go down as some of the greatest in program history.

Davis won six gold medals (200 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay) and set school and championship records in the 200 IM (2:08.60) and 100 butterfly (55.95). For her achievements, Davis was named most outstanding performer of the CC championship meet, becoming the first Garnet woman since Alice Bonarou ’02 in 1999. The last time a first-year received the honor was 1995. Davis’ six gold medals were just one shy of the CC record of seven for a single championship.

Close behind Davis were Wiseman and Regan. Wiseman claimed five gold medals (50 free, 100 free, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay), setting the school record in the 50 freestyle (24.16) and 100 freestyle (53.09). Regan earned four gold medals (400 IM, 200 breast, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay), defending her title in the 400 IM with a school-record time of 4:36.87 and breaking the Gettysburg pool record in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.26). The trio also teamed up with Erin Lowe ’14 and Becky Teng ’14 to dominate the relays, taking first place in the 200 medley (1:49.12), 400 medley (3:58.93) and 400 free (3:34.67), setting school records in each event.

Before this meet, the most gold medals won by an individual Swarthmore swimmer in a championship meet was three; Davis, Wiseman, and Regan all easily bested that mark.

As a team, Swarthmore finished in fourth place with 527. But with every 2012 medal coming from younger students, the future certainly looks bright.

John Flaherty ‘14 won gold and silver medals for the men’s swim team.

Men’s Swimming (5th, CC Championships)
John Flaherty ’14 earned a gold medal in the 400 IM and a silver in the 200 butterfly to lead the Garnet to a fifth-place finish at the CC championships. Flaherty shaved nearly a full second off the decade-old school record in the 400 IM (4:10.11) to become the first Garnet male to win gold at the championships since 2009. The Garnet’s other medalist at the CC finals was junior Josh Satre, who took home a bronze medal in the 1,650 freestyle (16:48.80). Other strong performers at the meet were Charlie Hepper ’13 (6th/400 IM/4:18.15), Tim Brevart ’12 (7th/100 freestyle/47.30) and the Garnet’s 400 free relay team of Brevart, Daniel Duncan ’13, Flaherty ’14, and Neil Palmer ’12, which finished fifth and posted the fourth fastest time in school history (3:13.18).

Women’s Track and Field (6th, CC Championships)
Kenyetta Givans ’12 continued her stellar Garnet career with another standout performance at the indoor championships, winning her seventh career gold medal in the 60-meter hurdles in a school- and conference-record time of 8.95. Givans also earned a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash with a personal-best time of 26.67.

The distance medley relay team of Hannah Rose ’12, Margret Lenfest ’12, Stephanie Beebe ’12, and Ruth Talbot ’15 also earned a gold medal at the CC championships with a time of 12:40.05, helping the Garnet finish sixth overall with 66 points, the team’s highest score since 2002.

Also earning medals were Melissa Frick ’12 (silver/5,000-meter run / 17:43.44), Rebecca Hammond ’13 (bronze/800-meter run/2:17.00) and the 4×800 relay team of Beebe, Hammond, Frick, and Jen Johnson ’12 (bronze/9:44.97).

The Garnet spent much of the 2011–2012 season smashing decades-old school records. Osazenoriuwa Ebose ’15 broke the school’s 30-year-old shot put record in January, reaching 37-1.25 to move past Cristi Charpentier ’82’s previous mark of 36-11.25. Ebose improved on her own record with a toss of 39-08.00 at the Haverford Keogh Invitational in late February. At the Boston University Valentine Invitational, the distance medley relay team of Beebe, Givans, Johnson, and Hammond smashed the school record by 18 seconds, with a time of 12:16.23. Finally, at the NYU Division III Invitational, Hammond bested the 800-meter dash record with a time of 2:15.00.

in men’s track-and-field, Matt Heck ‘13 earned a silver medal in the 400-meter dash.

Men’s Track and Field (7th, CC Championships)
A breakout season from Matt Heck ’13 and strong showings from the underclassmen helped the men’s indoor track-and-field team improve in 2011–2012. With Heck leading the way, the Garnet finished seventh at the season-ending CC championships with 30 points, its best score since 2005.

Heck earned a silver medal in the 400-meter dash, less than three weeks after breaking the school’s 16-year-old indoor record with his time of 49.94. Heck was the Garnet’s lone medalist at the championships, but several other members delivered noteworthy performances. The 4 x 200 relay team of Heck, Tim Vaughan-Ogunlusi ’15, Jason Heo ’15, and Daniel Ly ’12 finished in fourth place with a time of 1:34.41, second all time in College history. In the triple jump, Ly finished fourth with a jump of 43 feet, 10 inches. The distance medley-relay team of Richard Scott ’14, Erick White ’15, Cary Chester ’13, and Jonas Oppenheimer ’15 finished fifth with a time of 10:46.64.