02/06/2007

College Notebook

Hoblet leads Alma College to pair of wins

By MARK URBAN

murban@record-eagle.com

Photo courtesy of Alma College
Megan Hoblet scored 41 points in two wins last week as Alma improved to 9-10.

TRAVERSE CITY — Whether in the first five or coming off the bench, freshman forward Megan Hoblet had a pair of big games for the Alma College women's basketball team last week.

The Cadillac product had 25 points, 13 rebounds and three steals as a starter on Saturday when the Scots topped Kalamazoo College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association contest. Hoblet hit 11 of her 17 shots from the field for Alma (9-10, 5-7 MIAA) and five of her rebounds came on the offensive end.

Hoblet came off the bench to net 16 points — hitting seven of her 12 shots from the field — six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a 71-65 win over Tri-State on Wednesday.

She was a nominee for MIAA women's basketball player of the week, losing out to Albion senior guard Jessica Babcock.

• Big brother got the best of little brother at the two-day Meyo Invitational indoor track meet at the University of Notre Dame.

Ryan Shay (Central Lake), a 2001 graduate of Notre Dame running for the Saucony club team in the non-scoring meet, won the men's 5,000 meters in a time of 13:48.66. Younger brother Stephan Shay, a sophomore at Michigan State University, was eighth in 14:23.06.

Three area athletes competing for the University of Michigan posted top-25 finishes in the women's portion of the meet.

Freshman Sarah Conkle (Bellaire) was 13th (11'7¾”) in the pole vault while senior Kelly Catino (TC Central) was 23rd (10'8”). Freshman Alisha Cole (Cadillac) was 12th in the 200 with a time of 25.06.

• Junior forward Erin Carney (TC St. Francis) made her return to the DePaul University starting lineup on Saturday for the first time since a Dec. 15 win over the University of Detroit.

Carney had six points, 10 rebounds, three assists and one steal as the Blue Demons (14-9, 4-6 Big East) dropped an 86-68 decision to Louisville. The game was just the third after Carney missed 11 games with a stress fracture in her foot.

Carney had seven points, 11 rebounds, three assists and one block in a 78-61 loss to St. John's on Tuesday.

• The Brown University men's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 63-48 defeat of Princeton on Saturday.

Junior guard Damon Huffman (Petoskey) had 17 points, three rebounds and one assist while sophomore forward Scott Friske (Charlevoix) added two rebounds for Brown (7-14, 2-4 Ivy League).

The victory came on the heels of a 77-61 loss to Penn on Friday. Huffman had eight points, four steals and three assists and Friske three points.

• The Northern Michigan University women's track team placed second at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational on Saturday.

Freshman Karin Diebold (Ellsworth) was fifth in the pole vault, clearing 10' to set a Northern Michigan record. Diebold set the record two weeks ago at Saginaw Valley State in her first collegiate track meet.

Freshman Melissa Shultz (Manistee) was third (1:02.91) in the 400 and was on the 800 relay team that was fifth (1:53.24).

Sophomore Danielle deJong (Petoskey) was sixth (22:53.93) in the 5,000 and Michaela Harris (TC West) eighth in the 800 (2:28.1).

• Aquinas topped Cornerstone 71-62 on Wednesday in the showdown for first place in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference men's basketball race.

Junior guard Jeff Wierzbicki (Elk Rapids) had nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal for Aquinas (16-9, 8-1 WHAC).

Senior forward Andy Bronkema (McBain) had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists and freshman guard Corbin Donaldson (Petoskey) one steal, one assist and one rebound for Cornerstone (16-8, 7-2).

• Senior forward Lauren Fewins (TC St. Francis) bounced back from a tough shooting night against Ashland on Thursday with a strong performance against Findlay on Saturday.

Fewins connected on 9 of 15 shots as Hillsdale posted an 80-71 triumph over Findlay. Fewins finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks for the Chargers (14-6, 9-3 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).

• The Middlebury (Vt.) ski teams placed third at the University of Vermont winter carnival.

Middlebury finished just behind Dartmouth and host Vermont in the team competition.

Sophomore Andrew Wagner (TC Christian) posted top five finishes in both giant slalom races for the alpine team. He was fourth in Friday's race with a two-run combined time of 2:17.04 and fifth in Saturday's race in 1:51.78.

Sophomore Cassidy Edwards (Glen Lake) was on the winning 3x6 freestyle relay team for the Panthers' nordic team. Edwards was also eighth in the 15-kilometer classic race in 54:06.4.

• The Wesleyan (Conn.) University basketball team had a tough time, losing to the top two teams in the New England Small College Athletic Conference teams.

The Cardinals (6-14, 2-5 NESAC) lost 81-56 to undefeated Amherst (Mass.) on Saturday and 95-57 to Trinity (Conn.) on Friday.

Senior guard and co-captain Jimmy Shepherd (Charlevoix) had eight points and two rebounds in the loss to Amherst. Shepherd had two points and one assist against Trinity.

• Sophomore forward Corey Couturier (TC Central) helped the Ferris State University hockey team sweep Ohio State in a Central Collegiate Hockey Association weekend series.

Couturier was a plus-1 in both wins for the Bulldogs (9-18-3, 6-14-2 CCHA), a 6-2 triumph on Saturday and a 4-2 victory on Friday. Couturier had one shot on Saturday and two on Friday.

• The Hope College women's basketball team improved to 10-2 in the MIAA and 18-2 overall with an 87-53 win over Adrian College on Wednesday.

Junior center Lindsay Lange (Manistee) had seven points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block for Hope while senior forward Sarah Jurik (Mesick) added five points and one steal. Seniors Meredith Blazejewski (Benzie Central) and Ashley Hart (Onekama) each had two points for Adrian (8-12, 3-10 MIAA).

• The University of Michigan women's basketball team split a pair of games last week, losing 65-44 to Illinois on Thursday and beating Northwestern 61-49 on Sunday.

Freshman guard Kalyn McPherson (TC West) hit both of her free-throw attempts and added a rebound in the win by the Wolverines (10-14, 3-8 Big Ten).

• The Lake Superior State University men's basketball team lost both its 'Valley' games last week, falling 90-78 to Saginaw Valley State on Saturday and 82-48 to Grand Valley State on Thursday.

Sophomore guard Mark Morse (Harbor Springs) had 14 points, two assists and one steal against SVSU and five points, two rebounds and one assist against Grand Valley. LSSU is 8-14 overall and 5-8 in the GLIAC.

• The Davenport University women's basketball team posted its 20th victory of the season, topping Siena Heights 77-67 on Wednesday.

Sophomore forward Lynne Blomberg (Harbor Springs) had 15 points and five rebounds in the victory. Davenport is 20-6 overall and 8-2 in the WHAC.

• Notre Dame, the No. 1 ranked hockey team in the nation, continues to lead the CCHA after sweeping Bowling Green in a weekend series.

Sophomore forward Justin White (TC West) played in both contests for the Irish (23-5-2, 17-3-2). White did not have a shot in Saturday's 3-2 victory but did have five shots in Friday's 2-1 triumph.

• Calvin College topped Albion 75-65 in a MIAA women's basketball game on Wednesday.

Junior guard Nikki Zimmerman (TC West) had six points, two assists and three steals for the Knights.

• Grace College handed Spring Arbor a 93-91 overtime basketball loss on Saturday.

Senior Scott Parrish (Charlevoix) had 15 points and 11 rebounds in the loss for Spring Arbor (16-11, 4-9 Mid-Central College Conference). Freshman Richard Blair (Pellston) added 10 points.

Spring Arbor beat Marian 68-59 on Tuesday as Parrish had 11 points and eight rebounds.

• The North Greenville (S.C.) men's basketball team improved to 10-10 by beating Allen (73-66) on Tuesday and Anderson (62-54) on Saturday.

Freshman guard Austin Randel (McBain ) had four points in Saturday's triumph. Randel had 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist versus Allen.

• Junior Maria Kasza (Kalkaska) scored 23 points for the Northern Michigan University women's basketball team in a pair of games last week.

Kasza had nine points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in a 76-70 loss to Gannon on Saturday. Northern (8-15, 4-10 GLIAC) beat Mercyhurst 80-64 on Thursday as Kasza had 14 points, two rebounds and one steal.

• Sophomore guard Mischa McCray (Harbor Light Christian) scored six points in just six minutes of action as Calvin College drilled Alma 105-49 on Wednesday in a MIAA men's basketball game.

• The Madonna University men's basketball team improved to 5-4 in the WHAC with an 84-76 triumph over the Indiana Institute of Technology on Wednesday.

Senior guard Adam Kerfoot (Gaylord St. Mary) had three points, five assists, four rebounds and one steal for Madonna (9-16).