(Posted February 19, 2002)

WOMEN'S SWIMMING (3-7, 1-4 MAC Commonwealth): Mar. 7-9 NCAA Division III Champ. at Miami (OH).
Juniata headed to Widener on Friday for the three-day Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship and returned on Sunday with a seventh-place showing at the 11-team outing. The Eagles tallied 176 points, while Albright won the outing with 413 points. On Friday, sophomore Kim Allen (Susquehanna Township/Harrisburg) took second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:16.64) to post the top effort for Juniata on the day. In addition, she was part of the 400-yard medley relay team that took fourth (4:14.46). Senior Erinn Soule (Manheim Township/Lititz), senior Jenn Dorsch (Gov. Thomas Johnson/Frederick, MD) and freshman Kathy Trainor (Upper Merion/King of Prussia) made up the rest of the relay unit. Trainor and Dorsch were also on the 200-yard freestyle relay squad that opened the meet by placing fourth (1:44.27). Freshman Beth Ann Bono (Hemfield Central/Greensburg) and freshman Heidi Blasenak (Central Dauphin/Harrisburg) were also on the squad. Individually, Trainor was fourth in the 50-yard freestyle (25.64), while Dorsch was right behind her in fifth (25.77). Blasenak took 12th in the 500-yard freestyle (5:50.82) to score points for the Eagles. On Saturday, Allen placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke for the second straight year. She posted a time of 1:07.74, which provisionally qualifies her for the upcoming NCAA Division III championship which is scheduled for March 7-9 at Miami (Ohio). She will find out later this month if she will make the trip to nationals for the second straight year. Allen was also part of the 200-yard medley relay unit that placed second (1:54.98). Blasenak, Dorsch and Trainor made up the rest of the relay squad. Dorsch was ninth in the 100-yard butterfly (1:04.78), while freshman Amy Fletcher (Ephrata/Ephrata) placed 11th in the same race (1:06.60). Trainor took ninth in the 200-yard freestyle (2:04.89), while Blasenak was ninth in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:06.50. Finally on Saturday, the 800-yard freestyle relay team of Allen, Blasenak, Soule, and sophomore Melanie Cegelski (Moon/Moon Township) placed eighth (8:38.44). On Sunday, Blasenak started the day off for Juniata with a ninth-place effort in the 1,650-yard freestyle (19:32.63), before Trainor posted the top Eagle showing of the day (fourth place) in the 100-yard freestyle (55.94). Fletcher took 11th in the 200-yard butterfly (2:32.00). The 400-yard freestyle relay unit of Trainor, Blasenak, Dorsch and Bono closed out the weekend by taking seventh (3:51.56).

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD: Feb. 23, MAC Championship at Susquehanna.
On Friday, Juniata journeyed to Susquehanna for a non-team scoring invitational. The Eagle women got a top-five showing from the 4x200-meter relay unit that took second (1:56.21). Sophomore Stefanie Rynkewitz (Lewistown/Lewistown) placed fourth (27.81), while the 4x400-meter relay squad took third (4:27.88). Sophomore Misty Heuston (Central/Martinsburg) placed fifth in the high jump (4' 4"), while freshman Stephanie Wasylyk (Honesdale/Uniondale) and freshman Amy McGovern (Deering/Portland, ME) tied for fourth in the pole vault as both cleared 7' 6" in the same amount of attempts. On the men's side, junior Dusty Lehr (Bermudian Springs/New Oxford) took first place in the pole vault (14' 0"). He was also second in the 55-meter high hurdles (7.78) and third in the high jump (6' 0"). The 4x200-meter relay squad earned first (1:33.58), while the 4x400-meter relay team placed third (3:33.89). Junior Nick Wolfe (McConnellsburg/McConnellsburg) was the runner-up in the 400-meter dash (51.90). The time had him just .06 out of first place. Senior Ashley Mort (Blue Mountain/Orwisburg) was third in the 55-meter dash (6.73).

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL (4-5, 2-3 EIVA Tait): Feb. 26, St. Francis (Pa.).
Host Rutgers-Newark out killed, out dug, out blocked and out lasted Juniata on Friday night, 30-26, 25-30, 30-20, 35-33, in what turned out to be a very even Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait Division match with the exception of the third game. Sophomore opposite Javier Garcia (San Ignacio/Guaynabo, PR) had 13 kills, six digs, three blocks and one ace to lead the way. Sophomore outside hitter Ryan Genova (Antietam/Reading) added in 12 kills, three digs, three blocks and an ace as well. Junior middle hitter Luke Manion (North Allegheny/Pittsburgh) posted nine kills on 18 attempts and just one error for a .444 hitting error. Junior setter Scott Kofmehl (North Allegheny/Pittsburgh) tossed out 47 assists and led Juniata in digs (eight) and blocks (four). Juniata hit .349 as a team and posted an 11-7 block advantage during a 30-26, 25-30, 30-26, 30-23 win at New Jersey Institute of Technology in EIVA Tait Division action on Saturday afternoon. Junior middle hitter Chris Jones (Lower Merion/Wayne) came off the bench to pace the Eagles in kills with 16 and hit .448 with just three errors on 29 attempts. He also had a team-best six blocks for Juniata, which is ranked third in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Poll. The Eagles have now won three straight in the series with New Jersey Institute of Technology. Genova added in 12 kills, three digs and two blocks. Junior outside hitter Neil Lukas (Fairport/Fairport, NY) posted 12 kills as well and had a team-best 10 digs to go with three rejections. Manion posted six kills and five blocks, while Kofmehl tossed out 48 assists and had five digs and three blocks. Garcia had seven kills, five digs and two aces before leaving in the third game with a minor ankle sprain.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (12-13, 8-6 Commonwealth): Feb. 20 at Lebanon Valley (Commonwealth semifinals).
On Wednesday night, Lebanon Valley was able to pull out a 57-56 win over Juniata in Commonwealth Conference action. The Eagles were playing for a chance to move into a tie for third place in the conference, after third-place Moravian lost on the road at Susquehanna on Tuesday evening, but the loss assured Juniata of placing fourth, while Lebanon Valley remained tied for first with Messiah. Senior forward Brandy Preslovich (Bald Eagle Area/Moshannon) led Juniata with 15 points and reached double figures in scoring for the 22nd straight outing. She also had six boards, four steals, three assists and two steals. Freshman center Katie Charles (Manheim Township/Lititz) and junior guard Casey Shoup (Altoona/Altoona) each had seven points, while senior guard Kelli Young (United/Vintondale) nine rebounds, six points, six steals and two assists. On Saturday, Moravian came back from a 49-43 second-half deficit in Memorial Gymnasium to post a 70-65 Commonwealth victory during the final day of regular-season play. The Greyhounds finished the conference schedule in third place and will now travel to second-place foe Messiah on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. tilt in Commonwealth semifinal action. Juniata, which ends the regular season in fourth place, will journey to first-place rival Lebanon Valley on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. to complete the semifinal picture. For Juniata, Preslovich reached double figures in scoring for the 23rd straight game with 18 points. She also had six rebounds and four steals. Senior guard Kelly Grove (Penns Valley/Spring Mills) posted 16 points, including four three-pointers and had five rebounds, while Charles had 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with a blocked shot. Young tied a career-high with 13 assists. She also had five steals, four rebounds and four points. Preslovich now has 411 points this winter which is the eighth-best effort in Juniata history, while Young's 124 assists rank sixth on the single-season chart and her 82 steals place her fifth.

MEN'S BASKETBALL (10-14, 3-11 Commonwealth): season complete.
Lebanon Valley came back from an 11-point, first-half deficit and posted a 67-56 victory over Juniata on Tuesday night in Commonwealth Conference action. Sophomore forward Ben Gallagher (Butler/Butler) scored 21 of his game-best 24 points in the first half. He had two stretches of scoring nine straight points for the Eagles in the opening stanza. In addition to Gallagher, who also had 13 rebounds and four steals, senior guard Shane Crandall (North Allegheny/Doylestown) added in 10 points and sophomore guard Jeff Lau (York Catholic/Glen Rock) had 10 points off the bench. On Saturday, Juniata closed out the season with a 64-60 loss at home to Moravian. The Juniata men exploded out of the gates and built a 25-12 lead 12:30 into the contest, but Moravian chipped away at its deficit. The game was tied seven ties down the stretch, including 60-60 with 44 seconds left, however Moravian scored the final four points of the day. Crandall hit a pull-up jumper with 17:33 left in the second half to enabled him to become the 13th player in the history of the Juniata men's basketball team to reach 1,000 points in a career. Crandall needed 12 point to attain the milestone and ended the day with a team-best 17 markers. Gallagher had 13 points, nine rebounds and two assists, while senior forward Dave Reddick (North Hills/Pittsburgh) posted 11 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Eagles. Lau came off the bench to score 10 points for Juniata.

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