Women eye Liberty League basketball tournament

Skidmore?s women?s basketball team has earned a spot in the Liberty League playoff tournament scheduled Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27 and 28, at Union College. The Thoroughbreds (11-14, 8-6 Liberty) posted conference wins over Hamilton and William Smith this past weekend to earn a tournament berth.

Senior Kellye Caufield (Monroe, Conn.) sunk two free throws with 0.2 seconds left on the clock to lead the Thoroughbreds in an exciting 69-67 victory over William Smith College Saturday afternoon. The win propelled Skidmore into the Liberty League playoffs for the first time ever and put the Thoroughbreds into the post-season for the first time since the 2000-2001 season.

Freshman Megan Gaugler (Amsterdam, N.Y.) had a breakout game for Skidmore Friday night, shooting 9-11 from the field and ending with 22 points as the Thoroughbreds downed Hamilton 74-59.

The men?s ice hockey team also earned a playoff nod in 1-0-1 weekend that included a convincing 5-1 win over Trinity College Friday. Sophomore forward Alex Mykolenko (Kharkov, Ukraine) scored two goals for the Thoroughbreds in the contest and leads the team with 10 goals this season.

Skidmore played to a 5-5 overtime tie with Wesleyan Saturday, with three goals by senior Mike Gibbons (Braintree, Mass.) and 34 saves from freshman goaltender Andrew Ross (McKinney, Texas). Skidmore (12-9-3) moves into ECAC East quarterfinal play at Salem State Saturday for a 7 p.m. game.

The women?s swimming and diving team finished 13th out of 17 teams at the UNYSCSA State championships this weekend held at Nottingham High School in Syracuse, N.Y.

Several Skidmore records fell at the meet, including Sonia Segal-Smith?s (Needham, Mass.) time of 1:10.58 in the 100-breaststroke. Sophomore Kelsey Carson (Stamford, Conn.) came in at a record-breaking time of 2:16.90 in the 200-butterfly, while the team of Elaine Burns (Worcester, Mass.), Kristen Zebrowski, Carson, and Segal-Smith broke the Skidmore record in the 400-freestyle relay with an outstanding time of 3:46.01.

Men?s basketball beat Hobart College, 72-59, ending the season with an 8-17 record. Freshman guard Gerard O?Shea (West Sand Lake, N.Y.) had a solid game with 13 points, five assists, six steals, and four rebounds. The Thoroughbreds fell just short of an upset Friday night as they lost a 64-62 overtime decision to Liberty League-leading Hamilton College.

The men?s tennis team started its spring season with 9-0 shutouts against Union College and St. Lawrence University over the weekend. Sophomore Carl-Eric Girardin led Skidmore as he collected wins at number-one singles and number-one doubles in both matches. ~By Sytiva Seitz