Women’s Swimming | Feb. 16-19 | Liberty League Championships
Vassar women’s swimming and diving finished fourth out of 10 teams at the Liberty League Championships this past week, with a score of 1055.5. The Brewers had a strong showing in a number of events. In the 100-freestyle, Abby Whittington ’23 took sixth overall with a time of 53.32. In the 200-backstroke, Jesse Ecklund ’22 defended her league championship title (her third overall) with a time of 2:01.74 and got an NCAA B Cut in the event. The first place finish earned her All-League First Team and Medalist honors. In the same event, Sarah Quintana ’24 finished sixth overall with a time of 2:08.40. Over in the 200-breaststroke, Lillian Lowenthal ’23 finished second overall with a time of 2:22.01, earning herself All-League Second Team and Medalist honors. Lowenthal also hit an NCAA B Cut. In the 400-free relay, the women’s A relay of Whittington, Ecklund, Lowenthal and Grace Myers ’23 earned second overall, All-League Second Team and Medalist honors with their time of 3:32.18. The next competition for the Brewers is the NCAA Diving Regionals on Feb. 25 and 26, followed by the 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 16-19.
Men’s Swimming | Feb. 16-19 | Liberty League Championships
Vassar men’s swimming and diving placed fourth out of nine teams at the Liberty League Championships this year with a score of 1,296 points. Highlights from individual events include Robbie Perot ’23 placing third in the 1650-freestyle with a time of 16:30.84. In the 100-freestyle freshman Ben Glazebnik ’25 tied for fourth place with a time of 46.85 which broke his own school record (which was set in the preliminaries). In the 400-free relay, the Vassar men’s A relay of Glazebnik, Lukas Johnson ’24, Hayden Ehrenfeld ’25 and Max White ’22 finished fourth overall in a time of 3:08.76, shattering the previous school record. Vassar will next attend the NCAA Diving Regionals on Feb. 25 and 26, followed by the 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 16-19.
Men’s Basketball | Feb. 22 | W 71-69 vs. Hobart
Vassar men’s basketball earned their first playoff win since the 2013-2014 season in epic fashion with Jack Rothenberg ’23 hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Vassar the 71-69 victory over Hobart in the first round of the Liberty League Championship tournament. In the first half, Hobart got out to a 20-14 lead, but Vassar stormed back to take a 31-28 lead into halftime. In the second half, Vassar went up by as much as 11 points, before Hobart fought their way back and had the lead with 33 seconds remaining. Zach Johnson ’23 then scored to give Vassar the lead, but Hobart hit a three to take a 69-68 lead with just two seconds left on the clock. After a Vassar timeout, Ben Freed ’23 inbounded the ball to Rothenberg who hit a fadeaway three at the buzzer to give the Brewers the 71-69 victory and advance them to the semifinals. Johnson had 20 points and nine rebounds, Avni Mustafaj ’23 had 19 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double and Rothenberg finished with a statline of 18 points and six rebounds. Vassar will now travel to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where they will face Ithaca College in the semifinals on Saturday.
Women’s Basketball | Feb. 18-19 | 1-1
Vassar women’s basketball split their weekend games, beating William Smith 89-77 on Friday and falling to Ithaca 72-80 on Saturday. Despite the loss, the Brewers clinched the second seed in the Liberty League Championship tournament which earned them a First Round Bye, automatically advancing them to the semifinals. The Brewers went 17-7 overall in the regular season, including 16-2 in the Liberty League. This past Friday, the Brewers headed into the fourth quarter down 64-61 to William Smith, but had a dominant fourth quarter, out scoring William Smith by 15 to take the win behind a 27-point performance from captain Sarah Gillooly ’22. Saturday saw the Brewers take a three point lead of their own into the fourth quarter, before number one seeded Ithaca pulled away with a big final quarter. Despite the loss, the Brewers proved they can hang with Ithaca and established themselves as true contenders for the championship. Additionally, captain Dani Douglas ’22 set a new school record for single-season three pointers with her 84th of the year against Ithaca. This Saturday the Brewers travel to Ithaca, where they will face the third seeded St. Lawrence University in the semifinal of the Liberty League tournament.