Notes From The Nest: A Weekly Roundup of Juniata College Athletics

By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – It was a full week for Juniata College Athletics.  Men's volleyball opened their home season with a 3-0 sweep while women's swimming closed its home season with a win.  Basketball split on long island and men's and women's track and field competed in their second meet of the indoor season.

Men's Basketball
The Eagles (12-5, 3-3 Landmark) split against Landmark Conference opponents this week on the road, defeating Goucher College (60-57) on Wednesday before dropping a 79-68 decision to the Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday.  Senior Brian Scholly  (State College, Pa./State College Area) led with a team-high 17 points against the Gophers, sinking five of his six baskets from behind the arc. 

On Long Island, senior Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) finished the night with a team-high 19 points, tacking on six rebounds. Sophomore Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, Pa./Devon Prep.) added a career-high 17 total points in 27 minutes off the bench and had a team-high seven rebounds.  They return home on Wednesday, Jan. 29 against Susquehanna University at 7 p.m.

Women's Basketball
Juniata (9-8, 2-4 Landmark) swept Landmark play posting back-to-back 80+ point games.  They soared to an 82-46 over Goucher at home and topped Merchant Marine 88-35 on the road.  With just 17 minutes on the court, sophomore Paige Dennison (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs) scored a team-high 20 points against Goucher, going 9-for-11 from the floor with a season-best .818 shooting percentage. Junior Kelsey Livoti (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) picked up 14 points, while senior Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College) and freshman Olivia Halfpenny (McVeytown, Pa./Mifflin County) earned 12 each. Freshman Sarah Sherman (Lansdale, Pa./Methacton) finished with 10 points respectively. 

In the in over the Mariners, Dennison put up a game and career-high 26 points making 12-of-18 from the floor, while contributing a career-high four steals.  McDonald worked her way into the history books while earning her 12th double-double of the year with 18 points and a game and career-high 10 steals.  The fourth of her six rebounds made her only the third student-athlete in Juniata basketball history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their career. Halfpenny and Livoti also finished in double-figure points.  The Eagles continue their Landmark play on the road Wednesday, Jan. 29 with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Susquehanna.

Women's Swimming
In their final regular season meet, the Juniata College women's swim team cruised to a 98-60 victory over Penn State Altoona at Binder Natatorium Saturday. Five different swimmers, including three members of the winning 200 medley relay team, captured individual victories at the meet. Leading the way for the Eagles was senior Hillary Palmer (Fayetteville, Ga./Fayette County), who touched the wall first in both the 100 back and 100 free. Freshman Erika Fimple (Drexel Hill, Pa./Upper Darby) won the 100 breast, while sophomores Chrissy Whiteman (Delmont, Pa./Franklin Regional) and Tzvia Cahn (San Jose, Calif./Kehilla Jewish) took first in the 200 free and 50 free, respectively. Junior Mary Kate Meingossner (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) accounted for Juniata's final victory of the day in the 200 back. The Eagles will take a two-week break from competition before heading to the Landmark Conference Championships at Marywood University on Feb. 7-9.

Men's Indoor Track and Field
The Juniata men's track and field team competed at the Marietta College Open this weekend. In the shot put, freshman Andrew Paterno (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) threw a mark of 13.11m to finish eighth. This throw placed Paterno as one of the top five performers in program history. Sophomore J.R. Hemminger (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) finished tenth in the pole vault. In the 800, sophomore R.J. Bogdan (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) placed 11^th in a time of 2:07.99. The Eagles next compete in the 16^th Annual Bison Open, hosted by Bucknell University, on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1.

Women's Indoor Track and Field
At the Marietta College Open, in just the second meet of the season, the Juniata College women's track and field team again saw strong performances in many events. Senior Paula Pryor (Westbrookville, N.Y./Burke Catholic) broke the school record in the 300 meter dash, while finishing third in the event. Her time of 43.89 beat the previous record by over three seconds. Junior Alyssia Cousins (Lemont, Pa./State College Area) crossed the line fourth in the 1000. In the high jump, freshman Katelyn Fisher (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) placed fourth in the high jump with a 1.52m leap, placing her as the fourth best performer in school history in the event. The Eagles will travel to Lewisburg, Pa. this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, to compete in the 16^th Annual Bison Open hosted by Bucknell University.

Men's Volleyball
No. 3 Juniata (5-0) swept competition during its home opening weekend.  The Eagles defeated No. 14 Elmira College 3-0 Friday night and then took Hunter College 3-1 and No. 13 Kean University 3-0 on Saturday. Three Eagles earned match-highs against Elmira.  At the net, senior Alex McColgin (Buffalo, N.Y./Hamburg) finished with a match and season-high 12 kills and sophomore Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) earned a match-high six blocks, one off from his career-high.  Fellow sophomore Matt Elias (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) ran the offense and earned a match-high 32 assists. 

Sophomore Matthew Kinnebrew (Ashburn, Va./Stonebridge) led with a match and career-high 18 kills on Saturday against Hunter, with only two errors for a .552 hitting percentage.  He also added in a career-high six blocks.  Elias earned team-highs of 29 assists and eight digs.  Junior Paul Kuhn (York, Pa./Central York) hit .440 with only three errors en route to his match-high 14 kills in the finale against Kean.  Elias picked up another 30 assists and sophomore Brendan Smith (Fuquay-Varina, N.C./Fuquay Varina) earned a match high 12 digs.

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