Basketball hosts season-opening tournament Nov. 17 and 18

By Dennis O’Donnell

Guard Emily Bango ’07 (left) was an Honorable Mention All-American last season and ranks among Rochester’s career leaders in assists and steals.

oming off strong seasons, the men’s and women’s basketball teams swing into action with the Chuck Resler Tournament at the Palestra on November 17 and 18.

Rochester’s women were 20-8 last season, won the JPMorgan Chase Tournament for the third time in four years, and reached the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. Eleven veterans are back from that squad along with some talented newcomers.

The men’s team has 10 veterans from a 16-9 club last year. Rochester reached the championship game of the JPMorgan Chase Tournament and posted its eighth consecutive winning season. The Yellowjackets have three freshmen on the roster who will challenge the upperclassmen for playing time.

Look for strong competition in the Chuck Resler Tournament. The Yellowjacket women hit the floor ranked 14th nationally in both the media and coaches’ preseason polls. They will face Clarkson University, alma mater of head coach Jim Scheible, at 6 p.m. on November 17. The other game in the women’s bracket features the nation’s top-ranked team, the University of Scranton, against Montclair State University. Montclair is coached by Beth O’Boyle, former assistant coach at Rochester. The Yellowjackets lost the Sweet 16 game at Scranton last year by three points, and the Royals wound up advancing to the Final Four.

The women’s team has size and skill inside, led by Emily Lyons ’07, Jessica Waddell ’08, Julie Marriott ’09, and Alex Porter ’09. They played the majority of minutes in the paint last season and will be pushed by Marlena Fisher ’09 and Ashley Sinkin ’09. Porter was the team’s leading rebounder last year and is the top returning scorer.

Guard Tim Brackney ’07 is one of the team’s cocaptains this year and will be counted on for his outside shooting expertise.

Point guard Emily Bango ’07 heads into her final campaign approaching the career lead in assists and steals. She’s had a single-season steal record of 91 thefts in each of the past two seasons. She’s joined in the backcourt by veterans Danielle Muller ’07, Helen Baroody ’09, Megan Krebbeks ’07, and Johanna McNelis ’09.

The men’s team gets a good test in the Chuck Resler Tournament, opening against Ithaca College on November 17 at 8 p.m. The men are among others receiving votes in the preseason media poll. Rochester has a veteran front court, led by Jon Onyiriuka ’08. He is joined up front by Uche Ndubizu ’08, Eric Snider ’07, Dan Milbrand ’08, Dmitry Razin ’09, and Derek Fetzer ’10.

Jeff Juron ’08 begins his second straight season as the point guard, his third year as a starter overall. Max Kaplan ’09 has strong ball-control skills and will see some time running the offense. The outside shooting will come from Tim Brackney ’07, Mike Chmielowiec ’09, Rob Dominiak ’08, Colin Cubit ’10, and Brad Runco ’10.