Varsity Update - January 16, 2012
Men's Basketball
Make it four wins in a row for the Mohawk men's basketball team. The Mountaineers opened second semester play in the OCAA with a 99-64 win over the St. Clair Saints in a game played in Chatham January 13. Mohawk stormed out of the gate with 28 first quarter points and they led 47-37 at the half.
"We picked up the intensity in the third quarter and they were unable to match it," said Mohawk head coach Brian Jonker. "We outscored them 32-11 in the third. It was a good team win with lots of people contributing. We had 5 players reach double figures led by Aminu Bello with 19 and Alex Reis with 17." Eli Hesley led St. Clair with a game high 21 points.
Mohawk improved its record to 7-3 and is tied with Fanshawe and Niagara for second place in the West Region, two points back of leading Humber. Niagara has a game in hand on the other three teams. St. Clair fell to 1-9.
Next action for the Mountaineer men will be Wednesday January 18, when the Lambton Lions of Sarnia visit the Fennell Gym.
Women's Basketball
The Mohawk women lost 73 to 57 to the St. Clair Saints January 13 in Chatham. Megan Campbell had 13 points, Rachelle Abella scored 12 and Cynthia Mosca had 8 as the visitors saw their record fall to 5-5, while St. Clair improved to 4-6.
The Saints, led by Arica Price's 19 points, outscored Mohawk 21-9 in the second quarter and took a 35-23 lead to the locker room at the intermission.
"We just made far too many poor decisions on offense and that led to easy baskets for them," said Mountaineers' head coach Kevin Duffy. "Overall we had 37 turnovers and were out rebounded, which basically tells us that they were able to control the game from start to finish. There is still a lot of season left and we have a key game coming up (at the Fennell Gym) on Wednesday (January 18) against Lambton which will give us an opportunity to bounce back and get things going in the right direction.
Men's Volleyball
The Mohawk men's volleyball team started second semester play in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association on a winning note. The Mountaineers swept Conestoga Condors 25-13, 25-21, 25-21 at the Fennell Gym January 11. Justin Scapinello led the way with seven kills and one stuff block. Andrew Ross led in digs with a game high of eight. Kyle Griffin was tops for Conestoga with 9 points (eight kills and one block).
It was a good start to the second half of the season, according to Mohawk head coach Matt Schnarr. He felt the game plan was too focused throughout the match about execution, which was good to start, but they lost focus in the second set, even in winning. "In the third set, I was able to use our depth and got a scrappy (effort) to take it in three. It was a great start for our additions Steve Pawelczyk and Marcin Jedrzejewski as they will be key pieces to our success in the stretch run. We also got a good controlled and solid defensive effort by Justin DesRoche as he also chipped in with match winning kill."
Mohawk improved to 7-3 in the West Region while the visitors from Kitchener fell to 1-9.
The Mountaineers visit Niagara Wednesday January 18.
Women's Volleyball
The Mohawk women's volleyball squad bowed 3-2 to Conestoga (25-21, 25-23, 23-25,15-25, 15-13) January 11 in Hamilton. But after a tough start, coach Andrew Nicholson noted an almost miraculous comeback just fell short. "Mohawk found it's legs late in the match and had a chance to win in the fifth (set) when we were tied at 13 after coming back from 8-3 down. But two passing mistakes led to the loss at the end."
Jenna Gignac led all scorers with 20 points from16 kills, one ace and three blocks and added 20 digs, also a game-high.
Ashley Hagen, Chi Chi Chuks-Mady and Kristin VanHartingsveldt each had six kills.
Chantel Renaud led Conestoga with nine points (seven kills, one ace and one block)
The Mountaineers are now 2-8, while the Condors improved to 4-6.
Mohawk's next action is Wednesday January 18, at Niagara.
Badminton
Mohawk's badminton team was in Scarborough over the January 14-15 weekend for the Centennial Invitational (B-C-D flight play) in singles and doubles. The men's competition was again very strong, however Mohawk was able to win the C flight championship in men's singles and make it to the D flight men's single's championship.
Winning the C flight single's was Kianoosh Moslemi who is a new student to Mohawk College and competing for one of the three positions left on the men's squad. Coach Tony Leite said Moslemi competed very admirably with great skill and talent. "I and the rest of the coaching staff look forward to future successes with Kianoosh."
Competing in the men's D finals was Bert Miciano. Coach Leite said Miciano played well and forced the final match to three games. "Bert continues to impress all of us with his determination, enthusiasm and desire to improve his game. We are impressed with Burt's increased competitiveness and skill and recognize that future awards lie ahead."
The men's doubles arena was again very competitive. Chris Hong and Mohammed Nazimuddin made it to the semi finals in men's doubles B flight competing against Humber College. They played aggressively however were not able to beat the eventual gold medalists of the tournament.
The coach praised the great effort by the four ladies and eight men who represented Mohawk on the weekend. The regional tournament is next on the team's list and Leite said everyone is busy preparing for that competition.
