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SHARKBITES
Landmark College Athletics,
Newsletter 3/1/2010
Magic Masters Take Click By Storm
A combined team of Landsharks fell just short of victory in their game last Friday night VS the Harlem Magic Masters. Truth be told the Masters had to rely on some dubious shenanigans to pull off the victory.
Ref and Magic Master look a bit too cozy. No home cookin' here.
Outlet pass seems more difficult than necessary.
Three point stance.
What foul?
Didn't Ashley start out as a Shark?
Masters of line dancing too?
Biggest Fans
Magic Evening
Click Invitational Tournament Results
"We Got It...We Got It...We Got It..."
"We Don't Got It"
Front Row: Coach Wood, David Brandolph- captain, Steven Scheinberg, Dan Hodgetts, Rob Bunis-Captain, Ryan O'Connor, Ed Blech, Coach Stanley
Back Row: Dan Brutlag, Quinn Bernasconi, TJ Weeks-Sylvia, Andy Garcia, David de la Torre, Tyler Virden, Zach Clark, and Justin Fields
Saturday was Click Invitational Men's Basketball Tournament day at Landmark. We hosted a three team tournament by inviting Hampshire College and Lakes Region Community College (formerly Laconia Tech).
The First game of the tournament featured Landmark VS Hampshire College. We had had our way with Hampshire all season with two decisive wins. Hampshire, apparently had a gut full of those results. Some teams would have seen the handwriting on the wall and just gone through the motions. Hampshire was in it to win it. It seemed like Landmark kept expecting Hampshire to fold and never really played with a sense of urgency. Everyone was playing OK but there was a distinct Saturday morning malaise to be overcome.
Finally at about the 16 minute mark of the second half Landmark was down by 2. Then it was like someone threw a switch and our Sharks began playing like the team they are. Coach Wood started the frenzy by ordering a full court press. Two turnovers resulting in points was their reward. When Hampshire did manage to get the ball over center they were so frazzled by the press and the newly awakened defense that they threw up dubious shots and garnered no points.
In that final maelstrom of Sharkness our guys scored 12 points to none for Hampshire. The final score was 70 - 60 in our favor.
Game 2 was versus Lakes Region Community College Centurians. A victory against them would mean we would take our third trophy in the last 4 years. Despite only a one half hour rest between games Landmark outpaced the Centurians throughout the first half. When the half ended it was Landmark 43 and Cents 39. Early in the second half the Sharks lead by as much as 15 points. Then a series of errors brought on by fatigue allowed the lead to shrink. With only 40 seconds left Landmark was hanging on by 3. Only a miracle 3-pointer could tie the game for the Centurians. A guy named Chatman filled that role. He drained the three and it was off to overtime.
Overtime turned the Lakes Region into the Lakers. They outran, outscored and outdefensed our worn out troops. Final score 89 - 78. Team leader Dave Brandolph scored 14 in the first half and 4 in the second. After two games without a break even the mighty Brando was exhausted. Special mention must be made of Justin Fields. #1 on the jersey and number one on defense as well. Nobody on our team can absolutely eliminate another player by solid defense like Justin. In game 2 he even threw in 10 points for some added icing on the cake.
Nobody wants to hear excuses but foul calling was anything but home cooking. Lakes Region shot 32 foul shots during this game and sank 26 of them. We got 11 and sank 7. Maybe they deserved it, maybe they didn't...just sayin'.
Lakes Region played a great game against Landmark and afterwards had their second versus Hampshire which they won by 7. They were the only team on the day to win both of their games and surely deserved their victory.
De La Torre sinks first shot of tournament for 3.
Brando cuts to the alley on his way for 2.
Clark eyeballs hoop from charity stripe.
Garcia jumps it up to start overtime.
Brando suffers from altitude deficiency.
Andy elevates as Clark waits for loose change.
Lakes Region Community College takes their first Click Invitation Men's Basketball Tournament Trophy. Congrats.
Sharks Fall to Jaguars 71 - 52
Jags were mean pussies.
Nashua Community College has a new gym and a hot new team to go with it. The Nashua Jaguars had not lost a game all season and Monday night was no exception. After being blown out by 20 points last Dec. 2 here at home Coaches Wood and Stanley were looking for something, anything to change the losing game.
Clark leans away from 3 Jags in the paint
For a start two new big men signed up at the January intake and after graduating our only player over 6' 1" in Dave Newfield they were very welcome. Unfortunately one of our big men Dave de la Torre wrenched his ankle ten minutes into the game and was out for the night. No question he would have made a difference in the outcome as he had already drained a three and collected a couple of rebounds.
De la Torre goes down with ankle sprain.
Landmark was not to be intimidated this time around. Brandolph lead the way as he always does by flawlessly carrying the ball down the floor and either making the unexpected pass or driving into the paint for a shot and a foul. He was on the charity stripe more than any other player on either team. Brando's expertise was no secret though and the Jag's coach often had three men around him all clawing for the ball.
Bunis finds a welcoming committee in the paint as de la Torre looks on.
The most positive improvement over their last meeting for Landmark was #1 Justin Fields. Justin lived up to his number last night by using his speed and dazzling footwork to harass Jag ball carriers every step down the floor. He was a nightmare defender and saw a lot of game time.
Brando finds a hole and dives in for 2.
New big man Andy Garcia was a factor in the game as well. He got his share of rebounds and scored in the paint with a baby hook a la Kareem Abdul Jabbar. His nemesis was the open 7 foot jump shot that he short-armed several times during the game. You got to follow through dude. No doubt Coach Wood will have him practicing that very shot this week.
Garcia throws one up while TJ picks and Clark gets position for a rebound
After a stirring half time speech by Coach Wood and some sound advice from Coach Stanley the Sharks came out to try and even the score. They had a great run in mid second half and got the score to within 6. In the end though the Jags had too many horses and seemed to make us pay for every small error with a score. It was a case of one step forward and two back until the final buzzer. There was much to be optimistic about however. New guys will settle in and veterans will get used to them. Tournament time is coming up on Feb. 20. Hey, the Saints won didn't they?
Sharks Stricken With Fin-Rot Lose to Hampsters 58 - 13
OK so it might be construed as difficult to make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear of a basketball game. This is what I came up with. First of all the Hampshire College Hampsters showed up with a top class team. Three of the players on the court were among the best they have ever had. The others were exceedingly well coached and knew exactly where to be on the court, especially on offense.
New kids on the block: Katie Jean #23, Nadia Tevald and Ashley Lyons
Our players showed enormous potential. Once again Chris Domaine lead the way as point guard. One of her strengths is NOT losing the ball. Her passing is usually spot on and she accounted for four points. Nadia Teval is clearly an excellent player. It may have been first game, new college, new coach, new team jitters but she was way too talented to be as invisible as she was. Despite this “Rocket” Rachel Glickman was back and along with Echaimae Bentz showed that there was some real fire on the team. Echaimae and Rachel were the only players out there for us that seemed like they wanted to play some smash mouth basketball. Everyone else seemed a bit passive. Ladies "Boxing Out" does not mean opening your birthday presents. New players, New semester, first game blues maybe.
"Rocket" Rachel is back
We do have a chance for retribution. Landmark will travel to Hampshire College on Feb. 18 for a Tuesday Night matchup at 7:30 PM. Time to get aggressive ladies. GRRRRR...
The sports writer isn't really that mean. He loves puppies for example.
Sharks Lose 89 -69 in Foul-Fest
The first thing our Sharks saw when the Nashua Community College Jaguars entered the gym was some very tall players. The hope was that they were fumble-fingered Andre-the-Giant types. They were not. With our only big guy out (The not so big but very good Dave Newfield) we had to hope that our “run and gun” offense would wear these big dudes down. We tried but NCC was in just as good shape as us and very fast as well. Early on it was them filling the lanes with skyscrapers and us pursuing like enraged villagers.
Brando Gets Pick From Clark
Clark's Pick Gets Results as Brando Swoops to Hoop
Short of pulling the fire alarm and exiting the building what the heck was Coach Wood to do? Personally I would have feigned a heart attack and handed the reins to Assistant Coach Stanley. That is not JW’s style though.
It has to be said that Landmark was intimidated from the moment these guys hit the gym. They showed it by not scoring until the Jags had run up 13 points. This start had all the earmarks of a blow-out. But not so fast…
Bunis at the charity stripe
After two unanswered baskets by Bunis and Parks the NCC coach called a timeout. Hmmm could there be problems afoot? Had we shaken loose a chink in the armor? Turns out that with good coaching on the floor by Brandolph and on the sidelines by Wood we had a chance. It just took a few points to build some confidence. Landmark turned from goldfish to Sharks again and began chipping away at the lead. Character shows up when the going gets tough and our guys have it in spades. At one point in the first half we came within two points and made believers out of a crowd of about 100 faithful.
Dave Brandolph with 23 points led the Sharks in more than scoring. He has the ability to lift his team after a dry spell and prolong scoring streaks by shouting encouragement and playing fearlessly. Time and again Brando either hit the three (he had 4 of them) or charged into the concrete pylons guarding the paint and throwing up two and one for the foul. This guy cannot be intimidated. Bunis played well in the first half but came up lame in the second with a leg muscle you could see cramping from across the court. Weeks-Sylvia was our only tall man but lacked the size to avoid being pushed around like a ping pong ball in a hurricane by NCC’s #5, a center that resembled “Drago” the Russian superman in Rocky V. Apart from Drago the NCC’s had two other players with 27 points each. Their skill and scoring precision was very annoying.
Parks shows NCC guard his new jockstrap.
In the end we were a bit out of gas and missing enough bunnies to populate the outback. Size matters but so does heart. Landmark never gave up on this game. Even though we lost by twenty points it wasn’t til’ the 2:16 to go mark in the second half that the fat lady belted out her closing aria. This was an exciting and very rough and tumble game. The two teams combined for a total of 52 fouls! This comes out to a foul every 46 seconds. At times it resembled a rugby scrum complete with flying tackles. On one play Brendan Cox for Landmark got undercut in the paint, did a 360 degree flip and landed on his back. He got a 9.4 from the French judge.
Not a fragment of quit in our Sharks though. Now that we have seen them Coach Wood can retire to his Fortress of Solitude and cook up a plan. Be ready for February 8 Jaguars the Sharks will be circling.
Laconia Falls to Well-Disciplined Sharks
Bounce pass from Brando in to Clark for 2 on the break. #3 Freemin looks on.
Laconia Tech came to town last Friday with a whole new look. In fact the entire team and coach were different from the team Landmark defeated easily last year. These new Laconians were fit, tough and talented. After two ho hum victories against a depleted Hampshire College and underdeveloped Simon's Rock, Landmark was in for a barn-burner.
Brando charges back on offense while Clark and Bunis fill the lanes.
The game was back and forth throughout with Landmark a few points in the lead only to be caught and passed by the hard charging Laconia team. One of the fascinating elements of this game was the head to head match-up between opposing team leaders. Freemin for Laconia and Brandolph for Landmark were mirror images and faced each other on every trip down the floor. Both were guards, both were well under six feet tall, quick and very smart. Each man scored in the 20's and both wanted to win. Time and again the diminutive Freemin would throw up a shot and then drive into the tall trees and get his own rebound for a put back. Brandolph relied on his strength which was brainy play and pinpoint passing, especially to Parks who canned 16 points mostly off fast breaks.
Clark takes on Laconis solo
Dumont for Laconia drops in 2 of his 21 points.
Landmark was up by 6 at the half and could have been up by more except for the abominable foul shooting by all concerned. Ironically it was foul shooting that iced the game in the end. Newfield who shot two of the most grotesquely incompetent foul shots in the history of the game in the first half canned his final four in the second. After missing three in a row (at least they hit iron) Brandolph nailed his final six foul shots to put the game out of reach. Unlike some Landmark teams in the past our current squad tightens up and shows great composure when the game is on the line. If we lose a game this year it will be because the other team won it not because Landmark blew it.
Sharky can't watch as Newfield lets fly a trey from downtown.
This was a tough smash mouth basketball game from start to finish. Players were going off with bloody noses and team fouls topped 10 for both halves for both teams. Despite this the game was well-played and without rancor. Handshakes all around at the end and serious thoughts about our return to Laconia on Feb. 18.
Women’s Basketball 2009/10
At Hampshire Tuesday Nov. 3 @ 9:00 PM (cancelled)
Simon's Rock here Sunday Nov. 15 @ 2 PM
Hampshire here Friday Nov. 13 @ 9:00 PM
Laconia here Friday Nov. 20 @ 9:00 PM
At Simon's Rock Sat. Dec. 5 @ 3 PM
Hampshire here Monday Feb. 1 @ 7 PM
Hoop Goddess Scrimmage, Friday Feb. 5 at 5 PM
At Laconia Saturday Feb. 6 @ 1 PM
Hoop Goddess Scrimmage, Friday Feb. 12 @ 5 PM
At Hampshire Thursday Feb. 18 @ 7 PM
At Hampshire Tuesday Feb. 23 @ 7:30 PM
Hoop Goddess Scrimmage Thursday Feb. 25 @ 5 PM
Women Hoopsters Show Great Improvement VS Simon's Rock College
After dropping the home opener to a very experienced Hampshire College team our Sharkettes took on Simon's Rock College last Sunday. After a shaky start our girls under the guidance of Coach Tricia Stanley and Liz Stoer, came back in the second half to score 17 points. Dumaine and Gross each scored 8 points to lead the way followed by Proctor with 4, Bentz with 2 and Sullivan and Bowman with 1 each.
Back Row: Asst. Coach Liz Stoer, Amanda Gross, Coach Tricia Stanley, Tiffany Williams 2nd Row: Antoneil Seaton, Hawley Proctor, Reyna Sullivan, Sneider Boucicot-Laveau, Front Row: Echaimae El-Bazi Bentz, Galea Cornelius, Alysia Madrid, Penyauda Bowman
Echaime spots Chris for inbound pass
Hawley gets ready for bounce pass into paint
Front Row- Dan Hodgetts, Ryan O'Connor, Kevin Summers, Rob Bunis, Coach Wood with son James, Coach Stanley, Justin Fields, Matt Parks
Back Row-Michael Corbo, Zach Clark, TJ Weeks-Sylvia, Quinn Bernasconi, David Newfield, Ryan Ritter, Tyler Virden, Brendan Cox
Camera shy- David Brandolph
Men’s Basketball 2009/10 Home Games in Blue
Simon's Rock here Sun. Nov. 8 @ 2 PM
Hampshire here Friday Nov. 13 @ 7 PM
Laconia here Friday Nov. 20 @ 7 PM
CHVT here Monday Nov. 23 @ 7 PM
Nashua CC here Wed. Dec. 2 at 7 PM
At Simon's Rock Sat. Dec. 5 @ 1 PM
At Briarwood College Sat. Jan. 30 @ 1:00 PM
At Laconia Sat. Feb. 6 @ 3 PM
At Nashua CC Mon. Feb. 8 7:00 PM
At Hampshire Thurs. Feb. 18 @ 9 PM
Tournament Saturday Feb. 20
Games at 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM
Magic Masters here Feb. 26 @ 7 PM
Landmark Soccer Sharks End Season with 3 - 1 Victory over S.I.T.
The Sharks came out fighting on our last game of the season. The field at S.I.T. in Brattleboro looked like a WWI battlefield as the recent rains and their low elevation combined to make a quagmire of the pitch. Our only two losses of the season had been our previous two AWAY games and the Sharks were anxious to reverse the trend. Unlike our last two games our players came out of the gate strong. No more "feeling out process" was in evidence. It was pressure from the beginning on S.I.T.'s defense and midfield. Pressure makes diamonds and this one was a gem. Our scoring began with a sizzling cross from Barrett to the waiting noodle of Brenton LaCombe. Brenton made no mistake as he headed it past the sprawling S.I.T. netminder. Next was a blast from three steps over center from stopper captain Barrett Johnston. Barrett had been grizzling about playing defense all season and wanted a goal. Coach A. in his infinite wisdom abrogated his requests for an "up top" postion due to Barrett's undeniable talent on D. Barrett decided to play flawless defense AND score a goal. Everybody's happy right?
Three Captains (out front) warm up for game. L to R: Barrett, Kly and Chase. That's Matt Charles our fullback on the far right. (He should really learn to pull up his skivvies when wearing shorts.)
Our final goal involved a very typical play by an atypical forward. Min Brown is one of those rare players who can keep his head when everyone is losing theirs. Despite his huge scoring numbers on the season Min is always alert for the opportunity to set up his teammates. On this occasion Min had three SIT defenders draped over him trying to steal the ball. Everyone in the greater metropolitan area thought Min was going to shoot. Instead he tapped a pass to a wide open Efren Sanchez who drilled it in for goal #2 for him and #3 for us.
Fans look on as JP challenges goalie.
SIT's only goal came on a penalty shot. A goal mouth scramble ended when our defender cleared the ball and it inadvertently struck sweeper captain Bill Sutton on the arm. A classic no-call situation. The ref wasn't into the classics he was more a pulp fiction guy I guess. He awarded a penalty shot that eluded goalie Chase Clement.
Anthony shepherds ball to line while Shane guards the doorstep. Goalie Kly is blocked by Anthony.
This was an outstanding season for our Soccer team. We scored more goals than ever before and allowed less. We played with unselfishness, great effort and sportsmanship. Our record this season was 8 - 2 - 1 Thanks guys. Your coach and Landmark can be proud of you.
Landmark Cross Country Team Sprints to Finish
Left to right: Frederick Lanctot, Eric Catozzi, Sarah Hamm, Tom Garrett, Mike Brocenos, Coach Bill Dixon, Justin MacNeil, Adam Cornett
Coach Dixon describes this year's cross country team as "a dedicated group of athletes". On Sunday they traveled to Boston for the Franklin Park 5K. Everyone participated except for Tom G. whose sprained ankle slowed him down a bit. Excellent times were handed in by all members who ended the season having participated in races close to home and as far away as New York and Rhode Island. Many thanks to Coach Dixon, our own national champion, for increasing student interest in cross country.
Men’s Basketball 2009/10 Home Games in Blue
Simon's Rock here Sun. Nov. 8 @ 2 PM
Hampshire here Friday Nov. 13 @ 7 PM
Laconia here Friday Nov. 20 @ 7 PM
At Simon's Rock Sat. Dec. 5 @ 1 PM
At Briarwood College Sat. Jan. 30 @ 1:00 PM
At Laconia Sat. Feb. 6 @ 3 PM
At Hampshire Thurs. Feb. 18 @ 9 PM
Tournament Saturday Feb. 20
Games at 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM
Magic Masters here Feb. 26 @ 3 PM
Women’s Basketball 2009/10
At Hampshire Tuesday Nov. 3 @ 9:00 PM (cancelled)
Simon's Rock here Sunday Nov. 15 @ 2 PM
Hampshire here Friday Nov. 13 @ 9:00 PM
Laconia here Friday Nov. 20 @ 9:00 PM
At Simon's Rock Sat. Dec. 5 @ 3 PM
At Briarwood College Sat. Jan. 30 @ 3:00 PM
Hampshire here Monday Feb. 1 @ 7 PM
At Laconia Saturday Feb. 6 @ 1 PM
At Hampshire Thursday Feb. 18 @ 7 PM
Briarwood at Landmark Sunday 2 PM
Landmark Soccer 2009
Front Row left to right: Scott Schrader, Maria Youngman, Efren Sanchez, Habtamu Karg, Rob Bunis, Michael "Kly" Klykylo, Chase Clement, David Brandolph
Back Row: Brian Brodsky, Shane Vadner, Matt Charles, Barrett Johnson, Coach Jim Austin, Alexander "X" Oechsli, Bill Sutton, Min Brown, Anthony Hifleger, Scott Barasa, Brenton LaCombe, JP Hendrix, Justin Fields, Ryan O'Connor, Cynthia Slemmer
2009 Landmark College Soccer Schedule
Home Thursday September 10, 5:45 PM…..Putney Men (scrimmage) win 2 - 0
Home Wednesday September 16, 5:45 PM…Putney Men (scrimmage) win 3 - 0
Home Saturday September 19, 2:00 PM…Marlboro College win 2 - 0
Home Sunday September 20, 2:00 PM…Simon’s Rock College win 6 - 1
Home Wednesday September 23, 5:45 …Putney Men (scrimmage) tie 1 - 1
Home Saturday September 26, 2:00 PM …Hampshire College win 7 - 1
Home Wednesday September 30, 5:45 PM…Putney Men (scrimmage) win 2 - 0
Away Saturday October 3, 2:00 PM @ Simon’s Rock win (cancelled rain)
Home Saturday October 17, 2:00 PM …S.I.T. win 5-0
Away Wednesday October 21, 4:00 PM @ Hampshire College loss 3-1
Away Saturday October 24, 2:00 PM @ Marlboro College loss 3-2
Away Wednesday October 28, 4:00 PM @ Vermont Academy (game cancelled due to rain)
Away Saturday October 31, 2:00 PM @ S.I.T. win 3 - 1