The Wooster men’s and women’s basketball teams are ready for another exciting season. The men’s team is coming off of an NCAA Div. III Sweet 16 appearance and a 25-6 season, in which they had a 15-1 record in NCAC play. The team is led by guard Ian Franks ’11, who won Great Lakes Player of the Year last season and has been named a first-team preseason All-American by D3hoops.com. Franks is the only NCAC player to earn 2010 preseason All-America honors.
Franks is one of four seniors from last year’s team, along with guard Nathan Balch ’11, forward Kaleb Reed ’11, and forward/center Bryan Wickliffe ’11, a third-team All-Great Lakes Region player last year.
The only player not returning from the 2009-10 squad is Brandon Johnson ’10. The Scots should expect conference competition from Wabash College, Allegheny College and rival Wittenberg University, the only team to defeat Wooster in conference play.
However, with almost every player (including two All-Region players) returning, the Scots should expect another run at not just the NCAC crown, but the NCAA Championship. Wooster opened its regular season on Wednesday against Cincinnati Christian University after press time, following an 86-50 exhibition loss to Div. I Ohio University. Their next game is tomorrow night in Timken Gymnasium against Bethany College at 8 p.m.
The Wooster women’s basketball team had a middling 2009-10 season, finishing 8-8 in conference play and 11-15 overall. The Scots graduated seven players from last season, including WBCA All-American and NCAC scoring leader Kym Wenz ë10, so lone senior Taylor Keegan ’11 will have to lead a team with seven first-years, four juniors and only two returning starters.
Last year’s team was able to notch wins over top NCAC teams Wittenberg and Denison University, and as a result look promising this year. They have a shot at the conference crown if they continue solid play.
The women opened their regular season on Monday with a loss to John Carroll University. The Blue Streaks went on a 16-3 run late in the first half and never looked back. Scots’ forward Kristen Schwartz ’12 had a double-double, recording 13 points and 17 rebounds.
However, the Scots shot only 30 percent from the field while allowing John Carroll to shoot 47.6 percent.
The Blue Streaks relied heavily on guard Emilee Ritchie, whose 21 points (including five three-pointers) led all scorers. While the Scots were only down 33-19, a 20-4 run during the second half led to a final score of 82-51.
The women will look to rebound† from the loss tomorrow in the first game of the annual Nan Nichols Tournament against Thiel College. The game will be played at 3 p.m. in Timken Gymnasium.