Travis Marmon
Sports Editor
Wooster sports fans will not soon forget the men’s basketball team’s run to the Div. III National Championship game last April.
The Fighting Scots had a record of 31-3 (including a 20-0 start) in 2010-2011 and won their seventh straight NCAC title. After a miraculous comeback in the national semifinal against Williams College, Wooster was defeated 74-58 by the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) in the Championship game.
Some adjustments will need to be made if the Scots want to get back to Salem, Va. this year. Gone are Ian Franks ’11, Bryan Wickliffe ’11 and Nathan Balch ’11, last year’s three top players. But what Wooster lost in stardom it makes up for in experienced returning players.
Forward Justin Hallowell ’12 is likely to emerge as the leader of the team after his second team All-NCAC campaign last year. The 6-7 Hallowell is the top returning scorer (11.9 ppg) and rebounder (6.1 rpg) and was a key factor in last season’s success.
Starting guard Matt Fegan ’12 brings his 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game back for a final year as well.
Rounding out the starting lineup will likely be 6-8 Jake Mays ’13 at center, 6-7 Josh Claytor ’13 at the forward and Justin Warnes ’12 at guard.
All of these players saw significant playing time off of the bench last year, and now find themselves in leadership roles for a young team.
Losing Franks, Wickliffe and Balch would be devastating for almost any team at this level. It will be difficult to get back to the Final Four, but it is hard to argue with coach Steve Moore’s .772 career winning percentage in his 25 years at Wooster. With Moore at the helm, the Scots will be in contention for yet another NCAC title.
The Scots played Div. I Bradley University on Tuesday after press time. They will open the regular season at home on Nov. 18 in the Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic against Defiance College.
The Wooster women’s basketball team is looking to move forward from last year’s 3-22 campaign. The 2010-11 team, led by first-year coach Ashley Reid, was very young, and only two players are missing from it this year: Taylor Keegan ’11 and leading scorer Kristen Schwartz ’12.
The Scots will be led by point guard Suvi Puripattarapan ’14, wing Karley Walker ’14 and forward/center Jessica Wingen ’13. Walker is the top returning scorer (9.3 ppg in 2010-11). She was seventh in the NCAC last year in three-pointers with 36.
The six-foot tall Wingen was an All-NCAC honorable mention last season, having contributed 8.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She also led the conference with 1.8 blocks per game last year.
Wooster’s only two seniors are forward Samantha Sulzer ’12 and guard Sarah Abboud ’12. Sulzer had 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game coming off the bench last year and will look to be a force in the paint this season.
Abboud missed her junior season but earned playing time and experience in her freshman and sophomore years.
The Scot women open their season on Nov. 15 at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.