Smith College Athletics

Smith College Athletics WINTER NEWSLETTER

The 2017 Smith Athletics winter season officially came to an end at the conclusion of the 2017 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. Here is a look at how each program fared following a record breaking winter season from the Pioneers!

Head coach Kim Bierwert earned his 200th career win at the helm of the Pioneers on November 15th in a 128-101 victory against Elms College. Bierwert boasts a career record of 202-161-3 and finishes his 40th year leading the Smith College swimming and diving program. He was named NEWMAC Diving Coach of the Year following the conference championships.

The Pioneers earned a 4th place finish at the Hamilton Invitational followed by a 2nd place showing at the Seven Sisters Championship. At the four day New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships, the Pioneers broke five school records on their way to a 7th place finish.

First year Kate Niemiec (pictured left) and senior Eliza Cummings (pictured right) each set individual school records. As the lead off leg of the 400 medley relay, Niemiec broke the school record in the 100 back with her time of 59.95, besting the previous time of 1:00.52 set in 1997. Cummings left her mark on the Smith record books by breaking her own school record in the 200 free. She clocked in a time of 1:56.08 during trials and improved in the finals with a sixth place time of 1:56.07.

The foursome of Eliza Cummings, Desi Stoyanova, Haley Markos, and Abby Onos posted a time of 7:55.62 to finish 6th overall in the 800 freestyle relay. That time crushed the previous mark of 8:07.31 set in 1981.

The quartet of Eliza Cummings, Kate Niemiec, Haley Markos, and Abby Onos set the new mark in the 200 Free Relay at 1:40.20 while Cummings, Markos, Onos, and Jenny Huo teamed up or a 7th place finish and a new school record in the 400 free relay with their time of 3:38.09.

In the 3-meter diving competition, junior Elly Stone placed fourth overall with a score of 468.35 while first year Shoshana Werblow finished 10th (427.70) and qualified for regionals in both the 3-meter and 1-meter.

At the 2017 NCAA Division III Diving Regional, Elly Stone registered an 11th place finish on the 3-meter board with a score of 425.65 while first year Shoshana Werblow claimed 25th place with 356.55 points. On the 1-meter, Stone tallied 430.50 points for a 6th place finish while Werblow was 25th (369.35).

In her first appearance at the NCAA Championships, Elly Stone became Smith's first All-American since Jenica Parson in 2013. She earned Honorable Mention All-America honors on the 3-meter and finished 6th on the 1-meter to become a two-time All-American.

Sophomore captain Amelia Stapleton

The Smith College indoor track & field team put together a solid season highlighted by a number of strong individual performances. The Pioneers opened 2017 with a 7th place showing at their home meet followed by a 4th place finish at the Wesleyan Invitational.

Iris Afantchao (left) and Frances Duncan (right)

Iris Afantchao and Frances Duncan each qualified for the New England Division III Championships in their first season as indoor track and field student-athletes. Afantchao competed in the high jump while Duncan finished 13th in the 1,000m with a time of 3:08.60.

Cassie Naranjo put forth an outstanding indoor season as the sophomore established a new school record in the high jump at the New England Division III Championships. Her mark of 5'5.25" (1.66m) broke the 18-year old school record previously held by Teresa Winstead in 1999 and also earned her All-New England honors.

Naranjo earned All-New England honors in the high jump event at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Open New England Indoor Championship. She finished with a mark of 1.61 meters (5'3.25"), finishing fifth in a field of Division I, II, and III competitors.

Zoe Rubinstein set new heights for herself and the Smith track and field team as the junior qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships in Naperville, Illinois. Along the way, Rubinstein finished in the top-3 seven times during meets this season.

Rubinstein competed at the New England Division III Championships and the Open New England Championships, earning All-New England honors for top-8 finishes.

At the NCAA Championships, Rubinstein became Smith's first All-American since Etta Grover-Silva in 2010. Rubinstein tied for fourth with a personal best mark of 3.75 meters (12-03.50).

The Smith College basketball team put together a memorable 2016-2017 campaign where the Pioneers finished 18-9 overall, 9-7 in the NEWMAC and made an appearance in the conference semifinals.

Sophomore Kennedy Guest-Pritchett was named to the All-Tournament Team of the 2016 Tyler Tip-Off Tournament.

The Pioneers began the season with wins over Daniel Webster and Colby-Sawyer to clinch the 2016 Tyler Tip-Off Tournament crown. Guest-Pritchett and junior Paige Marquez were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Sophomore Erin Hanley (pictured left) and Mandy Castro (pictured right)

The non-conference schedule was highlighted by a record-setting performance in Smith's 111-103 win over Westfield State on December 10. Guest-Pritchett (24 points), Mandy Castro (25 points), and Erin Hanley (23 points) each set career-highs for scoring in a game while the Pioneer offense set new program records for points in a game (111), field goal percentage (60.7 percent 37-of-61), made free throws (30), and free throw attempts (46). This win sparked a six-game win streak for Smith.

A 9-7 record in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference earned the Pioneers the No. 5 seed and a meeting against MIT in the conference quarterfinals.

A career-high performance of 12 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore Katy McClellan powered the basketball team to a 77-70 upset of fourth-seeded MIT in the NEWMAC quarterfinals. It was Smith's first NEWMAC Tournament win since the 2013-14 season when the Pioneers beat Babson for a berth in the NEWMAC Championship game. The Pioneers advanced to semifinals and got knocked out by the eventual conference champion Babson Beavers.

Sophomore Kennedy Guest-Pritchett averaged a double-double of 15.3 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game. The Fairburn, Georgia native Guest-Pritchett was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team and was selected to the D3hoops.com All-Region Third Team.

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Smith College Athletics WINTER NEWSLETTER

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