As fall runs its course, athletics prepare
for the storm that winter sports will bring.
Women’s basketball
The women’s basketball team was voted
to finish six out of nine teams. The Colonels
finished fifth last year and lost in the
Quarterfinals to Misericordia University
51-43. Tara Macciocco returns for her fifth
season as the head coach for the Colonels.
Senior Brianna Horton returns as
the teams’ top 3-point scorer with 30
3-pointers last season. Horton also had
a 7.6 scoring average for the team with a
season total of 180 points whereas junior
Julia Marino led the Colonels with 86
assists last season.
The women’s basketball team will be
competing in 25 regular season games
with 16 of them being Middle Atlantic
Conference (MAC) games and 13 of them
being home. Their first game will be away at
Keystone College on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. Their
first home game will be Nov. 11 against
Penn State Alto in the Marts Center.
“The team is looking really strong this
year,” said graduate student Kendra Smith.
“We have a veteran team that I think is
doing a really great job at leading the way
for our underclassmen. The intensity of
practices are at a new level this year and
everyone works to push each other and get
better everyday.”

Men’s basketball
Men’s basketball was voted sixth in the
MAC preseason poll. The team finished
8-17, 5-11 on the season last year under
Izzi Metz, his ninth year as head coach.
Junior Matthew Davidheiser led the
Colonels with 38 3-pointers last season as
Sean Coller had 33 and sophomore Cayden
Merrifield with 29. The team lost Coller
to graduation. Defensively, junior Trent
Fisher led the Colonels with 38 blocks.
The Colonels will host Clarks Summit

University for their home opener on Nov.
8 at 7 p.m. in the Marts Center.
Women’s ice hockey
The women’s ice hockey team returns
with a new head coach. Dave LaBaff, hired
this past June, will take on his first season
coaching for the Colonels as he spent the
last eight seasons at SUNY Canton.
Senior Julie Patterson led the Colonels
with six goals last season as Kendall Castro
had five and junior Rachel Morey with
four. Valerie Koenig and Castro, who have
both graduated, had six assists as Morey
and Patterson followed with five each.
The Colonels will be having 25 regular
season games, including their home
opener against seventh ranked Nazareth.
During preseason polls, the team was
ranked fifth in the MAC and 10th in the
United Collegiate Hockey Conference
(UCHC).
Men’s ice hockey
On the other hand, the men’s ice hockey
team continues on under the coaching of
Tyler Hynes. Hynes returns for his fourth
season as head coach for the Colonels.
“Last year was a tremendous season for
our program and set a bar we are trying
to uphold,” said Hynes. “We return 17
players from last year’s team who will have
more responsibility leadership wise and an
expectation to produce.”
The team finished 20-5-1 on the season
and three of their players were announced
as Players To Watch, according to the
UCHC. Graduate students Phil Erickson
and Scott Mueller and senior Michael
Paterson-Jones were the players named.
Erickson tallied 26 points on 14 goals
and 12 assists last season whereas Mueller
tallied seven. Paterson-Jones, goaltender,
has 1,212 career saves and 33 wins.
Men’s and women’s swim
The men’s and women’s swim team is
currently 0-2 on the season under new
head coach Christopher Paynter. The men’s

team fell to FDU-Florham 62-102 and
Messiah University 27-167 in a tri-meet on
Oct. 22. The women’s team fell 174-4 and
164-7.

Graduate student Shane Miller and first-
year Ashton Dainty finished fourth and

fifth consecutively in the 200 freestyle with
Miller finishing with a time of 2:05.87 and
Dainty with a 2:07.27 in the six swimmer
race. Miller went on to place third in the
200 freestyle relay with Dainty, senior
Liam White and junior Stephen Verosko
finishing with a time of 1:44.53.
Senior Maddy Kinard is the only
returning female swimmer for the
Colonels. Kinard placed fifth out of 10
swimmers in the 100 backstroke and sixth
in the 200 backstroke.
Wilkes will face Dickinson College and

Lebanon Valley College on Nov. 5 for a tri-
meet in Carlisle, Pa.

Wrestling

Wrestling will be hitting the mats

starting on Nov. 5 at the Ned McGinley
Invitational Tournament (NMIT), which
will be hosted by King’s College.
The team returns under Jon Laudenslager
who is in his 20th season as head coach.
Sophomore Austin Fashour returns after
going 32-6 during his first season as a
Colonel in the 125. Last season, Fashour
placed second place at NMIT, second at
the Wildcat Invitational, first at the Blue
Jay Classic, first at the Wilkes Invitational
and second at the SE Regionals.
“The team looks good,” said senior
Cody Dix. “The young guys are keeping
the energy levels high and there is a lot of
talent on the mats.”
Senior Jack Bauer will also be returning
after going 21-9 his junior season, adding
to his 40-24 overall record in the 133.

For more information on all of the
winter athletic events and contests, go to
www.gowilkesu.com.