As the winter season comes to an end, Springfield College’s swimming and diving team as well as basketball are in their final stretch — most notably, competing in the NEWMAC tournament and Championship.
The men’s swimming and diving team put up a major placing in their NEWMAC championship, which spanned over four days this past week. The Pride finished third out of seven teams — their best finish since 2013, and was fueled by several outstanding performances.
Christian Butler stole the spotlight in the diving category, where he won the 3-meter board and came in second on the 1-meter board, but was more impressively named the NEWMAC diver of the year for the second year in a row as just a sophomore. Matthew Kenvin put up a historic time in the 200-breast (1:59.90), which locked up the gold medal in the event. The time was also good for a school record, and was classified as a B cut time, meaning he’s considered for Nationals.
Other notable performances are Luke Zonghetti getting third in the 100-free with a time of 45.79 seconds, and Jonathan Chan who broke the school record in the 100-fly, re-breaking his own record, and placed fourth in the event.
Women’s swimming and diving placed fourth out of 10 teams in the NEWMAC championships. Nina Lamb placed second in the 200-breast with a time of 2:18.55 which was the team’s best performance of the weekend. She was also a part of the 400-free relay squad along with Natalie Norbut, Kay Shen and Natalie Chamberlin who got the bronze medal in the race.
Men’s basketball fell to Emerson Tuesday night in the first round of the NEWMAC tournament 67-50. The Pride stayed in the game in the first half only down four in a defensive battle, but the Lions got out to a 14-5 first half run and maintained that lead for the rest of the game. Hunter Matteson showed promise for years to come however, as the first-year scored nine points in just eight minutes of play. Jarron Flynn finished with nine points along with a steal, as the grad transfer ended his season as one of the most efficient scorers in the NEWMAC, shooting 58 percent from the field. Head coach Michael McClendon led his team to 10 wins this year, good enough for the most since he took over in 2021, along with earning his first appearance in the playoffs. Springfield is returning a majority of the team next year and has a bright future, including four first-years and five sophomores.
Women’s basketball faces MIT in the NEWMAC quarterfinals on Feb. 26 night in Blake Arena. The Pride ended the regular season 15-10 with a 7-4 record in conference play. Angie Czeremcha has led the way for the Pride so far, as the senior has averaged 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, and will most likely be on the All-NEWMAC first team.
The last time the Pride played the Engineers, it ended in a 25 point rout for MIT. Springfield led 18-9 at the end of the first quarter, but MIT went on a 43-13 run spanning 20 minutes of play, and held Springfield to just 24 percent from the field. That mark is their worst of the season, and the 42 points were the third least so far. If Springfield wins this game, it will be decided by shot selection and final movement, as the Pride have had recent turnover struggles. The team has been on a roll in the win category, as it has won five of the last six games, most in convincing fashion. MIT will also have to face a roaring crowd in Blake Arena.