As fall sports conference play comes to a close, winter sports begin their training. The men’s and women’s basketball rosters have been finalized and preseason practices have begun for the 2013 season.
The men’s team has many new players on the team this year due to the loss of four starters. As of now, no captains have been named and may not be for the remainder of the season.
“We actually have guys in every class who have stepped into leadership roles, which has been fun to see,” said Coach Hannan, “Even if a freshman steps up and tries to help a senior, it has been a good dynamic.”
“I think [the start of the season] is good. We have a lot of young guys who are doing well and adjusting well,” said sophomore Brandon Camacho, “We have a lot of guys who have come back and are ready to step up and play better. It looks pretty good this year, so we will see.”
The men recently had a scrimmage against Wells College. Coach Hannan was excited for the team to play against a team that plays in a very different style.
“Ultimately, it boils down to making sure that we are better than last year, not that there was anything bad about last year, but we want to keep improving both on and off the court,” said Hannan, “Spiritually, academically, athletically we want to continue to improve each year.”
The women’s team has only six returners. There are ten new players including seven freshmen and three juniors. Senior Kristen Moose and sophomore Esther Webb have been named captains.
“We are starting off really strong. We had a really good scrimmage on Saturday and we are working well as a team,” said sophomore Maisie Pipher. “We want to be strong in the new league and beat Roberts Wesleyan.”
“It is a great group of girls this year, we got along really well together on and off the court,” said junior Hannah Fink. “I think we are all pretty focused and hard-working so it’s a good group to be a part of. Coach has been running a really good program.”
The team recently had their first scrimmage against Keuka, a strong team which was 24-4 last season with returning starters. Houghton was short a couple key players due to their involvement in other sports; yet, Mucher was pleased with their first performance.
“We have some strengths: we run the floor really well, work well together as a team, better than we did last year right from the start at this point,” said Mucher. “I think it’s because our team chemistry off the court is so strong…. The girls really enjoy each other and that really affects the team.”
Mucher noted the play of sophomore Maisie Pipher as a center and excitement for Marie to play after tearing both ACLs. Juniors Hannah Fink and Stephany Ellison and freshmen Alicia Needham, Grace Bealor, and Hannah Manwaring were noted as new players having an immediate impact.
“I think it is going to take a semester to get into things and get used to the system and the expectations,” said Mucher. “By second semester, when all we have is conference games, I think we will be ready when it comes.”