LOCAL COLLEGE NOTES
Tracking the Bears
• Meghan Fornaro is finishing her senior season strong. The Coast Guard Academy standout was named New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Week on Monday in women's basketball after averaging 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals in victories over Smith and Emerson. She's the league's leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points per game. She's first on the Bears in 3-point field goals (31), assists (71) and steals (35). The Bears (10-8, 7-3) reside in fourth place in the conference heading into this week's action. • For the second time this season, freshman Kristen Young has been chosen as the NEWMAC's Co-Swimmer of the Week. She finished first in three individual events — 100 freestyle (54.77), 200 freestyle (1:58.61) and 100 butterfly (1:00.86) — and a swam on leg on the winning 400 medley relay team in a win over Wesleyan last week.
Mariners riding a wave
• It was another outstanding week for Mitchell College's Domenico Santiago, and another New England Collegiate Conference Rookie of the Week honor in men's basketball. It was his fourth straight and fifth overall. Santiago helped the Mariners to a perfect 3-0 week, including victories over conference foes Newbury and Elms. He averaged 19.7 points and 12 rebounds. In an overtime win against Elms, he scored 23 points and had a season-high 20 rebounds. His rebound total was the highest by a Mitchell freshman in the program's Division III history. For the week, he shot 80 percent (28-for-35) from the floor. Senior teammate Parris Hill completed the Mitchell sweep of NECC weekly honors by being selected Player of the Week. He averaged 30 points, nine rebounds and 2.7 assists. He had a season-high 37 points on 15for-20 shooting and eight rebounds against Newbury. Mitchell also defeated Conn College for the third straight time in the series between two New London schools. The surging Mariners (7-9, 5-4) have climbed to fourth in the NECC standings.
Camel highlights
• This is an important regular-season ending stretch for the Connecticut College men's basketball team. The Camels (12-8, 3-4) are fighting for a spot in the conference tournament, sitting in seventh place. The top eight qualify. After attempting to snap a three-game losing streak on Wednesday at Western Connecticut, Conn completes the regular season with NESCAC games against Williams (13-7, 3-3) on Sunday, Colby (12-7, 1-5) on Feb. 12 and Bowdoin (9-7, 2-4) on Feb. 13. In the home regular season finale on Sunday, the Camels will honor senior captain Bo McKinley. He has 624 points, 146 rebounds, 188 assists and 52 steals in his four-year career. • The women's basketball team is attempting to host a NESCAC tournament game for the first time in school history. The third-place Camels (15-3, 5-2) need a strong finish to take one of the top four spots and earn a home playoff game. Of their five remaining games, three are against NESCAC foes. They face Williams (14-5, 3-3) and Colby (11-8, 3-3), two teams tied for fifth place, and fourth-place Bowdoin (15-5, 4-2). • The men's hockey team will host their fifth annual Green Dot game on Saturday, facing Tufts in New London. The Green Dot program focuses on preventing power-based personal violence through bystander intervention. • A tough defense has helped the women's hockey team post a 10-7-1 overall record, 4-5-1 in the conference. The Camels are second in the conference with a 1.44 goals-against average. Junior goalie Kath
erine Chester owns a 1.47 goals against average, ranking her fourth in the league in that department. She is aided by juniors
Julie Beattie and Paige Michel. • Both squash teams will compete in the NESCAC Championships starting Friday at Trinity College.
Around the region
• Eastern Connecticut State University senior Rebecca Stewart earned two All-Little East Conference honors during the league's women's swimming and diving championships Saturday in Dartmouth, Mass. Stewart, a Niantic resident, placed second in the 1,650 yard freestyle in 18 minutes, 43.30 seconds, and also swam a leg on the runner-up 400 freestyle relay team that also included Norwich Free Academy graduate Jessica Charron. • In other Eastern news, senior Lee Cat
tanach of New London ran the nation's best 800-meter indoor time in Division III at the Boston University Terrier Classic on Saturday. It was the first time he competed in that event since earning All-America honors last season's national championship. Cattanach placed 15th overall out of 145 runners in 1:51.77. Taking into account the banked track conversion, his time stood at 1:53.37, the best in the nation in Division III. For his accomplishment, he was named the Little East Conference athlete of the week for men's track and field. He's the school record holder in the indoor 800 at 1:50.86. • Providence College's Kris Dunn is in the running for another national honor. The former New London High School star is one of 10 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Bob Cousy Award, which is given to the nation's top point guard. Dunn is second in the nation in steals (3.2) and eighth in assists (6.9). Dunn is on the list with BYU's Kyle Collinsworth, Indiana's Yogi Ferrell, Iowa State's Monte Morris, Kentucky's Tyler Ullis, Maryland's Melo Trimble, Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson, Oakland's Khalil Felder, SMU's Nic Moore and Gary Payton, Jr., of Oregon State. • UConn senior forward Breanna Stew
art made the weekly American Athletic Conference honor roll after averaging 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in wins over Tulsa and Memphis. • Junior guard Carlee Putnam of Niantic scored a team-high 16 points for Saint Joseph of Hartford in a 90-59 loss to St. Joseph's (Maine) on Saturday. Putnam, a Bacon Academy graduate, is leading the team in scoring (14.1) and converted 3-pointers (42). She also is averaging 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists. • East Lyme's Zach Kosakowski, a St. Michael's College sophomore, received his first Northeast-10 Conference Swimmer of the Week award. He placed first in both the 50 butterfly (25.76 seconds) and 100 breaststroke (1:06.59) in a meet against Norwich University last week. He increased his season victory total to 17 overall, including 11 individual triumphs. For submissions to college notes, please email g.keefe@theday.com
— Gavin Keefe