Elmira is 21-6 on the season and has not encountered Rensselaer this season. The Red Hawks will rely on the main facets that have spelled success for them this season: a strong, pressure defense and a total team effort on the offensive end. The women have a deep bench and will need a contribution from everyone against a strong Elmira squad.

Sophomore Whitney Coleman, who was named to the All-Liberty League first team, leads RPI in scoring with 12.9 points per game in conjunction with 6.4 rebounds. Senior captain Kristi Baranowski, who is averaging 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, was named as an All-Liberty League Honorable Mention as well. Both will look to provide leadership in Wednesday’s contest.

Men’s Basketball

The Red Hawks, who ended the season on a three-game losing streak, will get a chance for redemption on Wednesday night when they take on fourth seeded Ithaca College in the ECAC Playoffs at 7:30 pm.

RPI, seeded fifth, finished the regular season with an overall record of 13-12, while going 6-8 in Liberty League play. The Red Hawks will need both of the All-Liberty League second teamers to step up and lead the RPI attack. Senior Neal Wesson leads the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game, while junior Sam Simmons averages 13.7 in conjunction with 7.5 rebounds. However, a strong effort from the entire team will be needed as the men look to regain their winning ways as they were used to in the middle portion of the regular season. The entire men’s basketball team will have their work cut out for them, but the men will look to prove a lot of doubters wrong and make a name for themselves once the game clock starts rolling.

Swimming & Diving

On Saturday, the RPI men’s swimming & diving team placed third out of 14 teams in the New York State Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships with 1,050 total team points. While Alfred University finished in first, there were a number of strong Red Hawk performances.

Sophomore Steve Hall won the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:07.95 and senior Mike Scibelli finished third in the same event with a time of 2:10.65. In addition, junior Kevin Sheridan placed third in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 47.25; freshman Brian Roth’s time of 1:56.03 was good enough for fifth in the 200-meter backstroke.

The 400-freestyle relay team finished fifth with a time of 3:13.67, and in diving, senior Greg Derevianko finished second in the 3-meter event with 482.80 points.

The men do not return to action until March 14 when they will participate in the NCAA DIII Swimming & Diving Championships in Houston, Texas.

Indoor Track

On Saturday, the RPI men’s and women’s track teams competed in the New York State Indoor Championships. The men’s team placed third while the women’s team finished sixth in a tough field of competition.

Women’s individual standouts include junior Marion Albert who finished fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.81, and Jen Dias who placed fifth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.87 and third in the triple jump with a school record 11.08 meters. In addition, sophomore Cathy Malloy won the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:32.59, and the 4x400 relay team finished second with a time of 4:06.54.

On the men’s side, freshman Kyle Barden won the 500-meter run with a time of 67.24, and was also named New York State Rookie of the Year. Other strong performers include sophomore Brian Rautio who finished second to Barden in the same event with a time of 67.72, and senior Kemar Brown finished second in both the 200-meter dash and 55-meter dash with times of 22.98 and 6.49, respectively. Sophomore Justin Metzger also had a strong day, earning a second place finish in the pole vault with a height of 4.55 meters.