Owl hoop and swim teams set for semester break trips

KEENE, N.H. 12/22/09 - It will be a quick holiday break for Keene State men's and women's basketball and swim teams.  Shortly after returning campus, all four Owl teams will hit the road for semester break trips.

The Keene State women's basketball team travels to Phoenix, where they will play in the Trip Sports Grand Canyon Classic at Southwestern University.  The Owls will face Goucher (Md.) College (3 p.m.) on Dec. 29 and either Baruch (N.Y.) College or Wisconsin-Oshkosk (TBA) on Dec. 30.

The Owl men's basketball team heads to Scranton College in Pennsylvania for the PNC Holiday Invitational.   KSC goes up against Pennsylvania College of Technology in a first-round game on Jan 2 (5:30 p.m.).  Scranton will play Hunter (N.Y.) College in the second opening-round game.  The consolation (2 p.m.) and championship games (4 p.m.) will take place on Jan. 3.

Looking for warmer weather, the Keene State swim teams will spend five days (Dec. 30- Jan. 6) in Puerto Rico where they will train and compete in an Invitational with Ithaca (N.Y.) College. 

After winning its first five games of the season, the KSC women's basketball team (5-2) has sputtered of late, dropping two out of its last three games to nationally ranked Amherst College (72-47) and Southern Maine (61-46). 

"We're clicking on three cylinders right now and we need all five of them clicking in order for the ship to run smoothly," said Keene State Coach Keith Boucher.  "Our entire focus is all about getting better."

"Although we've been able to put away mediocre teams, we haven't reached the point where we can put away good teams," said senior center Jen Cleaveland.  "That's something we need to learn to do."

Coming off the break, Boucher is concerned about the fitness level of his team heading into the Classic.  "Teams that do well in these tournaments are the ones with self-motivated players who work on their game during the break," Boucher said.  "This is a reward for their hard work, but you have to understand where not going to Arizona for the weather or sight-seeing.  We're going out there to play in a tournament and win a tournament."

Keene State senior Kristin Degou is expected to reach the 1,000-point career milestone during the trip.  She will enter the game against Goucher with 983 points. Boucher is also closing in on a milestone.  He is five wins shy of the 300-career victory mark.

After spending last year's break in the Bahamas, the Keene State men will spend the first few day of the New Year in Scranton.  "Nothing against Scranton, but it's not the No. 1 place to spend the New Year,' said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.  "But we wanted to get out of our comfort zone a little bit."

Ending its semester with feel-good wins over Mass. College (96-78) and Southern Maine (92-82), a young Keene State College team will bring a 5-5 record into the Scranton Tournament.

Despite his teams' inconsistent play, Colbert has enjoyed his first semester.  "This team has a great chemistry and a toughness that I love," he said.  "Their upside is enormous considering how long they're going to be together."

As far as the tournament is concerned, Colbert says he's been so busy tending to his own team; he hasn't had much time to scout his opponents. 

Pennsylvania College of Technology is 3-5 while Hunter College brings a 5-4 mark in the tournament.  Scranton, which features junior guard Zach Ashworth, one of 72 finalists for the Bob Cousy award, is 6-4.

Fresh off their record-setting performances at the ECAC and Little East Championships respectively, the Keene State men's and women's swim teams move their semester break headquarters from Florida to Puerto Rico this year.  "We were just looking to give the team a different look and the weather in Puerto Rico is pretty consistent," said KSC Coach Jack Fabian.  "This is the roughest time of the season.  A trip like this helps everyone pull through the winter and get ready for the grind of championships."

Krissy Trutor says she is looking forward to the change in environment.  "It will be fun to go some place different my senior year," she said.  "I know it's not going to be a vacation because Jack will be tough on us.  But it will be great practicing outside in the warm weather and a 50-meter pool.  I love the training trips because the team gets closer through the tough practices and the down time."

"I'm looking forward to being in a different culture,' said senior Domingo Rose.  "I've been all over Europe, but never to the Caribbean."

There will be a new face in the pool next semester for the Owls as Cody Larrimore rejoins the team.  Larrimore won a combined nine New England Championship races as a freshman and sophomore before deciding to take last year off.  "I was just burnt out and needed some time away from the pool," he said.  I'm looking forward to coming back and helping the team."

So is Fabian.  "Cody was a powerhouse. One of the best swimmers we've ever had," said Fabian.  "The fact that he worked so hard to return shows how much he missed being a part of the program and how important it was to him."