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2009 RIT Mens Basketball NCAA Tournament Notes

The RIT Mens Basketball team (19-8, 12-4 Empire 8) earned a spot in the 2009 NCAA Tournament by

defeating Nazareth 76-71 in overtime to claim the Empire 8 conference championship. The win gave RIT its

rst conference title since the E8 moved to a playoff format in 2002-03. It is the Tigers seventh trip to the

NCAA tournament and rst since the 1999-2000 season.

RIT center Mark Carson was named Empire 8 tournament MVP after leading all players with 27 points, 13rebounds and four steals in the championship game. It was his 24th double-double of the season. The senior

captain was recently named a 2008-09 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Third Team Academic All-American, a

rst for the RIT Mens basketball program. Carson averages 19.7 points per game and leads all of college

basketball (Divisions I, II and III) with 14.3 rebounds per game. He led the Empire 8 with 1.7 blocks per game.

In the regular season nale, Carson became the 21st RIT player to surpass 1,000 career points, netting a

personal best 31 points, and adding a career-high eight blocks in the contest. The center averages 8.8 free-throw

attempts per game, sinking as many as 13 in a game this season. Carson made a season-high 12 eld goals and

went 4-for-4 from the free throw line for 28 points to lead RIT over Elmira. He is second in the schools

history in eld goal percentage (.594) and rebounds (786), and needs just 12 boards to break the RIT single-

season record.

With his stellar play in the Empire 8 tournament, freshman guard Marcus Lowe took home his second E8

Rookie of the Week honor. He averaged 11 points in two games off the bench, and converted two free throws

late in overtime to seal the title for RIT. Lowe appeared in every game in reserve, and reached double gures in

points nine times, including each of the last six games.

Junior forward Scott Young received Empire 8 honorable mention accolades. He nished second on the team

in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game. His 71 three pointers place him fth on the Tigers all-time single-

season list. He shoots an even 40% from beyond the arc. Young matched his career-high of 23 points three times

this season.

Young, co-captain Adam Sweet, and sophomore Shawn Roe are the Tigers primary three point threats. Roe

made 40-of-96 shots (41%) from downtown, and shoots better than his average from three. He sank ve three

pointers in a game three times this season, including a perfect 5-for-5, 15 point performance in a win over

Hartwick. Sweet, a junior, was good on 38 out of 117 tries from deep (32%). He connected on a season-high

four three pointers in RITs 74-59 win over Utica. Young sank as many as seven three pointers on two

occasions, scoring 23 points in each game, both against Nazareth. Combined, the three players shot 38 percent

from beyond the arc with 149 three point baskets.

Tigers sophomore point guard Nate Korinchakis a go-to guy with the game on the line. In an early-season

game at Nazareth, he sank a three pointer with six seconds remaining to tie the game and send it to overtime,

where the Tigers went on to win 94-81. Back on January 11, against then undefeated and 12th-ranked Ithaca,Korinchak swished a half-court shot as time expired to give RIT an 87-84 victory and sole possession of rst

place in the Empire 8. Five days later, Korinchak came up with a huge block with seven seconds to go, then

made a deciding free throw with 1.5 seconds left in a 62-61 win over SUNY Brockport. Kornichak also

converted a three-point play with 2.9 seconds left in regulation to give RIT an 84-83 lead in a loss to Nazareth

on Feb. 17. He has started all 27 games for the Tigers, and averages 7.9 points per game.

By defeating Utica 65-62 in the Empire 8 seminals, RIT Head Coach Bob McVean notched his 400th win at

the school. He owns a 401-276 record in 26 seasons with RIT, and is 459-334 in his head coaching career. He

has led the Tigers to six NCAA appearances and six Empire 8 titles. McVean needs one more victory for his

seventh 20-win season at RIT and rst since 2002-03.

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2009 RIT Womens Swimming and Diving Wrap-up

The RIT womens swimming and diving team had a respectable 2008-2009 season, with several swimmers

competing at very high levels. As a team, The Tigers won ve of 11 dual meets and nished 8th out of 16 teams

at the Upper New York State Collegiate Swimming championships.

Caitlyn Burr had a fantastic junior season to lead the way for RIT. She became RITs rst All-American since

1993 by earning honorable mentions in the 200-yard buttery and 200-yard individual medley events at theNCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. She placed 16th in the preliminaries of the 200-IM

with a time of 2:06.29, ensuring her All-American accolades. Burr followed up with an 11th-place showing in

the 200-buttery preliminaries, clocking in at 2:05.76, just 16 one-hundredths of a second short of qualifying

for the nals.

Burr won three individual titles at the 2009 UNYSCSA state championships, breaking her own school record in

each event: 100 and 200-yard buttery, and 200-IM. She did not lose a single race at any of those distances dur-

ing the regular season. Burr also contributed on three school-record relays in the 200 and 800-yard freestyle, as

well as the 200-yard medley relay events. For her outstanding performance, she was awarded the 2009

UNYSCSA Swimmer of the Meet.

Burr set the sixth fastest time in the nation this season in the 200-IM (2:05.64), ninth fastest in the 200-buttery

(2:05.65), and 12th fastest time in the 100-buttery (56.71). She was named Empire 8 Swimmer of the Week

ve times in 2008-09.

Burr currently holds seven individual and ve relay records at RIT. Eight of her 12 records were improved upon

this year. She knocked more than ten seconds off her record time in the 500-yard freestyle, and nearly seven

from her record time in the 200-buttery. Overall, Burr won 38 events in 2008-09, and took at least one race in

each of RITs 11 meets.

The team was bolstered by several standout performers throughout their roster.

Freshmen swimmers Sara Kucsan and Rachel Lorenz each had 18 rst-place nishes on the year. At the state

championships, Kucsan, Lorenz, Burr, and senior Angie Palomaki combined to nish fth in the 200-yard

freestyle relay in 1:40.48, breaking the previous school record by three-hundredths of second. The same four-

some placed ninth in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:37.73, just missing the school record. Kucsan,

Lorenz, and Burr joined forces again, this time with freshman Kersia Hopson, to place ninth in the 200-medley

relay, clocking in a school-record 1:51.85.

Angie Palomaki had a very strong senior year, winning 11 events throughout the season. She partnered with

Burr, Lorenz, and freshman Courtney Schwarting to crush the RIT record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a

time of 7:55.07, good for third place at the state championships. Individually, Palomaki swam 14th in the 200-

yard freestyle in 1:59.54.

Sophomore Cat Jones was RITs top diver in 2008-09. She won ten events during the season, ve at both one

and three meters. Jones nished second in the state championships, scoring 340.50 in the one-meter dive.

A number of swimmers pitched in with multiple victories for RIT, including: Schwarting, Colleen Davis, Nicole

Mallory, and Emily Rapchick-Weidman.