Winter break sports recap

CHARLOTTE ROCKWELL
PHOTOGRAPHER

GRACE MAIN
STAFF WRITER

1/20/2025

While the majority of students went home for Winter Break, the student-athletes on the basketball, wrestling and bowling teams stayed on campus and traveled to continue their athletic seasons.

The Alma College Women’s Basketball team is currently 6-10 with a conference record of 3-4, still yet to play nine MIAA games. Three consecutive MIAA games set the tone for the team’s place in the league with wins over Adrian (70-58) and Olivet (62-51) and a close 50-54 loss to Calvin, who they will play again on Feb. 5. 

The team has scoring highlights from senior Brooke LeRoux (‘25) and sophomore Cadence Kaminske (‘27), who tied the school record for most 3-pointers in a game with eight. 

“We have a great group of student-athletes who work hard and care about each other. It’s been a lot of fun so far and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season holds,” said Sami Stormont, Head Women’s Basketball Coach. 

The Men’s Basketball team is also about halfway through their season, with the majority of their MIAA play to come later in the season. Though their record is currently 0-15, the Scots anticipate the most important part of their season. 

“Our goal for the remainder of the season is to qualify for the MIAA post-season tournament,” said Mike Fitzpatrick, Head Men’s Basketball Coach.

“We played an extremely difficult non-conference schedule that we have hoped will prepare us for the MIAA conference schedule, as well as future seasons for our younger players,” said Fitzpatrick.

Donovan Collins (‘27) is the leading scorer this season so far with 159 points.

The Women’s Wrestling team wrestled in the North Central Open and the 60th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships over the break.  

“I think the biggest success so far has been the consistency of growth we’ve shown as a team. We’ve had athletes place at every tournament we’ve been to this season, including the historic Ken Kraft Midlands Championship, which is no small feat,” said Katlyn Pizzo, Head Women’s Wrestling Coach. 

In addition, the team had their first home dual team win against Baldwin Wallace University with a final team score of 30-2, their first in program history.

The Men’s Wrestling team has also been competing over the winter, including in the Berg Holiday Duals where they went 3-1, having wins against Otterbein, Mount St. Joseph and Waynesburg. 

“We are continuing to grow and develop as wrestlers, which is always the goal. It is great to have early and mid-season success, but the true test is how well you do at the end of the year with the Regional Tournament. Right now, we will continue to take it one competition at a time and continue to grow and develop,” said Jared Groenveld, Head Men’s Wrestling Coach. 

The team also hosted the Alma Open tournament on Jan. 19.

The Women’s Bowling team did not stay on campus to practice over break, however, before they left to take a trip to Las Vegas. 

“We visited Fremont Street, Went to Top Golf, Walked the Vegas Strip and saw the fountains at Bellagio. On our last day we went to Red Rock Canyon and explored and saw the sights,” said Kyle Woodcock, Head Women’s Bowling Coach. 

In their games in Las Vegas, the team scored their team-high three times which has been a major highlight this season. 

These teams have the most important parts of their seasons still to come, and now with peers back at school to support and cheer them on.