NEW HAVEN, Conn. - After a promising 2008-09
season was derailed by a series of injuries, the Yale women’s
basketball team returns seven letterwinners from that season,
including four starters, for the 2009-10 campaign. Chris Gobrecht,
entering her fifth year as the Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head
Coach of Women’s Basketball, has also added a
nationally-recognized recruiting class to a team that knocked off
North Carolina State and came within 15 seconds of defeating
Kentucky one season ago.
“The returning players have a great foundation of experience,
and know how to be successful playing Yale basketball,” said
Gobrecht. “Combining the returning players with a strong
recruiting class, we finally have the depth to make our system
work.”
The Captain
Ashley Carter will serve as the captain of the Bulldogs for her
senior campaign. The three-year veteran has played in 82 games in
her Yale career, including 27 contests last season. A versatile
player known for her determination and hustle, Carter had a career
game at Brown on Jan. 23, netting 13 points and hauling in nine
rebounds.
“Ashley will continue to serve this team as a great emotional
leader and a tremendous role model,” said Gobrecht of her
senior captain. “Her work ethic and commitment to the team
will be integral to our success.”
Backcourt
All three graduating seniors from the class of 2009 came from the
Yale backcourt. The Bulldogs will need to replace nearly 12 points
per game due to graduation losses, including former captain Jamie
Van Horne ‘09, who rewrote the three-point shooting record
book in her four-year career. A pair of point guards returns to the
Bulldogs’ backcourt for 2009-10, and Yale will also add a
trio of newcomers into the mix.
Returning to run the point for Yale is junior guard Yoyo
Greenfield. Playing in her first full season in 2008-09, and seeing
her first Ivy League action, Greenfield was the Bulldogs’
second-leading scorer with 9.7 points per contest. She was also a
prominent threat from beyond the arc with 32 three-point field
goals and was one of the Ancient Eight’s top free-throw
shooters with a .791 percentage (87-110) at the charity stripe.
As one of five Bulldogs to average more than 25 minutes per contest
last season, Coach Gobrecht predicts that Greenfield will benefit
greatly from Yale’s depth at the guard position. “We
will finally be able to run a two-guard system and take advantage
of Yoyo’s scoring ability this season,” said the
30-year Division I coaching veteran. “Her speed is perfect
for our style of play.”
Sophomore Brianna Segerson saw action in 25 games as a rookie in
2008-09, splitting time at both guard positions. One of
Yale’s leaders in assists and steals as a freshman, Segerson
missed three Ivy League contests due to injury.
“Brianna is our best passer and has exhibited tremendous
court vision,” said Gobrecht. “She will be an integral
part of our system, especially in the half-court game.”
Joining Yale’s backcourt will be Megan Vasquez, a
5’7” guard from Merrick, N.Y. The only player in
Sanford H. Calhoun High School history to eclipse 2,000 career
points, and the only athlete in the school’s history to have
her uniform number retired, Vasquez averaged 24.2 points, nine
rebounds, eight assists and six steals per game as a senior. The
2008-09 Nassau County Player of the Year will help fill the void
behind the arc left by Van Horne, and also adds tremendous
athleticism and ball-handling skills to the shooting guard
position.
“Megan has tremendous range and can flat-out score,”
said Gobrecht. “Her size and athleticism at the guard spot
will help us both offensively and defensively.”
Allie Messimer, a freshman guard from The Woodlands, Texas, also
enters the fold after a four-year career at College Park High
School. Messimer led the Cavaliers in scoring as a senior, and was
also a starter for the nationally prominent club team Cy-Fair Shock
Nike Elite.
Even as a guard, Coach Gobrecht will look to Messimer as an
integral contributor to the Bulldogs’ rebounding effort:
“Allie is a slashing guard who loves to crash the boards. We
haven’t had a solid rebounder in our back court in my time at
Yale.”
Another highly-touted recruit coming to New Haven is Aarica West, a
guard from Buena Park, Calif. A 2008 graduate of Vista Murrieta
High School, West was rated as one of the top 50 players in the
class of 2008. She considered several top Division I programs
before her heart fell for Yale after a visit. A First Team
All-League selection and her team’s Most Valuable Player as a
senior, West was also named her team MVP in a post-graduate year at
Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Mass.
“Aarica’s ability will add a number of new
possibilities to our offense,” said Gobrecht. “She is a
versatile player with the skills of a guard and the strength of a
post player.”
Frontcourt
Just as it has been for the past three years, the frontcourt of the
Bulldogs’ offense will be led by senior Melissa Colborne.
Colborne was an All-Ivy Second Team selection in 2008-09 after
leading the Bulldogs and finishing second in the Ivy League with
15.6 points per game. She also led the Ivy League in free throw
percentage (.808, 156-for-193). Colborne cemented her place in Yale
history last season, as she became the 16th Bulldog to score 1,000
career points. The 2006-07 Ivy League Rookie of the Year has
climbed to ninth on the all-time list, entering her senior campaign
with 1,171 career points. With one season left, the Calgary, Alta.
native is already Yale’s all-time leader with 413 career free
throws.
“The Ivy League has been unable to stop her for three
years,” said Gobrecht of her premiere offensive weapon.
“There’s something that clicks in senior players,
especially when they have a great shot at winning, and I think Mel
is hungry to finish her career right. A driven, determined Melissa
Colborne is a scary thing for the rest of the Ivy
League.”
After her All-Ivy caliber season was cut short due to injury in
2008-09, forward Haywood Wright returns to the lineup for her
senior season. Wright averaged 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game
through the Bulldogs first 21 games, and, despite missing seven
contests with a knee injury, her 34 blocks were a team best and
ranked her sixth in the Ivy League.
“Haywood is determined to be ready to go for her senior
season,” said Gobrecht. “She was our Most Improved
Player last season, and we are anxious to have her back in
uniform.”
Junior Mady Gobrecht, a forward from Hamden, Conn., found herself
as the only true post player in a Bulldogs’ frontline that
was depleted by injuries last season. Gobrecht averaged 7.3 points
and 7.2 rebounds per game in 2008-09 and finished in the top ten in
the Ivy League in rebounds, assists (3.2 apg), steals (1.8 spg),
blocked shots (0.8 bpg) and offensive rebounds (2.4 orpg). Coach
Gobrecht predicts that Mady will flourish with the Yale roster at
full strength in 2009-10.
“Mady was under a lot of pressure as our only healthy post
player last season, and she will benefit greatly from our added
depth,” said Gobrecht. “She is close to breakout
year.”
Junior Lindsey Williams, who missed all of last season due to
injury, will look to pick up where she left off in a freshman
campaign that saw her land as a unanimous selection to the All-Ivy
Rookie Team. Williams averaged 8.6 points and a team-best 6.6
rebounds in 2007-08.
“Lindsey is a gifted player,” said Gobrecht. “We
missed her last season after an outstanding freshman year, and she
is anxious to get back on the court.”
The breakout player of the 2008-09 Bulldogs was sophomore Michelle
Cashen. Cashen stepped up in the final seven games of her freshman
campaign after Wright’s injury, averaging 6.9 points and 7.0
rebounds per game in that time. The Belle Harbor, N.Y. native was
selected to the All-Ivy Rookie Team for her performance.
“Michelle is a skilled, intelligent player who I think is
going to keep getting better,” said Gobrecht.
Another player who stepped up due to injuries in 2008-09 was junior
Victoria Perez. Perez, who played just seven minutes as freshman,
appeared in 10 contests last season, including the final six Ivy
League games.
“Vicky is another physical presence for us under the
basket,” said Gobrecht. “I will continue to expect her
work ethic to push our other post players.”
The Bulldogs will get an offensive jumpstart in January 2010, when
sophomore forward Verena Lehner becomes eligible. Lehner, who did
not play as a freshman, is the first European player to suit up for
the women’s basketball program. The native of Gmunden,
Austria won a combined six national championships (high school and
club) in her home country, and scored a game-high 24 points in an
exhibition against Yale in the summer of 2007. Lehner was an
all-league player as well as the team MVP in both basketball and
volleyball in her senior year at the Pomfret (Conn.) School.
“Verena is the best shooting forward I’ve had at
Yale,” said Gobrecht, “She will give us a great boost
entering Ivy League play.”
A trio of freshmen rounds out the Yale frontcourt. Alicia Seelaus
will join the Bulldogs out of River Hill High School in
Clarksville, Md. A post player with the versatility to play outside
as well, Seelaus was a member of a Maryland State Championship team
as a freshman and earned a slot on the Baltimore Sun All-County
First Team last season.
“Alicia’s best attribute is that she never backs down
from any opponent,” said Gobrecht. “A tough, physical
player who can also put points on the board is hard to
find.”
Ericka von Kaeppler, a 6’0 forward from Palo Alto, Calif.,
was a three-time All-League selection and averaged a double-double
in her senior season for the Castilleja High School Gators.
“Ericka has a tremendous upside,” said Gobrecht.
“Her biggest challenge will be learning the college game, but
she is a skilled, intelligent player who will continue to
improve.”
A forward from Waban, Mass., Emily Wanger was a two-year team
captain and four-year letterwinner at the Winsor School. She was
three-time All-Eastern Independent League selection, including two
MVP nods, and is the Winsor School’s all-time leading
scorer.
“Emily can finish around the rim and finish with
contact,” said Gobrecht. “Her toughness down low will
be a great asset.”
Schedule
As is becoming tradition in the Elm City, Coach Gobrecht has lined
up a gauntlet of formidable non-conference foes prior to the always
grueling Ivy League slate. Five teams that advanced to the NCAA
Tournament in 2008-09, including Regional Finalist Arizona State,
highlight the 28-game schedule.
The home- and season-opener against Holy Cross on Nov. 13 marks the
fourth consecutive season in which the Bulldogs and Crusaders have
met. Yale won the most recent meeting in Worcester to kick off the
2008-09 campaign. After hosting Army on Nov. 17, the busy opening
week to the season concludes on Nov. 19 as Arizona State visits the
John J. Lee Amphitheater. The Sun Devils advanced to the Regional
Finals (Elite Eight) of the 2008-09 NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs will then spend Thanksgiving in Albuquerque at the
University of New Mexico Tournament. Yale will challenge Toledo on
Nov. 27 and will meet either North Carolina A&T or the host
Lobos on Nov. 28.
After a road jaunt at Bucknell and home contests against Boston
University and UC Davis, Yale closes out 2009 at intra-state rivals
Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart. The two Connecticut road contests kick
off a seven-game road swing.
While thousands of Americans will begin 2010 in Manhattan, N.Y.,
the Bulldogs will ring in the New Year in Manhattan, Kansas, as the
Wildcats from Kansas State host Yale on Jan. 2. After a Jan. 4
meeting at Colorado, a road contest at the New Jersey Institute of
Technology brings the Bulldogs back to the East Coast.
The game at NJIT marks Yale’s final tune-up for the Ivy
League slate, which begins at Brown on Jan. 15. A mid-week contest
at Bryant closes out the non-conference schedule, and the Bulldogs
will then wrap-up the home-and-home series with Brown on Jan. 22,
as the Bears travel to the Elm City. A road weekend at Penn and
Princeton on Jan. 29 and 30, home contests with Cornell and
Columbia on Feb. 5 and 6 and another road swing to Harvard and
Dartmouth on Feb. 12 and 13 bring Yale to its longest home stretch
of the season: a four game stretch featuring a quartet of Ivy
League foes. The Bulldogs will host Princeton and Penn on Feb. 19
and 20 before welcoming defending Ivy League Champion Dartmouth to
New Haven on Feb. 26 and perennial rival Harvard for Senior Night
on Feb. 27. The 2009-10 regular season concludes with a road
weekend at Columbia and Cornell on March 5 and 6.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity
