Northampton, MA — For the week ending 12/8/2013, Mount Holyoke’s’ Randima Ranaweera and Wesleyan’s John Steele have been named the women’s and men’s [hpow].
A [hpow] should have a significant impact on his or her team’s performance during the prior week and demonstrate sportsmanship. Coaches and Sports Information Directors may nominate players.
Randima Ranaweera (Mount Holyoke): At the Wesleyan Round Robin, 21st-ranked Mount Holyoke faced host and 20th-ranked Wesleyan. The match was close and the number 1 match was between each squads’ senior co-captain. Ranaweera faced Wesleyan’s Mary Foster, and after four games, the individual match was tied 2-2. In the fifth, Ranaweera won in extra points to capture the individual match (6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, and 12-10) and the team match. Mount Holyoke prevailed 5-4. Ranaweera won her other two matches at the round robin as well.
John Steele (Wesleyan): Wesleyan had not beaten Brown since the 1967 – 1968 season, but on Saturday in Providence, the match was tied at 4-4. Senior captain Steele faced Brown’s top player, Blake Reinson, in the deciding match. This was a rematch from last season’s Molloy Cup quarterfinals, where Reinson won in four games. The two experienced players battled to the very end, with Steele prevailing 13-11 in the fifth (9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, and 13-11) to win the individual and team match. Steele is 4-1 in his senior campaign.
