Published: October 28, 2009 11:33 pm         

Metro Roundup: Rose men’s team picked seventh, women eighth in HCAC

The Rose-Hulman men’s and women’s basketball teams have been picked to finish seventh and eighth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, in a preseason poll of league coaches released Wednesday.

The men’s basketball team received 34 poll points after finishing 9-16 overall and 4-12 in HCAC play last season. The women’s basketball squad earned 21 points after an 8-16 campaign and a 4-12 league mark.

The men’s squad features the return of two honorable mention all-conference selections from last winter. Sophomore Blake Knotts led the Engineers in scoring at 11.5 points per game, and senior Jeff McCartney contributed 9.9 points per contest. Rose returns five letter winners and features eight program newcomers this season.

On the women’s side, sophomore Alisa Dickerson earned a spot on the league’s all-freshman team after averaging 10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Junior Donna Marsh led the team in rebounding and blocked shots, and junior Eli Baca added a team-high 91 assists.

Rose opens the men’s season with an exhibition game at Indiana State University on Tuesday, before heading to Millikin for the season opener on Nov. 15. The women’s squad opens at the Wilmington College Tipoff Tournament on Nov. 20-21.



HCAC Preseason Polls

(Team, votes, first place votes in parentheses)

Men — Transylvania 70 (4), Defiance 59 (2), Anderson 56 (3), Hanover 52, Franklin 48, Manchester 43, Rose-Hulman 34, Bluffton 26, Mt. St. Joseph 17.

Women — Hanover 72 (3), Transylvania 71 (4), Franklin 71 (2), Bluffton 52, Manchester 37, Anderson 35, Defiance 30, Rose-Hulman 21, Mt. St. Joseph 16.

• • •

In other basketball:

• Middle school results — The following middle school results were reported to the Tribune-Star on Wednesday:



Boys

Sixth grade — Woodrow Wilson “A” 40 (Braxton Poore 12), North Clay 18; Woodrow Wilson “B” 45 (Evan Poole 12), North Clay 2.