Team Banquet Highlights

Coach Eslinger addresses the team at the annual banquet.

The Beavers wrapped up the 2011-12 season at their annual end-of-year basketball banquet. The team enjoyed a delicious steak dinner and all members were honored and presented with various awards. The captains also thanked each coach and granted him a gift.

See more photos here.

Team awards:
Howard Vesper Trophy -- Michael Edwards
Carl Shy Freshmen of the Year -- Andrew Hogue & Bryan Joel
Leader of the Year -- Collin Murphy
Mr. Hustle -- Collin Murphy
Mr. Glue -- Ethan Boroson
Lockdown Award -- Pan Wang
Most Improved -- Alex Runkel & Pan Wang
Citizen of the Year -- Arjun Chandar
Best Dressed - Alex Runkel

Letter winners:
One year -- Andrew Hogue & Bryan Joel
Two year -- Brian Okoro & Mike Paluchniak
Three year -- Ethan Boroson, Arjun Chandar, Michael Edwards, Christophe Kunesh, Collin Murphy, Alex Runkel, & Pan Wang

Season Review: The Beavers are Evolving

Pan Wang scored in double figures in each of the last five games.

As the Caltech basketball program evolves, milestones continue to materialize. The Beavers won program changing games this year during the non-conference slate. Significant wins on the road at West Coast Baptist and Macalester preceded an exciting home win against Babson College, an always strong program from New England. With additional wins over University of Dallas and Pacifica College, all five victories mark the first time Caltech triumphed against said schools. The Beavers played competitive games against several SCIAC opponents, and along the way more records were set.

• On the season, Caltech made 158 3-pointers, breaking the record set during Coach Eslinger's first season (up from 133)
• The Beavers also eclipsed their mark set last year for 3-point attempts (455), this year upping the total to 535
• The 95 points scored in the win at West Coast Baptist are the most points scored in a road game in team lore 
• Through the initial part of the season, Caltech held high national rankings in several categories (stat, rank):
• 3-point field goals per game (9.0 per game, 21st)
• 3-point FG% (40.9%, 23rd)
• 3-point FG% defense (27.2%, 28th)
• assists per game (18.0 apg, 19th)
• Caltech finished the season ranked No. 100 in 3-point FG% defense (32%), 168th in 3-point makes per game (6.3), and 211th in steals (7.2), showing significant improvement from a year ago (up from 34.6%, 258th ... 5.3, 288th ... 5.4, 363th)
• The Beavers' 3-point defense and steals per game were good for second and third in the SCIAC, respectively.
• Junior Michael Edwards, who was named to the all-conference second team, scored his 1,000 point during the Babson game and finished the season with 1,200 career points. With the mark, he moved past the legendary Fred Anson '54 and into fourth all-time on the career scoring list. He needs just 98 more to pass George Papa '94 and become the program's scoring leader.
• Edwards scored a season-high 28 points in a home win versus Pacifica College.
• Junior Ethan Boroson tied a program record with 5 steals in the game against Babson, tying the figure set by Matt Dellatorre '09.
• Junior Alex Runkel recorded three double-doubles, including an emphatic one in a close game against Occidental where he scored 16 points and hauled in 16 rebounds.
• Juniors Collin Murphy (15 points at Redlands) and Pan Wang (20 points vs Whittier) set career-highs for points in a game.
• Sophomore Mike Paluchniak scored a season-high 10 points on two occasions (vs UC Santa Cruz and at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps).
• Freshmen Andrew Hogue and Bryan Joel etched their names into the program's top 10 for 3-point field goal percentage in a season (.333 and .367, respectively). They each scored 16 points versus La Verne, a season-high for Hogue, while Joel poured in a season-high 22 at West Coast Baptist.
• Edwards, Hogue, Joel, and Wang each hit at least four 3-pointers in one game on separate occasions.
• Seven different players led Caltech in scoring or rebounding in separate contests during the season.

2011 Team Awards Banquet

In March, The Beavers wrapped up their season with a formal and festive basketball banquet hosted by Caltech President Chameau and his wife Dr. Carmichael. Sixty supporters were in attendance to celebrate the many accomplishments of the team this past season including various faculty, staff, and alumni. Director of Executive Communications Matt Lockwood served as the evening's emcee. Coach Eslinger spoke about the development of the program, read a touching e-mail from a recent alum, and thanked all the attendees for their ongoing support. After a delicious meal prepared by Tom Mannion and poignant speech by Dr. Chameau, the coaches presented the annual team awards. All awards are voted on by members of the team.

Dr. Chameau

Longstanding awards displayed in the Braun Gym lobby:

For the third year in row, Ryan Elmquist '11 received the H.G. Vesper Trophy for ability, improvement, performance, and sportsmanship.

Todd Cramer '14 earned the Carl Shy Freshman of the Year.

Murphy organizes his horde of awards

Other award winners:

Collin Murphy '13: Leader of the Year, Mr. Glue, Mr. Hustle, and the Construction Award

Mike Paluchniak '14: Lockdown Award and Coaches' Award

Potts presents Paluchniak with one of his awards

Arjun Chandar '13: Citizen of the Year

Marcus Lucas '13: Most Improved

Mike Edwards '13: Slam Bam Jam Award

Alex Runkel '13: Best Dressed

Coach Potts: Best Quote

photo credit louisfelix.com

Elmquist Named to Men's All-West Region Team

Senior Ryan Elmquist has just been named to the D3hoops.com All-West Region Team.

This is the first time any Caltech player has been awarded this honor.

According to the website:

Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools, who were contacted multiple times as the season wound down to remind them to make their players eligible. There were 680 players nominated nationwide, a new high. The ballot was then made available to SIDs, who voted for a predetermined number of players in their region.

Elmquist will graduate this spring as the program's 2nd all-time leading scorer, leading shot blocker, and leading free throw maker. Last month, he was awarded the SCIAC Ted Ducey Award and named Academic All-District. He is a 2-time SCIAC Athlete of the Week.

SCIAC Honors

Congratulations to Caltech and two of its players for being recognized by the SCIAC for the 2011 conference season.

Ryan Elmquist received the Ducey Award, the prestigious honor granted to a senior each season who truly exemplifies the term student-athlete. Besides hitting the game clinching, streak busting, out-of-this-world free throw in last Tuesday's season finale, Elmquist made his mark(s) on the basketball program. He'll graduate as the 2nd all-time leading scorer, leading shot blocker, and leading free throw maker in Tech history.

For a Q & A with Elmquist from TwinCities.com, click here. Other articles featuring the senior headed to Google are the StarTribune.com and Rivals.com.

Todd Cramer was named 2nd team all-conference. He is the only freshman on the all-SCIAC teams and the first all-conference Caltech player since Bryan Hires in 2007-08. Cramer led the league in assists and was second in assist to turnover ratio. He was the only player to be ranked in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and free throw percentage. He also eclipsed the Institute record for assists.

For Cramer quotes, check out Rick Reilly's latest column and NBC Sports.

Update (3.2.11) From Philly.com:

FORGET THOSE NOBEL PRIZES

The California Institute of Technology has produced 31 Nobel Prize winners. (Caltech) had also lost 207 consecutive basketball games until a huge win in 2007. The team had lost 310 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games until beating Occidental in the final regular-season game, 46-45, last week. (Caltech) finished 5-20.

The second leading scorer in the Occidental game was freshman Todd Cramer of Blue Bell. He went to Chestnut Hill Academy and is a two-time Philly Maccabi gold-medal winner. Next season, (Caltech) needs to play at the Palestra. And bring Occidental along.

Elmquist Named Athlete of Week

The SCIAC announced Caltech senior captain Ryan Elmquist earned Athlete of the Week honors for the week ending December 10.

Read the Caltech release here.

See the official news on the SCIAC site here.

Beavers Bounce into Honors Court

Four Caltech players from the 2009-10 season were recently named to the NABC Honors Court for their achievements in the classroom. Honorees include ZeNan Chang, Christian Clanton, Ryan Elmquist, and Ruslan Kurdyumov.

Chang (biology), Clanton (applied physics), and Kurdyumov (mech E and business econ mgmt) graduated in June and are headed to graduate school while Elmquist is a rising senior and computer science major.

Both Clanton and Kurdyumov are 2-time honorees.

For the full list and official release from the NABC, click here. (Caltech student-athletes appear on page 3).


(From the release)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) today announced the NABC Honors Court, recognizing those collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the 2009-10 season. The NABC Honors Court recognizes the talents and gifts that these men possess off the court, and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom. In order to be named to the Honors Court, an athlete must meet a high standard of academic criteria. The qualifications are as follows:

1. Academically a junior or senior and a varsity player.

2. Cumulative G.P.A. of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2009-10 academic year.

3. Students must have matriculated at least one year at their current institution.

4. Member of an NCAA Division I, II, III, or NAIA Institution.

Edwards and Elmquist Honored by Caltech

Congratulations to Mike Edwards and Ryan Elmquist. Mike was named Freshman Male Athlete of the Year and Ryan was recognized as Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year at Caltech's Annual All-Sports Awards Show on Saturday.

Both Edwards and Elmquist ranked among the best in the SCIAC and set myriad records this season.

Click here for the official release.

Caltech Celebrates Season

At the end of each season, various team members are recognized who shined on and off the court at the program's annual awards dinner. All awards are voted on by the players. The Vesper Trophy and Freshman of the Year honors are longstanding departmental awards -- recipients' names are imprinted in the Braun lobby trophy cases.

2010 Men's Basketball Team Awards

Vesper Trophy - Ryan Elmquist '11

Freshman of the Year - Mike Edwards '13

Leader of the Year - Collin Murphy '13

Mr. Glue - Ethan Boroson '13

Most Improved - Marcus Lucas '12

Lockdown Award - Collin Murphy '13

Citizen(s) of the Year - Ethan Boroson '13 and Arjun Chandar '13

Mr. Hustle - Collin Murphy '13

Construction Point Club - Alex Runkel '13, Collin Murphy '13, Ryan Elmquist '11, and Marcus Lucas '12 (pictured left to right with Coach Eslinger)

2010-11 Captains - Ryan Elmquist '11, Collin Murphy '13, and Ethan Boroson '13