2010 Academic All-District First Team - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 SCIAC Athlete of Week - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 Fulmer Tournament Sportsmanship Award - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 All-Engineers Classic Tournament Team - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 NABC Honors Court - ZeNan Chang '10, Christian Clanton '10, Ryan Elmquist '11, Ruslan Kurdyumov '10
2010 Caltech Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 Caltech Freshman Male Athlete of the Year - Mike Edwards '13
2010 SCIAC All-Academic - ZeNan Chang '10, Christian Clanton '10, Ruslan Kurdyumov '10, Ryan Elmquist '11, Wison Ho '12
2010 Vesper Trophy - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 Team Freshman of the Year - Mike Edwards '13
2009 SCIAC Athlete of Week - Mike Edwards '13
2009 SCIAC Ducey Award - Matt Dellatorre '09
2009 NABC Honors Court - Han Bin Man '09, Christian Clanton '10, Dan Cullina '09, Travis Haussler '09, Ruslan Kurdyumov '10, Wei Li ' 09, Yang Yang '09
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.
Caltech completed its non-conference season with a record of 5-6, marking the best start since 1994-95. On December 31, the Beavers hosted Babson College, the Beavers from the east coast and the New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). Coach Eslinger coached in the NEWMAC prior to his move to the SCIAC and also played against Babson in the 90's as a player at Clark University.
Edwards scored his 1,000th point on Dec. 31
Boosted by Michael Edwards' 25-point night, the host Beavers earned a 57-52 victory over Babson after trailing by as many as 13 points. With his game-high scoring output, Edwards became the 12th player in Caltech history to record at least 1,000 points. Ethan Boroson tied a school record with five steals to go along with his five points and four rebounds. The win marks the first time Caltech has beaten Babson.
In November, The Beavers' first win of the season was a nail-biter, as Boroson came through with a clutch basket with 10 seconds remaining to give Caltech a 63-62 edge. Edwards scored a season-high 28 in that contest and Alex Runkel posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
A few days later, the Beavers started a three game win streak against the University of Dallas (69-53) on the second day of the Thanksgiving Classic. Caltech followed with a tremendous road win at West Coast Baptist, a game that saw the Beavers post 95 points, the most points accumulated in a win since Caltech beat American Indian Bible in 1989-90. Caltech then went to Minnesota and beat Macalester 71-65 before coming back home for the Babson game after the winter break.
Through 11 games, the Beavers are ranked 45th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.1 percent), 131st in assists per game (14.3), and 144th in 3-pointers made per game (6.6). 405 division III schools are ranked.
The basketball team was also highlighted in the Institute's Happy New Year video:
Caltech traveled to West Coast Baptist last Thursday and earned a historical victory, 95-79. The win marked the first time the Beavers beat the Eagles (previously 0-2), and the 95 points are believed to be the most ever scored on the road by a Caltech team. In addition, the Beavers improved to 3-2, their best start since the 1994-95 season when they won their first eight games (all against non-NCAA schools). Michael Edwards and Bryan Joel were the game high scorers with 22 points each. Todd Cramer had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals. Andrew Hogue scored 13 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Collin Murphy had 5 points and 8 boards. You can read Murphy's take on the game here.
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.
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.
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.
Beaver Basketball continues to develop. Some big-news items:
Senior Ryan Elmquist was recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team. This honor qualifies him for the national ballot for Academic All-American. Elmquist has played in every game since his freshman year and is the program's all-time leader in blocked shots. Already a 1,000 point scorer, he continues to move up the top 10 scoring list. He needs just four more rebounds to make the 500 rebound club.
In Saturday's close contest with Redlands, freshman Todd Cramer collected 11 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. The array of assists moves Cramer into program lore as he is now the record holder for assists in one season (103).
I would first like to applaud Coach Eslinger and his players for their hard-fought game against La Verne Wednesday night, and I know I'm not alone. The Beavers have played great team basketball and have been very competitive all season. I believe that our first conference win is coming soon, with many more to follow.
It will be a proud day, of course, when the Beavers get that victory, but on Wednesday I was excited just to see Braun gym full of students, faculty, and staff cheering in support of Caltech student-athletes.
Caltech's comeback wasn't quite enough on Saturday against La Verne. The Beavers, after being down 13 at halftime saw the spread briefly swell to 20 with just more than six minutes to play (67-47), but they battled back with great defense and scoring punch to finish the game on a 23-9 run. Final score: 76-70.
The team continues to set program records as it looks for its next win. On Saturday, Caltech set the mark for the most 3-pointers made in a game as four players combined for a 12 for 22 night from behind the arc. Sophomore Mike Edwards tied his own Caltech record (in an NCAA game) with seven made treys on his way to a career-best 35 points. The 35-point effort ties Travis Haussler's school record for the most points against an NCAA opponent. Freshman Mike Paluchniak poured in a career-high 16 points. In addition, the 6-point margin of defeat is the closest Caltech has come on the road to a SCIAC or NCAA opponent since the 1995-96 season when the Beavers lost by three points at Redlands.
Caltech plays its next two games at home this coming Wednesday and Saturday.
If you weren't in Braun Gym on Saturday evening for Caltech's rematch against UC Santa Cruz, you missed a dandy. The Beavers edged the Banana Slugs 63-62 thanks to 50 percent shooting from the field, 17 assists on 22 field goals, and six blocked shots. Todd Cramer paced Tech with 20 points while Mike Edwards had 11 points and 7 assists. Mike Paluchniak added seven points, three assists, two blocks, one steal and a team-leading eight rebounds.
Ryan Elmquist's first bucket put him in the 1,000 Point Club. His four blocked shots cemented his name in Caltech lore as he set the program mark for swats in a career, surpassing Ben Turk's record of 126.
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.
Success on the court cannot necessarily be measured by society's traditional sources, those being win-loss columns. At least not yet. Overall development has to be taken into account, and this year, there was certainly improvement.
With such a young and inexperienced team, it's impressive that a dozen program records fell this season. Witness the evolution of Caltech Basketball.
The shot blocking has been talked about and was certainly a positive. The Beavers recorded 92 rejections in their 25 games, smashing the 2008-09 squad's accomplishment of 76. Ryan Elmquist had much to do with the stat as he accounted for more than half of the blocks (an individual season record 50 that bested the talented Ben Turk '98), which was just seven fewer than he and Travis Haussler '09 turned in last season. The eight swats against Chapman was also a team first for getting-that-stuff-out-of-here in one game.
The other team record? Field goal attempts in a season. Certainly worthwhile considering the lack of scoring opportunities due to turnovers and limited offensive rebounding.
Freshman Mike Edwards turned out to be as good as advertised as he broke six individual records (most noteworthy his 62 3-point makes that overtook the trifectas of Josh Moats '97), and entered the Top 10 in four other categories, including points in a season (470), scoring average (18.8 ppg), free throw percentage (.777), and steals in a season (44).
Besides the Elmquist shot blocking party, the junior forward became the No. 1 player in season free throw attempts (208), as he surpassed the foul line feats of Bryan Hires '08. Elmquist already holds the mark for freebies made and attempted in one game (17 of 19).
First-year cagers Collin Murphy and Ethan Boroson also entered the Top 10 in steals for a season (35) and assists per game (3.3), respectively.
Here is the complete list of records in the new era. For everything else, check here.
Facing Cal Lutheran on February 3, 2010, the Beavers' five blocked shots propelled them into the team record books as they set the mark for most rejections in one season. The previous number was 76, a total that was accumulated during the 2008-09 campaign. Caltech's current team now has 88 with three games to play.
With Ben Turk '98 in the crowd this past Saturday night, junior Ryan Elmquist tied a 12-year old record for blocked shots in a season with 47. Elmquist, who totaled four blocks against Occidental, now has 103 blocks in his career. Turk owns the career record with 126 and maintains the mark for most rejections in one game with six. (Official release from Saturday night).
Elmquist, who through this past weekend was ranked among the nation's elite in blocked shots (2.1 bpg), has blocked three or more shots in seven games this season.
Caltech set a program record against Chapman University on January 6 for most swats in one contest with eight. Elmquist was responsible for five of those on that historic evening. (Official release from Chapman game).
Other Beavers who have aided the blocked shot effort?
All freshman.
6'7" Mike Edwards, 6'9" Jesse Shevin, and 6'2" Ethan Boroson.
6'0" point guard Collin Murphy is even in the mix.
The men's basketball staff has been busy digging up files and statistics in order to compile an updated and truly unprecedented record book. Some fascinating numbers have been uncovered. 1,000 point scorers. Team highs and lows. Individual milestones. Top 20 lists. Even a year-by-year account of game results.
