The winter season is in full swing, and as it’s now officially 2020, a new decade has begun on the local sporting front.
New Year’s Day offers a respite from high school games and matches, so we decided to run a quick update on how some of the local collegiate student-athletes are faring so far this winter season.
Junior forward, Wentworth women’s basketball
It’s been a career season for the Greenfield native, who graduated from GHS in 2017.
Duclos is averaging 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Wentworth Institute of Technology women’s basketball team, both career highs for the 5-foot-11 forward.
She has started all 10 games so far this season, as the Leopards are 5-5 on the season entering Saturday’s game against Mt. Holyoke College. The 1 p.m. non-conference tilt in South Hadley is one of two remaining Western Mass. trips for Duclos and Wentworth, as they’ll also play at Western New England on Feb. 19.
Duclos is shooting an impressive 57.9 percent from the floor this winter, and she’s scored in double figures three times. Her season-high total of 12 points came in a win at Rivier University, when she made six of her nine shots in a 91-70 victory. She notched a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds against Nichols College on Dec. 4.
Duclos, who is studying Applied Mathematics at Wentworth, started 16 games as a sophomore last season, averaging 6.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Senior guard, Trinity College men’s basketball
After a disappointing loss on the road at Springfield College on Dec. 4 dropped the team to 4-4 on the season, the Trinity men’s basketball team has righted the ship over the past month. Greenfield native Nick Seretta has helped the Bantams to four straight victories since that time, including Trinity’s 114-77 win over Eastern Connecticut State in the finals of the Trinity Holiday Invitational on Tuesday in Hartford.
Seretta didn’t miss a shot in Tuesday’s win, scoring a season-high 21 points on 7-for-7 shooting and 5-for-5 free throw shooting. He made both of his 3-point attempts, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.
Seretta has started all 12 games for Trinity, and the Northfield Mount Hermon School product is averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per outing while playing an average of 24 minutes per night.
The senior captain and his team next play on Saturday at home against Anna Maria (noon). The NESCAC slate begins Jan. 10 against Bowdoin, and they have one more Western Mass. trip remaining, when the Bantams play at Amherst College on Feb. 14.
Freshman forward, Babson College women’s basketball
The freshman forward has been a steady contributor for the Babson women’s basketball team so far this winter. After a standout three-sport career at GHS, Smith has taken her talents east and is averaging 12.5 minutes per game through eight contests.
She is averaging 2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and one block per game as the Beavers sit 4-4 on the season following Tuesday’s 72-42 win over Endicott to close out the 2019 calendar year. Smith played 13 minutes and scored five points to go with six boards against Endicott. Babson opens 2020 against Wesleyan on Saturday at home.
Smith scored a season-high seven points against Western New England on Nov. 17, and her six boards against Endicott were a season-high.
Smith and Co. have one more trip to Western Mass. on the docket, as they’ll play at Springfield College on Jan. 11.
Sophomore forward, Worcester State women’s basketball
The 5-foot-10 Mohawk Trail alum (Class of 2018) has made eight appearances in 10 games this season for the Worcester State women’s basketball team, helping the Lancers to a 6-4 mark entering 2020.
The club has won three of its last four games, picking up wins over Keene State, MIT and Springfield College in that span. The team next heads to play at St. Joseph’s Maine on Jan. 7.
Poplawski has two points on the season, coming in a win over Becker College on Nov. 9. She’s pulled down six rebounds to go with a steal, and played a season-high 15 minutes in a win over Mt. Holyoke on Nov. 12.
Poplawski’s next trip to Western Mass. comes on Feb. 5 when Worcester State plays at Westfield State (5:30 p.m.) in a MASCAC tilt.
Sophomore, Hamilton College men’s indoor track & field
The New Salem native and Mahar Regional School alum (Class of 2018) finished 15th in the 800-meter relay at the Atlantic Region Indoor Championships last winter as a freshman, and followed that with a seventh-place showing in the 1,600 at the NESCAC Outdoor Championships.
This winter, he’ll look to make his mark on the indoor scene for a Hamilton College squad that opened its season on Dec. 14 and next competes on Jan. 18 on the road at Utica College. The Continentals will race primarily in New York except for the Last Chance Meet, set for March 1 at Boston University.