By The Beacon Sports Staff
As has been the tradition at SMCC, pregame warmups were delayed in order to honor the senior basketball players on the women’s and men’s team Saturday afternoon. Prior to tip-off for the women’s game against Vermont Tech, Amanda Matos, Alicia Ruth and Jordan Farquharson were acknowledged for their on-court contributions and their academic accomplishments. Dylan Silvestri, the solo senior on this year’s men’s team, was acknowledge after the women’s game finished and prior to the men’s game.

From left to right: Amanda Matos, Dylan Silvestri, Jordan Farquharson, Alicia Ruth. Photos by James Clowes

Amanda Matos, who graduated from Montverde Academy outside of her hometown of Orlando, Florida, attended Hollins University in Virginia (a member of the basketball team) prior to joining the SeaWolves squad in the fall of 2016.

Matos played in 16 games during her first season, averaging 10.3 minutes per game. Amanda scored 7 points against Hampshire College while grabbing 32 rebounds and dishing out 17 assists for the 2016-17 season.

Alicia Ruth also joined the SeaWolves in 2016, and is completing her two seasons of play with the reputation of being a deadly sharp-shooting small guard. Ruth shot an impressive 40.7 percent form behind the three-point arch during her freshman season, draining 74 of them. She started in 16 games during the 2016-17 season, averaging 20.8 minutes per game and 10.7 points per game, and tallying 300 points for the season. Ruth’s efforts on the court earned her YSCC Second-Team All-Conference status.

Prior to SMCC, Alicia attended and graduated from Timberlane Regional High School in New Hampshire, and was a four-year standout in basketball and softball. In her senior year at Timberlane, Ruth led all of New Hampshire in three-point shots made, draining 68 her senior season.

Jordan Farquharson rounded out the seniors for the women’s squad. Farquharson graduated from Blue Mountain Union High School in Vermont, where she also served as class president and student-government president. Farquharson was a First-Team All-State selection in basketball, soccer and softball. She was also a member on the softball State Champion team and scored 1,000 points on the basketball court.

As a SeaWolf, Farquharson started 25 games her freshman year, while playing in 27 games. Jordan averaged 17.4 minutes of play as well as scoring 6.4 points per game in her freshman year. She tallied 174 total points for the 2016-17 season, with her high-scoring game coming against Cegep Champlain – St. Lawrence, when she scored 20 points. She also grabbed 109 rebounds and completed 40 assists during the 2016-17 season.

All three seniors made an appearance in the United Small College Athletic Association’s national tournament last spring when the SeaWolves were extended an at-large invitation. Farquharson and Ruth are transferring to Granite State College in New Hampshire and Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts, respectively.

On the men’s side of Senior Day, Dylan Silvestri was acknowledged for his accomplishments over the course of his three-year career. Silvestri joined the SeaWolves for the 2015-16 season. He played in all 31 games his rookie season, starting one while averaging 13.1 minutes a game, scoring 4.9 points a game. He finished his freshman year with 153 points, 30 assists and 163 rebounds.

In Silvestri’s sophomore year he played in 30 games, averaging 14.3 minutes a game and averaging 12.1 points per game. For the season he tallied 362 points, 31 of which came against the University of Maine-Augusta, while averaging 6.4 rebounds per game — which stood as a team high — and recording six double-doubles.

Dylan was a two-time YSCC Player of the Week, a USCAA Player of the Week and a member of the YSCC Championship team that won the Elite Eight Tournament here at SMCC, earning an automatic bid to a USCAA National Tournament appearance.

A graduate from Pelham High School, Silvestri was a member of the 2015 squad that went undefeated and were State Champions. He was also an All-State selection his senior season and is planning on attending the police academy after SMCC.

The Beacon would like to extend the best of wishes to the graduating SeaWolves and a note of thanks for all of the effort and energy they used on the basketball court making SeaWolves basketball what it is today, an exciting display of athleticism and teamwork.