It shouldn’t surprise anyone aware of Dirigo High School’s decade-plus of girls’ basketball dominance that another of its recent stars emerged as a starter in her first season at the NCAA Division III level.

Also, it probably wouldn’t surprise too many folks familiar with Abby Fenstermacher that she already has made an impact on her campus community far beyond the court.

Fenstermacher scored a career-high 15 points to lead Randolph College of Lynchburg, Va., past Hollins, 67-36, on Feb. 9. Most notable, though, was how the 5-foot-4 guard chose to gear up for the game.

Fenstermacher was one of five Randolph players that morning who allowed most of their hair to be shorn and donated to Locks of Love, a national organization that provides hairpieces to ill, underprivileged children.

“It’s such a great idea and such a great cause,” Fenstermacher said to the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, discussing the group haircut first proposed by teammate Katie Rechnitzer. “As soon as I heard about it, I said, ‘Sure, I can do that.’ I have plenty of hair. The very least I can do is cut some off and give it to a child who has none.”

Lest you believe Fenstermacher’s sacrifice was simply a little off the top, it should be pointed out that Locks of Love requires any donation of hair to measure at least 10 inches from end-to-end.

Later that day, Fenstermacher hit the early, go-ahead 3-pointer against Hollins.

Her contributions on the floor this winter included 20 starts in 24 appearances, 3 points and 2.2 assists per game, and nine 3-pointers. Randolph improved its record to 7-17, including five victories in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Fitting in swimmingly

Her school’s name is synonymous with Division III swimming excellence, and Emily Lewandowski of Lewiston played more than a minor role in keeping that tradition afloat with authority in last week’s NCAA Division III swimming and diving championships.

Lewandowski, a freshman and product of the relatively new team at St. Dominic Regional High School, picked up her first pair of All-America honors and missed out on a third by one spot.

Kenyon, located in Gambier, Ohio, reached an amazing milestone with its combined 50th national championship for its women’s and men’s swim teams. The margin from first place to runner-up Amherst was a whopping 235 points.

Lewandowski placed 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:06.44 and 14th in the 200. She also achieved 17th in the 200 individual medley.

Having a swimmer from Maine in the fold isn’t that out of the ordinary for Kenyon, whose swimmers hail from 22 different states as well as Canada, Germany and Brazil.

Bates College won three All-America designations at the national meet. Kelsey Lamdin of Brunswick took seventh in 3-meter diving and 11th in 1-meter, while sophomore swimmer Katelyn Drake was 14th in the 200 backstroke.

Putting the season on ice

Greene natives Randi Dumont and Daniella Lyons continue to thrive at the upper echelon of NCAA Division III women’s hockey.

Dumont and the Middlebury (Vt.) College squad couldn’t quite regain their national title this winter, dropping a 4-3 overtime verdict to Manhattanville in the quarterfinals.

That didn’t overshadow a fabulous season for the 5-2 junior defensive stalwart, however, one capped by her assist on a go-ahead goal early in the playoff defeat. Dumont, who played with the boys’ varsity at Leavitt Area High School before graduating from St. Mark’s Prep in Massachusetts, concluded the campaign with eight goals and 10 assists. Her six power-play goals led the Panthers.

Middlebury finished 19-4-3.

Slightly closer to home, Saint Anselm College hosted and won the ECAC open tournament in Manchester, N.H., routing St. Michael’s, 7-0, and Sacred Heart, 7-2, to capture the title.

Lyons, a sophomore seeing time on both the forward and blue lines, was fourth on the team with 21 points, including five goals. One of those was a power-play connection.

She was joined on the team by former Hebron Academy teammate Cindy Lebel of Greenville, who scored six goals this season to run her career totals to 38 goals and 90 points. Lebel made the ECAC all-tournament team. In the ‘It’s a Small World’ Department, Middlebury and Manhattanville were the only teams to defeat the Hawks (23-2-1) this winter.

Quick hits

Alexa Kaubris of Rumford was named second-team all-state by the Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association. Kaubris, a junior from Rumford, led Bowdoin College in scoring and steals. Her teammates, Jill Anelauskas and Katie Bergeron, picked up first team and rookie of the year recognition, respectively.

James Spaulding of Lewiston and Forrest Tobie of Mt. Vernon have been named captains of the University of Southern Maine men’s outdoor track and field team. Spaulding set the Huskies’ school record in the decathlon last year as a sophomore.

The University of Maine field hockey program has selected Nicole Emery of Winthrop as a senior captain for the 2008 fall season.