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(05/09/13 3:17am)
Over the weekend, Middlebury split both of its series against NESCAC East opponents Bowdoin and Tufts. On the road, the Panthers took game one before dropping the afternoon effort in Brunswick on Saturday, returning home Sunday to divide their final double header of the season against the Jumbos.
The opening game against divisional leader Bowdoin saw a pitcher’s duel highlighted by a brilliant performance by Eric Truss ’15 who shut out the Polar Bears in his complete game, four-hit, four-strikeout effort. His quick tempo and consistent pitching kept the rhythm and momentum on Middlebury’s side in a game lasting less than 90 minutes, ending with a score of 2-0. The effort would earn Truss NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honors.
The Panthers struck early in the first, starting with a lead-off double by Dylan Sinnickson ’15. Moved over by junior Alex Kelly’s groundout to second base, Sinnickson came in on an RBI single from the bat of Thomas Driscoll ’13. Bowdoin couldn’t respond, hitting into three quick fly-outs.
Middlebury scored its second and final run in the sixth, again kicked off by a Sinnickson double before Michael Morris ’13 drove a fly ball deep enough to bring him in on the sacrifice fly. Sinnickson went 2-3 in the game.
Bowdoin starter Erik Jacobsen didn’t roll over, however, as he shut down the Middlebury lineup with nine straight outs through the next three frames of play. He battled each inning against Truss, also going the distance in a five-hit, two-run outing. His offense couldn’t support what was an otherwise solid performance as the Polar Bears stranded nine runners total.
Game two was a different story as Middlebury failed to plate a run in a 9-0 loss. Bowdoin combined six different pitchers to limit the Panther lineup to four hits in a seven inning shutout.
Offensively, the Polar Bears scored two in the bottom of the first off of a hit-by-pitch, a walk, and a double to bring them both in. They added pressure in the third by plating three more on two additional hit-by-pitches, a walk, a two-RBI single and an RBI double before reliever Mark Dickerson ’15 got a double play and strikeout to end the inning.
A one-run fourth and a big three-run sixth inning capped off Bowdoin’s strong offensive return. The Panthers struggled to make solid contact throughout the game which resulted in a high number of fly-outs and groundouts.
A short evening of rest was all the Panthers were afforded before returning to Forbes Field to take on the Tufts Jumbos. Game one gave Middlebury a hard-fought victory with a final score of 7-6, but game two fell in favor of Tufts with an end result of 8-3.
Tufts began the day with a couple of unearned runs in the first thanks to a leadoff walk and a throwing error by starter John Popkowski ’13. Middlebury swiftly cut the lead in half on Morris’ RBI single in the bottom half of the inning before Driscoll knocked in the tying run on a single in the third.
The Panthers busted the game open in the fifth on a five-hit, three-run inning with another RBI by Morris and a two RBI single by Tom Rafferty ’13. They didn’t keep the lead for long, however, as Tufts struck back with four runs in the top half of the sixth. But the Panthers bats were hot, and a seventh inning rally put the Panthers over the top to take the game. Alex Kelly ’14, Morris and Driscoll all reached base to start off the inning before Rafferty stepped up to the plate. With the game on the line, he roped a single to left to bring in the game-winning run. He led the team with his 2-4, four-RBI performance. Logan Mobley tossed the final 1.2 innings to earn a relief victory.
Game two saw the momentum reverse early as a three hit, two-error first inning allowed the Tufts to jump out to a 5-0 lead. The game settled through the next two innings thanks to reliever Dylan Kane ’14, but the Jumbos struck again in the fourth to put the game at 6-0.
The Panthers chipped away with a run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Hunter Merryman ’15 and again with a strong four-hit, two-run fifth inning. But the top of the seventh saw Tufts tack on two more runs off of Kane to put the game completely out of reach. The Panthers showed life in the bottom of the last inning by putting three men on base, but they were ultimately left stranded.
Though the Panthers’ season ended with lesser results than anticipated, splitting two series against two of the strongest members of the NESCAC shows the talent this team possessed throughout the year. The Panthers look to continue the trend of strong pitching performances coming into next year’s season.
(05/09/13 3:14am)
The Middlebury women’s tennis team took part in the NESCAC tournament this past weekend, May 3 and 4, at Amherst College. The team competed against Tufts in the quarterfinals on Friday, May 3, and came out on top by a score of 5-1. With the win over the Jumbos, they advanced to the semifinals on Saturday, May 4 to set up a rematch with national number-one Amherst, who defeated the Panthers 5-4 one week before.
For the second time in two weeks, Amherst defeated the Middlebury women 5-4, although this time the match was much closer, when the Panthers came within a single point of winning the match.
Middlebury started off the Tufts match with a lead as the number-one and doubles positions and won by scores of 8-0 and 8-1, respectively. The number-three team for the Panthers fell 8-4.
Ria Gerger ’16 quickly gave Middlebury a singles point, as she did not lose a game, winning 6-0, 6-0. Lok Sze Leung ’15 only gave up one more game than Gerger, claiming a victory at the number-one position 6-1, 6-0. Dorrie Paradies ’14 won her first set 6-3, but then went down 4-1 in the second set. Dorrie Paradies showed resiliency and won five straight games on her way to a 6-3, 6-4 win, clinching the overall contest and giving Middlebury a 5-1 win.
With their win over Tufts, the Panthers gave themselves another opportunity to take on Amherst. The first and second doubles matches were decided in straightforward fashion as Brittney Faber ’13 and Leah Kepping ’13 went down 8-2, while Leung and Gerger convincingly defeated their opponents 8-3. At third doubles, sisters Dorrie and Katie Paradies ’15 were up 5-2, then 7-6, and held a match point against Caroline Richman and Safaa Aly in that game, but were unable to convert it. They went on to lose the next three games in a row to lose 9-7.
The Paradies duo showed tremendous fight against an Amherst team that has now won 11 dual matches in a row. The 9-7 defeat is the closest a team has come to beating this team in all 11 of their wins.
After a short break, the singles began and Amherst had the momentum as they were up 2-1 after doubles. The first singles match to finish was number-four singles, where Dorrie Paradies went down to Gabby Devlin 6-1, 6-2. First-year Gerger came through once again giving Middlebury a second point by taking out Jennifer Newman in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
With four matches left on the court, Middlebury won first sets on three of the courts. Kepping scrapped her way to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win at number-three singles, the third time Kepping has defeated Sue Ghosh this year.
Leung won by the same score in the third when she took out Jordan Brewer 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Leung has the ability to grind her opponents down both physically and mentally by swinging her opponent side-to-side, up and back using her tricky lefty forehand. She is also able to mix up the spins and pace of the ball, keeping her opponent from getting into a rhythm.
Faber improved upon her 6-1, 6-2 loss to Zoe Pangalos last week as she was taken out in three sets by a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. With the match tied at 4-4, first-year Margot Marchese ’16 was in her third set. She lost the first set 6-3 but was able to came back to win the second set 6-4. Unfortunately, Marchese cramped during the third set and ended up succumbing to her opponent 6-3 in the third.
In her 14th and final season at Middlebury, women’s assistant coach Karen Wells commented on the team’s weekend.
“Though the loss was heartbreaking, there’s always NCAAs and I know they’re going to bring their best this weekend,” she said. “They were all reminded how much fun college tennis is. The team came out this time with even more belief and a stronger desire to beat them, if that’s possible. They rallied together and supported each other throughout the entire match.”
Middlebury has now lost two of their last three matches to finish the regular season, with both setback coming against the national number-one seeded Lord Jeffs.
The Panthers travel to Bowdoin this weekend to compete in the NCAA tournament. If they pass through this weekend’s regional competition, they will then travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. later this month for the final rounds of the NCAA tournament, with the tournament final to be played on Wednesday, May 22.
Middlebury enters NCAA play as the sixth-ranked team in the nation.
The Panthers open regional play on Saturday, May 11, when they take on the winner of a match between MIT and Simmons to be player the day before.
MIT currently sits in the 22nd spot in the national poll, while Simmons is not in the top 30.
Should they win that match, Middlebury will likely have a rematch with NESCAC foe and national number- five seed Bowdoin in the regional final. The Panthers lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to the Polar Bears in the teams’ last meeting back on April 13.
The Panthers enter the tournament having played each of the top-five seeded teams already this season.
(05/08/13 9:32pm)
On Sunday, May 12, Weybridge House will host its spring feast on the lawn at 28 Weybridge Street starting at 5 p.m. Having chosen a Mad Hatter Garden Party theme, organizers of the feast promise a bounty of local fare and what they hope will be an impressive array of headwear.
“I don’t know where to find a hat,” admitted Weybridge House resident Jeannie Bartlett ’14. “Regardless of what I find, my expertise on the Mad Hatter Garden Party theme stems from when I played the ‘Head Flower’ in my second-grade play of Alice in Wonderland.”
Yet the feast is not only about Lewis Carroll’s wild garden vision; it will also provide an opportunity for relaxation and further enjoyment of local food for many in the community.
“Feast is a great opportunity for people to relax towards the end of the semester,” said Christian Cain ’13.5, the senior Community Advisor for Weybridge House. “Though we’re a little late with feast this year, we’re hopeful that people will push off finals prep just a little bit longer, throw on a hat and get down to Weybridge for a giant dinner.”
According to Cain, there are typically between 200 and 300 feast-goers each semester, representing the largest celebrations of local food on campus to date. The only requirement for the event is that participants bring all of their own utensils and preferably don’t take them from the dining hall. While Dining Services goes to great lengths to provide local food on a regular basis, they are faced with the challenge of serving over 7,000 meals a day on a fixed budget. With funding from the SGA, Weybridge is able to offer these feasts once a semester to celebrate eating food that is locally grown (in a 100-mile-radius), in season, and highly nutritious.
The “farm liason” for Weybridge House, Melissa Shapiro ’13, has worked a great deal in the past weeks to source food from long-time Weybridge providers in the area, including Elmer Farm and Gildrien Farm. In this way, Weybridge members are able to help distribute more of the college’s food dollars to local growers, particularly to those that typically don’t produce the volumes that Dining Services would be able to purchase.
“It’s going to be an incredible local meal this year,” said Cain. “Due to budget conservation in the fall, we’re actually going to be able to incorporate some meat into the entrees, unlike in past years.”
As animal products like meat and cheeses are often among the most expensive items to buy locally, they are rarely found in the Weybridge kitchen during the year; special events like the feast offer the house an opportunity to celebrate the carnivorous side of local eating that many wish was more accessible.
“I always look forward to these special events with meat,” said Weybridge resident Conor Wakayama ’14. “I mean, I like the food we have at the house, but it sure is better with a little bacon.”
Another new feature of this Mad Hatter Garden Party is music. Playing in their traditional bluegrass style, Nest ‘O Rebels will perform on the lawn while feast-goers move through the buffet line and fine their place to sit. This will be the band’s second performance after playing at Brooker, Meeker and Porter’s Rowdy Roast in April.
“We’re very excited to have music this year,” said Cain. “Local tunes, local fare — that’s the kind of vibe we’re going for. I can’t wait to bust out a few moves on the lawn. I don’t just like to dance, I love it.”
In preparation for feast, the 18 Weybridge House members will set aside a great deal of time to prepare the quantities of food needed to feed such a gathering. Reaching out to Dining Services and other interest houses in the area, Weybridge residents, commonly known as “Weybeans,” plan to fan out to various kitchens across campus to prepare all of the food.
“Cooking for 300 people in just a family-sized kitchen like ours is not that feasible,” said Weybridge resident Katie Michels ’14.5. “Cooking for 30 to 40 people during the week is alright, but for feast we really rely on support from other places on campus with kitchens.”
One of the main dishes of the meal will be a savory flat bread prepared by Weybridge enthusiast Clare Donohue-Meyer ’16 and Weybridge resident Bekah Wilson ’14.
“I am so excited to try out a flatbread recipe based on a famous recipe of some baker friends at home,” said Donohue-Meyer.
“The recipe will incorporate thin potato slices and goat cheese into a delicious cheese experience.”
The meal will also include bread, salad and other entrees along with a number of desserts like frozen yogurt with fruit.
“As God is my witness, we’ll have local coffee,” added Cain, “even if I have to coax it out of the ground with my bare hands.”
Despite Cain’s determination, his comment illustrates the challenges of providing an all-local meal: some staples simply cannot be sourced in a 100-mile-radius. Whether it is coffee, bananas or oranges, there are a number of familiar food items that won’t be found at feast due to Vermont’s cold climate.
“What we do want to do is celebrate the incredible bounty we have available in the area,” said Michels. “While farmers haven’t begun to harvest most of their produce for the season, there are still a number of spring greens available; and as always, we have Vermont meat and dairy to enjoy!”
“When it comes down to it, my favorite part of feast is that there’s sun and food and music and we all lounge happily on the lawn with so many smiling faces,” said Bartlett. “I just hope the cooks get to eat first.”
(05/01/13 11:23pm)
We wish to address serious factual inaccuracies in Zach Drennen ’13.5’s April 25 column “Middlebury Finds a New Pipeline to Protest.” First, a clarification of terms: Zach, you mislead readers by describing the product transported by this pipeline as “natural gas.” Conventionally drilled natural gas is not without its own problems, but fracked gas, which this pipeline will carry, poses even more serious concerns. There is a wealth of easily available scientific information about the especially destructive process of horizontal hydraulic fracturing, so we will dwell on it briefly here. You claim the “natural” gas that this pipeline will carry is safer and more environmentally friendly than oil. Fracked gas, however, is extracted by shooting 596 known chemicals — carcinogens included — into the ground. Companies that use fracking techniques are exempt from the Clean Air and Water Acts, meaning that the millions of gallons of toxic wastewater that they produce can flow back into water supplies unregulated. It is hypocritical for Vermont and for the College to support a pipeline that would enable an increase in fracking, since it contradicts both a statewide fracking moratorium and the College’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
Even setting aside the obvious short and long-term environmental impacts of the pipeline and concerns about the undemocratic nature of the Public Service Board process, your economic pro-pipeline argument is, plain and simply, false. According to the maps included in Vermont Gas’s petition to the Public Service Board, only two towns, Middlebury and Vergennes, are slated for gas distribution for home and business use. Even within these towns, Vermont Gas has not been forthcoming about how close residences and businesses must be to the pipeline in order to receive access and who would cover the considerable expense of connecting to it.
In addition, Vermont Gas’s purported cost savings for this limited number of potential customers is based on one report from November 2012 when gas prices were near historic post-2008 recession lows. A more recent copy of the same fuel price report indicated a 28 percent increase in gas prices since that time and a projected 40 percent increase within the next two years. Considering that residential distribution would not begin until at least 2017, it is difficult to believe that customers’ savings would be substantial, certainly not large enough to offset the $66.6 million that Vermont ratepayers will be responsible for contributing to the project. Indeed, some Vermonters are already experiencing undue economic burden because of the pipeline; residents of Monkton had to raise their property taxes in order to pay for legal representation, simply to get Vermont Gas to address basic safety concerns about installing the pipeline close to a high traffic road. If affected landowners want to petition for the pipeline not to pass through their farms, gardens and homes, they, too, will have to pay substantial legal fees in order advocate for themselves as stakeholders in the process.
The inaccuracies in your article make it clear that you have not spoken with community members, many of whom have done extensive research on this project. If you had attended even one hearing, town forum or community meeting, or if you had read the numerous op-eds in the Addison Independent, you would reconsider your claim that “the benefits of this project far and away exceed the costs.” As your opinion does not reflect those expressed by community members in public forums, we wonder which Vermont homeowners you think you are speaking for.
We wish also to dispel the notion that we are anti-pipeline just for the sake of being anti-something. We agree that inaction is not an option; Vermonters need access to cheaper energy, and we see the need for an energy transition as an opportunity to benefit the local economy. Instead of spending $66.6 million to fund a pipeline that will create an estimated 20 out-of-state jobs, we could demand that Vermont Gas — the leading provider of weatherization services in the state — invest a similar amount in weatherizing local homes and businesses, which would create hundreds of in-state jobs and provide guaranteed cost savings over the short and long terms.
Thank you for raising your concerns and giving us the opportunity to elaborate on our understanding of the situation, an understanding informed by our conversations with dozens of Addison County residents over the past six months. Their concern about the economy, the environment, their safety and their livelihoods has inspired us to urge the College to reverse its misguided position. For those who wish to learn more, we invite you to attend this Friday’s community pipeline opposition meeting at Ilsley Public Library at 7 p.m.
CAILEY CRON ’13.5 is from Franklin, Tenn. and ANNA SHIREMAN-GRABOWSKI ’15.5 is from Bear Lake, Michigan
(05/01/13 11:18pm)
1. It takes patience to live in Middlebury for four years. It’s also worth it.
2. The harder you try to get laid, the less you’ll get laid.
3. People who act like they’re better are afraid that they’re not.
4. Needing a big party to have a fun weekend will frequently disappoint.
5. Pretending to be someone you’re not prevents anyone from knowing the real you.
6. If you know a smart adult, ask questions. If you don’t, keep looking.
7. Different results require a different routine.
8. Spend time with the people you’ll remember.
9. Don’t forget to call home.
10. Learn as much as possible in and out of class.
GRANT NISHIOKA '13 is from Wayland, Mass.
(05/01/13 8:15pm)
This past Saturday, April 27, the Middlebury men’s lacrosse team played host to Amherst in a NESCAC quarterfinal matchup, securing a spot in the semifinal round with a 19-9 win. The Panthers edged Williams in their regular-season finale the previous Wednesday, April 24, by a final score of 15-14.
The Williams game was tight from the opening whistle, with the score at the end of the first half knotted at seven. The Panthers were able to open up a 12-8 third-quarter lead before withstanding a late run from the Ephs and holding on to win by one.
In beating Williams, Middlebury was able to lock down the number-one seed for the NESCAC tournament, and to secure some momentum heading into the quarterfinals against eighth-seeded Amherst.
In Saturday’s contest, Scott Redmond ’13 opened the scoring for the Panthers with a goal in the game’s eighth minute. First-year standout Jon Broome ’16 added his first goal before Redmond added another to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead. A pair of Amherst goals cut the Middlebury lead to two before Broome’s second gave the Panthers a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Panthers added to the lead in the second quarter, with Darric White ’14, Erich Pfeffer ’13 and Joel Blockowicz ’15 working goals around a single Lord Jeff tally to help Middlebury to a 7-3 halftime lead.
Coming out of the break, Middlebury exploded on the offensive end. Four different Panthers recorded goals in the quarter – including three from Broome – to stretch the Middlebury lead to 10 before a pair of Amherst goals trimmed the lead to eight. At the end of the third, the Panthers held a convincing 15-7 lead.
Broome took over the game in the fourth quarter, recording four goals to push his total to eight. Broome’s eighth and final goal – with 1:12 remaining in the game – would also be the last for the Panthers, who secured the win by a final score of 19-9.
“Scoring eight goals was definitely exciting, and I’m happy that I was able to finish when opportunities presented themselves,” said Broome. “I think setting the team scoring record for the tournament is even more impressive; it was one of those days when everybody stepped up and stuck shots.
Broome’s eight goals in the game are a new NESCAC tournament record, though he was quick to assign credit for the win to his teammates.
“Darric White had an absolute rip and Mike Giordano’s two goals and five assists should not get overlooked,” he said. “This win is a testament to the hard work we’ve put in this entire year, the senior leadership and our coaches.”
Middlebury held a 51-47 advantage in shots in the game, though the Lord Jeffs picked up five more ground balls and won three more faceoffs, holding edges of 39-34 and 17-14 in those two categories, respectively.
“The game against Amherst was exciting for a lot of reasons,” said Broome. “It was the first time we really put together a complete game in both the offense and defensive end. In a few other games, we’ve gotten out to a good lead and then let the other team back in it, but on Saturday, we kept the foot on the gas throughout the whole game.”
The Panthers are currently ranked sixth in the nation as they advance to the semifinals of the NESCAC tournament, where they will play Wesleyan at home this Saturday, May 4, with a spot in the conference title game on the line.
“If our team plays with that level of intensity, I think we have a good chance of winning the tournament,’ said Broome.
Despite winning the tournament seven times in the past 12 years, the Panthers have not won the NESCAC tournament since 2007. Last year also marked the first time that the Panthers failed to qualify for the tournament since its inception.
Middlebury defeated Saturday’s foe, Wesleyan, by a score of 7-6 on March 23 of this year. Broome recorded a hat trick in that contest, as the Panthers traded goals with the Cardinals until late in the fourth quarter when Sean Carroll ’16 sealed the game off an assist from Driscoll.
Wesleyan took down Bowdoin 8-7 in overtime in its quarterfinal tilt.
(05/01/13 8:11pm)
The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team kicked off its postseason this weekend with a quarterfinal matchup against the Bates Bobcats on Saturday, April 27. Coming off a 16-5 win against Williams in their last regular season game, the Panthers continued their tenacious play against Bates on Saturday, winning by a score of 16-7.
Middlebury came out firing early on, scoring six goals and allowing only one Bates goal in the first 15 minutes of play. In the first half, Middlebury was led by three of their talented seniors, Michaela Colbert ’13, Ellen Halle ’13 and Emma Kramer ’13. By the end of the first half, Kramer and Halle had each recorded three goals and an assist and Colbert had added a pair of goals.
After a Panther goal with eight seconds remaining in the first half from Katie Ritter ’15, Middlebury led Bates by a score of 9-3.
Although the Bobcats went goal-for-goal with the Panthers in the first 12 minutes of second-half play, the Panthers quickly went on their final run of the game, scoring six of the final eight goals.
Apart from goals from both Kramer and Halle at the beginning of the half, the majority of the Panthers’ second-half effort was shared by a number of other Panther players.
Alice Pfeifer ’13, Laurel Pascal ’16, Liza Herzog ’14, Chrissy Ritter ’14 and Katie Ritter ’15 each put up a goal in the game’s final 20 minutes.
Sophomore midfielder Lexi Demarco ’15 commented on the team’s performance against Bates.
“We were well prepared to handle Bates’ style of play,” said Demarco. “We played our game with constant energy and intensity, jumping on the Bobcats early. Our attack was confident and handled the ball well while our defense was relentless and prevented Bates from driving to the net.”
Alyssa Palomba ’14 played 55 minutes for the Panthers and stopped eight shots before being relieved by Katie Mandigo ’16, who recorded one save over the game’s final five minutes.
The Panthers held a 17-14 advantage in ground balls and a 33-19 edge in shots over the Bobcats, giving them the edge throughout the game in the offensive zone. Middlebury also controlled the draw battle, winning 14 of 25 draws on the day.
This coming weekend the Panthers will travel down to Hartford, Conn., where Trinity will host the NESCAC Semifinals and Finals on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5. The Panthers are matched up against eighth-ranked Colby, while Trinity will play Hamilton in the other semifinal matchup.
Middlebury dominated Colby in the teams’ first matchup on April 20, winning 14-6.
Middlebury will have to continue their strong play against a talented Colby squad – which enters the game with a two-game winning streak – if the Panthers are going to keep their goal of a NESCAC title alive.
“Next week should be a great game against Colby,” said Demarco. “If we stick to our game plan and play as well as we did in our game against them in the regular season, we hopefully will move on to NESCAC finals for a shot at the title.”
(05/01/13 8:06pm)
The Middlebury men’s and women’s track and field teams competed on Saturday, April 27 in the NESCAC Championship at Tufts University. The hosts were victorious on both sides, but the Panther teams had strong finishes. The women finished second while the men placed third.
The men won a total of four events on the day. Jack Davies ’13 continued his impressive season by claiming first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase en route to setting a new NESCAC record at 8:58.01. The steeplechase secured a four-year sweep of that event for Davies. Bryan Holtzman ’14 led all competitors in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash, then improved his time and won the final in a blazing 10.92 seconds. Kevin Chu ’14 also entered the finals of his event as the favorite and came out on top in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.71 seconds, good for eighth in the nation.
Finally, the men’s 4x100-meter relay team comprised of Chu, Holtzman, Fritz Parker ’15 and anchored by Will Bain ’15 bested the field with a time of 42.31.
On the women’s side, Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13 and Addie Tousley ’13 added to their long list of victories by claiming individual NESCAC championships. Ryan-Davis won the 800-meter run by nearly three seconds with a time of 2:13.73. Tousley was also a victor by three seconds in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:59.91. Her performance currently ranks sixth nationally.
Additionally, the 4x800-meter relay team of Sara Guth ’15, Alison Maxwell ’15, captain Sarah O’Brien ’13 and Nicole Schachman ’16 finished first with a time of 9:26.19.
Other members of the men’s team had successful days. Holtzman added to his 100-meter championship by placing second in the 200-meter dash.
“The toughest part about running multiple meets is taking each one event at a time,” said Holtzman. “I had to maintain focus on the first race before thinking about the next one. My strategy doesn’t change if I’m running one event or four. I owe my success to Coach Beatty. We came up with a plan to keep me well-rested in the week. This allowed me to perform for the entire day.”
Wilder Schaaf ’15 was a close second in the 1,500-meter run. Jason McCallum ’14 was another near-victor for the Panthers with a pole vault of 14’ 1.25”. Deklan Robinson ’16 and Taylor Shortsleeve ’15 tied for second in the high jump, each clearing 6’ 2”.
The men’s distance medley relay team of Patrick Hebble ’13, Sam Craft ’14, Cooper Kersey ’14 and Schaaf also placed second with a time of 10:10.63, just three tenths of a second behind the winning team from Bowdoin. The 4x400-meter team of Parker, Lou Cornacchione ’13, Patrick Rooney ’13 and Peter Hetzler ’14 finished third behind Tufts and Williams. Rooney also placed third in the triple jump and Davies added to his steeplechase victory by taking fourth in the 5,000-meter run in 14:41.69.
Emily Dodge ’13 posted a long jump of 18’ .25” – good for third in the competition and a new Middlebury school record – and also finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 36’ 7.5”. Grace Doering ’13 placed second in the high jump at 5’3”.
Ryan-Davis didn’t stop with the 800, but also ran the 400 meters and finished second. Additionally, the women’s 4x400- meter relay of Ryan-Davis, Alex Morris ’16, Jackie Kearney ’16 and Olivia Artaiz ’16 placed third in the meet. Maxwell and Kate Leib ’16 placed 3-4 in the women’s 1,500-meter run and Carly Andersen ’16 was fourth in the javelin throw to round out scoring for the women.
The women earned second-place by finishing with 117.5 points, behind only host Tufts.
The men’s 140 points, put them in third with a new Middlebury record for the NESCAC meet. The men trailed Tufts and Bates in the finals standings.
The next meet for both teams will be this coming weekend, May 3 and 4, at the Division III New England Championships, hosted by Colby College.
(05/01/13 8:04pm)
The Middlebury women’s tennis team welcomed a pair of nationally ranked teams this past weekend, including 19th-ranked Skidmore and top-ranked Amherst. They came away with one win, relentlessly defeating Skidmore 9-0 on Saturday, April 27, but suffered a marginal loss of 5-4 to the Amherst Lord Jeffs on Sunday, April 28.
Middlebury’s dominant win over Skidmore advanced their record to 10-4. The match began with the Panthers taking all three doubles points. This marked the seventh time this season that they have grabbed all doubles matches. Brittney Faber ’13 and Leah Kepping ’13 – currently ranked sixth in the Northeast – won handily over fourth ranked Nataly Mendoza and Lee Ford by a score of 8-1. Lok Sze Leung ’15 and Ria Gerger ’16 defeated their opposition 8-2 while Margot Marchese ’16 and Lauren Amos ’16 edged out an 8-6 victory.
The singles match wins were straightforward, as Middlebury did not lose a set in all six positions. Katie Paradies ’15 steamed to a 6-0, 6-1 stomping of her opponent at the no. 6 position while Dorrie Paradies ’14 gave up only one more game than her sister, ending the match 6-1, 6-1.
The Panthers’ next match was bound to be a tough one, as they have not lost a Division III match this year. Amherst took two of the three doubles matches, securing wins at the no. 1 and 3 positions. Faber and Kepping’s 8-3 loss came to the number-one-ranked team in the Northeast. Amherst’s Devlin has won the past two individual doubles national championships with two different partners, so this was a good test for the Middlebury pair. Leung and Gerger weathered a back and forth fight, eventually serving out their match 8-6. This win was a major step forward for the Panther women. The no. 3 position of Marchese and Amos fell to their Lord Jeff opponents 8-1.
Coming out of doubles, Middlebury needed four out of the six singles points to defeat the Lord Jeffs. They just barely missed this mark, coming away with just three wins.
Kepping gave Middlebury its first singles point, quickly finishing off 24th-ranked Sue Ghosh 6-2, 6-1. Currently first place in the Northeast, Leung counter-punched her way to Middlebury’s second singles point as she took down hard-hitting and second ranked Jordan Brewer 6-4, 6-3.
Gerger, currently sitting at number eight in the region, went the distance and upset seventh ranked Jennifer Newman 1-6, 6-3, 7-5. After losing the first set 6-1, Gerger did not show negativity, but instead an impressive amount of positive energy. In the second set, Gerger started to attack Newman’s serve, allowing her to be more in control of the match. Even though Middlebury won at positions one through three, they lost at positions four through six, with Marchese, Paradies ’14, and Faber all losing in straight sets.
Despite the loss, attitudes are positive heading forward.
“As the season has progressed, the team has really become one unit,” said Marchese. “When we improve and move forward the 10 of us do it together, and we can feel it. We all have a few kinks in our game and we are doing what we can to iron those out in order to bring our best tennis to NESCACs. We are confident in the intensity and ability that we possess and can’t wait to prove it to the rest of the NESCAC teams this coming May. If we continue to play the way we have recently, with the same fire, the rest should take care of itself.”
The Panthers head to Amherst College this coming weekend to compete in the NESCAC championships and will play in their first match on Friday. The result of the tournament will be instrumental for NCAA regional host selection.
(05/01/13 8:00pm)
After a two-year march to return to the national stage, the Middlebury College Rugby Club (MCRC) traveled to Pittsburgh this past weekend, April 27 and 28, for its first shot to compete in the Division I-AA national tournament. The four-team bracket in Pittsburgh pitted Middlebury against St. Bonaventure, Dartmouth and the University of Pittsburgh with the overall winner advancing to the national semifinals in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Despite a strong showing by MCRC in the weekend’s first game, the round of 16, the Panthers dropped a heart-breaking contest to St. Bonaventure by a score of 29-28. After being eliminated from the tournament, the Panthers downed Pittsburgh on Sunday 20-7 in the final match-up of the season to determine national rankings for next season.
The weekend was a significant one in the history of MCRC, as it was the program’s first ever trip to the tournament at the D1 level. Graduating senior Luke Dauner ’13 touched on the team’s emotions prior to the games.
“We were all pretty excited to be on that stage, playing with the best college rugby teams in the country,” said Dauner. “We were very proud, as the first MCRC squad to be there, but we weren’t thinking about past years or of the success we had in DII. We were focused on 2013 and the job we had to do; we wanted to prove that we belonged there.”
A large adjustment for MCRC has been the increased level of play at the Division I level since the team started competing there in the fall of 2011. The competition was even fiercer during the tournament than the normal intensity that the team is used to coming up against.
“The level of play was more intense and more physical,” he said. “Being in Division I for a couple years now, we were used to the increased competition, but it was on another level in the playoffs.”
Saturday’s game against St. Bonaventure started off well for Middlebury as the team opened up a 13-5 lead on the Bonnies by halftime. MCRC then pushed that advantage to 18-5 before St. Bonaventure responded with 19 unanswered points to take a 24-18 lead with only 13 minutes left on the clock.
The Panthers were not done yet, as a try followed by a penalty conversion swung the game back into Middlebury’s favor at 28-24 with three minutes left. A final try by the Bonnies, however, sealed the final score at 29-24.
Dylan Whitaker ’13, one of the team’s two captains, pointed to mistakes as the team’s weakness in the loss.
“Our biggest weakness in the game was continuing to give up penalties, costing us field position and forcing us to exhaust ourselves on defense and long drives,” said Whitaker. “Our offense was able to execute at all points in the game though, regardless of the pressure, which I think speaks to the character and caliber of our players. Refusing to be cowed or disheartened by a deficit showed the heart of every man on the field."
For Dauner, the loss was particularly tough to stomach given that it was his and several other seniors’ last shot at a national championship ring.
“It was one of the toughest losses I’ve ever been a part of. We controlled most of the game, but in the end we gave up a few too many penalties, and St. Bonaventure capitalized on those mistakes,” he said. “Everyone was pretty torn up, especially for the seniors for whom it was their last shot at a ring. However we had a game the next day and we had to move on.”
The next day, MCRC – missing six injured players from the contest on the day before – defeated a Pittsburgh team that had lost to Dartmouth the day before. In the final collegiate rugby game for four seniors, including Dauner, Whitaker, Nate Brown ’13 and Don Song ’13, MCRC battled rainy conditions to ride 20 points from Jake Feury ’16 to cement the 20-7 advantage.
“After a devastating loss the day before with a lot of injuries, we turned it around and played our hearts out, and it made me incredibly proud,” said Dauner. “We were obviously very bummed that we didn’t move on to the final four, but we were able to show everyone that we came to play, and that we belong in Division I. The team was in high spirits for the bus ride home.”
The Panthers will return to action this fall in East Coast Rugby Conference play.
(05/01/13 7:53pm)
Middlebury swept Wesleyan in a three game series on Friday and Saturday, April 26-27, securing a spot in the NESCAC Tournament and improving to 23-9 overall. With these wins the team earned the top spot in the NESCAC West going into the playoffs. Middlebury then put themselves in a strong position for their first NESCAC tournament game against Bowdoin with two wins against Johnson State on Tuesday, April 30.
Middlebury opened up the scoring in the top of the fourth with a triple from Kimber Sable ’14, who was then brought home on a sacrifice fly by Jessa Hoffman ’13. The offensive charge continued in the top of the fifth as RBI singles from Sable, Jackie Stern ’16 and Hoffman added three more runs.
Wesleyan fought back in the bottom of the fifth, racking up seven runs from four hits with three Panther errors. Five of the runs were scored unearned off Elizabeth Morris ’14, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the game.
The Panthers weren’t behind for long, as a single from Alex Scibetta ’14 plated Carlyn Vachow ’16 before a grand slam over the centerfield fence by Sable secured Middlebury the win, 8-7.
Sable finished the game 3-4 with a triple, homer, three runs scored and four RBIs while Scibetta went 2-3 with two runs scored.
Although the team secured a spot in the upcoming NESCAC tournament with a win in the weekend’s first game against Wesleyan, Middlebury didn’t look to back down on day two, starting the day with a 10-2 blowout.
With the score tied at 2-2 after runs from Sable and Hoffman, the Panthers erupted, bringing in eight runs in the fifth inning.
Hoffman started the charge with her fourth home run of the season, before a sacrifice fly by Vachow following a double by Emily Kraytenberg ’14 made it 4-2.
Sarah Boylan ’13 added a triple before an RBI single from Emma Katz ’13 extended the lead to 6-2. An error from the Wesleyan fielders allowed four more unearned runs to cross the plate, a two-run double by Kraytenberg tying things up for the Panthers.
Alexa Lesenskyj (6-6) ’14 pitched the first four innings to get the win. Hoffman went 2-3 with two RBIs and one home run, while Jessica Poracky ’13 went 2-3 with one RBI.
Middlebury was not able to repeat a similar scoring feat in the second game, recording just one run for the final win of the series.
To start the 11th inning, a dropped pop-up and awalk got runners to first and second base for Middlebury, before an RBI single down the third-base line from Poracky scored Kelsey Martel.
Morris tossed the final seven innings for Middlebury, sprinkling just two hits and a walk over that stretch while recording five strikeouts. Morris did not allow any runs over that seven-inning stretch, and earned the win for her effort.
Coach Kelly Bevere expressed that tough games against Wesleyan have prepared the team well for the upcoming NESCAC tournament.
“Our team is ready for NESCACs,” said Bevere. “We have been on a mission since the beginning of the season and we’ve really progressed and improved each day. Its important for us to just have some fun and play together; that is the only expectation I have.”
The mid-week game on April 30 just reinforced the team’s confidence going into the NESCAC tournament.
In the first game of the day, Middlebury showed their ruthlessness offensively, racking up 17 runs. Boylan finished 3-4 with two runs and six RBIs while Hoffman went 2-5 with three runs and two RBIs. Rookies Neve Stearns ’16 and Kat Maehr ’16 earned the win for Middlebury, only allowing two hits in the entire game between them.
Middlebury wasn’t able to recreate the same scoring prowess in the second game, hanging on to a tightly contested 3-2 victory. Vachow went 3-4 with one RBI while Sable went 3-4. Lesenskyj went 6.1 allowing five hits and one run before Stearns earned the win.
The Panthers open up their tournament against Bowdoin on Friday, May 3, at Tufts.
(05/01/13 7:45pm)
The Middlebury men’s tennis team concluded its regular season when they succumbed to Amherst 2-7 last Saturday, April 27. The Panthers dropped to 17-3 in the season and 5-2 in NESCAC.
Ranked 17th in the latest national poll, reigning NESCAC champion Amherst is regarded as one of the strongest teams in the country this year. They also beat Williams 5-4 earlier this season, a team that defeated the Panthers a week ago.
Playing on the Lord Jeffs’ home court, the Middlebury squad fought hard but could not prevent themselves from going down 1-2 after doubles play.
The number-one pair of juniors Alex Johnston ’14 and Andrew Lebovitz ’14 came out strong as they took down their opponents 8-6.
Fellow classmate Brantner Jones ’14 and first-year Palmer Campbell ’16 were able to break serve early on in their match. However, leading 7-4, the duo had difficulty closing out and unfortunately fell in the tiebreaker. Senior tri-captains Spencer Lunghino ’13 and Will Oberrender ’13 were topped by their Amherst opponents with a score of 4-8.
In singles play, matches went back and forth throughout as the Panthers hung tight with the Lord Jeffs. Most of the sets were determined by the margin of just one service break.
Nevertheless, out of the six contests, Lunghino was the only Panther to earn a win. With his strong serves and powerful ground strokes, the senior battled to a 6-3, 7-6 win over his opponent, a nationally ranked player.
At the top spot, Johnston suffered a heartbreaking loss to a talented opponent. The number-one Panther attempted to make a comeback after dropping the first set 5-7. He crawled back in the second set to within two at a score of 7-5 but eventually lost in the super-tiebreaker 4-10.
Playing on court five, first-year Jackson Frons ’16 fell just short of notching a victory. He had a seesaw match against a player who has been undefeated against Division III opponents this season. Frons won a close 6-4 in the first set and lost 2-6 in the second. In the deciding set, the rookie had a match point but unfortunately fell 6-7 (7-9).
Playing next to Frons was junior Teddy Fitzgibbons ’14. Even though he fell behind 3-6 in the opening set, the mentally tough Fitzgibbons counterpunched his way back. He was eventually defeated 5-7 in the second set. At the number two and three spots, Jones and Campbell had lengthy exchanges with the Amherst foes but went down in the identical scores of 3-6, 3-6.
The match marked the end of the Panthers’ regular season, but the Middlebury men are expecting three more weeks of competition as they aim for a national championship run.
Head coach Bob Hansen commented on Saturday’s match.
“I definitely saw signs of us getting better against Amherst,” said Hansen. “We were up 7-4, one break at two doubles and lost in the breaker. That was a potential game changer. Alex lost a breaker for the third at one but is definitely in that one. Jackson had a match point at five before losing 9-7 in the breaker to a guy who has not lost all year. Jackson looked good and we will stick with him going forward.”
This Friday, May 3, the Panthers travel to Amherst for the NESCAC championships. They will take on Tufts in the opening round of the six-team draw.
Just a week ago, the Panthers rallied to a nail-biting 5-4 win over the Jumbos.
Undoubtedly, this weekend’s match will be crucial in determining NCAA-tournament selection. If the Middlebury squad advances, the men will face second-seed Williams.
Hansen spoke about the team’s outlook going forward.
“We are still trying to find our way in doubles but have improved there as well especially at one where Alex and Andrew won again,” said Hansen. “I feel we are getting closer and closer to a top-quality win and will continue to do the things that will make us stronger in singles and doubles. We may still roll out a slightly different lineup but that will be determined tomorrow.”
(05/01/13 2:43pm)
Inspired by the fervor for educational reform among members of the college community, Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) has invited Mike Feinberg, co-founder of Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) schools, to be the 2013 spring speaker. KIPP is a nationwide group of free charter schools aimed at preparing students in underprivileged communities for college.
Feinberg will give a lecture called “KIPP to Z: Lessons Learned to Help All Children Succeed in School and Life” at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7 in Mead Chapel, followed by a question and answer session. No tickets are necessary for the talk, and all students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome.
Feinberg started KIPP in 1994 with co-founder Dave Levin just three years after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. While working for Teach for America in Houston, Texas, Feinberg and Levin were frustrated when they noticed that even the most successful students in their fifth grade classrooms lost their good habits — not skipping class, not smoking — when they moved on to other grades. The determination to make a long-term educational impact on students gave Feinberg and Levin the idea for the KIPP program, and in 1995, they founded KIPP Academy in Houston.
Unlike private schools, admission to KIPP schools, which run fifth grade to twelfth grade, is determined by lottery. They are similar to private schools in their rigor and demanded level of commitment. Students have class from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., for four hours on Saturday and must come to school for an extra month in the summer. Students, parents and teachers are all required to sign a learning pledge called a “Commitment to Excellence” in which all three parties promise to take every action to promote the child’s learning.
Monica Moua ’15, a graduate of the KIPP Summit Academy in San Lorenzo, Calif., believes that it was this cooperation that separated her educational experience from those at other schools.
“We stress the value of a team and family, because KIPP becomes our second home,” reflected Moua. “We work hard at breaking down walls and barriers that typically separate individuals to create a space where everyone is given an equal opportunity to thrive.”
Kit Tse ’16, who attended a KIPP school for high school, believes her teachers were the most influential part of her KIPP experience.
“They hold an immense amount of passion and enthusiasm for teaching and have high standards for their students,” said Tse. “It is incredible how much they care about their students personally and academically.”
Moua credits her KIPP experience for keeping her on the path towards college.
“They always said, ‘Climb the mountain to college,’” said Moua. “If I had never made the decision to enter a KIPP school, I do not believe I would have taken the opportunities that allowed me to get where I am today.”
There are currently 125 KIPP schools in 20 states, educating more than 41,000 students. Feinberg now works on regional and global development for the KIPP foundation and serves on the board for KIPP Houston. Among many prizes and recognitions, Feinberg and Levin received the Presidential Citizen’s Medal for their inspiring work, the United State’s second highest presidential award for private citizens.
Christian Schoning ’13 and Ellie Alldredge ’15 of the MCAB Speakers Committee thought Feinberg would be “a timely pick” for the spring speaker because of the widespread interest in education issues at the College.
This fall’s panels on affirmative action generated much discourse on campus, and the waitlist for the class Education in America is one of the longest at the College. Furthermore, approximately one quarter of the class of 2012 is presently employed in education, a higher percentage than any other occupation.
Alldredge explained how Feinberg’s youth paired with his amazing accomplishments was a main draw for MCAB.
“He’s a social entrepreneur who really manifested his dream and his goal within 10 years of leaving college,” said Alldredge. “Who could be a better role model to bring to our campus?”
There are presently several KIPP school graduates who attend Middlebury College and a few alums of the College teach at KIPP schools. The College has had applicants from KIPP schools in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, North Carolina and Arkansas and hopes to enroll more KIPP students in the future.
As part of the event, MCAB will host a dinner in partnership with Atwater Commons for students of the College who are KIPP graduates to meet with Feinberg.
MCAB will also host a small-scale discussion before the talk for students to speak with Feinberg, in addition to the question and answer session following the lecture. Students who are interested in this discussion, which will focus on the role of charter school and other reforms in promoting educational change, should email MCAB at mcabspeak@middlebury.edu explaining their interest in the discussion.
(04/25/13 1:11am)
This past Saturday, April 20, the Middlebury men’s lacrosse team suited up to take on Colby in front of parents, friends and alumni. The men had no problems with the Mules, running to a 16-10 win.
“Having the alumni up here for alumni weekend is always a lot of fun, and it is encouraging to see the support that we have from a group of people who really care about the program,” said goalie Gabe Weissmann ’15. “Given that last year’s game was a loss for us on alumni weekend, they were all really excited to see us dominate Colby, especially since Colby ended our hopes at making playoffs last year.”
The teams traded leads early, but a Middlebury goal from Mike Giordano ’13 kicked off a 10-goal barrage to give the Panthers solid control of the game. Jon Broome ’16 added a goal to give Middlebury a 4-3 lead before Erich Pfeffer ’13 added one of his own to give the Panthers a 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Tim Giarrusso ’16, Stew Kerr ’13 and Andrew Metros ’13 added goals to separate the Panthers from the Mules. By the end of the half, Middlebury had opened up a 10-3 lead.
Coming out of the break, Joel Blockowicz ’15 nailed a lefty shot to reopen the Panther scoring. By the time Colby was able to answer the Middlebury barrage seven minutes into the half, the Panthers had racked up a 12-4 lead which they would not relinquish. The teams traded goals in the fourth quarter – including a tally from Metros – and the Mules were able to trim the deficit to six, but the Panthers held on to win 16-10.
Giordano finished the game with three goals and two assists while Broome added two goals and two assists. Pfeffer and Metros added hat tricks to the stat sheets, while Kerr ended his penultimate regular-season game with two goals and an assist.
Nate Gaudio ’14 recorded 10 saves in the net for Middlebury before being relieved by Jack Reilly ’13 in the game’s final minute.
Middlebury out-shot Colby 53-36 on the day, including a 31-17 first-half advantage. The Panthers also held significant advantages in ground balls and turnovers.
“A combination of hard work, driven attitudes and an ability to play loose on game days are all contributing to the success of our season,” said Weissmann. “Our ability to continue to push ourselves in practice and never settle for mediocrity is a contributing factor as to why this year has been so different.”
After beating the Mules, the Panthers advance to 11-2 on the season and 7-2 in NESCAC play. The win also secured the team’s place in the NESCAC quarterfinals, which they will host this Saturday, April 27 on Youngman Field.
“We are going to approach this game as we do with every other game, worrying about what we need to do to carry out our game plan between the starting and ending whistles and nothing else,” said Weissmann.
(04/25/13 1:05am)
Middlebury continued its impressive streak with a string of wins consisting of a double header against Plymouth on Wednesday, April 17 and a series win against Williams on Friday and Saturday April 19-20. Middlebury was unable to build off a strong showing against Williams, falling 2-0 in their double header against Keene State on Tuesday, April 23.
The Panthers started with a 4-2 win over Plymouth. They scored two quick runs in the first inning as Jessica Poracky ’13 plated two runners. Jackie Stern ’16 also got on the scoreboard, driven in by Christina Bicks’s ’15 triple to left-center. Middlebury finished scoring after Poracky singled before being pushed home over a double from Emily Kraytenberg ’14.
Plymouth were unable to get a run off pitcher Alex Lesenskyj ’14 until the fifth inning after a homer from Calli DeGrace earned Plymouth two runs. Lesenskyj tossed seven innings, scattered six hits, allowed two earned runs and struck out three.
Poracky finished 2-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Kraytenberg with a double and Bicks with a triple each added an RBI.
Middlebury picked up where they left off in the second game, putting four runs on the board in the first inning. With the bases loaded, Kraytenberg delivered an infield single for an RBI. Carlyn Vachow ’16 followed with a two-RBI double down the left field line. A fielding error allowed Kraytenberg to score from third for the fourth run of the inning. Plymouth brought home its only run of the game off an RBI single from Cynthia Barata.
After Plymouth pulled off a rare triple play, the hosts added their final run in the sixth as Kimber Sable ’14 slammed an RBI double to center, scoring Bicks. Sable finished 3-3 with a pair of singles and an RBI double while Kraytenberg went 2-2 with a triple and an RBI with two runs scored. Kat Maehr ’16 went 4.2 innings allowing one earned run and striking out three as Neve Stearns ’16 picked up her first career save, tossing 2.1 innings and striking out two.
The Panthers started their series against Williams with a 3-0 win on Friday, April 19. With a runner on second in the bottom of the first, Jessa Hoffman ’13 hit a one-out RBI double to the gap in left field. Middlebury added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Stern earned a walk before moving to second on a put-out and to third on a wild pitch. Poracky followed with an RBI single to drive in Stern. Poracky was pulled for pinch-runner Kelsey Martel ’15 who moved to second on a wild pitch and later scored on a throwing error.
Five Panthers had hits in the game, led by Hoffman’s RBI double. Elizabeth Morris ’14 pitched the whole game, allowing six hits over seven scoreless innings and struck out four.
Middlebury wasn’t able to continue its 14-game winning streak, falling in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader. The Ephs scored three runs unanswered in the first four innings. In the fifth, the Panthers were able to get a run back as Poracky hit a sacrifice fly to right with the bases loaded. Williams added its final run in the top of the seventh after Kacy Cramer doubled in Ali Graebner.
Vachow’s double highlighted the four hits for the Panthers while Lesenskyj went four innings, allowing three runs and one strike before Stearns pitched the final three innings in relief, striking out one and allowing one earned run.
The Panthers were able to reverse their fortunes in the second game with a 10-2 win. In particularly spectacular fashion, the Panthers scored four runs in the second, with Hoffman recording her school-record 176th hit – a two-RBI single – to make it a 5-0 game. Adding a run in the third and fourth, Morris rested on a 7-0 lead, allowing a pair of runs in the sixth and two runs scored.
Middlebury ended the game in the sixth, scoring three in the frame. After Sable opened with a single while Hoffman hit a one-out single, both were brought in by RBI singles, one from Poracky and the other from Kraytenberg. With the bases loaded, Sarah Boylan ’13 hit an RBI single to bring in the final run of the game.
Hoffman finished her historic game with two hits and two RBI, while Sable went 3-3 with a triple and three runs scored. Morris went six innings, striking out three and allowing two earned.
Middlebury returns to action against Wesleyan on Friday, April 26 to determine its place in the NESCAC Tournament.
“This is a great opportunity for us,” said head coach Kelly Bevere. “We’ve worked with a theme of improving each game all year and now we are in a position where we control our own destiny. It’s important to just stay the course and go out there and do what we’ve been doing all season long.”
In Tuesday’s double header against Keene State, the Panthers opened up the scoring in the top of the first as a double to right field from Poracky allowed Vachow to score. They added to their score after Hoffman hit a homer to center field, bringing in Vachow from second base. Middlebury then lost grip on their lead, giving up four Keene State runs on three hits in the bottom of the third.
Vachow finished 1-2 while Hoffman went 1-3 with two RBIs. Lesenskyj took the loss for Middlebury, allowing seven hits and four runs.
The nightcap was also a low-scoring affair, as Middlebury was unable to get on the board. The Panther batswomen were unable to connect with Owls pitcher Katie Newell, who only gave up one hit in the entire game while striking out fives.
In the bottom of the third, Keene State was first able to score through an error in the field, before a single RBI from Sara Bracken brought in Anna Glassman for the final run of the game.
Kraytenberg went 1-2 while pitcher Stearns allowed five hits and two runs scored.
(04/25/13 12:56am)
The ninth-ranked Middlebury men’s tennis team went 2-1 during a three-match homestand Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21. On Saturday, the men scored a 6-2 win over Stevens Tech., but suffered a 2-7 loss to fifth-ranked Williams later that afternoon. On Sunday, they squeezed out a nerve-wracking 5-4 victory over Tufts. Junior Alex Johnston ’14 — the 20th-ranked singles player — spearheaded the squad by pulling out the clinching singles matches at the top spot in a third-set tie breaker.
The team began the weekend with a solid victory over Stevens Tech. at the Nelson indoor courts. The Panthers managed to win two out of three doubles matches. The lefty-righty pair of Johnston and fellow classmate Andrew Lebovitz ’14 topped its opponents 8-4 while senior tri-captains Will Oberrender ’13 and Spencer Lunghino ’13 earned a win by the same score. On the second court, first-year Palmer Campbell ’16 and junior Brantner Jones ’14 fell in a lengthy 8-6 battle.
Sophomore Courtney Mountifield ’15 stormed to a 6-0, 6-0 decision at the fifth singles spot, giving Middlebury a 3-1 lead. First-year Jackson Frons ’16 dispatched his opponent in two sets as well. He won 6-0, 6-4 with relative ease.
The men faced unforeseen resilience in the other matches, however. Senior tri-captain Alec Parower ’13 and Allen Jackson ’16 were both taken into third sets in their respective singles matches. Parower dropped a tight first set 6-7 (4) before coming from behind to win the second and third sets 6-2, 6-3 to seal the win. Jackson won the opening set but had trouble holding serves in the second set. He eventually pronounced a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 verdict. Finally, on the first court, tied at 4-4 in the final set, Lunghino was forced to forfeit because — as a doubles starter — he had to prepare for the Williams match that was scheduled to start at 2 p.m. that afternoon.
The clash between the Ephs and the Panthers was set to play outdoors. Gaining an early advantage in doubles play was particularly important since Williams has long been known to be strong in that field. Unfortunately, despite their valiant efforts, the Middlebury men could not avoid going down on all three courts. Johnston and Lebovitz were defeated by a two-game margin, 8-6. The duo of Campbell and Jones was downed 8-5. Jones and Campbell were unable to capitalize on an early 4-1 lead before the momentum quickly shifted to the other end of the court. In the third singles match, the Oberender-Lunghino pair had their moments during the pro-set but eventually succumbed to an 8-4 loss.
In the singles matches, Williams proved to be dominant in the lower flight matches, sweeping the third through sixth spots. Campbell suffered a narrow 4-6, 4-6 defeat. Fellow first-year Ari Smolyar ’16, meanwhile, fell 3-6, 1-6. Juniors Teddy Fitzgibbons ’14 and Zach Bruchmiller ’14 similarly went down 2-6, 0-6 and 3-6, 3-6, respectively.
Relying on his aggressive play, Jones dispatched a skillful opponent in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. On the other hand, Johnston fought back from a 2-6 first set loss, concluding the match with a 10-7 victory in the third set super-tiebreaker.
“From an individual perspective I’m very happy with my performances this weekend,” said Johnston. “I had some tough tests and was able to come through in the crucial moments which is a huge positive for me.”
Unfortunately for the Panthers, however, Jones and Johnston accounted for the team’s only two points in the match.
On Sunday, the unranked Tufts Jumbos managed to push Middlebury in a drama-filled contest. The Panthers earned a 2-1 lead after doubles, as the pairs of Johnston and Lebovitz and Oberrender and Lunghino won on their courts to give Middlebury the lead. In singles play, Jones and Campbell went down early, but Fitzgibbons and Smolyar helped Middlebury bounce back with straight-set victories. With Middlebury leading 4-3, the match came down to the first and sixth courts. After a lot of lengthy exchanges, Bruchmiller was defeated 5-7 in the third and decisive set. In the meantime, Johnston’s match went into a third set tiebreaker. With his big serve, Johnston finally emerged victorious with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5) decision.
The team traveled to Skidmore Tuesday, April 23 to compete against the 27th ranked Thoroughbreds. The Panthers came away with a 6-3 win. After doubles play, the team sat at 1-2 after losing both the no. 2 and no. 3 doubles mathes. Despite this, the Panthers were able to clinch five out of the six singles matches. Johnston lead the pack in the no. 1 singles position with a tough three set win. Both Jones and Campbell earned wins in only two sets while Frons and Smolyar fought through three sets for the win.
The team will return to action this weekend as they travel to Amherst on Saturday, April 27. The 17th-ranked Lord Jeffs, who recently topped Williams 5-4, will provide another final, challenging regular season test for Bob Hansen’s team. Middlebury will return to Amherst a week later for the NESCAC championships.
“As a team we have a lot to work on,” said Johnston. “If we are going to beat the top teams we have to find a way of putting up more points in doubles. Our singles is good, but not good enough to go 0-3 after doubles against top-10 opponents.”
(04/25/13 12:50am)
The Panthers played strong on Friday, April 19 beating Wesleyan 4-3, but dropped both games of the doubleheader Saturday, April 20, in a weekend series against the Cardinals at Forbes Field. Although Panthers moved to a 4-8 NESCAC record (9-14 overall) with three divisional series remaining on the season, head-to-head records within the NESCAC West division have sealed the playoff picture early with the Cardinals (7-2) and top-seeded Amherst (8-1) clinching the number-two and number-one berths, respectively, meaning that the Panthers will not compete in the playoffs.
Friday’s opener saw the continued trend of stellar Panther pitching as Eric Truss ’15 gave up just three runs on 11 hits to bring his season earned run average to a cool 3.96. He currently leads the pitching staff in wins.
Wesleyan struck first scoring on a sacrifice fly to center field in the top half of the first inning. A bunt single put two-hitter Andrew Lin on base and another single through the right side moved him into scoring position. Middlebury responded quickly with three straight hits in the bottom of the inning, the third a two-RBI single by Michael Morris ’13, to take the lead. But the Cardinals replied with a four-hit second inning that saw two men cross the plate to bring the game to 3-2 early.
That would prove to be all the damage that Wesleyan would do as Truss shut down the lineup for the remaining seven innings, scattering five hits and giving up just one walk in the third. The Panthers would score again in the bottom of the inning off of two hits and once more in the fourth on a Thomas Driscoll ’13 double, which would prove to be enough for the Panthers to take game one by a score of 4-3.
Middlebury’s offense was silenced for game two on Saturday, however, as the Panthers managed only two hits in the seven-inning game en route to a 6-0 shutout loss. Wesleyan’s Jeff Blout took the complete game win throwing nine strikeouts and two walks.
On the defensive side, five total errors — three of which came in the final two innings — tainted the solid pitching performances by seniors Tyler Buckingham ’13 and John Popkowski ’13. Buckingham took the loss after giving up four runs, none of which were earned, on two hits in five-and-two-thirds innings. In the sixth, the Cardinals tacked on three runs to a 1-0 lead off of two hits and two errors. Though that would prove to be more than enough against Middlebury’s struggling offense, Wesleyan added two more in the top of the seventh on three hits and another error to cap the game.
Saturday’s second game saw intense offensive action early from both sides, but the Panther bats dulled after the second inning and they dropped game two by a score of 8-4. In the bottom half of the first inning, Middlebury drove in three runs on two hits and a Wesleyan error, with RBIs by Hunter Merryman ’15, Dylan Sinnickson ’15 and Andrew Lind ’13. Wesleyan answered quickly in the top of the second with an offensive surge of four hits and four runs, but Middlebury tied it up at 4-4 in the bottom half of the inning.
The Panthers’ potent hitting unfortunately cooled after their two innings, managing just two hits throughout the rest of the game against reliever Sam Elias. Wesleyan, on the other hand, snatched three unearned runs off of two errors and two hits against Middlebury reliever Logan Mobley ’15 in the third before coasting to a win. Noah Bakker ’15 threw five strong relief innings after Mobley, giving up another run in the sixth to bring the game to what would be the final score.
The Panthers, though disappointed at missing the NESCAC playoffs for the 2013 season, nonetheless look to build upon the season’s pitching improvements and fine-tune their defense through the remainder of the season.
“[Our plan is to] win as many games as possible to end the season on a high note, leave the seniors ... with a good end for them, and get the younger players as much experience as possible,” Dittrich said. “I think with those three goals in mind we can find a happy medium and at least take some positives from this season and get the program headed in the right direction for the future.”
On Tuesday, April 23, the team split a weekday double-header against St. Michaels, losing the first 7-1 but came back to win the second game 7-0, riding a complete game shut-out from Baaker. Merryman led the Panthers with three hits, scoring two runs and batting in two more.
The Panthers will head out to Hartford for a double-header against Trinity this Saturday, April 27.
(04/25/13 12:39am)
Security concerns following the marathon bombings in Boston forced the Middlebury women’s tennis team to cancel its match against MIT and postpone another against Tufts to Sunday, April 21.
The Panthers ultimately defeated the Jumbos 7-2, improving their record to 9-4 overall.
“While we had to be flexible in waiting to see what transpired with the tragic events in Boston, we had some great extra practices and had a great match against a scrappy Tufts team on Sunday,” said head coach Mike Morgan.
The Middlebury women started off the match well by taking two of the three doubles points, at the no. 2 and 3 positions. The second doubles team of Lok Sze Leung ’15 and Ria Gerger ’16 won by a convincing score of 8-4, while first-years Lauren Amos ’16 and Margot Marchese ’16 dominated their opponents 8-3 in the third doubles match. The first-year pair improved their record to 8-2 on the season with the victory as the combination of Amos’s fiery play along with Marchese’s accurate and consistent shots have worn out their opponents. Middlebury’s lone doubles loss came in the no. 1 match as Brittney Faber and Leah Kepping lost a close contest by a score of 8-6.
Middlebury continued its dominant play by taking five of six singles matches, with the sole loss in the no. 4 match, by a tight score of 4-6, 7-5, 10-8. In the top singles match Leung kept her nerve, beating Lindsay Katz 6-0, 7-6 (2). After Leung blanked her in the first set, Katz came out firing in the second, but Leung’s tricky lefty game eventually took a toll on her opponent. Gerger, in the no. 2 position, downed here opponent 6-3, 7-5, improving her remarkable singles record to 10-2. Gerger’s penetrating serve combined with her tremendous baseline and net play gives her multiple ways to win points, much to the demise of many of her opponents. Senior Leah Kepping ’13, meanwhile, only conceded three games during her match, leaving the court with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Another Middlebury singles victory came from the no. 4 position, where Marchese used her improved serve and anticipation to fight her way to a 3-6, 6-4, 12-10 win.
After a long road back from surgery, Faber is once again in the singles lineup. Playing singles for the first time since May 2012, Faber revealed her mental strength with 6-4, 6-0 victory. A strong all-round player, Faber had success pushing her opponent behind the baseline and finishing points at the net.
“Brittney always brings great fight to her matches,” added Morgan.
The women host a pair of matches Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, competing against Skidmore and top-ranked Amherst, respectively. These mark the final regular season matches. Middlebury will travel to Amherst a week later for the NESCAC championships.
The Panthers enter the stretch run of the season having won three of their last four matches and playing strong individual tennis.
“Every player improved in at least one area, but most importantly they all played with determination and owned their individual matches,” said Morgan. “It was great to see.”
(04/24/13 4:47pm)
The tagline for the It Happens Here (IHH) event Monday, April 22, was “Let’s talk about what we don’t talk about.” At 7:30 p.m. the McCullough Social Space was filled to full capacity — with organizers forced to turn people away at the door to watch in Crossroads Café — as audience members waited to listen to readings of student experiences with sexual violence.
“Last night was a wonderful opportunity for the school to learn about a problem that affects all of us,” said Luke Carroll Brown ’13.5, an IHH leader and organizer of the event. “The amount of courage shown by the 23 students who shared their stories is absolutely remarkable. They put themselves out on a very public limb so that the rest of us could learn from their experiences. Their actions were exceptionally brave and exceptionally helpful.”
Of the 23 stories, 18 were read anonymously and five read out loud by their authors. Some of the pieces were monologues while others were poems. The stories were projected behind the student readers.
“I feel like It Happens Here is the most powerful event I have ever been a part of on this campus,” said Rana Abdelhamid ’15, one of the readers for the event. “It is such an honor to have had the opportunity to read the story of a young woman who had the courage to share her experience with the rest of our community.
“At the same time, since my piece actually happened at Middlebury the experience was sobering and a bit overwhelming,” she continued. “It reminded me that yes, it does happen here and that she could be my friend or my classmate. It makes me also reflect on what we can possibly do to make sure this doesn’t happen anymore.”
The stories this year were longer than those from last year, and more students chose to read their own stories. The stories were submitted through an anonymous website (go/ithappenshere) created at the beginning of spring semester. All of the stories submitted were presented. All traffic from the go links is now being directed to IHHMidd.org, which now has the majority of the event’s stories in video or text from.
“It was powerful,” said Dustin Lowman ’15. “There’s not much else to say. The simplicity of the night and the honesty of the readers was soul-shattering.”
Students entering the McCullough Social Space were handed flyers describing the event and giving the College Handbook definitions for consent and coercion. The flyers also had a sticky note attached to the back, so that students could “join the conversation” around sexual assault. Students were encouraged to write on their sticky notes and add them to the large map outside of the Grille.
“Watching the crowds of people cram into McCullough, I was at first worried that this event would have a sensational tone to it,” said Kalya Koltes ’15.5. “But as soon as the first story was read aloud, I was deeply moved by the presentation’s simplicity. I have a lot of respect for the people who shared their experiences.
“Events like these show us how important it is to break the silence and stigma about any form of sexual assault,” she continued. “I hope that the conversations will continue after this event and impact people’s understanding of this complex issue.”
Director of Chellis House Karin Hanta reminded students at the beginning of the event that counseling services was ready to handle any emotions stemming from IHH.
After the event, many students congregated outside of the entrance to continue discussion and tack up their sticky notes.
On Tuesday, April 23, there was a follow-up dinner in Redfield Proctor.
“We thought it would be a good way to decompress from such an emotional event,” said Carroll Brown.
“I hope that the event might lead to a cultural shift in the way we think about sexual violence,” said Emily Pedowitz ’13, an IHH leader and member of the Sexual Assault Oversight Committee (SAOC). “By opening a space to hear our peers’ stories, I hope Middlebury can grow to understand sexual assault as a common and difficult experience, to be better able to support those who have experienced this, and also to foster empathy and knowledge of consent in all students so that rates of sexual violence on Middlebury campus might decrease. I really do believe the first step to all of this is sharing narratives and growing from each others’ experiences.”
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The next related event is Monday April 29, when Grace Brown, creator of Project Unbreakable, will give a talk in Dana Auditorium.
(04/24/13 4:41pm)
Environmentalists across North America have recently become infatuated with the XL Keystone Pipeline System. The current proposals will expand the pipeline system to provide oil from Alberta, Canada to Texas. What many environmental groups protesting this pipeline fail to comprehend is that the oil will come to market, pipeline or no pipeline.
The United States has consumed between 18 and 21 million barrels of oil a day for roughly five years, of which Canada was the largest provider last year at an estimated 2.7 million barrels per day. Canada will increase this number over the next decade. The expansion of the Keystone Pipeline system is a crucial part of those plans. And as an environmentalist, Canadian and student living in Vermont, I find it bizarre that so many people would be against its construction. The prevention of this pipeline’s construction will simply mean that more oil is delivered to U.S. refineries by rail. There is no technology currently on the horizon that will replace oil in North America.
“There are hidden costs people aren’t taking into account when you are considering wind, solar and hydro power,” says Glenn Dawson, a geologist and president of Williston Hunter Canada Inc. “Solar panels are made entirely from oil. Wind turbines from steal that require iron ore, coal and energy to produce, ship and install. And while hydro might provide efficient energy, you can never reclaim an enormous dam, but you can reclaim the land from a mine.”
So who gains from protesting and preventing the XL expansions?
Not environmentalists. The political capital being drained from otherwise productive initiatives is unbelievable. No one is applying the appropriate amount of pressure to Congress and the administration to institute proper oversight and double well drilling required in every other modern oil-producing country in the world, which could have prevented the BP Horizon catastrophe.
Consumers lose too, as the oil will come to American market by rail, an inefficient form of transportation. 590,000 barrels a day will travel the XL into U.S. markets. A “whale belly” car carries roughly 33,000 gallons or 1,050 barrels. That means that 560 rail cars will need to be loaded with oil, shipped from Alberta to Houston while stopping at customs and other cities and then unloaded constantly. Adding in track repair and maintenance, the financial costs are enormous.
“Most people believe they are paying WTI (West Texas Intermediate) prices at the pump, but they’re not. They are paying Brent, which is $10-20 more per barrel. The people making the money are the middlemen that can buy Albertan oil at the wellhead for $45 and sell to gulf refineries after shipping by rail for the $100 Brent price. The pipeline should help narrow that gap for American consumers,” explained Mr. Dawson.
The environment also loses. How many extra tons of fossil fuels will be burned in order to accomplish this? It takes approximately one gallon of oil energy to transport 1 rail car approximately 440 miles. With the route to Houston roughly 2,500 miles, each shipment of 560 rail cars will take roughly 3,180 gallons of oil energy to transfer that oil from Alberta to Houston. And let’s not forget the huge impact of extra super tankers docking, loading and shipping oil from Africa and the Persian Gulf.
“We have the toughest regulations in the world,” reasons Mr. Dawson. “Do people really think that Venezuela, Africa and Russia adhere to the same environmental standards that Canadians and Americans do? We are constantly increasing our efficiency with water use and this oil will protect American needs from embargo, war and any other unforeseeable diplomatic squabbles.”
The relationship between two of the closest allies in the history of the world also suffers. The debate over this pipeline is a thorn in the side of two countries that are quite literally family. I love both countries. I am Canadian, but I call Vermont home, whether I’m traveling in America or Europe. And by the way, Canada is part of America too — it’s North America. And if I could have it my way there wouldn’t be a border between us.
However, there is a bright spot. Norwegian light crude (Brent) and Persian oil will both be cheaper relative to Alberta synthetic crude and Bakken shale oil from North Dakota and Montana. Americans will purchase more from abroad without even realizing it. The pipeline proposed to cross the Rockies and deposit crude into super tankers in the Pacific Ocean for distribution in Chinese and Japanese markets will also gain steam.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy has steadily recovered for the past two years following the recession, steadily expanding demand for synthetic crude. Refineries along the gulf coast have met this demand by importing larger quantities of crude from Venezuela, whose profits go directly into a regime that promotes distinctly anti-American sentiment.
“The XL expansion is a win, win, win, for the environment, international political strength within America and the economy,” said Mr. Dawson, who feels that the facts are being ignored or skewed. “The pipeline provides a safe source of oil that allows Americans to pursue interests without the fear of an embargo. It will even help prevent Brent from controlling prices at the pump. Is oil ever going to be completely clean? No, probably not, but we are always trying to produce oil more and more efficiently.”
Donald Donaldson '13.5 is from Toronto, Canada
