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(03/07/13 1:07am)
Coming off an upset win in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC tournament against Amherst, the men’s hockey team traveled to Brunswick, Maine for a shot at reaching the program’s second consecutive NESCAC title game. Despite getting within two goals of Bowdoin on Robbie Dobrowski’s ‘15 third period goal in the conference semifinal game on Saturday, March 2, Middlebury fell short of the Polar Bears 4-2, cutting short its bid for the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year.
The Panthers entered the game against Bowdoin hoping that the Polar Bears might struggle to find their offensive rhythm early on, as they did the week before in their 5-3 quarterfinal win against Hamilton. Bowdoin needed a three-goal third period to get by the Continentals, considered to be the weakest team in the tournament field.
Bowdoin, however, bested Middlebury goalkeeper Mike Peters ’15 twice in the first period on a pair of goals from forward Danny Palumbo. Already trailing after Palumbo’s first, the Panthers conceded with just 39 seconds remaining after a nifty passing play from a trio of Bowdoin players to head into the first break down 2-0.
Head coach Bill Beaney spoke about the effect of the demoralizing last-minute goal.
“If you take a hard look at the game, the goal that really hurt us was the goal with 39 seconds left in the first period,” said Beaney. “I thought we played a poor first, and if we could’ve come out down only one goal it would’ve been a morale victory.”
In the second period, Peters put together a string of solid saves at the four-minute mark before Bowdoin broke the away team’s defense once more to stretch its lead to 3-0. This time, Daniel Weiniger intercepted the puck at the Panther blue line before beating a Middlebury defender to finish a snap-shot past Peters 7:29 into the period.
Beaney touched on the difficulty of being three goals down at that point in the contest.
“In the second, our goal was then to come out and get it back to one goal, we had two good looks [early on] and couldn’t convert,” he said. “They got another one and [3-0] is a tough lead to overcome.”
Even though the shot tally remained even through much of the game, with Middlebury’s 17 third-period shots actually giving the Panthers a 34-29 game advantage, Bowdoin frustrated the Panther attack through much of the game.
This changed at the 16:27 mark of the second when All-NESCAC second-team selection Robbie Donahoe ’14 broke through the Bowdoin line late in the period, putting home a rebound off an initial shot from Mike Longo ’14. Down two goals at the end of the second, Beaney called on his team to repeat a similar performance from earlier in the year.
“Basically what we said is, ‘in November we were down 4-2 in the third and we came back to tie 4-4,’” said Beaney. “I told them it was no different now than then. It seemed as though every time we got one they countered with one, though, and we could never get it back to a one-goal game.”
Bowdoin opened the third period by notching a goal at 3:42, before Middlebury’s Dobrowski, with an assist from Max Greenwald ’16, cashed in on a flurry of action in front of the net to make the score 4-2.
Then, with 10 minutes left to play, Middlebury earned a final chance for a comeback in the form of a two-man advantage on a pair of Bowdoin penalties. The Panthers failed to convert on the opportunity, going zero for three on the power play overall in the game.
“I thought that was going to be our opportunity to get back into the game. We had a couple of good lucks and I thought that the puck was in the right place, but we weren’t able to execute,” said Beaney. “You need some luck on the power play, and we didn’t get a whole lot of it on that one. I think that had we gotten one there it would’ve changed the game going forward.”
To finish the game, Polar Bear goalie Max Fenkell stopped 16 of 17 shots in the third period to put Bowdoin in the NESCAC finals with a 4-2 win.
The next day, Sunday, March 3, Bowdoin skated to the NESCAC championship with a 2-1 win against Williams, who defeated Trinity 4-2 in the other semifinal the day before.
The Panthers are now left to face another offseason of work to get Middlebury back to the NCAA tournament. Not since Middlebury lost to Plattsburgh State in overtime three years ago in January 2010 has the team seen NCAA tournament action.
The Panthers will look towards a bevy of returning talent, including NESCAC Rookie of the Year Matt Silcoff ’16, who finished the season with 11 goals and 13 assists, and All-NESCAC second team selection Donahoe to do the job next year.
“There were a number of games this year where Matt was best player on the ice for either team,” said Beaney. “If he can take a step back and put in some work in the offseason, he really could become one of the great Middlebury players. While, I thought Robbie on Saturday up in Maine was the best player on the ice, period – he was all over the ice making plays and creating chances.”
Beaney also pointed to the coaching staff’s frustration over Louis Belisle ’14 not receiving an all-NESCAC selection after his stellar play this year, both on offense and defense.
As the season came to an end on Saturday, graduating captain Mathieu Castonguay ’13 is confident the team will have a number of players returning to leadership roles.
“There is a ton of firepower returning to the team next year and I think that Peters can be proud of what he accomplished [in net] towards the end of the season,” he said.
Peters is also proud of how is team performed towards the end of the year.
“I think that the team really stepped it up at the end of the year,” said Peters. “I think that we have a lot of talented first-years on the team who now have gotten acclimated to college hockey and we will look to them to be more consistent contributors next season.”
Panther faithful now begin the eight-month wait for puck drop in November 2013.
(03/07/13 12:59am)
The seventh-ranked men’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive year, escaping with a 68-66 win over Curry College on Saturday March 2. The Panthers’ two-point win marked the third game in the last four that was decided by one possession or overtime.
Middlebury jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead over an out-of-sync Curry, as tri-captain Jake Wolfin ’13 scored all four of his points in the opening 3:03 of play and tri-captain Nolan Thompson ’13 was left all alone for an easy layup. Thompson was then called for two quick fouls, one a moving screen, the other a blocking call on which the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year appeared to be in perfect defensive position, but was whistled nonetheless. It marked the first time that Thompson has picked up two fouls in the first half of a game this season.
With Thompson on the bench, James Jensen ’14 and Hunter Merryman ’15 provided head coach Jeff Brown with valuable contributions early in the game. After Curry’s 6’5’’, 255-pound forward AJ Stephens cut the Middlebury lead to three, Merryman scored five consecutive points over a 1:32 span, draining a three from the left wing and then cutting to the basket for an easy layup. Stephens, however, kept the visitors in the game, accounting for eight of his team’s first nine points.
The Panthers continued to receive solid bench play as reserve guard Nate Bulluck ’14 scored three straight for Middlebury, sinking one of two free throws before finding himself on the receiving end of a Joey Kizel ’14 pass in transition. The frontcourt then took over for Middlebury as the combination of Peter Lynch ’13, Jack Roberts ’14 and Jensen combined to score the final 11 points of the half for the Panthers.
“We hit a bunch of jump shots early that opened up the inside and allowed us to play inside-outside,” said Lynch. “When I got the ball down low I knew that if I kicked the ball out they were going to hit the shot so it’s a lot harder for the [defense] to play honestly. I think that’s when we’re at our best — when we’re working in and out, and I think we did a very good job of that.”
While Lynch led the team at the half with eight points, the team’s balanced scoring — eight players recorded two or more points in the first half for the Panthers — and defensive effort gave Middlebury a 12-point lead at the half.
Roberts and Jensen, in particular, were stellar on the defensive end, the former blocking three shots and altering numerous others, while the latter held Curry’s leading scorer, Commonwealth Coast College Player of the Year Sedale Jones, to just four points on 1-7 shooting.
“I thought we did a pretty good job on their inside guy as well as on their perimeter scorers,” said Brown. “A big key to the game was the job James Jensen did on Sedale Jones in the first half. James really gave us a lot of energy on the defensive end.”
After holding Curry to just 19 points on 7-27 shooting in the first half, Middlebury looked sluggish to start the second half, as Curry more than doubled its scoring output over the first 8:07 of the second half.
“The biggest thing was that Curry really cranked up the defensive end,” Brown said. “They started to shoot the passing lanes, turned us over, got some easy scores and we really struggled at the start of the second half putting together some offense and they really closed the gap on us,” Brown said.
The outburst began less than a minute-and-a-half into the second half as the Colonels slashed the Panthers’ lead to seven with a 7-2 run. Middlebury’s only basket over that stretch came on a nifty reverse layup by Kizel, who became the third member of the team to reach the 1,000-point mark this season — and the 19th player in program history — after Thompson and Wolfin accomplished the same feat earlier in the year.
Successive layups by Jensen and Roberts extended the team’s lead back to nine, but Curry responded with eight straight points to move within a point of the hosts for the first time since Middlebury’s first-made basket, 26 seconds into the game.
Middlebury never relinquished its lead, staving off multiple attempts by the Colonels as the visitors cut the deficit down to one on five separate occasions but were never able to tie the game, let alone take the lead outright. While only Lynch scored more than five points in the first half, four different Panther players recorded at least six points in the second half as Jensen, Lynch, Thompson and Kizel combined to score the team’s final 31 points of the game.
Kizel led the team with 11 second-half points and continually made plays when the team needed it most, attacking the rim and finishing in the paint or going to the free throw line. With 10:17 remaining, the junior guard from Short Hills, N.J. missed a hanging floater off the backboard, but followed his shot, grabbed the offensive rebound and laid the ball in while getting fouled. The ensuing free throw gave Middlebury a four-point advantage, denying the Colonels an opportunity to take the lead.
“It didn’t seem like we had the energy or the focus that we brought in the first half,” Kizel said. “At [that] point I was trying to do whatever it took to get the team going.”
Stephens, the Colonels’ power forward, kept his team close, however, with a game-high 20 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Using his wide body he backed down the taller Lynch and Roberts, demonstrating great touch in the lane and sinking six of eight shots from the line.
“He’s just a beast,” Lynch said of Stephens. “We were doubling, we were brining help-side defense — we were doing everything. That was a tough matchup.”
Kizel’s playmaking ability, coupled with clutch shooting from Thompson beyond the arc and made free throws down the stretch from the Panthers, proved too much for the Colonels, however.
With Middlebury leading by three with less than four minutes remaining in the game, Roberts plucked a long rebound out of the air following a Kizel miss. The ball made its way back into Kizel’s hands and this time the 6’0’’ guard attacked the lane and, with the defense collapsing around him, found Thompson on the wing for an open three.
“[Thompson]’s just so steady,” said Brown. “He doesn’t get down when he is missing shots, and he sat a big chunk of the first half and came out cold at the start of the second half. But he hit a couple of big shots and gave us that separation we needed.”
Thompson struck again, less than a minute later, as this time Wolfin found him in the corner for a spot-up three, extending the Panthers’ lead to seven. Curry had an answer, however, as guard Lambros Papalambros drained a long three to make it a two-possession game with 1:50 remaining. Following a turnover from Wolfin, Sedale Jones made the first of two free throws to bring Curry within three with 1:22 remaining.
On the second miss, the ball was knocked out to Kizel who found a teammate while being hit from behind. In the confusion, the Panthers held the ball in the backcourt and Kizel, wary of being called for a 10-second violation in the backcourt called timeout.
“Once I had released the ball I was thinking about the shot clock and when I caught the ball with 26 [seconds left on the clock],” said Kizel. “Luckily I saw the shot clock and immediately called the timeout. It turned out to be a pretty big play.”
Coming out of the timeout, the Panthers isolated Kizel who beat his man Papalambros and then cut diagonally through the lane, finishing with his right hand off the window in front of Curry big man John Durkin.
“Once I got into the lane I knew I was going to try to make the play,” Kizel said. “A few minutes before I had kicked the ball to [Thompson] for three so they were more spread out [defensively.] I just saw the lane and took the layup.”
Trailing 63-58 with 1:01 remaining, Curry executed the final minute almost perfectly given their circumstances, taking — and making — the first good shot attempts they had offensively. Jones cut the lead to two, knocking down a long three with Kizel flying at him after Papalambros missed a layup and the long rebound was tipped into his path. Then, after Kizel made a pair of free throws, Papalambros knocked down another jumper halving the deficit to two.
Following a 30-second Curry timeout, Thompson threw a long, baseball pass down the floor to Jensen who alertly avoided being fouled and found the hustling Thompson — the team’s best free-throw shooter, at 82 percent — who was sprinting to the ball. The Akron, Ohio-native was fouled with 11 seconds remaining. Two made free throws would have all but clinched a victory.
Instead, Thompson’s first free throw bounced out before he coolly sank the second. In a scenario eerily similar to Middlebury’s overtime games against Wesleyan and Amherst, the Panthers led by three with seconds remaining.
We [were] prepared to play that situation both ways,” Brown wrote in an email. “A concern that I had at the time was [Curry’s] Stephens getting great position on the foul shot. The time also played into the decision [not to foul].”
The Colonels got a quick shot from three as Antonio Jones got a free look from the right wing. Unlike so many other late-game situations that Middlebury has experienced over the past two seasons, Jones’s shot fell just short, and went through the hands of Stephens out of bounds.
“I thought it was definitely going in just because of all the misfortunes we’ve had in those late game situations,” said Kizel. “But I guess the numbers finally decided to go our way this time.”
The Colonels fouled Lynch who needed to make just one free throw with three seconds left to seal the victory. Lynch made both, providing the Panthers’ with the necessary two-point cushion when Sedale Jones launched a last second shot from half court that banked home.
Lynch led the team with 17 points on 5-10 shooting and Kizel and Thompson each added 13. Jensen, meanwhile, had nine points while playing 25 minutes off the bench as he and Lynch worked in tandem in the post.
“The whole week in practice I just wanted to be more aggressive on the offensive end,” said Jensen. “I was making backdoor cuts, face cuts — I cut on Sedale [Jones] and [Lynch] threw it over the top. We had been doing that all week in practice and hard work pays off.”
The win advanced Middlebury to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Panthers travel to Cortland State on Saturday, March 9 to play the Red Dragons who have yet to lose on their home floor this season. Middlebury enters the game 11 for its last 48 from beyond the arc, a trend the team will have to correct in order to beat Red Dragons, who shoots 43 percent as a team from distance on their home floor.
(02/28/13 5:00am)
Snapping, crying, shouting and, if they weren’t bolted to the ground, throwing some chairs onto the stage. Speaking to a packed Dana Auditorium, award-winning performance poet Joshua Bennett invited an audience of over 300 students, faculty and Middlebury community members to react actively and honestly to the spoken word performance they were about to encounter.
“This is that kind of space for expressive freedom,” Bennett reassured them. Last Friday night, three members of New York-based artist collective, the Striver’s Row, and two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion Buddy Wakefield performed in collaboration for the first time in an event simply titled, “Buddy Meets the Striver’s.”
The event, organized by Barbara Ofosu-Somuah ’13 and Maya Goldberg-Safir ’12.5, has been over a year in the making. After the success of the Night Kite Revival spoken word show in January 2011 which featured Buddy Wakefield, Ofosu-Somuah, a coordinator of spoken word open mic night Verbal Onslaught, wanted to start a tradition of having well-known spoken word artists perform at Middlebury College every year.
“After the Night Kite Revival happened two years ago and seeing how Poor Form Poetry and Verbal kind of took off after the event we thought that having something this profound happen once a year would be a way to not only rejuvenate artistic expression, but emotional expression on campus as well,” Ofosu-Somuah explained.
However, due to booking complications with the Striver’s Row in the fall, a winter term class in New York and a spring semester abroad in Italy, the show was moved to the following year. To further complicate matters, once Ofosu-Somuah had finally booked the group to perform during winter term, MCAB’s Fun. concert was rescheduled for the same date. After a full year and a half of rescheduling and planning, the group was set for the spring and it was by chance that Goldberg-Safir ’12.5, a founding member of spoken word poetry group Poor Form Poetry, had planned Buddy Wakefield’s return to campus for the same weekend.
Once the two joined forces, their final obstacle was coming up with a total of $5,414 to fund the event. Throughout winter break and winter term, they emailed academic departments, attended Commons Council meetings and met one-on-one with different administrative heads. Looking at the poster, one can see a huge block of text under “Sponsored by” ranging from MCAB Social Committee to even the economics department.
“We ended up getting money from 10 or 11 different funding sources which is more than … usual,” Ofosu-Somuah said. “I would say that it should be easier to put this on.”
“There should be funding available so that students don’t have to like scrape it together every year, but will have enough through a few departments like MCAB Social, Dean of Students Office and the budget of Verbal Onslaught and Poor Form Poetry,” Goldberg-Safir added.
However frustrating the process must have been, there is no doubt that their perseverance paid off with resounding success. By 7:15 p.m. (with the event at 8 p.m.) a line of about 30 people could be seen outside of Dana Auditorium hoping to buy tickets, despite that the show was sold out.
“And I think it went up to about 40,” added Ofosu-Somuah, “so we let 40 people in with a capacity of 275 and we told them to just be inconspicuous and sit on the floor.”
After Ofosu-Somuah and Goldberg-Safir introduced the show with their long list of thank you’s to all the sponsors, two student poets and one poet from the greater Middlebury community opened the show. The two student performers demonstrated the amazing talent and diversity of style we, as a community, are fortunate to have — from newcomer Debanjan Roychoudhury ’16’s confident and hard-hitting rap (“If you hear something you like, just make noise”) to Poor Form poet Bella Tudisco’s ’13.5 poignant elegy for her mother with sweetly delivered French love songs that tugged on the heart strings of members of the audience. A surprising addition was Ola Tundji, a member of the town of Middlebury and regular at Verbal Onslaught.
“Having Ola join was a way to remind students and myself that we are not isolated and we are not separate from the town. We are a part of this really big microcosm and it’s not just us and them – it’s all of us together,” Ofosu-Somuah explained.
Seeing members from our own community, vulnerable and talented on stage, provided the perfect introduction to the performances of the Striver’s Row and Wakefield.
The first to perform from the Striver’s Row was Joshua Bennett, original organizer of the collective and currently a graduate student at Princeton University. Standing alone on the large auditorium stage in a collegiate red polo, skinny trousers and moccasin boots, he opened on the most relatable topic on a college campus: unrequited love.
“Dear really cute girl with a boyfriend that I suspect only loves you half as much as I could given the proper chance … Hello,” he began. Immediately the audience was disarmed with his smile and boyish charm that could seamlessly transform into a deeply pained anxiety rushing to come out of his mouth in poetic form.
Up next was Miles Hodges, who, at 21, is the youngest of the three and still an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania. With light eyes and soft features, Hodges’s “pretty-boy” appearance held a strong tension with his poems on masculinity. Introducing a poem, his voice was soft, but the moment he performed, it was as if the poem itself had granted him a sort of swagger on stage. It seemed as if each poem carried so much weight that he couldn’t even make it to the end, always signing off with a quick “Peace, thank you” as he escaped the stage.
The last member of the Striver’s Row to perform was Alysia Harris, a graduate student at Yale. With a silver sequin top and a bounce in her step as she walked on stage, Harris stopped at the mic and flashed smile that illuminated the crowd, then delivered a cheery “Hi!” that made us feel at home. Harris opened with what she described as an “Erotica Poem.” However, rather than a poem that exalted human sexuality or lamented an empty morning-after, there was nothing straight-forward about it. This could be said of all the poetry from the Striver’s Row. Each moment of sadness in their poems was lined with an understanding of the room it made for joy and each moment of joy held an understanding that it sprung out of a moment of sadness.
Bennett’s charming love poem to his girlfriend came out of “a career of painful romances.” Hodges’s understanding of his masculinity came from his experiences being sensitive, vulnerable and sometimes weak.
“For me, it’s like grief teaches us how to be human,” Harris explained after the show. “Not only how to be a fuller human being and realize a fuller humanity, but I think realize a deeper joy … Like I cry harder than anyone I know, but I also laugh harder than anyone and that’s a fine price to pay, I think.”
Following the first three poems was Buddy Wakefield. A veteran of the Middlebury spoken-word scene and probably the most well known out of the entire ensemble, the crowd welcomed Wakefield to the stage with huge applause. Playing nervous, Wakefield humbled himself with self-deprecating humor about his age and appearance (“a cross between Bruce Willis and Charlie Brown”) as he stood in front of “a room full of self-declared old souls in juvenile clothes.” Compared with the members of the Striver’s Row,
Wakefield had a strikingly different approach to his performance. Each time he came up on stage, he would begin by delivering a monologue that at times verged on crude stand-up. However, this routine would transform into a very elaborative presentation on themes of life, love, death and the notion of “tragedy” that surrounds them all. Out of this came his poetry. Wakefield’s major theme was for the audience to “let go.” Whether it was heartbreak (“Hearts don’t break, ya’ll. They bruise and get better.”) or the loss of a loved one (“Let them go. Gracefully. They’ve already been through enough misery.”), Wakefield emphasized the fact that loss, when viewed in a different light, is not “tragic” at all.
What was most beautiful to see on Friday night was not any one single poem, but the dialogue between the poems that was happening live on stage. Wakefield and the Striver’s had met only 30 minutes before the show.
“We didn’t give them any requirements at all,” Ofosu-Somuah explained. “We just told them you’ll have three openers and to just be done by 10:30 and they were like ‘OK, we’ve got this.’”
A particular highlight was when Harris got on stage for the last time and asked that the audience excuse her if she forgot a few lines in the next poem, “11 Apologies.” She hadn’t performed it in years, but was inspired to bring it out that particular night due to Wakefield’s poem on forgiveness.
“One of the things that really got me,” Harris explained, “was when he said, ‘Forgiveness is for anyone who needs safe passage through your mind.’ And, I’m dealing with a break-up, and I wasn’t thinking of all the ways in my mind how I attach names to him – and just, ah, the poem about “making a big to-do out of the emptiness between us” and like a tuba and like playing out that melody – like how many times in the last two months have I played out the same song, the same tragedy.”
Harris’s moment of emotional epiphany listening to Wakefield’s poetry during her own show gets to the heart of why Ofosu-Somuah and Goldberg-Safir fought so hard to make this event happen on campus and why they feel it needs to become a tradition every year. In an intensely academic institution that also serves as a residential campus, where is the venue for us to reflect on our emotional selves?
“Poets, especially spoken-word poets, live their lives being vulnerable and in a way that makes it comfortable for others to embrace their vulnerability,” said Ofosu-Somuah. “I think Middlebury students get caught up in pretending to be ‘OK’ or being busy or being innovative or doing whatever without taking a moment to reflect on how they feel and so I think for whoever came to the show, this was an opportunity for them to just listen to themselves for a little bit and see where they are on an emotional spectrum.”
During the show, it seemed the audience did just that as there was a totally different type of crowd, eager to snap in agreement, shout in celebration and even occasionally moan in heat. Walking out of that “space for expressive freedom,” the powerful energy that marked the event had transformed into an emotionally potent tranquility between all the students, faculty and community members. Not only did it seem that the audience became in touch with themselves – they also became in touch with the others around them.
(02/27/13 11:49pm)
The Middlebury men’s squash team finished their season with three resounding wins over Connecticut College, Bowdoin, and Wesleyan this past weekend at the national championship tournament at Yale University. Coming into the weekend ranked 17th nationally, the Panthers qualified for entrance into the Summers Cup (C division) to compete in a tournament against seven other highly competitive teams.
The Panthers defeated the Conn. College Camels in their quarterfinal matchup by a match score of 7-2. The Panthers were able to garner wins in their no. 2 - no. 7 seed matches, as well as their no. 9 seed match. Middlebury’s no. 2 seed Parker Hurst ’14 was able to defeat his Camel opponent Brian Mullen in five sets.
After defeating Conn. College on Friday, Feb. 22, the Panthers moved onto their semifinal matchup against Bowdoin on Saturday, Feb. 23. The Panthers were able to defeat the Bears by a match score of 8-1.
Finally the Panthers moved onto the Summers Cup final match against fellow NESCAC competitor Wesleyan. Again, the Panthers were able to come to a quick and easy victory against their Cardinal opponent, winning by a match score of 7-2. With this win in the finals, Middlebury was able to finish the season ranked 17 in the nation out of a total of 66 teams.
Over the course of the weekend, seven of the nine Middlebury players were able to remain undefeated. This included no. 2 seed Spencer Hurst ’13, no. 4 seed Will Moore ’14, no. 6 seed Robert Galluccio ’15, no. 7 seed Harrison Croll ’16, no. 9 seed Willy Clarke ’15 and no. 10 seed Will Hanley ’15. Although the no. 3 seed Spencer Hurst ’13 was unable to finish completely undefeated, he lost only one match which went into four games.
Playing all NESCAC teams in nationals can be a challenge, especially when the team had played all three opponents before.
“Playing three NESCAC teams that we had previously played this year is always challenging,” said Spencer Hurst. “However, after beating Connecticut College and Bowdoin, we were able to stifle a red hot Wesleyan team in the finals which was huge. Everyone on the team brought their best for the three matches and left it all on the court. Overall, it was a great feeling to end the year with three straight victories.”
With top-seeded players graduating, Jay Dolan ’13 and Spencer Hurst, the no. 1 and no. 3 seed, respectively, Middlebury will have to rely on their depth to continue their success in the years to come.
(02/27/13 11:47pm)
Middlebury ended their most successful season since 2002 with a hard-fought 59-49 loss to Williams in the NESCAC semi-final at Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 23.
“I though we played really well against [Williams], but player for player we were just out-manned,” said Coach Noreen Pecsok. “They were just bigger, stronger and faster.”
The Panthers opened up to an early six-point lead as Laura Lowry ’14 put the Panthers up 10-4 with a pair at 14:07. Despite a layup from Eph player Danny Reiner, Middlebury went on a 6-0 run to build a 16-6 advantage with 12:00 left in the half.
A pair of free-throws added to a Panther lead 18-8, but Williams built up considerable momentum, going on a 20-5 run and giving up just two Middlebury field-goals in the final 10:12 of the first half.
Kellie Macdonald gave the Ephs their first lead of the night with a jumper with 2:12 left in the half, after they had managed to claw back from a seven-point deficit. A three point shot from Jennie Harding gave Williams a 28-23 advantage at the half.
Harding opened up the scoring for the Ephs in the second half with another three, and Macdonald followed suit to give Williams an 11-point lead. Determined not to be left behind, Middlebury reeled off an 8-3 spurt, pulling back within six after a layup from Sarah Marcus ’14 at 12:23.
However, Williams scored 13 points over a span of 4:33, led by Macdonald and Grace Rehnquist, to pull away yet again at 41-33. Despite last-gasp efforts from Middlebury, Williams did just enough to hold onto a 10-point victory.
Shooting 30.6 percent from the floor and 7.1 percent from the three-point range, Scarlett Kirk ’14 led Middlebury with a game-high 17 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Marcus had nine points in a collective playing time of 11 minutes.
Looking back on the season, the Panthers achieved many of the goals they set out at the beginning.
“As senior captains we can definitely say that we achieved our initial goal of being able to look back and be really proud of the team that stepped off the court after each and every game,” said co-captain Tracy Borsinger ’13.
As for the future, Pecsok is excited with where the team can go next year.
“I think the future is bright; we took the same kids who struggled last year and with hard work they really shone this year, which shows we can achieve good things with this team,” said Pecsok. “We’re really motivated to get back to the NESCAC final four!”
(02/27/13 11:45pm)
Competition is getting increasingly intense each week for the ski teams as the National Championships is just around the corner. Last weekend, Panther skiers went neck-to-neck with University of New Hampshire (UNH) at the EISA Championships at Bates College in Maine.
Unfortunately, they missed the team podium by the narrowest of margins and were one point short in the overall score. Dave Donaldson ’13.5 worked his magic once again and posted his fifth giant slalom win at Sunday River out of the total of six races this season. Hig Roberts ’14, a consistent top-10 skier, proved himself a legitimate title contender by capturing first place in the slalom event. US National Team member Annie Pokorny ’15 skid to a nail-biting finish, snatching runner-up in the 5K classic, while nordic captain Ben Lustgarten ’14 seized a third-place finish in the 10K classic.
Post-season awards were announced on Sunday, and Donaldson was the outright Podiumwear Leader Bib winner and was named a first-team selection. Also in the All-East first team were alpine team anchors Andrew McNealus ’13, Pokorny and Lustgarten. Roberts, together with up-and-comer Mary Sackbauer ’15 were second-team selections. Alpine assistant coach Abby Copland, in her third year at Middlebury, was honored as the EISA Alpine Coach of the Year.
On day one, as per usual, the alpine squads were the first to go in the giant slalom events. Sophomore Sackbauer gave the Panthers a good start and continued to be in fine form by coming in seventh, which added to her four other top-eight finishes in the latest carnivals. Classmates Kara Shaw ’15 and Yina Moe-Lange ’15 placed 18th and 24th, respectively.
On the men’s side, Donaldson successfully fended off foes from University of Vermont (UVM) with his consistent performance and remarkable ability in handling pressure. He led the way in both runs and recaptured the top prize at relative ease with the time of 2:32.93. Roberts and McNealus followed in seventh and 10th, respectively. Senior captain Bryan Shpall ’13 rounded off at 19th place.
On the other hand, at the Black Mountain, the women’s 5K classic was a see-saw race between Pokorny and archrival Dartmouth’s Mary O’Connell. Pokorny was ahead early on but was caught by O’Connell at the end by merely 1.7 seconds. Heather Mooney ’15, and senior captains Keely Levins ’13 and Hilary Rich ’13 crossed the finished line back-to-back at the 15th to 17th positions. In the men’s 10K classic, Lustgarten paced the Panthers and picked up his seventh top-five finish this season. He sat on third place, 7.3 seconds behind the top Catamount skier. Fellow captain and classmate Austin Cobb ’14 came in 18th while sophomore Dylan McGarthwaite ’15 finished at 25th place.
On day two, Hig Roberts gave the Panthers another taste of victory by edging out first run leader, UVM’s Jonathan Nordbotten, to claim his first title in the men’s slalom.
Classmate Liam Mulhern ’14 had a 17th place finish, whereas both Donaldson and McNealus experienced rough runs.
On the women’s side, Sackbauer came in at a solid seventh position. Promising first-year Katelyn Barclay ’16 was 22nd, while sophomores Makenzie Brown ’15 and Shaw claimed 28th and 29th finishes.
Meanwhile, the nordic races were well underway. Pokorny carried the team once again at fourth place and Mooney followed by at 11th place. First-year Kelsey Phinney ’16 showed potential, completing the race at the 16th position. Classmate Issy Pelletier ’16 and Rich garnered 26th and 27th place finishes respectively. A good seventh place concluded Lustgarten’s venture at the regional championships.
Looking ahead, with about 10 more days until all eyes set on the Snow Bowl and the Rikert Nordic Center for the Big show, it is clear that heading into the final event of the season, the alpine and nordic squads are aiming to reclaim a team podium finish and to produce a few individual champions. Nine skiers will be representing Middlebury: they are Donaldson, McNealus, Roberts, Sackbauer, Lustgarten, Cobb, Pokorny, Mooney and Phinney.
“I do have confidence that our team will rise up to the added pressure of NCAA championships, but what is exceptional about our team is our camaraderie,” said Cobb. “We thoroughly enjoy each other’s company and celebrate each other’s success. As such, we race for more than just ourselves, we race for each other and for Middlebury.”
The ski team captains simultaneously pointed out that being the host school could be the deciding factor in lifting the Panther skiers past other teams.
“Our team has the distinct advantage of knowing our hill and having trained on it so many times,” said alpine skier Christine Schozer ’13. “All four competitors have had [at least two] years of experience on Allen and Ross. The terrain at the Snow Bowl is the most challenging on the circuit in terms of adapting and making speed. Once you know the tricks, it becomes a whole lot easier.”
Tremendous belief is reflected in Schozer’s words, as she continued, “[Luckily] for us, our four athletes know what it takes and have proven it. David Donaldson is a previous NCAA Giant Slalom champion, Roberts and McNealus are both two-time NCAA All-Americans. This is Sackbauer’s first time qualifying for NCAAs, but she placed second at the Middlebury Carnival in Giant Slalom and has been dominating this last month race after race. If anyone has built up confidence, it’s Mary, and no one should ever underestimate the power of confidence. There will definitely be shining moments in the coming weeks.”
Keeley Levins ’13 from the nordic team echoed the significance of having a “home advantage”.
“Skiing on our home course brings out the best in this team,” she said. “Annie’s decisive victory at Middlebury Carnival proves how seriously this team takes racing at home. It’s a big advantage, and it’s putting a lot of fire into this team. They’re excited, they’re ready and everybody should come out and watch – it’s going to be a fun week.”
Beginning next Sunday, teams from all over the country will arrive and register. Then for two days in a row, all skiers will get the opportunity to practice at the venues. Tuesday night will be the Championship Banquet, to be held in Atwater. Wednesday will feature the men and women’s giant slalom.
Thursday highlights the women’s 5K and men’s 10K classics. The spotlight goes back to the alpine teams on Friday with the slalom events. After the women’s 15K freestyle and men’s 20K freestyle the Championships will draw to an end. Most races are either in the morning or around noontime. From the action-packed schedule, it is not hard to imagine that the town and the College will be filled with excitement and enthusiasm a week from now. Undoubtedly, the hard work of those event organizers and the Panther skiers will be translated into rewarding fruits of success.
(02/27/13 11:32pm)
The fourth-ranked men’s basketball team fell for the third time in less than a month, exiting the NESCAC tournament with an 87-80 overtime loss to the seventh-ranked Ephs of Williams on Saturday Feb. 23. The semifinal game was a rematch of a 64-63 Ephs victory in Williamstown, Mass. a month ago.
Middlebury struggled from the floor early as Williams opened the game in man defense, a tactical change from the 2-3 zone Williams employed the last time the teams met. The switch stymied the Panthers, as the team scored on only two of its first eight offensive possessions.
“I thought they were going right to the 2-3 [zone] because it was so effective the first time [we played],” said tri-captain Peter Lynch ’13. “We prepared for that and got the looks we wanted [in practice], but they came out in man right to start and it wasn’t what we were expecting.”
Middlebury trailed early and often, leading for just 1:13 in the first half as back-to-back buckets from sophomore guard Nate Bulluck ’14 gave his team a pair of brief leads midway through the half. Perhaps sensing the danger of an impending Middlebury run, however, the Ephs outscored their Route 7 rivals 16-8 to end the first half, taking a 37-30 into the break.
Ephs forward Daniel Wohl — who was playing in his first game after an illness that sidelined him for nearly a month — scored 11 first-half points to pace Williams, knocking down three of four three-pointers. Center Michael Mayer and sharp-shooting guard James Klemm added nine and eight points, respectively, for Williams as the NESCAC’s second seed shot 52 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc. Middlebury was fortunate to trail by just seven at the break as the team shot just 40.6 percent from the floor and made just two of 10 attempts from beyond the arc.
Tri-captain Peter Lynch ’13 led the way for the Panthers with eight points and six rebounds at the break, while Joey Kizel ’14 had five points. Hunter Merryman ’15 and James Jensen ’14 also pitched in four points apiece of the bench, as the Panther reserves accounted for 12 of the team’s 30 first-half points.
Middlebury re-emerged from the tunnel in the second half with a greater sense of desperation, the team’s mental adjustment at the half sparking an 11-5 run to begin the second period.
“The message at halftime was, ‘This is what we’ve been playing for all year, we need to give it everything we’ve got, because if we lose we’re not playing tomorrow,’” said Lynch. “Coach Brown really got us motivated to come out strong in the second half.”
After a Kizel three-pointer cut the deficit to one, treys from Klemm and point guard Nate Robertson, interrupted by a Jake Wolfin ’13 jumper, extended the Williams lead back to five with 14:30 remaining in the game.
The Panthers responded with a 12-4 burst, bookended by threes from Wolfin and Kizel, propelling them to a four-point lead, their largest of the game, with 10 minutes and change remaining.
The Middlebury lead was short-lived, however, as the Ephs went on a 7-0 blitz coming out of an expedient timeout called by head coach Mike Maker. Taylor Epley, the Ephs’ leading scorer on the season, provided the catalyst for the run with five straight points.
Trailing by three, the Panthers turned to the bruising Lynch, who scored his team’s next six points on three straight possessions, regaining the lead for Middlebury in the process. The game then witnessed six lead changes in less than three minutes as both teams vied unsuccessfully for control of the game.
“I realized that there was a lot of space to attack,” Lynch said. “After the first couple times, [I thought], ‘they have to adjust — there’s no one there.’ But they didn’t.”
With four minutes remaining in regulation, Nolan Thompson ’13 and Woflin missed open looks from beyond the arc on consecutive possessions, snapping a streak of six straight successful offensive possessions for the Panthers.
The Ephs, meanwhile, ran off four straight scores of their own to take a 76-73 lead on an Epley layup with 1:31 remaining.
Coming out of a timeout, the Panthers moved the ball well late in the shot clock, ultimately finding an open look for Wolfin who, despite shooting just 3-13 from the floor up to that point, buried the open look to tie the game at 76 with 58 seconds remaining.
Following a missed layup by the Ephs’ Daniel Wohl, Middlebury had a chance to take the lead, but Robertson picked the pocket of Kizel, as the Panthers’ guard drove to the basket.
“In regulation on that last possession, I had a good look, but I wanted a better look, so I forced it a little bit,” Kizel said. “I thought I had a pull-up long two or a pull-up three, but I saw a lane and thought, ‘maybe I can get to the basket,’ and Robertson made a great play.”
The turnover gave Williams one final chance to win the game, but Robertson momentarily lost his handle on the ball and the Ephs were unable to attempt a final shot before the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
The overtime period began with a missed three from Wolfin, resulting in a chance to break for Williams. Hoping to start the transition opportunity, Ephs forward John Weinheimer attempted a long outlet pass down the right-hand side of the floor. Anticipating the pass, Kizel intercepted the ball and, while falling out of bands, threw the ball back over his shoulder to a teammate.
“They were pushing the ball hard and I knew he wanted to [throw the ball up court],” Kizel said. “I saw that he was locked in on one guy and I made a quick read and I saw some guys in the backcourt and just threw the ball over my head.”
“He’s just a big game player,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “He wants the ball to make the important play on the offensive end, or hit the important shot. And then defensively, he has a knack for picking his shots. He can make a great contribution, like that steal.”
Despite Kizel’s heroics, Middlebury failed to score on the ensuing offensive possession, and endured a 3:49-long scoring drought over the final minute of regulation and nearly the first three minutes of overtime. Lynch finally put the Panthers on the board in the extra period, pulling down his 11th rebound of the game and scoring his 22nd and 23rd points of the evening to tie the game 78-78 with 2:98 remaining. The two teams traded baskets on their subsequent possessions as Wohl regained the lead for the Ephs with a drive and finish before Kizel deadlocked the game at 80, draining a long jumper.
Williams quickly retook the lead, however, as Jack Roberts ’14 was called for a hold on Mayer, sending Mayer to the line to shoot two free throws, and Roberts to the bench with his fifth and final foul.
Trailing by two, Middlebury had a chance to tie the game with less than a minute to play. Lynch drove the lane, but got caught in the air underneath the basket, attempting to find an open teammate. His pass appeared to hit the padding at the bottom of the backboard after taking a deflection off an Ephs defender. The ball then ricocheted back towards Lynch as he fell out of bounds. In an attempt to ensure his team’s possession, Mayer went after the basketball and attempted to throw it off of Lynch, who was in an out-of-bounds position, before he himself made contact over the end line. The nearest official determined that it was Williams’ ball and, after conferencing as a group, upheld the original call, despite the vehement protests of the Middlebury players and its coaching staff.
The Ephs sealed the game at the free throw line, making seven of 10 free throws in the final 57 seconds to clinch the victory. Middlebury did have one final opportunity to tie the game, but Wolfin’s corner three was off the mark.
Lynch led the way for the Panthers with 23 points on 10-17 shooting and 12 rebounds in what was a career performance in the losing effort.
“Peter was incredible in the paint,” said Brown. “He’s really a handful to guard — his ball quickness, and being able to go both directions off the bounce and his physical play inside really kept us in the game. Every time we needed a bucket, either against their man-to-man or their zone [defense], he produced on the offensive end.”
With the loss Middlebury dropped to seventh in the national rankings, but was awarded a home NCAA tournament game. The Panthers will host Curry College (22-5) on Saturday, March 2. This marks the sixth straight year that coach Brown has led his team to the NCAA tournament, the second longest streak in the country.
(02/27/13 11:10pm)
Is it cheating to falsely claim to have completed an assignment on time? What about falsely claiming to have attended a class? Students at Middlebury aren’t always reading notes off the bottom of their shoes or copying test answers: cheating goes beyond that. Passing on problem sets, falsifying lab data, asking for an unnecessary extension, citing a fake source, peeking at Wikipedia during take-home exams or having a not-so-innocuous chat with a classmate during a routine quiz are, in my view, all forms of academic dishonesty. Our community should not tolerate cheating, and I think we all envision a Middlebury where we have more integrity than that.
Orientation week is exciting. You meet your roommate and catch a glimpse of your potential spouse, square dance, explore Breadloaf and take part in convocation. I have fond memories of orientation, but in 10 years, I doubt that I’ll recall signing the Honor Code.
During this week’s open SGA Senate meeting, Associate Dean of Students for Judicial Affairs and Student Life Karen Guttentag and the two student co-chairs of the Academic Judicial Board, Amy Schlueter ’13 and Jackie Yordan ’13, came in to discuss what the Honor Code means to students today. The Honor Code is reviewed every four years by a committee comprised mainly of students, who make recommendations about the best way to carry this tradition forward.
Most of us don’t think about the Honor Code on a daily basis. Professors have varying interpretations of the Honor Code, which can be confusing or conflicting. We all know that cheating is bad, but oftentimes it’s not abundantly clear exactly what cheating is, or what we’re supposed to do if we observe our peers cheating. So we go on day to day, blindly writing, “I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment” (or sometimes “I didn’t cheat,” or sometimes nothing at all) on the tops of our papers and take-home exams. But cheating still happens, and it seems to me like most of us aren’t ready to do anything about it.
Maybe this apathy stems from the lack of dialogue on the Honor Code after orientation. If the Honor Code is so important to culture at Middlebury, why aren’t we talking about it with the frequency it deserves? Based on a recommendation from the Honor Code Review Committee, the SGA will establish a group that will look at the critical question of what the Honor Code really means for students. In my vision, one of the key functions of this committee will be to force this conversation to continue not just beyond orientation but throughout the Middlebury experience as a key component of Middlebury’s culture. We need to be talking about the value of academic integrity. Ultimately, if students aren’t willing to hold up their end of the bargain when it comes to the Honor Code, it’s not unrealistic that it could someday disappear.
As a first step toward reigniting this dialogue on campus, SGA, Community Council and the Office of the Dean of the College will be hosting a Community Forum on March 11 at 7:30 p.m. to talk about the Honor Code. So come with your stories, your views and your personal experiences that you’d like to share with other members of the Middlebury Community. Let’s get this conversation started, and let’s not let it stop.
(02/20/13 6:33pm)
For the first time in 11 years, the women’s basketball team will advance to the NESCAC semifinals after beating Bates 75-64 in the quarterfinal game. This win comes after the team finished off the regular season with a 65-45 loss to Amherst on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
Amherst started out strong, limiting Middlebury’s scoring chances with tight defense, as they moved out to a 15-2 lead in the first 11 minutes of play.
Rachel Crews ’15 led a Middlebury surge outscoring the Jeffs 16-9, cutting the lead down to five with 4:30 remaining in the first half. Amherst increased the advantage to nine before a late three by Laura Lowry ’14 cut the lead to 27-21 at the intermission.
Middlebury came out aggressive in the second half, cutting the lead again to five on a three from Lowry with 1:16 gone on the clock. The Panthers later came within three once again when Tracy Borsinger ’13 sunk a three at the 16:24 mark to make it a 32-29 game.
The Jeffs responded with a 17-2 shot advantage over a 6:49 span, led by Jasmine Hardy and Megan Robertson. While the Panthers came within 14 at the 2:53 mark, the Jeffs closed the game on an 8-2 run to come away with the win.
After shooting 32 percent in the first half, the Panthers found a rhythm offensively in the second half improving their overall shooting to 47.6 percent in the game. Despite the hot shooting in the second half, the Panther’s conceded 38 points in the later half, as well as giving up 27 second chance points. Scarlett Kirk ’14 finished with a team high of 14 points, while Lowry and Crews each bagged 10. Jesse Miller ’13 had nine rebounds.
“It was frustrating to hold Amherst close for much of the game but then let the score get away from us, but we still feel that there are many positives to take away from the game,” co-captain Kate Logan ’13 said. “We played very tough defense and tied the Amherst players out through an uptempo game.”
The Panthers did not let this loss get to them as they came out strong in their NESCAC quarterfinal, leading early 8-6, before Bates went on an 8-0 run to open up with a 14-8 advantage after just over six minutes.
Lowry then led the Panthers on a 7-0 spurt, contributing five of the seven points including a three-point play, to cut the lead to 27-26 with 5:04 remaining. Middlebury continued their dominant passage of play, scoring nine of the game’s next 11 points to take a 39-32 advantage with less than a minute to play in the half. A late basket by Crews gave the Panthers a 41-35 lead going into halftime.
Learning from previous mistakes, Middlebury did not let the quality of their play or aggression slip after the break, as a 9-2 run put them up 56-43 with 13:54 left in the game.
However, the Panthers were then unable to connect from the floor, missing the next nine shots as they went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal. Middlebury found themselves tied at 61-61 with 3:58 left in the game when a basket from Lowry ended the drought.
Middlebury then went on a 12-0 run, with seven points coming from Katie Pett ’14 to put Middlebury ahead by 12 points with just seconds left in the game.
“Everyone on the team is willing to do whatever it takes to win, and that’s our greatest strength … we knew that we had the potential to be in this position and it’s great to see all of our hard work pay off,” Lowry said.
Borsinger finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds closely followed by Lowry who added 17 points and five boards. Pett, meanwhile, finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Middlebury returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Amherst in the NESCAC semi-final against Williams. The conference tournament underwent a considerable shake-up when news broke shortly after Middlebury’s quarterfinal victory over Bates that Tufts, the NESCAC’s top seed and the sixth-ranked team in the country at the time, had lost to eighth-seeded Bowdoin in their quarterfinal matchup. As a result, the second weekend of tournament play shifted from Medford to Amherst.
“We’re going to enjoy this week together, doing what we love to do, and everybody on this team believes that we can beat Williams,” coach Noreen Pecsok said.
(02/20/13 6:32pm)
Trustees descended upon the College over the weekend for one of their four annual meetings.
President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz said that two committees produced resolutions for action. The Audit Committee approved the fall audit and the Budget and Finance Committee approved the comprehensive fee proposal, which increased by 2.7 percent to $57,075, not including the student activities fee. Liebowitz called the resolutions “routine.”
Their visit kicked off on Thursday, Feb. 14, with a dinner to celebrate the seven faculty members who recently received tenure. Dean of Faculty Philip Battell and Sarah Stewart Professor of Biology Andrea Lloyd introduced each of the newly tenured faculty before they explained their areas of study to the board members.
On Friday, board members split up into different sub-committees. Student Government Association (SGA) President Charlie Arnowitz ’13 sat in on the Board’s Student Affairs Committee and the Investment Committee meetings.
“I updated the Student Affairs Committee on SGA’s work this year and some of the issues that are of concern to students, taking advantage of our survey data and also discussing some of our other initiatives,” Arnowitz reported in an email.
Arnowitz said that the majority of the Student Affairs Committee discussion revolved around a presentation given by representatives from the Projects in Creativity and Innovation (PCI).
While Arnowitz would not comment on what was discussed in the Investment Committee meeting, he stressed that the trustees are aware of student concerns.
“I will say that the Socially Responsible Investment Committee (SRI) issues that students have been discussing are very much on their radar,” he wrote. “Student views are being taken seriously.”
In a surprise unscheduled meeting early on Saturday, more than 50 students braved the frigid morning temperatures to greet the 18 trustees on their way to the day’s first meeting. The students — many dressed in cow outfits — donned oversized “Wake Up, Divest Middlebury” posters in a part-presentation, part protest outside of Old Chapel before seven students headed inside to present to the board in an official meeting.
“The purpose of our divestment presentation was not to debate, but rather to present the opinions and evidence gathered by students who favor divestment from fossil fuels and weapons manufacturing to the members of the board for consideration,” wrote Nathan Arnosti ’13 in an email, who attended the “Wake Up” demonstration and presented to the board.
“We also loved that 45 students showed up at 7:45 a.m. on a Saturday to show their support for divestment,” Arnosti continued. “It affirms that the issue has strong support among the student body and has manifested itself through a coalition of multiple student organizations.”
Arnosti said that while some of the students talked with trustees before and after the meeting, the Board had not discussed the content of the presentation in any official capacity.
“I will say that the trustees, along with the administrators present, listened attentively and treated us with respect.”
“I asked [the trustees] to use the opportunity to listen and learn and to see clarification from the students on this issue,” said Liebowitz. “I thought they did a good job presenting various parts of why they were pushing for divestment.”
Liebowitz explained that he and Vice President for Finance & Treasurer Patrick Norton will communicate with the chair of the Investment Committee to “outline the next steps” in the coming weeks.
The trustees also broke into groups to have lunch with roughly two dozen students on Friday.
Harry Zieve-Cohen ’15 attended the lunch and said that Dean of the College Shirley Collado made it clear to the students who attended the event that they should be critically honest when speaking to the trustees.
“I think it is important that our concerns get brought to the attention of the generous adults who run our school,” Zieve-Cohen wrote in an email.
Zieve-Cohen cautioned that the lunch had “limited value,” but said that he “appreciated” the gesture on the part of the trustees.
“The trustees weren’t really at Middlebury to hang out with students, and I think contact with the broader community can serve to help board members think beyond abstract data and theories.
“I think it is important that our concerns get brought to the attention of the generous adults who run our school,” he continued. “Students have valuable insights, but they have little experience and knowledge about how the world works. This sort of real-world experience is where the Board is probably the most valuable.”
(02/20/13 6:26pm)
The fourth-ranked men’s basketball team advanced to the NESCAC semifinals for the sixth straight year, downing Wesleyan 61-49 on Saturday, Feb. 16. The Cardinals, featuring a triumvirate of 1,000-point scorers — Shasha Brown, Mike Callaghan and Derick Beresford — managed to shoot just 32.7 percent from the floor, as the Panthers opened the game in a suffocating 3-2 zone and kept the visitors out of rhythm all afternoon long. The loss dropped Wesleyan to 12-13, ending a highly disappointing season for a team ranked in the preseason top 25 poll.
“We did a great job on the defensive end, holding down a very talented Wesleyan team,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the combination of our zone defense and the man-to-man [defense]. [The combination] was very successful.”
Middlebury opened the game with an early five-point lead as tri-captain Jake Wolfin ’13 found 6’8’’-center Jack Roberts underneath the basket for an easy layup. Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half, however, as the Panthers’ zone stymied the Cardinals, and Wesleyan’s slow pace in turn limited the home team to just 10 made field goals on 24 attempts in the first half. While Middlebury hauled in six offensive rebounds and turned the ball over just four times in the first half, the team led by just three at the intermission, as junior guard Joey Kizel ’14 hit a jumper with 39 seconds left in the first to take a 24-21 lead.
Wesleyan, meanwhile, received very little contribution from its “Big 3” as Beresford, Brown and Callaghan combined to shoot 2-17 in the first half.
“We just tried to pressure them — get right up in their shirts right from the tip,” said tri-captain Nolan Thompson ’13. “We try to do that most time that we play them and it doesn’t always work. It’s better if they miss the first shot and then we don’t let them get into a rhythm offensively.”
Cardinals forward Glenn Thomas, meanwhile, kept his team in the game, nearly recording a double-double in the first half alone, scoring eight points on four-for-four shooting while pulling down nine rebounds. Thomas accounted for five of Wesleyan’s nine offensive rebounds as Joe Reilly’s team crashed the offensive glass in the first half, preying on Middlebury’s inability to box out in the zone defense.
“[Rebounding] has been a big issue all year for us,” said Thompson. “And it’s not just the bigs that need to rebound — we need to come down and help. If our guys are crashing as the guards, we need to go in and help the bigs get a rebound.”
Unable to develop any momentum before the break, the Panthers opened the second half on a 12-4 run, sparked by Wolfin. The New Jersey native converted a three-point play, as Brown, Wesleyan’s diminutive guard, picked up his third foul of the game, less than a minute into the second half. Then, after both teams traded a pair of baskets, Kizel found Wolfin down the floor for an open look from three. Wolfin sank the shot, giving his team a 34-25 lead at the 16:05 mark. Following a 30-second time out taken by coach Brown, Kizel finished the run with a layup in transition off an assist from Wolfin who assisted or scored four of the seven baskets over the stretch.
Callaghan then scored seven of the Cardinals’ next 10 points, cutting the deficit to six with 10:46 left to play. That was as close as the visitors would come, however, as Wolfin and Kizel hit back-to-back threes, ending a 3:33 scoring drought and extending the lead back to double digits after.
“A lot of times we get passive towards the end of the game if we have the lead and hold the ball,” Thompson said. “[In this game] we focused more on still attacking, trying to push the lead, because when we ease off the gas we’re not a good team and we allow them to come back.”
Wolfin and Kizel would provide the dagger shortly thereafter. As the clock ticked inside five minutes, Wolfin drove to his left, spinning a running shot that was part layup, part hook shot off the glass.
Not to be outdone, Kizel clinched the win for the Panthers two minutes later. With his team up 12 and less than three minutes remaining, the junior guard held the ball near half court, allowing the shot clock to reach the 10-second mark before making his move. Kizel took two dribbles and, still three feet behind the arc, drained a straightaway three pointer to give the Panthers their largest lead of the game.
Middlebury made seven of its eight free throws down the stretch for good measure, scoring for the final time with 49 seconds left in the game as tri-captain Peter Lynch ’13 sank a pair from the charity stripe. The 6’6’’ big man finished the game with 12 points and eight rebounds in just 24 minutes due to foul trouble.
Kizel, meanwhile, led the team in scoring for the third straight game, racking up 20 points on just 11 shots, including three-for-five shooting from beyond the arc. Over that stretch the Panthers’ leading scorer in conference is averaging 22 points per game while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 47 percent from beyond the arc.
“He is a game player,” coach Brown said of Kizel. “In the last couple of games he’s come out [with] a concentrated effort to score the ball. When he’s aggressive he’s really hard to check on the defensive end — he can create his shot at any time. When we’re in trouble he’s the guy who makes things happen on the offensive end.”
Tri-captains Thompson and Wolfin rounded out the Panthers in double figures, each chipping in 12 apiece with 11 of Wolfin’s coming in the second half.
Thompson, the heavy favorite to win the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year award, held Brown — who entered the game as the leading scorer in conference play with 18.9 points per game — scoreless through the first 31:50 of the game before the 5’11’’ Wesleyan guard made a pair of free throws. Brown finished the game with six points and just one field goal on 11 shot attempts. He finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Wesleyan men’s basketball history.
“[Thompson] is truly unbelievable,” said coach Brown. “There’s not another player in this league that could control Shasha Brown the way Nolan did. He might be a one-in-a-lifetime type of defensive player. His energy and his focus on the defensive end is unmatched.”
Thompson, meanwhile, is also a serious candidate for NESCAC Player of the Year. The Akron, Ohio native has put together a stellar senior campaign, ranking among the NESCAC’s best offensive players in addition to being the premier defensive player in the conference. In 10 league games, Thompson averaged 14 points per game and five rebounds while shooting 54 percent from the floor, 52 percent from beyond the arc and 91 percent from the line, all the while limiting the top scorers in the conference.
“We have a very talented team, but I would say he’s the most valuable player given how strong he is on the defensive end and the things he can do offensively to contribute to this team,” said Brown, endorsing Thompson for the award.
Thompson and the Panthers travel this weekend to Amherst for a NESCAC semifinal matchup with Williams, Saturday, Feb. 23. The teams last met Jan. 26 in a one-point Ephs win in Williamstown, Mass. The winner will advance to the NESCAC finals to play the winner of Tufts and Amherst. Middlebury’s senior class has played in each of the past three NESCAC finals, winning the 2011 title.
(02/20/13 5:59pm)
Both the men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams travelled to Division III New England’s. The men finished ninth out of 21 teams at fellow NESCAC school Bates while the women finished fourth out of 23 teams at Southern Maine University.
Several athletes won events for the College, fulfilling hopes that had been set in place as early as September as tri-captain Sarah O’Brien ’13 commented on before the competition this past weekend.
“The majority of the team has been training hard since early in the fall, and all of this hard work has prepared us to perform well in the upcoming championship meets,” said O’Brien. “It’s fun to get to the big meets with good competition and watch our team’s hard work pay off.”
O’Brien personally saw her hopes realized as she was part of the winning 4x800 meter relay along with Addie Tousley ’13, Sarah Guth ’15, and Alison Maxwell ’15. The four Panther women finished the race in a time of 9.29.71, a full four seconds ahead of the second place team from Tufts.
Tousley also won the mile event, finishing in a time of 4:54.15. Fellow distance runner, Juliet Ryan-Davis impressed in the 800 meter run finishing first with a time of 2:11.36 smashing the DIII record by two seconds as well as setting a new school record. Davis also crushed her competition as she finished a full 6 seconds ahead of second place finisher Maggie Fitter from Keene State.
While these first place finishes definitely contributed to the fourth place finish for the women, the team’s depth, shown through several top eight finishes, really propelled the team to their high finishing spot. Only the top eight finishers in each event can score points for the team, thus making every top eight finish important for the school’s overall score. Adding to the impressive nature of the team’s finish was the fact that the team had fewer athletes competing in comparison to other colleges.
“We were really pleased with the women’s team’s performance,” said O’Brien. “We had a fairly small number of athletes competing and still managed to score a lot of points and place well in the team standings overall.”
Alex Morris ’16 finished seventh in the 400-meter dash during her first championship meet for the Panthers with a time of 59.59. Morris was also part of the record setting 4x400 meter relay team with fellow first year runners Halle Gustafson ’16 and Olivia Artaiz ’16 and Ryan-Davis. The team finished in eighth with a time of 12:42.47, setting another new school record.
Distance runners Caroline Guiot ’16, Katie Carlson ’15 and O’Brien all earned top eight finishes in their events as Guiot finished second in the 3,000 meter while Carlson finished eighth in the same event. O’Brien finished fourth in the 1,000 meter with a time of 3:00.61. Also finishing fourth was high jump star Grace Doering ’13, jumping to a height of 5’4.25”.
While the men’s team did not place as high as the women, they also earned several top finishes while competing at Bates College. The team’s highest finish came in the Distance Medley Relay. The team of Fritz Parker ’15, Wilder Schaaf ’14, Patrick Hebble ’13, and Jack Davies ’13 finished second overall in a time of 10:14.71. Both the College’s team as well as the first place team from Bowdoin convincingly broke the meet record, which had previously been held by Williams College with a time of 10:17.06.
The male distance runners continued to show their prowess as both Anthony Lee ’13 and Kevin Wood ’15 finished in the top eight in the 3,000 meter run. Lee ran to third place with a time of 8:35.20 while Wood placed fourth after finishing just over a second after Lee with a time of 8:36.35.
Standout sprinter Brian Holtzman ’14 finished in eighth place in the 60 meter dash in a time of 7.14 seconds. Fellow sprinter Peter Hetzler ’14 came in sixth place after finishing the 400 meter dash in 50.75 seconds. Hetzler only finished .5 seconds after the first place runner, and was able to edge out Derek Barnes from MIT by .01 seconds for sixth place.
Rounding out the top finishes for the men, was the 4x800 meter relay team, comprised of Sam Cartwright ’16, Lucas Carpinello ’16, Will Gibbons ’13 and Sam Craft ’14. The team ran the relay in 8:06.57 finishing in eighth place just .20 seconds ahead of Emmanuel College.
“The team really came together this weekend to support each other and perform well, which gives us great momentum heading into the rest of the championship season and into outdoor track,” said O’Brien.
Several athletes will now go on to compete at the Open New England Championships this Saturday Feb. 22 at Boston University.
(02/13/13 10:43pm)
After two consecutive losses in NESCAC games against Williams and Bowdoin, the women’s basketball team bounced back with wins against Colby and Lyndon State before winning a make-or-break game against Trinity on Sunday, Feb. 10, all but guaranteeing a spot in the NESCAC quarterfinals.
The past four conference games for Middlebury highlight the ups and downs the Panthers have experienced this season.
“The NESCAC has been crazy this year, so I don’t think anyone really knows what place we’ll end up in, but regardless going into the NESCAC tournament with a solid win is a great way to enter,” said Laura Lowry ’14.
In action on Jan. 26, Middlebury was unable to challenge Williams, and the Ephs rushed out to a nine-point lead 3:36 into the game. As Coach Noreen Pecsok tried to settle her team down, Middlebury was able to claw back before a 16-2 run gave Williams full control of the game going into the half, 22-9. Though Tracy Borsinger ’13 rallied the Panthers with a running lay-in and a pair of free throws, Williams sealed the game with a 7-0 run.
Middlebury was unable to turn things around against Bowdoin on Feb. 1. While the Polar Bears carried a six-point lead into halftime, the Panthers were able to trim the deficit to four points following a free throw from Katie Pett ’14 with 15:52 remaining in the second half. Bowdoin quickly pulled away, however, going on a 14-0 run over five minutes to finish the game 60-40.
The Polar Bears held the Panthers to 24 percent shooting in the second half and converted 17 points off of 15 Middlebury turnovers.
The following day, Feb. 2, Middlebury held on for a scrappy win against Colby. The Mules led 17-11 with 8:25 in the first half, but the Panthers went on a 16-8 run to secure a 27-25 margin at intermission, and never allowed Colby to take the lead in the second half. The teams traded buckets for most of the final period as the Mules were able to tie the game with 3:53 left on the clock. An inside basket from Pett gave Middlebury a two-point lead as the final two minutes turned into a hectic battle, and Lowry sealed the game in Middlebury’s favor, 52-48, with two free throws.
Middlebury finished their final non-conference game with a win against Lyndon State on Feb. 5. After trailing 7-3, the Panthers went on a 14-2 run after a pair of threes from Kristina Conroy ’14 to hold a 17-9 lead with 10:33 left in the first half. The Panthers then scored 18 of 22 points starting at the 6:29 mark to go into the break with a 41-25 advantage.
Middlebury scored the first 10 points of the second half, led by Scarlett Kirk ’14. The lead stretched to as much as 31 points after a bucket from Jesse Miller ’13, leading Middlebury to a 74-47 victory.
The win gave the Panthers momentum going into their game against Trinity. In a very evenly contested first half against the Bantams, both teams traded buckets, neither side leading by more than three, until a pair of free throws from Middlebury’s Tracy Borsinger put the Panthers on top 29-25 with 5:15 remaining. Lowry, the player of the game, hit a jumper on the Panther’s next possession to give Middlebury its biggest lead of the half at 31-25. The Bantams came close to tying the game, going into the break just one point behind Middlebury after picking up several points off baseline drives from Hannah Brickley and Taylor Murtaugh.
While Middlebury has at times struggled to maintain their intensity in the second half of games this season, the Panthers turned a 41-41 point tie into a 10-point lead, spurred on by Lowry and Kirk.
While the Bantams were able to manage a 5-0 run, Lowry’s final points of the game gave Middlebury a 68-60 lead at 6:39. The Panthers built their lead back to double-figures with a Pett lay-up at 2:40.
It seemed that the Panthers could possibly suffer the same fate as they did against Hamilton, losing a five point lead in the final three seconds, after Christina Raiti’s three with 53 seconds left on the clock was followed by a pair of free throws by Moriah Sweeney. Middlebury ultimately held on, notching the 81-71 victory.
Free throws played a particularly important role in the game as the Panthers managed 27-36 from the stripe while Trinity managed 16-20 free throws.
Lowry scored a career-best of 25 points, which came on 7-14 shooting. Despite leading her team in scoring, she was quick to praise the efforts of all her teammates.
“The game against Trinity shows how deep we are, and shows how many different ways we can score,” she said. “We’re playing well, and most importantly we’re playing as a team and I wouldn’t want to go into the tournament any other way.”
Three other Middlebury players finished with double digits, as Borsinger and Pett added 16 points while Kirk netted 15. Miller finished with a game-high of 13 rebounds.
Pecsok is looking for more of the same from her team in their upcoming game against Amherst and the NESCAC quarterfinal.
“We will prepare the same way we have been preparing the last couple of weeks,” said Pecsok. “[We] are not done and are not looking at what we have done to this point, only what else we can accomplish.”
(02/13/13 10:42pm)
On Jan. 25, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz, Dean of the College Shirley Collado and Vice President of Finance Patrick Norton agreed to resume funding several programs — including midnight breakfast and 24/7 open hours at the library during finals week — which the Student Government Association (SGA) had previously covered from 2008 to 2012. The administration also agreed to cover more significant portions of the club sports and commons’ budgets.
The decision came on the verge of a proposed spike in the student activity fee — a decision that likely would have been highly unpopular with students — which would have been the result of an overburdened SGA budget.
Earlier this fall, Peter Mattson ’14, chair of the SGA Finance Committee and SGA President Charlie Arnowitz ’13, assembled the Student Activity Fee Committee to assess the current budgetary revenues and expenditures with the aim of maintaining core SGA functions without raising the fee significantly.
The analysis found that for the current academic school year, total SGA revenues amount to $949,000. Expenditures to date however are approximately $1,040,054 and anticipated spending by the end of the year, $1,110,100.
With this money, the SGA funds over 200 campus organizations as well as a portion of the funding for each of the five commons budgets and a significant portion of the funding for the College’s 15 club sports.
The review also established that in recent years the SGA has also funded big-ticket items such as midnight breakfast and the newly reinstated MiddView orientation trips, as well as significant one-time expenses, including the YouPower Bike Room and new boats for the crew team.
“We started to realize that these spending patterns were unsustainable,” said Arnowitz.
“If nothing had changed, we would have had to raise the Student Activities Fee by about $65 (from the current $380) in order to balance the budget,” he added. “We didn’t want to do that, but we also didn’t want programming to suffer.”
Arnowitz explained that during the recession, the College looked to the SGA to pay for things like midnight breakfast and MiddView as a result of increased pressure on the College’s budget.
According to the Arnowitz, the SGA was able to pick up these additional costs, resulting from the fact that the primary source of the SGA budget is the student activities fee — a stable revenue stream.
The SGA budget remains relatively constant over time. For the 2012/2013 academic year student activities fee provided the SGA with nearly $950,000, and the College made up the minor difference between the fee revenues and SGA expenditures.
The review also showed that past SGA governments had overspent with respect to student organizations, allowing budgets to expand beyond the SGA’s capacity to pay.
Recognizing this budgetary strain, the SGA leadership, including Arnowitz, Mattson and SGA Chief of Staff Anna Esten ’13 began talks with the Collado, Norton, Dean of Students Katy Smith-Abbott and Liebowitz to come up with a solution.
According to Arnowitz, the discussions with the administration were fruitful, and the SGA was pleased that the College decided to both reabsorb old programs — like midnight breakfast and library open hours — and also take on some of the heavier costs of the commons and club sports budgets — all to the tune of nearly $200,000.
“We were gratified by the extent to which administrators listened to what we had to say,” he said.
“While they didn’t agree to absorb every expense or agree on every point, that was never the expectation. Instead, we had good and frank conversations. And on some issues — for examples, the commons — they ended up adopting exactly the compromises we proposed, to the dollar.”
One of the last items to be discussed by the committee is the financing the College’s yearbook, which has previously been given to all seniors free of charge, with an annual cost of approximately $53,000. The SGA stated that they will continue to work with the administration, Kaleidescope — the company that produces the yearbooks — and with other stakeholders to devise a sustainable funding model.
(02/13/13 10:22pm)
February recess was a successful week for the women’s ice hockey team, however the team fell to top-ranked Norwich on Tuesday, Feb. 12. The team went 3-1 in NESCAC games with two wins against Williams and a split against Connecticut College. The three out of league games, against Plattsburgh, St. Anselm and Norwich, all resulted in losses. The team now stands with a 15-6-2 (12-2-2 in NESCAC) record and has one more game to play until they compete in the NESCAC tournament.
Both games against Williams concluded in a 4-1 win. The squad played the Ephs at home on Feb. 9 and then traveled to Williams to play the team on their ice. The Panthers took charge straight away, while under heavy pressure from the Ephs, scoring two goals within the first period. Lauren Greer ’13 had the first goal, with assists from Emily Fluke ’15 and Kate Moreau ’15. Hannah Bielawski ’15 tapped in the second goal of the first period with help from Greer and Fluke. The home team continued to keep the lead by scoring one more goal in the second period as Julia Wardwell ’16 passed to Madeline Joyce ’13 for the goal, allowing the team to enter the third period with a 3-0 lead. Molly Downey’s ’13 assist to Mackenzie Martin ’15 advanced the score to 4-0 but the team’s hope for a shut out were dashed when William’s Sam Weinstein scored a goal with 7:03 left on the clock.
Middlebury statistically had more control over the game, with 35 shots on goal against the Eph’s 18. The Panthers also earned one more penalty than Williams, giving them two more minutes on the clock for chances to make a comeback.
After making the four-hour drive to Williamstown, Mass., the team clenched another 4-1 win against the Eph’s. The team once again beat the home squad by 17 shots on goal and Williams was penalized 12 more times than the College, earning them 12 minutes of power plays. Williams came out strong and scored the first goal of the game in the first period, shutting out the Panthers for the first 20 minutes.
However, the Panthers came back and tallied up two goals in the second period, one by Heather Marrison ’13 assisted by Greer, and the other by Katie Sullivan ‘15 with help from Downey. The last 20 minutes of the game began with a 2-1 lead by Middlebury, who wrapped up the game for a 4-1 victory. A strong pass from Greer to senior tri-captain Madison Styrbicki ’13 executed the third goal of the game, and the fourth and final goal of the game was a beautiful unassisted goal by Fluke.
“Our team is feeling good. We played two tough games against Williams this weekend, and came out with solid wins,” said Katie Mandigo ’16. “We’ve had a few disappointing losses in the NESCAC this season, and I think everyone on our team would like another opportunity to play teams like Bowdoin and Conn College to avenge our losses against them earlier in the season.”
Tuesday night, Feb. 12, the team played Norwich University at Kenyon arena and came out with a loss. The Panthers came out strong and held a 2-1 lead over the cadets going into the second period but the visiting team fought back to beat the home squad 5-3.
Looking forward toward the end of the season, the team has clenched the top seed for the upcoming NESCAC tournament. With that they will host the quarterfinal game on Feb. 23 and have earned the right to host the championship weekend on March 2 and 3 if they win in the quarterfinals.
“We’re excited about the NESCAC quarters approaching,” said Greer. “It’s another opportunity to prove ourselves given that we are the number one seed going into it – we want to make that finite.”
“We won’t do a whole lot of new things [to prepare for post-season],” said head coach Bill Mandigo. “We will just spend a little more time on the power play and the penalty kill. We hope to get some of our injured players back, which will help a great deal.”
This week the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team will wrap up their regular season with an away matchup against Elmira.
“All of our non-league games are big games,” says Mandigo. “We try to play the best teams we can outside of our league because we believe playing the top competition will help us when we play our NESCAC schedule.”
(02/13/13 10:18pm)
The Middlebury men’s and women’s squash teams continued their string of success to close out the regular season and NESCAC tournament as the year winds down.
In its last regular season match, the Panthers women’s team triumphed over Columbia by winning 6-3. Charlotte Dewey ’15 led the win against Columbia in the number one spot for the Panthers, coming away with a victory in five sets. The remaining five match wins came from Zoe Carey ’16, Saskia Pownall-Gray ’16, Amanda Chen ’14, Lindsay Becker ’13 and Katie Dewey ’15, the five through nine spots respectively. Three of those five matches were also won in five sets.
Meanwhile, the men’s team came up short in its match against Columbia, losing 5-4. Middlebury’s Parker Hurst ’14, Robert Gallucio ’15 Reed Palmer ’15, and Will Hanely ’15 defeated their Lion opponents. This however, was not enough for Middlebury to gain the win over perennial powerhouse and 10th-ranked Columbia.
On Feb. 2, both the men and women’s teams traveled down to Hartford, Conn. to compete in the NESCAC championship held at Trinity College. Going into the tournament seeded fourth in the 11-team bracket, the Middlebury men finished in that same spot, behind Trinity, Williams and Bates, in that order.
After receiving a bye for their first-round match, the Panthers took on Bowdoin, handling the Polar Bears by a match score of 8-1. This placed Middlebury in their third straight NESCAC semifinal appearance against top-ranked powerhouse Trinity.
The Panthers fell to Trinity by a match score of 0-9. After losing to Trinity, Middlebury played in the third place match set against Bates College and lost 2-7. Sophomore Will Hanley ’15 and junior Will Moore ’14 were the only Panthers that bettered their Bates opponents. Trinity went on to win their seventh NESCAC championship against Williams College.
Spencer Hurst ’13 was content with his team’s tournament performance.
“We were happy to have a truly decisive win over Bowdoin after having previously close matches with them,” said Hurst. “Although we lost against Trinity, it was a good experience and fun to play against such great talent. Overall we were happy about our performance, but would have liked to have a better outcome in the Bates match. We will most likely see them at nationals and we look to put forth a better result.”
Meanwhile, the Middlebury women, going into the weekend seeded third in the tournament, also finished in the same place as their seed, falling behind top-ranked Trinity and Williams College.
After earning a bye for the first round of match play the Panther women faced Bowdoin College, shutting them out in a match score of 9-0. The Panthers then advanced to the quarterfinals against
NESCAC rival Williams, where they lost in a close battle by a match score of 6-3.
To finish the weekend, the Middlebury women beat Bates by a match score of 6-3 to earn the third place finish. All six wins came from the bottom six seeds for Middlebury, speaking to the depth on this year’s team. The Trinity women’s team also placed first in the NESCAC championship, beating Williams College by a score of 9-0.
After the weekend of NESCAC championship play, the Middlebury men then traveled to ninth-ranked St. Lawrence, falling by a match score of 9-0. Both Spencer and Parker Hurst played their matches to five games against their St. Lawrence opponents.
After a short respite, the Middlebury men will travel to Yale to play in the national team tournament beginning on Feb. 22. Meanwhile, the women will travel to Yale a week earlier to play in the same national tournament on the weekend of the Feb. 15.
(02/13/13 10:13pm)
Although the men’s and women’s latest meet at Tufts was cancelled due to complications from winter storm Nemo, the team had ample opportunities to improve in both the Terrier Classic at Boston University on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 and at Dartmouth on Feb. 2.
Middlebury traveled to Boston University to compete against teams from Division I, II and III including Harvard, Yale, University of Rhode Island and University of Albany. Both the women and the men distinguished themselves despite the tough competition.
The women’s distance medley relay team of Addie Tousley ’13, Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13, Sarah O’Brien ’13 and Alexandra Morris ’16 placed an impressive third, finishing behind only teams from University of Albany and Monmouth University. Their time of 11:52.95 placed them first within Division III. On the men’s side Jack Davies ’13 had an impressive race in the 5,000-meter, finishing fifth with a time of 14:31.31.
The following weekend the teams traveled to Dartmouth to start off the February recess strong against teams such as the Naval Academy, Dartmouth, Bentley University and RPI. Despite the size of the competition, the College stood out as Bryan Holtzman’ 14 and Will Bain ’15 finished in the top eight in the 60-meter dash. While Bain finished seventh overall with a time of 7.24 seconds,
Holtzman placed fourth overall, breaking his own school record in the preliminaries with a time of 7.09 seconds.
“Breaking the record was nice because it meant that I did better than I ever had before,” said Holtzman. “It left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth though because I did it in the preliminary round and then ran slower in the final — ideally, I improve in each progressive round in a day, but I can’t complain about a PR.”
This was not his first school record this season as Holtzman continues to improve looking forward.
“I’d like to place highly at Division III New Englands this weekend,” said Holtzman. After that, my goal is to run as fast as I can and possibly qualify for NCAAs.”
Kevin Chu ’14 also had an impressive day clinching a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.32 seconds, setting another school record.
The men’s sprinters continued to prove their strength as both Fritz Parker ’15 and Louis Cornacchione ’13 placed third in the 200-meter and 500-meter dashes, respectively.
The team’s depth became evident in the 800-meter run as four Middlebury runners placed in the top eight spots. Wilder Schaaf ’14 ran to a third place finish for the Panthers while Peter Hetzler ’14, Samuel Cartwright ’16 and Gilbert Kipkorir ’16 placed sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively.
The team continued its strong all-around performance, as five of the top-10 athletes in the mile run were Panthers. Davies placed second finishing with a time of 4:16.04. Schaaf and Anthony Lee ’13 finished close behind in third and fourth place, respectively. Davies also finished second in the 3,000 meter run in a time of 8:41.95.
It was not just the men’s side that had success at the meet, as the women’s side set a new school record and boasted several second-place finishes. First-year Lauren Henry ’16 set a new school record in just the fourth race of her career in the 60-meter dash with a fifth place finish in a time of 8.05 seconds. Distance runners Addie Tousley ’13 and Katherine Tercek ’16 earned second place finishes in the mile and the 3,000-meter run, respectively. In the field events, Emma McGuirk ’15 also finished second in the triple jump, reaching the 10.42-meter mark.
The team also had several third-place finishes, demonstrating the depth of the women’s side. Allison Maxwell ’15 ran a 2:18.12 in the 800-meter run, while Chelsea Montello ’16 jumped to 4.86 meters in the long jump.
Next up for the team are New Englands, which will occur at Bates this coming weekend Feb. 15 and 16. For those who qualify, Open New Englands follow the next weekend. The indoor season will end for all indoor track and field athletes after NCAA Championships on March 8 and 9. The spring season will then begin just two weeks later during the team’s training trip in San Diego at Point Loma Nazarene.
(01/29/13 2:49am)
For any environmental studies or geography major who has been subject to the dreaded “cone of silence” of Middlebury’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) course, it is hard to imagine a class revolving around GIS could be fun. Yet when you are no longer forbidden to talk to your classmates, but actually encouraged to work together to solve a relevant, local issue, much of the stress formerly associated with GIS becomes funneled into a new creative and collaborative energy.
Such is the case with the new winter term class "Conservation Planning" taught by Amy Sheldon. For the past three weeks, students in Amy’s class have been working together to propose a conservation plan for the town of Middlebury, bringing their expertise from a diverse array of majors into a coherent vision for identifying and prioritizing conservation land in Middlebury.
The final plan will be presented to the Middlebury Planning Commission at the Ilsley Public Library Meeting Room next Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. This presentation is open to the public, so members of the local community and students at the College alike are encouraged to join.
Submitted by LIIA KOIV-HAUS '13.5
(01/24/13 1:07am)
This past weekend, Jan. 18 and 19, the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team traveled up to Maine for a doubleheader against Bowdoin, splitting the two-game set against the host Polar Bears.
The first game, on Friday night, was a challenge for Middlebury. They failed to put the puck in the back of the net, suffering a 3-0 loss. The following day, however, the Panthers left the ice as victors, beating the Polar bears 4-2.
“We were disappointed with the outcome of the first game and had trouble putting the puck in the net,” said forward Katie Mandigo ’16. “But Saturday we came ready to battle and delivered.”
The Polar Bears took control of the game early, scoring one goal in each period and keeping a lead over the Panthers for all 60 minutes of the game.
Bowdoin incurred twice as many penalties as Middlebury, and the Panthers outshot their opponent 33 to 23 in the game. Goalkeeper Annabelle Jones ’15 had a strong game with 20 total saves, recording nine in the second period alone.
The win extended the seventh-seed Polar Bears’ winning streak to 14 games. Fourth-seed Middlebury’s eight-game winning streak comes to a halt with the loss.
“Bowdoin pushed us to play a full 60 minutes and we learned a lot about our potential as a team,” said defender Julia Wardwell ’16.
On Saturday Bowdoin’s winning streak came to an end, as the guest team tapped in four goals en route to a 4-2 win.
In the first period, the two teams traded possession of the puck, and neither team was able to put points on the board.
In the second period, however, the Panthers tapped in two goals — one from Lauren Greer ’13 and the other from Emily Fluke ’15 — to help themselves to the lead and finish out the period on top, despite Bowdoin’s goal as time expired on the second period.
Middlebury scored two more goals in the third period to Bowdoin’s one. The first, from Fluke on an assist from Jennifer Krakower ’14 and Heather Morrison ’13, gave the Panthers the lead before Hannah Bielawski ’15 netted her first of the game to run the final score to 4-2.
Middlebury outshot Bowdoin 31-22 in the game, which saw only two penalties called in total.
The Panthers now own a 10-2-2 record (7-1-2 in the NESCAC), while Bowdoin moves to 13-2-1 (7-1-0 in NESCAC).
This coming weekend, the Panthers play host to the Continentals from Hamilton on both Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25 and 26. Hamilton sits at fourth place in the conference standings with a NESCAC record of 4-3-1.
“Every NESCAC game is tough and important to win in order to move NESCACs here to Middlebury,” said Julia Wardwell ’16.
(01/24/13 12:48am)
The men’s and women’s indoor track and field athletes traveled to University of Vermont on Friday Jan. 18 to compete in their first dual meet of this season. While UVM came away victorious, Middlebury athletes snagged a new school record and several top finishes.
While Conor Simons ’16 may not have won his event, he came back to campus with something even more lasting in the form of a new school record in the men’s heptathlon with an overall score of 3,578 points.
Co-captain Sarah O’Brien ’13 earned herself the top spot in New England for Division III in the 1,000 meter run with a time of 3:02.35. Several other athletes on the women’s side came away from the meet with top-three finishes. In her final year as a Panther, Grace Doering ’13 has not failed to impress in the high jump, setting herself up as a top competitor in the event. She won the event, jumping an impressive 1.55 meters.
Continuing on in the same vein as last weekend, Emily Dodge ’13 finished the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 8.87 seconds, edging out UVM’s Sara Roderick by 0.09 seconds for the win.
On the men’s side, Brian Holtzman ’14 had another successful meet, winning the 55-meter dash in a time of 6.68 seconds. Holtzman was closely followed by Will Bain ’15 and Andrew Headrick ’16 who finished fourth and fifth behind Evan Keating and Anderson Koeing of UVM.
Both Danny Plunkett ’16 and Kevin Chu ’14 also won events at the meet. Plunkett won the shot put, throwing 13.32 meters while Chu came away victorious in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.75 seconds, while also running a leg of the victorious 4x400 meter relay team.
“I was pleased with my finish in the hurdles considering my absence this fall,” said Chu. “I was at Swarthmore college on a domestic exchange and was a little worried that I would be a step behind everyone when I came back. It is tough to train alone, so I am thankful to be back with the team and the credit goes to all of them for helping me get back up to speed.”
Chu’s mark in the hurdles currently ranks ninth in Division III, putting him in contention for NCAAs in March.
“NCAA championship qualification requires a top 13 ranking for individual events at the end of the season,” said Chu. “Getting out to an early lead in that qualification process is important. I am in a position now where my competition is under pressure to chase my time, and that allows me to just focus on our training and the things that we need to do each and every day in practice to continue improving.”
Luke Martinez ’15 finished third in the men’s triple jump, a jump that places him fifth in Middlebury men’s indoor track and field history. Martinez was not the only one to have a result that placed him in the top ten in Middlebury history. Deklan Robinson ’16 came away from the high jump with a second place finish, securing himself as the fourth best high jumper in Middlebury history during his first year of competition for the College.
The team will compete this coming weekend Jan. 25 and 26 at Boston University as part of the Terrier Classic. Chu explains that while these indoor meets are important the preparation that it gives the team for the spring season is what really matters.
“In a way, indoor is glorified practice for outdoor because there is no conference championship indoor,” said Chu. “That doesn’t mean indoor isn’t important and that success during the winter is meaningless. There is definitely a correlation between the two. The goal for the team has to be winning the NESCAC.”
