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(11/10/05 12:00am)
Author: Tom McCann Greece shocked the world when it won the European Championships in 2004, Porto came from nowhere to win the Champions League in the same year and more recently Liverpool did the same. All four African representatives at the World Cup in Germany - Angola, Cote d'Iviore, Ghana and Togo - qualified together for the first time, and in this era of surprise packages, Wesleyan claimed their first NESCAC soccer Championship at Williams last weekend. Middlebury was ousted at the semi-final stage by Amherst, which was ultimately beaten in the final on a weekend of upsetsBefore the Panthers kicked off against the Lord Jeffs, Williams had already succumbed to Wesleyan in the other semi-final by a score of 1-0. The hosts, and top seeds, conceded an early goal and a resilient Cardinal defense ensured a first NESCAC soccer championship game appearance for Wesleyan after previously shocking Bowdoin to earn a spot in the semis. Headin-g into its crunch with Amherst, junior John Sales revealed that the Panthers preferred to focus on doing what they need to do, rather than focus on their opposition. "We wanted to play together for the full 90 minutes, win 50-50 balls and put the ball on net. We did that, but we just weren't able to finish," he said.After a 2-1 reverse to Amherst earlier this year, Sales confirmed it was always likely to be a close game. "We've played them enough to know what they're like and they know what we're like. On any given day the game could go either way," he commented, although unfortuately, on this occassion, it was Amherst's day.Ultimately, the Panthers came away empty-handed after a goal from a corner, 13 minutes into the game, settled the contest. Junior Winston Rains commented, "They got an early goal and we just weren't able to finish." He continued, "We played very well at the back and in the middle, but we just weren't able to finish in the final third." Much as in Wesleyan's smash-and-grab against Williams earlier in the day, Amherst displayed the same defensive mentality against the Panthers. "I got the feeling that once they had the one goal they sat back and protected it. They defended with everyone and momentum is a big thing - they played to protect their lead," said Sales.While the Panthers had possession of the ball for large parts of the game, converting their chances proved to be their downfall. In fact, Rains pointed out that this has been the Achilles' heel of the team in the latter stages of their campaign. "Not being able to score goals has been sort of a trend in the second half of the season. After we started the season 7-0, with the exception of the St. Mike's game, we averaged a goal a game - even including the four we scored against Bates." However, Rains was quick to counter any argument that the Panthers were lacking confidence heading into the weekend, saying, "We had a great week of practice and I thought we were shooting and finishing well in practice. It just wasn't translating well in games."By the time the Wesleyan pulled off another upset, beating Amherst 3-2 in the final, claiming their first NESCAC title since the 1984 Cross Country team, the Panthers were back at Middlebury, reflecting on the end of another season. Despite the disappointment of failing to make the NCAA Tournament, Rains was quick to pull the positive out of the Panthers' season. "We had some great team unity and there was a real willingness to fight through things. We had some tough times, but the guys stayed strong in their relationships," he said. Looking forward, Rains is optimistic, saying, "We've had some players really step up, and going forward we'll have a great team."However, while the end of a season marks a time for the younger players to look to the next, it marks the end of an era for others. This class of Coach David Saward's will lose seniors, Dan diTomasso, Jake Whitted, Simon Perkins, Chris Rodgers and Captains Derek Cece and Gabe Wood. Of these six members of the squad, Rains said, "they have shown great leadership and are great guys to have around. The team says thank you and farewell - we're going to miss them a lot."
(11/03/05 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Poling Luehrman The Panthers' regular season ended Tuesday with a 3-0 win over in-state rival St. Michael's. Last weekend's NESCAC Quad at Williams gave the Panthers a taste of the competition they will face next weekend when they travel to Colby for the NESCAC Championship tournament. After a 3-0 loss to Williams last Wednesday, Oct. 26 and a 3-0 loss to Colby on Friday, Oct. 28, the Panthers went on to sweep Bates in three games and beat Bowdoin 3-1 on Saturday, Oct. 29, which were "two solid wins," said captain Jamie Wong '06, that "will help us...on Friday [in the conference quarterfinals]."Middlebury's second match against Williams proved no easier than the first, and a 19-30 loss in the first game did not help. However, the Panthers woke up in the second game and tightened the score margin a little more on the Ephs, though they still dropped it 28-30, and the third game ended the match, 26-30. Amy Heath '07 put down nine kills throughout the match, and Lindsay Patterson '09, proving to be one of this season's most versatile players, followed close behind with eight kills and led the defense with 17 digs. Wong contributed 16 digs, and Olivia Minkhorst '09 added 15.The Panthers found themselves back at Williams only two days later, this time to face all three Maine NESCAC colleges one after the other. They faced this year's first seed Colby for the first time all season. They played a difficult match in which they "couldn't quite get a game from [Colby]," commented Head Coach Sarah Raunecker. "Then we just lost it in the third." Indeed, after losing the first two with a relatively close scoring margin, 24-30 and 24-30, Middlebury dropped game three 14-30. Captain Lacee Patterson '06 and Patterson '09 held the defense together with 15 and 19 digs, respectively, but the level of offense throughout was unusually low. The team "didn't feel that we played all that well overall against Colby," according to Raunecker, though the Mules are indeed a very strong team this year, thus far undefeated in the conference.On Saturday, however, the Panthers took care of the rest of Maine without much trouble. Bates, though currently resting in the bottom half of the NESCAC ranks, surprised Middlebury with an early lead in the first game, forcing the Panthers to come from behind to win it 30-28. "We've had some trouble pushing through once we reach the mid 20s," says Raunecker, as evidenced in many recent mid-match slumps. "So the fact that we were behind in the late 20s and came back to win was a good sign." Indeed, the Panthers had no further trouble with the Bobcats and proceeded to take games two and three 30-19 and 30-15, achieving their best team hitting percentage of the season in the process. Patterson '09 delivered 11 kills, Fisher and Jackie Edwards '08 supporting her with eight each, and Patterson '06 and Wong contributed 13 and 15 digs, respectively.Bowdoin, after dropping the first game 30-22, surprised Middlebury with 25-30 win in game two. Rather than allow the third set to deteriorate into yet another statistic of lost focus late in the match, the Panthers tightened up their game and determined not to let the momentum get away from them. With renewed concentration, they broke through and won games three and four, 30-25 and 30-27. Patterson '06 played an especially strong match, totaling nine kills, 35 assists and 22 digs. Fisher tallied 12 kills, Patterson '09 had 7 kills and 17 digs, and Amy McCowan '08 and Wong contributed 14 digs each. Middlebury is now tied for third seed with Amherst, Connecticut College, Trinity and Williams, which is a sign of tough competition ahead for the NESCAC title. Middlebury will face Trinity in the opening match on Friday night, a team to whom they have already lost twice this season. "Both times it was in five games, and it was early in the season," says Raunecker, speculating on Middlebury's chances against the Bantams. "We won some games big, and lost some games big to them, so it should be another great match." If the Panthers win, they will go on to face either Amherst, whom they have beaten twice, or Tufts in the semifinals.
(10/27/05 12:00am)
Author: Brooke Farquhar After falling to Williams 39-18 on Homecoming weekend, the Panthers rebounded boldly on Saturday defeating Bates 41-7 for the first win of the season. Scott Secor '07 had an outstanding game with two interceptions, five tackles and a sack, earning him the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week.The Panthers' domination was felt early on by Bates, when Tiger Lyon '07 hit Ryan Armstrong '06 with a 21-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game. Bates answered with its only touchdown of the game, a 15-yard pass, late in the first quarter. After driving 66 yards, Middlebury's offense scored again when Hrdina '07 scored an 18-yard touchdown. Hrdina had 100 yards on 25 carries. For the second time in the first half, Lyon hit Armstrong for a 27-yard touchdown. Secor intercepted a pass and ran 49 yards for the touchdown. Lyon then rushed two yards to score late in the third quarter making the game score 34-7 at the start of the final quarter. In the first play of the fourth quarter, Lyon hit Holm '09 for a two-yard touchdown, putting one more on the board. Lyon completed 13 of 17 for 185 yards. Armstrong had five receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns and Dom DiDomenico '06 had 50 yards. Erik Woodring '08 and Coeman Hutzler '06 led the team in tackles. The Panthers win came on the heels of a 39-18 loss to Williams the previous weekend. Neiman Groce '07 blocked an extra point and Alex Buggy '07 recovered a fumble early on in the game. Then Middlebury's offense got on the board when Steve Hauschka '07 hit a 38-yard field goal. After Buggy's fumble recovery, Lyon connected with Derek Polsinello '08 for an 11-yard touchdown. After a half-hour lightning delay, the offense drove 80 yards, when DiDomenico scored with a four-yard rush up the middle. Armstrong caught three passes for 38 yards and Lyon was 13 of 29 for 132 yards. Steve Shortle '09, a Vermont native, went five for nine with 26 yards in his college debut. Hutzler had 10 tackles and recovered a fumble. Commenting on the Williams loss, Armstrong said, "The main thing was to stay positive. A lot of times after a losing streak, teams can start to fall apart and you can lose focus on the rest of your season. Fortunately, our team is very cohesive, and we didn't let our record affect our mindset for the rest of the season. We knew a win over Bates would get the ball rolling for a good start on the second half of the season."This weekend the Panthers host Trinity, currently undefeated at 5-0. The Bantams are a perennial powerhouse who have been up to their usual antics this fall and there is little doubt that they will be at the top of their game. The Panthers are not as intimidated coming off their first win, as Paul Thibodeau '08 said, "The win will carry over a lot of the confidence and momentum that are necessary to beat a 5-0 team". On the upcoming Trinity game Armstrong commented, "building up our confidence and hard work will put us in a position to win against Trinity. It's no secret that Trinity is a very strong team, but the great thing about our league is that any team can beat any other team on any given day. If we prepare ourselves well enough mentally and physically, we'll go into the game with a great chance to upset them."Although it is a longshot, Middlebury will prepare this week with all the confidence and focus of a successful program. This season has provided some challenges and several games in which one play could have changed the entire flow of the game. The win over Bates, which broke Middlebury's four-game losing streak, will hopefully give the Panthers what they need to break Trinity's winning streak. The team is finding its "edge."
(10/13/05 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Brand The performance of this year's Middlebury football squad could be summed up by Yogi Berra in his famous quote, "It's like déjà vu all over again." Berra was referring to watching Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle hitting home runs, but he could have been having a premonition about the Panthers' season thus far. Each game this season has had the same storyline: the offense stalls while defense keeps the game within reach. On a wet, chilly afternoon at Amherst, the Panthers followed an all too-familiar script as they lost their third straight game of the 2005 campaign, falling to the Lord Jeffs 15-0. The Middlebury offense turned in another paltry performance, accumulating just 106 total yards, albeit in sloppy conditions. Middlebury (0-3) was unable to score a point for their second straight game and have not scored on offense since junior Steve Hauschka kicked a field goal in the third quarter of the season opener at Bowdoin. The rainy, muddy field conditions and the Amherst defense combined to limit their chief offensive weapon, junior running back Stefan Hrdina, to just 51 yards on the ground. Hrdina got off to a strong start, breaking a few tackles for a 26-yard run early on the second offensive series of the game. But the NESCAC rushing leader was unable to capitalize on his early success, and Amherst (2-1) forced the offense to the air early in the second quarter. The pressure was placed on junior quarterback Tiger Lyon, but he delivered another inauspicious outing, completing six of 24 passes for 66 yards. The Panthers struggled to move the chains throughout the entire game, managing only six first downs and successfully converting just three of 17 third down opportunities. Much like in the last two games, Middlebury's defense kept victory within reach despite the sputtering offense. While Amherst running back Ngai Otieno rushed for 104 yards in his third straight game, quarterback Nick Kehoe was limited to just six passing yards and one interception. Senior Co-captain Coleman Hutzler, who was injured in the fourth quarter, led the team with 15 tackles and sophomore Eric Woodring continued his remarkable play with 13 tackles and a sack. The defense allowed Amherst to take a 3-0 lead on a Justin Roemer field goal in the first quarter, but found its bearings on a key goal line stand towards the end of the first half. After junior Steve Hauschka's punt landed at the line of scrimmage, Amherst's offense took over at the Middlebury 34-yard line. Amherst then pounded their running back Dom Cama through the Middlebury defense on eight plays all the way down to the one-yard line, but was unable to get him through on fourth-and-goal. As Cama tried to run right towards the goal line, senior Alejandro Miranda and Francis Cave '09, the 350-pound short-yardage specialist, felled him at the line of scrimmage. Both teams played inconsistently in the third quarter, but Amherst was able to put up a field goal at the end of the period, making the score 6-0 to start the final quarter. Middlebury was stymied in the fourth quarter, unable to get the ball out of their territory once, but were afforded an opportunity to score with 4:30 minutes remaining in the game. After Amherst punter Mark Hannon booted a perfect punt to the Middlebury one-yard line, Lyon stepped under center to attempt to orchestrate one last drive. But Coach Bob Ritter called for an intentional safety, placing all the hopes on the Middlebury defense to get the ball back with better field position. The defense held up their end of the bargain, stopping Amherst on three plays, thereby placing the burden of winning on the offense. But the offense crumbled under pressure as Lyon threw four straight incomplete passes and Amherst promptly took over at the Middlebury 17-yard line. Five plays later Amherst back Ngai Otieno rushed for his third touchdown of the season and the Lord Jeffs extended their lead to 15-0. Despite the poor showing at Amherst, the Panthers still have a chance to hoist themselves out of the cellar over the next two weeks in games against Williams and Bates. Williams comes to Alumni Stadium this Saturday for a battle of anemic offenses. Although Williams has won the past four meetings, the Ephs collected just their first win of the season last weekend against Bates and have averaged merely 7.7 points per game. If the Panthers can break their scoring drought and have a good defensive game, they should be victorious for the first time this season.
(10/13/05 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Luehrman A good team knows how to take it all in stride, as the Panthers demonstrated after their loss to Skidmore last Wednesday, Oct. 5. They put their heads down, practiced a little harder and went 2-0 last weekend against two league rivals, Amherst and Hamilton. After a busy week followed by a busy weekend, Middlebury improved its overall season record to 9-5 and their NESCAC record to 5-2. "Our match against Skidmore was a mid-season wake up call," commented captain Lacee Patterson '06. "But luckily it woke us up because we had a great NESCAC weekend."Skidmore brought the Panthers yet another five-game match. There has been no shortage of worthy competition this season, to be sure. After the Thoroughbreds won the first game 30-26, the Panthers took games two and three 30-26 and 30-25. However, the fourth game proved a challenge, as it has often done for Middlebury these days, and Skidmore resurfaced to win two in a row, 30-24 and 15-7, Middlebury's offense played a strong game, totaling 70 kills overall, with Lindsay Patterson '08, Lexie Fisher '08, Jackie Edwards '06 and Kate Heath '09 all scoring in the double digits, and Patterson '06 had 53 assists. Patterson '08 and Patterson '06 led the defense, with 25 and 22 kills, respectively. On Saturday, Oct. 8, the Panthers faced Amherst for the second time this season and defeated the Jeffs in yet another five-game match. "They brought a stronger game this past Saturday," according to captain Jamie Wong '06. "Unfortunately for them, we played more soundly than we ever have before and fought to beat them for the second time.""Everyone individually picked up their game," said Patterson '06, "and it translated to team effort to go 2-0 over the weekend." The match began well for the Panthers. After winning two strong games 30-24 and 30-25, they began to experience some of the difficulty that always seems to find them late in the match and dropped games three and four 19-30 and 20-30. "They changed up their offense a bit in the third which kind of threw us a bit at first, but more importantly than that was we seemed to lose our fire," said Head Coach Sarah Raunecker. "Balls were dropping untouched, and almost without a movement to play it." However, Middlebury found its sense of urgency in the fifth game and took the match victory with a 15-10 win. "In the last game, balls were not dropping - people were at least getting a touch on it, and then someone else would track it down and we'd end up keeping the ball in play," observed Raunecker. Fisher provided 16 kills on the offense with 42 assists from Patterson '06, and Wong led the defense with 26 digs. Patterson '08 and Olivia Minkhorst '09 backed her up with 18 digs each. Once again, Amherst gave Middlebury reason for optimism as they approach the NESCAC tournament. "It showed us that we really can compete with teams in the league," commented Patterson '06.Middlebury rode the wave of their Amherst victory to sweep Hamilton in a comparatively effortless three games, 30-21, 30-21 and finally 30-15. Fisher put down 11 kills with 35 assists by Patterson '06, and Wong backed the team once again with 14 digs.Overall, the Panthers performed quite well over the weekend, but they have plenty to work on in anticipation of some big matches. "Losing our focus [late in the match] is something that we will need to really work on," says Raunecker, referring to the close shave against Amherst. "It's happened to us in previous matches, most notably Trinity, but also in other matches, and we really need to fix that if we want to be the team we know we can be." Middlebury will face Colby-Sawyer Thursday, Oct. 13 in Pepin Gymnasium, followed by a trip to NESCAC rival Tufts to play the Jumbos on Sunday Oct. 16.
(09/29/05 12:00am)
Author: Jonathan Brand On a promisingly clear fall afternoon in Maine last weekend, the Panthers seemed to have the game won late in the fourth quarter. Their second win in as many years over Bowdoin was almost final. The headline was all but written: Unproven running back leads team to victory to open NESCAC season. However, Bowdoin receiver Jeff Nolin ran 12 yards for the game winning score with 2:37 left and handed Middlebury a 22-21 loss. The Panthers (0-1) squandered a brilliant running performance by junior running back Stefan Hrdina, who rushed for 238 yards and scored two touchdowns, but the Polar Bears (1-0) still managed to capture their first win against Middlebury since 1991.The run game established by Hrdina was important to the Panthers' success early. "Hrdina was inspiring as he accounted for the majority of our offense," said Head Coach Bob Ritter, "and he came up with some big plays when we needed them." The dominating running performance allowed junior quarterback Tiger Lyon to ease into the first start of his career, although he showed some nerves on the first series of the game. Lyon rolled right and floated his first of two interceptions on the day into the awaiting arms of Bowdoin defensive back Brendan Murphy. He settled down on the next series, however, and tossed his first career touchdown - a 10-yard pass to Hrdina that put the Panthers up 7-0. Lyon finished the day having completed 17 of 27 passes for 169 yards and two interceptions. "Tiger over all settled down and played well after the opening drive," said Ritter. Bowdoin responded on the ensuing possession when quarterback Ricky LeClerc heaved a 46-yard strike to Jeff Nolin for the score. Middlebury's defense stepped up its intensity on the extra point attempt as sophomore linebacker Eric Woodring blocked the point after attempt. The ball deflected off Woodring up into the air and fell into the hands of sophomore David Randolph, who ran the ball the length of the field for a defensive point after attempt. Bowdoin's Steve Corwen recovered a Dom DiDominico '06 fumble and ran 25 yards for the touchdown later in the first quarter, but Woodring blocked another point after attempt so Bowdoin had to settle for a 12-9 lead after one quarter. Both teams failed to produce for most of the second quarter, until Hrdina broke away from the Polar Bear defense and ran 65 yards into the end zone to give the Panthers an 18-12 lead going into the locker room. The second half was decidedly different, as the Panther offense became sluggish over the last 30 minutes. After a field goal from junior kicker Steve Hauschka in the third quarter, the Panthers were unable to put any more points on the board. Middlebury relinquished the ball with 7:14 left in the game, and Bowdoin took over at their own 12-yard line to start what would be the game-winning drive. LeClerc, who finished the day with 22 of 37 passes completed for 303 yards, led the Polar Bears all the way down to the Panther 12-yard line and set up the winning play. Nolin then took the ball on a reverse, ran down the sideline and snuck across the goal line with 2:37 left, knotting the game at 21-21. Place kicker Nolan McNair, who had been blocked twice, would not be denied again and booted the extra point through the uprights to give Bowdoin a one-point lead. The Panthers found themselves with one last chance on fourth down in Bowdoin territory with 1:06 to play, but a pass intended for junior tight end Jamie Staples fell incomplete and Bowdoin ran out the clock for the victory. "We had a chance to put the game away and didn't take advantage of it," said Ritter of the last drive, who nonetheless noted that the "offense played well."Middlebury's defense looked stellar throughout the game and kept great pressure on the Polar Bears in the loss. They blocked two extra point attempts and sacked LeClerc four times. Senior co-captain Coleman Hutzler led the defense with 13 tackles and junior Neiman Groce forced a fumble and had two sacks. The Panthers face their next test this Saturday when the team hosts Colby in the home opener at Alumni Stadium. Colby, who defeated Williams last weekend 35-9, has won the last two meetings with the Panthers. Despite the loss, the goal of a successful season is still within reach. The team will need to rely on the defense to keep them in games the rest of the season, but if Hrdina can stay healthy and the passing game can develop some chemistry, Middlebury may surprise some teams in the NESCAC.
(09/29/05 12:00am)
Author: BEN SALKOWE AND THOMAS C. DRESCHER Student leads walk for multiple sclerosis cure On Sept. 7, 2004, Carrie Bryant was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). She had turned 19 only weeks earlier, and was just about to begin her first year at Middlebury. Instead, Bryant was in hospital rooms and doctors' offices throughout the semester as her physicians tried to manage her MS. Bryant was forced to wait until February to begin college, joining the class of 2008.5.Now, Bryant plans to commemorate the one-year anniversary of her diagnosis through "Carrie's Walk to Cure MS" on Oct. 15, an event she is organizing with her peers and professors at the College. The proceeds from the walk will go to benefit The Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis. Accelerated Cure Project is an effort to cure MS through research identifying its causes."This is something I felt that I needed to do," Bryant said in a statement released by Accelerated Cure Project. "Accelerated Cure Project gives me the best chance for a cure for MS. I connected with them because their model made sense to me - you can't figure out how to cure MS until you determine what causes it."So far Bryant has raised more than $13,000 for the event. Organizers expect contributions to top $20,000, for an event that will become an annual tradition. The walk will be a 4.3-mile trail around the campus.Bryant is continuing her studies at the College, and hopes to one day attend medical college to become a pediatric orthopedic doctor. Grille Pub Night heats up Thursday evenings Guest list woes aside, the College's on-campus social scene has recently received a major boost in the form of weekly pub nights at the Grille, courtesy of the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB).The first two pub nights were resoundingly successful, with droves of students turning up to enjoy live music and free beer in a safe, guest-list-free environment. According to MCAB Grille Committee Member Brooke Lenci '06, the Grille has been underutilized as a social space in the past, but its decline as a prominent study spot, coupled with the recent introduction of burdensome liquor law reinterpretations, has inspired MCAB to work toward its revival as a social hub. Lenci emphasized the Grille's utility as both a music venue and social destination, adding that plans are in the works to schedule additional weekly events featuring free smoothies, coffee and other treats. The MCAB Grille Committee's budget covers all related costs. MCAB's designs are ambitious, but not unattainable, if the first two pub nights are any indication. "Our hope is that the Grille will eventually draw a crowd even when there isn't a huge event going on," said Lenci.So far this year, Larson and the Level 3 Dungeon Masters have graced the McCullough stage while students have fraternized among themselves.The next pub night is scheduled for Oct. 6, with a musical guest yet to be determined. Other upcoming pub night acts include off-campus bands Throwback (Oct. 13) and Alternate Routes (Oct. 27).
(09/29/05 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Poling Luehrman This past weekend was an exciting one for the Middlebury volleyball team at the Amherst Classic Tournament. They held three suspenseful matches against important rivals, two of them NESCAC teams. "This tournament gave us a glimpse into what our team could become," commented Captain Jamie Wong '06. It certainly provided some exciting and tough play for the Panthers and their opponents. After winning two matches and dropping the third, Middlebury emerged with a record of 6-4 overall and 3-2 within NESCAC.The tournament opened last Friday, Sept. 23, with an exciting match against the tournament host. Traditionally, Amherst is known as a tough and competitive team "that has frustrated us in the past," according to Wong. The two teams played evenly throughout the first half of the match, then Middlebury took the first game 30-27 but dropped the second 30-26. After a strong third game, which was won 30-27, the Panthers took a dive in game four, losing 30-14. The Jeffs were ready to ride their victory all the way through a suspenseful fifth game, but the Panthers held out during a neck-and-neck tie for the last few points and finally secured the necessary two point margin to win the match 17-15. Lexie Fisher '08 led the offense with 14 kills, Jackie Edwards '06 was close behind with 12 kills and Captain Lacee Patterson '06 held things together with 43 assists. Wong once again proved her defensive prowess with 29 digs. "We're still figuring things out a bit with our line-up," says Head Coach Sarah Raunecker, "but the Amherst match was a great win for us."The Panthers moved on to play against Brandeis on Saturday, where another suspenseful match ensued. This time, Middlebury dropped the first game 30-21, but came back to take the second 30-20. Game three went to Brandeis 30-18, another surprisingly wide margin. However, in the fourth game the two teams began to butt heads and the end was a fight for the two-point margin of victory. The Panthers stayed alive to win the game 33-31, levelling the match score at 2-2 and forcing the Judges into a fifth game. Middlebury cleaned up relatively easily, 15-7, to collect another match victory. In comparison with the season's statistics thus far, it was a relatively complacent match for the offense. Fisher once again topped the stats with 10 kills, followed closely by Amy Heath '07 with nine kills. Wong backed up the defense with 26 digs, while Amy McCowan '08 had 22.Finally, the Panthers faced Trinity, the team that defeated them last weekend, the only NESCAC team to do so thus far. After yet another suspenseful five-game match, Middlebury fell 3-2. "Trinity seems to have our number, so to speak," commented Raunecker, "but once again, it was the fourth game that was our downfall." The Panthers quickly bounced back from a fall in game one, 30-23, to take the next two in a row, 30-27 and 30-20. Instead of ending the tournament in the next game, Middlebury started to fall apart at the seams, and the Bantams took the fourth game 30-27, forcing a fifth. It was certainly a close game, but Trinity managed to pull out the win 15-13 and walk away with the match. Nonetheless, Patterson played a fantastic game, adding 51 assists to her record, while Wong once again paced the defense with 34 digs. Fisher, Edwards and Heath contributed 14, 13 and 12 kills, respectively. "We just made too many mental errors late in the fourth and fifth games," said Raunecker. "We know we're going to make some physical errors, it's the mental ones we'd like to diminish." Overall, coach and players alike were satisfied with the outcome of the weekend, particularly the Amherst victory. Raunecker has been especially pleased with the team's improvements both in blocking and defense, to which she attributes a large part of their success. "We're on the right track, and we have a lot of work to do," she says, "but I'm very excited about this team's potential."
(09/22/05 12:00am)
Author: Ben Salkowe According to attorneys and Middlebury College officials involved in a lawsuit filed by O'Neil Walker alleging racial discrimination by the College a ruling in the case is imminent. The College suspended Walker last spring after two campus judicial boards found him guilty both of "behavior unbecoming of a Middlebury student" and "disrespect for persons and property," after he was accused of entering another student's room unauthorized. Walker maintained his innocence through both hearings and said the proceedings against him had been unfairly conducted. Immediately following his suspension, Walker filed suit in Addison County Superior Court against the College alleging that the judicial process had misidentified him in an instance of racial discrimination. Confusion and intrusionThe events that led up to Walker's current lawsuit against the College began long before protesters gathered outside Old Chapel last May, or even before David Hawkins '05, who identified Walker as a suspect, awoke to find a stranger in his room last January. At approximately 4 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 4, 2004, a first-year male student living in Ross Commons awoke to find another male crouched by his bed. The student contacted Public Safety and on Nov. 12, Public Safety Officer David Delphia took a statement from the first-year in which he described the intruder as wearing a dark shirt and khaki pants, having very short hair and walking out of the room in a crouched position. The first-year told Daniel Gaiotti, assistant director of patrol operations, that he had not noticed the race of the intruder, but confirmed his original description that the intruder had short, dark hair that was about an inch long.Only a week after the first intrusion, a second and more frightening incident was reported at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14. This time the victim was a sophomore male in Hadley Hall. According to a summary of the student's statement prepared by Public Safety, "[The student] felt a hand rubbing his penis, which woke him up and startled him. He did not recognize the person, but described his skin as very dark." The victim jumped out of his top bunk bed to confront the intruder, who reportedly ran out of the room. Public Safety officers were called to the scene, but were unable to locate the intruder.Later the same day, Lisa Boudah, associate dean of Student Affairs and director of Public Safety, met with the victim. The reported physical description was a male with "dark skin" and "African-American features," who was roughly six feet tall and 180-190 lbs. The victim reported that the intruder had been wearing a sweatshirt with the hood over his head, and described the intruder's hair visible from under the hood as "nappy."That evening Boudah sent an all-campus community alert to all students and commons officials. While the alert did not highlight the incident as a sexual assault - it only mentioned "touching" - it did include the victim's description of the intruder's hair. A number of community members responded to Public Safety complaining about the racial undertones of the description, and the alert was promptly revised. The first racial tensions of the case had surfaced.After the crime alert was issued, yet another student came forward. On Nov. 15, a first-year male living in Allen Hall approached Melody Perkins, assistant director of administration for Public Safety, with what he felt might be relevant information. The student reported that between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, the night before the Hadley incident, a black male had stuck his head in the first-year's room. When asked if he needed help, the intruder left. The first-year reported that the male was just less than six feet tall, college-age with short hair and wearing a sweatshirt.The following weekend Ross was placed under 24-hour lockdown with the exception of the dining hall, which was kept open strictly for dining hall hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The vague language of the crime alerts and the annoyance of a lockdown made the intrusions a campus-wide joke with many students referring to "the Ross Toucher" as a case of administrative overreaction to intoxicated students mistaking rooms."I think they were just both drunk," said Caryn LoCastro '07 last November in reference to the Nov.14 crime alert and another unrelated alert that had been released earlier. "Drunk guys go into the wrong rooms all the time, sometimes they pee in other people's rooms because they think it's a bathroom."Hesitant to disclose more information on the nature of the intrusions, and with investigations underway, Boudah cautioned students that the situation seemed more serious. "This type of situation feels a little different," Boudah, told The Middlebury Campus just after the fourth incident. "Maybe people go to a wrong room, but this has a different feeling. People don't appear to be intoxicated - they know they're going in the wrong room."While Public Safety says it investigates all cases independently, similarities in the three Ross intrusions were surfacing. Two additional incidents of room intrusion had occurred on campus in the semester, but the incidents were of males intruding in female rooms, had varying suspect descriptions and according to Public Safety, they were of a different nature than the Ross intrusions. To this day those incidents remain unsolved. The three Ross intrusions, however, were showing patterns. In the absence of clear suspects and in the face of repeated room intrusions, Ross Commons was placed under a 24-hour lockdown. Then, in January, a fourth intrusion occurred. This time the victim would ultimately name a suspect.On Jan. 30, Hawkins reported waking up at 6 a.m. to find a black male lying next to his bed in LaForce Hall. According to a timeline prepared by Boudah and Associate Dean of Student Affairs Karen Guttentag, "[Hawkins] jumped to the floor and turned on the light, confronting the intruder. The male said he was Kevin Jones or Johnson. When [Hawkins] took out his cell phone to call Public Safety to confirm the male's identity, the male became angry, grabbed the phone and threw it against the wall."Again, Boudah released a community crime alert that afternoon. This time the intruder was described as a black male, with a light complexion, 5'10" to 5'11" tall and with short dark hair one to two inches long. The following day Hawkins spoke with Boudah about his interactions with the intruder. Hawkins told Boudah he had identified several possible suspects in the College "New Faces" book. Public Safety Officer Edward Dolback checked on the names given by Hawkins, but one was abroad and the other two Boudah later determined were not enrolled that semester.Meanwhile, a final pair of intrusions occurred.This time two intrusions were reported on the same evening on the same hall. At 1 a.m., and later between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., two male first-year students on the same floor in Hadley Hall were victims of two separate intrusions. In the first incident the student reported being awakened by the closing of a door, and 20 minutes later seeing a male step in his room, "approximately 5'10" to 5'11" tall, black, lanky [and] wearing a knit hat with ear flaps under the chin ties," according to the student's report. The student yelled at the intruder, who left.Just after that intrusion, the other male first-year involved also awoke to the sound of his door closing, and after getting up to look outside in the hall, reported seeing a male running down the hall in a winter coat and wearing a winter hat with earflaps.A suspect is identifiedEight days after Hawkins' intrusion, on Feb. 11, Walker became a suspect in the investigation.It was on that evening that Hawkins encountered Walker at Middlebury Discount Beverage and first
claimed to recognize Walker as his intruder. Hawkins confronted him and asked who he was and whether he had been in his room. Walker identified himself to Hawkins but said he had had not been on campus during the intrusion.Hawkins e-mailed Boudah that night to say he was "almost positive" Walker was the intruder. Several days later Hawkins told Boudah he was "95 percent sure" and requested a no contact order.Walker, however, did not appear to fit any model of a repeated intruder. A soft-spoken student who was in the College Orchestra and on the cheerleading squad, he was the first in his family to go to college. He was awarded a Posse scholarship to attend Middlebury and planned to attend law school after graduation.Boudah went on to interview Walker multiple times. According to the report prepared by Boudah and Guttentag, Walker told her he had been with friends in town the night before Hawkins' room was intruded upon. He said he returned to his room in Hadley alone at 3 a.m. and awoke early the next morning for breakfast before taking a bus to New York City. "[Boudah] questioned this, as there are no buses departing from Middlebury on Sunday afternoon for New York City. Upon reviewing his bus receipt, it was confirmed that he had traveled on the bus on Monday, Jan. 31," the report said.It was in this second interview that Boudah "confronted [Walker] with her suspicions that he [had] been entering student rooms without authorization, and he denied these assertions."Judicial process on trialIf the confusing barrage of crime alerts related to the intrusions had frustrated students trying to make sense of the situation, the secrecy and confidentiality of the judicial process by which Walker was judged before two separate boards of administrators, faculty and peers infuriated those trying to understand what was happening.Walker was brought first before the Community Judicial Board (CJB) - an eight-member board consisting of the Dean of Student Affairs, one staff member, two faculty members and four students. The CJB unanimously found Walker guilty of "behavior unbecoming of a Middlebury student" and "disrespect for persons and property." His penalty was suspension through spring 2006 with the possibility for Walker's readmission in fall 2006, provided that he pursues therapy. Walker appealed the decision to the Judicial Appeals Board (JAB), which granted the appeal solely on the basis of a procedural error in the first hearing. The inclusion of access card records as evidence in the first hearing, when those records should have been destroyed after 60 days in accordance with College privacy policies, was deemed grounds for appeal.The JAB upheld the CJB's decision, but reduced the penalty to allow Walker readmission in the spring of 2006.To this day the deliberations of the judicial boards are largely unknown. What is known is that Hawkins was the only victim of an intrusion to identify Walker as the intruder. None of the other victims were able to say that Walker had been in their rooms. "The delayed identification, and the mistaken identification of other African Americans, raises a serious doubt regarding the reliability of his identification, especially given established principles of own-race bias in eyewitness identification," Walker said in a statement following his suspension.Access card records introduced in the hearings supported both Walker's alibi and the intrusions for which he was blamed for. Any additional information or testimony that found Walker guilty before the judicial boards was barred from public access by Walker's request for a confidential hearing at the start of the proceedings.I realize that I attend school with students who have had limited encounters, if any at all, with blacks before coming to Middlebury College, Walker wrote in an e-mail that spread to students across campus. However, this is a liberal arts college with many highly educated students who are aware of differences and are capable of articulating distinguishing features of a person (regardless of race) that they encounter. With no further options for appeal within the College judicial system, Walker took the next step. Represented by two Middlebury attorneys, a friend's father, Robert Weltchek, and eventually the civil rights lawyer William Murphy, Jr., Walker filed suit against the College in the Vermont Superior Court of Addison County.National media turns an eyeThe night before Walker first appeared in court to press charges of racial discrimination against the College, an e-mail including a statement by Walker was rapidly forwarded to every corner of the campus, sometimes under the subject line: "Ross Toucher Court Case Today".The e-mail and word of mouth brought hundreds of students to the courthouse on May 10 for the case's first hearing. If racial tensions had been building throughout the year, they were at a boiling point that afternoon. About 75 students were allowed into the courthouse, and more than a hundred more stood outside. Following the hearing many of those students returned to campus and staged a protest outside Old Chapel. President Ronald D. Liebowitz sent an e-mail to all students the following morning asking for an all campus meeting. "A number of issues have arisen on campus in recent weeks that have created concern among students about the campus climate with regard to diversity," Liebowitz wrote. "Because I feel that it is important for us to have an opportunity to share these concerns before people leave for the summer, I would like to hold an open meeting this afternoon, at 5 [p.m.] in McCullough."For several hours that evening Liebowitz fielded complaints, criticisms and questions from a frustrated body of students seeking explanations. Campus issues of race and discrimination had burst into discussion - students sometimes arguing with each other in addition to with the President. Citing the President's limited role in judicial board proceedings, Liebowitz said he had no involvement with the decisions and would not overturn them. Citing confidentiality restrictions and a pending lawsuit, Liebowitz said he was unable to answer questions about the Walker case proceedings. Over the course of the summer, the national media took up the story. The Village Voice ran a May 31 story under the headline: "Busted for Blackness at Middlebury: How a Bronx senior with a sterling record got kicked out of a tony Vermont college." National Public Radio ran a segment on the story July 19. Online petitions and countless blog entries have spread through cyberspace assailing the College's handling of the situation.Speaking of the College's judicial boards, Murphy, the civil rights lawyer representing Walker told The Village Voice, "It was a kangaroo court. No lawyers were allowed in, and the burden of proof was set very low."But College administrators have stood by their judicial process. "If I had believed that Mr. Walker's race was prejudicially or inappropriately considered in the process of the underlying investigation, or the charge process, I would not have supported the pursuit of discipline as I did," wrote Marichal Gentry, associate dean of the College, in an affidavit to the court. Gentry is also black.In an interview this week, Weltchek cautioned that the media reports of the case had in some cases lost focus on the actual issues at hand. "We were in court for two full days and no reporters were present," he told The Campus. "No one [was] in the courtroom to report the facts as they saw them."For now the emotions and frustrations will have little impact on the future for Walker or the College, as both await a ruling that could come from the court any day now. Walker's lawyers would not say whether or not they intended to appeal a ruling if it sustained the College's judicial actions.
(09/22/05 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Luehrman After a successful and eventful NESCAC volleyball weekend hosted in the Pepin Gymnasium here at Middlebury, the Panthers hold a record of 4-3 overall and 2-1 within NESCAC thus far. "We got a good look at our competition this weekend," commented captain Lacee Patterson '07, "and it looks like the league is wide open. Most of the teams have young players (including us), so it is basically going to be a race to see who can figure out the right system the quickest."Middlebury faced off against Wesleyan, their first in-league opponents of the season, on Friday evening, Sept. 16, in Pepin, and the tournament began on a positive note, with a 3-1 win. After falling in the first game 25-30, the Panthers came back with three stunning victories in a row, each just as close as the one before, to claim the win over Wesleyan, currently 1-2 within the NESCAC. Lindsay Patterson '09 and Lexie Fisher '08 led the offense with 13 and 12 kills, respectively, and captain Jamie Wong '06 backed up the defense with 20 digs throughout the match. "Although we got off to a rocky start," said Wong, "we kept a steady mental game which helped us put down a solid win." The Cardinals went on to defeat Hamilton 3-0 and subsequently to fall hard to Williams, 3-0.The Panthers went on to face a challenging Saturday, beginning with a difficult loss to Trinity College, 3-2. The Bantams came to the court fresh from a loss to Williams the previous evening, and after the Panthers claimed a decisive first game 30-15, it seemed as though Trinity might be in for another tough day. Offense on the Panthers' side of the court was strong - Fisher once again demonstrated aggressive skill against the Bantams with a staggering total of 16 kills. Trinity, however, rallied for game two and, though the Panthers came within two points of the victory, the Bantams managed to even the match score to 1-1. Middlebury claimed the third game 30-27 but dropped the fourth 22-30. The Bantams were demanding twice the defense that Wesleyan had, and the Panthers were there to respond, with Wong contributing another 25 digs and Lindsay Patterson '08 21, but the team was beginning to get tired as the fifth game began. Trinity clinched the victory with a 15-7 game, and the Panthers took advantage of their few hours of rest before facing Connecticut College. "Trinity showed us we certainly have some work to do," commented Lacee Patterson, "but that is the rollercoaster of early season play."The Connecticut College Camels, previously undefeated in the league, were flush with their victory against Hamilton and Williams. The Panthers, however, were prepared and took them down in three games, their first sweep of the season with some of the most intense competition yet. The first two games were cutthroat and long as the Panthers struggled for the necessary two point margin, the first extending to 33-31 and the second even longer, 36-34. The third game ended the match with an anticlimactic 30-17 win for the Panthers. Lacee Patterson took charge of both offense and defense, with six kills and 11 digs. Wong shone on defense once again with 21 digs and Lindsay Patterson contributed a remarkable 12 kills, totaling 32 over the weekend. Both captains came away from the first weekend of league play optimistic and eager to see what the season will bring. Lacee Patterson noted that "it was exciting to see the potential we do have" during the two exciting wins this weekend, and Wong added that though "the skill level of the teams this year is more even than I have ever seen before in NESCACS," the Panthers have great prospects for league victory this season.
(05/05/05 12:00am)
Author: James Edward Kerrigan Middlebury baseball had two opponents at the opposite end of the spectrum. The men took care of business over the struggling St. Michaels squad 21-1 on April 26. On Sunday, Middlebury squared off for a double header against New England's top ranked Trinity club. They lost both games by one run, finishing 7-6 and 6-5.With storms in the forecast, the St. Michael's game was moved a day ahead, but the Middlebury bats still stuck like lightning. On Tuesday, the Panthers collected 26 hits including five from junior shortstop Noah Walker. The game remained close for the first few innings, but once the bats got going, St Michaels was helpless. In the fourth inning Middlebury scored six runs to open up the game. Walker doubled home two runs and scored on a triple by Ryan Armstrong '06. The offense finished strong by scoring in each of the last four innings including seven runs on seven hits in the ninth inning. Walker finished with a five-for-seven night at the plate. He was responsible for 10 runs (7 RBIs and 3 runs scored). Offense was not solely responsible for the win - flawless defense and stellar pitching factored in the win. The defense committed no errors behind the pitching staff's solid effort. Chris Fraser '05 started and earned the win for the Panthers. He surrendered only one run over five innings. Three first-year pitchers - Justin Wright, John Lanahan and Jack Britton - combined for four innings of shutout relief. The weekend brought a tougher opponent. Trinity, ranked number one in New England, proved that the best teams play best in the biggest moments. In both games, Trinity came from behind in the late innings to earn themselves two wins. In game one, Middlebury took the lead with a four run fourth inning. Walker picked up where he left off and notched a two RBI double to give Middlebury its first lead. The men kept the momentum alive into the fifth inning with a leadoff homerun by Joe Ramoin '05. The 6-3 lead was short lived, however. Middlebury Head Coach Bob Smith deemed Trinity senior Jeff Natale "the best hitter in the country." If there was any doubt entering the weekend, Natale met the expectations with a game tying RBI double and by scoring the winning run. Middlebury could not bounce back against Trinity's version of the unhittable Eric Gagne, falling one run short. "The sad thing is we had them beat," Smith notes, "but it was great that we could get to that point." The even sadder thing was that history repeated itself just a few hours later. Trinity pulled in front 3-0 after three innings. This time, Middlebury fought back with four runs again the fourth inning highlighted by John Lanahan's '08 three-run homerun. Trinity rebounded once again with a run in the sixth inning to pull within one run. Russ Budnick '05 left with the lead after contributing six solid innings with seven strikeouts. In the bottom of the seventh (the game's last inning), Trinity's Jeff Natale once again proved he is deserving of his reputation with a walk-off two run homerun. The 6-5 loss dropped the Panthers to a 13-10 overall record. Losses like this are tough to swallow, but, after digesting the performance, Smith said he hopes that the men "learned from playoff like games."Trinity, who stands atop the NESCAC East division, may likely be a first round opponent if Middlebury does make the playoffs. The Panthers need to split with Wesleyan in order to earn a birth into the playoffs. Smith highlights two keys to the rest of the season. "We will need to practice better and with more intensity, but most off all, we need to relax and enjoy it."A stretch of five home games in five days concludes with a crucial, Sunday double header against Wesleyan. "We can't give any extra opportunities to [Wesleyan]," Smith commented.
(05/05/05 12:00am)
Author: Zamir Ahmed The Middlebury men's lacrosse team wrapped up their regular season this past week on a high note, notching its ninth and 10th straight wins of the season and claiming the top seed in the NESCAC tournament. The Panthers head into this week's tournament with a 12-1 overall record and the chance to win their fifth straight NESCAC title on their home field.On April 27 the Panthers traveled to Williams College to take on the Ephs, who came into the game with a record of 7-5. While most observers expected Middlebury to steamroll over Williams, the Ephs had other ideas and ended the first period with a 3-2 lead. The Panthers quickly regained their dominant form, outscoring the Ephs 11-2 over the next two quarters to take a 13-4 lead. The game was never in doubt after that and the Panthers walked away with a comfortable 17-9 victory.The win was an all-around team victory, with 15 different players scoring for the Panthers. First-year Jim Cabrera and Jamie Duke '05 led the team with each netting two goals apiece. Alex Palmisano '07 had an amazing game in goal, making 12 saves before turning the net minding duties over to backups Ned Courtemanche '05 and Matt Levy '05.On April 30 the Panthers returned to their home field and prepared to go to battle with Bates College in the season finale for both teams. The Bobcats entered the game with an 8-3 record and were looking to improve on their conference standing in preparation for the NESCAC tournament.The teams played a tight first quarter, exchanging goals to finish the frame knotted up in at 2-2. The Bobcats came out hot in the second period and took an early one-goal lead with a score of 4-3. The Panthers were not ready to see their nine-game winning streak snapped and dug deep within themselves. Co-captain Dave Leach '05 provided a jumpstart to the Panther offense, putting one by the Bobcat goalie to equal the score at 4-4. Leach's goal set off a run of five unanswered goals by three different players as the Panthers built an 8-4 halftime lead. Coming out in the second half the Bobcats managed to cut the deficit to three but that was as close as they came. The Panthers rattled off six straight goals to take an insurmountable 15-6 advantage and closed out the game with a 17-10 victory. Duke and Henry Sheehan '06 each tallied three goals apiece and Palmisano and Levy combined for six saves. Perhaps the most impressive statistic for the Panthers was their 51-23 advantage in shots - just one example of their dominant performance.The Panthers will now play host to the NESCAC tournament, a happy upside to being the number-one seed in the tournament. The Panthers' semifinal game will be a rematch of their season finale as they take on Bates, who upset second-seeded Bowdoin in their first-round game. The game begins at 12:00 p.m. at Youngman Field in Alumni Stadium on May 7, If the Panthers win that game they will advance to the championship game on May 8 against the winner of the other semifinal between third-seeded Amherst and fourth-seeded Wesleyan.
(04/27/05 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Poling Luehrman Last week was one of blinding success for the Middlebury women's lacrosse team as they collected two more decisive wins against Skidmore and then third ranked NESCAC rival Amherst, bringing their record to 10-1 for the season. With one regular season game left, the Panthers draw ever closer to the NESCAC Championships with a 7-0 conference record.On Wednesday, April 20, the Panthers traveled to Skidmore, prepared to play a team that they beat handily by a nine point margin last season. On the way home, they celebrated their first shutout in five years, walking away from the Thoroughbreds with a 17-0 victory won in the pouring rain. This was not the first time the Panthers showed prowess in difficult conditions - both offense and defense overcame the damp and played a skillful game. An all-star scoring lineup once again dominated the field. Eight different players scored on Skidmore goalkeeper Sarah Berheide throughout the game. Schuyler Winstead '06 led the offense with four goals and two assists, Elizabeth Renehan '06 close behind with three goals and one assist and Michele Bergofsky '06 scored one goal and earned three assists in a row during the first half. Berheide, with 11 wins and only two losses thus far this season, hardly knew what hit her when Alison Perencevich '06, Channing Weymouth '06, Liza Humes '07, Renehan, Winstead and Claire Edelen '07 all scored on her within the first 10 minutes of the game. Edelen, Weymouth and Winstead each scored once again before the end of the half, and Beth Seeley '05 and Perencevich each drove in a final goal in the last minute of the half to send Middlebury to the sidelines with an 11-0 lead. Skidmore only allowed half as many goals during the second half, but Winstead and Renehan each scored twice more on Berheide, both of Renehan's goals coming in during the final five minutes of the half. Once again, Middlebury proved its offense very difficult to defend and its defense among the strongest in the division. Of the seven saves in goal that Co-captain Johanna Rosenfield '05 made, six were during the second half of the game. Before halftime, Middlebury's defense allowed only a single shot on goal in 30 minutes.Flush with their Skidmore shutout, the Panthers returned to Kohn Field Saturday for the big Amherst game and served the Lord Jeffs their first loss of the season. Amherst has failed to defeat the Panthers for five years running now, and Middlebury doesn't seem likely to let it happen anytime soon. "The whole team really played together, which is always a great feeling," said Co-captain Caitlin McCormick '05. "They were definitely a good team, but I think we did all the little things right, which really made the difference."Amherst took its only lead of the day when Amherst's Dana Kuper scored on Rosenfield early in the half, but three Middlebury goals in less than two minutes brought the Panthers back out ahead with 20 minutes to go in the half. Amherst would only manage two more goals before the whistle blew, but Middlebury put nine more behind Amherst goalkeeper Liv D'Ambrosio to end the half at 12-3. Renehan put away a goal off the draw after Kuper's second goal for Amherst, and Edelen and Kim Walker '07 each followed close behind to bring the score to 7-2. In the remaining 10 minutes, after one final Amherst goal, Middlebury scored five goals in a row to close the half with a 12-3 lead.Amherst began the second half with a promising two goals in a row from Kuper and Alyssa Briody, the Jeffs' only two scorers throughout the game, but Winstead responded swiftly with another to bring the score to 13-5 with 17 minutes remaining in the half. Soon after, Kuper scored Amherst's last goal of the day, and the Panthers proceeded to score five more goals and end the game with a decisive 18-6 victory on the day.Once again, Middlebury's offensive line presented Amherst with seven aggressive players who would score at least once each, Renehan and Walker scoring four times each and Winstead and Perencevich each with three goals. Head Coach Missy Foote, extremely pleased with the team's performance, commented, "It was a big win and every player played with incredible intensity." The defensive team deserves equal accolades, Rosenfield completing another excellent game with nine saves. In addition, Foote noted that "Emily Erickson '06 held Amherst's leading scorer [Ashley Harmeling] to no goals or assists" throughout the game. "It was an awesome win for us," said McCormick, and added that when the Jeffs return during NESCAC championships, "We'll definitely have to be ready to play our best again."
(04/27/05 12:00am)
Author: KATIE FLAGG AND CAROLINE S. STAUFFER SGA proposes universal wireless Internet access The Student Government Association (SGA) voted 13-0-1 Sunday to support the "Remaining Technologically Competitive" bill that was introduced this week into the Senate. The bill, authored by Feb Senator Dean Atyia '08.5 and co-sponsored by Wonnacott Commons Senator Eli Berman '07.5 and Junior Half Year Senator Dan Saper '06, proposed that the College's student body and administration cooperatively implement a plan to create a campus-wide wireless network."In order to sustain Middlebury's reputation as a high-profile liberal arts college, the school must remain technologically competitive with its peer institutions," the bill reads. The bill proposes that technological competitiveness can be achieved by implementing wireless Internet access on a campus-wide scale - a move that is "becoming the norm at colleges and universities across the country," according to the SGA's bill."In order to research the issue," said Atyia, "I tried to find out how common wireless networks are on college campuses across the country. I found that many liberal arts colleges and universities [that fall into the same category as Middlebury] have wireless networks, and of those that don't, many have plans for implementation."The bill also proposed to draft a petition asking students to declare support for the implementation of a universal wireless Internet network. Atyia cited the "huge sentiment" among students for wireless as a key factor in his decision to write the bill. The bill also promotes transparency, both in the development and implementation of any plan to create a wireless network on campus. Currently, wireless Internet access is available in only limited areas on campus - including the Grille and the new Library. College introduces new wage scale for students The Human Resources and Student Employment Office announced last Friday that next fall will see the implementation of a new student wage program. The new program will update a system executed in 2001 that was designed to parallel staff payroll policies. The program to be effective next fall, however, will resolve the challenges caused by the current system, leveling the playing field for all offices on campus that utilize student employees extensively. The new wage scale will also, most importantly, simplify and clarify the current system.The new wage scale will be determined by a set of criteria including skills required, necessary experience or training and levels of independent work, mental activity and accountability for students. Base pay hourly wages will be divided into three gradations - general, skilled and specialist levels. Base pay wages will range from $7.50 per hour for general positions - such as office assistant, library assistant and dining employee positions - to $9.00 per hour for specialist-level work. Under the new wage scale, student employees will also qualify for a $0.25/hour yearly wage increase.In order to avoid pay cuts for current student employees, those students hired prior to next fall will retain their current pay rate for the duration of their employment.Under the new wage scale, student wages will remain above the average rate paid to student employees at similar college campuses in New England. Grad move-out date to be reconsidered Student Community Council member Jimmy Hickey '05 submitted a proposal to increase the amount of time seniors are allowed to stay on campus after graduation at the Council meeting Monday afternoon. Currently, students have to check out at noon on the Monday following graduation. Hickey proposed to allow students to remain until noon on Tuesday, granting a total of 48 hours to pack up and clear out. "It seems like the faculty and staff are really friendly for it," Hickey said.He noted, however, that it took three months for the move-out time to be increased from 10 a.m. until noon, and therefore the 48-hour increase proposal will not be fully addressed until next year. Reservations included constraints on the custodial staff, which is responsible for post move-out cleanup and needs to be contracted well in advance.
(04/14/05 12:00am)
Author: Polly johnson & Lisie Mehlman It's that time of year again - that time when the truth is revealed and friendships are destroyed. Yep, it's room draw. Seeing as our time as roommates is drawing to a close, and many of you are selecting your own future roommates, we thought we might offer up some sage words of advice for maximizing the pleasure of suite living. Nevermind that, among the four of us in our Gifford suite, we have changed our sheets three times - cumulatively. It might be impossible to ever see any trace of the puke-red carpeting we ordered from Alldorm.com at the beginning of the year, but none of this really matters when you love who you live with and follow a few simple suite rules. So that you might find cohabitation as pleasing as we did, we have compiled a fail-proof list of how-to's and what-not-to-do's. 1. No talking in the morning. There's just no need for weak attempts at pleasant banter while you are trying to cover up the fact that you are about to run to Twilight in the same clothes you slept in (and wore to the library the night before).2. Bathroom door always open is protocol. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?3. Hygienic items are made for sharing. Expect that your loofahs, razors, deodorant and toothbrushes will be used by all your roommates when you are not around. You really know you've found lasting friendships when you can identify each roommate's brand and size of tampons.4. Throw away moldy food and rank alcohol, unless you have the patience to shut every window and door and risk looking like MJ with a mask while being forced to RAID the entire suite. Toxins kill. 5. After dropping your roommate's toiletry product in the toilet, remove it, maybe run it under warm water and never mention the incident again. 6. Buy a lock box for your food, otherwise the scavenging roommate who lurks in your room after the Grille has closed up shop for the night will steal it while you are sleeping or still in Bi-Hall.7. Talk to each other online every day, even when sitting in adjacent beds less than three feet from each other. Spice things up with nonverbal communication.8. If you really can't handle the squalor anymore, plan a party. It must have a theme, obvi. 9. Shower. Leave all empty shampoo and conditioner bottles on the floor. They will magically disappear.10. Upon arrival, immediately purchase requisite build-your-own over-the-toilet shelving unit that prohibits sitting upright. You'll discover its joys on your own.11. Make "getting ready" together a tradition. Think about it. It's Friday night. It's 9:30 p.m. and you have an hour before you need to start drinking. You are in your towel and your hair is wet. The sink is overflowing with every hair appliance that has the potential for electrocution. Your roommates are hogging the mirror. You've never loved them more.12. Always walk around in your bra and underwear.When your guy friends enter they will inevitably ask if anyone is naked, to which the response will most often be yes. You'll make a lot of guy friends.13. After a party, do not take down the decorations. Let them accumulate until your suite is a hodgepodge of Dollar Store finds with a real charm of its own. 14. Avoid awkward roommate interruptions by simply practicing abstinence. Seriously, it's the only real contraception.15. Make sure you have a crimper. It will never cease to entertain you and will bring you that much closer to your one and only college roomie. Roomies fo' life.
(04/07/05 12:00am)
Author: Tom McCann The Middlebury men's lacrosse team took to the road this past weekend, attempting to get its first road win of the season, before hosting Wesleyan later in the week. On Saturday the Panthers headed south to face Wesleyan College, familiar foes for the Middlebury men. The two teams last faced off for the NESCAC Championship last year, with the Panthers emerging 12-7 victors. This followed an equally tight encounter during the regular season that saw Middlebury emerge victorious by the slim margin of three goals in an 11-8 triumph. Returning to Kohn Field, the Panthers hosted Renssalear Polytechnic Institute (RPI), a team that Middlebury had not faced off against in more than four years. Familiar foes or otherwise, coach Erin Quinn's men were equally successful, emerging with two more regular season wins.Having lost their first road game of the season to Gettysburg on March 13, it was imperative Middlebury did not allow the same to happen when on its travels again. Coming into the game a perfect 3-0, Wesleyan would have been confident of upsetting the Panthers on their home field, and after 10 minutes, with the score at 2-1 in favor of Middlebury, the hosts were well placed to mount an assault on the Panthers. As it happened, Middlebury switched gears and took the game well out of Wesleyan's reach. An eight-goal outburst before halftime gave the Panthers a commanding 10-1 lead heading into the break. During the 20-minute spell, the Panthers netted three times with a one-man advantage, and buried four goals as a result of their lethal efficiency on the fast break.At that point, Wesleyan were looking at damage control rather than legitimately finding a way to get back into the game, a mood that would not have been helped by Jim Cabrera '08 netting his fourth goal of the game to give Middlebury a double digit lead. Wesleyan did manage to put four goals past the Panthers, but never looked worrying to the Panthers who led 12-5 at the break. Quinn's men came out for the final quarter and put the game to bed within the first few minutes, netting three more times, before finally riding out comfortable 15-7 victors, a surprising score given the relative parity between the teams last year. While Cabrera continued to pace the Panthers' offense, Jonathan Sisto '06, Aaron Herter '06 and sophomore Nick Bastis added two goals each, while fellow sophomore Alex Palmisano made five saves between the sticks. The teams actually each fired 27 shots at goal, but Middlebury's accuracy proved far superior to its counterparts, leading to a blow-out and a first regular season win on the road.Keen to build on its gathering momentum, Middlebury took to the field on Tuesday afternoon against RPI in an attempt to continue its unbeaten streak on Kohn Field. The streak was thrown into doubt early in the game as RPI raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter before Cabrera put Middlebury on the board. The visitors pushed the lead back out to two in the second quarter before Cabrera answered back once again for the Panthers, cutting the RPI advantage to 3-2 at the halfway stage.The best teams separate themselves from the good teams by finding a way to get the job done when they need to. The best players also step up when their team most needs them, and thankfully for Middlebury, Co-Captain Dave Leach '05 was not about to see his team overcome. During a five-goal run started by Cabrera's goal, Leach assisted on two goals before bagging one of his own as Middlebury ran the rule over RPI, opening up a 6-3 lead. With one quarter to play, the teams were still three goals apart, with the Panthers leading the resilient RPI men 7-4. The teams traded man-up goals in the final stanza before Co-Captain Mike Murray '05 added one more for Middlebury at the 1:29 mark to seal the deal. After trailing at halftime, the Panthers outlasted RPI for a hard-fought 9-5 victory, extending their win streak to three and ensuring a 5-1 record before this coming weekend. On Saturday, April 9, the men will once again look to defend Kohn Field when Amherst comes to town. The last time the Panthers locked horns with Amherst was in the NESCAC semifinal last year. On that occasion, the Panthers got the better of the Lord Jeff's by a score of 7-2, although only leading 3-2 heading into the final quarter of play. Amherst, currently 4-1, will no doubt be looking for revenge against the Panthers, who will need to be at their best to continue a win streak that is now at four games and rising.
(03/31/05 12:00am)
Author: Tom McCann The scene was set for an Elmira fairytale when the players took to the ice for the final period of the NCAA Championship Game. Leading 2-1, on their home ice, in front of their own fans, an unprecedented 13 seniors were 20 minutes of hockey away from ending their college careers as National Champions. Then the Panthers spoiled the party.However, before anyone could think about the Championship Game, the Middlebury Panthers had to overcome Gustavus Adolphus in the semifinal, a team that they had beaten 4-3 after overtime earlier in the campaign. As it turned out, the winner would earn a spot in the final the next day against Elmira, narrow victors over Plattsburgh in the other semifinal.The Panthers had earned the right to play at Elmira in the Final Four by virtue of knocking off Manhattanville in the NCAA quarterfinal, courtesy of an overtime goal by Emily McNamara '07. After an uncharacteristically quiet quarterfinal, Emily Quizon '06 demonstrated she was back to her sensational best, opening the scoring at the 13:28 mark of the first period. However, Gustavus found a way back into the game less than two minutes later, squaring things up at 1-1 as the first period ended.Sophomore Shannon Tarrant commented that in the locker room before the second period, "We figured out where we were and the importance of the situation. We figured out what we needed to do to get it done."The second period, however, would be all Middlebury. Quizon put the Panthers ahead again with her second goal of the game less than five minutes after the restart, while it took Abby Kurtz-Phelan '07 less than two minutes to double the advantage, continuing her fine post-season form. At 3-1, Gustavus desperately needed to score the next goal, but could not find a way through the Panther backline. The game was effectively ended as a contest when Gloria Velez '06 and Lorna Gifis '05 scored within 28 seconds of one another, giving the Panthers a 5-1 advantage at end of the second period.To start the third period, Katie Kogut '06 made a string of top class saves as Middlebury weathered a two-minute 5-on-3 power play. Taking full advantage of Gustavus' inability to score a second goal, the Panthers extended their lead to 6-1 when Ellen Sargent '07 put the puck past Gustavus' goaltender, Kara Meyer. Kogut was finally beaten for a second time when Gustavus made the most of a power play opportunity at the 9:18 mark of the third period and then netted again when the coach pulled Meyer to give Gustavus an extra attacker. From the next face-off though, Gifis made no mistake with an open net, pushing the Panther advantage back out to 7-3 with just seconds remaining. Despite losing to the Panthers, Gustavus tallied an NCAA record with 25 shots on goal in the final period, resulting in an NCAA record for Kogut: 23 saves in the period, from a total of 33 on the night.With the semifinal in the books, it was on to a showdown with hosts Elmira. Almost exactly a month earlier the Panthers had lost a 3-2 decision at Williams, a neutral venue. This time it was Middlebury vs. Elmira at Elmira with the National Championship on the line.The home fans were sent into a frenzy when Charissa Grant broke the deadlock in favor of the hosts, scoring on a wraparound just over seven minutes in. Despite outshooting Elmira 10-5 in the period, Middlebury could not find a way past Edith Racine in the Elmira goal, trailing 0-1 after the first period.Several times throughout the season, Middlebury had been undone by conceding goals early in a period, yet the opposite was true when it mattered most. Fifty-two seconds after the restart, McNamara somehow found a way to get the puck into the net after a scramble in front of the net, pulling Middlebury level. However, the Panthers could not capitalize on the momentum, and when NCAA Division III Player of the Year, Laura Hurd broke free for Elmira, Kogut was powerless to stop her backhanded shot from putting the hosts ahead once more. The second period ended 2-1 to Elmira, having killed off a couple of Panther power play chances towards the end of the period.Tarrant commented, "Going into the third period our locker room had so much energy and no one was worried about losing. We knew what we had to do."And so the scene was set. Twenty minutes to play. The Elmira women's hockey team were to lose 13 seniors from the roster that had carried them to the number one ranking entering the playoffs, and guaranteed them the right to host the Big Dance. It was their time, and the Middlebury Panthers were supposed to be a footnote in this illustrious chapter of Elmira hockey history. Evidently, the Middlebury Panthers hadn't read the script, and promptly set about dousing water on the Elmira fire. Quizon got Middlebury back into the game with another goal within the first minute after the restart, threading the needle to find the back of the net. However, unlike the second period story, Middlebury would not be held at bay for the rest of the period. With just over six minutes played, Velez fired a shot past Racine after picking the puck up from a fortunate deflection and Middlebury had their first lead of the night. Still reeling from the two-goal turnaround, Elmira was left shell-shocked when Quizon lashed a shot inside Racine's left post, giving the Panthers a 4-2 lead.Desperate to regroup, Elmira called a timeout. The timeout succeeded in slowing down the Panther's momentum but it took until the 14:59 mark before Kogut was beaten for a third time, pegging the Panthers back to 4-3. The Panthers expected a five-minute blitz from Elmira, but were handed a gift when Elmira were called for a penalty with three and a half minutes remaining. Middlebury did not capitalize on the power play, and Elmira had 90 seconds to grab the equalizer. The Panther defense stood firm in the face of an onslaught, but with 25 seconds remaining Kogut slipped after once again denying an Elmira assault. This time, the team watched in horror as the puck found its way to one of the most dangerous sticks in the country - that of Hurd. With an open goal to hit, Hurd missed the target from the left circle and the Panthers could skate the puck out of their zone. As time expired the Panthers rushed the ice, celebrating a come from behind win that typified the never say die spirit that the team was founded upon. Tarrant said, "We were a team and we played for each other. I knew we would come through in the end." She went to on say that in the locker room after the game "It was just chaos. It was so much fun and there was so much energy. Everyone was so excited about having won and coming back to Middlebury to celebrate."McNamara also commented, "It was great that we got to play in front of so many people. There was some heckling and we used that to our benefit. We rode the energy." She continued, "Also, we were standing at the edge of the rink waiting to come on to start the third period when they played our team song. We thought it was a sign and we got out there and got it done."The victory marked the first time that a team had won the National Championship on the road and just the third time any team had won a tournament game away from home. Middlebury ended the season with a record of 26-3-1, NESCAC Champions and what's more important, National Champions. Again.
(03/31/05 12:00am)
Author: Tom McCann The Middlebury men's lacrosse team knows that if they are to make a run at the National Championship again this year, they will need to once again turn Kohn Field into a fortress. Beating the Panthers at home has never been easy, and on current form nothing appears to have changed. However, in their only game on the road so far, the Panthers were defeated by Gettysberg, giving the men a 3-1 record to start the season.The curtain was raised on Middlebury's season when Springfield College rolled into town. Springfield had lost their two previous games before arriving at Kohn Field, and while they pushed Middlebury, could not come away with anything to show for their efforts. Springfield opened the scoring in the first quarter, before the Panthers struck back with four consecutive goals. The visitors answered back, but Middlebury added one more to go into the halftime break leading 5-2. While Springfield fought manfully in the second half, the Panthers always looked in control, taking a 9-5 lead with less than four minutes remaining. Over the last 1:09, Springfield scored two man-up goals, resulting in a final score of 9-7, somewhat flattering the visitors.Following Springfield, the Panthers hosted Stevens Tech, ranked 12th before the game. A tight first half led to the teams entering the locker rooms tied at 2-2 after Stevens Tech had taken an early lead. The game remained close through the third stanza too, and after Jim Cabrera '08 added his second goal of the game, following on from a three-goal outing against Springfield, to give Middlebury a 5-4 lead, Stevens Tech answered back once again. With just eight seconds on the clock in the third quarter however, Henry Sheehan '06 put the Panthers back in front and gave the hosts a huge psychological advantage heading into the final quarter. Middlebury was never able to coast in the second half, but every time Stevens Tech scored, the Panthers found a reply, eventually pulling out a gutsy 9-7 victory.Finally on the road, Middlebury made the trip to Gettysburg, ranked 13 in the nation before the contest, looking to extend their winning start to the season. The game plan went out of the window, however, when the Bullets streaked into a 5-0 lead early in the second period. Heading into the last 30 seconds of the half, the Panthers trailed 7-2 and looked dead and buried, before netting twice in the last 25 seconds and having a third goal ruled out as time had apparently expired. Perhaps jolted back into action by this late run, Gettysburg restored their considerable advantage with seven unanswered goals in the third period, leading 14-4 heading into the fourth period. In the final period, the Bullets added four more, extending their run to 11-0, before the Panthers answered with two consolation goals, returning home on the end of an 18-8 defeat.Great teams know how to respond when dealt setbacks, so when Connecticut College came to Kohn Field, it was imperative that the Panthers suffered no hangover from the Gettysburg defeat. The third ranked Panthers took time to get into their stride, and held a slender 1-0 lead after the first period, only to explode into action in the second. Leading 6-1 at the break, the Panthers looked to make the most of a porous Connecticut defense in the second half, well and truly erasing the memory of Gettysburg. After the Camels pegged Middlebury back to 8-2, the Panthers notched eight goals in a row, routing the hapless visitors 18-3. In-form Cabrera tallied six goals and two assists in the game, while Alex Palmisano '07 made eight saves for the Panthers in 47 minutes while Ned Courtemanche '05 picked up four saves during his 12:33 guarding the net.The Panthers next take to the field on April 2, when they make the trip to Wesleyan College. While it seems the team is more than comfortable at home, it is crucial that the men pick up their first win on the road this coming weekend. However, with four games down, the Panthers are ranked third in the country, and once again look good for their annual run at the National Championship in the first week of May.
(03/17/05 12:00am)
Author: DINA MAGARIL, CAROLINE S. STAUFFER AND ALEXXA GOTTHARDT College searches for Financial Aid director, prepares for new aid model As the comprehensive fee continues to escalate, Middlebury College is taking extra care in its selection of a new Director for Financial Services in order to make the financial process less stressful for both students and parents. The new director will be in charge of managing $25 million of institutional aid and about $13 million in federal grants loans and work study. A committee is looking for an individual who has knowledge of financial needs analysis packaging as well as federal aid and loans regulation. The College will be employing a new student financial services model that will utilize a "high-tech, high-touch" approach to financial aid according to Patrick Norton, controller and head of the committee that will appoint the new director. For this reason, the new director must also be familiar with the SCT banner system as it relates to financial aid. The committee created to pick the new director will be comprised of faculty, students and staff from the College.Most importantly, the new director must have a strong commitment of service to parents and students. The program's goal is to provide high quality financial counseling to prospective as well as current Middlebury students. The committee realizes that finances are a very important aspect of choosing a college and they hope to make each student as comfortable as possible with his or her decision to attend. The financial program hopes to offer as much assistance as possible in deciding how to pay for college and provide options in financing tuition. The committee is confident that they will find a new director by the July 2005 deadline.Approximately 40 percent of Middlebury students, however, currently receive financial aid in the form of a college grant. An even higher percentage receives some sort of financial assistance through federal loan programs.College featured in national media Middlebury College has graced the pages of several local and national publications in the past few weeks.Will Mayers, coordinator of the Arabic Language School, was quoted in an article entitled "Arabic Language is in Demand" in USA Today's Lifetime section on March 13. The article noted the national expansion of Arabic language programs and highlighted Middlebury's efforts to recruit from Syria and Egypt to staff its summer programs. It also remarked on the competitiveness of the College's summer program.On the same day, The Rutland Herald featured Jonathan Isham, assistant professor of Economics, and his Winter Term class, "Building the New Climate Movement." Three students from the class helped establish the "flat earth" award as their class project. Isham was pictured with six of his students.Rick Reilly recounts his experience reporting the story of Butch Varno in his March 7 column in Sports Illustrated. Reilly devoted the last paragraph in his column to memorable stories from the last 20 years. He still gets asked about Varno, a friend of Middlebury who has cerebral palsy.Middlebury was also selected out of a pool of 900 colleges and universities for inclusion in the Princeton Review's newest book, "College's with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement." The book features a two-page spread on each school selected and hits stands June 21. Criteria for selection included the College's admissions practices and scholarships rewarding community service, support for service-learning programs, student activism and student voice in school governance and the level of social engagement of its student body. Personette to join Facilities Planning On April 1, Susan Personette will assume the role of Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning at Middlebury College on a transitional basis. For several months, an administrative board has been in the process of selecting a candidate to fill this position. Personette graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1973 and went on to continue her studies at Yale University where she received her Masters of Architecture in 1981. In 1984, she became a licensed architect. With 24 years of experience as an owner project manager for Genesis Planners Inc. and Capital Projects at MIT and as a licensed architect and project manager in various leading architectural firms, Personette's knowledge of architectural planning spans a broad spectrum. Her expertise includes institutional and academic projects, design and construction phases, contractor, architect and owner relations, budget schedule and scope alignment, conflict resolution and team building and maintenance.At Middlebury, Personette's skill and guidance will be instrumental in developing the facility plans for the College's future strategic planning process as well as in the administration of College facility operations and maintenance. In addition, she will oversee a $17 million budget to maintain and run the 9,280-acre campus. Personette's influence will also extend outside Middlebury's campus as she will represent the institution on facility issues to members of both local and state regulatory agencies. Personette will assume the position of Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning full time as of July 1.
(03/17/05 12:00am)
Author: Jason Lockhart In what was touted to be a back and forth game between two highly skilled and fast men's hockey teams, there was no disappointment, as Middlebury and Curry combined for 73 shots. However, Curry was unable to keep pace with the speed and skill of Middlebury as the Panthers cruised to a 6-0 win backed by Ross Cherry's '08 shutout and a three goal outburst in the second period. After fighting their way to get into the NCAA Tournament by taking out Colby and Bowdoin in the NESCAC tournament, Middlebury earned a berth into the NCAA Semifinals, and the right to host the NCAA Division III Championship for the fourth time in 11 years.In their run of 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the Panthers have advanced to the semifinals in nine of the 11 years, losing only to Plattsburgh in the quarterfinals in 2000 and 2001.Middlebury has faced the ECAC Northeast Champion three out of the last four seasons in the NCAA Quarterfinals, twice defeating Wentworth in that span, in 2002 and 2004.The Panthers almost repeated last year's performance in the NCAA quarterfinals when Evgeny Saidachev '07 buried one past Wentworth just 45 seconds into the game. This year Mickey Gilchrist '08 streaked in with linemate Justin Gaines '08 and fired one past Curry goaltender Lenny Mosca just seconds into the game. However, Gaines was called for a crease violation only moments before Gilchrist shot the puck."Right from the start I thought we moved the puck well, made good decisions and played with a lot of energy and emotion," reflected Middlebury Head Coach Bill Beaney. The goals would come eventually though, and in bunches. The Panthers opened the scoring as Tim Graham '05 forechecked hard to free the puck in the offensive zone. Jocko DeCarolis '07 picked the puck up, drove to the net and put one past Mosca on his backhand with 8:23 remaining in the first period.After being frustrated by unlucky bounces and desperatation plays by Curry defenders, the Panthers found their stride in the second period.Shady Young '06 drew the puck back off a face-off in the offensive zone. Rob MacIntyre '08 then threw the puck towards the net, and Eric LaFreniere '07, who was streaking towards the net was able to deflect it between the pads of Mosca, to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead with 8:09 remaining in the second period.From there, special teams took over, as Curry came into the game as the most penalized team in the nation and did not disappoint, giving the Panthers 13 power play opportunities on the evening. Middlebury entered the game as the sixth least penalized team, but still committed eight infractions during the game.As Rob Sequeira was off for two minutes for a contact to the head penalty, the Panthers finally scored on their seventh power play advantage. Brett Shirreffs '07 fired a shot from the point that was deflected in front by a Curry skater before going just under the crossbar for a Panthers 3-0 lead with 7:14 left.Middlebury's power play advantage was not done, however, as Nathaniel Robie was called for a high-sticking penalty immediately following Shirreffs' goal. This time Saidachev, from behind the net, found Doria streaking into the slot and fed him for a pass. Doria found an opening high over the blocker side of Mosca to give the Panthers a 4-0 lead with 6:16 remaining in the second period.After MacIntyre missed a golden opportunity in the first period to score on a breakaway, he got a second chance in the third period. MacIntyre rushed in all alone, deked to the forehand and then backhanded one past first-year goaltender Michael Ronan as the Panthers went up 5-0. Ronan replaced Mosca at the beginning of the third period Middlebury put the icing on the cake as Curry was on its eighth power play of the game. Ronan came way out of his net to play the puck away from Driver, but Gaines intercepted the pass. Gaines lost the puck in his skates, but Driver picked it up and buried it past a couple sliding Curry defenders to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead with 3:54 remaining in the third period.The Panthers will now move on to face New England College, who upset the No. 1 east seed Manhattanville.Curry, however, could not muster many opportunities. Their best chance came as Sam Driver '08 fell down in the first period as Bret Adams came streaking down the left-wing side. Adams made a move on goal, but Cherry aggressively came out of his net and poked the puck away. It was one of very few odd-man rushes that the nation's second leading defense gave up the entire game."It's always nice to get a shutout, but the big story was our guys getting six goals, to make it a lot easier on me," said Cherry who earned his second shutout of the season. "It's a lot less pressure when it's a four or five nothing game compared to one nothing."One of the biggest disappointments of the game for Curry had to be their captain Brian Doherty. He came into the game third in the nation in points, but was a non-factor in this game, only generating a few chances on the power play.Cherry attributes the win to the intensity of his teammates, stating "These guys are playing hard every night. We win games because these guys play hard, going down to block shots and winning battles."Middlebury will host the NCAA Championship for the second time at the Chip Kenyon '85 Arena. Beaney admitted that, "People on the outside might think it's an advantage to host, but there's lot of extra pressure that goes on with hosting. We're hopefully going to be able to deal with those distractions and continue to play at the level we've been playing at over the last three weeks."
