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(03/21/18 10:16pm)
Last season the softball team finished 17–14–1 overall and 4–8 in the Nescac, placing the Panthers third in the Nescac West standings and six games out of the conference playoffs. Middlebury loses five seniors from that 2017 team to graduation, but the returners and newcomers are confident that this year’s edition of Middlebury softball can overcome its small roster size of 13 players to play to the best of its ability, hopefully returning to the Nescac playoffs in the process. After five straight trips to the Nescac playoffs, from 2011 to 2015 — including its only Nescac championship and NCAA tournament berth in 2011— the softball team has not made it to the postseason each of the last two years.
Leading the way this season will be senior captains Kati Daczkowski ’18, Ali Della Volpe ’18, Taylor Gardner ’18 and Allison Quigley ’18.
Last season, Quigley pitched in 18 games, starting 15 of those, and posted a 2.27 earned run average and 63 strikeouts in 98.2 innings. She finished sixth in the Nescac in ERA and seventh in strikeouts.
Daczkowski, Della Volpe and Gardner all played in 30 of Middlebury’s 32 games last season, primarily in the field — although Gardner chipped in 19.1 innings on the mound.
Daczkowski played in the outfield last season. In 85 plate appearances, she posted a .482 on-base percentage, finishing fourth in the Nescac in that category, while also recording a .368 batting average.
Della Volpe played both in the outfield and in the infield at second base last season. She hit .280 and stole a team-high six bases.
Gardner played mostly at second and third base, with a dash of pitching mixed in. Gardner finished tied for third on the team with 10 doubles, the second-most of any returning Panther, providing some pop for a Middlebury team that struggled to score runs in Nescac play.
Melanie Mandell ’20 will provide Middlebury’s biggest bat, after hitting .439 to go with three home runs, 12 doubles, and three triples last season. Mandell made the All-Nescac first team last season as a first-year. She had the second-best batting average among qualifying hitters in the conference, and the third-best slugging percentage (.714).
Mandell’s fellow sophomores Marybeth Stone ’20 and Olivia Bravo ’20 also plan to build on their strong first seasons in the blue in white, when they hit .405 and .380, respectively.
Although there are only 13 players on this season’s team, the captains emphasize small numbers play to their advantage, as they have grown closer as a team this school year.
“We have the best team chemistry we’ve had in years,” said Daczkowski. “We are a small team, so everyone has to go above and beyond to make up for the lack of bodies. No one can afford to slack.”
Quigley is convinced Middlebury’s small group is extremely versatile, motivated, and driven to get the best out of itself.
“We’re lucky to have a group of players who are willing and able to play more than one position. We have a group who isn’t afraid to push one another and strive to get the best out of themselves and their teammates,” said Quigley.
Middlebury’s 4–8 Nescac record in 2017 seems bad on the surface, but the Panthers lost a lot of close games, as four of their eight losses were by two runs or fewer and only two were by more than four runs. The Panthers ended their season by losing their last three games to eventual Nescac champion Williams 1–0, 5–1 and 3–1, showing they could hang with the conference’s best in three consecutive games.
The Panthers struggled to score runs in the Nescac last season, as they scored only 42 in 12 games, tied with Wesleyan for the fewest in the West division.
But Della Volpe agrees with Quigley that Middlebury has a balanced roster entering this season, with strengths on the mound and at the plate.
“We have a great pitching staff and have a strong hitting lineup,” said Della Volpe. “We have a lot of players who can hit for power, while also having some players who can put pressure on the defense with their speed and skill.”
After dedicating themselves to their craft in the offseason, Della Volpe is confident Middlebury will be able to hit the ground running this spring, even as the Panthers figure out how to fill the missing pieces left by last year’s graduating class.
“We have some underclassmen who are ready to step up and fill [the graduated seniors’] shoes this year,” Della Volpe said, “We have been working hard as a team to be strong and fit this year, to both prevent injuries and be in the best shape possible. We have also focused a lot on our communication and teamwork on defense, and worked on our mindset when we are at the plate.”
Because of numbers, Middlebury team will look to its underclassmen, including first-years Claire Tipler ’21, Emily Morris ’21, Kaylee Gumm ’21, and Emily Moore ’21, to step into the shoes of players lost to graduation.
The whole squad has high hopes, starting with their spring training trip to Florida.
“Our goals are to start the season off strong in Florida, and then come in and win our NESCAC games,” Della Volpe said.
“Our goal is to just win and have fun,” added Quigley. “The other seniors [and I] want to go out on a high note.”
The Panthers will first hit the field on Friday, March 23 in Clermont, Florida, for their season opener against Allegheny. They will play 10 games in Florida over spring break before returning to Vermont to play a doubleheader at Norwich on Friday, March 30. They begin Nescac play on April 6 and 7, when the Panthers travel to Amherst for a three-game series.
(03/21/18 10:13pm)
Last weekend, Saturday, March 17–Sunday, March 18, the baseball team took a trip down to Atlanta, Georgia, to take on the Emory Eagles and to rematch the Stevens Ducks. The Panthers played two games on Saturday, starting the day with an 11–4 loss to Stevens and later in the day falling to Emory 10–2. Sunday’s get-out-of-town game against Emory didn’t go much better for the Panthers, as they fell to the Eagles by a score of 10–7.
On the season’s opening weekend, the Panthers fell to Stevens 8–4, so they sought some revenge when they played the Ducks last Saturday in Atlanta. However, Stevens opened up a 6–0 lead to start the game, scoring with five runs in the first and adding another in the second. Middlebury failed to come up with any runs until the bottom of the 8th inning, when Justin Han ’20 hit a single up the middle to drive home Henry Strmecki ’21 and Andrew Corcoran ’18. Hayden Smith ’20 then hit a single to center, bringing home Sam Graf ’19 and propelling the Panthers into the top of the ninth with some momentum despite an eight-run deficit. Han got his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly out in the bottom of the ninth, sending Corcoran in for his second run scored.
On the mound, junior captain Colby Morris ’19 took a beating, letting up seven runs over six innings, although he managed to rebound after a tough first one and two-thirds innings. First-year Evan Stewart ’21, who came in to relieve Morris, did not fare much better, as he gave up three earned runs, but no hits. Jack Miller ’21 also saw time on the mound, as did John Tipps ’19, in what turned out to be a harsh 11–4 loss for the Panthers, who left eight runners on base.
In the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Panthers got a shot at the Emory Eagles. Emory had an early lead with a run in the top of the first. Middlebury came back to tie the game at 1–1 in the top of the second with a run from Kevin Woodring ’21 off a hit by Strmecki.
After two more Emory RBI’s in the fifth put the Panthers down 3–1, Middlebury cut into the Eagles’ lead in the top of the sixth as the Panthers made it a one-run game when Graf scored on a sac fly courtesy of Jake Dianno ’21.
However, the game took a turn in the seventh inning: Emory had a seven-run seventh, the last two runs coming on wild pitches, making the final score 10–2. Despite the loss, bright spots for Middlebury included Robert Erickson ’18’s five-inning effort on the mound, as he struck out three and threw 70 percent of his 88 pitches for strikes.
On Sunday, Middlebury took on the Eagles once more. In the first inning, Emory achieved a 4–0 lead on Middlebury with four runs on four hits. The following inning didn’t go better for the Panthers, as their hosts added two more runs in the second inning. Woodring hit a home run in the top of the third, bringing himself and Carroll home and making the score 6–2.
In the bottom of the third, Emory scored another run, but the Panthers responded in the top half of the next inning thanks to an RBI single from Grant Elgarten ’20 that sent Carroll home again. The Eagles quickly scored three more at the bottom of the fifth, making the score 10–3 going into the seventh inning.
The Panthers made a comeback, plating four runs in the seventh. Woodring doubled to bring Carroll home for a third time in the top of the seventh. Smith scored on an infield single hit by Alan Guild ’20, and then Woodring scored his second run of the day on a throwing error. The fourth of the Panthers’ runs came from a single hit by Phil Bernstein ’19, which allowed Strmecki to make a run for home.
Even after a rough weekend, Bernstein explained that the Panthers are not giving up and are ready for what comes next.
“Obviously we want to win every game we compete in, so losing never feels good, but at the same time Coach [Mike] Leonard reminded us to stay positive,” Bernstein said. “It’s only our sixth game. We are an extremely talented team, and we’ve seen glimpses of what we’re capable of already. Consistency will come with more games, and when that happens, we are going to be a very tough team to play against. [This weekend] will pay dividends down the line. Heading into our spring break trip with six games under our belts will be huge.”
Woodring agreed with his teammate, commenting that “despite losing the games, we have a much more positive outlook on our future, especially after our last game where we were able to make a comeback against a good Emory team.”
On the whole, there were plenty of positives the Panthers can build on going forward.
“We were able to limit errors, have good at bats and throw strikes,” Woodring said. “We’re looking forward to spring break and continuing the positive outlook we had during our game today against Emory.”
Middlebury’s positivity doesn’t stop there. They still have their eye on the prize, looking at the Nescac Championship.
“We’re going to use this weekend as a learning experience. We still have a ton of games before conference play starts, so I want our guys to use these games to prepare. We have the ability to make it back to the Nescac Championship, and it all starts next week when we go out to California.”
(03/21/18 10:09pm)
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association named Bowdoin senior Kate Kerrigan Division III National Player of the Year...
Bowdoin and Amherst met in the women’s basketball national championship at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota. Amherst beat the Polar Bears to finish the season 33–0, allowing them to clinch their second-straight national title and undefeated season. The Mammoths have now won 66 games in a row...
Williams’ board named Maud S. Mandel the school’s 18th president on Sunday, March 11…
Colby’s Nescac-champion men’s hockey team beat New England 4–2 on Saturday, March 10, in the NCAA Sweet 16. They then beat SUNY Geneseo on the road 2–1 last Saturday, March 17, to advance to the Frozen Four in Lake Placid. The Mules (17–10–2) take on St. Norbert (25–4–1) tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m…
Panthers fans will note that the men’s hockey team beat the Mules 3–2 in Waterville on Friday, Jan. 19, so we’re sure some folks may be arguing for postseason tournament expansion pending this weekend’s result…
Trinity women’s lacrosse lost on the road to York 16–15 in 2OT last Thursday. The Bantams moved down to No. 4 in the latest IWLCA poll …
Amherst women’s softball improved to 9–1 on the season with a victory over Plymouth St. last Saturday, March 17, as Lorena Ukanwa threw a one-hitter in the Mammoths’ 2–0 win…
Bates’ women’s tennis No. 1, senior Maisie Silverman, is one of four finalists for the ITA’s Ann Lebedeff leadership award…
Eight Nescac women’s lacrosse teams are ranked in the top 25 of the IWLCA Coaches national poll, as of Monday, March 19. This includes your very own Panthers, who slot in at No. 2, the highest among Nescac teams, behind only defending national champion Gettysburg...
(03/21/18 10:08pm)
The men’s tennis team is coming off of another successful weekend after a recent shake-up atop the Oracle ITA Division III National Rankings.
Despite their hot start, the Panthers have moved down one spot, to No. 4 in the country, as of the Thursday, March 15 rankings release. Displacing the Panthers is Bowdoin, thundering from No. 4 to No. 2 after a successful spring break trip where the Polar Bears beat a handful of ranked opponents. Among the Polar Bears’ victims include now-No. 3 West Coast powerhouse Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Middlebury will have its own chance to face off against prominent West Coast teams such as Claremont and Pomona-Pitzer starting this coming weekend as it flies out to southern California for its spring break trip. For now, the Panthers are focused on maintaining their standing one of the top teams in the Northeast.
The Panthers certainly did not hurt their case for a higher ranking after a packed slate of matches last weekend that included two top-25-ranked teams and Nescac foe Colby. Middlebury met up with the Mules at Dartmouth for a neutral-site match last Friday, March 16, and promptly took advantage of the short drive, besting Colby 9–0.
For the second time already this season, the Panthers did not drop a single doubles set and won 3–0. Kyle Schlanger ’18 played his first match in the No. 1 position on Friday and stepped up in a big way to beat Colby’s former three-star recruit Scott Altmeyer 6–1, 6–0. The rest of the Panthers singles players were also playing their first matches in their respective ladder spots, as well. They nonetheless dominated the Mules.
After No. 2 Timo van der Geest ’18 fended off tough opposition from Sumukh Pathi for a 7–5 win in the deciding set, the Panthers proved far too strong down the ladder. Positions No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, played by Alex Vanezis ’20, Nate Eazor ’21 and Andre Xiao ’21, respectively, saw emphatic victories for a young Panther contingent. Along with that, Adam Guo ’21 won a critical tie-break against Jeremy Mendoza en route to a 7–6, (7–3), 6–4 victory to round out the singles scoring.
After dispatching Colby, the team then traveled to Massachusetts to take on No. 21 MIT and No. 19 Brandeis on Saturday.
First up were the MIT Engineers, who were coming off of a loss to No. 17 Tufts and who last year went 18–5 and finished their season with a run to the NCAA regional final.
Lubo Cuba ’19 resumed his spot at the top of the singles ladder and had a strong win over MIT’s Tyler Barr to move to 2–0 on the season in dual matches. Schlanger had a decisive win over Sean Ko at the No. 3 spot to preserve his perfect dual-match record as well.
The Panthers ran into trouble down the ladder, as van der Geest lost a 10–2 super tie-break at No. 4 to MIT’s Victor Cheng, and Vanezis fell in straight sets to Charles Deng at No. 5. After Noah Farrell ’19 had to retire early in the first set of his first dual match of the year, Middlebury found themselves down 2–3 in singles.
However, Eazor came back after losing the first set 6–1 to win in the super tie-break, to notch his fourth dual-match win and preserve his perfect record as well. He also leveled the singles score for the Panthers who, luckily for them, had already swept the doubles thanks in part to a flawless 8–0 win by Farrell and Peter Martin ’19, who made his first appearance in a dual match.
Thus, though singles play proved tougher than expected, the Panthers’ rock-solid doubles teams, who haven’t lost a match in dual play this season, stole the show for the 6–3 win.
The Panthers left Cambridge and drove to Natick Racquet Club on the same day for a match up against Brandeis, who recently jumped Bates in the national rankings after besting the Bobcats 5–4 at home. The Panthers, however, weren’t bothered by the earlier match at MIT or the quick turnaround.
To start, the Panthers swept the doubles with ease, all three pairs preserving their respective perfect doubles records on the season. In the singles, Schlanger turned in a near-perfect performance against Brandeis’ Anupreeth Coramutla, a two-star recruit out of Phillips Academy Andover, at the No. 2 spot, winning 6–1, 6–0. Keeping up the scoring were three consecutive straight-sets wins to put the Panthers up 7–0 in the match. Vanezis and van der Geest went to a tie-break third set in their matches, but both came out victorious to seal the 9–0 victory for Middlebury over a strong Brandeis team.
Looking forward, the undefeated Panthers will ship out to sunny southern California when classes end tomorrow as they look to make the most of spring break and pick up non-conference wins against a handful of West Coast teams.
Middlebury has to be looking forward to the second weekend of the visit, as it culminates in a highly anticipated match against No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
The No. 4 Panthers will have had time by that point to adjust to the sunny skies and time change and will take on the CMS Stags on their turf in a match with national ranking implications. Cuba, Eazor, Schlanger, and Xiao are all undefeated in dual matches, not to mention the fact that the Panthers haven’t lost a singles match at the No. 1 or No. 6 spots. Add in that Middlebury has yet to drop a doubles match all spring. The Panthers have the depth as well as the strength at the top to win big next week, and with six matches in as many days, they’ll be ready for a big match against top-ranked CMS.
(03/21/18 10:06pm)
In its first away game against a ranked opponent, the men’s lacrosse team (2–2) lost 13–10 to the No. 8 Wesleyan Cardinals (4–1) on Saturday, March 17, in Middletown, Connecticut. After trailing 8–4 at halftime, the Panthers cut the deficit to one goal in the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals scored the last two goals of the game to give Middlebury its second loss of the season.
The first quarter seesawed, as the Panthers had an answer for every Wesleyan goal. The hosts got on the scoreboard less than three minutes into the match, which Middlebury’s A.J. Kucinski ’18 matched 33 seconds later. The Cardinals restored a one-goal lead at the 6:43 mark. Michael McCormack ’19 had the answer this time when he scored just 26 seconds later, after assisting on the first goal for Middlebury.
After a Wesleyan goal with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter, it looked like Wesleyan would take a one-goal lead into the break, but Danny Jacobs ’18 found the back of the net with just four seconds on the clock to tie the game at three.
The opponents traded goals to start the second quarter, as Henry Riehl ’18 scored an unassisted goal to bring the score to 4–4.
But Wesleyan rattled off four unanswered goals in the latter half of the second quarter to take an 8–4 lead into the locker room, doubling its scoring output from the first 22:40 in a span of 7:40.
Middlebury emerged from the locker room rejuvenated and outscored the hosts 5–2 in the third quarter to cut the lead to one goal entering the final quarter. The Panthers scored back-to-back goals within the first 2:09 of the quarter to make their first move of the half. McCormack tallied his second goal of the game, and Wes Quinzani ’18 scored his first off a feed from Riehl.
Wesleyan came back with two goals of its own to restore its four-goal lead, but Middlebury ended the quarter with a flourish, producing three goals to make the score 10–9 entering the fourth and final quarter. Riehl scored the first two goals of the run, completing his hat trick, and Chase Goree ’20 stamped his name on the scorecard with his first tally to bring Middlebury within one.
Behind by only one goal, the Panthers put themselves in position to complete their comeback and earn their first road win. Wesleyan scored first in the fourth quarter, at the 11:23 mark. Four minutes later, Frank Cosolito ’18 drove home a powerful shot from 15 yards out to cut the lead back down to one, 11–10.
After goalie Chase Midgely ’19’s save with 7:43 left, Middlebury had an opportunity to tie the game. But Jacobs hit the post, and the Wesleyan netminder saved shots from Riehl and Kucinski to keep Wesleyan in front.
Then, Wesleyan scored twice in the final four minutes to seal its 13–10 victory over Middlebury. With the win, the Cardinals stayed undefeated in the Nescac. Along with Amherst and Tufts, they are one of three unbeaten teams left in the conference. Middlebury fell to 1–2 in the Nescac and stand in a four-way tie for sixth place in the conference.
Riehl’s three goals brought his team-leading total to 10, while McCormack bolstered his team-leading points total with two goals and two assists.
After playing in only one game last season, McCormack entered his junior campaign having played in only 16 games, scoring one goal and assisting on three in his first two years. This season, he has started in all four of Middlebury’s games, scored eight goals, and assisted on five more to lead the Panthers with 13 points.
After a mid-week victory on Tuesday, March 20, over Plattsburgh, the Panthers aim to rebound in the Nescac, as they head to Brunswick, Maine, to face the Bowdoin (2–2) on Saturday, March 24, at 1 p.m. Like Middlebury, the Polar Bears are 1–2 in the conference and lost 8–6 Conn. College earlier this month. Bowdoin’s other Nescac loss came in a 16–15 shootout with Amherst, who remains unbeaten in conference play.
(03/21/18 10:03pm)
The No. 4 women’s tennis team opened its 2018 home season on Saturday, March 17, and protected the Nelson Recreation Center courts by shutting out both Colby and St. Lawrence 9–0. Every player on the roster contributed at least one win as the Panthers completely overmatched the Mules and Saints, surrendering only 21 games in their two matches.
In the first match on Saturday, Middlebury faced off with Colby, its second Nescac foe of the season. The Mules entered the match with a 3–0, including a 1–0 mark in the Nescac after defeating Hamilton.
But the Mules stood little chance against the Panthers from the beginning, as Middlebury took all three of the doubles points. In the No. 1 slot, Katie Hughes ’20 and Skylar Schossberger ’20 beat the Venditti twins 8–1. In the second spot, Christina Puccinelli ’19 and Heather Boehm ’20 held Callie Nesbitt and Jessica Tsai scoreless, and Molly Paradies ’19 and Ann Martin Skelly ’21 won 8–3 over Emily Dyckman and Isha Banerjee in third doubles. Emily Bian got Middlebury going in singles, defeating Jamie Pine 6–2, 6–2 in the sixth slot.
Middlebury sealed its victory over Colby when Puccinelli shut out her opponent in the second slot. And the Panthers continued its dominance by winning each of the last four singles matches to capture a 9–0 victory over the Mules.
Hughes beat Lydia Venditti 6–1, 6–2 at No. 1, Catherine Blazye ’20 defeated Nesbitt 6–1, 6–0 at No. 3, and Paradies capped off Middlebury’s shutout by dispatching Dyckman 6–1, 6–0, at No. 5.
Middlebury’s dominance on Saturday did not lend itself to competitive excitement, but the Panthers know how important every match is, even those against lesser opponents.
“We view the matches against Colby and St. Lawrence like we would any other match weekend,” said Boehm. “We make sure to stay focused because, with a double header that can take up to eight hours on the court, if you lose focus for a second, your opponent can come back out of nowhere.
“We can use these matches to work on our eye control and focus during long days like these. We also use them to work on new projects and patterns we aren’t usually comfortable with. To us, these matches are no different from the NCAA postseason, and we try to take something away from every win.”
Middlebury’s second match of the double header began the same way, as the Panthers swept doubles again. In second doubles, Maddi Stow ’20 and Blazye paired up this time to defeat Caroline Reilly and Katherine Apt 8–1. Puccinelli and Boehm moved down to the third spot to shut out their opponents. And Hughes and Schossberger paired up again to win 8–3 over Emily Wyman and Lia Peterson in the first slot.
In singles, Hughes, Puccinelli and Paradies all won in straight sets in the same spots in the lineup as the Colby match. Boehm defeated Apt 6–0, 6–0 at No. 3, while Stow also shut out her opponent in the fourth slot. And Ann Martin Skelly ’21 won 6–2, 6–0 in sixth slot, as Middlebury earned its second 9–0 win of the day.
After a 3–0 start to the season, the women’s tennis team now turns to its spring break trip to California, where it will play Grossmont, Azusa Pacific, Westmont, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, and Pomona-Pitzer. The Panthers look forward to their matchup with Pomona-Pitzer, whom Mike Morgan coaches now, after 11 years as head coach of Middlebury.
“We are all looking forward to spring break,” Boehm said. “It’s a chance to compete in a different climate and practice some outdoor tennis. The competition will definitely be tougher against those two teams but because of our intense preparation (we wear sweats to every indoor practice to simulate the heat), we feel confident that we will compete well out there.”
To go along with the hot weather and the move outdoors, Middlebury will face tough competition on the west coast, since Pomona-Pitzer is ranked fifth and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps third in the DIII national rankings.
(03/21/18 8:40pm)
SGA Passes Financial Aid Bill
The Off Campus Food Financial Aid Program (OFFAP) bill passed with senator Stephanie Andrews ’18 abstaining [14-0-1] in a Student Government Association (SGA) vote on Sunday. The OFFAP will cover the cost of food for students on financial aid while they are away from campus on trips with student clubs and organizations. The program is expected to cost $17,000 annually and will be reevaluated after a year of operation.
When asked about the status of the budget allocation for the program, treasurer and chair of the finance committee Peter Dykeman-Bermingham stated that it would not be possible to draw from the OFFAP’s allocated funds for use for anything other than the program itself.
SGA members discussed the scope of the financial aid brackets the program would serve and the food expense per diem that the program would support, ultimately deciding that the program would provide a per diem of $15 to all financial aid recipients. - Eric Kapner
CC Passes Inclusive Bathroom Resolution
Community Council voted unanimously to pass an inclusive bathroom recommendation on Monday.
The recommendation suggests that, in all existing buildings on campus, the signage on single stall bathrooms should be changed to be gender inclusive, and that at least one “menstrual friendly” bathroom should house a free tampon dispenser.
The recommendation calls for an all-gender and “menstrual friendly” bathroom on every floor with restrooms in every new public building built on campus. It also calls for a disability accessible bathroom in every new building, with a consideration for disability accessible showers available within close proximity to all campus buildings.
The changes will be implemented in three stages. They will be applied to the planning of any new buildings, implemented when renovations are done in existing buildings and taken into account when maintenance is done on existing building on campus.
The recommendation is intended to increase bathroom access for community members with disabilities and for people of all gender identities on campus. The recommendation aims to address issues such as ableism, classism, gender identity and expression, health, menstrual equality and sexism on campus.
The recommendation also suggests the preparation of two studies which will help to improve accessibility for those with disabilities on campus and will consider similar reforms as the ones listed above to all ancillary properties of the colleges. - Caroline Kapp
President Signs Letter Seeking Endowment Tax Repeal
President Laurie Patton signed a letter on Mar. 7 asking for the repeal of a provision in the 2017 tax act that places a 1.4% excise tax on endowments of private colleges and universities exceeding $500,000 per student with more than 500 students. The letter was sent to Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate by 49 presidents of institutions including Amherst College, Bowdoin College, Williams College and others.
Patton took a stand with other school leaders even though the college would not currently have to pay the tax, as its endowment is currently below the $500,000 per student line.
The letter states that the tax will reduce the capacity for endowments to increase access, affordability and opportunities for success for students in higher education institutions across the nation. On these grounds, it urges lawmakers to re-evaluate this section of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts.
The letter works to address the misconception that endowments are left in long-term reserves and unused. It highlights instead how critical endowments are to the functioning of colleges and universities, in some cases providing almost half of annual revenues.
The letter makes clear that the tax will be hurting students above anyone else.
“Students are the leading beneficiary of these resources with each of us committed to significant efforts to enhance affordability,” it said. “Yet this tax will not address the cost of college or student indebtedness, as some have tried to suggest. Instead, it will constrain the resources available to the very institutions that lead the nation in reducing, if not eliminating, the costs for low- and middle-income students, and will impede the efforts of other institutions striving to grow their endowments for this very purpose.” - Catherine Pollack
(03/15/18 2:43pm)
Every year, club sports cost the student body $122,000, in addition to informal member fees and alumni donations. In total, I estimate that the full enterprise costs closer to $170,000. Club sports require more than 10 percent of our student budget and attract about 30 percent of students as participants. Clearly how they are funded is worth our attention.
Club sports add significant value to campus. Teams create webs of social connection, give students competitive and athletic outputs, and provide a wealth of social happenings throughout the year. However, to make club sports truly accessible to all students, we need help.
The idea of a club sports endowment has been floated in every funding conversation as a magical solution to managing the cost of club sports. It would in fact fix all of our funding problems. It would also require a donation of at least $1.4 million.
Endowments work by collecting a large sum of money, investing it, and living off the interest. The college hopes to run its endowment by only releasing five percent annually. If the SGA were to follow that same five percent principle to fund the entirety of club sports, we would need to amass a total of $3.4 million. The $1.4 million estimate is if the SGA commits to contribute about $100,000 each year, or about what we are spending already.
A club sports endowment would give sustainability to one of the greatest student institutions on this campus. It would be a very worthy cause, but we’d need a very generous donor.
If you are that donor, I can see to it we name a crew shell after you.
(03/15/18 12:44am)
Peter Dykeman-Bermingham ’18.5, the Student Government Association treasurer and finance committee chair, presented a bill to the SGA on Sunday that would establish a fund to cover the cost of food expenses on trips by student organizations for students on financial aid.
The bill’s formal introduction to the SGA followed the publication of Dykeman-Bermingham’s op-ed in last week’s issue of The Campus, in which he and several SGA signatories expressed a desire to repeal a club sports bill that passed on Feb. 18, given their concern that implementing both the financial aid and club sports bills is not financially feasible.
The club sports bill eliminated a rule that prevented the creation of club teams for already existing varsity sports. Now, teams like tennis or soccer can apply for “club” status and, upon approval of the SGA, can operate under a provisional status for two years, during which they will receive $200 in funding each year.
Dykeman-Bermingham estimated that the new bill would require an additional $20,000 in funding after the provisional period, assuming the creation of at least four new club teams that would then move beyond the provisional period at an estimated $5,000 cost per team per year. He estimated that his financial aid bill would cost about the same amount, providing a maximum cost estimate of $23,000.
Dykeman-Bermingham’s view is that the SGA can only implement one of the bills without straining the SGA’s reserve funds. He said that if the SGA were to successfully run both programs, they would be forced to recommend an increase to the student activities fee, which would constitute a tuition increase that would have to be approved by trustees.
“We recommend the student activities fee each year, which is a component of tuition,” Dykeman-Bermingham explained. “It would be a year or two down the road, because the club sports bill’s financial impact comes in two years. That is when they are no longer capped at $200. We are going to be hit.”
Feb senator Rae Aaron ’19.5, who co-sponsored the club sports bill and is the speaker of the SGA Senate, argued that the costs aren’t as clear cut, and disagreed with Dykeman-Bermingham’s view that the two programs cannot coexist.
“Rather than working constructively on both of these SGA accessibility goals together, Peter is approaching the situation with an either-or proposition, not recognizing the larger scenario or being willing to work on both together,” Aaron said.
“The (club sports) bill that we passed so far hasn’t cost us anything, possibly could cost us a lot,” she said. “Peter’s bill possibly could cost us a lot more than $20,000 and that’s kind of frightening. But I think it’s the SGA’s job to make decisions that benefit the student body, and if we need to revise them in the future we can do that.”
Dykeman-Bermingham acknowledged that his estimates are “crude,” given that he is multiplying the number of students on club rosters that travel by the percentage of students on financial aid. He said he is bound to this system of estimation by the bill’s commitment to confidentiality. Dykeman-Bermingham said he has no knowledge of which specific student members of clubs receive financial aid.
Community Council co-chair Tina Brook ’18, who said she supports the financial aid bill, also did not view the situation as an either-or, but believes the timing of the club sports bill’s passing will influence the debate over the financial aid bill.
“I think the timing of the financial aid bill and the club sports bill is pertinent to understanding why it seems to be an either-or situation,” Brook said. “Due to the fact that it has been introduced following a vote in favor of the club sports bill, which jeopardized the financial feasibility of the SGA moving forward, this new bill must be discussed under the shadow of the club sports bill.”
Aaron and Dykeman-Bermingham have both identified using the SGA reserve funds as another potential solution to the lack of sufficient funding. But both think that this option, along with the option of increasing the student activities fee, should be approached with caution.
Derek Doucet, dean for student activities, warned against both possibilities.
“I don’t see any way that the SGA can substantially expand its support for club sports, while funding the financial assistance bill, without accepting a large reduction in its reserves. That’s not something I’d recommend,” he said. “An increase in the comprehensive fee to pay for the associated costs is not a step to be taken lightly.”
The goal of the proposed food financial aid program is to make clubs and student organizations that participate in off-campus travel more accessible.
“A bunch of organizations have a component to some degree off-campus, and for full student involvement you need full student participation,” Dykeman-Bermingham explained while presenting the bill on Sunday. “The SGA currently only funds reimbursements for gas mileage and vehicle rental. . . . This would help to bridge that gap for students with lower means.”
Dykeman-Bermingham emphasized his desire for a repeal of the club sports bill in his presentation.
“My dream is that we repeal the club sports bill,” he said. “That’s a financial liability of around $20,000, which is four sports at our average club sport cost of $5,000. That’s not an unreasonable expectation. This in its full force is not sustainable alongside an unamended club sports bill without increasing our student activities fee which would increase the financial liability here.”
Aaron said she was surprised that no one had brought forth a repeal bill, given that Brook, SGA president Jin Sohn ’18 and senator Hannah Pustejovsky ’18 signed Dykeman-Bermingham’s op-ed.
“It was strange seeing the op-ed for me,” Aaron said. “I think they should absolutely put forth their opinions. However, the op-ed was calling for a repeal of this bill. And nobody brought forth a bill to repeal the bill.”
In response, Brook said that multiple SGA members were considering potential adjustments and compromises to the club sports issue, and that they believed a simple repeal was not the correct response.
“After discussions with other members of the senate, I recognize that repealing the bill is not the appropriate approach,” Brook said. “The op-ed called for a reverse on the decisions on club sports, that does not necessarily have to involve a repeal, but rather amending the bill.”
Brook and Dykeman-Bermingham both brought up the potential alternative of designating club sports as “social sports,” which they say would be less of a financial risk than the current plan.
“This suggestion is in its early stages of planning,” Brook said. “But I see it as a favorable compromise. This would involve reframing the ‘Club Sports Bill’ as a ‘Social Sports Bill.’ ‘Social Sports would be official student organizations with the capacity to reserve spaces, have an email list, and receive funding for on-campus events, but not (necessarily) off-campus events. These changes align with the original goals of the Club Tennis group when presenting the first bill,” she said, referring to the SGA’s Dec. 3, 2017, meeting.
Another point of contention surrounding the club sports bill was the amendment that Dykeman-Bermingham added to the bill before it was passed, which removed a $1,000 cap on club sports teams’ funding after the two-year provisional period. Aaron explained that she was uncomfortable with the bill’s final form due to the increased costs that teams could incur as a result of this amendment.
“I trust Peter a lot and his knowledge, so I voted for it and I feel really uncomfortable with what it ended up being,” Aaron said.
Dykeman-Bermingham explained that he added this amendment in order to enable the club sports funding process to provide realistic funds, which he said are consistently over $1,000 for current club sports.
“There is not a single club sport that is under $1,000,” he said. “In capping them at funding for $1,000 perpetually, we would inherently make a gap on average of $4,000 that students would have to pay in to run that organization. We would be institutionalizing inaccessibility.”
Aaron disagreed with this logic, arguing that students already pay additional fees, and that the keeping the cap is more responsible.
“Peter doesn’t acknowledge the fact that club sports participants currently pay dues directly to their teams, allowing them to function on more than the money we allocate them,” Aaron said. “There is no reason to assume that we need to fund all club sports in full, or that that is how it currently works. Many clubs also have gift accounts and endowments.”
Dissatisfaction on behalf of SGA members in the aftermath of the club sports bill’s passing also prompted Senator John Gosselin ’20 to propose a bill on Sunday that would change the SGA’s bylaws. The bill would make it so the Senate speaker, who typically chairs discussion at SGA meetings, would be temporarily removed from the position when the SGA discusses a bill sponsored by the Speaker. As speaker, Aaron moderated the deliberation of the club sports bill, which she also sponsored.
“People came to me with concerns that the vote on the (club sports) bill was off and could have been better, and I think part of that process should be preventing the speaker from being the speaker when we’re discussing a bill they sponsor,” Gosselin said.
Brook expressed frustration to The Campus that the vote on the club sports bill occurred despite the absences of several senators in opposition to the bill.
“I was not able to be present, nor was Senator Andrews, who expressed discontent,” Brook said. “Furthermore, Senator Koontz was also absent and we were unable to hear her opinions either. The vote was very close, and our absence prevented it from being a more fair proceeding.”
Brook also felt that the college’s director of club sports Doug Connelly’s and Dykeman-Bermingham’s vocal opposition to the bill, and the nature of the debate in general, should have delayed a vote. Brook was aware of Connelly’s and Dykeman-Bermingham’s opposition to the bill, despite her own absence, by consulting the meeting’s minutes.
“Given that the vote was so contentious ([8–1–5]), and the discussions regarding this bill had been lively, it was the speaker’s responsibility to recognize the need for further deliberation, particularly with all Senators present and commentary from all stakeholders involved,” Brook said.
Aaron recognized the frustration that other senators may have felt during the discussion of the club sports bill given her position as speaker, her position on the club tennis team and her involvement in the bill. She said that she supports the idea behind Gosselin’s proposal because of the conflicting obligations she feels as speaker and senator.
“It always feels like the speaker has more power than you because they’re controlling the conversation and that’s always going to be frustrating,” Aaron said at the meeting. “I do like aspects of this bill. . . . It’s really hard to argue for my constituents when I’m also supposed to be moderating a conversation. So I can’t totally do my job as a senator when I’m supposed to be unbiased.”
“It definitely does look somehow like I was trying to do sketchy things, but I’m not a schemer,” Aaron told The Campus in an interview.
Though Gosselin’s original plan proposes that the president assume the role of speaker in these cases, the senators discussed various models used by other schools and legislative bodies, including not letting the speaker vote at all. The senators were in general agreement that the speaker should still be allowed to vote given their position as an elected official.
“I think you should have the free reign to vote and share your opinion,” Brook said. “I’m very in favor of this because you shouldn’t feel the need to moderate and also defend yourself, and that for anyone can be difficult to balance. So that’s not only for the proceedings but also for you as a speaker to have the right to speak and defend yourself and not have your comments misconstrued as you controlling the conversation.”
Gosselin made sure to clarify that the bill was not meant to criticize Aaron’s performance.
“This isn’t critical of the job you’ve been doing. I hope it’s implied that anyone in your position would have similar difficulties,” he said.
The bill was tabled for discussion next week.
(03/14/18 5:50pm)
With six seconds remaining, Matt Folger ’18 grabbed an offensive rebound, dribbled to the three-point arc, and launched a three that bounced off the back of the rim, ending the men’s basketball team’s NCAA tournament run and its 2018 season last Friday, March 9. Middlebury lost to MIT 79–76 in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. For the third straight year, the Panthers’ season ended with a loss in the NCAA tournament by four or fewer points in games that could have gone either way.
Seniors Jack Daly ’18, Adisa Majors ’18 and Nick Tarantino ’18 have all been a part of those three NCAA teams, including last season’s run to the Elite Eight, and two Nescac champion teams. After a 21–7 season as senior captains, Daly, Majors and Tarantino finished their Middlebury careers with an 83–29 record. They were parts of the first team to win back-to-back Nescac championships and the team that won 27 games last season, the second-most in program history.
For the third straight game, Middlebury threw the first punch on Friday evening, taking a 12–5 lead in the first six minutes of the game. In a game shaped by counterpunches, the Engineers responded with a 13–0 run to go ahead by six. But the Panthers came right back to score 13 out of the next 15 points and led 25–20 with 7:15 left in the first half.
Tied at 34, Daly set up a Folger three with three seconds remaining in the half, sending Middlebury to the locker room up 37–34.
The Panthers held the Engineers to below thirty percent shooting from inside the arc in the first half, as Folger rejected six shots, but MIT stayed in the game by hitting seven out of 17 threes from beyond the arc.
Jack Farrell ’21 stayed hot after scoring 19 in Middlebury’s win in the second round of the tournament, tallying 12 on five of seven shooting in the first half on Friday.
Over the first eight minutes of the second half, every time MIT got within two points, Middlebury answered to keep the Engineers at bay.
But, at the 11:31 mark, MIT tied the game at 54 and then at 57 less than two minutes later. The Panthers rebuilt their lead to five, 67–62, but then the Engineers made their move, scoring the next eight points to go ahead by three.
Farrell drilled a three to tie the game, then MIT went ahead by five to take a 75–70 lead with 3:50 remaining. Middlebury held MIT in check over the next two possessions, but could not score either until the 1:48 mark when Daly laid the ball in to cut the lead to three.
After an Engineer miss and a Folger rebound, Middlebury pushed the ball down the court and Daly finished in the lane to cut the lead to 75–74 with 54 seconds remaining. Out of their own timeout, the Engineers held the ball, but turned it over with 25 ticks left on the clock, as Farrell stole it.
Jack Daly ’18 got the ball and drove it into the lane, where he lofted a floater that rolled off the rim. MIT rebounded the basketball and made two free throws to take a three-point lead. Daly drew a foul at midcourt and sank two free throws, but MIT responded with two makes from the line. Behind 79–76, Daly missed the front end of a one-and-one after being fouled, which was the rebound Folger grabbed to launch Middlebury’s final chance.
In a game featuring four lead changes and seven ties, neither team led by more than seven points. In the second half, the lead was never greater than five—at no point in the second half were the two separated by more than two possessions. But some team had to win and MIT scored when it needed to most, outscoring Middlebury 17–9 over the final 7:10 to eke out a 79–76 victory over the Panthers.
For the second straight season, Middlebury came within four wins, they were within three last season when they made the Elite Eight, and lost in the last minute of each game, making the loss especially emotional for the Panther seniors.
“The closer you get to goals, like winning a national championship, the more crushing it is when you nearly miss achieving it two years in a row,” said Tarantino. “As a result, I think it’s been an emotional couple of days for all us.
“Nevertheless, I’m so proud of all we’ve achieved this year and over my last four years.”
The two Jacks led the Panthers on Saturday, as Daly scored 21 points and nabbed 13 rebounds, and Farrell added 15 points on three three-pointers. Folger tallied nine points, seven rebounds and six blocks.
Daly finished his career atop Middlebury’s career assist leaderboard with 611, and set the school single-season record this year by tallying 237. He also scored 1,067 points, placing him seventh in program history in that category, and grabbed 649 rebounds. Daly is believed to be the first player in Nescac history to tally 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
Head coach Jeff Brown has coached many of the best players in Middlebury men’s basketball history, including 1,000-point scorers Matt St. Amour ’17, Joey Kizel ’14, Ryan Sharry ’12, Ben Rudin ’09, Nolan Thompson ’13, Greg Poulos ’98, Jake Wolfin ’13, and Nate Anderson ’04. And now Daly, who Brown considers to be one of the best players he has ever coached an one of the best in program history.
“Jack will go down as one of the best players ever to play at Middlebury,” said Brown, citing Daly’s senior season as one he will never forget. “He is the only player in the history of NESCAC basketball to accumulate 1000 points, 600 assists and 600 rebounds. He started his senior season with a triple double vs Fitchburg State and had one in our first NCAA game vs Lebanon Valley. He led the country in total assists this season.”
Brown knows his point guard’s skill on the court propelled him to a tremendous career in the blue and white, and that Daly’s drive to win had just as much to do with his individual and their team’s success.
“He is one of the most passionate players that I have ever coached,” Brown concluded.
Majors and Tarantino also played their last game in the Middlebury uniform on Friday.
Majors’ career took off in his sophomore season when he burst into the Panthers’ rotation, starting 11 games and averaging 7.2 points per game in 16.1 minutes. He started 19 games his junior year, while averaging a career-best 9.6 points per contest in 23.2 minutes. Majors embraced coming off the bench in his senior season, playing five fewer minutes per game but still averaging 7.6 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting.
Majors was one of Brown’s many big men who powered Middlebury to the Sweet Sixteen. Coach Brown recognized how important he was to Middlebury’s success this season.
“Adisa made strong contributions the last three seasons,” Brown said. “He provided us with inside scoring and made a lot of medium range jump shots. This season his 15-foot jump shot on the baseline against Bowdoin with 5 seconds left was the game winner. He developed into a great passer for us.”
Tarantino, along with Daly and Majors, was a team captain this season and Middlebury’s starting center. After sitting behind more experienced Panthers his first two seasons, Tarantino started 18 games last season and all 28 games this season. He averaged 6.8 points and six rebounds in his junior year, and career-bests 7.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks this season.
Brown is proud of his Tarantino’s, and all of his seniors’, selflessness on and off the basketball court.
“Nick started every game for us in his senior season,” said Brown. “He provided inside scoring, rebounding and good defense at the rim. He was able to create a spark for us with an exciting dunk or block. He was very active and athletic on the court and very unselfish.”
Majors and Tarantino also left their marks on the Middlebury record book, as this year’s team set Middlebury’s single-season rebounding mark by grabbing 1,329. Tarantino secured 6.8 rebounds per game, while Majors corralled five.
As much as Middlebury will miss its three seniors, they will miss being Panthers just as much. Being a part of coach Brown’s team meant much more to Daly than what happened on the court.
“Basketball has been a huge part of my life at Middlebury, and my best friends have all played on the team,” said Daly after Friday’s loss. “That is the unique part about continuing to play at the college level. It’s led me to relationships that I may never have created and has led me to people I may never have met. I am so grateful that I have crossed paths with everyone these last four years, players and coaches.”
“I’m sad to say my basketball career is over, but my passion for it will never stop,” said Tarantino, echoing his classmate’s sentiments. “I’ve taken away so many life lessons from the sport and have met many close friends through it. I have all the gratitude in the world for my teammates and coaches for making these past years the best four of my life.”
Ending their collegiate careers with a loss was certainly difficult for Daly, Majors and Tarantino, but they know their final loss neither represents their careers as a whole nor clouds their memory of their awesome times at Middlebury.
“We’ve had so much success during my four years, from winning back-to-back Nescac championships, to hosting NCAA tournament games, to making the Elite Eight and the Sweet Sixteen,” Daly said. “I can proudly say that I left everything all out on the court and have no regrets, which is why I can keep my head held high because there is nothing more I could have done.
“Obviously it’s sad to not have your last game be a win, but life goes on, and you have to be able to reflect on the good times because they clearly outnumbered the bad times we’ve had on the court.”
Once again, Middlebury will be hard-pressed to replace its three outgoing seniors who helped guide the Panthers to consistent success over their four years here. But Daly knows Middlebury will be in the good hands of his teammates and coaches.
“I wish returners nothing but the best of luck, and I know they will continue to keep this program at a high level,” Daly concluded. “The future looks extremely bright.”
(03/14/18 5:47pm)
Last week, the Middlebury Alpine and Nordic ski teams flew across the country to compete in the NCAA Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Caroline Bartlett ’19 and Erik Arvidsson ’21 added exclamation points to Middlebury’s trip out west, earning All-American honors by placing fourth in the giant slalom and slalom, respectively. The team placed eighth overall in a 23-team field, third among eastern schools.
On day one of the Alpine races the Panther women placed fourth in the giant slalom, led by Bartlett. Her first run time of 53.85 was the fastest of the day among all competitors, while her two-run total of 1:53.37 earned her fourth place, good enough to place her on the All-American First Team. Lexi Calcagni ’19 placed 17th out of 34 with a total time of 1:55.23 while teammate Lucia Bailey ’21 capped off her rookie year in the top 20 (20th – 1:55.99).
An All-American nod is an achievement for any athlete, and that did not escape Bartlett. “It feels great to be an All-American and accomplish a goal that I set in freshman year,” said Bartlett, after returning to campus. “I’m proud of where I am and super grateful for my teammates who keep me smiling through it all!”
The men sent two Alpine competitors to Colorado, Riley Plant ’18 and Arvidsson. Plant was 17th after the first run but hit a bump on the course that prevented him, and four other racers, from finishing his second run. Arvidsson, however, completed both legs and placed 11th (1:50.48), making up eight spots after his first run.
The next day the Nordic teams began their racing, starting with the men’s 10K and women’s 5K Classic races. With the races taking place in Colorado, eastern schools such as Middlebury, Williams, and Bates are at a disadvantage due to the altitude.
“NCAAs were at 6000 feet where there is way less oxygen,” said Adam Luban ’18. “It’s a totally different style of skiing and a big challenge to adjust to it, particularly this late in the season. We went out a week early to acclimatize and get used to the slower style of racing out there.”
The women placed all three of their racers in the top 23 (out of 40 racers) with Alexandra Lawson ’21 pacing the group with a time of 16:26.5, good for 18th place (fourth among eastern racers). Just behind her was Katie Feldman ’18 with a time of 16:27 to finish in 19th. Cate Brams ’18 came in 23rd place with a time of 16:34.7.
Sam Wood ’19 was the first Panther on the men’s side to cross the line during the 10K Classic, placing 16th with a time of 29:05.9. Luban ended in 18th (29.15.1), and Peter Wolter ’21 placed 24th (29:37.2). The competition was very stiff, with five of the top-six scoring teams being western schools.
It was in the slalom event on Friday that Arvidsson earned his All-American bid, finding his way to the honor with a time of 1:21.75 and a fourth-place finish. Plant ended his career with a 25th-place finish after a time of 1:26.58. The women did not have as good luck as the first day, as Calcagni was the only racer to complete both runs (25th, 1:25.77).
To cap off their season at nationals, the men’s Nordic team competed the 20K Freestyle, where Luban and Wood flip-flopped positions this time. The former completed the course in 55:28.1 (15th), while the latter finished in 55:29.4 (16th) with Wolter coming in 25th (56:47.6). Among eastern skiers, Luban and Wood finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Head coach of the nordic team, Andrew Johnson, was proud of what his team accomplished this season.
“We achieved many of our goals including qualifying a full nordic team for NCAA’s for the first time since 2006,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the way [the team] worked together and pushed each other throughout the fall and winter. Our captains – among others – did a fabulous job of helping build a very team-centric environment in a sport where that’s not always the easiest thing to do.”
As Luban’s career concludes, he looks back with fond memories. “It’s been a hell of a ride I am incredibly proud of the team. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world that I got to ski here for five years.”
The women’s 15K Freestyle saw a strong performance from Feldman (13th place, 45:58.2), who placed third among eastern racers. Brams and Lawson also placed in the top 30, finishing in 26th and 29th, respectively. The team finished second among eastern schools, behind only Dartmouth.
Just like Luban, Brams will miss skiing for Middlebury. “I know this is cliché but this team is my family – they’ve picked me up at my lowest, and they’ve pushed me to be better when I’ve been at my best. I just hope I’ve been able to give the same to them.
“It’s been a wild ride, and as stoked as I am to be graduating, I’ll miss the grind with this crew.”
With the end of the season comes retirement for not just Plant, Luban, Brams, and Feldman, but also Jacob Volz ’18 and Evan Weinman ’18 from the Nordic team and Davon Cardamone ’18 and Jack Schibli ’18 from the Alpine squad. The team will surely miss all eight of its seniors.
Plant will remember nothing but the best from his experience on the Middlebury Ski Team, but not necessarily for time on the mountain.
“Skiing for Middlebury has been everything I wanted from a college ski racing experience. The best memories I will carry from these four years will have little to do with actual ski racing, but more to do with the great personalities I got to spend so much time with in crazy storms, crammed van rides, and the cabin basement.”
(03/14/18 5:46pm)
Coming off of a successful opening weekend, the fourth-ranked women’s lacrosse team showed no signs of slowing down as they extended their win streak last Saturday, March 10. They came out firing on all cylinders in New London, Connecticut, en route to toppling Nescac rival Connecticut College by a 10-goal margin, 12–2. Then in their home opener on Monday, March 12, the Panthers dismantled St. Lawrence 15–3 on Kohn Field to move to 4–0.
The Panthers made themselves comfortable right away on Saturday, as Emma McDonagh ’19 scored her first two goals of the match within the first six minutes of play to give the Panthers a 2–0 lead over the Camels.
Middlebury, hungry to capitalize on its advantage, showed no signs of fading, as McDonagh then assisted Georgia Carroll ’18 and Emily Barnard ’20 on the next two goals. Just before the 10-minute mark, Barnard tallied a second goal, assisted by Kate Zecca ’20, to put the Panthers up 5–0.
After missing much of last season with a foot injury, Barnard has already scored more goals in her sophomore year than in her first year, six to five, and is happy to be back on the field again.
“I fractured my fibula and now have a plate and six screws in my ankle,” Barnard detailed. “It definitely took a while to get back into shape, and I was definitely disappointed to miss out on playing field hockey.”
Although the sophomore’s surgery meant that she had to miss the entire field hockey season last fall and, therefore, their run to a national title, she knows that the time has allowed her to get back on track and ready to contribute to both the lacrosse and field hockey teams going forward.
“That time really allowed me to focus on rehabbing my foot and improving my skills,” Barnard said. “It definitely took longer than expected, but I’m so ecstatic to be healthy and back out on the field with all of my teammates.”
With just under ten minutes left in the half, Conn. College showed some resilience, when Clara Bisson slid a shot past Julia Keith ’20. In the last breaths of the half, Middlebury snuck two more balls in. Carroll notched her second goal of the day, which McDonagh followed moments later with her third goal of the day to secure her first hat trick of the season.
In the second half, the Panthers continued their domination. Kirsten Murphy ’21 kept the momentum going with a strong finish off a good look from Sara DiCenso ’19. Barnard then joined McDonagh in the hat-trick club when she hammered a shot in just seconds after her teammate. Henley Hall ’19 increased the lead to ten when she made a remarkable unassisted effort past the fading Camel defense.
The Panthers closed out the contest with two more goals in the remaining 10 minutes, courtesy of Erin Nicholas ’21 — which marked the first goal of her collegiate career — and Murphy. The Camels were able to get one more shot by Keith before the last whistle sounded, which brought the competition to the final score of 12–2.
A running theme for the Panthers so far this season has been their solid defense. Barnard and her teammates noted that trend continued last weekend.
“Our defense was really solid, especially our goalie [Keith], who saved nine of 11 shots,” said Barnard.
Evie Keating ’18 and Alex White ’19 held a strong defensive line that was headlined by Keating’s four forced turnovers and four ground balls and White’s five forced turnovers and six ground balls. “Conn. College could barely hold on to the ball,” added Barnard.
The chemistry that was notable in the season opening weekend two weeks ago was on display again last weekend.
“Ten of our goals on Saturday were off assists,” Barnard reiterated. “I think that speaks to how well we work together as a team and want to see our teammates succeed.”
Middlebury fell behind Springfield 1–0 on Monday but scored the next eight goals on the way to a 15–3 victory. Carroll scored three more goals to bring her team-leading total to 10, and McDonagh added two goals and three assists.
The No. 4 Panthers will be back in conference action on Saturday, March 17, when they take on Wesleyan at noon in what will be their first bout this season against a ranked opponent.
And their schedule does not get any easier after that, since three of the Panthers’ four opponents after Wesleyan are ranked as well, including No. 2 TCNJ. Middlebury will aim to revenge last year’s 8–4 NCAA regional final loss to TCNJ
Middlebury and Wesleyan are two of the five remaining undefeated teams in the Nescac, along with Amherst, Trinity and Tufts.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
(NEXT 5)
Three of the Panthers’ next five come against ranked conference opponents, with one of those games (March 31) on the road at Amherst. The No. 4 Panthers will be tested before the calendar turns to April.
Sat. 17 No. 18 Wesleyan, 12 p.m.
Sat. 24 No. 20 Bowdoin, 12 p.m.
Tue. 27 at No. 2 TCNJ, 7 p.m.
Thu. 29 at Montclair St., 3 p.m.
Sat. 31 at No. 14 Amherst, 2 p.m.
(03/14/18 5:43pm)
The men’s lacrosse team showed that they have depth and are capable of competing with the nation’s best last Saturday, March 10, and Monday, March 12. At the same time, there is plenty of room for growth in a season that is still young.
Although they split their two games, they played No. 20 Connecticut College closely last Saturday, ultimately falling to the Camels by a score of 8–6 on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium but held 4–2 and 6–5 leads earlier in the game. Then, in their game on Monday, the Panthers laid it on St. Lawrence for a better part of three-quarters of an hour, leading 12–3 at the end of the third quarter, before having to hold on to barely beat the Saints 12–11.
In Saturday’s game against Conn. College, the Camels put Middlebury on its heels immediately by gaining the upper hand just 48 seconds into the first quarter. At the 9:57 mark, the hosts found an equalizer at the hands of Henry Riehl ’18. Midfielder Parker Lawlor ’18 found the back of the net with two minutes remaining in the first to give the Panthers a 2–1 advantage.
The Panthers continued to press until the very end of the quarter, scoring once more with 3.7 seconds left on the clock after the Camels committed a turnover. Michael McCormack ’19 burst into the crease and slotted the ball into the back of the net to put Middlebury ahead 3–1 at the end of the first quarter.
The visitors cut the deficit to one goal halfway into the second quarter. Then Frank Cosolito ’20 assisted a Riehl goal at the top of the crease to restore the two-goal advantage. But over the final four minutes of the first half, the Camels responded with two goals to knot the game at four going into the halfway point.
In the third quarter, Middlebury and Conn. College traded goals, before the Camels scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal with 2:20 left in the quarter. The visitors took its first lead 25 seconds into the quarter, but Alderik van der Heyde ’21 answered with his first career goal to tie the game at five. The Panthers regained the lead when A.J. Kucinski ’20 scored from the top of the crease. Kucinski’s goal was Middlebury’s last, as the Camels scored the last two goals of the quarter to take a 7–6 lead.
Conn. College scored an insurance goal with 10:34 left in the game. The Panthers had a few chances to score, ripping four shots at the end of regulation but could not find the back of the net. And Nescac foe Conn. College handed Middlebury its first loss of the young season, avenging its 8–6 loss to the Panthers last season.
Conn. College’s style and tactics proved a difficult code to crack for the Panthers of play proved. Defender Keaton Yates ’18 chimed in on the challenge the Camels posed for the Panthers.
“Their zone defense is a different look than we are used to going against,” said Yates. “It slows the game down and makes you move the ball patiently to get the looks that you want. Conn. College a is very disciplined team and works well within their system.”
After the tough loss at home, the Panthers had a one day turnaround to prep for the St. Lawrence Saints, in a game that was moved up from Tuesday, March 13, to Monday, March 12, due to the weather forecast.
Middlebury got off to a fast start against St. Lawrence — the Panthers scored six goals in the first 12 minutes, all by different players. Those who got in on the action were Lawlor, Cosolito, John Jackson ’18, Riehl, Danny Jacobs ’20 and van der Heyde. It was the first goal of the season for Jacobs, who scored 19 last year for the Panthers.
The Panthers went on to end the first half with a 7–1 advantage after Kucinski scored a goal assisted by Jacobs.
The fact that the Panthers have spread the goal-scoring around will prove to be a plus for the team going forward.
“On Monday, we had 10 different goal scorers, which is a testament to our depth and ability on the offensive end,” said Riehl, who led the team in scoring last season with 53 goals. “Each day in practice, we are becoming more comfortable as a unit and mastering our scheme a little bit better.”
A little over two minutes into the third, the Panthers held an eight-point lead following goals from Will Brossman ’21 and McCormack. The Saints responded with two rapid goals of their own, to which McCormack decided to score two additional goals to complete a hattrick for the game. Soon after McCormack’s double, Laurence Jackson ’21 was able to force a turnover and provide a goal for defender Eric Rogers ’18 with 4:53 left in the game.
The Saints answered back with a man-up goal and would hold the Panthers goalless in the fourth quarter. They were able to score seven goals in the final quarter but were unable to cap off their almost miraculous comeback.
Lapses on the defensive end and St. Lawrence’s sudden revival in the fourth put the Panthers into a corner during the final quarter.
“During that quarter there was a collective lapse in communication and some sloppy play on our defensive end,” said Yates. “We started to turn the ball over in the clear and allowed them to convert on possessions they had after those turnovers, which let them gain some momentum.”
Fortunately, the Panthers were able to salvage a win and will now prep for their first away game of the season for a Nescac bout against No. 9 Wesleyan.
“Wesleyan is a very good team and a challenging competitor every year,” Yates said, “but we are going to prepare for them like we would for any other Nescac game by making sure we are working hard and taking steps forward everyday in practice. It’s going to be important that on Saturday we win the ground ball battle and limit the time spent in the penalty box.”
The Panthers will head to Middletown, Connecticut, on Saturday, March 17, where the action against the Cardinals is set to start at 2 p.m.
(03/14/18 5:40pm)
Before last season, the baseball team had only qualified for the Nescac playoffs two times in the conference’s 16-year playoff history. In that span of time, since 2001, the Panthers only finished over .500 twice. For some perspective, Middlebury went 11–23 two years ago, and they are just three years removed from a dismal 4–24 season.
Last season, Middlebury finished over .500, going 22–16, and advanced to the Nescac championship round, where the Panthers came within one game of capturing their second Nescac championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. It was a dramatic reversal for the Panthers who were previously, frankly, known as one of the worst varsity teams at Middlebury and the butt of many jokes on campus.
With momentum on their side, the Panthers opened their 2018 season last Saturday, March 10, with a loss to Stevens in Hoboken, New Jersey, where they fell 8–4. The Ducks had an advantage in that it was their seventh game of the spring, whereas it was the Panthers’ first chance to get outside.
After their first soiree outside, the Panthers went on to face Bard at Honey Field in Annandale-On-Hudson, New York, for a doubleheader last Sunday, March 11. The Panthers split with Bard, winning the first game 7–0 before falling 9–3 in the second.
Despite the weekend’s 1–2 record, the Panthers have lofty goals in mind after one of their best seasons in program history.
“The goal at the front of everybody’s mind this season is winning the Nescac championship,” said Rob Erickson ’18, one of Middlebury’s three captains. “Many of us felt like it slipped through our fingers last year, and with the combination of talent and experience we have this time around, we feel like we are in a tremendous position to get the job done .”
Head coach Mike Leonard enters his second season at the helm aware of the expectations placed on him and his team after last year’s success.
“This year’s biggest challenge will be embracing the expectations that come with having success,” said Leonard.“I think last year we could be an underdog and surprise teams with our ability, but this year we’ll have a target on our back. So far this year, I think that the team has really embraced this, and they understand that having high standards can be motivating and doesn’t have to be a negative.”
After six seasons as head coach of Bates, Leonard took over at Middlebury last season, replacing longtime coach Bob Smith, who was in charge of the program for 32 years.
Leonard is an up-and-coming coach who made the Nescac playoffs twice at Bates and came within a game of winning the conference title in just his first year with Middlebury.
Since last May’s defeat in the Nescac championship, the Panthers spent the offseason preparing to reach last season’s high points and to surpass them. The taste of victory put fire in their bellies to achieve what they came so close to last season.
“Everyone who was on the team last year has worked very hard, especially in the weight room, and as a result we have a much stronger, faster, and athletic team,” said Leonard. He and the Panthers search for ways to get over the hump, something he feels will be a key difference between the success of last year and this year. Among the list of returning contributors to watch this season are shortstop Brooks Carroll ’20, second baseman Justin Han ’20, infielder Andrew Hennings ’20, and outfielders Sam Graf ’19 and Alan Guild ’20.
A trio of sophomore infielders aim to follow up on their tremendous first season in the blue and white. Carroll played 33 games at shortstop last season. He hit .274 with three home runs in 106 at-bats and showed a patient eye with 15 walks. On top of that, Carroll showed some speed on the basepaths, stealing nine bags in 10 tries. He was also in the middle of 14 double plays.
Han often paired with Carroll in the middle of the infield at second base and blasted a team-high four home runs in his first season. He batted .319, with an on-base percentage of .418 and a slugging percentage of .504. Meanwhile, Hennings led the team with a 1.001 OPS in his 67 at-bats.
Kevin Woodring ’20 looks to be the frontrunner to pick up the slack at first base after hitting .281 and hitting two home runs last season to go along with five doubles at first base. He seeks to fill the void left by Jason Locke ’17, who graduated after last year’s conference championship run. Locke and Ryan Rizzo ’18, who hit .301 and stole 20 bases last season at the top of the lineup, are the only major contributors that the team has to replace from last season’s squad.
Sam Graf ’19 is an immensely important piece in the outfield and in the batting order. Graf hit .323 last season, with three home runs and a team-leading 12 doubles and three triples. He also did not make a single error in the field while racking up 48 putouts and five assists.
Along with producing the fourth-most runs in the conference last season, the Panthers also had the second-best batting average, on-base and slugging percentages in the conference.
On the other hand, Middlebury gave up the most runs in the Nescac last season, with the second-worst ERA and fielding percentage in the conference.
Every pitcher who started a game last season, except for Dylan Takamori ’17, returns. Colby Morris ’19, another team captain, will head the pitching staff after tossing 68.2 innings last season in 12 starts, going 6–4 with a 4.46 ERA and a conference-high four complete games.
Spencer Shores ’20, Colin Waters ’19 and Erickson pitched 45, 43.1 and 38.1 innings, respectively. Shores finished with a 4.80 ERA and struck out almost nine batters per nine innings, while Waters recorded a 4.78 ERA. Erickson finished with a 3.99 ERA. Conor Himstead returns after tallying eight saves and a team-best 1.64 ERA last season.
Taking the mound once again will be Erickson; Colby Morris ’19, another team captain; Spencer Shores ’20; and catcher Gray Goolsby ’20, all of whom held key roles and saw significant playing time during the 2017 season.
This year’s team is confident it can replace the lost production from six graduated Panthers.
Jake Dianno ’21, Henry Strmecki ’21, George Goldstein ’21, Evan Stewart ’21, Ryan Hanrahan ’21, Bobby Sullivan ’21, Michael Farinelli ’21, Will Oppenheim ’21 and Jake Miller ’21 make up the Panthers’ first-year class.
Leonard is excited about what this new group of players will bring to his team.
“The new players always bring great energy and enthusiasm to the team,” Leonard said about his first-year class. “I know that the players who are new to the program are eager to contribute, and I believe most of them will in some way.”
Faced with the challenge of adapting to college life, the first-years “are willing to absorb the information thrown at them,” team captain Sebastian Sanchez ’18 believes.
Sanchez also believes the first-years will only add to one of Middlebury’s biggest strengths: its depth.
“We have an amazing depth chart, and if any one single person is put into the game, they will perform,” Sanchez said. “Additionally, everybody on our team can hit the ball hard and far, from our lead off guy to our nine-spot. We also have depth in the bullpen, and each of our pitchers can come into a situation throwing strikes and getting outs.”
Erickson agrees with his fellow senior and captain.
“Everyone on the team, from starters all the way down, knows that he has something to contribute every day,” Erickson asserted.
Erickson observed that each season presents new challenges to a team.
“One of our challenges this year will be forming a new team identity behind new leaders,” said Erickson. One of the challenges this season will be forging a new identity after playing as underdogs last season.
The team’s chemistry both on and off the field is something the Panthers feel will be hugely advantageous this season.
“Our team dynamic embraces not only the players but also the coaching staff,” says Sanchez. “We pick each other up when we are down. We love to play loose and energetic. No matter the score, no matter if we are up or down, we are loud and cheering for our teammates.”
Erickson agrees. “This is the closest team I’ve played on in my four years at Middlebury. When I take a step back and look at my teammates, I see a pretty goofy group of guys, so it makes me very proud that such a diverse group of individuals has been able to coalesce into a very tight unit.”
This weekend, Saturday, March 17–Sunday, March 18, the Panthers have a unique opportunity, as they will get the chance to travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to play another game against Stevens and then two against Emory.
Leonard, Erickson, Sanchez, Morris and all members of the team are ready to prove last season was not a one-hit wonder. Together, they are ready to elevate the baseball program to another level in their quest for a Nescac championship.
ROAD TRIPIN’
The baseball team will spend most of the next several weeks on the road, starting this weekend with their trip to Atlanta.
Based on our rudimentary calculations done here in the back of the newspaper office where the sports section is stationed, that could mean close to 7,000 round trip miles.
Our unscientific guessing also estimates that his is the furthest the team has travelled over the course of a two-plus-week period in its history.
(03/14/18 5:38pm)
Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams started the spring season on a high note last weekend, Saturday, March 10, and Sunday, March 11. And both teams have a lot to be excited about in 2018.
The ITA Division III men’s national team rankings have the Middlebury men at No. 3, as per the Thursday, March 1, release. The ITA’s latest women’s rankings, from Thursday, March 8, placed the Middlebury women at No. 4. It’s no wonder the programs are ranked so high to begin the year; last season saw both teams lose in tight Nescac championship matches, which they followed with deep NCAA tournament runs. The men’s side made it all the way to the semifinal before losing a heartbreaker to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, and the women lost an equally tight 5–4 contest to Nescac foe Williams in the same round.
Both teams were then well represented at the NCAA singles and doubles championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was highlighted by the performances of Lubo Cuba ’19 and Will de Quant ’18. Cuba became the first Panther in the history of the tennis program to win the NCAA singles national title. He then teamed up with de Quant to earn the first NCAA doubles national title in the tennis program’s history. Add to that a handful of talented first-year additions for the men, some of whom are already seeing important match time, and a large sophomore contingent with a year of experience under their belts for the women. 2015 USTA/ITA DIII national champion Noah Farrell ’18 also returns to boost the men’s team lineup.
The track record and the strides the teams have made in preparation for the season has things looking up for the Middlebury tennis program. Both teams look once again poised to make deep runs and seek revenge this spring.
Men’s team captain Timo van der Geest ’18 said the offseason was good in that it got the team, and the upperclassman leadership, to step up and commit to improving their games.
“The offseason was a time where there is a bit of a greater emphasis on upperclassman leadership,” said van der Geest, one the men’s team’s three senior captains. “Without having the coaches around, it was a good opportunity for us again to prove how committed we are and [to show] what we want this tennis program to be about.”
The men’s team started off Sunday with a 7–2 triumph over 19th-ranked Bates. Middlebury lost two tight matches in the middle of the singles lineup, including a three-setter that ended in a tiebreaker at van der Geest’s No. 3 singles spot. Cuba and senior Kyle Schlanger ’18 had important wins at the singles No. 1 and No. 2. Cuba actually managed to bounce back and win his match in the third set after dropping the middle set 6–0 to Bates’ No. 1, Ben Rosen.
“My second set was tough,” said Cuba. “My opponent played well, and I was struggling to find my game.”
What changed in the third set was Cuba’s approach against Rosen: “The only thing I changed in the third set was my energy. I stuck with my original game plan of moving him around the court and staying aggressive and tracking well while showing some more positive emotion. I think this made a big difference.”
To go along with their solid performance in the singles competition, the Panthers dominated in doubles, where they swept Bates convincingly.
Also impressive was the performance of the men’s first-years on Sunday. Andre Xiao ’21 and Nate Eazor ’21 both notched their first wins of the spring and their first team match win as Panthers. This marks the second year in a row the men have dominated Bates in such fashion, after an 8–1 win last year.
“The first match is definitely a bit of a different one,” said van der Geest, “as we haven’t played against other teams in a very long time. It was awesome opening the season at home again, like we do every year. Our indoor courts give us an extra bit of confidence going into our first game, since we have spent a fair amount of time there practicing.”
Cuba, the individual national champion, said that the captain was right in saying the first match is different, but he added that nerves certainly played into it.
“There were definitely some nerves associated with the match,” Cuba said. “However, we’ve been training hard all offseason, and we recognize the work we put in, so I don’t think nerves necessarily affected our playing. I think we were more excited than anything to finally be competing and getting a win under our belt.”
The men followed this performance up with a convincing 9–0 victory over unranked Babson. Middlebury didn’t drop a set in the entire match against the Beavers, which featured seven 6–0 or 8–0 sets by six different players.
With their opening-weekend performance, the Panthers certainly look like a group that teams will have to go through if they want a shot at the national title come May. Middlebury certainly legitimized their preseason No. 3 national ranking and No. 1 regional ranking and will be the team to beat in the Nescac.
“I don’t think our high national ranking from last year makes a difference in terms of how we approach our games,” van der Geest asserted. “At the most, it will give us extra confidence going into matches, but at the time of playing, every game we’ll play this spring will just be another individual game during which rankings don’t matter.”
It was trial by fire to start the season for the women’s team, as the Panthers headed to Medford, Massachusetts, to take on a fierce opponent in No. 7 Tufts last Saturday, March 10. Nonetheless, the Panthers persevered and left Medford with a 6–3 victory.
“It feels great to kick start the season with a big win,” said Catherine Blayze ’20. “Tufts is a great team and came out very strong from the moment we stepped on the court. Of course we all were a little nervous, as it was our first match of the season, but we carried ourselves well.”
The Panthers have a bright future ahead of them — without any seniors, five sophomores and just one junior played last Saturday. Nevertheless, the team is focused on the here and now, and for good reason. Despite their relative youth, they enter the year with a No. 4 national ranking, which bodes well for a strong season. However, a strong Williams team that beat them last year in the Nescac tournament final and then went on to win the national championship looms at No. 2 in the nation.
“After winter break, we knew we had a little more than a month to make huge pushes in terms of fitness. This showed up this weekend,” Stowe said. “When a couple of us were down first sets we reminded ourselves we could play all day if that’s what it took. The cheer ‘all day Panthers’ was constantly flying across all courts. Our fitness allowed us to play our way into the matches, settle in and experiment until we found our winning strategy.”
On top of all of the preseason excitement and intrigue, the team has a new head coach in Rachel Kahan. Kahan was an assistant and then the interim head coach after former coach Mike Morgan left for Pomona-Pitzer. Kahan, who played at Duke from 2010–2015, has more than caught on with her players.
“Rachel [Kahan] has been a great addition to the program as an assistant and now the head coach,” said Stowe. “Her being named the interim head coach was the only thing that kept us calm with the sudden departure of Coach Morgan.
“She [Kahan] is extremely competitive and encourages us to go into dual matches looking for wins anywhere we can get them, whether just a mere extra game or an exhibition set. It’s a great feeling having a coach who wants to win just as badly as we do.”
Blayze spoke volumes about Kahan’s positive impact as well.
“We are all extremely happy to see Rachel as our official head coach,” Blayze said, adding that Kahan “brings such amazing insight from her days playing for Duke. She really cares about each individual player and believes in all of us to try our best and work our hardest for the team.”
The Panthers certainly had their focus on the Tufts match, as they won two of the three doubles matches, and proved too strong for the Jumbos down the stretch in the singles competition. Almost all the matches were hotly contested, and Katy Hughes ’20 gave Tufts’ Patricia Obeid a scare at the No. 1 spot, narrowly losing 6–4 in the decisive second set after a tiebreaker in the first set. Christina Puccinelli ’19 had a marathon three-setter with Tufts’ Lauren Louks at the No. 2 spot and came out victorious.
The sophomores down the ladder indeed proved they were ready for their second season and showed no sign of a sophomore slump. Heather Boehm ’20 notched an impressive 6–2, 6–4 win, and Maddi Stow ’20 came back from losing the first set to win in a 10–8 third.
“It is really tempting to watch your teammates during your own match,” said Stowe, “so after losing the first set I had to really correct my poor eye control. With all of the nerves, it’s easy to be passive. My coaches continually reminded me to play as I had been practicing, which was what worked in doubles and eventually worked in singles. This included taking balls early, sometimes without a bounce.”
Blayze also rebounded after losing her first set in last week’s opener and said that she never doubted her ability to do it.
“I think ... we have such grit and determination never to give up on that court, and that is why we won so many three-set matches this weekend,” Blayze said upon the team’s return from Medford. “We know that we have worked so hard throughout the offseason, and that if we believe in ourselves to come back, then that’s half of the battle.”
After proving they were deserving of their top ranking with a strong road win against a top-10 team, the women’s squad will return to action this weekend at home with a doubleheader against unranked Colby and St. Lawrence on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the men’s squad is gearing up for a big weekend with matches against Colby, MIT and Brandeis, all ranked within the top 40 nationally.
(03/14/18 5:31pm)
Ordinarily, mountain bikers spend most of their time flying down trails that have already been blazed, not carving the paths themselves. But the relationship that native Afghan Farid Noori ’18 has with the sport has hardly been an ordinary one. The founder of Mountain Bike Afghanistan — a non-profit whose stated goal “is to empower Afghan youth with the joy of riding and competing on mountain bikes, as well as to connect people across borders and cultures through their shared love of the outdoors and the sport of biking” — only came to the U.S. to study ßat age 16, a fact surprising to many given the unmistakable feeling of comfort and ease that he projects. He hardly even knew what a mountain bike was until the summer before he began at Middlebury, when he happened to attend a race with his host family in New Mexico.
According to Noori, the connection was immediate. Without hesitation, he asked one of the riders if he could take his bike for a spin — nothing challenging, just a quick trip up and down the mountain (spend some time with Noori, and you’ll realize that he construes the word “challenge” differently than most). “That day, I realized two things,” he later said: “that [mountain biking] is something that I wanted to do; but also, something about that word, mountain biking. We were in the U.S., but all the crazy mountains are back home. Why is there such a thing called ‘mountain biking’ here, and not at home?”
So here he stands now, almost four years removed from that seminal moment and staring down the end of his career as a Middlebury student. It would be hard to envision someone taking a more comprehensive approach to the mountain biking lifestyle: in addition to his short and long-term plans for his non-profit, Noori is also pursuing a professional mountain biking career of his own in the US. Last fall, he “sort of” (his words — a typical understatement) became the first Afghan to race in the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Biking National Championship in Missoula, Montana. He has performed well enough to earn a Category–1 certification, qualifying him to race as a semi-pro, and will spend the rest of this year trying to accumulate enough points at races to garner a professional certification.
But for Noori, mountain biking has never come easily. Or rather, one should say that the mountain bikes themselves have never come easily. “Mountain bikes are very expensive,” he explains. “It’s not only an obstacle to entry in Afghanistan, which is a poorer country, but in the US as well, it’s an obstacle. The cost is a huge barrier.” When he first arrived at Middlebury, he knew he wanted to pursue mountain biking, so he immediately got involved with the cycling club and started signing up for races, even before he had wheels of his own.
Noori had to settle for road biking over mountain biking for his first foray into competitive racing. He remembers his first taste fondly. “I invested in a $265 cheap road bike that I found on Google,” he remembers. “And when the bike came in, it actually wasn’t the correct size. So I went to my first race — I hadn’t ridden more than ten miles at a time, and this was a twenty-mile race. It was a s***show. It was crazy. But I had a fun time. My goal was not to come in last, and I achieved that — well, my first goal was to finish this race, to accomplish it.”
He hasn’t looked back since. That fall, he came into the mountain bike season with even more excitement; Kai Wiggins ’16.5, a fellow member of the cycling club who raced professionally, had a spare mountain bike that a sponsor had given him for cross-training. He told Noori to meet him in a parking lot one day and gave him the bike to use as his own. The rest is history. Noori recalls taking advantage of the mild winter in Vermont that year. “It was warm,” he said. “There wasn’t any snow at all. I would ride all winter long, I would do it every day. I was kind of like a dog on a bone, just doing it every day.” But all the while, the thought lingered in the back of his mind: “Okay, I love doing this — but I want to take this home.”
That summer, Noori managed to secure CCI funding to travel to Colorado and work on an entrepreneurship incubator he had started the year before in Afghanistan, continuing his mountain bike training on the side. Of course, he soon realized where his priorities lay. To make his decision easier, the 2016 Summer Olympics were taking place around the same time in Brazil. Just like that, the entrepreneurship incubator fell by the wayside. Noori had become focused on bringing something else to Afghanistan: “We need to be in the Olympics,” he repeated to himself. “Afghanistan needs to be in the Olympics.” His pride in his home country, his own mountain biking career, his desire to spark real social change — everything was coming together, all under the umbrella of what would become Mountain Bike Afghanistan.
“My main attraction was this,” Noori went on to explain: “there’s this beautiful country, with some of the most spectacular mountains in the world — and all people know it for is war. How can we change that narrative? It’s not just a story of, ‘Hey, we’re bringing mountain bikes to Afghanistan.’ It’s about changing narratives: by building trails, by building infrastructure, by growing the sport, all of the sudden you create a projection of the country that people haven’t seen.”
And being the first Afghan mountain biker to represent his country at the Olympics — a personal goal of Noori’s — wouldn’t hurt, either. “That also contributes to the changing narrative, having the Afghan people at the forefront. So that motivates me to race, myself.”
Nor is Noori forcing a match between the sport he fell in love with and the country of Afghanistan. Listen to him talk, and you’ll start to find it a little absurd that nobody else has had this idea. “So in Afghanistan,” he says, “up until recently it was very rural: 80% of Afghans were farmers. It’s a very mountainous country. So they lived in these very isolated villages. I was born in one of them — where I was born, there are only two other houses, for as long as you can see. So how do we get places? My dad walked to school every day, for an hour and a half one way, and another hour and a half on the way back… And even in Kabul, where I live, on the weekends my dad and I go hiking in the mountains, and there’s so many people — women, young people, people who come to run on the mountain, you see people everywhere. So it’s a very active people — everybody is very healthy, they’re outside all the time.”
So Noori has the breathtaking landscape of Afghanistan and a naturally active, engaged people to work with. What will be necessary, as he explains, is simply to put a framework in place. “The thing that’s unique about Afghanistan is that 70% percent of the population is under 25 years old,” Noori says. “It’s a very young population. But in a given young Afghan’s life, based on personal experience, you go to school for three hours a day, and you do homework maybe one hour a day. All of the sudden, you have so much free time — how do you fill it up? What do you fill it up with? There’s so much energy; young people have so much energy.
“And in the US, there are so many opportunities and resources for young people. I joke with my friends that Middlebury has more sports infrastructure than the whole country of Afghanistan. So now let’s take that back to Afghanistan, a country with a young population who have also been deprived of these opportunities for the past four decades. And they’re aware of the fact that they’ve been deprived of these. They can see mountain biking videos on their iPhones and they’re like, ‘We want this… I want to be out there. I’m a young Afghan. I’m strong.’ It’s a very resilient culture, the war has been going on, and people still go about their lives every day, they’re trying to change the narrative, change their lives, and basically champion against the adversities of life in Afghanistan.”
Noori tells a story about a friend to really drive his point home. “I have a friend in Kabul — and she loves running, and she uses the same running app that I use, Strava. But because she’s female and the culture is not very recipient of people running and riding outside, I can see that her runs in Afghanistan are more or less inside a closed building — she does like five miles, but repetitively in a loop, because she’s safe there.
“And it kind of breaks my heart, but it also speaks to that sort of interest [in outdoor activities]. People want to do these things. We’ve just got to open it up. So as far as the interest goes, I feel like we’re not keeping up with it — like, this project needs to be there now.”
So it’s understandable that Noori might have a difficult time limiting the size of his project at first. But despite the size of his ambitions for Mountain Bike Afghanistan (MTBA for short), he realized that if the project was ever going to get off the ground, he had to start small and gradually expand in scope. With on-the-ground help from Sajjad Husaini, a competitive Afghan skier with some mountain biking experience (for cross-training), Noori has put together a team of 10 Afghans — ranging from teens to late twenties — who are ready to commit to serious training in the sport. He has been able to secure a partnership with a third-party organization with 501c status so that MTBA can accept donations as a non-profit. They’ve already received a number of helmets donated by Outdoor Gear Exchange, but Noori and his team still have quite a ways to go before they can even consider serious competition.
“Right now,” Noori says, “we’re raising the funds for a dozen mountain bikes of decent quality, other bike equipment like jerseys, helmets and stuff, and a bike shop/workshop for people to be able to repair their bikes. Once we have that up and going, our plan is to start building trails in this place that these guys are from, which is Bamyan in Afghanistan. It’s in central Afghanistan, up in the mountains, 10,000 feet. They have access to beautiful lakes — it’s the site of Afghanistan’s first national park and national reserve area — so we’d have permission to build trails there.”
Fortunately, the Noori who once had grand plans for an entrepreneurship incubator is hardly absent from MTBA, either. His hands are all over the non-profit’s “dollar-to-trail” concept, designed to attract the attention from major biking companies, in which donations equaling a certain dollar amount are met with a pledge to construct a certain length of mountain bike trail. “We’ll have to do the math of how much money and labor a mile of trail takes,” he says, “but this is a value that a lot of companies want to see. They don’t just want to give away bikes; they want to see some value created, which will contribute to the growth of the industry overall. So all of the sudden you have this new frontier in the world where people can go and bike, and it looks good for [the companies] — they can use it as a marketing tool. If Cannondale can do that and differentiate itself from Giant, then it’s a win for Cannondale. So it’s a good marketing tool for them.”
But Noori has hopes of raising a good portion of his funds from individual donors as well. With a grin, he warns that Middlebury students should stay on the lookout for Mountain Bike Afghanistan t-shirts on campus in the near future. But those eager to make a more immediate impact and support Noori’s tremendous undertaking can learn about MTBA, as well as how to donate, online at www.mtbafghanistan.com.
Or, for those who might find themselves more interested in Noori’s personal story as an athlete, he is currently facing a critical point in his racing career. “It has been a very tough journey,” he explains. “I’m still on those borrowed bikes, from Kai [Wiggins]— a road bike and a mountain bike. And they’re getting old: normally, in the racing world you upgrade your bike every year because of wear and tear. I’ve been riding the same bike for three years, and I’m going into my most important season this year, accumulating points toward getting my pro license. So having the right equipment is super important on this journey. And now I’m faced with the same problem again.” Moreover, after he gets his professional license, Noori has designs to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan — no small undertaking. So to help him reach his goal, Noori has set up a MiddStart page (equivalent to GoFundMe for the Middlebury network), which can be found here: http://middstart.middlebury.edu/mountain-bike-afghanistan-an-olympic-dream/.
Try, if you will, to isolate Noori’s personal dream from his dreams for the country of Afghanistan, or vice-versa. They comprise two narratives — the story of a nation, and the story of a boy from that nation — that have converged at a single, astounding, inevitable point. From where we stand, it would almost be foolish to imagine one without the other.
“The biggest thing about mountain biking for me,” Noori says, “is the idea of getting outside. Forgetting your everyday stress, getting out on the trails, this act of cycling, pedaling out in the woods all by yourself or with your friends… and then after a while, through the very act of mountain biking — it’s challenging, you’re climbing all the time — you get to a point where you’re on top of the mountain, and you have this beautiful view and vista. Regardless of who you are in the world, that’s what it does to you. It’s a very peaceful process.
“And to Afghanistan, that’s so important. There’s an active conflict going on, people are fleeing the country to Europe. How do you instill in Afghans a sense of purpose and love for the place that they’re from? Without their having that perspective to look at their surroundings with an appreciative eye? It’s not hard to see a place that has been affected by conflict for more than 4 decades, where people are losing sight of hope, where there’s a corrupt government, the economy is very bad, there are explosions all around the country, there’s a war going on. How do you take a break from that?
“So my goal with the project is to give people an opportunity. The very act of building trails, and drawing and dragging people away from their troubled neighborhoods, their troubled villages, to a point where you can just relax, and take a moment to not thing about that, is super powerful, super empowering. Because if you always think about the conflict, it’s always going to be in your head. You need a break from it in order to face your challenges, in order for you to have a clear mind — and especially for the young people, it’s super important to have that. So that’s what the project can also provide. And that’s mainly one of the reasons I’m doing it.”
We might say that Noori is living his life in the hope that the Afghan people might find a new way to ride; more than that, he rides in the hope that his people might find a new way to live.
(03/08/18 1:03am)
MONTPELIER — On Wednesday, Feb. 21, the ban on holding or participating in coyote-killing tournaments passed the Vermont House on a vote of 79–45. It now sits in the Senate Natural Resources Committee for further action. The ban was included as an amendment in a major bill on fish and wildlife that passed the House.
Under the amendment, penalties for violation of the ban will include a fine up to $1,000 and 60 days in jail for first-time offenders and a fine of $4,000 for second-time offenders. In deciding whether to support or remove the ban, the House’s debate moved beyond concerns about protecting the coyote population. It also touched upon the social interactions of wild animals with Vermont citizens in general and the significance of hunting culture in the state.
Republican Representative Brian Smith, who has resided and advocated in the small town of Derby in Orleans County, has firsthand concerns about the growing population of coyotes in Vermont and the potential danger brought by the close proximity of coyotes to human beings in rural areas. Smith said that he recently shot a coyote only 400 yards behind a deer at the back of his house.
“There are many more [coyotes] than there used to be ten years ago,” said Rep. Smith. “I can hear them within 500 yards of my house, and it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.”
Known to be one of the smartest and most cunning creatures in Vermont, coyotes “eat everything,” “live everywhere” and often howl at night, leaving people with a mystical yet haunting sound.
“Once in a while, one starts screaming and the other will get into fights with its brothers. And the parents get in and they all start howling at each other,” Rep. Smith said. “Or they will get a baby rabbit or a dead raccoon. And they will fight over it. You never know what they are doing.”
Smith believes there are too many coyotes right now and that they do not contribute to the overall ecosystem in any ways other than devouring animals and getting into the garbage.
“There are only a few, very very few, groups that hunt these coyotes and create contests,” Rep. Smith noted. “I don’t see any harm in 25 or 30 coyotes going out or having a fun day or fun weekend of hunting. It’s not affecting anybody.”
With two or three courses during the winter, these coyote-killing competitions are not constant and usually last for one day or one weekend. In comparison to “real hunts,” Smith regards the coyote tournaments as more of a social event or an occasion for people to gather together.
“I don’t believe the non-hunting community understands what these hunts are all about: a bunch of real good people that are very conscientious sportsmen,” Smith said. “They are hunting an animal that is a lot smarter than they are. So the chances of succeeding are very, very slim. It makes for a pretty good gathering of a good bunch of people.”
In contrast, Rep. David Deen, the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife, supports the ban. “This type of contest violates the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation that has guided our actions in wildlife conservation since the mid 1800s,” said Rep. Deen.
The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation that Deen mentioned was set in the 1800s by hunters and anglers to set certain limits in order to manage wild habitats and protect wildlife.
“The particular principal violated would be: ‘wanton waste of killing an animal must have a purpose and the animal should be used.’ A dead coyote stacked to see whose pile is the highest is not appropriate use of the animal,” Deen said.
According to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department website, eastern coyotes are not only “incredibly adaptable” as relative newcomers to Vermont, but have also become “successful predators” among the established fauna of Vermont.
“They have become one of the top predators and that means they have a vital role in a healthy ecosystem,” Rep. Deen said.
While the original penalty section of the bill includes a maximum 60 days in jail, it was later removed in the final approved version on Thursday afternoon. Although Deen acknowledged the shortage of time in preparing for the jail-time penalty, he also stressed the seriousness of the crime behind coyote-killing competitions.
However, some House members disagree with the proposed degree of punishment. In an article in Valley News, supporter of the ban Rep. Susan Buckholz expressed her disapproval at the tough penalty of the bill. “This is not something that the judiciary and corrections should have to deal with,” Rep. Buckholz said in an interview. “This is something new, and an animal that you can take out any time during the year. To send somebody to jail for this is beyond me.”
Vermont Public Radio estimated that there are 6,000 to 9,000 coyotes in Vermont. Prior to the ban, there were no time restrictions for hunting them within the state. While some argue that there is a potential danger imposed by the growing population of coyotes and that there is a social pleasure in gathering during these competitions, others aim for an ecosystem that is protected more greatly by wildlife conservation and a paradigm shift of the hunting culture in Vermont.
(03/08/18 12:38am)
The women’s hockey team played for and won its third consecutive Nescac championship, edging Bowdoin 2–1 in the semifinal contest on Saturday, March 3, and shutting out Amherst 2–0 on Sunday, March 4, for its 10th championship in program history.
In Saturday’s contest, Middlebury and Bowdoin battled back and forth for advantage in the opening period. Although the Panthers took 13 shots on goal, it was one of Bowdoin’s seven that found its way into the net. Lin Han ’20 blocked the initial shot, and Jenna Marotta ’19 rejected another attempt, but a Polar Bear picked up the rebound and made sure the third time was the charm, giving the guests a 1–0 lead.
Behind by one goal, Middlebury went on the power play with 9:12 remaining in the second period. With a five-on-four advantage, Maddie Winslow ’18, from the right side of the ice, centered a pass to Jessica Young ’18, who blasted a shot that deflected off two Bowdoin players and slid across the goal line for her team-leading 16th goal of the season and a 1–1 tie.
The goal was another connection for this duo that has completed dozens of assists to one another over their careers in the blue and white.
In the final period, Bowdoin’s defensive unit was put to a test, suffering four penalties in a row. The first came on a hooking call, which led to shots by Katherine Jackson ’19, Sidney Porter ’19 and Winslow, all of which went wide. After Winslow’s shot went wide and the power play opportunity ended, the next penalty came on a tripping call, which sentenced the Polar Bears to another four-on-five disadvantage. A barrage of shots on goal followed, several by Anna Zumwinkle ’19 and Elizabeth Wulf ’18, but were blocked by Bowdoin’s goalie.
As the tripping penalty expired, the Polar Bears were called for another hooking penalty. Unable to prevent mistakes, Middlebury’s power play unit bore down on their opponents, sending shot after shot towards the goal. The last penalty came when Bowdoin had too many players on the ice and the Panthers capitalized on the opportunity.
On the fourth and final power play, Marotta and Madie Leidt ’21 worked together to set up a look for Winslow, who one-timed Leidt’s slap pass from the right point into the back of the net to put Middlebury ahead 2–1.
The Polar Bears pulled their goaltender late in the final minutes, but it was not enough to tie the game, as Winslow’s goal proved to be the decisive one.
Middlebury outshot Bowdoin 41–15, while the Polar Bears also spent 14 more minutes in the penalty box, 18–4. Even though Bowdoin was outshot by 26 and spent almost a third of the game in the penalty box, the Polar Bears matched the Panthers for 60 minutes.
“Bowdoin was very physical and tough. They really made us work,” said Wulf. “When we went down 1–0, however, we didn’t panic. We knew we could come back if we played together as a team. It took a lot of grit and mental toughness to come out with the win, and it was a total team effort. I think that game showed that we can overcome adversity when we play together. The Bowdoin game united us even more, and we used the momentum from that game to play for each other in the championship game.”
For the fourth consecutive year, the Panthers advanced to the championship game to compete against the Amherst Mammoths on Sunday, March 4.
Neither team scored in the opening period, even though the Mammoths had two opportunities to sneak the puck pass Han, who has had a spectacular season — she has recorded 335 saves.
On the hosts’ side, Marotta’s shot from the right side made it through traffic before hitting the roadblock that was the Mammoths’ goalie. Winslow aggressively dove at the rebound but was also denied, and the contest carried into the second period with goose eggs on the scoreboard.
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Middlebury pulled away, however, at the 8:56 mark with a play that started right outside of the Amherst blue line. Leidt worked to create a turnover and Young quickly took over position of the puck. Carrying it down the ice, as she has done for the past four years, she found some space and fired a laser shot past the goaltender’s shoulder to give the Panthers a 1–0 lead. Han preserved the lead with another glove-side save, and the hosts headed into the third and final period of the 2018 Nescac playoffs.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the third stanza when Hayley LaFontaine ’18 took a shot from the point, which was redirected by Wulf into the back of the net.
Amherst tried to make something happen with two minutes left, but to no avail. As the clock winded down, the crowd grew louder, yelling and screaming, and the excitement of a three-repeat reverberated through Kenyon Arena. With ten seconds left, the Panthers trapped the puck on the boards, let time expire and dog-piled in front of their net.
“It’s indescribable. I’m still speechless,” said Wulf after reflecting on her third championship in four years. “It’s so special and an incredible feeling. I can’t stop smiling!”
“To make history and do it with this class and this team is beyond amazing,” Wulf continued amid the postgame excitement. “It’s something we will remember forever. As a senior class, we were so happy to come out on top and win our last home game at Kenyon.”
Julie Neuburger ’18 chimed in to express her excitement and happiness:
“Winning is always an exciting thing, but it’s definitely more special when you can do it in your own house in front of all your fans,” she said. “We have some of the best fans this sport has to offer from both the community and college, and we definitely fed off all the energy they brought to Kenyon on Sunday afternoon. There really are no words to describe those last 10 seconds or even the last minute. You’re just counting down in your head until you can run out onto the ice and jump and celebrate and be surrounded by your whole team.”
The Panthers still have work to do, hoping to secure a national championship for the first time since 2006. They are back on the ice this weekend, gearing up to play No. 1-ranked Plattsburgh State.
“For NCAA’s the focus right now is all on Plattsburgh,” said Wulf. “We said we wanted to play them again in March after we lost to them earlier this season because we knew we had more in us and could beat them. We are a much different and better team now than when we played them last, so we are super excited about the game Saturday.
“As the reigning four-[season]-straight national champions, we know Plattsburgh is good, but we are confident that if play our best hockey, we can win.”
The women’s hockey team played for and won its third consecutive Nescac championship, edging Bowdoin 2–1 in the semifinal contest on Saturday, March 3, and shutting out Amherst 2–0 on Sunday, March 4, for its 10th championship in program history.
In Saturday’s contest, Middlebury and Bowdoin battled back and forth for advantage in the opening period. Although the Panthers took 13 shots on goal, it was one of Bowdoin’s seven that found its way into the net. Lin Han ’20 blocked the initial shot, and Jenna Marotta ’19 rejected another attempt, but a Polar Bear picked up the rebound and made sure the third time was the charm, giving the guests a 1–0 lead.
Behind by one goal, Middlebury went on the power play with 9:12 remaining in the second period. With a five-on-four advantage, Maddie Winslow ’18, from the right side of the ice, centered a pass to Jessica Young ’18, who blasted a shot that deflected off two Bowdoin players and slid across the goal line for her team-leading 16th goal of the season and a 1–1 tie.
The goal was another connection for this duo that has completed dozens of assists to one another over their careers in the blue and white.
In the final period, Bowdoin’s defensive unit was put to a test, suffering four penalties in a row. The first came on a hooking call, which led to shots by Katherine Jackson ’19, Sidney Porter ’19 and Winslow, all of which went wide. After Winslow’s shot went wide and the power play opportunity ended, the next penalty came on a tripping call, which sentenced the Polar Bears to another four-on-five disadvantage. A barrage of shots on goal followed, several by Anna Zumwinkle ’19 and Elizabeth Wulf ’18, but were blocked by Bowdoin’s goalie.
As the tripping penalty expired, the Polar Bears were called for another hooking penalty. Unable to prevent mistakes, Middlebury’s power play unit bore down on their opponents, sending shot after shot towards the goal. The last penalty came when Bowdoin had too many players on the ice and the Panthers capitalized on the opportunity.
On the fourth and final power play, Marotta and Madie Leidt ’21 worked together to set up a look for Winslow, who one-timed Leidt’s slap pass from the right point into the back of the net to put Middlebury ahead 2–1.
The Polar Bears pulled their goaltender late in the final minutes, but it was not enough to tie the game, as Winslow’s goal proved to be the decisive one.
Middlebury outshot Bowdoin 41–15, while the Polar Bears also spent 14 more minutes in the penalty box, 18–4. Even though Bowdoin was outshot by 26 and spent almost a third of the game in the penalty box, the Polar Bears matched the Panthers for 60 minutes.
“Bowdoin was very physical and tough. They really made us work,” said Wulf. “When we went down 1–0, however, we didn’t panic. We knew we could come back if we played together as a team. It took a lot of grit and mental toughness to come out with the win, and it was a total team effort. I think that game showed that we can overcome adversity when we play together. The Bowdoin game united us even more, and we used the momentum from that game to play for each other in the championship game.”
For the fourth consecutive year, the Panthers advanced to the championship game to compete against the Amherst Mammoths on Sunday, March 4.
Neither team scored in the opening period, even though the Mammoths had two opportunities to sneak the puck pass Han, who has had a spectacular season — she has recorded 335 saves.
On the hosts’ side, Marotta’s shot from the right side made it through traffic before hitting the roadblock that was the Mammoths’ goalie. Winslow aggressively dove at the rebound but was also denied, and the contest carried into the second period with goose eggs on the scoreboard.
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Middlebury pulled away, however, at the 8:56 mark with a play that started right outside of the Amherst blue line. Leidt worked to create a turnover and Young quickly took over position of the puck. Carrying it down the ice, as she has done for the past four years, she found some space and fired a laser shot past the goaltender’s shoulder to give the Panthers a 1–0 lead. Han preserved the lead with another glove-side save, and the hosts headed into the third and final period of the 2018 Nescac playoffs.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the third stanza when Hayley LaFontaine ’18 took a shot from the point, which was redirected by Wulf into the back of the net.
Amherst tried to make something happen with two minutes left, but to no avail. As the clock winded down, the crowd grew louder, yelling and screaming, and the excitement of a three-repeat reverberated through Kenyon Arena. With ten seconds left, the Panthers trapped the puck on the boards, let time expire and dog-piled in front of their net.
“It’s indescribable. I’m still speechless,” said Wulf after reflecting on her third championship in four years. “It’s so special and an incredible feeling. I can’t stop smiling!”
“To make history and do it with this class and this team is beyond amazing,” Wulf continued amid the postgame excitement. “It’s something we will remember forever. As a senior class, we were so happy to come out on top and win our last home game at Kenyon.”
Julie Neuburger ’18 chimed in to express her excitement and happiness:
“Winning is always an exciting thing, but it’s definitely more special when you can do it in your own house in front of all your fans,” she said. “We have some of the best fans this sport has to offer from both the community and college, and we definitely fed off all the energy they brought to Kenyon on Sunday afternoon. There really are no words to describe those last 10 seconds or even the last minute. You’re just counting down in your head until you can run out onto the ice and jump and celebrate and be surrounded by your whole team.”
The Panthers still have work to do, hoping to secure a national championship for the first time since 2006. They are back on the ice this weekend, gearing up to play No. 1-ranked Plattsburgh State.
“For NCAA’s the focus right now is all on Plattsburgh,” said Wulf. “We said we wanted to play them again in March after we lost to them earlier this season because we knew we had more in us and could beat them. We are a much different and better team now than when we played them last, so we are super excited about the game Saturday.
“As the reigning four-[season]-straight national champions, we know Plattsburgh is good, but we are confident that if play our best hockey, we can win.”
(03/08/18 12:35am)
The squash season wrapped up last Saturday, March 3, when Jack Kagan ’20 walked off the court at the national individual championships in the nation’s capital. Off of their third-place finish in the C draw at team nationals a week before last, Feb. 23 to 25, in Connecticut, the men’s No. 1 Will Cembalest ’20 and No. 3 Kagan made the trip to Washington, D.C., where they both competed in the same 16-player “East” pool in the Molloy draw.
After finishing 15th at the team championships last month, nagging injuries on the heels on a long season and tough schedule kept members of the women’s team from attending the individual championship tournament. This marks the first time since the 2013–14 season that the women’s team has not sent a representative to the individual championships, although in both instances the Panthers’ top players were more than qualified to make the trip if they had chosen to do so.
Cembalest wrapped up his season last Friday afternoon when he lost to Grayson Bubrosky, a junior who finished the season in the No. 4 spot for the Virginia Cavaliers. In the round of 16 Friday morning, Bubrosky lost in a closer-than-it-looked straight-sets match against the eventual pool runner up in Carson Spahr, the Dartmouth No. 2. Against Bubrosky, Cembalest dropped the opening set 11–5 before rebounding to make things closer in the second and third sets, which Bubrosky took 11–8 and 11–7.
Earlier in the day, Cembalest got a crack at Hobart’s No. 1 Josh Oakley. It was a chance for Cembalest to get another taste of the top competition in the country, as Oakley won 11 of his 20 matches in the top slot for the Statesmen’s top spot on the ladder this season. While he lost in three sets to Oakley as well, 11–6, 11–5, 11–6, Cembalest was glad to have the opportunity to experience the event.
“Last weekend was very fun,” Cembalest said. “Jack [Kagan] and I had good exposure to the top players in the country in a fun, competitive atmosphere. Jack, [coach] Mark [Lewis] and I all had a fun time hanging out, watching some of the best players in the country compete, and had some nice bonding time.”
Like Cembalest, Kagan also dropped his first match of the championships earlier last Friday. However, Kagan had the opportunity to continue playing on Saturday thanks to a mix of his endurance and in-match adjustments that allowed him to outlast Raghav Kumar, the Tufts No. 1, in a four set consolation match on Friday afternoon.
After narrowly winning his first set against Kumar 11–9, Kagan let some of the momentum slip away in the second set, which went the way of the Jumbos’ sophomore, 11–7. But the match-making set was the third set, a marathon game that went 26 points. Ultimately, things went Kagan’s way in the third set, 14–12.
Up in sets, 2–1, it would have been understandable for Kagan to take his foot off of the gas in the fourth set — especially given that he had lost a five-set match just a couple of hours earlier to Navy’s Michael Kacergis, who spent the entire season at the top of the Midshipmen’s ladder. But there would be no exhaling for Kagan, who clearly meant business when he got back onto the court with Kumar for the fourth set, which was not even close. Kagan won 11–0.
“The fourth game with Kumar was just a culmination of confidence from winning a really tight third game that was pretty critical,” Kagan said. “I felt myself get a serious second wind in the third and noticed that I could keep going and raising my level.
“After winning the third I just wanted to keep the pressure on in the fourth and keep taking the ball in short when I had the opportunity,” Kagan said of his approach. “I had to be the one to put the attacking shot in and make him react, rather than the other way around. In that game, everything was working.”
By winning Friday afternoon, Kagan got a chance to partake in Saturday morning’s consolation semifinals, where he met up with Aryaman Adik, a Trinity first-year who went on to win the consolation bracket of Cembalest’s and Kagan’s pool. Adik was a challenging matchup for Kagan, but the Middlebury sophomore managed to play him very closely, especially after the first game.
“The first game I really wasn’t awake or very present, and his pace of play is so fast that it really caught me off guard,” Kagan said of his 11–4 setback in his first set against Adik. Undeterred, Kagan made some adjustments and managed to push Adik, who just the week before was celebrating with his Trinity teammates the Banthams’ completion of an undefeated, 20–0, national championship season.
“After the first set,” Kagan explained, “I really had to get my shots deeper in the court to take away his opportunities for attack which he used often.”
Kagan pushed Adik in the second set to a 15–13 final, and then went one point further in the final set, which Adik took 16–14.
“I think me being able to stay in the points for so long definitely frustrated him,” Kagan said. “It was a fun weekend and a good way to finish off the season especially since I feel like I kept up a high level of play.”
With the season now in the books for the Middlebury squash teams, Cembalest and Kagan, along with their underclassmen teammates, now look forward to getting on the courts in match play when the season gets into full swing next December.
Cembalest looks fondly back on what he and his teammates were able to do the weekend before last at team nationals. And while team nationals are a highlight for any collegiate squash player, the results Cembalest got in Connecticut were especially sweet because there was an aspect of revenge.
“Team nationals were an awesome way to end the season,” said Cembalest. “Beating the Williams No. 1 and the Bates No. 1, who both beat me earlier in the season” was a highlight that Cembalest will look to build on in his offseason preparation for next year.
Last weekend’s individual nationals also allowed Cembalest to come away with an idea of what it will take to go from start to finish next season at the top of the Panthers’ ladder playing his best squash.
“My biggest takeaway,” Cembalest said of the weekend in Washington, “was that my body was hurting a lot and that after the long season it was hard to push myself to perform at the level I was playing at earlier in the season.”
Kagan was fitter for the action last weekend, but said that what both he and Cembalest took away from another opportunity to be exposed to the best collegiate squash has to offer will pay dividends going into next season.
“The weekend was definitely a different vibe for individuals since there were only two of us,” said Kagan. “It was great to get off campus and play in a completely different style of tournament and see what we could do.
“We have some things that we succeeded with and some things we need to remember to keep working on for next year. Especially since there were only two of us, it was a very self-motivated tournament. You had to find motivation to warm up, to prepare, to perform, from within, not from the team. That’s hard, but can be exciting at a high level.”
Along with the pair of sophomores who made the trip to the individual championships, the Panthers will return almost their entire starting nine for next season. The prospect of the team breaking into the B draw at nationals looks very realistic.
The Panthers’ No. 1 is already looking forward to the challenge.
“I am very proud of the work I’ve done this season,” said Cembalest, adding, “but honestly, I want to be much stronger for next season. I am going to put a lot of off-season work in this summer and that will have a strong impact on my game for next season.”
(03/08/18 12:32am)
The men’s basketball team entered the NCAA tournament on a three-game losing streak, desperately needing to regain the form it had earlier in the season. In each of the Panthers’ two games last weekend, they reestablished themselves immediately by jumping out to 12–3 leads, forcing their opponents to call early timeouts, en route to victories in the first two rounds of NCAAs. Middlebury defeated Lebanon Valley 83–63 on Friday, March 2, and beat Eastern Connecticut State 83–58 on Saturday, March 3, to move onto NCAA sectionals.
Jack Daly ’18 continued his magical season with his second triple-double of the season, and second in program history, against Lebanon Valley. Daly scored 13 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and assisted on 14 more baskets to lead the way on Friday, and tallied 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in Middlebury’s second round matchup.
As one of the final 16 DIII teams left in the nation, Middlebury will play MIT at Ramapo College tomorrow, March 9, at 5:30 p.m. If the Panthers win, they will meet the winner of Ramapo and Franklin & Marshall on Saturday for an opportunity to play in the Final Four.
Middlebury’s first-round opponent, Lebanon Valley, entered the tournament on the heels of winning Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth with an 18–9 record. Coincidentally, Lebanon Valley played one Nescac team in the regular season, Hamilton, and lost to the Continentals 102–83, the exact same score of the Middlebury-Hamilton matchup.
On Friday, the Panthers could not have started the game any hotter than they did, getting out to a 10–0 lead just over two minutes into the first half by making their first four shots and forcing two turnovers. Daly assisted on the first three baskets, including on two transition baskets off turnovers, before getting one of his own to help account for Middlebury’s first ten points.
The Flying Dutchmen responded with a 19–5 run of their own to take a 19–15 lead. Back-and-forth the first half went, as Middlebury came right back to take a 26–22 lead. Lebanon Valley took another lead, 36–35, with 1:26 remaining in the first half.
With three of his big men facing foul trouble, head coach Jeff Brown turned to a four-guard lineup over the last two minutes in the half. Joey Leighton ’20 answered Brown’s call to his guards by hitting a three-pointer to give Middlebury a two-point lead. Then, Daly forced a Lebanon Valley turnover at midcourt, and finished off the half with a contested layup to put Middlebury in front 40–36 heading into the halftime locker room.
Ahead 50–46 almost seven minutes into the second half, Middlebury started to take control, going on a 10-point run to take its first double digit lead of the contest. Second-leading scorer Matt Folger ’20 sparked the run by scoring five straight points. After only scoring three points in the first half, Folger tipped in his own miss and then hit a three the next time down. Daly kept the pressure on the following possession by finishing a layup, forcing a Lebanon Valley timeout. Then, Leighton hit another three-pointer off a Daly offensive rebound to give Middlebury a 60–46 lead.
Lebanon stopped the bleeding temporarily with a three of its own next time down, but the Panthers kept extending their lead on the back of their defense and offensive ball movement. From the 14:38 to the 5:20 mark, Middlebury blew the game open. They extended their lead from a narrow four point margin, 50–46, to a 74–54 lead, which all but put the game away. The Panthers held the Flying Dutchmen to three of 11 shooting and forced four turnovers over that span of 9:18.
The 20-point margin would stay intact over the final 5:20, and Middlebury secured a 83–63 win in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
After a close first half, Middlebury ran away from Lebanon Valley in the second half, outscoring the Flying Dutchmen 43–27. Although the Panthers shot only two percentage points better than the Flying Dutchmen in the second half, they outrebounded Lebanon Valley 13–1, which led to Middlebury’s taking 18 more shots from the field.
Lebanon Valley’s leading scorer, Sam Light, who averaged 23 points per game this season, scored only 14 on Friday night, and only three in the decisive second half. Guard Jack Farrell ’21 had the assignment of Light for most of the night Friday night, as one of coach Jeff Brown’s quickest guards. Farrell and the Panthers knew if they slowed down Light they would be in very good shape to move onto the second round.
“Coming into the game we knew Sam Light was their guy, and that he could score from many different levels,” Farrell said. “It was all about putting everything I had into not letting him score the ball, or make other impactful plays. I knew I was quicker and a little bigger than him, so I tried to make sure he could feel me and know I was right there every time to get him out of his usual rhythm.”
Along with Daly’s triple-double, Folger added 14 points, and Eric McCord ’19 added 12 in 14 minutes off the bench.
As hot as the Panthers started on Friday night, their start on Saturday may have been more important. Eastern Connecticut State entered their matchup with Middlebury with a 26–3 record and a perfect 4–0 against Nescac opponents.
Middlebury came out in attack mode to take a 12–3 lead within the first four minutes of action. Eight of their first twelve points came in the paint, and the other four came on free throws. The nine-point lead forced Eastern Connecticut State to call a timeout, but that did not slow the tide. Middlebury continued to attack the basket with the drive and the pass, and to crash the boards ferociously. The Panthers built a 24–7 lead just over seven minutes into the first half.
From there, Middlebury slowed down offensively, and the Warriors started to make some shots. The home team cut the lead to 25–15, but could not get any closer in the first half.
Daly exited the game with 2:25 left in the first half with two fouls, opening the door for Eastern Connecticut State to make some headway into its 14-point deficit. But Middlebury’s supporting cast rose to the occasion to extend the Panther lead going into the halfway point. Ahead by 15, Max Bosco ’21 fought off some Warrior pressure to find Farrell on the wing for a three to give Middlebury a 46–28 halftime lead.
Only once did Eastern Connecticut State get closer than 18 points in the second half, less than two minutes in when two Warrior free throws made the score 47–30. Middlebury grew its lead to as many as 25 points, 73–48, with 7:04 remaining on its way to sealing an 83–58 victory.
Middlebury’s defense on its opponent leading scorer was crucial once more on Saturday. Tarchee Brown scored 19.4 points per game this season, but Middlebury held him to 12 points on four of 20 shooting.
“We knew Brown liked to shoot the three, so we tried to chase him over every screen and be right on him with high hands every time he caught the ball to make sure he wasn’t able to get off a good shot,” said Farrell. “Coach always tells us defense comes first and stops will turn into transition baskets. I think that’s what we did well this weekend as a team.”
Farrell led Middlebury in scoring with 19 points on an efficient five of nine shooting and seven of eight from the foul line.
“Coach Brown always stresses shooting with confidence and making smart plays,” Farrell said, when asked about his big scoring night. “I think that’s what I tried to go out there and do, have confidence in my ability to score, at a couple different levels. But I also think in the flow of the game I was given a couple opportunities to take a jumper or drive at my defender.”
Farrell was one of many Panthers who was aggressive in finding good shots. Middlebury outscored Eastern Connecticut State 46–28 in the paint, after dominating Lebanon Valley 42–18 there the night before. After failing to score above 68 points in their previous two games, the Panthers tallied eclipsed that total by 15 points in both games last weekend.
MIT, Middlebury’s next opponent, enters tomorrow’s matchup with a 24–5 record, having beaten Brockport and Johns Hopkins to get to the Sweet Sixteen. The Engineers won New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference to receive a bid to the tournament.
In the other sectional matchup, the sectional host Ramapo plays Franklin & Marshall. Ramapo (23–6) won the New Jersey Athletic Conference, and Franklin & Marshall (22–6) received an at-large bid after losing to Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference semifinals.
