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E-lot: College likely to restore some student parking; adds more spaces elsewhere

Thirty-three student parking spaces will likely be added to E-lot once construction of the area is complete, a college official told The Campus. The college's announcement came two days after The Campus published an article detailing the elimination of all 115 student parking spaces in E-lot, the area behind Wright Memorial Theater, Allen Hall and Atwater Dining. Bill Burger, vice president for communications and chief marketing officer, initially said the college would reassess the use of the lot at the end of the fall semester and could not guarantee that student parking would be reinstated. On Monday, however, Burger said student spaces will most likely be restored once construction on the northeast side of E-lot is complete around September 12. To compensate for lost student parking, Public Safety has also now designated 65 additional parking spaces for juniors and seniors: 46 in the lot behind the Mahaney Center for the Arts (Q-lot) and 19 near the Ridgeline Residential Complex (R-lot). Burger also said there were 30 junior/senior parking spaces in R-lot that "were not utilized by students last year." He said that between those 30 spaces, the 65 additional spaces, and the 33 likely to be added to E-lot, the college views the changes as a net gain of 13 spaces. The north side of E-lot will be home to temporary offices. The building is expected to open in the fall of 2019. 

Women's Lacrosse: Champions Again

The women’s lacrosse team earned another piece of hardware last weekend when they became the Nescac champions for the ninth time. Despite cruising past Trinity and Bowdoin in the regular season without breaking a sweat, the two rivals came out with nothing to lose and gave the Panthers a run for their money. But the Panthers fared well under pressure and toppled their rivals. Middlebury skated past Trinity 16–13 on Saturday, May 5, in the semifinals, followed by a championship win over Bowdoin on Sunday, May 6. Last year in the conference tournament, the Panthers did not fare as well, falling to Colby in the second round. During this year’s regular season, Middlebury fans watched as the Mules once again took the women down in a regular-season matchup, 14–12. The women were prepared to avenge that loss in a game with higher stakes, but they didn’t have to worry about the pesky Mules because they were knocked out by Amherst in the quarterfinal to end a down season for Colby.  Although the Panthers had beaten Trinity handily 14–8 in the regular season, anything can happen in a conference tournament. The heightened pressure of qualifying for NCAA’s invigorates an underdog and creates a lack of security. On top of that, they were the top seed. “There definitely is a lot of pressure being the No. 1 seed in the tournament as well as hosting,” Zecca said. “After losing in the semis last year and watching two other teams compete for the championship on our own field, we knew there was nothing stopping us from getting there this year. No. 6 Trinity upset No. 3 Tufts in the quarterfinals, so we knew that they [were capable of pulling off an upset].” The Panthers were reminded of this lesson this weekend when they had a tight matchup with the Bantams, once again coming from behind in the second half to win 16–13. The Panthers had some trouble getting off to a strong start throughout the season but seemed to overcome this weakness in the conference playoffs. The hosts punched first, swatting three goals past the Bantam goalie within two minutes of play when Hollis Perticone ’18 scored her 29th goal of the season. She was quickly followed by Erin Nicholas ’21, as well as Emma McDonagh ’19, who would go on to score three more goals.  The hosts needed to be more than a second-half team because they couldn’t afford to put so much pressure on themselves in the final stanza given the high postseason stakes. The Bantams were able to sneak two more goals by Julia Keith ’20 to narrow the margin until Casey O’Neill ’19 found the back of the cage. With a score of 4–2, Trinity continued to climb back, adding one more tally to their total at the 21-minute mark. With about 20 minutes left to go in the period, the visitors would go on to outscore the hosts 5–3, claiming the 8–7 advantage as the teams headed into halftime. Middlebury was not concerned with this one-goal deficit, as they had dug themselves out of much deeper holes earlier in the season. They were a second-half team and would prove it today, with their home crowd behind them. The Panthers did not win the race to the scoreboard this time. The Bantams found openings in the Middlebury defense and capitalized on their quick breaks. After the visitors continued to increase their total to a 10–7 lead, Emily Barnard ’20 found Georgia Carroll ’18 to bring it back to a two-goal game. The visitors continued to preserve their edge, climbing to 12 goals. Sara DiCenso ’19 and Jenna McNicholas ’19 hammered two shots past the Bantam goalie in between the two visitor goals. After feeling the sting of another Bantam goal, something clicked for the Panthers. Middlebury picked up four goals within the next six minutes of play. Kate Zecca ’20 was the first of the four, exploiting a perfectly executed pass from Carroll. The Panthers were now confident at a 14–12 lead and could not let their margin be ripped from their hands. In the final 10 minutes, the hosts allowed only one Trinity ball to enter their cage, while nailing two more shots past the Trinity goalie. Once again, Keith and Kate Furber ’19 split time between the poles, with Keith making three integral saves in the first half and Furber making one in the final stanza to bring the Panthers to victory. It was all smiles on Kohn Field when the last whistle blew to finalize the score of 16–13. They were on to the final and were ready for a fight. “Overall, our team felt really confident about facing Bowdoin again in the championship,” Zecca said. “Though we played them earlier in the year, it was in the very beginning of the season. We knew they had been able to develop and better their play since we last saw them, so we knew that this game couldn’t be taken lightly.” On Sunday, the Panthers had nothing left to lose and planned on leaving everything on the field. They took the field with confidence, knowing they had defeated Bowdoin by 10 goals earlier in the season. From time to time, this confidence did waver, as the women remained neck and neck throughout the game. The first half kept fans at the edge of their seats, as both teams had a response for each goal scored. Bowdoin tallied the first goal as Allison Williams snuck a shot in after the first five minutes. Hannah Hirchfield’s goal was then sandwiched in between two Middlebury goals, one from McDonagh and one from Grace Getman ’21. Bowdoin increased their lead by two in the next five minutes. With under ten minutes to go, Kirsten Murphy ’21 showed up once again to toss a goal in the hosts’ direction. Carroll contributed her share, following the freshman, just before the Polar Bears were able to knock one more back. Then, McDonagh knotted the score 5-5 to finish out the period. Once again, the pressure fell on the Polar Bears with the sound of the second-half whistle. Middlebury was now infamous for its second-half runs. But the visitors were the first to earn a goal. Three minutes later, we heard from McNicholas, who kept her team in the game. This momentum was followed by Perticone and Zecca, making the score 8–5. The Polar Bears were willing to leave it all on the field as they fought back to a tie game. With a little more than five minutes to go, the Panthers found their lungs to preserve their one-goal lead. McDonagh and Carroll were able to slap back two more shots to secure the trophy for Middlebury. The Panthers’ defense once again played a major role in their victory. The seniors led the stats, knowing this would be their final conference tournament. Evie Keating ’18 grabbed three ground balls and forced two turnovers, while Perticone helped her out with seven draw controls and another two turnovers. Susana Baker ’19 contributed her share with three turnovers and three ground balls. Keith and Furber showed up where they needed to. In the first period, Keith prevented three balls from netting the cage. In her second-half appearance, Furber made a tremendous effort with eight stops. The fourth-ranked Panthers will host their regional this weekend. They will play the winner of Babson and Castleton on Sunday, May 13, and are preparing by focusing on the fine points of their game, according to Zecca. “In both the [conference] semifinal and championship, we have had to come back from three- to four-goal deficits,” said Zecca. “Although we have come out on top in those close games, it would be undoubtedly better for us to come out strong and prove that we are playing to win for a full 60 minutes. “We are confident that we have what it takes to make it all the way to the Final Four,” Zecca added. “We just need to play the way we know we can.”

Farmers’ Market Kicks Off Spring Season

[gallery ids="39020,39021,39022,39023,39024"] The Middlebury Farmers’ Market (MFM) started its summer market season last Saturday, May 5, featuring a variety of products including fresh produce, prepared foods and other Vermont crafts. This year’s outdoor summer market will run every Saturday and Wednesday morning from 9:00am to 12:30pm until Oct. 27. The Middlebury Farmers’ Market is especially known for its variety in organic vegetable and dairy items. The summer market, unlike in the winter season, is held outdoors and offers a wider variety of different products. The summer season also brings musicians and special events such as the Grand Opening on May 26, Dairy Day on June 16, Red White and Blue Day on July 7, and the Harvest Festival on Oct. 13. This year’s summer market has also reached out to community partners for more special events like Homeward Bound’s meet and greet with dogs up for adoption this past Saturday. While MFM was previously located at Marble Works, the ongoing rail bridge construction project led to a permanent relocation last summer to 530 Exchange Street, a less visible location from downtown Middlebury. “It’s a shame that there isn’t more interest from the city and downtown retailers to support a more centrally located Farmer’s Market,” said Laura Quill of Quill Hill Farms about the new location. Though the past location was more easily accessible to pedestrians, the market has worked to make both parking and biking easier at the center for Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). “The VFW does have its advantages,” said MFM’s promotions and outreach liaison Elisabeth Woronzoff. “More space for more vendors, a beautiful green space to sit and enjoy the event, easy access to an ATM, a new and improved parking methodology and access to other great businesses located on Exchange Street.” BENJY RENTON Still, MFM remains a significant component of Middlebury’s community. “Addison County is so rich in resources that our market can offer an amazing assortment of fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meat, breads, crafts, and other products,” Woronzoff said. “The vendors are also creative and interested in experimentation, so you never really know what products are available until you stroll through their offerings.” For instance, Quill Hill Farm tries to stand out in the market by offering a more unusual variety of vegetable products, including unique heirloom tomato starts, mixed purple green beans, spicy chili peppers, and distinctive garlic powders. “Our garlic powders are also unique in that they are a small batch made using a blend of eight varieties of garlic where some are spicier or sweeter,” said Quill. “We also dehydrate at lower temperature than traditional commercial garlic powders, which gives our powder a really deep, fresh flavor that you don’t get from garlic powder in the store.” Woronzoff said that MFM is unique because “our vendors are also willing to collaborate with each other and other businesses in town. Having our vendors come together to show how their products work together is a key element to engaging customers.” For some farms like Quill Hill Farm, MFM is crucial because restaurants and co-ops typically pay only 50 percent of the cost of the wholesale product, while the farm can sell to customers at full price at markets. Their sales at markets comprise half of their income. The market is also an opportunity for farms to expose tourists to their unique products, which can aid in progress toward online purchasing. However, selling at the farmer’s market does not come without its challenges. BENJY RENTON “One of the largest struggles we face here in Vermont with the Farmers’ Market is population size. Vermont just doesn’t have a lot of people, so while you as a farmer can produce tons of food, selling that food is difficult,” said Hill. “It’s also a struggle to figure out supply and demand of products/what customers will want that week. It’s often a guessing game which makes it especially challenging when your product is so perishable.” Beyond the business, farms still consider the farmers’ market a rewarding venture. Hill said, “ I love talking to customers and sharing farming stories and educating people on growing organically.” The market provides an opportunity for vendors to interact directly with their customers and to share growing techniques and farming philosophies, Hill explained. “At the market we swap recipes with customers, see babies grow bigger, share in sadness and triumphs of life, learn all sorts of new things, and simply enjoy getting off the farm for a few hours a week being a part of a like-minded community.” The MFM has also impacted individuals in the town of Middlebury beyond its farmers by bringing in many people from outside the town, who then stay for activities and events around town. “Essentially, the Middlebury Farmers’ Market contributes to the local economy and acts as a community hub,” said Woronzoff. “But the market also impacts more than the town, it has a huge impact on the county as well. Our vendors are from across the county, thereby creating an interconnection across sweeping farmland. That interconnection is an advantage for the town but then expands even further across the county. Our emphasis is on the local and that supports the individual and the collective.” Woronzoff is also excited about the future of MFM and hopes to see it continue to expand and evolve. “Whether that means doing more outreach with community partners, hosting more vendors, or offering an even greater variety of products,” said Woronzoff, “the market must grow to ensure the success while contributing to our local economy.”

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Women’s Tennis Loses to Williams Again, But Will Host NCAA Regional

“To be perfectly honest, given the talent on both teams, I think the match could have gone either way,” said Christina Puccinelli ’19 after the women’s tennis team’s 5–4 loss to Williams back on April 7. “They happened to come out on top this time, but we came away from the match with absolute confidence that we have what it takes to win in the future.” On Sunday, May 6, the two teams met again, this time in the Nescac championship at the Bay Road Tennis Club in Amherst, Massachusetts. Once again top-seeded Williams (18–0) prevailed, this time by a score of 5–3, to win its third consecutive conference crown over second-seeded Middlebury (14–3). But Puccinelli’s words rang true once again on Sunday. Despite losing the match and being swept in doubles, the Panthers outscored Williams because all their singles wins came in straight sets, while their losses all went down to the wire, requiring the full three sets to finish. Trailing the Ephs 3–0 after doubles, the Panthers mounted a comeback, winning the first two singles matches to pull within one. All at once, Middlebury had fought its way back into the contest. Christina Puccinelli ’19 and Maddi Stow ’18 bounced back from first-set losses to win their second sets, and Catherine Blazye ’20 won her first set in dominant fashion, 6–1.  For the second time this season, the match between the conference’s best could have gone either way, but Williams outlasted Middlebury to win its sixth championship in the past eight years, riding its doubles’ dominance to victory even after the Panthers’ surge in singles play. Going into the playoffs, the Panthers knew they had some work to do in doubles after losing two out of three against Amherst in the last match of the regular season. “We did not come out as strong as we would have liked in doubles, so this week we are going to focus a lot on our doubles play,” said Katy Hughes ’20 after the Amherst match. “We want to — we must — have a stronger start.” In their semifinal match against Wesleyan on Saturday, the Panthers came out stronger than they did against Amherst, winning two of three doubles matches — the only loss came to the reigning NCAA doubles champions, Eudice Chong and Victoria Yu, in the first slot. In fact, just like in Middlebury’s first match against Wesleyan, Chong and Yu were the only Cardinals to score victories on Saturday, as the Panthers controlled the rest of the ladder to win 5–3 and earn a spot in the conference championship match the next day. Stow and Catherine Blazye ’20 won 8–2 in second doubles, while Heather Boehm ’20 and Ann Martin Skelly ’21 remained undefeated as a pairing by defeating their opponents 8–6. Blazye, Boehm and Stow all won in straight sets to set up Middlebury’s match with Williams, who shut out Tufts 5–0 in the other semifinal to move into the championship. Middlebury could not replicate Saturday’s doubles success against Williams on Sunday. The Ephs leapt out to what seemed to be a commanding 3–0 lead for the winners of 30 consecutive matches overall, a streak dating back more than a year to April 8, 2017, when Middlebury beat Williams 6–3. But then the Panthers made a move of their own. Hughes made a statement by dominating Leah Bush 6–2, 6–0 in second singles. Then Boehm, after trailing 5–2 in the first set of her match with Chloe Henderson in the third slot, rattled off 11 straight games to win in straight sets as well. Both Hughes and Boehm pushed their doubles struggles out of their minds to bring Middlebury back within one match of Williams. “It is really hard to lose all 3 doubles to a team as good as Williams,” said head coach Rachel Kahan. “But after the doubles points, regardless of who we are playing and what happened in the doubles, our mindset is that the match resets. We look to go out and win all six singles matches.” Meanwhile, Puccinelli lost her first set 6–1 to Juli Raventos in first singles, as did Stow, 7–6, to Korina Neveux in the sixth slot. But both of them bounced back too, as Stow wasted no time winning her second set 6–1, and Puccinelli came back in her second set to win in a tiebreaker 7–6 (7–5). Williams regained some hold of the match when Neveux beat Stow in the third set to put Williams one win away from the conference championship. But Blazye countered in fourth singles, winning 6–1, 6–1 over Mia Gancayco to keep Middlebury alive. Raventos won Sunday’s decisive match, outlasting Puccinelli in a three-set victory, 6–1, 6–7 (5–7), to secure Williams’ third-straight Nescac crown. At that point, Skylar Schossberger ’20 led Julia Cancio 3–0 in the first set of their match, but they stopped when Williams clinched the match. Since Williams last lost in that match to the Panthers over 13 months ago, the Ephs have won one national title and two conference championships, and will enter this month’s NCAAs 18–0. But Middlebury inched a little bit closer on Sunday. The Panthers dominated three singles matches, led in a fourth, and lost in three sets in the other two. “The team fought extremely hard, and I felt the belief that we could win through the whole match,” said Kahan. “Every match with Williams has been close and has come down to a couple of points.” More than anything else, Sunday’s match demonstrated the fickle nature of sports. “Once again, the results could have gone either way, and once again we drew the short end of the stick,” Puccinelli said. She and the rest of the Panthers remain firmly convinced that they can beat Williams and any other of the top teams in the country.  Simply viewing Sunday’s match as a loss is a waste of time because of how well Middlebury played. “My team competed with energy, composer and grit, and I could not be more proud,” said Puccinelli. “We came out with energy and determination, and we did not waver in either throughout the full five-hour battle.” Not only did the Panthers play extremely good tennis, they did so in the face of adversity after falling into a daunting 3–0 hole. Middlebury’s full body of work this season is much more representative than one loss. And because of their hugely successful spring, the Panthers will host one of the NCAA Regional brackets, starting today and running to Saturday, May 12. The Panthers have a bye through the first round of the seven-team draw and will play their first match tomorrow. No. 18 Skidmore is the only other ranked team in the regional. If the Panthers win on Friday and Saturday, they will advance to the quarterfinals which will be held in Claremont, California. The Panthers are one of five Nescac teams in the NCAA tournament, along with Williams, Wesleyan, Amherst and Tufts. And Middlebury and Williams are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning a rematch between the two squads would not come until the national championship. Middlebury has demonstrated throughout the season it is one of the nation’s top teams, having defeated No. 5 Wesleyan (twice), No. 6 Tufts, No. 7 Pomona-Pitzer and No. 8 Amherst, while giving No. 2 Williams two of the biggest challenges the Ephs faced all spring. And it’s become increasingly clear how little separates Middlebury from Williams, and the other two teams ranked ahead of them, No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 1 Emory. CMS beat Middlebury 7–2 on March 30, but that feels like the distant past, given how well the Panthers played in the Nescac. “I believe that the results in the final rounds will simply come down to who wants it more,” Puccinelli said. Sunday’s loss stoked the Panthers’ fire even more. “Each opponent we face from here on out will be determined and resilient, since a loss means the end of a season,” said Puccinelli. “We love the challenge and want the title more than we ever have.” In 2003, Middlebury qualified for its first NCAA tournament. Two seasons later, the Panthers reached the semifinals of the tournament, but then did not return to that point for another 11 seasons, when they were one of the final four teams in 2016. Last season, Middlebury reached the semifinals again, where Williams beat the Panthers. The Ephs have now beaten the Panthers in four consecutive matches, while CMS has defeated Middlebury six straight times and Emory has knocked them out of the tournament three times since 2013. To put it lightly, the Panthers want to beat these teams ranked above them. And they have shown they can compete with them. Is now the time for the Panthers to finally conquer the perennially dominant DIII teams?

Trustees: We Voted. Now It’s Your Turn.

The recent SGA referendum to divest Middlebury’s endowment from fossil fuels passed with 80 percent support. Clearly, our student body is calling for divestment. This raises the question: Why hasn’t the Board of Trustees voted to divest? Students came out in record numbers to show their support for divestment. This election boasted a 68 percent voter turnout, representing over a 100 percent increase from last year. This is not just tacit approval — it demonstrates an active “endorsement to divest all endowment assets” by demanding that “Trustees vote in favor and begin the divestment process” during the Fall 2018 board meeting. Our student body insists that we hold our endowment accountable. By divesting, we would join a global movement. According to data gathered by Fossil Free: Divestment, over 850 institutions around the world have divested $6.09 trillion from the fossil fuels industry. These include Colby College, the University of California system, New York City and the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1986, Middlebury divested from apartheid South Africa. Fossil fuels must come next. Middlebury boasts carbon neutrality, has a world-renowned environmental studies program and signed the American Campuses Act on Climate pledge. Owning $60 million worth of fossil fuel investments lends Middlebury’s moral license and reputation of sustainability to a rogue industry. It is ethical hypocrisy to pay for the education of Middlebury students by investing in companies whose business plans contradict the college’s mission. Trustees have a responsibility to uphold the Middlebury’s purported commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. Divesting is a necessary step. The purpose of our Board of Trustees is “to preserve the institution’s educational excellence and its financial vitality.” The board’s current investments in no way preserve Middlebury’s financial vitality. MSCI, a prominent financial analysis firm, created two nearly identical investment indices with one excluding fossil fuel corporations. If $1 billion had been invested in 2010, the fossil free index would now be worth $2.24 billion, compared to the $2.13 billion worth of the index including fossil fuels. This is only the tip of the iceberg. The Paris Climate Accords, which Middlebury signed, require we limit Earth’s warming to 2 ̊ Celsius. However, fossil fuel corporations’ current evaluation is contingent upon them burning all reserves, releasing several times more carbon than permitted under the Paris agreement. Fossil fuel investments represent a carbon bubble that will burst as global governments take the necessary action to mitigate climate change. The trustees’ silence is a failure to practice the “agency necessary” for “ethical citizenship at home and far beyond our Vermont campus” as laid out in Envisioning Middlebury. Hesitancy in endorsing any campaign is understandable, but divestment has broad and consistent support on campus and internationally. Most importantly, divestment is a critical step towards justice. It is time for Middlebury to end its contribution to structures of systemic injustice that feed climate change and disproportionately harm marginalized populations. Our Board of Trustees now must stand with students and end our college’s support of an ethically corrupt industry. We have a moral imperative to divest, and it’s time our board acts.

SGA Weekly: Lessons Learned

Dear MiddKids, To begin, thank you to all who helped out with Staff Appreciation Day! It was a huge hit and the staff greatly appreciated the dinner as well. This was the 2nd Annual Staff Appreciation Day, and we hope it will continue and improve in the many more years to come. For this column, we will share some final updates from SGA along with some lessons learned this year. SGA Updates: 1. SGA 2018–2019 Bylaws Amendments: There were some internal SGA bylaws amendments that were discussed and passed at the Apr. 29th Senate meeting. Here are a few of these changes: Publicity Committee was renamed Communications Committee, SGA committees for the sophomore and junior classes were formed and matched to the model of the SGA First-Year Committee, Commons Senator positions will be on a semester basis instead of the current yearly basis, a formal structure for the appeals process was formed, and more. Please check at go/sga under Archives to see an official version of the passed bylaws amendments. 2. Finance Committee Budget Allocations of $10,000 and More Presentations: The SGA discussed and ultimately approved of the budget allocations by the SGA Finance Committee at this past May 6th Senate meeting. Budget allocations of $10,000 and more included Club Sports (Crew, Equestrian, Mens Rugby, Sailing and Women’s Ultimate Frisbee), InterCommons Council (ICC), Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB), Middlebury Intercultural Leaders Coalition (MILC), Middlebury Mountain Club (MMC), Service Cluster Board (SCB), Student Government Association (SGA), The Campus Newspaper, WRMC (Middlebury College Radio Station) and YouPower. Throughout these conversations there were discussions around student employment and hiring by organizations, needs for organizational restructuring and more. Be sure to check out the SGA minutes for a more comprehensive look at our discussions. These budget allocations will go into effect Fall 2018. 3. Spring Finals Week Library 24/7 Hours: Thank you to all those who submitted survey responses to Library 24/7 Hours for finals week. The survey results showed that 60.2 percent of student respondents used the library during 24/7 hours this past Fall finals week, and most hours of usage were from 12 p.m. – 3 a.m. followed by a resurge in numbers at 7 a.m. 51.5 percent of student respondents answered that the library should not be opened the full 24/7 hours for this upcoming Spring finals week. In the comments section, many student respondents encouraged the library to be open until 2 a.m. and then to re-open at 7 a.m. during finals week to meet students’ needs and library constraints. After presenting the survey results to Michael Roy (Dean of the Library), he decided to keep the 24/7 hours for this Spring finals week and begin plans to keep the library open until 2 a.m. for Fall 2018 finals week. 4. Common Agenda Updates & Cabinet Final Reports: Be on the look-out for final common agenda updates and an SGA cabinet report that will be published for the student body in the coming weeks! 5. Board of Trustees: Middlebury College Trustee Members will be in town for their final meeting of this academic year from Thursday (05/10) – Saturday (05/12). The College Board of Overseers will be in all three dining halls during Friday lunch to directly engage and converse with students. The SGA is working to release the College Board of Overseers agenda to the student body, so please check your emails for this. If you have any concerns or comments, feel free to contact sga@middlebury.edu. Lessons Learned: It has been an honor to serve as the SGA President and Deputy Chief of Staff this past year. Along the way we’ve learned some important lessons that we’d like to share with the larger Middlebury community as you all look towards next year at Middlebury. 1. Students at Middlebury are passionate about various causes, ideas and beliefs. This is incredibly important and valuable to the community. And we’ve also realized that many of us, including ourselves, fail to provide needed time and attention to the things that our peers may be passionate about as well. Caring more about the things that may matter to another person (possibly someone who is widely different from you) could help to create a more empathic and open-minded environment. 2. We all come from different backgrounds and communities. It’s important to recognize your own background and privileges that you may carry. We all have moments where we act unintentionally and fail to recognize our own privileges in our actions with one another. Particularly staff members at Middlebury College are often negatively impacted by our failure to be more aware of our privileges. By being more intentional and aware of our privileges, our actions can better reflect who we actually are and what we value. 3. Truthfully, change is not easy nor fast. This is something that many of us at Middlebury are already aware of. We’ve also realized that oftentimes students want more short-term and immediate change while administrators and others who have been here for longer than four years look towards more long-term and institutional implementation. These differences in priorities, although sometimes they do overlap, continue to cause tension in our community. We don’t have the answer for overcoming this tension, but being aware of this discrepancy could be the key in understanding how to work together. Persistence and accountability in action are other important factors to working together. 4. At the same time it’s important to acknowledge that there isn’t just tension between students and administrators, but also between students and students. We all work to positively contribute to the Middlebury community in different ways, and there are some students who do more than others. It’s time to work to not just keep administration, faculty or staff more accountable to the Middlebury community but also your fellow peers. Accountability should apply to everyone — this is your community.  These are just a few of our closing thoughts from this year, and we are aware that you may disagree with these lessons we’ve learned. We also want to thank you for staying engaged and committed to the Middlebury community in the ways you have this past year. As always, all past and current bills (including the ones mentioned above) are accessible at go/sga under Weekly Updates and/or Archives. The final SGA Senate meeting will be Sunday (05/13) from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Enjoy the final days of this semester and remember to take moments for self-care in the midst of finals! Jin Sohn is SGA President. Annie Cowan is SGA Deputy Chief of Staff.

A Target on Their Backs: Men’s Tennis Enters Postseason as No. 1 Team in the Country

Just days after the new ITA Division III rankings came out, new national No. 1 Middlebury men’s tennis ended the regular season on Sunday, April 29 with a dominant 7–2 win over Nescac championship hosts No. 8 Amherst. The men are anxious to prove themselves at Nescacs and NCAAs, but this won’t come easily, as the other teams in the top five in the country are all looking for another shot at the Panthers.  Middlebury hosted Amherst on Sunday in their sixth and final home match out of 21 total matches. Sent inside by the rain, the Panthers showed their fondness for the Nelson Recreation Center indoor courts as they bested the fourth-best team in the Nescac in convincing fashion.  Amherst tennis is no stranger to tennis glory, however. The Mammoths won both Nescac and national titles in 2011 and 2014, and their only losses this year have come against the current top five teams in DIII tennis. Their closest test came against Williams the day before that team snuck by the Panthers 5–4 on April 7.   On Sunday, Middlebury showed no mercy to the Mammoths, closing out conference and regular season play. Starting the match, the Panthers doubles squads returned to the excellence to which they have been accustomed this season. Timo van der Geest ’18 and Peter Martin ‘19 picked up their 13th win of the season as they stomped Oliver Kendall and Jesse Levitin by a score of 8–2 at No. 3 doubles. At No. 2, William de Quant ’18 and Noah Farrell ’19 notched their eighth straight win, also by a score of 8–2. Lubomir Cuba ’19 and Kyle Schlanger ’18 tallied their seventh straight win to move to 16–3 this spring. Panthers doubles teams moved to an impressive 50–13 this spring as they once again gave the team a 3–0 lead heading into singles.  Schlanger was first off the court on Sunday with a routine straight-sets win over Amherst’s Jayson Fung as the senior made it six in a row moving into his last postseason. Facing adversity early was standout Cuba, who ended up losing a battle in the third set to Amherst freshman phenom Sean Wei, a recent five-star prospect who was ranked 26th in his recruiting class nationally. With a comfortable 4–1 lead, the Panthers still found themselves in several battles down the stretch.  Senior William de Quant found himself in one of these tight matches after being forced into a decisive third set after splitting the first two lopsided sets. Assistant coach Andrew Thomson said of de Quant’s match, “He played a [player] who … played No. 1 for Amherst last year … [s]o a very talented player. Will got off to a very hot start and won the first set decisively, and the second set didn’t go his way, but to his credit he really bounced back strong and remained confident.” De Quant commented on how he was able to turn the tide in the third set, saying, “The difference between the second set and the third set was actually quite subtle. Whoever was on the front foot and controlling from the baseline was the one winning the most points, and I forced myself in the beginning of the third set to step into the court and dictate. Once I did this, I found it easier to spread my opponent out and keep the outcome of the points on my racket and not his.” De Quant was able to overpower his opponent in the third set by a score of 6–1 to clinch the match for the Panthers. The drama still was not over for Middlebury as Farrell found himself in a tight second set requiring a tie-break. For Thomson, Farrell’s demeanor was plenty indication that he would figure it out and secure the win.  “It was awesome watching him play,” Thomson said of Farrell. “Noah did a great job playing his game and being patient and enjoying being out there. He always plays better when he’s having fun on the court.” Farrell’s win grew the Panthers’ lead to 6–1.  The first-years at the bottom of the ladder were left, then. Andre Xiao ’21, who has posted an impressive 12–6 record thus far, has fallen into somewhat of a funk lately, and lost his fourth straight match on Sunday, falling in straight sets. Nate Eazor ’21 had a different match, however, as he shut down his opponent 6–3, 6–4 to complete the 7–2 win for Middlebury.  The next test for the Panthers could come as early as Friday, May 4, when the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds face off in the opening round of the Nescac tournament at Amherst. As of Sunday, the team did not know its seeding for the tournament.  “From a seeding perspective, Bowdoin, Williams and Middlebury are all tied for first, but due to … tie-breaking rules, we could well end up being third seed,” de Quant said. Though they sit atop the national rankings, the Panthers could be nagged by a previous loss to Williams, which created a triangle between the Ephs, the Panthers, and the Bowdoin Polar Bears, who suffered their only loss at the hands of Middlebury several weeks ago. With the No. 3 seed, Midd would have to play an opening-round match against the No. 6 seed, potentially Wesleyan or Bates. With the No. 1 or 2 seed, they would get an automatic bye into the semifinals.  Their No. 1 national ranking guarantees the Panthers nothing in the Nescac tournament, where they may get a chance to settle the score with Williams.  “Of course, we would love to get a swing at Williams again, as we are a different team than we were when we came up just short to them a few weeks ago,” de Quant said. “Despite now being No. 1, we feel we are only starting to heat up, and we have not yet reached our peak level.” Revenge against Williams, or a conference-tournament win punctuated by another win against national No. 3 Bowdoin, could be just what the Panthers need to remove all doubt surrounding their new ranking.  “I think [our new ranking] was well deserved on our part. However, there are a lot of very good teams out there, and it’s definitely a year where there’s a lot of strong teams at the top and you could certainly make a case for them being really strongly ranked,” Thomson said. Because of the strength of the Nescac as a whole, Thomson added, this weekend could be a good test for the Panthers to prove themselves yet again.  “We’ve done a good job beating some really good teams recently, but they’re going to be hungry and coming after us, especially after the latest rankings, so I think we have a little bit of a target on our back,” Thomson said. The Panthers are sure to see some familiar faces this weekend at Nescacs. “Every year we set a goal to win the Nescac championship. The Nescac is the deepest conference in the country. To be the best we have to beat the best,” de Quant said.  The Panthers did not know their fate for the weekend after receiving the No. 1 ranking or even after beating Amherst. This, however, does not change their goal. They are sure not to look past the familiar opponents in the Nescac for this weekend.  De Quant said it best: “We go into the weekend ready for any opponent, focused on controlling what we can control.”  The Panthers are deep, talented, healthy and ready for another go at the best conference in the country this weekend at Amherst.

Men’s Lacrosse Season Ends at the Hands of Tufts

For the first time in four seasons, the sixth-seeded men’s lacrosse team (9–7, 5–5) failed to win a game in the Nescac playoffs, when they lost to No. 6 Tufts, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, 16–12 on Saturday, April 28, in Medford, Massachusetts. After ending last year on a high note by making an improbable run to the Nescac championship game as the sixth-seed, the 2018 season ends in disappointment for a group that looked primed to make some noise in Nescacs after winning six of its last seven regular season games. “Obviously we were aiming higher than what we ended up doing, but this team is full of heart and tremendous character,” A.J. Kucinski ’20 said. Middlebury lost to Tufts 13–10 one week before Saturday’s matchup, but led 7–3 early in the second half before the Jumbos scored seven unanswered goals. The Panthers learned they could compete with the Jumbos, but it would take one of their best efforts to beat the sixth-ranked team in the nation, which had lost only one game the entire season. “Having just played a week ago, we knew what to expect, as did they,” said Kucinski. The higher-seeded hosts dominated early on, scoring the game’s first three goals in the first seven minutes of action and taking a 6–2 lead at the end of the first quarter. “In that first quarter, they executed quickly and built a lead,” Kucinski said. “But there was still plenty of lacrosse to be played after that.” But the Panthers discovered how difficult it was to come from behind against the Jumbos. Every time Middlebury cut the lead to three goals, Tufts came back with a goal of their own, and after three quarter, the Jumbos still led by four, 11–7. Tufts gradually spread the icing on the cake in the final quarter, extending its lead to as big as 15–8 before Middlebury scored four of the last five goals to make it a 16–12 final. With seven days separating their two games, the Panthers felt they adjusted themselves to the Jumbos’ game plan effectively. As mentioned time and time throughout the season, however, the Nescac is a tight and competitive conference that can see matches going in any direction.  “It just came down to them executing a few more plays than we did,” Kucinski said. “That’s obviously a tough pill to swallow, but that does not mean we did not compete, and I’m proud to call myself a part of this group.”  With the season ending prematurely, the returning Panthers will now take the time to rest, recuperate, and think about the next season. But it’s the end of the line for Middlebury’s nine seniors, a group that included four team captains, seven regular starters, and the team’s leading scorer (Henry Riehl ’18). In their four seasons in the blue-and-white, the seniors made two NCAA tournaments and two Nescac championship games while going 43–29. “On Saturday, I had a few opportunities to score big goals to give our team momentum, and I did not execute,” Riehl said after his last game at Middlebury. “With that being said, I gave it everything I had, and that’s all you can ask for. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to play four years with so many amazing guys.” The senior class of any sports team is integral to setting the tone with regard to season expectations and team culture. Although Middlebury was unable to advance past the quarterfinals this season, the seniors have helped instill a certain mentality among the underclassmen, who look forward to return next season determined to bask in success.  “We were led by a tremendous senior class who were examples on and off the field to us, and we will miss them in both regards, but they have laid a great framework for the rest of the team, and our expectations are very high for the future,” Kucinski said. 

Men’s Track and Field Wins First Conference Crown

In the past five seasons, the men’s track and field team has finished second, third and fourth at Nescacs, but not first. In fact, the Panthers had never won a Nescac championship … until last Saturday, April 28. On the backs of first-place finishes by Kevin Serrao ’18, Jimmy Martinez ’19, Nicholas Hendrix ’20, the 4x100-meter relay team and the 4x400 team, and bolstered by strong performances in every event, the Panthers supplanted the two-time defending champions, Williams, who have now won only 23 of the 33 Nescac crowns — instead of 23 of 32. And combined with the women’s team, which finished third, Middlebury track and field improved upon last year’s performance, when the men’s and women’s teams came together to finish seventh at Nescacs. “Knowing that this was the first Nescac title in program history made last weekend even more special,” said Martinez. “Knowing that we could actually win it this year led to so many spectacular performances. I can’t express how proud I am of everyone for bringing the amount of energy they did.” Martinez was one of several Panthers who rose to another plane of performance on Saturday. He won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.02, while Serrao won the 1500-meter race in 3:52.20 and Hendrix crossed first in the 100-meter dash in 10.58. Two relay teams encapsulated what needed to be a complete team effort if they wanted to unseat Williams and outrace the rest of the Nescac competition. Jackson Bock ’19, Jackson Barnett ’18, Mike Pallozzi ’18 and Hendrix came together to run a 42.29 in the 4x100-meter relay, crossing the finish line five-hundredths of a second before Tufts’ team to win the race. Arden Coleman ’20, William Robertson ’21, Josh Howard ’19 and Martinez beat the entire field by at least two seconds to claim the 4x400-meter relay crown. Along with these five victories, a Panther finished in the top five of every competition but two on the men’s side. James Mulliken ’18, Nathan Hill ’20, Connor Evans ’19, Matt D’Aquila ’21, Harrison Knowlton ’19, Ascencion Aispuro ’18, Tyler Farrell ’18, Jon Perlman ’19, Sawyer Tadano ’21, Jonathan Fisher ’20, John Natalone ’19, Max Memeger ’21, Nathaniel Klein ’21, Minhaj Rahman ’19 and Brenden Edwards ’18 all chipped in top-five performances. And these spectacular efforts came across all of the events — individual running and relays, jumping and throwing. The man who has guided Middlebury to this moment is Martin Beatty ’84. Beatty was a sprinter for the track team and a running back on the football team at Middlebury. After graduation, he was an assistant for the track and field, football and women’s basketball teams for a season before leaving to fill similar assistant roles at Trinity. In 1987, he returned to Middlebury as an assistant for the track and field, football and men’s basketball teams. Then, in 1988 he chose to focus on track and field, becoming the head coach. The women’s team has won two Nescac titles under Beatty. Now, in his 30th season at the helm, he has championships with both teams. “Being the first men’s track team to win Nescacs is something we will never forget,” said Hendrix. “Not having won before definitely served as a motivating factor. We’re especially happy for our coach, Martin Beatty, because he deserves it for all the hard work he’s put in over the last 30 years.” The women’s team also featured remarkable performances. Kate McCluskey ’18 broke a personal record and placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.13, along with a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.22. Additionally, McCluskey won first place in the 4x400 team race along with Lucy Lang ’19, Kai Milici ’21, and Kate Holly ’21. “I am so proud of both of our teams this weekend, men and women,” McCluskey said, praising her teammates. “We had a lot of outstanding performances all around, and everyone had a lot of fun doing it. I also really admire the way our team comes together at NESCACs. All day we had people cheering for one another.” With a time of 4:35.22, Katie Glew ’21 placed fourth in the 1500-meter run. Kate MacCary ’19 secured second place in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:16.57. Kreager Taber ’19 placed second in the pole vault event with a vault of 3.55 meters, while Alex Cook ’20 captured third in the long jump with a jump of 5.44 meters. Finally, Helene Rowland ’20 finished third in the shot put event with an 11.99-meter throw. “Competing at Nescacs is completely different from any other meet. In my opinion, the team seems to be much more unified and competitive with our overall results, as opposed to our own personal performances” said Devon Player ’18. “As a senior, I look back at all of the positive memories of being a part of this team, and it makes me want to try so much harder to do the best that I can and to cherish the time that I have left with my fellow athletes.” Camaraderie proved to be a constant theme amongst members of the team. “The preparation for this meet was a real team effort. When a few of the guys realized there was a chance for us to win, the excitement quickly built,” said Paul Malloy ’18. “From top to bottom, this team has shown an incredible amount of commitment and drive. Everybody knew we had a strong group coming into the season, and we’re so fortunate to have an amazing coaching and training staff that knows how to push our limits so that we could perform our best this weekend. I’m so proud of this team for setting a goal of winning this meet and not letting anything get in the way.” One of the Cinderella stories for the track and field teams that emerged in last weekend’s championship was that of Isabella “Speck” Alfaro ’18, who spent much of the last five months on crutches due to a high risk of stress fracture. However, after being cleared to run in April, she leapt at the opportunity to compete. “I didn’t think I would race for Middlebury again until Coach Wilkerson gave me the option to be a wildcard entry at Nescacs,” said Alfaro. “The support from my coaches and team made competing on Saturday incredibly special to me and reminded me why I never quit, even when my doctor told me I wouldn’t have a spring season. “The track team has always been my favorite part of Middlebury,” Alfaro added, “so to have all my teammates line the track and cheer gave me the biggest smile while I was running down the last straightaway.” With this spirit of support and pattern of excellence, the track and field teams now look forward to the Division III New England Championships, which start at MIT this afternoon and run until Saturday, May 5. “This win should propel us into New Englands and some of us into NCAAs,” Martinez said. “Over these next few weeks, expect some sick performances and a lot of qualifiers. The goal is to score some serious points at these meets and crown even more champions.”

Men's Track Wins NESCACs

In the past five seasons, the men’s track and field team has finished second, third and fourth at Nescacs, but not first. In fact, the Panthers had never won a Nescac championship … until last Saturday, April 28. On the backs of first-place finishes by Kevin Serrao ’18, Jimmy Martinez ’19, Nicholas Hendrix ’20, the 4x100-meter relay team and the 4x400 team, and bolstered by strong performances in every event, the Panthers supplanted the two-time defending champions, Williams, who have now won only 23 of the 33 Nescac crowns — instead of 23 of 32. And combined with the women’s team, which finished third, Middlebury track and field improved upon last year’s performance, when the men’s and women’s teams came together to finish seventh at Nescacs. “Knowing that this was the first Nescac title in program history made last weekend even more special,” said Martinez. “Knowing that we could actually win it this year led to so many spectacular performances. I can’t express how proud I am of everyone for bringing the amount of energy they did.” Martinez was one of several Panthers who rose to another plane of performance on Saturday. He won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.02, while Serrao won the 1500-meter race in 3:52.20 and Hendrix crossed first in the 100-meter dash in 10.58. Two relay teams encapsulated what needed to be a complete team effort if they wanted to unseat Williams and outrace the rest of the Nescac competition. Jackson Bock ’19, Jackson Barnett ’18, Mike Pallozzi ’18 and Hendrix came together to run a 42.29 in the 4x100-meter relay, crossing the finish line five-hundredths of a second before Tufts’ team to win the race. Arden Coleman ’20, William Robertson ’21, Josh Howard ’19 and Martinez beat the entire field by at least two seconds to claim the 4x400-meter relay crown. Along with these five victories, a Panther finished in the top five of every competition but two on the men’s side. James Mulliken ’18, Nathan Hill ’20, Connor Evans ’19, Matt D’Aquila ’21, Harrison Knowlton ’19, Ascencion Aispuro ’18, Tyler Farrell ’18, Jon Perlman ’19, Sawyer Tadano ’21, Jonathan Fisher ’20, John Natalone ’19, Max Memeger ’21, Nathaniel Klein ’21, Minhaj Rahman ’19 and Brenden Edwards ’18 all chipped in top-five performances. And these spectacular efforts came across all of the events — individual running and relays, jumping and throwing. The man who has guided Middlebury to this moment is Martin Beatty ’84. Beatty was a sprinter for the track team and a running back on the football team at Middlebury. After graduation, he was an assistant for the track and field, football and women’s basketball teams for a season before leaving to fill similar assistant roles at Trinity. In 1987, he returned to Middlebury as an assistant for the track and field, football and men’s basketball teams. Then, in 1988 he chose to focus on track and field, becoming the head coach. The women’s team has won two Nescac titles under Beatty. Now, in his 30th season at the helm, he has championships with both teams. “Being the first men's track team to win Nescacs is something we will never forget,” said Hendrix. “Not having won before definitely served as a motivating factor. We're especially happy for our coach, Martin Beatty, because he deserves it for all the hard work he's put in over the last 30 years.” The women’s team also featured remarkable performances. Kate McCluskey ’18 broke a personal record and placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.13, along with a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.22. Additionally, McCluskey won first place in the 4x400 team race along with Lucy Lang ’19, Kai Milici ’21, and Kate Holly ’21. “I am so proud of both of our teams this weekend, men and women,” McCluskey said, praising her teammates. “We had a lot of outstanding performances all around, and everyone had a lot of fun doing it. I also really admire the way our team comes together at NESCACs. All day we had people cheering for one another.” With a time of 4:35.22, Katie Glew ’21 placed fourth in the 1500-meter run. Kate MacCary ’19 secured second place in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:16.57. Kreager Taber ’19 placed second in the pole vault event with a vault of 3.55 meters, while Alex Cook ’20 captured third in the long jump with a jump of 5.44 meters. Finally, Helene Rowland ’20 finished third in the shot put event with an 11.99-meter throw. “Competing at Nescacs is completely different from any other meet. In my opinion, the team seems to be much more unified and competitive with our overall results, as opposed to our own personal performances” said Devon Player ’18. “As a senior, I look back at all of the positive memories of being a part of this team, and it makes me want to try so much harder to do the best that I can and to cherish the time that I have left with my fellow athletes.” Camaraderie proved to be a constant theme amongst members of the team. “The preparation for this meet was a real team effort. When a few of the guys realized there was a chance for us to win, the excitement quickly built,” said Paul Malloy ’18. “From top to bottom, this team has shown an incredible amount of commitment and drive. Everybody knew we had a strong group coming into the season, and we're so fortunate to have an amazing coaching and training staff that knows how to push our limits so that we could perform our best this weekend. I'm so proud of this team for setting a goal of winning this meet and not letting anything get in the way.” One of the Cinderella stories for the track and field teams that emerged in last weekend’s championship was that of Isabella “Speck” Alfaro ’18, who spent much of the last five months on crutches due to a high-risk stress fracture. However, after being cleared to run in April, she leapt at the opportunity to compete. “I didn’t think I would race for Middlebury again until Coach Wilkerson gave me the option to be a wildcard entry at Nescacs,” said Alfaro. “The support from my coaches and team made competing on Saturday incredibly special to me and reminded me why I never quit, even when my doctor told me I wouldn’t have a spring season. “The track team has always been my favorite part of Middlebury,” Alfaro added, “so to have all my teammates line the track and cheer gave me the biggest smile while I was running down the last straightaway.” With this spirit of support and pattern of excellence, the track and field teams now look forward to the Division III New England Championships, which start at MIT this afternoon and run until Saturday, May 5. “This win should propel us into New Englands and some of us into NCAAs,” Martinez said. “Over these next few weeks, expect some sick performances and a lot of qualifiers. The goal is to score some serious points at these meets and crown even more champions.”

A Target on Their Backs: Men’s Tennis Enters Postseason as No. 1 Team in the Country

Just days after the new ITA Division III rankings came out, new national No. 1 Middlebury men’s tennis ended the regular season on Sunday, April 29 with a dominant 7–2 win over Nescac championship hosts No. 8 Amherst. The men are anxious to prove themselves at Nescacs and NCAAs, but this won’t come easily, as the other teams in the top five in the country are all looking for another shot at the Panthers. Middlebury hosted Amherst on Sunday in their sixth and final home match out of 21 total matches. Sent inside by the rain, the Panthers showed their fondness for the Nelson Recreation Center indoor courts as they bested the fourth-best team in the Nescac in convincing fashion. Amherst tennis is no stranger to tennis glory, however. The Mammoths won both Nescac and national titles in 2011 and 2014, and their only losses this year have come against the current top five teams in DIII tennis. Their closest test came against Williams the day before that team snuck by the Panthers 5–4 on April 7.   On Sunday, Middlebury showed no mercy to the Mammoths, closing out conference and regular season play. Starting the match, the Panthers doubles squads returned to the excellence to which they have been accustomed this season. Timo van der Geest ’18 and Peter Martin ‘19 picked up their 13th win of the season as they stomped Oliver Kendall and Jesse Levitin by a score of 8–2 at No. 3 doubles. At No. 2, William de Quant ’18 and Noah Farrell ’19 notched their eighth straight win, also by a score of 8–2. Lubomir Cuba ’19 and Kyle Schlanger ’18 tallied their seventh straight win to move to 16–3 this spring. Panthers doubles teams moved to an impressive 50–13 this spring as they once again gave the team a 3–0 lead heading into singles. Schlanger was first off the court on Sunday with a routine straight-sets win over Amherst’s Jayson Fung as the senior made it six in a row moving into his last postseason. Facing adversity early was standout Cuba, who ended up losing a battle in the third set to Amherst freshman phenom Sean Wei, a recent five-star prospect who was ranked 26th in his recruiting class nationally. With a comfortable 4–1 lead, the Panthers still found themselves in several battles down the stretch. Senior William de Quant found himself in one of these tight matches after being forced into a decisive third set after splitting the first two lopsided sets. Assistant coach Andrew Thomson said of de Quant’s match, “He played a [player] who … played No. 1 for Amherst last year … [s]o a very talented player. Will got off to a very hot start and won the first set decisively, and the second set didn’t go his way, but to his credit he really bounced back strong and remained confident.” De Quant commented on how he was able to turn the tide in the third set, saying, “The difference between the second set and the third set was actually quite subtle. Whoever was on the front foot and controlling from the baseline was the one winning the most points, and I forced myself in the beginning of the third set to step into the court and dictate. Once I did this, I found it easier to spread my opponent out and keep the outcome of the points on my racket and not his.” De Quant was able to overpower his opponent in the third set by a score of 6–1 to clinch the match for the Panthers. The drama still was not over for Middlebury as Farrell found himself in a tight second set requiring a tie-break. For Thomson, Farrell’s demeanor was plenty indication that he would figure it out and secure the win. “It was awesome watching him play,” Thomson said of Farrell. “Noah did a great job playing his game and being patient and enjoying being out there. He always plays better when he’s having fun on the court.” Farrell’s win grew the Panthers’ lead to 6–1. The first-years at the bottom of the ladder were left, then. Andre Xiao ’21, who has posted an impressive 12–6 record thus far, has fallen into somewhat of a funk lately, and lost his fourth straight match on Sunday, falling in straight sets. Nate Eazor ’21 had a different match, however, as he shut down his opponent 6–3, 6–4 to complete the 7–2 win for Middlebury. The next test for the Panthers could come as early as Friday, May 4, when the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds face off in the opening round of the Nescac tournament at Amherst. As of Sunday, the team did not know its seeding for the tournament. “From a seeding perspective, Bowdoin, Williams and Middlebury are all tied for first, but due to … tie-breaking rules, we could well end up being third seed,” de Quant said. Though they sit atop the national rankings, the Panthers could be nagged by a previous loss to Williams, which created a triangle between the Ephs, the Panthers, and the Bowdoin Polar Bears, who suffered their only loss at the hands of Middlebury several weeks ago. With the No. 3 seed, Midd would have to play an opening-round match against the No. 6 seed, potentially Wesleyan or Bates. With the No. 1 or 2 seed, they would get an automatic bye into the semifinals. Their No. 1 national ranking guarantees the Panthers nothing in the Nescac tournament, where they may get a chance to settle the score with Williams. “Of course, we would love to get a swing at Williams again, as we are a different team than we were when we came up just short to them a few weeks ago,” de Quant said. “Despite now being No. 1, we feel we are only starting to heat up, and we have not yet reached our peak level.” Revenge against Williams, or a conference-tournament win punctuated by another win against national No. 3 Bowdoin, could be just what the Panthers need to remove all doubt surrounding their new ranking. “I think [our new ranking] was well deserved on our part. However, there are a lot of very good teams out there, and it’s definitely a year where there’s a lot of strong teams at the top and you could certainly make a case for them being really strongly ranked,” Thomson said. Because of the strength of the Nescac as a whole, Thomson added, this weekend could be a good test for the Panthers to prove themselves yet again. “We’ve done a good job beating some really good teams recently, but they’re going to be hungry and coming after us, especially after the latest rankings, so I think we have a little bit of a target on our back,” Thomson said. The Panthers are sure to see some familiar faces this weekend at Nescacs. “Every year we set a goal to win the Nescac championship. The Nescac is the deepest conference in the country. To be the best we have to beat the best,” de Quant said. The Panthers did not know their fate for the weekend after receiving the No. 1 ranking or even after beating Amherst. This, however, does not change their goal. They are sure not to look past the familiar opponents in the Nescac for this weekend. De Quant said it best: “We go into the weekend ready for any opponent, focused on controlling what we can control.” The Panthers are deep, talented, healthy and ready for another go at the best conference in the country this weekend at Amherst.

Men's Lax Season Ends Early, Falls to Tufts in Conference Quarters

For the first time in four seasons, the sixth-seeded men’s lacrosse team (9–7, 5–5) failed to win a game in the Nescac playoffs, when they lost to No. 6 Tufts, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, 16–12 on Saturday, April 28, in Medford, Massachusetts. After ending last year on a high note by making an improbable run to the Nescac championship game as the sixth-seed, the 2018 season ends in disappointment for a group that looked primed to make some noise in Nescacs after winning six of its last seven regular season games. “Obviously we were aiming higher than what we ended up doing, but this team is full of heart and tremendous character,” A.J. Kucinski ’20 said. Middlebury lost to Tufts 13–10 one week before Saturday’s matchup, but led 7–3 early in the second half before the Jumbos scored seven unanswered goals. The Panthers learned they could compete with the Jumbos, but it would take one of their best efforts to beat the sixth-ranked team in the nation, which had lost only one game the entire season. “Having just played a week ago, we knew what to expect, as did they,” said Kucinski. The higher-seeded hosts dominated early on, scoring the game’s first three goals in the first seven minutes of action and taking a 6–2 lead at the end of the first quarter. “In that first quarter, they executed quickly and built a lead,” Kucinski said. “But there was still plenty of lacrosse to be played after that.” But the Panthers discovered how difficult it was to come from behind against the Jumbos. Every time Middlebury cut the lead to three goals, Tufts came back with a goal of their own, and after three quarter, the Jumbos still led by four, 11–7. Tufts gradually spread the icing on the cake in the final quarter, extending its lead to as big as 15–8 before Middlebury scored four of the last five goals to make it a 16–12 final. With seven days separating their two games, the Panthers felt they adjusted themselves to the Jumbos’ game plan effectively. As mentioned time and time throughout the season, however, the Nescac is a tight and competitive conference that can see matches going in any direction. “It just came down to them executing a few more plays than we did,” Kucinski said. “That’s obviously a tough pill to swallow, but that does not mean we did not compete, and I'm proud to call myself a part of this group.” With the season ending prematurely, the returning Panthers will now take the time to rest, recuperate, and think about the next season. But it’s the end of the line for Middlebury’s nine seniors, a group that included four team captains, seven regular starters, and the team’s leading scorer (Henry Riehl ’18). In their four seasons in the blue-and-white, the seniors made two NCAA tournaments and two Nescac championship games while going 43–29. “On Saturday, I had a few opportunities to score big goals to give our team momentum, and I did not execute,” Riehl said after his last game at Middlebury. “With that being said, I gave it everything I had, and that's all you can ask for. I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to play four years with so many amazing guys.” The senior class of any sports team is integral to setting the tone with regard to season expectations and team culture. Although Middlebury was unable to advance past the quarterfinals this season, the seniors have helped instill a certain mentality among the underclassmen, who look forward to return next season determined to bask in success. “We were led by a tremendous senior class who were examples on and off the field to us, and we will miss them in both regards, but they have laid a great framework for the rest of the team, and our expectations are very high for the future,” Kucinski stated.

Students Express Interest in State “Green Up Day”

MIDDLEBURY - Vermont has a rich history of environmental sustainability - its residents pride themselves on their deep connection to the nature in which they live. Nowhere is this commitment to environmental stewardship more apparent than in efforts like “Green Up Day,” which has been a Vermont tradition for nearly 50 years. Green Up Day, during which Vermonters volunteer to clean up the outdoors by picking up litter from roadsides, is the only statewide event of its kind in the United States. It is held the first Saturday of each May and is Vermont’s largest volunteer event. In April 1970, former Vermont Governor Deane Davis launched the first statewide Green Up Day to tackle Vermont’s interstates. The state closed interstate highways from 9 am to 12 pm as volunteers cleared trash from the roadsides. Later, the event became a yearly tradition under the guidance of Vermont Green Up Inc., a nonprofit formed in 1979. Since then, Green Up Day has continued to gain participants. While only 1,000 people volunteered in 1979, today Green Up Day attracts 22,000 Vermonters in 239 towns and cities across the state; each year, volunteers clean over 13,000 miles of roadside, collecting 200 to 300 tons of trash. Vermont Green Up Inc. distributes approximately 55,000 clean-up bags to Vermont communities annually, which may be picked up by citizens at a location determined by the town coordinator for the event. After they are filled with litter, the town coordinator arranges for the bags to be disposed of by the nonprofit. Anybody is welcome to pick up a bag and volunteer on Green Up Day. The Middlebury community has participated in this event in the past, but there does not seem to be a great awareness of the event on the College campus. Bennett Pienkowski ’20.5, a member of the Sunday Night Environmental Group, which focuses on environmental problems and awareness on campus, noted that Green Up Day is not well known among their members. “No one was aware of Green Up Day,” Pienkowski said, after speaking about it to other members of the organization. Other Middlebury students are similarly unfamiliar with Green Up Day. Many first and second years were asked about the event, but none of those interviewed had previously participated in the event, and many had never heard of it. Despite this lack of awareness, those introduced to the event showed interest in participating. Pienkowski said that Green Up Day is a very interesting idea, and hoped to speak about it during the group’s recent Sunday night meeting. Brigid Connor ’21, was also very excited by Green Up Day and its potential to do good for the Middlebury community. “I look forward to seeing the positive effects that the event will have on our community!” Connor said. Such positive responses to the event are promising considering the future growth of Green Up Day in Vermont and in other states across the country as organizations strive to protect the environment. When asked why he got involved in Green Up Day, Steve Aikenhead, an organizer for 23 years, said simply, “I didn’t want to live in Verdump.” This year, bags for volunteers from Middlebury will be available at the Town Manager’s Office and Library on May 5 and may be dropped off on the same day at the East Middlebury Fire Station and Department of Public works in designated trucks. Attendants will be available to assist volunteers. More information about participating can be found at the Vermont Green Up Inc. website.

Alumni Reflect on Post-Grad Life in Vermont

MIDDLEBURY — Standing between the exposed brick walls and raw wooden beams of his office, Evan Deutsch ’12.5 began describing his path from graduation to where he now works, at a design agency he co-founded with fellow Middlebury alum Jon Portman ’13 four years ago. His story— turning down a consulting job in Boston to work for the College’s Center for Creativity, Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship before starting his own company—typified the independent, purpose-driven spirit so entrenched in Vermont culture. And over 2,100 Middlebury alumni share this same spirit, living and working in the state today. Vermont seems to have it all. The landscape is captivating, with snow-peaked mountains rising behind stretches of gentle, rolling hills. For the most part, the people are friendly, down to earth. The pace of life appears manageable, far from the rat-race of New York City or Los Angeles. But more and more people are leaving, looking for opportunities in bigger cities in different states. Over the past several years, an average of only 35 students from each of Middlebury’s graduating classes have stayed. For most, the choice is simple. Vermont has few opportunities and high costs of living. Large cities, while expensive, bring jobs that pay more and provide clearer possibilities for the future. And because the decision to stay in Vermont can be difficult, it attracts a certain type of person— community minded, with a strong sense of purpose. More than 500 Middlebury graduates in Vermont surveyed by the CCI work in the education industry, from teachers in rural towns to administrators in more urban districts. Even business owners are mission-driven, running companies that contribute to the community in addition to increasing their profits.  When Oxbow, Deutsch’s design agency, began to grow, he directed the company towards fulfilling an agenda of positive social impact. “Okay, we’re founding this business, it’s becoming successful,” he said. “How can we use this as a force for good, that amplifies our impact more than as individuals?” Other alums say the same. “The amazing thing about doing business in Vermont is that social responsibility is part of the genetic code of the way businesses operate. That’s just not the case in other states,” said Benjy Adler ’03.5, founder and owner of The Skinny Pancake franchise. Principles, like the commitment to local food, are not secondary to Adler’s business. Instead, he sees them as essential to making his restaurant successful. “The rest of the country looks to Vermont on how we are pushing the envelope,” he said. “To be here and to work on local food means that we are at the center of innovation.” But for all the excitement surrounding Vermont and its culture of authenticity, there are still challenges. Business owners are often deterred by the perception of high taxes and high regulations. “The community is amazing, but then when it comes down to filing your taxes, you feel like you’re getting screwed a little bit,” said Deutsch. “But it’s a trade-off. We can be in Delaware and not have the community that we have.” Others struggle with high costs of living, and the lack of job mobility and opportunity. With few high-paying positions in Vermont, even people who may not have thought of becoming entrepreneurs find that Vermont forces them to be creative. “Looking back on it, I’ve opted to create my own job more often than not. A lot of that is due to my personality, but there are also fewer job options,” said Chris Howell ’04, founder of a local food tour company. “It was tough making it work in the beginning— I held other jobs ranging from produce delivery driver to supporting developmentally disabled teens.” Students, perceiving these difficulties, increasingly move away from Vermont, contributing to an outward migration of college graduates and exacerbating the trends of an aging population and stagnant workforce. To make matters worse, many Vermonters now leave the state after high school. Despite the opportunity of going to schools like UVM, the Vermont State Colleges or Middlebury, over 45% of high school graduates leave the state— and many don’t return. While most states depend on their colleges and universities to increase the number of young workers they can attract and retain, Vermont has to invest in other measures. “We have to try to encourage young people to become part of our community,” explains Jim Douglas ’72, the former governor of Vermont. Since his time in office, various agencies in the state government have regularly developed incentives to increase the workforce. The current administration, for example, will soon begin a program called “Stay to Stay”, setting up vacation weekends that include visits with businesses and realtors. Colleges, including Middlebury, are also hoping to show students that there are opportunities in Vermont. “Too many students think that there’s no jobs. But there are,” said Peggy Burns, director of the CCI. “We want to facilitate a path for students to make informed decisions, and I think that Middlebury graduates can contribute to a more vibrant and robust culture here.” At the end of the day, Vermont provides an opportunity unlike any other for those willing to stay. As Adler explained, “The cold honest truth is, Vermont needs good people. That’s not a reason for anyone to choose to stay here, but the companies that are hiring are hungry. There’s a shortage, and I certainly appreciate it every time someone chooses to stay in Vermont.”

Baseball Walks Off Not Once, But Twice

[gallery ids="38762,38763,38764,38765,38766"] The baseball team walked away with four wins this past week, beating the Skidmore Thoroughbreds on the road on Wednesday, April 18, and then sweeping Bowdoin in a three-game series on home turf on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22. Middlebury picked up a win in non-conference midweek action against Skidmore last Wednesday, coming up with a 5–1 win. The Panthers scored early in the game, putting up two runs in the first inning, and then tacked on one in each of the third, fifth and seventh innings. Skidmore was held to just one run, which came in the fourth inning. Justin Han ’20 led the charge, getting on base all five of his times at the plate and finishing the day with three singles, two walks and four of the team’s five runs. This all-star caliber performance is nothing new from the sophomore infielder, as he leads the team in almost every offensive category. Han has teams highs with 25 runs, 28 hits and 15 RBI’s, and boasts an impressive .373 batting average and a whopping .510 on-base percentage. “My goal for this season was to provide offensive production and be consistent in the field making defensive plays,” says Han. His offensive movement has been key to the team’s success this year and certainly has not gone unnoticed. “Justin Han has been integral to our team, as expected. Stealing bases and racking up the hits, he is incredibly consistent and such a fun guy to play with,” said Hayden Smith ’20. On the mound, Colby Morris ’19 allowed only one run on six hits while striking out four. This junior captain’s consistency has been crucial to the Panthers’ defense this season. With nine pitching appearances under his belt thus far, seven of which he started, Morris has managed to strike out 41 of his opponents — a team-high. Senior Captain Rob Erickson ’18 is also worth noting. Against the Thoroughbreds he tallied three strikeouts and gave up just two hits over three innings. After last weekend’s Bowdoin series, Erickson tails only Morris in many pitching categories thanks to his efforts over eight appearances. The Panthers then returned home to face their third Nescac opponent of the year, Bowdoin. Middlebury saw the Polar Bears on Friday, April 21, in the first of the teams’ three-game series. After falling behind 4–0, Middlebury clawed its way back to take a 6–5 lead, which the Panthers extended to as many as three runs. But Bowdoin responded, getting within one run twice, before tying the game at 10 in the top of the ninth inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Middlebury quickly took away any doubt of the result. They loaded the bases with one out, and Smith finished the game off by singling home Han. “My reaction to the walk-off was pure happiness,” Smith said afterwards. “There’s nothing that gets me more fired up than being the guy that wins the game for my team, and Saturday was the ultimate display of that. And the team was fired up too — it was a spark plug for our bench and our offense, I think. And my mindset was to hit the ball hard. I knew I was the guy to deliver right here, and I embraced the moment. Saw my pitch and put my best swing on it.” The Panthers saw the Polar Bears again the next day for a doubleheader, both games of which ended in Middlebury’s favor. While the Bears came out strong in the first game, scoring two runs right off the bat, Middlebury answered with a pair of runs off a single up the middle from captain Sebastian Sanchez ’18 to tie the score up at two all. Neither team scored until the sixth inning, when miscommunications between the Panthers’ defense allowed the Polar Bears get some insurance runs across the plate. Bowdoin tacked on one more in the seventh, but the Panthers rivaled it with three runs in bottom of the inning, closing the game with a 5-4 victory. Henry Strmecki ’21, Han and Brooks Carroll ’20 led the team with strong performances at the plate. The Panthers came out even stronger in the second game of the day, shutting out the Polar Bears for a 3–0 win. Erickson put the team on his right shoulder in the shutout, striking out four Polar Bears while allowing only four hits through seven innings. Jake Dianno ’21 was big for the Panthers with the bat in his hand, the highlight of the weekend for him being a second-inning shot to right field that sailed over the fence for his first home run at the collegiate level. “It was an awesome experience, and it was just great to be able to come through for my team,” said an excited Dianno. Though the Polar Bears threatened to answer in the fifth inning, Middlebury held them to no score and tacked on two more with runs in the bottom of the sixth to seal the deal. The Panthers’ success was a much-needed confidence booster. Before last week, the team held a 6–13 record and was coming off a tough series loss to Wesleyan and another non-conference loss to Southern Vermont. The past week has turned that around. Middlebury’s sights are still set high on the conference championship, and the team feels this is definitely a step in the right direction and a confirmation of their ability. “[Bowdoin] left us with an incredible amount of confidence and proof that we have the talent and capability to find ways to win games,” Han said. “I really like how the team is performing. We have momentum and confidence going into a very important series against Hamilton this weekend,” Han added. His confidence moving forward is shared by Dianno. “This sweep was a great way to get us going heading into our weekend at Hamilton,” Dianno said. After some non-conference midweek action, the Panthers head to Hamilton for a big road series this weekend.

Men’s Lacrosse Loses in April for First Time; Eyes Elusive NESCAC Crown

[gallery ids="38773,38774,38771,38772,38775"] “We still have plenty to improve on, and that only excites us, as we have a huge stretch ahead to show how far we can go,” A.J. Kucinski ’20 said after Tufts snapped Middlebury’s five-game winning streak on Saturday, April 21. Despite losing to No. 6 Tufts, who is currently in a three-way tie for first place in the Nescac, 13–10 on Saturday on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium, the men’s lacrosse team (8–6, 4–5) feels satisfied with their performance over the past few months as the season comes to an end. Though their five-game winning streak came to an end Saturday afternoon to one of the Nescac’s top teams, the Panthers look forward to entering the postseason to try to win the elusive Nescac title. The Tufts game was a well-contested bout with the momentum in favor of Middlebury. After a low-scoring first quarter, the Nescac foes were tied at two. Chase Goree ’20 and Jack Gould ’19 scored Middlebury’s only goals. But then the Panthers took control of the pace of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the visitors 3–1 to take a 5–3 lead into the locker room. “In the first half, we played with great spacing and attacked our matchups very well and played fast, which was to our advantage,” said Kucinski. Middlebury maintained its edge on Youngman Field to start the second half, scoring two more goals to grow its lead to four. But then, just like that, everything shifted. The Jumbos came back to score 10 unanswered goals, six in the third and four in the fourth, to take a 13–7 lead with 7:44 remaining in the game. In the last four minutes, Henry Riehl ‘18 scored three times — his third, fourth, and fifth goals of the game, respectively — but Middlebury got no closer than three goals, suffering a 13–10 defeat. Tufts’ 10–0 run in a little under 20 minutes proved to be decisive in Saturday’s contest. In defeat, the Panthers outshot the Jumbos 55–31, won 19 faceoffs to the visitors’ seven, and committed one fewer turnover (13–12). But their failure to mitigate Tufts’ run and to convert their scoring opportunities cost them against an opponent that does not allow for many miscues. “We knew they were not going to go away, and it came down to just needing to weather that storm a bit better offensively,” Kucinski said. “We could have shot the ball better and converted a few more opportunities that would have helped out the defense, who played great.” Middlebury finished its regular season against Williams yesterday on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium, after the newspaper went to print. Throughout the season, however, the discussion around rankings has not crossed the minds of the Panthers. They understand that the Nescac is a conference with elite competition that is bound to produce upsets and the impossible. “There is no doubt that in the Nescac, the team that shows up on game day wanting it more will win the game,” Kucinski said. “Anybody can beat anybody in this league, and our mentality is to go out and bring it, and we know we always are in the fight.” For evidence to the truth of Kucinski’s comment about the unpredictability of postseason conference play, one has to look no further than Middlebury’s sensational run in the playoffs last year. After beating Williams on their final day of the regular season, they went into the playoffs as heavy underdogs but made it to the championship, where they lost by one goal to Wesleyan. “With so many returners from last year and a strong belief in each other as a whole, our goal is the same as always: win the Nescac and ride that confidence into the NCAA tournament,” Kucinski stated. “Our run last year was measured by heart, focus, and everyone doing their job, and with that experience under our belt we can prepare ourselves to take the necessary steps to come out on top.”

Men’s Tennis Beats No. 1 Emory, Making Case For Top ITA Ranking

Middlebury men’s tennis made a convincing case for the top spot of the national polls by defeating No. 1 and defending national champion Emory during a weekend trip to Connecticut, where the Panthers also beat Trinity 6–3 on Saturday, April 21, and No. 13 Wesleyan 5–4 on Sunday, April 22. The Panthers showed this past weekend that their 8–1 win against No. 2 Bowdoin on April 14th was not a fluke, and their championship aspirations were well founded. Just seven days later, they drove to Hartford for a matchup with No. 1 Emory on Trinity’s courts. Before they played Emory, though, they had to show that the depth in their ladder could get through Trinity. Trinity was winless in the Nescac going into the match, and Middlebury gave their singles players some rest, though Andre Xiao ’21 played singles in both matches and ended up losing in a tight three-set match to senior Kyle Scheffers. Doubles standout Timo van der Geest ’18 also got the call to play No. 1 against Trinity, and lost in two closely contested sets, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. Despite the Trinity’s sharp top-of-the-ladder players, Middlebury secured the win down the stretch with confident wins from experienced stand-ins Alex Vanezis ’20 and Adam Guo ‘21, not to mention a doubles core that held nothing back. The Panthers sent out their usual squad of doubles teams to secure three easy points, as Lubo Cuba ‘19 and Kyle Schlanger ‘18 picked up their 13th win in 16 matches. The Panthers held nothing back in doubles and punished the Bantams 8–2, 8–2, and 8–4 en route to a 6–3 match victory. The Panthers no doubt had their eyes on Emory for later that day. Emory has certainly established itself of late as a Division III powerhouse. The Eagles have won the national championships twice in the past six years and haven’t even finished outside the top 10 in almost 20 years. They traveled up to Hartford undefeated in DIII play after fending off No. 3 University of Chicago, No. 13 Wesleyan, and No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who handed Middlebury a 7–2 loss in California almost a month ago. That being said, neither team forgot the 6–3 loss Middlebury handed Emory last year — a defeat that failed to slow the Eagles trajectory to a national championship just two months thereafter. Last year’s loss seemed perhaps all too familiar for the Eagles as the Panthers proceeded to dominate. The wins started early for Midd, who masterfully handled the Eagles at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, each by scores of 8–1. Van der Geest, playing on minimal rest, showed what he had left in the tank as he and Peter Martin ’19 rounded out the scoring to start the match off 3–0. Panthers duos are an impressive 47–13 this spring, and the players must be comforted each time they can jump out to such a big lead moving into singles play. The Panthers singles players scarcely needed the boost, as they dominated the first through fourth singles spots. The upperclassmen at the top of the ladder made quick work of the men from Emory. Schlanger picked up his fourth-straight win of the spring, while the others finished without much commotion. The top and middle of the ladder left no double who is the better team. “It took a belief in ourselves and a constant attention on staying focused in our execution of our individual game plans, which differ vastly based on the unique talents of each of our players,” assistant coach Andrew Thomson said. After Cuba clinched the match with his 10th win of the spring, the first-years at the bottom of the ladder ran into trouble against Emory’s upperclassmen. Xiao, with little rest, and Nate Eazor ’21 could not finish the job as they fell in incredibly close three-setters with multiple tie-breaks. The upperclassmen had picked them up, however, and the Panthers emerged having tackled the No. 1 team in the country, handing them their first DIII loss of the season. “Beating Emory was a monster win, no doubt about it,” Thomson said. “Anytime you beat a time with that much talent and that strong of a record, it demonstrates that we have a lot of things heading in the right direction for our group. “Of course, it is very possible we will play Emory again and if we do so, we will expect it to be a war. They are always a tough team to beat and even though our victory was clear, we likely caught them on a day they were not playing their best. We will need to continue to improve so that we will be likely to win if we meet again and when they are playing better.” Despite Saturday’s heroics, the result of the weekend still wasn’t certain until the very end. After van der Geest and Martin dropped a tie-breaker to Wesleyan’s Stephen Chen and Cam Daniels, the Panthers found themselves with a narrow 2–1 lead heading into singles against a Wesleyan team that plays an incredibly strong schedule and almost knocked off previously-No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis and previously-No. 8 Carnegie Mellon. Looking to avoid any theatrical upsets, the rock-solid middle of the ladder for Middlebury took care of business in dominant fashion to quickly clinch the match for the Panthers. Schlanger picked up his 11th win in 15 matches, while Eazor and Will de Quant ’18 followed suit. If it weren’t for the order of the matches, the match might have looked in doubt for the Panthers. The Cardinals fought extremely hard, even unexpectedly winning at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, to bring themselves within two points of the Panthers, who led 5-3. Wesleyan’s Princeton Carter took advantage of Xiao’s exhausting weekend and pushed him to his limits, handing him a three-set loss. The Cardinals narrowly missed the upset, and the Panthers survived the weekend unscathed and could finally celebrate their upending of the defending national champions. When the updated ITA rankings come out later today, Middlebury figures to move up a few spots in the polls. Some have speculated that the Panthers may even be the ITA’s new top team heading into the tail end of the season. “It will be interesting to see how the ITA committee decides upon both national and regional rankings as most teams have 1 or 2 losses at this point,” Thomson said. “While a No. 1 national ranking might be possible for us, the only benefit of it would be an improved draw for the NCAA tournament assuming we make it there.” The Panthers must not look past Nescac championship host No. 7 Amherst in their final home match of the year on Sunday, April 29, as they await the seedings for the conference tournament. “We will have to maintain the mentality of a team hungry to prove that we can beat anyone if we are to continue to have a successful season,” Thomson said. “This starts with Amherst this weekend, who will represent another extremely formidable Nescac opponent that is loaded with talent up and down their lineup.” Though the Mammoths haven’t made any noise against top-five-ranked teams this season, they have been perfect against teams outside of this range, so look to the Proctor Tennis Courts on Sunday to see some heated action and a possible Nescac tournament preview.

VT Supreme Court: Sawyer Cannot Be Held Without Bail

MONTPELIER — The Vermont Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jack Sawyer on Wed. Apr. 11 on the question of bail. The decision means that the 18-year-old accused of planning a shooting at Fair Haven Union High School in Rutland, VT earlier this year cannot be held without bail on the basis that his actions do not meet the charges of felony against him under the legal definition of “attempt.” During the two days of hearings last month, Sawyer pleaded “not guilty” to charges of four felonies: three counts of attempted murder and one count of attempted aggravated assault with a weapon. Judge Thomas Zonay, who is presiding over the trial, sided with State prosecutors at the time, ruling that Sawyer could be held without bail until his trial date. However, in an unexpected move, a three-judge-panel reversed this decision last Wednesday at an appeal, which means that Sawyer could be released before his trial takes place. The panel, made up of Associate Justices Beth Robinson, Harold Eaton Jr., and Karen Carroll held in their published decision that “the weight of the evidence is not great that [the] defendant has committed any act or combination of acts that would satisfy Vermont’s definition of an attempt to commit any of the charged crimes.” From the beginning of this case, as reported by the Addison Independent, whether or not Sawyer’s actions constitute “attempt” under Vermont state law has been a main point of contention. Under current legislative precedent in Vermont, charges of “attempt” must contain action “towards the commission of the offense.” State prosecutors argued that Sawyer’s acquisition of a 12-gauge shotgun, among other alleged steps he took before the planned shooting, do fulfill the “attempt” statute. According to the same Addison Independent article, Sawyer also ostensibly chose the date of Mar. 14 based on the school’s calendar, procured $500 via Bitcoin with the intent of purchasing an AR-15 (an automatic rifle) and did target practice with the shotgun. During deliberations, defendants cited the State v. Hurley case, which, decided over one hundred years ago, set precedent for attempt charges in Vermont. In State v. Hurley, the question at hand was whether or not obtaining the tools necessary to carry out a crime constituted an attempt to commit the crime itself. The Court ruled in favor of Hurley, reversing his conviction for attempting to break out of prison. The Court held that an “attempt” is a preparatory act that would – except for outside interruption – end in the intended crime. Sawyer’s defense referenced State v. Hurley in an effort to show that his acts of preparation were not necessarily also acts of attempt. While Judge Zonay wrote that “absent the police interruption the Defendant’s acts were likely, if not assured, to end in the consummation of his crimes,” the Supreme Court justices said that his past actions were not enough to substantiate an attempt charge in Vermont law. “Each of [the defendant’s] actions was a preparatory act,” the justices wrote, “and not an act undertaken in the attempt to commit a crime. Therefore, as a matter of law, [the] defendant’s acts did not fall within the definition of an attempt.” Sawyer’s attorney, Kelly Green, believes that the Court’s decision indicates that the State’s prosecution may not be successful in this high-profile case, reported Seven Days VT. However, the justices seemed to offer an alternative, saying that while they had to uphold the over 100 years of consistent legislation, “the Legislature can, if it chooses, deviate from this long-established standard by passing a law revising the definition of attempt.” This decision came on the same Wednesday that Governor Phil Scott publicly signed three gun-control bills into law in a historic move for firearm legislation in Vermont. Following the Parkland shooting and the foiled shooting at Fair Haven, Gov. Scott, a longtime proponent of gun rights in his political career, changed his stance to support more stringent firearm legislation. Scott cited the “near miss” at Fair Haven as a large reason behind his shift in perspective, saying that Vermont has been given “the opportunity to think differently.” “I thought as the safest state in the nation, Vermont was immune to this type of violence,” Gov. Scott said at the public signing ceremony last Wednesday amid heckles and angry protests from gun rights supporters. “The reality of how close we came to a tragedy forced me to come full circle.” As of this historic moment, Vermont, previously known as one of the most gun-friendly states, has become one of the least. The bills signed into law include provisions that enable authorities to remove guns from people at “extreme-risk” of violence, expand background checks and place limits on magazine capacity. “It is incumbent upon the state to combat the epidemic of mass shootings that has swept the country in recent years,” said Gov. Scott in front of the State House. “Today we choose action over inaction, doing something over doing nothing, knowing there will always be more work to do.” On Thurs., Apr. 12 – the day following the Vermont Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the hold-without-bail ruling in Sawyer’s case - Green filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him. Though she was unwilling to comment for this piece, Green is quoted in Seven Days VT saying: “Jack didn’t attempt any crime, he hasn’t attempted the charged crimes, and they have to be dismissed. When there is not probable cause, the state’s involvement in someone’s life must end.” The same day, Rutland County State Attorney Rosemary Kennedy served Sawyer with an “extreme risk protection order,” which would not allow him to possess or purchase weapons following his possible release. The order was granted and Sawyer’s attorney does not intend to challenge it. Gov. Scott announced on Fri. April 13 that he was “appalled” at the Court’s reversal on the issue of bail. He detailed several steps that authorities would take to protect the Fair Haven Union high school community before Sawyer’s possible release, including the participation of nine law enforcement agencies, the obtainment of no-trespass orders against Sawyer and increased “security infrastructure” in the school district.

“Goblin Market” Shares Stories of Female Sexuality in the Victorian Era

This weekend, Hepburn Zoo was transformed into the entrancing set of Goblin Market for Ashley Fink’s ’18.5 Senior 700 work presentation. The 65-minute production ran evening performances on April 12 and 13 and one matinee on April 14. This piece was originally a narrative poem published in 1862 by Christina Rossetti. It was then adapted into a musical by Peggy Harmon and Polly Pen in 1987. Goblin Market tells a story of two proper Victorian sisters, Laura (Fink ’18.5) and Lizzie (Katz ’21). The show is framed as a flashback. The two sisters, now grown women, return to their childhood nursery where they relive disturbing memories of their youth. The nursey transforms into a haunted glen where goblins seduce the sisters with luscious fruits and treats, employing clear allusions to Adam and Eve, forbidden fruit, and temptation. The play explores how the women reconcile their adolescent sexually-charged fantasies with the world they now inhabit. Though many interpretations exist, it is generally accepted that this piece is commentary on the repression of female sexuality during the Victorian era. The dialogue and lyrics in the show all come from the original poem. The show skillfully blends the enchanting imagery of the text into eerily beautiful melodies that form an abstract yet enticing storyline. One of the most impressive parts about this production is that it is a two-woman show. Ashley Fink ’18.5 Charlotte Katz ’21 do not leave the stage for the show’s entire duration. The two actresses demonstrated remarkable stamina in their flawless vocal delivery and passion-driven performance. Though there were only two actresses seen on stage, this production had a large team behind it. In addition to Fink and Katz, the production team also comprised a director (Connor Pisano ’18), musical director (Gareth Cordery ’20), costume designer (Merri McMahon ’18.5), lighting designer (Stephen Chen ’19.5), technical director (Ke Yu ’18), and sound designer (Caroline Harrison ’19.5). The show also featured three student musicians who provided accompaniment with piano (Gareth Cordery ’20), cello (Emily Han ’20), and viola (Jack DeBouter ’20). Fink and Pisano received college credit for their work. After this weekend’s performances, I sat down with Charlotte Katz ’21 who plays Lizzie. Q: “Can you tell me a little bit about the preparation process for this show?”  “We spent a lot of time working through the text. There are so many different ways that you can interpret it. So, first we had to create a backstory first to justify all this weird stuff that was happening in the show. That probably took most of our time, creating a cohesive idea that supported our motives within the show. That was one of our toughest challenges, being clear and making specific moments” Katz said. Q: “What was it like participating in an all student-run production?” “At first it was a little intimidating. This was such a difficult piece to approach because it dealt with such abstract concepts. To do it all on our own was kind of hard and I think we had a little bit of trouble at first creating and solidifying a vision for what we wanted. But once we got the ball rolling it was really a cool experience to see us all grow and develop in our respective roles.” “It was really cool doing this caliber of work my first year. It gave me a taste of what I’m gonna be faced with my senior year, whether that be in an acting thesis or independent project. To think what Ashley and Connor have accomplished, I was really impressed. It’s a super ambitious thing to take on. I feel like I’m spoiled now because I got to such a challenging but beautiful piece my first year” Katz said. Congratulations to the entire team of Goblin Market on three polished and striking performances. Several other seniors are also presenting their thesis work in the upcoming weekends. The Middlebury College Department of Theatre and Dance is home to dedicated students who have worked tirelessly assembling their art. Be sure to go and support these awesome, completely student-run, productions.