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(10/04/17 11:26pm)
The men’s and women’s tennis teams competed in the biggest tournament of the fall season, the ITA Regional Championships on Friday to Sunday, Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
The men’s team hosted the tournament, and, for the first time in three years, a Middlebury player did not win the regional title. In the women’s tournament at Williams, Catherine Blazye ’20 led the Panthers by reaching the quarterfinal round in both singles and doubles, as she continued her strong start to the fall season.
Lubo Cuba ’19 and the pair of Cuba and Will de Quant ’18 entered the tournament as the one-seed in the singles and doubles draws, respectively, but neither emerged as winner.
Cuba did reach the semifinals before falling to Wesleyan first-year Adam Finkelman 6–2, 6–2. In the first day of competition on Friday, he defeated Amherst’s Kevin Ma from Amherst 6–3, 7–6 (4), and Bowdoin’s Justin Patel 6–4, 7–5. Then on Saturday, Cuba held off Sachin Raghavan from Williams 6–3, 6–7 (6), 6–3, before handling Luke Tercek from Bowdoin 6–2, 6–0 to reach the semifinals. Sunday morning, Cuba fell to Finkleman, ending his hopes of repeating as regional champion.
De Quant and Noah Farrell ’19 advanced to the quarterfinals in the singles. De Quant did so by defeating Bowdoin’s Larry Zhao 7 – 6 (5), 4–6, 6–3 and Wesleyan’s Cam Daniels 3–6, 6–2, 7–5 on Friday, then MIT’s Sean Ko 7–6 (5), 6–3 on Saturday. Later in the day, de Quant fell to Finkelman too, 6–2, 6–2.
Farrell won against Brandon Howard from Nichols 6–0, 6–0, Anupreeth Coramutla from Brandeis 6–3, 6–1, and Ananth Raghavan 7–5, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, eventual champion Brian Grodecki from Williams beat Farrell 6–3, 6–3.
Kyle Schlanger ’18 and Timo van der Geest ’18 also competed in singles. Schlanger reached the round of 16 before losing to second-seeded Steven Chen from Wesleyan, while van der Geest bowed out in the second round.
In doubles, Cuba and de Quant were upset in their first match of the tournament, when Nathan Kaplan and Sean Wei defeated them 8–3.
The pair of Farrell and Peter Martin ’19, after losing its first match in the Middlebury Invitational two weekends ago, made a run to the finals of the doubles bracket. Bowdoin’s Tercek and Grant Urken took down Farrell and Martin 6–4, 6–3 in the finals, denying them the regional championship and a spot in the ITA doubles national championships.
Van der Geest and Schlanger, Middlebury’s other doubles pair, won its first two matches but then lost in the quarterfinals to Williams’ Grodecki and Alex Taylor.
Blazye made the longest run on the women’s side, advancing to the quarterfinal round. She won her two matches on Friday over Katherine Wiley from Tufts 6–4, 6–3 and Hannah Sweeney from Bates 6–4, 7–5. On Saturday, she made her way to the quarterfinals by dismissing Chloe Henderson 6–0, 6–1, but lost to sixth-seeded Leah Bush from Williams 6–7 (5), 7–6 (3), 11–9 there.
Heather Boehm ’20 and Skylar Schossberger ’20 also played their way into the round of 16.
Boehm came from behind to defeat Julia Cancio from Williams 4–6, 6–1, 7–5 and held off Polina Kiseleva from Wesleyan 6–4, 4–6, 6–0 on Friday. The following morning, fifth-seeded Mina Karamercan from Tufts beat Boehm 6–4, 6–1.
Schossberger earned the opportunity to play on Saturday by defeating Trinity’s Vanja Babunski 6–1, 4–6, 6–0 and Tufts’ Margot Shea 6–4, 6–0. On Saturday morning, she fell to Williams’ Mia Gancayco 6–2, 6–2.
Katherine Hughes ’20 and Maddi Stow ’20 added first round victories in singles, but bowed out the next round.
In doubles, the fifth-seeded pair of Blazye and Stow ran into the quarterfinals. They lost a close 8–6 match there to Williams’ Henderson and Rachel Cross. The third-seeded pair of Hughes and Schossberger won their first match 8–3, but also lost 8–6, this time in the round of 16 to Amherst’s Avery Wagman and Anya Ivenitsky.
The team did so well this weekend,” said Blazye. “We had 6 players gain places in the main draw which is unbelievable. The results showed how our hard work is paying off already, and this is just the beginning. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds.”
The women return to action when they play in the Harvard Scramble on Friday to Sunday, Oct. 13 to 15.
The men will travel to Princeton this weekend to participate in the Farnsworth Invitational on Friday to Sunday, Oct. 6 to 8.
(10/04/17 11:26pm)
As the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) shattered the traditional political landscape by coming in as the third strongest party with 13 percent of the vote, last week’s German election continues to unsettle Germans and foreigners who fear for the tolerance and inclusivity that has characterized the political climate in the last decade.
The feeling of losing these ideals prompts some voters to abandon their composure, including the author of “Germany’s Racist Wake-Up Call,” which appeared in last week’s edition of The Campus. When calmness and clarity give way to frustration and anger, they are channeled into rants and polarization, merely galvanizing support for far-right parties.
To put the result in perspective, the biggest takeaway is that 87 percent of those who voted refused to cast their vote for the AfD. 87 percent distanced themselves from a party which shows no restraint in displaying its parallels to nationalistic ideology. Considering the anticipated surge of far-right parties, the moderate gain of the AfD reaffirms that most people believe in the importance of tolerance, and more importantly, the incompetence of far-right thinking in navigating times of moral complexity.
Taking 13 percent of voters to represent a whole society constitutes the same generalizing and fallacious thinking that far-right parties use to attract voters who long for simple solutions to complicated problems. It draws on the same strategies used by the extremists whom they so fervently despise: vague appeals to emotion drown out any flashes of constructive criticism. Yet they win an audience in similarly close-minded circles of the political left.
Far-right parties feed off the image of the political bad boy who stands up to the establishment. Instead of angrily writing about the ignorance of AfD voters, which only consolidates the image of the AfD as rebels, Germans need to calmly expose the flaws in their thinking. In particular, directing attention to their crude ideas on tax policy and education would go a long way in convincing voters of the inadequacy of the AfD as a leading political force.
Of course there is a reason for articles such as the one which appeared last week. It is easy to call out others for apparently racist sentiments and ask them to renegotiate their understanding of racism. It is a way of soothing one’s troubled conscience as part of the society we criticize so ardently, but it does little to provide a meaningful basis for discussion.
Political beliefs have taken on a more important role as an identity marker. Discussing politics today is intricately personal. Attacking someone’s person will not open them up for a sober discussion but only corner them and solidify their beliefs.
Inviting Germans to reconsider the meaning of racism shows this exact lack of understanding of the underlying problems that materialize in what we observe as racist practices. What appears racist goes much deeper.
While a large number of non-voters began voting for the AfD to protest Angela Merkel’s refugee policy, many voters came from the traditionally center parties SPD and CDU/CSU. They voted for the AfD as a sign of disappointment in the politics of the established parties, not because they support the AfD’s racist ideology. Rather than accusing Germans of bigotry, xenophobia and racism, we have to soberly investigate what prompted voters to vote for the AfD in protest, and expose all the ways in which the AfD proves inadequate in fulfilling its promises.
Controversy and insults accomplish nothing. Without them, the AfD lacks the political substance to retain their voters.
(09/28/17 12:25am)
In the weeks after protesters disrupted Charles Murray’s planned lecture at Middlebury College last March, administrators here investigated a student whom a Public Safety officer said was at the protest. The student, Addis Fouche-Channer ’17, insists she was never there.
“I pulled a student off the car with the name of Addis,” the officer told private investigators hired by the college, according to a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Campus. “She had a comment about, you can’t do this to me. Just saying other things. And I thought she was going to get into this racial thing with me.”
In interviews with private investigators and the Middlebury police in March, the officer verbally identified Fouche-Channer by name as the one he pulled off the car driven by college spokesman Bill Burger, which served as the escape vehicle for Charles Murray and Allison Stanger.
The officer gave no other evidence that Fouche-Channer was there, the transcripts show. The Campus is choosing not to release the officer’s name because of the volatility of the situation.
Fouche-Channer went through the college judicial process in the spring and was cleared of wrongdoing after a judicial dean determined she was not at the protest. After Fouche-Channer, who is black, graduated in May, she filed a formal complaint that she had been racially profiled by the officer. The Title IX office then launched a second investigation over the summer that lasted until mid-September, months after the March protest.
A decision was not reached until Tuesday, Sept. 26, when a college human relations officer (HRO) told Fouche-Channer the college does not believe she was racially profiled. They now believe she was at the protest. This decision directly contradicted the judicial dean’s determination in May.
The HRO said the Public Safety officer’s “identification” of Fouche-Channer “was corroborated by other credible evidence.” He explicitly cited only one new piece of evidence in a synopsis of the decision: a statement by a “friend” who said Fouche-Channer was at the car. The HRO did not respond to a query asking the name or relationship of that person to Fouche-Channer. The Campus is choosing not to release the names of the investigators because of the volatility of the situation.
This investigation, which was launched over the summer and consisted of 22 interviews conducted in June through at least August, was based on a preponderance of the evidence standard, in which the side with 51 percent or greater likelihood is ruled in favor.
“Even when the Middlebury judicial system concluded that I was not involved with the protests on March 2nd, [the summer investigator] still conducted his own identical investigation, as if there was still a chance that I was lying about my location during the protest,” Fouche-Channer told The Campus prior to reading the college’s synopsis. “His job was to figure out if [the Public Safety officer] was racially profiling me, not whether I was telling the truth or not. That had already been determined weeks before. Throughout this process I was guilty before I was proven innocent.”
Last spring, when college judicial officers concluded that Fouche-Channer was not at the protest, a key piece of evidence used in the investigation was Wi-Fi logs that showed her location on the night of March 2. The logs were taken from IT’s wireless network interface and required Fouche-Channer’s express permission to release.
During the course of that investigation last spring, an official in the college’s IT department submitted a written statement to judicial officers on Middlebury letterhead that pinpointed Fouche-Channer’s location during the time of the protest.
“Given this data, it is reasonable to believe that the devices associated with [Fouche-Channer] were connected and active in the vicinity of Proctor Dining from approximately 5:33 p.m. through at least 7:25 p.m. on March 2,” the official said. “At 7:48 p.m., the student’s iPhone connected to a wireless access point in Athletics (Athletics-Nelson-ClimbingWall) and remained in the vicinity of Athletics until at least 9:48 p.m.”
The judicial officer accepted these logs as proof that Fouche-Channer was not at the protest or Burger’s car.
But now, per the synopsis of the summer investigator’s report, the college says that the Wi-Fi evidence Fouche-Channer gathered from the school’s IT department last spring “was not necessarily an accurate or reliable indicator of Wi-Fi activity.”
“How is it possible that during an identical investigation, information supplied by the school is now not enough?” Fouche-Channer said in response to the report.
The HRO also said that “because this is a confidential matter” he is not releasing a written decision electronically. He told Fouche-Channer that she can review the report in his office by appointment during business hours. In effect, Fouche-Channer, who lives in New York City, can only view the document by physically driving to campus.
“Following a thorough investigation, Middlebury College has determined that a Public Safety officer did not violate Middlebury policies or engage in any form of profiling when he identified a former student as having participated in an incident on campus last March,” the college said in a statement to The Campus. “The officer’s identification of the former student as a participant was corroborated by other evidence, including eyewitness testimony.”
The Spring Investigation
After Fouche-Channer was accused of being at the protest, the Middlebury police requested an interview with her on March 20 on the basis of the Public Safety officer’s testimony.
“We are trying to identify who might have assaulted Ms. Stanger,” the policeman wrote in an email. Fouche-Channer declined the interview.
Private investigators, two from law firms in Burlington and one from a firm in Middlebury, asked Fouche-Channer on April 21 to “offer your statement.” She declined their interview request three times.
One of two judicial deans, who met with students the investigators had identified, then sent a letter on May 9 charging Fouche-Channer with violating college policy.
“As a result of allegations regarding your conduct at that event, concerns were raised that you may have violated Middlebury’s Demonstrations and Protests policy,” the dean wrote. The case would be heard by the community judicial board because it was a “significant” non-academic policy violation.
The letter said Fouche-Channer could opt to have a “disposition without hearing,” in which students “who do not contest the charges” may ask a judicial dean to adjudicate unilaterally. In effect, she could either go before the judicial board or have the dean make a final judgment on her innocence or guilt.
She chose neither option and instead contested the allegation.
Fouche-Channer described to The Campus her quest to provide the dean with evidence that she was not at the protest — including the aforementioned Wi-Fi logs.
She gathered five statements from friends and a coworker describing their interactions with her before, during and after the time of the protest. She forwarded blog posts for her Chinese class and emails she sent that evening. She also pulled a step counter from her phone that showed increased activity when she was at the gym.
“There’s literally five or six testimonies that place me anywhere else but that protest, and this is actually up for debate because one Public Safety officer couldn’t decide one black person from another person in the dark?” Fouche-Channer said to the judicial dean.
“That may be the case, I don’t know, but he says very clearly that he saw you,” the dean replied.
When Fouche-Channer was first told that she had been accused of being at the car, she flatly said that was impossible. The judicial dean asked, “Do you have any way to prove or demonstrate that?”
The dean said if Fouche-Channer could not supply conclusive evidence that she was in Proctor from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m., the case would go to a full hearing by the judicial board. If other evidence corroborated her claim, the dean said, “then we can 100 percent say that there’s no need to proceed.”
On May 13, the dean ordered judgment in an email to Fouche-Channer. With IT’s Wi-Fi logs in hand, the dean wrote, “there does not seem to be a good reason to move forward with a hearing.”
Fouche-Channer described how the judicial process affected her during her senior spring.
“I spent hours consulting my mentors, collecting evidence, scheduling meetings and trying to manage my own stress and mental health during this process,” Fouche-Channer said. “It was extremely taxing, especially during my last finals week and last few days at Middlebury. On top of this I was also trying to finalize a job. This process made my last moments on campus so much more anxiety ridden and upsetting than you could imagine.”
The Summer Investigation
The saga did not end when Fouche-Channer graduated. Over the summer, she contacted Public Safety seeking an apology from the officer whom she said had racially profiled her. This prompted the formal internal investigation over the summer into whether the officer violated Middlebury’s anti-discrimination policy.
On June 30, the aforementioned summer investigator videochatted with Fouche-Channer to address her charge that the Public Safety officer racially profiled her.
“What I can do is help to find out if [the officer] is a bigot,” the summer investigator said to Fouche-Channer. “And if he’s a bigot, and he falsely identified you because of your race or because of any other protected characteristic, then I personally don’t want him working at Middlebury College.”
The investigator sought to determine whether Fouche-Channer was at Bill Burger’s car. On July 18, the investigator told her, “It has become clear that some additional information will be extremely helpful to an effort to corroborate your claims.”
He asked Fouche-Channer to provide “all correspondence (emails, texts, social media posts, etc.) and all other work that you performed while you were at Proctor during the early evening hours of March 2, 2017,” as well as “copies of all of your correspondence (emails, texts, social media posts, etc.) with others from the time you left Proctor until the end of the day (midnight) on March 2, 2017.”
The Campus spoke with one student who was at Bill Burger’s car and was contacted in August by the investigator. The student, who requested anonymity fearing retribution from the college, said the investigator asked where Fouche-Channer was during the day and night of March 2. The investigator also tried repeatedly to establish whether someone wearing pink was at the car, according to the student, who said definitively that Fouche-Channer was not at the car.
“Throughout this investigative process there’s never been an attempt to hold administrators accountable,” the student said. “Their only focus is the ruthless and unrelenting path of trying to identify and punish students.”
Fouche-Channer still maintains she was not at the protest. After the synopsis of the investigation was released on Tuesday, she criticized how her racial profiling complaint was handled.
“The way that this case was processed is appalling. I have multiple pieces of evidence both supporting myself and opposing [the Public Safety officer’s] supposed innocence, but this still was not enough,” she said.
“My advice to current students, especially those of color, is to beware of . . . the Middlebury safety system as a whole. Racial profiling and racism are alive in the very institutions set up to protect us.”
A version of this story originally appeared online last Friday. This is an updated and expanded version. The Campus will continue reporting this story as it develops.
(09/27/17 11:47pm)
The Panther volleyball team remained scintillatingly hot, notching a win at St. Michaels on Tuesday, Sept. 19, before sweeping the Roadrunner Invitational with victories against Farmingdale State, New York University and the hosts, Ramapo. The wins on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 22 and 23, were welcome presents for Sarah Staver ’19 and Emma Walsh ’21, who both celebrated their birthdays this past weekend.
In its midweek tune-up, Middlebury defeated in-state opponent St. Michael’s in straight sets (27–25, 25–11, 25–10). While the second two sets were never truly in doubt, the opener was a tightly contested affair with neither team gaining more than a four-point advantage. Down 24–20, the Panthers were on the verge of dropping the first set but saved four consecutive set points, capped off by a kill at the hands of Eliana Schaefer ’18. After a Becca Raffel ’18 kill and a St. Michael’s error, the first set went to the Panthers.
The second set saw a 7–7 tie before Middlebury turned up the pressure by winning nine of the next 11 points and never looking back. Beth Neal ’20 ended the set with two service aces (she finished the match with three).
The third set was knotted up at five before a 6–1 Middlebury run led to an 25–10 third set win, clinching a victory for Middlebury.
The Panthers’ victory showed up in the statistics too, from a higher hitting percentage (.400 to .050), Blocks (seven to three), Digs (38 to 34) and Aces (10 to three). Isabel Sessions paced the attack, converting 68% of her attempts into match-high 13 kills. Raffel, known more for her offense, led the squad in digs (9), while Walsh, getting her first real time filling in for the injured Chellsa Ferdinand ’20, dished out a match-high 28 assists.
Though the injury to Ferdinand is less than ideal, Schaefer said, “we aren’t letting one setback get in the way of our goals.”
In the opening match of the weekend against Farmingdale State, Middlebury was victorious: 5–11, 25–18, 23–25, 25–20.
Down 2–1 in the first set, a kill by Schaefer sizzled the net and sparked a 13–2 run that gave the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish. The second set saw an unexpected comeback by the hosts, who rallied from a 10-point deficit to cut the Middlebury lead to 21–18. Then, two Farmingdale attack errors, a Walsh kill and a Jaime Donnelly ’21 kill gave Middlebury the second set.
The Panthers had a 21–18 lead in the third set, but a smart timeout by Farmingdale allowed them to regroup and score seven of the next nine points and steal a set. The fourth set, deadlocked at 15, looked to be a nail-biter until a 7–2 Middlebury run set the stage for a victory. Walsh, the birthday girl, finished the match with a service ace.
The second day of the invitational was not much different, with the Panthers controlling most of both matches. They earned a four-set victory against NYU (25–11, 25–20, 20–25, 25–20) and a straight-set win against host Ramapo (25–22, 25–14, 25–19). In the opener, Raffel pounded a match-high 16 kills while Schaefer contributed three blocks. Walsh built off her impressive debut and contributed 38 assists in the first and another 35, while the other birthday girl, Staver, produced nine kills and a pair of service aces in the concluding match.
“We didn’t know much about the teams we played beforehand and did a nice job developing strategies as we went along,” Raffel said, pleased with the weekend’s results. “A lot of new players stepped up.”
After the weekend, Middlebury now ranks in the top-two in the Nescac in service aces (72) and kills per set (12.54) but leads the pack in hitting percentage (.249). Raffel leads the Nescac in kills (145), while both Staver and Schaefer place in the top five in hitting percentage (.350 and .318), respectively.
Middlebury returns to Pepin Gymnasium when it plays host to Nescac opponents Bates and Colby on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29 and 30.
(09/27/17 11:44pm)
Education Studies will be offered as a double major for the first time this semester, after the faculty voted to approve the new degree program last spring. Previously, Education Studies was only offered as a minor.
The double major is available only to students who are pursuing the coursework required for a Vermont state teacher licensure. In the past, students pursuing the licensure were obligated to take 12 to 13 courses, depending on their desired field of education. Such requirements exceeded those of most other programs at Middlebury, prompting administrators to conclude that the level of demand did not fit the program’s status as a minor.
Education Studies faculty first devised the double major in 2015.
“It was a marvelous affirmation from the faculty to receive that vote in favor of the double major. It was no small thing, and we in education studies will never take it for granted,” said Jonathan Miller-Lane, the program’s director, in a news release.
While the double major can be pursued for teaching at both the elementary and secondary levels, all students must complete four state-mandated requirements for licensure, including part-time teaching and passage of the Praxis national exam. Like the old program, students must still enroll in a “professional semester” of full-time teaching in a local school, either during their senior year or after their graduation.
Education studies double majors are also required to take three foundational courses: Education in the USA, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Models of Inclusive Education. The minor in education studies is also still available, and is intended for students who are interested in the field but do not aspire to teach.
“We want our students’ field experiences to be school-centered, not college-centered. That’s why our students in methods classes spend the majority of their time in the schools, and not here on campus,” Miller-Lane said.
People involved with the program share the hope that the double major could draw more interest to education studies, and to teaching itself.
“I hope that more Middlebury students become aware of and seriously consider committing to the double major through our licensure program to engage in the thoughtful, deliberate work that is required to be a well-prepared teacher,” said Tracy Weston, an assistant professor in the program. “I hope the move to a double major makes it clear that, as an institution, we stand for quality teacher education and recognize teaching as a serious intellectual pursuit.”
Jack Parker ’19, who majors in education studies and math, agreed.
“Minor just wasn’t an appropriate way to phrase the work that had been done,” he said. “I think one of the main reasons to make it a double major was to recognize that people put in a lot of work, and to attract students to the program.”
Parker stressed the importance of the program’s mission. “We’re studying the craft of education so that we can go do good, thoughtful, informed, effective social justice work,” he said.
(09/27/17 11:31pm)
The men’s water polo club hosted its first tournament of the season last Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23 and 24. After just nine days of practice, the Panthers had a packed schedule, playing two games each day against fellow New England Club Division members.
“Water polo is a fun sport because it’s a lot of hard work, but in all the years I’ve played it’s always been with a great group of guys,” said team captain Kevin Benscheidt ’17.5, who has played the sport for more than a decade now. This tournament marks the beginning of his fifth and final season at Middlebury.
“We have only two new players and lost quite a few last year, so [this is] going to be a team where a lot of people step up,” Benscheidt said of Middlebury’s 11-person squad. “Part of that is learning how to play better together.”
The Panthers faced Boston College at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. Middlebury’s only goal that half came from Benscheidt, and by halftime, Middlebury was trailing 10–1.
If it weren’t goalie Diego Espino ’19 who helped keep the Eagles at bay with a couple of standout saves, the score would have been worse.
Middlebury found a way to score five goals in the second half, in spite of Boston College’s much deeper bench.
Sam Van Lokeren ’21 led the charge in the second half, scoring the first goal of his Middlebury career on a power play in the third quarter. Van Lokeren soon added another goal to his record, and Benscheidt contributed two goals to the effort. David Cohen ’20 took advantage of a man-up situation to make the score 6–13.
“We play in a league that has a lot of [Division I] teams,” Benscheidt ’17.5 explained. “So what typically happens is [that we get] our butts kicked every once in awhile, but [we] just [take] a lesson from it every time.”
Middlebury kept that in mind for its 6 p.m. game against the University of Connecticut later that day. The Panthers got off to a fast start as Aidan Strayer ’19.5 won the opening sprint.
Nick Handali ’20 capitalized on a six-on-five opportunity in the first quarter, which ended at a 1–1 standstill. Then Cohen was able to put Middlebury ahead 2–1 just before the half.
Cohen helped lead the scored four more in the second half — one from a man-up situation in the third quarter and one on a penalty shot in the fourth.
“[We] didn’t really pull away until the last quarter,” Benscheidt said. “Finally … we were really stringing things together and I think playing as we should.”
Middlebury’s other goals came from Benscheidt (1), Greyson Zatzick ’20 (1), Van Lokeren (4), and Taylor Moore ’18 (2).
On Sunday, Sept. 24 at 9 a.m., Middlebury lost 7–11 to Yale.
However, Middlebury won the first quarter 3–1. Benscheidt ’17.5 scored twice in right away, and Van Lokeren was able to score on a power play.
“We had an awesome first quarter. It was very technically sound playing. Then things kind of started falling apart. A lot of it has to do with fitness.”
The Panthers fought to score four more goals that day. Benscheidt had one more goal, Van Lokeren had two more, and Strayer scored Middlebury’s seventh in the final minute of play.
Middlebury fell to Boston University (6–14) in its final game on Sunday, Sept. 24. Goals came from Cohen (2), Benscheidt (1), Van Lokeren (2) and Moore (1).
“We’ve had quarters that are really solid, but we haven’t [been able to string] it together for a full game,” Benscheidt said.
This time, Middlebury was able to outscore Boston University 3–1 in the third quarter.
“I don’t think people were really meant to play four water polo games in a weekend,” Benscheidt said. “But because we’re a club program we have to consolidate all of our league play into three weekends of intensity.”
With a 1–3 record, Middlebury is now ranked sixth out of the eight teams in its division. The Panthers will have a week to prepare for its next tournament at Yale University on Oct. 7 and 8.
“The game plan is to build to [nationals],” Benscheidt explained. “When we play teams from schools of similar sizes, things tend to click into place.”
The Panthers are set to host the Division III National Collegiate Club Championship at the Natatorium on Oct. 28 and 29, which gives them an automatic bid regardless of this season’s results.
(09/27/17 11:27pm)
After squeezing by the Wesleyan Cardinals for their season opener, the football team soundly handled the Bowdoin Polar Bears 41–14 on Saturday, Sept. 26, improving to a 2–0 record.
Against Wesleyan, the Panthers only mustered 384 total yards. Against Bowdoin, quarterback Jared Lebowitz ’18 made sure that every segment of the offense was working, racking up 528 total yards of offense.
In the first quarter, the guests did not score until 3:28 left in the first quarter on a four-yard touchdown run by Matt Cardew ’18, who has been in the backfield in the absence of Diego Meritus ’19.
“It felt great to set the tone,” Cardew said. “I think our entire offense had a lot of energy on that first drive and it definitely carried through the rest of the game.”
From this moment on, it was smooth sailing. In the second quarter, Middlebury’s defense kept its shutout intact in the second quarter as the offense continued to capitalize on the Polar Bears’ weak front and secondary lines of defense.
With decent field position at their own 30-yard line, Lebowitz marched the Panthers down the field. Starting with an 18-yard pass to Tanner Contois ’18, Lebowitz, just two plays later, threw a 33-yard dime to Contois who grabbed it out of the air and tiptoed to the sidelines to get a foot in bounds. Lebowitz completed the drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Maxwell Rye ’20.
After a short offensive series by the tired Polar Bears, Middlebury returned the punt to the Bowdoin 49-yard line. In this drive, Lebowitz completed passes to several different Panthers, including Banky, Bochman and Frank Cosolito ’20. Bochman sealed the drive, catching a 13-yard pass from a red hot Lebowitz, his second passing touchdown of the game giving the guests a 21–0 advantage.
The offense continued to roll, as Bowdoin’s offense could not past Middlebury’s lines of defense. With eight minutes left in the first half, however, the Panthers found themselves at their own 10-yard line, presenting an opportunity for Bowdoin to change the pace of the game.
Middlebury’s field position did not stop the Panther offense from finding a way to score. Cardew rushed for 18 yards, Lebowitz rushed for 17 yards and completed a short pass to Bochman putting the Panthers at their own 38-yard line. Two plays later, Lebowitz connected with Banky for a 48-yard bomb down the field for his third touchdown of the game and Banky’s first score of the season.
Though Carter Massengill ’20 missed the extra point, the Panthers commanded a 27–0 lead heading into halftime.
Senior linebackers John Jackson ’18, Aaron Slodowitz ’18 and Robert Wood ’18, along with safety Kevin Hopsicker ’18 terrorized the Polar Bears on defense as Bowdoin was forced to punt almost every possession.
Wood commented on the way the defense set the tone throughout the game and helped propel the offense. For Wood, it wasn’t the big defensive plays that helped sway the pace of the game, it was the discipline and consistency of Middlebury’s defensive unit that made them successful.
“Our mentality this week was the same as any. ‘Just do your job and if we execute and play smart we can stop any offense,’” Wood said. “Additionally, I can trust that our coaches will do a great job of putting us in the right place to make the plays.”
Wood added: “Any turnover or three and out is pretty big on defense. It gets us off of the field and gives our offense a chance to get back out there and put some more points on the board.”
And still the Panthers continued to roll, coming out in the third quarter. At the 12-minute mark, Lebowitz and his offensive unit started in great field position at the Bowdoin 43 yard-line. Lebowitz quickly completed two passes, one to Martinez and one to Banky to set up a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Connell ’21, the first of his career.
Leading 34–0 with seven minutes left in the third quarter, Charlie Ferguson ’21 rushed for 47 yards on seven carries, while Lebowitz completed two passes Rye and Mike Maldonado ’19. The Panthers capped their lead with a five-yard rushing touchdown by Ferguson and their lead increased to 41–0.
In the fourth quarter, Bowdoin scored two touchdowns, but the lead was too great for the hosts to come back. Lebowitz finished with 316 yards and four touchdown passes, while Banky racked up 101 yards.
Asked about his team success and his composure to lead his team to a 41–14 victory, Middlebury’s quarterback had a lot to say.
“Football is a weird blend of perfect science and chaotic mayhem. Comfortability in the pocket comes from my confidence in the offensive line having the best protection called and winning their one-on-one matchups,” Lebowitz. “It all starts and ends with those guys — they are the cornerstones of our offense and we can’t function consistently at this high of level without them.
Both Cardew and Meritus echoed their quarterback’s praise of the team, respectively.
“It felt great being a part of the offense that scored so much. It was rewarding because we executed everything we’ve practiced for on pretty much every play,” Cardew said. “I think we were able to stay focused throughout the game because the lead gave us a chance to put our younger guys in. It’s always fun to watch them succeed.
“We were definitely cleaner this week than last week,” Meritus said.”I think anytime you hold a team to 14 and put up 41 points you need to be happy with the way you played. However still lots to improve on. If we want to continue to win each week we are going to need to finish each game strong.”
The Panthers have won their last two and look to take a win from Colby this upcoming Saturday, Sept. 30. While their contest against Amherst will be their biggest challenge of the season so far, Lebowitz and his offense seem to be throwing, running and hitting in the right direction.
(09/21/17 1:08am)
In a contest that came down to the final minutes of play, the football team took its season opener against the Wesleyan Cardinals 30–27 on Saturday, Sept. 16.
The opening minutes of the game was studded with excitement as Middlebury scored on the opening drive. Starting quarterback Jared Lebowitz ’18 connected with Frank Cosolito ’19 on a 10-yard pass, which Cosolito took 60 yards into the Panther end zone. Middlebury missed the extra point, giving the hosts a 6–0 advantage.
Wesleyan answered with a 52-yard touchdown of its own and made its extra point giving the Cardinals a 7–6 lead. It would, however, be short lived. Jimmy Martinez ’19 bobbed and weaved through Wesleyan tacklers on the ensuing kickoff to give the Panthers a 13–7 lead. Martinez, who holds five track and field school records, caught the ball at the four-yard line and returned it 96 yards for a Middlebury touchdown.
“Jimmy’s house call was a huge moment for the entire team,” Jourdon Delerme-Brown ’19 said. “It was an electric moment on the sidelines for sure. Everybody, offensive, defensive, tackles and D-backs, were super energized.”
Martinez did not stop there. Late in the first quarter, Lebowitz connected with Martinez three times, including a 25-yard touchdown pass-and-catch to give the Panthers a 20–7 lead. Lebowitz, who finished the game 22–44 for 352 total yards, continued to dominate the passing game.
While the hosts were unable to score, their defense held the Cardinals to one score in the second quarter. Leading by seven at the half, the Panthers looked to come out firing in the second half.
Middlebury only scored once in the third quarter. Unable to find their earlier offensive connections, the Panthers were forced to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Carter Massengill ’19. His field goal would prove to be decisive by the end of the contest as Middlebury would win by three.
In the opening minutes of the fourth, Lebowitz connected with Conrado Banky ’19 for two passes, before hitting Maxim Bochman ’20 on the 25-yard route to give the Panthers a 30–13 advantage. Wesleyan, however, was quick to answer. Eighty-four yards and six plays later, the Cardinals had marched down the field, scored a touchdown and sealed the extra point. Trailing by 10, Wesleyan recovered an onside kick to swing the momentum of the contest and with 3:15 remaining on the clock, Wesleyan scored.
The Panthers, however, did not lose their composure, even after they were unable to score off a short kick-off and had to punt. Wesleyan started from its own 39-yard line. With the season opener on the line, someone needed to change the momentum and put Middlebury on top.
Bobby Ritter ’19 answered with a interception on the first play of the drive. From the stands, it seemed that he had just broken up the pass, but suddenly a roar erupted through the crowd as Ritter sprinted towards the Panther endzone. Though he was tackled short of the goal line, the game was all but won at that point.
“Bobby’s pick restored life back in our side and got everyone’s energy levels back to 100 percent” said Diego Meritus, who was sidelined on Saturday’s game due to a quad injury. “They had just scored on us and started eating away at our lead. But Bobby’s pick really brought us back to where we needed to be.”
Wesleyan was unable to score in the final 40 seconds, completing Middlebury’s first victory of the season. Meritus further weighed in on the success of his team.
“We knew everyone would have to contribute in order for us to place ourselves in a position to win and I think that much was clear on Saturday,” Meritus said. “We had guys playing positions they don’t usually play and making big plays and that made a huge difference.
“More importantly, we matched Wesleyans physically and intensity,” the third year running back said. “Everyone knows them around the league as intense and physical, but clearly we did not back down from them and we came out with a win.”
The Panthers’ big showdown with Amherst on Oct. 7 is fast approaching, but they will be back in action before that this Saturday as they take on Bowdoin in Brunswick, Maine.
(09/21/17 12:54am)
After senior college officials announced changes to the college handbook earlier this month, several student leaders expressed disappointment that they were not involved in the process, citing earlier meetings with senior officials during which they were promised input.
Kyle Wright ’19.5 and Travis Wayne Sanderson ’19, the current and former co-chairs of Community Council, were two of four students who met with senior administrators last spring.
Wright and Sanderson co-wrote and sponsored a bill last spring that aimed to change language in the “Demonstrations and Protests” section of the handbook in order to better protect the rights of student protesters. The Student Government Association (SGA) passed their bill at the body’s April 23 meeting.
After that resolution was passed, Sanderson and Wright participated in a meeting with President Laurie L. Patton, dean of the college Katy Smith Abbott and diversity officer Miguel Fernández to discuss the bill’s suggestions. Other students at the meeting included Emily Cipriani ’19.5 and Sandra Luo ’18, then a member of Community Council.
“At the meeting the four of us had with Laurie Patton, Katy Smith Abbott and Miguel Fernandez, which lasted one night from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m., there was a spoken agreement to involve students in the process this past summer in response to the bill SGA passed last semester,” Sanderson wrote in an email to The Campus.
Wright interpreted the same commitment from the administrators at the meeting.
“Katy and I had multiple conversations that were like, ‘We’re going to look at it this summer, handbook review is performed during the summer,’” Wright said. “It was communicated very clearly that there would be further conversations specifically and explicitly involving the handbook.”
But on Sept. 13 Smith Abbott announced the completion and availability of an updated handbook for the 2017–2018 academic year that did not involve students.
“I don’t know of any student involvement, which was promised to us,” Wright said.
Cipriani and Sanderson were both on campus this past summer, but were not contacted to resume discussion.
“[President Patton] mentioned that she hoped that since Travis and I were going to be on campus for language school maybe we could continue the conversation into the summer,” Cipriani told The Campus in an email.
“This seemed genuine on her part, however nothing came of it. Neither Travis nor I were contacted, and due to time constraints and the language pledge I did not contact President Patton. Whether something would have panned out if I had I will never know, but if President Patton was willing to meet with us until close to midnight my guess is she would have made something work.”
Sanderson interpreted his exclusion as indicative of a lack of administrative interest in student’s wishes.
“Their not inviting us sent a clear signal that they were not concerned enough about students’ opinions to have students in the room,” he wrote. “If Student Government, the representatives of the school, shows overwhelming support for a bill, then there should be active effort by the administration to try to fulfill its requests.”
Sanderson cited the availability of the April SGA bill as another missed opportunity for administrators to include student voices in a policy revision over the summer.
“Even if they had not invited us, they could have utilized the protest policies bill passed by SGA to reform the section. In the bill, there were very clear requests, democratically passed by a large majority of the elected representatives of the student body, thus signaling student body support,” he wrote. “These requests included down to the word of how to revise the section, so there was no vagueness whatsoever.”
Wright was similarly frustrated.
“It’s so troubling to see that we can have a very explicit conversation where things are agreed upon ostensibly, and then people are not involved. The change doesn’t happen and there’s no communication,” he said.
“I understand that plates can get full. People have a lot that they’re dealing with in the administration, but there’s this culture of unrest that has been percolating and is aggravated by this type of behavior and performance.”
He emphasized that the relationship between the administration and student leaders needs to change.
“It seems like summer comes around and students are no longer relevant. Once we’re not longer actually there in the space, any sort of coalition that was established dissipates,” he said. “It’s something that needs to change.”
Cipriani posited that the administration’s obligations to other interests may have prevented change to the relevant policy over the summer.
“With regards to the lack of changes, when the Charles Murray protests first happened, I assumed that the largest problem was that [administrators] were out of touch with the student body,” she wrote. “After meeting with President Patton, Katy Smith Abbott and Miguel Fernandez, I have come to the realization that [administrators] understand what students want, they just have other priorities, namely alumni donations and their own personal views on free speech.”
In an email to The Campus, Chief Diversity Officer Miguel Fernandez wrote that he was not involved in this year’s revisions of the handbook.
“My understanding of the changes to the handbook is that it has been a reorganization and not a change… the change in structure is for clarification, separating policies from practices, etc,” he told The Campus. “This does not constitute a review or change of policies, in which we would have every intention of including students.”
When The Campus reached out to Smith Abbott for comment on whether or not students were involved in the summer changes to the handbook, this reporter was directed to another administrator.
After The Campus sent a follow-up email to Smith Abbott, asking whether another review of the handbook would take place during the coming academic year, she agreed to comment. Smith Abbott described a plan to include students in the future, citing a student handbook advisory committee the administration hopes to create.
“In the near term, my hunch is that this group would focus on the demonstrations and protests policy, as per the SGA resolution of last spring,” she wrote. “Because that resolution was reviewed by the president and SLG relatively late in the spring, it makes sense to bring students together now to further discuss this policy and to consider other areas where our policies can be clarified or enhanced.”
Smith Abbott hopes the advisory committee will have a long-term impact on the way students interact with the handbook.
“The hope is that a standing student committee would ensure regular review and feedback on all aspects of the handbook,” she wrote. “Although the comprehensive updates...will continue to occur during the summer, while most students are away, the work of an academic-year student committee would ensure that we have input from a broad range of student perspectives, and that these could be incorporated into those annual (summer) updates and edits.”
“I’ve written to Kyle Wright, student co-chair of Community Council and Jin Sohn, SGA president, to ask for their partnership in constituting this committee,” she added.When The Campus asked Wright about his potential involvement in the committee, he replied that while he appreciated the intentions behind the proposal, he was frustrated by the way the plan came about.
“I was immensely disappointed to learn, only upon reaching out to Katy myself this past Monday, that plans regarding a handbook review had materialized without input from students,” he wrote. “Entire conversations had occurred regarding the creation of a ‘handbook review committee’ supported by the SGA and Community Counsel without immediately involving SGA President Jin Sohn or myself.”
“Until [Monday] afternoon, I had received no communication from Dean Smith Abbott or other pertinent parties in respect to moving that process forward; nor, to my knowledge, were any other students contacted regarding that process,” he added.
Wright is disheartened by what he sees as continued failures in communication between administrators and students.
“This lack of clear and inclusive communication on the part of administrators continues to contribute to a campus culture in which conversations surrounding major decisions are made inaccessible to students,” he wrote.
“Nevertheless, I am glad that members of the administration have outlined a preliminary proposal to involve students in a review of handbook policy. I am very hopeful that we can continue to strengthen student and community involvement and move forward in addressing our most pressing concerns despite this snafu,” he added.
Will DiGravio contributed reporting.
(09/21/17 12:47am)
The men’s and women’s cross country teams both captured another first place finish last Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Aldrich Invitational, thoroughly dominating local competition from Norwich University, St. Michael’s College and Vermont Technical.
The top eight finishers in the women’s race were all Panthers, who won with a score of fifteen points. St. Michael’s came in second with 61 points and Norwich came in third with 65 points. The Panthers’ top five runners were Abigail Nadler ’19 with a time of 19:15.6, Kate MacCary ’19 with a time of 19:23.9, Meg Wilson ’20 with a time of 19:46.9, Talia Ruxin ’20 with a time of 19:52.1 and Rory Kelly ’19 with a time of 19:55.0. Kelly had the one of the largest decreases in time compared to last week’s meet, lowering her time by about 16 seconds.
The men were also able to win with a score of fifteen points since they captured the first six places in the race, and had eight runners in the top 10 finishers. Norwich came in second with a score of 50, St. Michael’s was third with 82 and Vermont Technical rounded things out with 120. The top five runners were Harrison Knowlton ’19 with a time of 26:59.9, Matt D’Aquila ’21 with 27:04.2, Henry Fleming ’20 with 27:13.5, Andrew Michelson ’19 with 27:21.3 and Miles Meijer ’19 with 27:21.8. Fleming improved his time the most, as he lowered it by 29.5 seconds.
The Panthers will face a step-up in competition this weekend when they compete at the Purple Valley Classic in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Sept. 23. The men finished seventh and the women finished 10th in fields of 23 teams last year.
(09/21/17 12:14am)
This summer, Dr. Grace Spatafora, professor of biology department, was awarded a $2.1 million National Institutes of Health grant for her research on the oral bacterium, Streptococcus mutans. The grant makes her one of only 13 faculty members at small liberal arts colleges nationwide to receive an NIH research project grant, known as an RO1 grant. The majority are awarded to large research-intensive universities.
Streptococcus mutans is a bacterium that lives in the oral cavity, where it is the primary cause of dental cavities. Although S. mutans can promote cavities as well as contribute to the progression of periodontal disease, it is a natural part of our oral microbiome and is just as vital to our health as our gut microbiome.
Oral health is generally considered the gateway to overall health; a diseased mouth can have dire consequences for the rest of the body.
“The condition of one’s mouth says a lot about where that person is on the socioeconomic scale and what kind of overall health they’re in. If we can improve access to oral health and hygiene practices for all, then we can improve general health and lessen the gap between the haves and the haves-not,” Spatafora said.
S. mutans adheres to teeth and metabolizes carbohydrates consumed in the diet via the process of fermentation. Acid, a product of fermentation, drills holes in teeth, marking the onset of tooth decay. There is, however, a difference between healthy plaque and diseased plaque.
Spatafora describes her research as “centered on the genetic mechanisms that help maintain healthy plaque, and which involves a delicate balance between healthy microbes and disease-causing microbes.”
Maintaining the healthy plaque requires multiple factors including healthy diet and good oral hygiene. The high sugar content of the Western diet, however, provides S. mutans with an abundance of nutrients that get converted to acid. This acid production lowers the pH in the mouth, tipping the balance in favor of diseased plaque with a prevalence of acid-producing and acid-tolerant microbes.
To understand how we might be able to control this delicate homeostasis, Spatafora’s lab is examining SloR, a protein in S. mutans that is responsible for the regulation of metal ion transport. “By restricting access of S. mutans to essential metals, such as manganese and iron, [SloR] receives neither too many micronutrients nor too few, keeping its prevalence in the mouth in check.”
For example, when we eat, our food introduces large amounts of manganese and iron into the mouth, in addition to sugar. S. mutans can absorb these metal ions through membrane-associated transporters, thereby allowing SloR to interact with the ions. The interaction permits SloR to bind to DNA and repress an excess of metal ion uptake, which could otherwise be toxic for the S. mutans. At the same time, SloR-metal ion complexes modulate the damaging characteristics of S. mutans, such as its ability to adhere to teeth, produce acid, and resist the negative effects of acid and oxidative stress.
“By manipulating SloR-metal ion complexes and their interaction with DNA, we can also manipulate the disease-causing potential of S. mutans,” Spatafora said.
Ultimately, Spatafora hopes to “develop a therapeutic intervention that will target SloR so that S. mutans-induced cavities can be alleviated or prevented altogether.”
Spatafora first started working on S mutans in 1989 after pursuing her interest in infectious diseases and microbial pathogenesis in Dr. Roy Curtiss’ laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis. There, Curtiss introduced her to S. mutans, a bacterium that not many people were working with at the time. She was drawn to the microorganism because of the opportunities it provided for experimental manipulation and the ability to work on this project with a small group of graduate students and highly trained post-docs.
Now, Spatafora offers incredible research opportunities to Middlebury students such as Annie Cowan ’18.
“Professor Spatafora wants you to lead your own project and so you end on the same level in terms of knowing where the project is going and what to do in terms of moving forward. I think the most rewarding part is identifying where your mistake is yourself and then figuring out how to fix it,” said Cowan of her time working in Spatafora’s lab.
Cowan has been working on a project verifying a region of DNA that could promote synthesis of SloR. The region was identified last year by Patrick Monette ’17, who is currently preparing a manuscript about the findings, in hopes of being published.
Another of Spatafora’s lab students, Sunho Park ’18 (known as the lab clown), has been conducting experiments to find protein binding partners of SloR.
Park says, “Once we know what other proteins it binds to, then maybe we can investigate the binding partners, which would allow us to learn more about SloR indirectly from a different angle,” Park said.
Hopefully, this could one day allow us to utilize SloR to maintain the homeostasis of our mouths and lead to preventing cavities.
Thanks to the five-year National Institutes of Health grant, students of the college will continue to receive funding for these extraordinary research opportunities through 2022.
(09/20/17 11:49pm)
Each September, the student mail center sees its highest volume of incoming mail items, processing close to 13,000 packages and pieces of general mail in just one month.
These packages often containing supplies sent to students as they move in, according to Jennifer Erwin, a facilities manager.Erwin said that the center on average processes 7,000 items during the other months of the school year.
While the excess of packages poses challenges for the staff, a number of steps are taken to prepare for the back-to-school rush. Student workers are trained, special storage accommodations are made, and staff work special hours.
“We prepare for this increase in many ways,” Erwin said. “We utilize the student package warehouse during September to help with processing all oversized packages such as mattress pads, bikes and TVs, thus freeing up much needed space in the mail center.” The warehouse is located behind the student center on South Service Road.
Erwin said student workers also help with the rush.
“By doing their routes and helping at the window, it allows the mail center staff to focus on processing the high volume of incoming mail and packages,” Erwin said. “We also work Saturday mornings during the month of September, allowing us to get a jump start on processing mail and packages that have been received on Saturday, and it allows students a window of time to pick up their packages on the weekend.”
According to Erwin, a large part of keeping the mail center running smoothly during September is communicating with the student body about how to best navigate mail pickup process during the September rush.
Erwin said that students waiting to receive an email from the center and reading these emails carefully is key in keeping the pickup process running smoothly.
“We try hard to educate the student body to review the proper information which is included in their email message from the mail center to help us deliver their packages,” she said. “This information being how many packages they have and what type they are.”
“And we also encourage the students to wait to receive an email from the mail center and not to come down when they receive an email from the sender telling them their package has arrived,” Erwin said. “Only when they receive the email from the mail center has their package been received and processed and ready to pick up.”
Students generally pick up school supplies and items forgotten at home during September.
“I’ve picked up two packages and am expecting to get two more this week,” Hannah Gokaslan ’20.5 said. “They’ve mostly been books and stuff for my dorm that I forgot to bring with me.”
Students also said that mail pickup at the center has run smoothly, despite the rise in processing in September.
“I don’t think it’s been that much more crowded than usual, although I went to pick up my mail on a Friday, which is always kind of busy,” Gokaslan said.
Erwin said that, overall, the mail center staff looks forward to September, despite the high processing volume.
“While there is a huge increase in the volume of mail and packages, and this in itself brings challenges, we look forward to this time of year and prepare for it,” she said. “We enjoy what we do and look forward to getting the packages and mail to the students in a timely manner.”
(09/14/17 4:06am)
Members of the Class of 2021 were officially welcomed to Middlebury on Sep. 10 at the college’s annual Convocation.
The 638 first year students that filled Mead Chapel for the event were admitted from a field of 8,910 applicants, and comprise one of the largest classes in the college’s 217-year history. The Class of 2021 brings the total number of enrolled undergraduate students to 2,753.
At last Sunday’s ceremony Dean of Admissions Greg Buckles noted 13 percent of this year’s class are first-generation college students and 27 percent are people of color, the highest percentage in the college’s history.
Though he cited the achievements of many incoming students, Buckles reminded those in attendance that the admissions process is not a treasure hunt.
“We’re not looking for fully formed 18 year-olds. We’re not looking for perfection, nor should you get wrapped up in finding perfection here at Middlebury,” he said. “The truth is you’re not going to find it.”
Buckles advised the Class of 2021 to work hard, be resilient, take risks, and not be afraid of failure. In doing so, he said, students can and will find the best versions of themselves.
“Remember what it was about Middlebury that made you want to apply and come here,” he said. “Relish that as you set about your path and find your way.”
Student Government Association President Jin Sohn ’18 echoed Buckles’s advice, and told students to make the most of their time at Middlebury, and to think of ways they can improve the college for subsequent generations of students.
“Think about those who will come after you,” she said. “Do things that will leave Middlebury a better place than you found it.”
The event ended with a speech from College President Laurie Patton, who began her remarks by acknowledging that adjusting to life at Middlebury can be both exhilarating and disorienting, especially when everyone is “as talented as you are.”
“Maybe you’ve already met one of your new classmates who’s a published novelist and three-season varsity athlete, who started her own NGO and hike d the Appalachian trail solo. And the most annoying thing was, as you’ve probably already discovered, she was really nice, too,” Patton said. “That’s the Middlebury way.”
Patton advised students not to compare themselves to one another, and said the best way for one to leave their mark on Middlebury is to, simply, be oneself.
“We chose you because we sensed, and you did too, that there was something about you and this place that made a really wonderful match,” she said.
Patton told the incoming class that, at Middlebury, students are expected to be citizens of a “robust and inclusive public sphere, where you will likely be uncomfortable.”
Though she did not mention the Charles Murray protest by name, she emphasized the college’s commitment to freedom of expression and inclusivity, two issues that have been, and still are, at the forefront of campus-wide conversations in the aftermath of the protest.
“As members of [our] community, you have a particular obligation to that public space: make it more robust, and make it more inclusive. Don’t let others be silenced, and don’t let yourself be silenced, even if you are offended,” Patton said. “Always look around to see who is included, and how you could use your talent and wisdom to include others’ voices in the debate. And respect others’ wishes to learn and grow, even if you dislike their opinions. That is true wisdom.”
Patton ended her remarks by reiterating the need for students to be their best selves, and by reminding them that the wider Middlebury community is here to help.
“We will help you grow in your wisdom. We will help you bounce back. We will help you dream the world as it ought to be. And we will be here for you for the rest of your life,” she said. “As one student put it to me, Middlebury is really supportive wilderness training for the mind, heart, body, and soul.”
(09/14/17 4:04am)
The Middlebury men’s soccer team (2–1–0) pleased a large crowd during their first game since students returned to campus with a 2-1 win in double overtime against the visiting Colby-Sawyer Chargers (0–4–0) last Sunday, Sept. 10. Despite edging the Chargers in shots on goal 13–2, it took a late goal at the end of regulation for the Panthers to send the game into what would become a double overtime marathon in which Daniel O’Grady ’19 kicked in the game-winner in the 109th minute.
Colby-Sawyer notched their only goal of the day with 20 minutes left in the first half, taking a 1–0 lead. Denali Sexton pressed hard and fast on a pass from the backline, fading towards the left side and letting a low shot fly to the opposite corner, just beyond the hands of Middlebury goalkeeper Jeremy Yeager ’18. Yeager concluded his third full game with one save, bringing his season total to five.
Despite the fact that the Chargers maintained a 1–0 lead for most of regulation, Middlebury controlled the game throughout. In the 20th minute, Kye Moffat ’19 missed just wide left on a header. Twelve minutes later in the 32nd minute, the crossbar would deny O’Grady the game-tying goal on a 19-yard rip.
After controlling the ball for most of the second half, a scramble in the goal box in the 78th minute resulted in a shot from Goulart that threaded several defenders’ legs but bounced off the right side post, forcing the team into a furious up-tempo style of play with only 12 minutes remaining on the clock and the Chargers leading by one.
Then, in the 81st minute, Peter Davis ’19 headed in his first career goal following a scramble in the box on a corner kick. In the 87th minute, Middlebury nearly took the lead as O’Grady sent a header from six yards into the hands of Charger goalie Sean Babinski. The next opportunity didn’t arise until the second 10-minute overtime half, when Ben Potter ’20 was denied by Babinski on a one-on-one following a through ball.
With just 1:47 remaining in overtime, O’Grady collected a 70-yard pass from Henry Wilhelm ’20 just outside the penalty box and moved quickly in and to the left. He punched a fast, low shot off his left foot, beating the hands of Babinski and leaving the Panthers on top.
“We feel like we have a lot of depth this year, especially in the midfield,” Yeager said. “A lot of guys who are confident with the ball at their feet. We are hoping that we can use that to unlock opposing defenses and threaten in front of goal. We had a pretty big senior class graduate last year, so there are a lot of spots up for grabs. It’s an opportunity for guys to step up and take advantage of the opportunity.”
The non-conference win leaves the Panthers with a 2–1 record after defeating Norwich 3–1 on Wednesday, Sept. 6 and suffering a 2–1 loss to Connecticut College on Saturday, September 9. Middlebury heads to Massachusetts to face rival Amherst College (1–0–0) this Saturday, Sept. 16.
(09/14/17 4:01am)
On top of music lessons, sports practice and SAT prep, the students of America are now taking on a new role in the age of Trump: political activism. Although young people have been vocal at protests and rallies since the Vietnam War, a new wave of young teens has leapt onto the political scene since Jan. 21.
Vermont has had its share of motivated middle school and high school students who have identified a place for themselves in a convoluted political era. Ethan Sonneborn, a 13-year-old, announced in August that he is running for governor after noticing that there is no age requirement for the highest ranking state elected official. He only just started eighth grade in Bristol, Vermont, but clearly views age as irrelevant to politics.
In the Burlington Free Press, he stated, “We just elected our oldest President, and he tweets like a Kindergartener.”
Rather than juggle a political campaign with schoolwork, Hope Petraro, a 15-year-old from Montpelier, has decided to organize a rally instead. This Sunday, Sept. 17, at 11:30 a.m., citizens from around the state are expected to gather for her rally, the Race Against Racism. The event begins with a 5k run, or walk, that is followed by a lineup of speakers, musicians and artists — all convening to begin a conversation that has few platforms in the community.
“We’re trying to make the event accessible for youth,” Petraro said in a phone interview. “We want them to get their feet wet in a world of activism so that they care about racism or social or climate justice. We want them to care for something important.”
Petraro moved to Vermont from Brooklyn at age 12, and was greatly influenced by the large number immigrants she was surrounded by growing up. The adjustment to a predominantly white community after becoming adapted to one of many colors was supported by resources and forums Petraro found online.
“I retreated to the internet to help find my place in this new community I found myself in,” Petraro said.
“I found a lot of people who were very into social justice. There are all of these people on social media with progressive ideals who want to have these challenging conversations.”
To translate this newfound interest in politics into hands-on involvement, Petraro began to bring up discussions of race and social justice to those close to her in Montpelier. Quickly, teachers and peers suggested that volunteering in the community would be a means for Petraro to immerse herself in the state’s problems. Soon she was canvassing and working in the local Democratic Party phone bank, contacting residents across the region.
In a state with a political leader as progressive as Bernie Sanders, Petraro quickly was able to tap into the reservoir of activist groups in Vermont. Partnering with her event Race Against Racism are organizations such as Justice for All Vermont, Migrant Justice, and the locally-based Montpelier High School Diversity Club. The proceeds from the registration fee of $10 for adults and $5 for those 18 and under will be given to these partner organizations for their future endeavors.
Mark Hughes, co-founder of Justice for All Vermont, experienced a similar “culture shock” as Petraro when moving to Vermont from a relatively diverse town in the Midwest. His organization has backed legal reform in the state, such as H.308, a racial justice bill passed last May by Governor Phil Scott. Hughes will be a key speaker at the event on Sunday, as he will attempt to kick off a dialogue about racism that has been dormant in Vermont until recently.
“We don’t discuss race in Vermont,” Hughes noted over the phone.
“We don’t have the opportunity to have conversations and engage in activities with folks that aren’t like us. That difference could be our race, socioeconomic standing, or political preferences. With events like this we have an opportunity as a community to pull together — to raise awareness.”
Although his organization is run entirely by adults, he recognizes that young people are crucial in the laborious task of breaking barriers in Vermont.
“We’ve got to get some young folks, ones from other locations and also the ones in their twenties,” Hughes remarked.
“I’m an old guy; I’ve been at this for just a few years, but I’ve been around the block a few times. I’m not going to be around much longer.”
In Petraro’s view, the Race Against Racism marks the beginning of a new brand of activism led by young students in the state.
“I think that the Trump presidency — and a lot of the discrimination and bigotry that’s surfaced because of it — has seriously motivated students,” she said.
“A lot of them feel as if they, or their friends, or their community as a whole, is being personally attacked.”
(09/14/17 4:01am)
While the majority of Middlebury students were finishing unpacking and moving into their dorms, the volleyball team opened its 2017 season at the Union College Invitational. The Panthers started the invite strong with a straight-set win over Oneonta and a five-set nailbiter over Union, but dropped the second pair.
Middlebury started this season where it left off from last year with a straight-set victory over Oneonta (25–16, 25–17, 25–12). The Panthers started hot, going on an 8–1 run to open the weekend, and never trailed in the first two sets. They finished on a 9–2 tear to close the match. Co-captain Becca Raffel ’18 had a strong opener, netting a match-high 14 kills, while co-captain Sarah Staver ’19 converted 10 kills out of 11 opportunities. Gigi Alper ’20 contributed 11 digs and three service aces to help Middlebury blank Oneonta.
Middlebury dominated the stat sheet, winning the hitting percentage battle (.400 to .078), and recording more blocks (6–4), digs (37–27), and aces (9–4). With a total game time of just over an hour, the Panthers made quick work of their opponent.
Middlebury also took their second match of the day, beating host Union College by a margin of three sets to two (25–19, 25–22, 23–25, 20–25, 15–13). Middlebury went up two sets to none against Union before the hosts stormed back and won the next two sets; the Panthers were able to right the ship and put their opponents away in the fifth and final set. Once again, Raffel led the way with 20 kills to go along with 14 digs, while Alper pitched in 19 digs of her own. Eliana Schaefer ’18 and Isabel Sessions ’19 put up a dozen kills each. Although not as efficient as their first game’s mark, the Panthers once again obtained a higher hitting percentage than their opponent (.255 to .160). Both teams tied in digs with 71.
The second day, the script was flipped when the Panthers lost both matches by the same three-to-one score. The first time was against Stevens (24–26, 25–15, 26–24, 25–21). This time, Sessions led the squad in kills with 15, while Alper once again tallied a match high 19 digs. Co-captain Emily Kolodka ’18 finished just behind Alper, with 18 digs of her own. Chellsa Ferdinand ’20 was also a bright spot with 38 assists.
Against the College at Brockport later in the day, the Panthers fell in another tough match (25–20, 25–23, 23–25, 25–17). Continuing her dominant performance over the weekend, Raffel notched 12 each of kills and digs. When her second kill of the match hit the ground, she became the seventh Panther all-time to reach the 900-kill mark. Ferdinand finished the tournament strongly as well, contributing in every aspect (36 assists, eight digs, and three service aces). Although they couldn’t come away with the win, Middlebury has reason to be optimistic. They outperformed their opponents in hitting percentage (.252 to .243), blocks (nine to six), and digs (61 to 60).
While the tournament did not end as planned, the takeaways for the team were more positive than negative. Raffel, who was named to the all-tournament team after a 64-kill, 44-dig and five-service ace performance, had good things to say.
“The team showed a lot of really positive signs this weekend,” Raffel said. “Watching things come together for our first games of the season made us really excited for the season to come.”
What exactly is the goal?
A “repeat Nescac championship.”
The first steps come this Friday, Sept. 15, and Saturday, Sept. 16, as they travel to Amherst, Mass., to face the Mammoths, and then to New Haven, Conn., to face Trinity in their Nescac openers.
(09/14/17 4:01am)
Offensive MVP: QB Jared Lebowitz ’18
Admittedly this is kind of a Chris Broussard take, but there may be no player in the league more important to their team than Lebowitz is to the Panthers. The entire Middlebury offense is designed around his ability to throw darts all over the field. The rest of the league has caught to them, but Middlebury is still the leader in no-huddle throughout the league. That can’t happen without Lebowitz. However, he “only” competed 57% of his passes last year, and threw 12 interceptions in eight games. Of course, he also threw 29 touchdowns, so these complaints are nitpicking to a certain extent. But for Middlebury to really compete with Trinity (and most likely Amherst this year), Lebowitz will have to bring his game up still another notch. And the graduation of receivers James Burke and Ryan Rizzo, as well as several key offensive linemen, will make his job harder than ever.
Defensive MVP: LB John Jackson ’18
Middlebury has lost a lot of talent in a lot of places this off-season, and linebacker is certainly one of them. This is almost entirely due to Addison Pierce ’17. Pierce was a terrific linebacker, leading the team in tackles with 62, but his influence on the team was wider than that. He was a leader, and many players on the team, offensive and defensive alike, have mentioned that he will be missed. However, luckily for the Panthers and their fans, John Jackson is still around to pick up the slack. Jackson uses tremendous speed and agility to be a menace in the backfield, picking up 7.5 sacks last season. He’s also effective in coverage, picking up one interception and several deflections. He picked up 41 tackles as well, despite Pierce’s presence. He will certainly get more chances to eat up opposing running backs this season.
Player to Watch: WR Tanner Contois ’18
The Panther receiving corps was among the best in the league last season, and that was with Contois missing pretty much the entire season with a knee injury. Now that James Burke and Ryan Rizzo graduated, the Panthers are in need of another threat at receiver. Conrado Banky ’19 might well be the best in the league, but teams are going to double and even triple team him every chance they get. Contois has been very impressive in camp thus far, and looks fully recovered in terms of speed and quickness. If he and lanky deep threat Jimmy Martinez ’19 can be weapons, teams won’t be able to key in on Banky, and the Panther offense will keep right on rolling.
Key Game: October 28 vs. Trinity
Middlebury lucks out this year and gets to play Trinity at home. As Colby pointed out in his preview, Trinity was the league champion last year and brings back nearly every key contributor, especially on offense. Therefore, they are the odds on favorite to win this season. If Middlebury has any hope of taking the crown, they will need to take care of the Bantams.
Summary:
The Panthers spent much of last season in a three way tie with Tufts and Trinity for the top spot in the league. However, they lost handily to both those teams, and Wesleyan climbed into the mix. By the end of the year it was clear that they were a step away from contending with those powerhouses, and Middlebury ended with a slightly disappointing fourth place finish. Now star quarterback Reece Foy ’18 has returned to Amherst after missing all of last season with a knee injury, so the Mammoths seem poised to take their spot back in the upper tier. Additionally, the Panthers had one of the largest departing classes in the league, both in numbers and in talent. Middlebury has their work cut out for them if they want to improve on their 6–2 mark from 2016. But they certainly have the talent returning to it.
The Panthers’ biggest losses are definitely on offense. For most of the last decade, Middlebury’s philosophy has been to air it out, and with good reason. Coach Ritter certainly has earned the right to call himself a quarterback guru, with Don Mckillop, McCallum Foote and Matt Milano all earning all-Nescac nods under him. Jared Lebowitz ’18 has the talent to be the best one yet, and put up a mostly-stellar season last year. This was due in large part, however, to most talented receiving class in the league. Phenom Conrado Banky ’19 earned an all-Nescac First Team nod, James Burke ’17 landed on the Second Team, and Ryan Rizzo ’17 offered a dynamic third option and also excelled as a return man. Only Banky remains from that group. Unless young receivers like Jimmy Martinez ’19 can step up, Middlebury might need to balance their offense more than in years past. Running back Diego Meritus ’20 showed flashes of excellence last year, and should be ready to explode in his junior year with a heavier workload.
Lebowitz’s job will also be made more difficult by a young offensive line. Senior leaders like Andy Klarman provided needed stability to a unit that struggled at times last season, and there is still uncertainty about who will fill those spots. Lebowitz showed himself to be prone to rushed decisions at times last year, and a shaky offensive line could only exacerbate that problem.
The defense mostly returns, with a few notable exceptions. DB Nate Leedy and LB Addison Pierce provided stability and toughness to a unit that was otherwise very young, and they both graduated. Leadership responsibilities now fall largely on the shoulders of LB John Jackson ’18, and anyone else who steps up throughout the year. However, for all that leadership Middlebury still gave up 48 points to Tufts and 49 to Trinity. The defense will have to improve a great deal for the Panthers to remain one of the elite Nescac programs. Middlebury lost a lot in the off-season, but that could give several youngsters a chance to step up. Hopefully they continue their high level of play and Amherst returns to glory, giving us a real five way race at the top of the league.
Nothing but NESCAC is a student-run blog that provides Nescac sports with in-depth analysis usually reserved for Division One athletics. It grew out of PantherNation, a Middlebury-centric blog run by Damon Hathaway ’13 and Jeff Hetzel ’13. When Joe Macdonald ’16 and Bowdoin student Adam Lamont ’16 took over, they expanded coverage to include baseball and brought in writers from almost every Nescac school. More recently, co-editors Rory Ziomek ’17 (Tufts) and Peter Lindholm ’17.5 have added women’s soccer and basketball. With coverage, feature articles and a strong social media presence (@CACSportsBlog on Twitter, Instagram coming soon) Nothing but Nescac strives to be a sports blog that serves the entire NESCAC community.
(05/11/17 3:50am)
The women’s lacrosse team just can’t get over the hump against Colby. The Panthers lost their first matchup when they travelled to Waterville, Maine, on April 22 by a score of 9-6. This past Saturday, May 6, despite homefield advantage in the NESCAC tournament, the Panthers fell to Colby 10-9 again in the semifinals at Kohn Field.
Colby scored the first two goals before Sara DiCenso ’19 brought the game to within one on a free-position opportunity with 21:48 remaining in the first half for her 11th goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Bea Eppler ’17 tallied another free-position opportunity for her 17th on the year.
Soon after, though, Colby started to take control of the game. They scored the next four goals of the game. Hollis Perticone ’18, who led the NESCAC with 68 draw controls and was just named the NESCAC Player of the Year on May 4, put a stop the the Mules’ ferocious run when she found the back of the net for the 30th time this season.
Two minutes later, Eppler tallied number two on the day, bringing the Panthers to within two. After an Alex White ’19 foul, the Panthers were in a man-down position. Even at a disadvantage they were able to bring the game even closer, as Mary O’Connell ’17 assisted a Casey O’Neill ’19 goal with 2:03 left in the first period.
The Mules threatened to extend their lead to two, but Kate Furber ’19, a NESCAC Second-Team selection after being a mainstay in goal for the Panthers, made a save.
However, Colby took a 6-5 lead into the intermission period.
Jessie Yorke ’17 says the team talked about “confidence and trusting each other” during the intermission period. To win, the team had to play loose.
Colby opened the second half scoring when Sasha Fritts netted her 40th goal of the season. Eppler quickly answered, with an assist by MG Gately ’20. With the Panthers still down by one, O’Connell – who was named to the All-NESCAC First Team after leading the Panthers in points with 55 and assists with 22 and being second on the team in goals with 33 — scored her 34th of the year to tie things up.
After a Colby goal put the Mules on top once again, Gately tallied her fifth of the season. The Panthers retook the lead five minutes later when Jenna McNicholas ’19 put her 18th goal of the season in the back of the net, again assisted by O’Connell. Middlebury now had their first lead of the game.
This advantage was short-lived, however. Colby scored the next two goals, putting them up 10-9. With just over two minutes remaining, the Panthers needed a score to force overtime or two to clinch the victory.
In the final minute of play, the Panthers had opportunities to score but came up short. DiCenso and Eppler both had shots that hit the post. With 30 seconds left, Colby’s clear attempt failed when Delaina Smith ’17, another NESCAC First Teamer with her 27 takeaways, second in the NESCAC, added to her total with a stick check.
The Panthers retained possession and had one last opportunity, but O’Connell’s shot was saved by the Colby goalkeeper as the clock struck triple zeroes.
Evie Keating ’18, who was named all-NESCAC Second Team after ranking ninth in the league with 32 ground balls and second on the Panthers with 19 caused turnovers, talked about how the team’s seniors have inspired their teammates.
“[They] have been an inspiration to their teammates and coaches and have led a very young team to some pretty amazing wins and to a promising position for the NCAA tournament,” Keating said. “Even after Saturday’s loss, I have high hopes for our chances in the coming weeks thanks to the leadership from our seniors and the big roles underclassmen are stepping into.”
Perticone said much of the same.
“We have a lot of young talent on our team so this past weekend was a good experience to feel the jitters and pressure of tournament games,” Perticone said.
The Panthers season is not over, however. Middlebury will play at least one game in the upcoming NCAA tournament when they take on Plymouth State on May 13. In the event of a victory, they will force a rematch with Colby.
(05/11/17 1:42am)
The baseball team is sitting pretty at 20-14 after winning against Bowdoin on Saturday, May 6, and splitting a doubleheader against Tufts on Sunday, May 7. Against Bowdoin, the Panthers managed to get five innings in before it began to pour. Bowdoin took an early one-run lead in the bottom of the first, but Middlebury was quick to respond with two runs. Kevin Woodring ’20 knocked Justin Han ’20, who had reached on a single. Phil Bernstein ’19 increased the lead 2-1 after he scorched a line-drive double into right field scoring Woodring. The Polar Bears clawed back knotting the score at 2-2 and tacked on another two runs in the bottom of the third giving the hosts a 4-2 advantage.
But Middlebury exploded for six runs in the fourth inning. Woodring plated the first run on with an RBI double to left field, while Grant Elgarten ’20 hit a two-run single to take a 5-4 lead. Brooks Carroll ’20 bunted down the first base line, beating the pitcher to the base and scoring Elgarten. Sam Graf ’19 capped off the inning with a 360 foot shot that hit the top of the fence, scoring two more.
The hosts were unable to muster a response as Middlebury scored three more at the top of the fifth. Bernstein, who finished the game going a perfect 3-3 with two doubles and three RBI’s, hit the second of his two doubles scoring two runs giving the visitors a 10-4 lead. Ryan Rizzo ’17 scored the final run of the game on a sac-fly.
Dylan Takamori ’17 took over after Spencer Shores ’20 struggled, allowing four runs on five hits. Takamori earned the win with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
The Panthers improved to 19-13 and headed down to Boston, Mass. for a two-game series against Tufts University.
“If we can just get one guy on, we can make the opposing pitcher feel some pressure which allows us to then capitalize on his mistakes,” Bernstein said about the team’s batting rhythm.
“Once we get a rally started, it’s pretty hard for opposing teams to get us out, and has led to some pretty big innings this season.”
On Sunday, May 7, Middlebury split with the no. 11 nationally ranked Tufts Jumbos. The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when Han came up to the plate and blasted a 340–foot opposite field home run to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Although Tufts loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, starter Colby Morris '19 got out of the jam without allowing any runs. Middlebury tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the seventh when Woodring hit a bases clearing double into the right-field gap. Conor Himstead ’19, who leads the NESCAC with six saves, retired the Jumbos batters to secure the win.
In the nightcap, although the Panthers lost 6-1, they out hit the Jumbos 6-4. Colin Waters ’19 suffered the loss, but he will undoubtedly be back for redemption in the NESCAC playoffs.
“The feeling was awesome,” Woodring said of the win earlier that day. “As a team, we’ve been trying to compete in every game we’ve played in and it was great to get a win like that today. We couldn’t have been happier with a win today, especially against a high caliber team like Tufts.”
The team feels optimistic as they head into postseason play.
“We’re focused, having fun, and playing relaxed,” said Bernstein. “As a result, we’re playing our best brand of baseball right now and that’s exactly what we need as we head into the NESCAC tournament this weekend.”
“We are playing like a team ready to win a NESCAC championship,” Sebastian Sanchez ’18 added. “Our energy, our focus and our determination is truly out of this world. We have trusted the process and it has paid off. Midd Baseball is hot, watch out.”
(05/11/17 1:34am)
This past weekend the men’s lacrosse team saw their season end when they lost to top-ranked Bates in the NESCAC semifinals in Lewiston, Me.
A hard road stood between the Panthers and the conference title, as they would have to overcome a Bates team that went undefeated in conference play to get to the championship game. Their victory over no. 3–seeded Amherst the week before set the Panthers up for the contest against the undefeated Bobcats, the #1 team in the country and the host of the tournament. In an riveting matchup, the Panthers upstaged Bates and spoiled their historic season, punching their ticket to the NESCAC final with a 14-13 victory. The win set them up to face Wesleyan after the Cardinals’ win over Tufts that same day.
In the game against Wesleyan, defense was the name of the game: the Cardinals took a rather conservative approach, positioning most of their players on their half of the field to keep the score low and keep the game within reach for a late comeback. Wesleyan was ultimately able to close in and cut the gap of the Middlebury lead, scoring three unanswered goals late to take a 9-8 lead and ending the Panthers’ season.
Coming hot into the game was goalie Chase Midgley ’19, the reigning NESCAC player of the week and the starter for both of the weekend’s matchups. Midgley brought his A-game again against the Bobcats as the star goalie stopped 19 of the 32 shots that Bates rocketed off on the day.
The Panthers entered the game “confident and excited for the challenge,” Midgley would say afterwards; they were ready to go against the team that barely beat them a few weeks before.
The Panthers started off strongly with a quick goal from Henry Riehl ’18, followed by a 3-1 scoring run powered by A.J. Kucinski ’20, Chase Goree ’20, and Parker Lawlor ’18. Bates scored four more goals in the first quarter, but Middlebury kept pace with two of their own by Frankie Cosolito ’20 and Kucinski; the score stood at 6-5 in Middlebury’s favor by the end of the first frame.
The second quarter was far more defensively oriented: Middlebury only scored one more goal, netted by Riehl, which was countered by two from the Bobcats. With a 7-7 score that essentially amounted to a clean slate after halftime, Midd came out firing in the third quarter with quick goals from Kucinski and JP Miller ’17. The Bobcats responded with one of their own before the two teams began trading scores, with goals by by Miller and Lawlor answered respectively by Bates to bring the tally to 11-10 going into the final frame.
Every time Bates was able to score in the fourth period, the Panthers were able to answer in turn. In the end, the Bobcats couldn’t mount a comeback; Middlebury came away with a victory to the tune of a 14-13 final score, sealing the biggest win of the year for the Panthers.
After the big win on Saturday, the Middlebury squad had a quick turnaround for the NESCAC finals against Wesleyan on Sunday. Wesleyan sat in a zone and wasn’t terribly aggressive on defense: they didn’t press outwards in order to slow down the game and keep the score low. This strategy made it difficult for Middlebury to shoot by limiting their one-on-one matchups against Wesleyan defenders.
While Middlebury was able to best Wesleyan early on, taking a commanding 6-2 lead heading into halftime, four goals would prove to be too narrow of a margin. Wesleyan was able to score back-to-back goals with a man up on the Panthers in the third quarter, narrowing the margin to 8-6 heading into the last quarter.
Penalties continued to hurt the Panthers as Wesleyan scored two more man-up goals to even the score. With five minutes left, the Cardinals ripped a shot into the back of the net to put the final nail in the coffin for the Panthers’ season. The scoring would end there as the Panthers couldn’t manage to tie up the game; despite another great game from Midgley, who had 13 saves, the match ended at 9-8 in Wesleyan’s favor.
Despite an up-and-down season for the Panthers, the team was certainly pleased with the strong ending to their 2017 campaign.
“Beating Bates was awesome and set the stage well for next season,” said Chris Bradbury ‘19. “It showed that despite all of the injuries we faced, we were still able to come together as a group and beat the best team in the country.”
