1000 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(02/25/15 3:05pm)
The Middlebury women’s basketball team’s season ended this weekend with a 80-52 loss to the 16th-ranked Bowdoin College Polar Bears (22-3, 9-1) in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament.
After having lost to the Polar Bears just two weeks prior to this matchup at Pepin Gymnasium on Sunday, Feb. 8 (53-43), this loss came as a repeat for the Panthers. Overall, the team finished placed seventh in the NESCAC, with an 11-14 record that includes a 3-7 slate in-conference. This marks a vast improvement upon the 2013-14 season, where Middlebury finished last in the NESCAC with a 7-17 overall, and 1-9 conference record.
The Panthers relied heavily on a five-woman starting core this season, and three among that group, Sarah Kaufman ’18, Sabrina Weeks ’18 and Elizabeth Knox ’17, will return next season along with the two most experienced bench players, Siobhan O’Sullivan ’17 and Krystina Reynolds ’17. All of this bodes well for the continued improvement of the program.
Head Coach KJ Krasco praised the two departing seniors who frequented the starting lineup, Rachel Crew ’15 and Alexis Coolidge ’15, along with Holly Lanchantin ’15 and Nora Kelly ’15 who also made substantial contributions to the team.
“Our seniors did a great job this season of leading a young group,” Krasco said. “We have some very talented and hard-working underclassmen who are determined to help lead our program to
future postseason games.”
On Saturday, Feb. 21, the Polar Bears outplayed the Panthers for most of the contest and dominated the game inside the paint, where Bowdoin outscored Middlebury 34-24 and outrebounded the visitors 50-29.
“In the first half this past weekend,” Crews reflected, “we gave up way too many offensive boards and allowed them easy looks with second, third and fourth chance opportunities.”
Middlebury held leads of 2-0, 4-2 and 6-4 earlier in the game, but a subsequent 8-0 run for Bowdoin resulted in a lead that the Polar Bears refused to relinquish. The Panthers kept the deficit to single digits for the majority of the first half, but over the last 5:02 of the first half, Bowdoin outscored Middlebury 13-3, including a buzzer-beating half court heave from Bowdoin’s Sydney Hancock. Going into the break the lead was 44-27 in favor of the Polar Bears.
Knox had a strong first half for Middlebury, netting 10 points on 4-9 shooting and snagging six rebounds. Coolidge tallied six points of her own on 3-4 shooting.
Crews opened the Panthers’ scoring in the second half by responding to a Bowdoin two-point jumper with a trey ball to shrink the deficit to 16, but throughout the second half Bowdoin slowly and steadily extended that 16-point lead to as many as 30 with 2:54 left to play. A couple of free throws late from Reynolds made the score 80-52 in favor of the Polar Bears,and ended the scoring.
Kaufman led the Panthers in the second half, dropping seven points on 3-6 shooting, while Knox grabbed four more boards.
On the game, Knox recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, while Kaufman was the only other Panther to score in double digits, with 11 of her own. Weeks tallied nine points and added four boards to the effort.
Departing Captain Crews feels positive about the program’s direction going forward.
“With a new coach coming in and a very young team,” Crews said, “[this season] was basically a fresh start for the program...One thing that really stood out this season was our improvement in communication both on and off the court. … With a new foundation for the program in place, Middlebury will be a major competitor in the NESCAC in the upcoming years.”
Coach Krasco is already looking ahead to work on fulfilling Crews’ prophecy.
“This year was brand new for everyone involved,” Krasco said. “Overall I am pleased with the progress we have made as a team and look forward to taking on new challenges and taking time to reflect on how we can become a better team over the next few months.”
(02/25/15 3:04pm)
The track teams began their postseasons this past weekend, competing in the New England Division III Championships. The men and women’s meets are contested at different facilities; this year, both teams were in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, with the men competing at Springfield College while the women were hosted by Smith College. The men’s team finished in 17th place with 14 points and the women took home 7th place by scoring 47 points. MIT was crowned team champion for both genders.
The mile run was the highlight for the men. Sam Cartwright ’16 secured all-New England honors with a fifth place finish in a time of 4:19.57. Wilder Schaaf ’14.5 was not far behind, crossing the line in seventh with 4:21.65. In the 5000m run, Kevin Wood ’15 finished sixth by running 15:08.
On the infield, Taylor Shortsleeve ’15 missed making the final in the 60m hurdles by 0.01 seconds, completing the race in 8.58 seconds. Jared Whitman ’17 set an indoor personal best in the pole vault by clearing 4.05m (13’3.5”), good enough for a five-way tie for 11th. Teammate Conor Simons ’16 was also a part of that tie by clearing the same height. In the shot put, Danny Plunkett ’16 scored a point with an 8th place finish by launching the shot 14.03m (46’0.5”).
The women kicked off their meet on Friday, Feb. 20, by placing two athletes in the top 8 in the pentathlon. Hannah Blackburn ’17 broke Maddie Pronovost’s ’17 school record by a mere four points, scoring 2901 points for a 5th place finish. Pronovost was only slightly off her previous best of 2897 points, this time scoring 2870 points to finish 7th.
The next day, Saturday, Feb. 21, was time for the Middlebury distance women to shine. The women were successful in the mile; Alison Maxwell ’15 finished runner-up to Maryann Gong of MIT by running 4:53.63 to Gong’s 4:51.12. Their times are currently the two fastest in Division III. Summer Spillane ’15 finished third by running 4:59.62, which ranks her ninth in Division III after track indexing. Erzsie Nagy ’17 and Sarah Guth ’15 also scored in the mile, taking sixth and seventh in times of 5:02.48 and 5:02.82, respectively. All told, the mile accounted for 19 of the team’s 47 points.
“The two of us went out in front, but I think the rest of the pack was right behind us at the beginning,” Maxwell said. “I think that throughout the race we kept pulling farther and farther away from them. I was hoping to out kick her in the last lap, but that’s when she finally shook me off and gained that two seconds on me.”
The quartet of milers was not finished; several hours later, the four teamed up to race the 4x800m relay and took 2nd place to Wesleyan with a time of 9:30.21.
“It was a pretty fun team, because since we had all had great races already, we weren’t feeling too much pressure for the relay,” Maxwell said. “ But at the same time, we were in the slow heat because we were entered with No Time and still wanted to place overall, so we were kind of chasing the imagined leaders of the fast heat, which ran after us.”
Elsewhere on the track, Adrian Walsh ’16 was runner-up in the 5000m by running 17:24, a time currently ranking her 11th in Division III. Paige Fernandez ’17 set a personal best in the 600m run by over four seconds, running 1:37.88 to finish fifth. The 4x400 team of Fernandez, Kate McCluskey ’18, Perri Silverhart ’16.5 and Alex Morris ’16 crossed the line in 4:05.13, good enough for seventh.
Next on the schedule is the Open New England Championships at Boston University on Feb. 27 and 28. “Opens” takes the top athletes from all NCAA divisions in New England and is always an opportunity to run fast: last year, all of the teams’ NCAA qualifying marks were run at this meet.
(02/25/15 3:03pm)
The Middlebury men’s hockey team finished the regular season by going .500 in back-to-back away NESCAC games. The Panthers were shut out by 10th-ranked Amherst 4-0 on Friday, Feb 20 and then turned around to beat Hamilton 3-1. Middlebury’s final regular season record sits at 10-11-3 and 7-8-3 in the NESCAC, putting them in the seventh seed for the NESCAC playoffs.
The Panthers drew a tough matchup for the first game of the crucial final regular-season weekend as they were tasked with playing the Lord Jeffs on the road.
Amherst scored the first goal of the game 9:32 in and did not look back. Amherst’s goalie made several incredible saves to keep the Panthers off of the scoreboard. It was 2-0 Amherst at the end of the second as the Jeffs got another puck past Middlebury goaltender Stephen Klein ’18. One minute into the third Amherst struck again, prompting Middlebury Head Coach Bill Beaney to pull Klein in favor of Mike Peters ’15.
Despite some good pressure in the third, Middlebury was unable to get on the scoreboard while Amherst notched one more goal to make it a 4-0 final score. Middlebury was unable to convert on five power play opportunities in the game and were outshot 28 to 25.
After the difficult loss to Amherst the Panthers traveled to Clinton, NY for a 3:00 p.m. faceoff against Hamilton on Saturday. The game against Hamilton started off much better for Middlebury. The Panthers were able to put on sustained pressure in the Hamilton zone and finally broke through on the power play 13:20 into the first period. After the Hamilton goaltender stopped a long shot from Terrance Goguen ’16, Brendan McGovern ’16 managed to scoop up the rebound and slip it inside the near post. The goal was the first Middlebury goal of the weekend and the start of a very good night for McGovern.
Hamilton equalized 6:10 into the second period as they got a shot past Middlebury goaltender Liam Moorfield-Yee ’16. Middlebury continued to press after the Hamilton equalizer and were rewarded with two McGovern goals in a two-minute span. McGovern hounded the slot area and was rewarded when he picked up rebounds off of Evan Neugold ’16 and Jake Charles ’16 shots and put both away, one at the 11:23 mark of the second and the next at the 13:13 mark to complete the hat trick and double his season goal total.
16:13 into the second a bit of a tussle occurred as both Cameron Romoff ’17 and a Hamilton player were sent off with game misconducts for facemasking. The Middlebury penalty kill was strong all game as they killed off all six Hamilton power plays. The Panthers were able to hold on for the 3-1 win as Moorfield-Yee picked up his second win of the season despite having to be replaced by Peters a little more than halfway through the second period.
With their final regular season record of 10-11-3, the Panthers have secured the seventh seed in the NESCAC playoffs. Middlebury now faces the tough task of playing the same Amherst team that just beat them 4-0, this time in an away quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, Feb. 28.
McGovern commented on the team’s prospects in the Amherst game.
“We need to go over the video from [this past weekend’s] game,” McGovern said. “This will definitely bring to light some of the issues we had. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of uncharacteristically bad plays. We need to play a smarter game with more energy. Fortunately, we have a week to correct those issues.”
(02/19/15 1:28am)
Middlebury students left the frigid winter temperatures of Vermont and travelled to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to participate in a women’s empowerment MAlt trip over February break. Over the course of the following week, they engaged with an organization known as Iniciativa Comunitaria, or Community Initiative (IC), and worked with women and transgender sex workers to participate in hands-on, alternative approaches seeking to aid Puerto Rico’s prominent drug abuse problem.
Trip leaders Camila Fernandez ’15 and Ryan Coates ’15 originally chose the location due to their interest in Puerto Rico’s rich cultural and political history, and then expanded the trip to focus on their other shared passion of female empowerment and women’s rights.
“Puerto Rico is interesting because it’s part of the United States and Latin America at the same time, and we wanted to see how that played out,” Coates said. “We made an effort to integrate into the Puerto Rican culture to get a better cultural context of the community we were working with.”
During the first few days of their trip, they attended training sessions and cultural competency workshops facilitated by IC, where they were able to speak to many of the volunteers and learn more about what the organization is about.
“Speaking with volunteers was fascinating because these are people from San Juan who wanted to give back to their community,” group member Jiya Pandya ’17 said. “They’re all really passionate about what they’re doing.”
With a slogan that reads “Somos un gran abrazo,” or, “we are a big hug,” IC was founded by a doctor who attended medical school in Puerto Rico and was disappointed by the current solutions to help the social injustices of the community. Through IC, alternative solutions are brought to the table: clean needle exchanges to prevent the spread of infection among drug users, outreach programs to women and transgender sex workers, food, water, and medical supplies offered to homeless populations, and child developmental programs. Some of the most important tenants of their programs are empathy, compassion, and “amor” — love — and they strive to create a happy and healthy community.
After the MAlt group finished their training, they were able to participate directly in the services IC provides. From 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday night, their last night in Puerto Rico, the group split, with the first half working with women and transgender sex workers and the second half engaging in the clean needle exchange program.
Working with the program’s head coordinator Ivana Fred, some of the MAlt trip participants followed Fred’s vehicle as she went to certain areas and neighborhoods of Puerto Rico where many sex workers congregated, giving out baggies of condoms and lubricant and speaking to women and transgender sex workers about the organization. They were surprised to find out that there had been a police raid in that same area the night before.
“Not many transgender [sex workers] were coming to the car … because they [the police] had arrested them the night before. There is a lot of police brutality against them; they cut their hair and hold them down,” Fernandez said. “It’s pretty surprising to see and hear about the direct targeting of transgender women where in a neighborhood two to three blocks away, there’s a very big drug area.”
“[The police] would come dressed as normal people and offer a price [for sex], and a lot of the women caught were put in jail and charged fines of $250 minimum. They can’t afford to pay that,” said Ellen Sartorelli ’17, another participant of the trip.
Other students travelled with IC’s program Operación Compasión, where they drove with fellow volunteers in a truck with food and medical supplies to prominent San Juan homeless communities, distributing food, water, and clean needles to prevent illness, particularly HIV, which in Puerto Rico is spread more commonly through needles than sexual contact.
“Most of what people do who volunteer is talk to the people there, see what they need. It’s really about building relationships and making them feel wanted, included, cared for,” Pandya said.
Pandya explained how she met David, a man suffering from a drug addiction and who had been on the streets for about two months. Any money he earned, however, was spent either to call his family or buy more drugs.
“He told us he knew he could save up money and travel to the drug recovery center that the organization had,” Pandya said, “and he told us that he wanted to, but he couldn’t: he didn’t have the will to do it.”
Another man Pandya encountered had a mosquito bite that he had scratched open, and because he didn’t have access to clean water, it had not healed properly. She had to hold a flashlight as three medical student volunteers peeled off his sock and washed his wound.
“We don’t think twice about those things, but for someone who doesn’t have access [to clean water], that’s a much bigger deal,” Pandya said.
When they were not working with IC, the MAlt trip was exploring Puerto Rico and the cultural community.
“We were experiencing Puerto Rico as a real Puerto Rican would,” Sartorelli said. “We weren’t limited to the organization. We learned about living in Puerto Rico.”
One of the many interesting points the group learned as they experienced life in Puerto Rico was that grocery prices were much higher because Puerto Rico only produces 13 to 15 percent of its own food while the rest is imported because of the limitations of United States trade agreements. Some locals also referred to Puerto Rico as a colony, others as a country: it was never called a territory even though the locals know it is considered part of the United States.
“It was interesting because as you’re driving through there’s Spanish on the radio, on the billboards, and then a Walmart just jumps out at you,” Sartorelli said.
“It’s the United States in some ways and then in other ways it’s not,” Coates said.
A cultural, political, and social immersion into Puerto Rico itself, the San Juan MAlt trip provided for many of its members another look at women’s empowerment as well as a chance for an interactive and collaborative service trip experience.
“I’ve always considered myself passionate about female empowerment,” Sartorelli said, “But now, after doing this, I think I want to get more involved with organizations like WomenSafe or MiddSafe in the future. It was a great opportunity to do work that people always say they’re passionate about.”
(02/19/15 12:44am)
At the annual winter carnival, the ski teams put together a strong showing to finish third (783) behind carnival winners UVM (931) and runners up Dartmouth (788). Middlebury missed out on second place by only 5 points and beat fourth place UNH by 10 points in a crowded field.
The weekend races included Heather Mooney ’15 leading the women’s nordic team to team and individual wins in the 10K classic and the alpine women winning their first event of the season in the giant slalom on Saturday, February 14th.
In the alpine races at the Snow Bowl, the women placed fifth in slalom on Friday, February 13th. Mary Sackbauer ’15 led the team with a sixth place time of 1:42.99, followed by Katy Greene ’17 (1:46.43) in 16th and Elle Gilbert ’16 (1:46.51) in 19th.
The women fared much better on Saturday. Katelyn Barclay ’15 led a group of three Middlebury skiers in the top five with a third place time of 2:13.14. Her teammates Sackbauer (2:13.88) and Gilbert (2:14.00) came in directly behind her, leading to the Panther win. Barclay finished over two seconds behind the event winner. The three women were in second, third and fourth place after the first run, but a strong second run by Dartmouth’s Foreste Peterson pushed her into second ahead of the consistent Panther women.
In the men’s races on Friday, the team skied to a third place finish behind UVM and UNH. They also turned in their highest point total in a slalom event this season. Rob Cone ’17 (1:31.37), Colin Hayes ’17 (1:33.00) and Christopher McKenna ’17 (1:33.08) all scored for the Panthers, who finished with 109 points in the event. Cone sat in second place after the first run and turned in a third-best time on the second run. UNH’s Coley Oliver managed to jump Cone for the win by half a second after a blistering second run. Hayes, who sat in 26th after the first run challenged Oliver’s winning second run, coming in second only two tenths of a second back, launching him into the top ten. Middlebury’s McKenna placed 12th.
In the giant slalom on Saturday, Cone led after the first run then slipped back into third overall with a time of 2:09.60, a second behind the winner. Teammates McKenna and Riley Plant ’18 completed the strong overall showing with fifth and sixth place finishes of 2:09.71 and 2:09.86, respectively. Middlebury lost the GS event to UVM by a single point.
In the nordic events, the women continued the dominant momentum that they have established throughout the season. In the classic events on Friday, Mooney won the women’s 10K by 10 seconds with a time of 31:01.2. Stella Holt ’15 came in sixth (32:06.1) and Nicolette Amber ’16 finished 14th (33:26.4). It was Mooney’s third straight win, and Holt’s third top 10 of the season in classic events. The women won the event by ten points over second place Bates.
“There is definitely a home course advantage for both nordic and alpine races,” Holt said. “On the nordic side we are able to train every day on the exact same course we race on for our home carnival.”
On Saturday in the skate race, Middlebury placed third behind UVM and UNH. Mooney placed second on the day, finishing the 5K in 16:11.2, three seconds back. Holt took 15th with a time of 17:13.9, and Amber took 19th in 17:20.7.
The men placed sixth on Friday in the classic races, and seventh on Saturday in the skate. Patrick McElravey ’17 led the team with a 13th place finish in 27:10.7. Adam Luban ’17 came in 17th with a time of 27:32.3, and Evan Weinman ’18 (27:52) placed 25th. On Saturday, McElravey slid into the top ten with a seventh place 26:20.1. Luban finished tied for 23rd with a time of 27:12.8, and Jacob Volz ’18 came in in 29:30.6, good for 50th place.
Holt looked forward to the last carnival, saying, “We know we are capable of winning a day and even a weekend as a women’s team as we have done it on multiple occasions throughout this season.”
Next week, the ski teams are off, but head up to the St. Lawrence carnival in Lake Placid, NY for the EISA championships the week after. The carnival serves as the penultimate race before the NCAA championships, which will also be hosted by St. Lawrence.
(02/19/15 12:41am)
Last weekend, the Middlebury women’s swimming and diving team traveled to the Wesleyan Natatorium in Middletown, Conn. to swim in the three-day NESCAC Championship meet on Feb. 13-15. Middlebury maintained the third-place position from day one of competition, defending their third-place title from last year with a score of 1,203.
While the Panthers were not able to edge out the league champion, Williams (2,103.5), or runner-up Bates (1,345), the women outswam Amherst (fourth place) by a solid 162 points to assert their dominance after an extremely tight loss by just 9.5 points to the Lord Jeffs at last year’s championship. By placing significantly higher than sixth place Connecticut College, Middlebury righted another wrong after losing to the Camels in the first dual meet of the season back in November.
“We couldn’t have done anything more last weekend as far as percentages of best times,” said Head Coach Bob Rueppel of the Panthers’ performance.
The first event served as a good indicator of what was to come, as the Middlebury quartet of Jamie Hillas ’15, Morgan Burke ’17, Megan Griffin ’16 and Courtney Haron ’15 placed third in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:35.02), just 0.66 of a second behind first-place Williams, and seven hundredths behind Bates. This effort improved upon Middlebury’s 2008 school record in the 200 free relay by 0.42 seconds.
The legendary team of Hillas, Burke, Griffin and Haron did not stop there, and went on to set another school record in the 400 freestyle relay during the final event of the meet by posting an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 3:29.18. Though this time also surpassed the previous Wesleyan Natatorium pool record, Middlebury earned third place in the event behind Williams and Bowdoin.
The Panthers maintained their third-place trend with performances in the 400 medley relay by Sarah Bartholomae ’18, Hillas, Griffin and Burke (3:49.13), as well as the 200 medley relay by Bartholomae, Hillas, Griffin and Haron (1:44.72).
Hillas carried the team’s success in the relays into her individual events. After tying for first place in the 50 breaststroke last year, Hillas finished as the sole champion in the event this year, setting a pool record and improving upon her school record with a time of 28.82. On top of this, Hillas touched the wall second in the 100 breast (1:03.10) and fifth in the 200 breast (2:21.33).
The conference recognized Hillas for accumulating a total of 337 points throughout her four years of championship competition — the second-most ever earned by an individual.
Behind Hillas, Nora O’Leary ’17 finished seventh in the 200 breast with an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 2:22.29.
Griffin swam a 25.34 in the 50 butterfly to place second in the event. Also in butterfly, Lily Sawyer ’16 finished sixth in the 200 fly (2:09.22) — having posted a NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 2:07.88 in her preliminary swim — and Margaret Pollack ’18 placed 10th in the same event (2:10.46).
Another NCAA ‘B’ cut time came from Maddie Pierce ’16 in the 400 individual medley prelims (4:35.62), where she placed eighth for Middlebury in the finals.
More top-10 performances included Burke’s clocking a 52.29 in the 100 free for the seventh-place position, and Bartholomae’s earning 10th place in the 200 back (2:07.64).
Diver Adrianna Baker ’15 also made important contributions to the Panthers’ success, placing fifth in the one-meter dive finals and fourth in the three-meter finals. She racked up 51 points in the meet.
Though conference competition is over, the Middlebury women who’s NCAA ‘B’ cut times qualify will race in the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving National Championships in Woodlands, Texas at the end of March. “We’ll be going into that meet really trying to score top eight in all four of [our strong] relays, which would be a great accomplishment,” said Coach Rueppel.
The men’s Swimming and Diving team will host the men’s NESCAC Championship this Friday-Sunday, Feb. 20-22 at the Middlebury Natatorium, hoping to better their seventh-place finish from last year’s championship.
(02/19/15 12:37am)
The Middlebury men’s basketball team finished its season this weekend by splitting its two home games and failing to qualify for the NESCAC championships. On Friday, Feb. 13, the Panthers fell to Trinity 90-85 before defeating Amherst 82-69 on Sunday, Feb. 15.
Entering the weekend, the Panthers stood at 3-5 in the NESCAC, good for an eighth-place (the final spot in the playoff bracket) tie with Wesleyan — although Middlebury held the tiebreaker thanks to the Panthers’ 97-60 dismantling of the Cardinals earlier this year.
After getting significantly outplayed by Trinity in the first half and much of the second half on its home court, the Panthers frenziedly rallied to come within four points (conceivably a one-possession game), before eventually suffering a heartbreaking loss that would ultimately eliminate the Panthers from postseason play.
Middlebury took an early 8-4 lead, but Trinity quickly grabbed the driver’s wheel with several first half spurts to take a 39-24 advantage at the halfway point. The Bantams had their way on the offensive end, making more than half of their shots, including several dunks and a 6-9 mark from beyond the arc, while the Panthers crawled to a lowly 31 percent mark from the field.
Trinity came out with that same high level of play to begin the second half, scoring the first seven points of the half to build its largest lead of the game, 46-24, at the 17:52 mark. Over the next 13 minutes, Middlebury slowly chipped away, but the Bantams still held a significant 74-59 advantage with 4:30 remaining.
Matt St. Amour ’17 took over momentarily and scored 10 of his team’s next 11 points as the Panthers pulled within 10 with just over two minutes left. Hoping to extend the game, the Panthers started fouling if they failed to force a turnover quickly with their frantic defense, and a combination of Trinity turnovers and missed free throws gave the Panthers the opportunity to shrink the lead to only four, 87-83, on a Dylan Sinnickson ’15 tip-in with 26 seconds left.
The Panthers could not get any closer as Trinity’s Jaquann Starks knocked down one of two free throws, and Sinnickson missed a three to give the Bantams a 90-85 win.
Trinity played impressive defense on the Panthers all night, only allowing Middlebury to shoot 23-62 (37.1 percent) from the field and 7-22 (31.8 percent) from deep.
St. Amour scored all of his game-high 20 points in the second half, converting all eight of his foul shots and leading the Middlebury comeback. Hunter Merryman ’15 added 16 points, while Matt Daley ’16 tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double in the last six games. Jake Brown ’17 scored 11 points while assisting on seven other baskets and committing only one turnover.
After Wesleyan won on Friday and Saturday, the Panthers were mathematically eliminated, meaning the Amherst game on Sunday had no impact on the Panthers’ chances of making the postseason. However, intrigue remained as the result would be the difference for Amherst between the second and fifth seeds in the tournament and for Middlebury it was Senior Day for five Panthers (Sinnickson, Merryman, captain Dean Brierley ’15, Chris Churchill ’15 and Eamon Cuddy ’15), and they went out on a good note, defeating Amherst 82-69 and snapping the Lord Jeffs’ six-game winning streak.
Starting the four seniors who had never before beaten Amherst, the amped-up Panthers jumped out to an early 13-8 lead as all four seniors found the bottom of the net. The Lord Jeffs answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead, but that would last for all of eight seconds before the Panthers exploded to outscore them 20-7 over the next 5:30 and build a 33-22 lead. When the first half ended, Middlebury held a 41-34 lead behind a balanced offensive effort — all 10 Panthers who saw action scored.
For much of the second half, neither team made much headway in either direction as the Panthers still held a 67-61 lead with just under six minutes left in the game. That changed as the Panthers went on a decisive 9-0 run over the next three minutes to put the game out of reach. When the buzzer sounded on the game and the Panthers’ season, the scoreboard showed 82-69 in favor of Middlebury.
Merryman led the Panthers in scoring with 24, while St. Amour and Daley chipped in 18 and 14 respectively off the bench.
Sinnickson, a two-year starter and inarguably Middlebury’s most valuable player this year, reflected emotionally on his final season in the blue and white and his playing career as a whole.
“It’s great to end on a win,” Sinnickson said. “It was a bright spot in a tough season. It’s tough to leave Pepin Gymnasium. So many great memories. Thanks to all the fans and good luck to my teammates next season and the future of Middlebury basketball.”
(02/19/15 12:32am)
The Middlebury women’s hockey team kept the good times rolling this past weekend, Feb. 13 and 14, recording a pair of wins over conference foe Williams to clinch the top seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament and extend their winning streak to 10.
Playing on the road in Williamstown on Friday, the Panthers got an early goal from Jessica Young ’18 for a 1-0 first-period lead. Young was assisted on that tally by Emily Fluke ’15 and Janka Hlinka ’18. A pair of Williams penalties gave Middlebury two man-up opportunities later in the period, but the Panthers were unable to capitalize, and went into the first break with a one-goal lead.
The second period was a quiet one on the scoreboard, with neither team able to break through. After killing off a penalty early in the period, the Panthers saw another two power plays come to an unsuccessful end before the buzzer sounded. The second period was a relatively even one in terms of scoring opportunities, with Williams holding a slight 10-9 advantage in shots.
Williams got the equalizer they were looking for in the eighth minute of the closing period, when Eph Eliza Noyes snuck the puck past Panther goalkeeper Annabelle Jones ’15 to knot the game at one. Penalties were again a sore spot for Williams, however, as the Ephs took two penalties in less than 10 seconds to give Middlebury a lengthy five-on-three opportunity midway through the third. Maddie Winslow ’18 was the Panther who took advantage, scoring with help from Young and Fluke to give her team the lead.
Middlebury was able to survive two stretches of man-down play as the clocked ticked towards zero, hanging on for the narrow 2-1 win.
Penalties were the difference in the game, with Williams taking six – including two which led to the eventual game-winner – to Middlebury’s three. Due in part to their wealth of man-up opportunities, the Panthers held a 28-20 shooting advantage in the game.
For Saturday’s game, the action moved up Route Seven to Middlebury’s Kenyon Arena for the Panthers’ regular-season conference finale. Middlebury coach Bill Mandigo played senior Maddie Marsh ’15 in goal on Saturday, continuing the two-goalie rotation that has proven to be effective throughout the season.
Despite 11 shots on goal, Middlebury was not able to score in the opening period of play. Eph Alex Lovaas went to the box for tripping in the ninth minute of play, but the ensuing power play did not result in any scoring.
Winslow again provided the spark that her team needed in Saturday’s game. Midway through the second period, the first-year took a feed from Victoria Laven ’17 and Carly Watson ’17 and found the back of the net to help the Panthers to a 1-0 advantage. Williams had several opportunities to even the score in the second half of the period, but Marsh and the Panther defense held firm and Middlebury went into the second break clinging to another one-goal lead.
That lead would not stay at one for long. Fluke – with help from Young and Watson – scored in just the second minute of the final period for a Panther insurance goal. Young followed that up two minutes later with a goal of her own, this time getting the assist from Fluke. Seeing the lead suddenly blown up to three goals, the Panthers were able to ride out the rest of the period with strong defensive play. Fluke netted her second goal of the game – this one an empty-netter – as time expired to bring the lead to its final 4-0 margin.
Marsh stopped all 20 Eph shots she faced on Saturday for her third shutout in just 12 starts. The senior has excelled in her role as part-time starter alongside Jones, winning 10 of those 12 starts in goal without losing a single game. Marsh’s goals against average of 1.23 ranks second in the conference, and her save percentage of .943 ranks third – both impressive statistics for a player who started just five games all of last year.
Jones, meanwhile, has been just as effective in the crease for Middlebury. She also ranks among the top 10 netminders in the NESCAC in goals against average and winning percentage.
The Panthers – with their pair of standout goalkeepers – host Plattsburgh State on Saturday, Feb. 21 in their final regular-season game. The matchup features the second and third-ranked teams in the country in Middlebury and Plattsburgh, respectively, and is a potential preview of a late-round NCAA playoff game, as both teams are virtually assured of returning to the tournament in 2015.
Before that can happen, the Panthers will look to win their first conference title since 2012 when the NESCAC tournament begins on Saturday, Feb. 28. After earning the top seed a year ago, Middlebury fell in the opening round to eighth-seed Connecticut College, a disappointment that will surely be on the players’ minds as they take to the ice this postseason.
(02/19/15 12:30am)
The Middlebury men’s hockey team went .500 in a pivotal rivalry home-and-home against Williams this past weekend, picking up the victory at home on Friday, Feb. 13, 2-0 before losing on the road 5-4 on Saturday, Feb. 14.
The Panthers started off the weekend on a positive note. Coming off a 3-0 shutout win over Wesleyan the weekend before, Middlebury prepared to square off against the 12th-ranked Williams College Ephs. Following an early Williams’ opportunity that was denied by Middlebury goaltender Stephen Klein ’18, the Panthers took control of the period. Less than two minutes after the Williams opportunity, the Panthers were on the board. At 5:57 into the first period Evan Neugold ’16 fired a shot from the crease that was denied, but stuck with the play and slipped in the rebound for his seventh goal of the season. Just 30 seconds into the second period it looked as if Williams would tie the game as a shot dribbled past Klein, but a rapid reaction from Panther defender Terrance Goguen ’16 cleared the puck off the goal line and kept Williams off of the scoreboard. Three minutes later and the Panthers struck again with another goal off of a rebound 4:21 into the second. After Mike Najjar’s ’17 initial shot was saved, Ronald Fishman ’16 picked up the rebound in the slot and put it away. Fishman’s goal was the end of the scoring for the game as both teams clamped down and both goalies came up with some incredible saves. Middlebury managed to end their home season on a good note as they won 2-0 and outshot the Ephs 39 to 22. Klein picked up his third shutout of the season with the victory.
The next day the Panthers looked to continue the positive momentum as they traveled to Williamstown to complete the second half of the home-and-home. It became clear after the first period that Saturday’s game would not be the low-scoring affair that Friday’s was. The Panthers took the lead 12:06 into the first period when Brendan McGovern ’16 picked up the rebound off of a Cameron Romoff ’17 shot and put it past the Williams’ goaltender for his third of the season. Four minutes later, Williams answered to make it a 1-1 game. The tie did not last long however, as the Panthers scored again at the 18:20 mark. Jake Charles ’16 found a rebound in front of the Williams net and backhanded it in to give the Panthers the 2-1 lead going into the second. Six minutes and 24 seconds into the second period Neugold increased the Middlebury lead to two. Neugold managed to get around both Williams defensemen and then shot it in glove side for a pretty goal. Unfortunately, Middlebury was unable to hold the lead in the high scoring second period and after forty minutes of play the game was tied 3-3. Charles struck once again for his team-leading 10th goal of the season 2:31 into the third. While on the power play Charles deflected a Romoff shot from the point past the Williams goaltender to give Middlebury the 4-3 lead. The lead would not hold, however, as Williams managed to get two more pucks past Klein to give them the 5-4 lead with only 3:48 remaining in the third period. The Panthers went on the power play at the 17:18 mark but were unable to convert and the Ephs picked up the 5-4 victory. Middlebury outshot Williams 39-25 in the loss.
This coming weekend marks the final two regular season games for the Panthers as they jostle for position in the playoff bracket. Currently sitting just under .500 at 9-10-3 overall and 6-7-3 in the NESCAC, the Panthers will look to end the season with a winning record and victories in two key NESCAC away games. The Panthers will square off against Amherst on Friday, Feb. 20 and then play Hamilton Saturday, Feb. 21. While Middlebury has already secured a NESCAC playoff berth, the Panthers have an opportunity to improve their seeding with a good showing this weekend.
(02/19/15 12:28am)
In spite of the pending blizzard, men’s and women’s track and field traveled to Boston on Feb. 13-14 to compete in a pair of meets: the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational and the Gordon Kelly Invitational hosted by MIT. “Valentine,” as the BU meet is colloquially known, is one of the largest meets in the country with over 3,500 athletes toeing the line. Several Olympic medalists have raced in the meet. As such, it is one of the best opportunities for Middlebury athletes to run fast.
The women raced at BU on Friday, Feb. 13 and put up some spooky-good times. Alex Morris ’16 continued to drop time in the 400m, running 59.10 seconds, her first time under one minute this season. In the mile, Erzsie Nagy ’17 ran a swift time of 5:02.95. Two heats later, Summer Spillane ’15 and Robin Vincent ’18 took the top two spots in their section, finishing with times of 5:03.72 and 5:04.34 respectively. Sarah Guth ’15 also ran a strong race, completing the distance in 5:07.22. Many hours later, running after 10:30pm, Adrian Walsh ’16 raced the 5000m, finishing the 25-lap race in 17:32.53.
After a long day on Friday, Nagy, Vincent, and Paige Fernandez ’17 were joined by Alison Maxwell ’15 in the 4000m distance medley relay (DMR) on Saturday morning. The DMR consists of 1200m (Maxwell), 400m (Fernandez), 800m (Vincent) and 1600m (Nagy) legs, in that order. The quartet raced to a time of 11:44.92 — marginally faster than the All-American team the Panthers fielded last year, the third fastest time in school history, and the fastest Division III time in the country in the meet by over 16 seconds.
Nagy said of her weekend, “The double wasn’t bad. I did feel Friday’s race a bit in my legs during the last half of my leg in the DMR. I had no idea what my pace was, and it was nice to know that it felt faster than the open mile because I really was running faster, not just because I was tired … I am so impressed by the mid-distance/distance runners who ran this weekend! We have only done speed work in the pool, and most people still had amazing races! Running an 11:44 certainly wasn’t the plan, but it’s nice to start fresh and get a benchmark that exceeded all of our expectations.”
The mile race highlighted the men’s day. Wilder Schaaf ’14.5 set a new school record with a time of 4:09.89, a time that ranks him seventh in Division III according to NCAA track indexing. Sam Cartwright ’16 and Sam Klockenkemper ’17 ran two heats after Schaaf and both set indoor personal bests, clocking times of 4:13.58 and 4:16.86 respectively.
Schaaf’s race was by far his best of the season.
“It always takes me a couple races to figure my swag out,” Schaaf said. “So I never really know how fast I can go until I get into a good heat. I felt like I could run a lot faster than I had before, but I was a little surprised at getting under 4:10.”
In the 800m, Kevin Serrao ’18 and Luke Carpinello ’16 raced to fast times in the same heat. Serrao took second in the section in 1:55.59 and Carpinello was not far behind, finishing in 1:56.74, an indoor personal best.
At the lower-key MIT meet, Taylor Shortsleeve ’15 broke his school record in the high jump by a centimeter, leaping 1.95m (6 feet 4.75 inches).
The teams start the post-season this weekend, competing in the Division III New England Championships on Feb. 21. The women will race at MIT while the men will race at Springfield.
(02/19/15 12:25am)
Despite dropping two games to conference foes this past weekend on the road, the Middlebury women’s basketball team earned the opportunity to play in the NESCAC postseason tournament for the 10th time in school history. The seventh-seeded Panthers will travel to Brunswick this Saturday, Feb. 21 to lock horns with second-seeded Bowdoin, who bested Middlebury 53-43 earlier this month.
Head Coach KJ Krasco secured a NESCAC tournament berth in her first year at the program’s helm, but would have liked to end the regular season on a better note.
“We wanted to try our best to put together a solid 40 minute game on Friday and Saturday,” Krasco said. “Unfortunately we didn’t play as well as we would have liked, which resulted in two losses.”
Middlebury began the weekend with a contest at Trinity on Friday, Feb. 8 in which the Panthers made a late push but were unable to overcome the nine-point halftime deficit.
Middlebury kept the contest close for the game’s first seven-plus minutes, but a 9-0 Bantam run left the Panthers down by eight. Middlebury tried to claw back but could not bring the deficit below four points, and entered halftime trailing 29-20.
Sabrina Weeks ’18 and Elizabeth Knox ’17 opened the second half with a pair of layups to make it a five-point game. Later in the period, another Weeks layup closed the gap to three. The game went back and forth with Trinity stretching the lead out to eight, and Knox again shrinking it to three.
With just 1:48 left in the game, Krystina Reynolds ’17 sunk a layup, decreasing the Panther point deficit to just two points. Unfortunately, Trinity hit a three-pointer seconds later, and made 7-8 free throws down the stretch to clinch a 62-54 victory.
Knox paced the offensive attack for the Panthers, scoring 19 points with a 8-14 shooting ratio, and winning eight rebounds. Further scoring contributions came from Alexis Coolidge ’15 who netted nine points, and Weeks who scored eight.
The Panthers returned to action at 11th-ranked Amherst on Sunday, Feb. 15 for their final regular season NESCAC game. Amherst entered the game with 20-2 overall and 8-1 in-conference records, and were able to dispatch of the Panthers 61-33. The Lord Jeffs have now won 109 straight games at home in LeFrak Gymnasium.
Weeks opened the scoring in the game with a layup on the Panthers’ second possession. Neither team was able to separate itself in the first half, and at one point there was a five minute stretch where only one basket was scored by either side. Knox made a layup with 30 seconds remaining in the half to make it a 25-19 game.
“In the first half,” Crews said, “we were able to compete with a top 25 team, despite not playing our best basketball. That first half was another example of how we can compete with any team in the NESCAC when we are mentally focused and communicating.”
Amherst put the pedal to the medal in the second half, which opened with a 13-5 Lord Jeffs’ run. Crews hit a three-pointer to bring Middlebury within 11, but Amherst soon exploded on a 17-point run to blow the game open.
Overall, the Panthers struggled against the NESCAC’s second-ranked defense, shooting 22 percent (13-59) from the floor. Sarah Kaufman ’18 was the only Panther to record double figures, tallying 11 points and adding six rebounds. Coolidge snagged six boards as well for Middlebury.
“I thought we competed in both games [this weekend],” Krasco said, “we were able to play well for portions of both games, but not consistently enough throughout the entire game.”
The Panthers will have their work cut out for them when they meet 21-3 (9-1) Bowdoin this coming Saturday, Feb. 21
“Our goal is to … become a mentally tougher team this week in practice to prepare for our opponent this weekend,” Krasco said. “We have to execute on both ends of the floor and play better in order to win.”
(02/18/15 11:17pm)
This past weekend ushered in the College’s 92nd annual Winter Carnival. Alongside the spectator sports and high-energy dances, the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) presented a concert in Wilson Hall on Friday, Feb. 13. The show featured three musical acts across a myriad of genres and made for an engaging, idiosyncratic musical experience.
The brief opening act was a new student band, Movies, featuring Will Cuneo ’15, Nick Rehmus ’15.5 and Bjorn Peterson ’15.5 in a punk-rooted ensemble with an impressively polished sound and engaging stage presence. As they played through a set of dynamic songs, often shifting time signature or tempo mid-song for a diverse listening experience, their energy was palpable. The performance featured improvisatory ornamentation, particularly in the vocal arena.
Eased between two punk acts, Vacationer, based out of Philadelphia and Brooklyn, offered a sharp tonal contrast to headliner Cloud Nothings. Frontman Kenny Vasoli has described their music as “Nu-hula,” and their tropics-infused, surf-rock rooted sound was in rare form on Friday. Featuring Ryan Zimmaro on drums, Michael Mullin on keyboard, Greg Altman on guitar and Matthew Young on a hard-to-miss vibraphone, the band was accompanied by a video projection of what could have been old footage of band members’ seaside summers. Perhaps culled from childhoods past, the intercut tropical scenes would have put the Brazilian Tourist Board to shame.
Vacationer’s breezy set and mood-setting technical effects created a sunny, feel-good experience. What made the show truly engaging were the dedicated performances of the band members, particularly Vasoli, whose goofy grin and mess of curly hair enhanced his bubbly demeanor and confident stage presence. If his quirky dance moves were any indication, Vasoli seemed to be enjoying his indoor beach party as much as the audience before him.
More than anything, Vacationer seemed committed to making the audience feel good inside. At the end of the band’s set, as the scene of a family enjoying some faraway beach rolled in the backdrop and the band eased into another string of sweet, yearning melodies, it became nearly impossible to resist the temptation to loosen your hips and give yourself over to the good vibes.
Following this dreamlike set, Cloud Nothings came thundering in, providing a stark contrast to the easy listening and buoyancy of the preceding set. The three-piece act, a far cry from its origins as an underground solo project by frontman Dylan Baldi, fully embraced the caustic, dissonant style indicative of the band’s latest record, “Here and Nowhere Else.” Yet amidst the searing riffs of bassist Dan Saleh and propulsive, acrobatic work of drummer Jayson Gerycz lay melodies and a harmonic structure as effective and pop-oriented as Baldi’s initial solitary efforts.
Within this thrilling and profuse experience, moments of urgency - sometimes bordering on anxiety - passed by. However, the immaculate structure of the songwriting offered a sense of precision amidst the madness. Each song played less like an endless jam and more like a roller coaster or a lightning rod speeding through the air, fathomable only in its larger structure. In the end, the intricacies of each virtuosic run in the guitar or deafening drum line formed a breathtaking whole.
Cloud Nothings, if not for every listener, was an undeniable marvel and an impressive and accomplished ensemble that has mastered the nuances of a highly impressive song catalogue. In one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the performance, a lengthy song reached a brief rest amidst a cresting crescendo. All three performers managed to hit this millisecond of silence in perfect synchronicity before launching back into a whirlwind of screeching guitar and propulsive percussion. This incredible moment, demonstrative of Baldi, Saleh, and Gerycz’s impressive skills as instrumentalists, rendered extremely effectively in live performance.
Audience reaction is bound to vary following a performance like that of Cloud Nothings, but it is perhaps indisputable that their set was the dark, harrowing peak of an impressive and dynamic concert. All in all, MCAB’s Concert Committee succeeded in bringing together polished, accomplished acts for an engaging concert with something for nearly anyone.
(02/18/15 9:21pm)
Last Friday, Feb. 13, a student was struck by a car while crossing College Street at night. The incident, which took place near Adirondack Circle at approximately 12:20 a.m., left the student with multiple injuries.
The student hit was on the phone with his brother when he was struck by a moving motor vehicle which was being operated by other students from the College.
The victim was lifted off the ground and broke through the windshield of the car. Another student in the area heard the accident and rushed to the victim’s aid.
“[The student who helped me] is a champ; he heard the incident from a couple hundred yards away and stabilized my head until the EMTs came,” the victim said.
Shortly afterward, Middlebury Police and Public Safety arrived to the scene with an ambulance and transported the victim to Porter Hospital. He was released later that morning.
The sergeant from the Middlebury Police Department who is working to investigate the case failed to respond to a request for comment by the Campus.
The victim has a concussion and is sustaining a bruised jaw, ribs and legs. “Mostly, it just feels like I have been hit by a car,” said the victim.
He added, “I don’t remember being hit or where I was on the ground.”
This was not the first incident concerning student safety on College Street. Last fall, Public Safety sent an email to all students at the College concerning several instances where drivers of cars and pickup trucks threw objects and shouted at students walking near the road.
Although no students were harmed on these occasions, the incidents contributed to an ongoing concern for the safety of students on College Street.
College Street, which runs from downtown Middlebury through the College and turns into Route 125 as it continues past the College, is one of the busiest roads on campus.
Public Safety works with the College and the town to ensure student safety on and off campus.
(02/18/15 9:17pm)
On Friday, Feb. 13, students enjoyed a day off classes to partake in the College’s 92nd annual Winter Carnival. Home to the oldest student-run carnival in the nation, the College hosts a variety of activities over the three-day weekend. Some professors, however, have begun to question the benefit of canceling Friday classes.
Even though these Friday classes are made up at the end of the semester, with an additional Monday of Friday schedule classes before finals begin, some professors wonder if it is really worth the inconvenience.
Students have traditionally been given Friday off so that they can cheer on fellow classmates competing in the Alpine and Nordic skiing competitions at the Snow Bowl and Rikert. Despite the intention of the free morning, there is some doubt as to whether students are using this time to attend the ski races.
Professor of Economics and Faculty Director of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship Jon Isham said, “We cancel classes because of long-standing traditions and I wonder if those traditions are still vibrant. We are canceling one morning’s worth of classes for Winter Carnival activities and I wonder how many students are actually doing those activities at that time. Are students really out there on the slopes? And even if they are, is this a good trade-off for our academic community?”
Olivia Allen ’15 has observed such a lack of student involvement in Friday’s activities.
“I love school free Fridays as much as the next person, but I think the activities provided on Fridays could benefit a wider range of people,” said Allen. “A lot of students end up working with professors or in the library even though they don’t have school.”
Isham along with Professor John Emerson, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Mathematics, expressed a dislike for the Monday of classes added at the end of term. Both would prefer to keep classes on the Friday of Winter Carnival in exchange for getting rid of classes on that Monday before finals.
On the effect of cancelled classes on his syllabus and course schedule, Emerson said, “In mathematics courses, it creates some problems. We have two Fridays with classes cancelled and we replace it with a lame duck Monday. It makes a difference in math because there is a body of material that is assumed to be covered. Losing a day or two days to the schedule just makes things more compressed and makes it a little bit more difficult for students.”
Both Isham and Emerson, however, also mentioned that not having classes isn’t a major deal to them as they simply delay content and make adjustments. Their real question is whether it’s really worth it.
Sayre Weir ’15 believes that there is value to canceling classes for Winter Carnival.
“The races are a fun atmosphere and it’s cool to see the campus really come together. Thursday night is the kickoff so having Friday morning classes would disrupt the flow of the Carnival,” Weir said.
She continued, “I think that having classes off on Friday encourages students to get involved and go up to the mountain because they have some extra time. It’s nice to have an extra day to recharge, especially since the first week is so chaotic.”
While Middlebury has kept many traditions alive, canceling Friday classes being just one of them, there are also many aspects surrounding this event that have changed over the years.
For example, the first Winter Carnivals were held on Chipman Hill and there were snowshoe and obstacle races held on Storrs Avenue. Footage from the 1940s shows “aero-skijoring” on Lake Champlain. Students would attach a rope to a small plane and pull a skier along behind at high speed, whipping across the lake.
Emerson remembers when ski jumping used to be held right outside the back windows of the Snow Bowl lodge.
“The University of Vermont always won the ski jump because they imported Norwegian skiers,” Emerson said. “A UVM skier set the all time ski jump record when he over jumped the hill. He stayed under control and stopped in time, but that was the last year that they had ski jumping.”
Emerson also pointed out that as technology has advanced, students have had less of a role to play in running winter carnival.
“Historically, the reason that we didn’t have classes on Friday was that every Friday morning students went up and packed the snow, helped run events; things are different now with electronics,” Emerson said.
Currently, no steps have been taken toward reinstating Friday classes. However, we may see changes to the Winter Carnival schedule in the future if professor opinion continues to grow in favor of holding classes.
(02/12/15 3:19am)
When the op-ed “It’s Actually Just a Game” was published in the Campus on Jan. 22, what followed was an explosion of conversation about athletics on campus. With almost 60 comments online and multiple responses to the opinion piece, the topic dominated conversations until the end of Winter Term.
In light of this, the College has been forced to consider a divide between the athletes and non-athletes on campus. This divide has given rise to a number of questions surrounding the role of athletics at a school like Middlebury and the existence of athletic privileges.
As a member of the NCAA and NESCAC divisions, the College athletic department abides by two sets of rules, both of which strive to create an athletic environment consistent with a commitment to academics. However, as the College and so many other institutions have discovered, finding the right balance between athletics and higher education can be difficult.
The NESCAC established itself as a conference in 1999 and currently sponsors 26 conference championships for 11 institutions. NESCAC member schools offer an average of 30 varsity sports programs. The College offers 31 varsity programs and 15 Club programs, putting it near the top of that list. The decision to offer certain sports as varsity programs versus Club programs at the College was made in collaboration with the other members of the NESCAC years ago.
Because 28% of the student body is involved in the varsity sports program, the College has committed itself to supporting the varsity sports program on many different levels. These commitments must work in harmony with the College’s dedication to academics and a diverse and engaged student body.
Financial
Each year, the College budget reflects a number of different needs. According to the College’s budget office, “Budget decisions reflect the College’s mission and core values. Our top priorities are our academic program and our need-blind admissions policy for U.S. students.”
In the 2014 fiscal year, the College’s budget was $292 million. Of this, approximately $5 million (or 1.7%) is allocated to the athletics department on a yearly basis.
According to Athletics Director Erin Quinn, budgets are constructed to pay for the essential elements of each varsity program, including items such as food, lodging, travel and the basic equipment. This process is the same across all varsity sports at the College, including the Alpine and Nordic ski teams and the Squash teams, all of which are not traditional Division III sports but instead compete with only one division. In these sports, the College and other DIII institutions compete against DI institutions, while retaining the DIII classification and following DIII rules.
Specialized equipment is not anticipated in these budgets but can be applied for through the same process as any other department of the College.
“Some of the stuff that students might say that they paid for themselves might be the choices of those students to buy those things…Things that go beyond what a normal budget might cover, that a team arguably could do without, shouldn’t necessarily be covered by the budget,” Quinn said. He added that if the budget does not provide the entire cost of an item, teams may raise money and then families often contribute the difference; for example, spring trips are not fully funded by the budget. (see spread in Features)
Other organizations on campus are not included in the College’s budget. They rely on the comprehensive Student Activities fee, which was $407 per student for 2014. This money is pooled together and allocated to student organizations through the SGA Finance Committee.
Between last spring and this fall, approximately 140 clubs came in for both budget and new money requests, including a number of Club sports programs. Club sports rely on the Student Activities fee for all expenses except that of any coaches.
According to Katie Linder ’15, captain of the Women’s Rugby Club team and SGA Athletic Affairs Committee chair, figuring out finances is a large part of Club sports. “Staying in hotels the night before versus driving up at five in the morning is something that we would love but we make it work, it’s the only way we know how to operate. It’s a process, but we get as much money as we need… I can’t say that I wouldn’t like more money, but it’s manageable,” she said.
SGA Treasurer Ilana Gratch ’16.5 said, “It’s not that we run out of money, it’s that we have to discern which requests are going to have the widest reach and be the most beneficial to the most students because, at the end of the day, it’s coming from the Students Activities fee which we all paid for. It is a finite amount of money so we can’t fund everything.”
Because athletic facilities are open to the College and town communities, a separate section of the College budget provides for these facilities. However, the construction of the new Virtue Field House and the Squash Courts was not included in these numbers. The $46 million project was the first of its size completely funded by donors, many who have previously given to the College’s financial aid, to academic programs, or to other College initiatives outside of Athletics.
Although College fundraising efforts are not directed towards athletics, research shows that often athletics are a source of inspiration for alumni donations. In 2006, Professor of Economics Jessica Holmes published a paper using 15 years of data from the College which concluded that alumni, regardless of whether they were involved with athletics or not, tend to donate to the College when athletics are doing well or when academics are doing poorly. Although the data is not recent, these results remain relevant to the College according to David K. Smith ‘42 Professor of Applied Economics Phani Wunnava.
Tim Spears, Vice President for Academic Development and a leader in fundraising efforts at the College, said, “In the larger world of intercollegiate athletics, one of the reasons why booster clubs exist at universities and the like is because through successful athletics programs, you raise awareness for the school and build loyalty. There may be merit to this approach, but that’s not the strategy that’s at work at a place like Middlebury.”
Admissions
Under NESCAC guidelines, the College may not admit recruited athletes until they have gone through the same process as any other applicant. However, coaches can get feedback from Admissions about where to prioritize their recruiting and, according to Dean of Admissions Greg Buckles, “The boundaries of that get pushed a lot.”
Recruited athletes are often given extra and earlier advance notice as to their viability as a candidate for the College based on criteria set by the NESCAC, which can often lead athletes to premature assumptions about their admittance. Instances have occurred where students in the recruitment process have claimed a “commitment” to the College similar to those allowed at Division 1 institutions. As a matter of protocol and process, Buckles said, Admissions will track down these claims to correct them when they see them.
“[The NESCAC recruiting process] is at the same time the most confounding but also the most noble undertaking of any athletic conference I know of,” said Buckles. “In other words, it’s complicated, it can be confusing, frustrating, and sometimes it will seem like it’s hypocritical but, in the end, it works well. We keep a lid on the appropriate amount of emphasis on athletics and at the same time we’re very successful.”
Recruitment success is a significant part of assessing the performance of Coaches, and so they are part of the admissions conversation. However, the same process exists for the Arts department. Through the same evaluative system as the Athletics department, members of the Arts may convey to admissions which candidates they would like to see admitted. Furthermore, any department or any faculty member can oversee potential candidates in whom they have an interest and may open a conversation with Admissions.
In the Athletics department, the ability to evaluate applicants has proven beneficial to the overall application process. In any given year, about 25 percent of the incoming class is recruited athletes. This number has remained constant while the total number of recruited athletes who apply has been shrinking (see graphic on front page).
The recruiting process also encourages more athletes to apply Early Decision. In 2014, 44 percent of Early Decision 1 applicants who enrolled were recruited athletes. “The upside of that is that interestingly leaves room for more non-athletes because it’s typically one-for-one…That leaves us, in some sense, with more room to consider a whole host of other needs and goals for the class,” said Buckles.
The recruiting process at the College across all varsity sports is consistent with those of the ten other NESCAC institutions. This process is one of the most restrictive in the country and has caused a lack of diversity in athletics. Between these restrictions and a lack of resources to travel extensively or reach out to athletes, Coaches are often limited to those athletes who have the ability and the connection to NESCAC institutions to approach coaches themselves.
“Almost everywhere else, a lot of times athletic conferences and athletic teams will support more diversity…As we’ve made great progress and strides in the overall student body…that has not been reflected in the athletic teams as much,” Buckles said.
“A coach puts together the class holistically just the way the College does,” Quinn said. “We try to be very consistent and we try to have the athletic department be representative of the College. We have some limitations on our ability to recruit as broadly due to practical, financial considerations as well as NESCAC restrictions on recruiting. The NESCAC has looked carefully at some of these practices as well. How can we create the most diverse pool as possible? Are there league restrictions that prohibit us from doing so?”
One way a lack of diversity in athletics might be addressed is by looking at athlete GPAs or how financial aid is allocated to athletes and non-athletes on campus. According to Quinn, athlete GPAs are tracked internally by the Athletics Department periodically to evaluate the academic success of student-athletes, but these numbers are not open to the public, just as GPA numbers are not available for any other campus constituencies.
Additionally, because of the College’s need-blind policy, financial aid numbers for specific groups are not tracked except through annual audits on the Student Financial Aid office, of which the results are not shared unless an issue becomes apparent.
Time Commitment
Students’ commitment to athletics is often seen as a diversion from the College’s commitment to academics. Although the College outlines specific procedures for students, coaches, and professors, it is often left to the discretion of those involved how to balance athletics and academics.
“One of the things that we think about a lot as faculty is student time and whether or not students have the time that they need to devote to their academics,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Andi Lloyd. “What’s the right amount of time to devote to academics relative to extracurricular activities? It’s a question about time as a scarce resource.”
Lloyd also commented on claims that student-athletes are given access to easier classes. Although unaware of any specific practices concerning this she said, “The kinds of things I hear—and the kinds of conversations I have with my advisees—have more to do with time management than with taking easier classes… I think people are making choices about classes based on any number of different factors, including athletics and other extra-curricular commitments. I would not define it as an issue of athletic privilege in the sense that it is playing out at other schools.”
By College and NESCAC regulations, varsity athletes are limited in the amount of time they are allowed to practice, how long their season is, and how many games they may compete in, among other things. However, the time commitment to a varsity sport is still substantial and, for many students, a deciding factor for participation.
“I came in and I picked rugby because I wanted to learn the sport but also because I didn’t want to try to play a varsity sport,” Linder said.
She added, “We have a lot of girls who played sports in high school and didn’t want the commitment of a varsity sport because it’s a huge time commitment and we’re sort of looking for a middle ground where it was a structure, a team, but wasn’t that much of a high competitiveness level.”
Lloyd added that this conversation extends beyond athletics. “Having been here for almost 20 years, I have seen that students find any number of different pathways through this place, they distinguish themselves in any number of different ways, they find a range of things outside of the classroom in order to stretch themselves and challenge themselves, and athletics is one of those things but, it’s not the only thing,” she said.
Social Life
The divide between athletes and non-athletes on campus goes beyond areas in the budget, admissions and time commitments. The op-ed published in The Campus, a response by basketball player Jake Nidenberg ’16, and another published on Middbeat by Lizzy Weiss ’17 and Aleck Silva-Pinto ’16 are all part of the ongoing conversation around this divide.
Many have pointed to freshman orientation as the origin of this separation between athletes and non-athletes. In the 2015 SGA student life survey, participants were asked if they think the staggered arrival of fall athletes, international and non-athlete domestic students during orientation impacts relationships between different groups. Results showed that 16.13 percent of participants saw a positive impact, 59.04 percent saw a negative impact, and 24.83 percent saw no impact.
In their column “NARPs” in the Campus, Maddie Webb ’17 and Izzy Fleming ’17 have explored how non-athletes at the College can get involved with both athletics and other activities on campus. “‘NARPs’ is a term I had never heard before I came to Middlebury,” Webb said. “Most people use it as a term of endearment but there are also people who use it to put other people down.”
She added, “There are so many people on this campus who think that sports are everything and you are nothing without athletic ability and so a point of our column is to not only take back the term NARPs but to show people all the opportunities there are on campus to get involved that they might not have known about.”
As head of the SGA Athletic Committee, Linder works to bridge this gap. “A lot of what we do is how to get more people to come to games and support the team and school spirit…I think we run into issues less with privilege and more with the disconnect between athletes and non-athletes and trying to find ways to make a connection between those two sides,” she said.
Whether athletics are seen as an outlet for extra privileges or a source of diversity and connection on campus can be attributed to how students at the College embrace the divide. “This is college, and we love to refer to Middlebury as a bubble, and that’s not a bad thing—to an extent, it should be a bubble,” Spears said. “This place, of all places, of all moments in students’ lives, should be where people are crossing those boundaries and getting to know people who are different from one another.”
(02/11/15 11:59pm)
The end of this year’s whirlwind J-term brought in the highly-anticipated Ragtime musical, a co-production by Town Hall Theater (THT) and the Middlebury College Department of Music. Dealing with the turmoil, tensions and triumphs of early twentieth-century America, Ragtime follows the lives of Harlem musician Coalhouse Walker Jr., played by Steven Kasparek ’16, a white upper-class family in New Rochelle, New York, and Tateh, a Jewish immigrant, played by Jack DesBois ’15, who leaves Latvia to make a life for himself and his young daughter in the Lower East Side. The cast performed to sold-out audiences at THT every night from Jan. 22 to 26.
As per J-term musical tradition, the entire production was put together during intensive rehearsals over a span of three weeks. The cast came in knowing all the music and lines, but worked long hours to build the set and piece the entire 38-number show together. Likewise, the orchestra had only two weeks to rehearse the score.
Of the 33 actors, some were experiencing their first taste of theater, others were seasoned members of the department and four were hired professionals.
“In order to do Ragtime properly, you really need to balance the three ensembles, and we didn’t get enough for a turnout for the African-American Harlem ensemble, so we had to hire out some people,” stage manager Alex Williamson ’17 said.
Despite the wide range of acting experience within the cast, Ragtime proved to be a seamless and vibrant production, particularly through its smooth transitions and careful choreography. Leaving no more than ten or so seconds between acts, the cast expertly navigated the stage to create scenes of drastically different setups – from the slums of New York to a baseball stadium to a lush Victorian estate.
“Since Ragtime is all musical numbers, it’s important for it to flow like a dance,” Williamson said. “One thing leads nicely into another.”
A flurry of changing developments within the United States marks the first act of the play. Riots against the ravages of American capitalism pop up across the country, waves of immigrants arrive at Ellis Island with hope in their hearts and nothing but the clothes on their backs and many white Americans with long-established roots in the United States grapple with their growing distaste toward all outsiders. Indeed, the wealthy residents of New Rochelle reminisce joyously in the opening number of the musical, singing, “Ladies with parasols/Fellows with tennis balls/There were no negroes/And there were no immigrants,” only to be interrupted by the shouts of Eastern Europeans boarding a ship for Ellis Island.
From a meticulously-built Model T car prop to the appearance of legendary stunt artist Harry Houdini, played by David Fine ’17, the musical was filled with historical references that set a rich context for the three interlinking narratives of Tateh, Coalhouse and the wealthy white family. This traditional household is headed by the doting Mother, performed by Hannah Johnston ’15.5 and the strong-willed Father, played by Michael McCann ’15. The role of Evelyn Nesbit, the dazzling, real-life vaudeville personality, played brilliantly by Caitlin Duffy ’15.5, further contributed to the realism of the production. Her flamboyant ways and extravagant, shimmering costumes served as a delightful tribute to popular entertainment of the times.
During Act I, Mother discovers an abandoned Negro baby in the front yard of their Victorian estate, and decides to provide refuge for both him and the mother, Sarah, played by professional Diana Thompson. The story escalates quickly from there, as Sarah’s ex-lover, Coalhouse, attempts to court her, eventually wins her over and then tragically loses her when she is beaten to death at a campaign rally in New Rochelle. Her death leaves him a bitter and angry man. As a result, Act II carries a much darker tone, with Coalhouse seeking to find justice within a radically flawed social system. Meanwhile, the growing rift between Mother and Father, who don’t see eye to eye on the racially-charged turmoil of the times, as well as the rising success of the exuberant and hardworking Tateh offer alternative perspectives on the multi-faceted, fast-paced nature of 1920s America.
Amidst the heavy material of the play, Little Boy, the young son of the white upper-class family, provides a refreshing and innocent presence. Portrayed by Emilie Seavey ’18, who donned a cap over her short blonde hair, Little Boy easily breaks the tension in the room when Coalhouse comes to the family’s posh house in search of his ex-lover, Sarah.
“This is Sarah’s baby,” Little Boy tells him, gesturing toward a crib in the corner. He then asks brightly, “You want a cookie?” — an absurdly innocent inquiry that drew laughs from the crowd. His childish obliviousness and endearing eagerness help to lighten the mood in scenes that brim with tension, fear and uncertainty.
Alongside astounding vocals by the entire cast, the visual effects of the production added a lavish charm that appealed greatly to the audience. One particularly awe-inspiring display featured Tateh flipping through a book of moving sketches with his daughter. As they gaze at the pages, a woman, played by Duffy, dances gracefully behind a transparent curtain at the back of the stage. Strobe lights flash upon her flowing figure, creating choppy movements that gorgeously mimic the effect of paging through a continuous sequence of sketches.
Meanwhile, the upper-class white family — particularly the females — don extravagant clothing that beautifully reflects the fashions of the times, from skirts that flared out at the bottom to high lace collars to pigeon-breasted blouses. Only one element was missing — most women of money wore dresses with lace trains; but seeing as such extensive costumes likely would’ve caused the actresses to stumble onstage, costume designer Annie Ulrich ’13 added ruffles at the bottoms of their dresses instead. Nevertheless, the juxtaposition between the upper-class family’s fancy white outfits — complete with delicate parasols and thin lace gloves — and the immigrants’ dark, tattered rags created a striking visual display of privilege and disparity.
Despite the old-fashioned outfits and radically different culture of ragtime and vaudeville entertainment, the timeless themes of race, oppression and injustice that underlie this stunning musical resonated deeply with the Middlebury community.
“This play is incredibly pertinent to the current atmosphere and the events that happened in the fall, between Ferguson and the New York cases of police brutality,” Ulrich said. “Racism is on everyone’s mind these days.”
Though the final scenes were scattered with tragedy, the story ultimately ended on a heartwarming note, ringing with messages of optimism and new beginnings. Connor Pisano ’17, who played the crotchety, racist grandfather of the upper-class family, encapsulated the juxtapositions inherent in the piece.
“The original author wrote the play for a Broadway audience,” Pisano said. “People go to the theater for an uplifting message or some kind of hope. But [Ragtime] is too tragic for most of the show to have some kind of random happy ending.”
Indeed, there’s no denying that in all of its lavish charm, the musical was strategically marketed to a broad audience. The sweeping score and poignant performances of the Middlebury production are bound to linger in the minds of anyone who was lucky enough to experience this magnificent feat of artistry. And ultimately, whether or not the epilogue accurately reflects the nature of reality, Ragtime serves as not only a rich insight on America’s troubled past but also a meaningful outlook on the turbulence that has continued into modern times.
(02/11/15 11:47pm)
In addition to the ice show, ski races and fireworks that have become synonymous with Winter Carnival, the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) always presents unique entertainment that elevates the weekend from just a winter celebration to a campus-wide excuse to relax and mingle at the beginning of the spring semester.
To commemorate the 92nd annual Winter Carnival, MCAB’s Traditions Committee, which plans the weekend, organized unique entertainment in the form of comedian Jay Larson, who performs tonight, Feb. 12 at 9 p.m. in Wilson Hall, and DJ Clinton Sparks, who will be presiding over the Winter Ball festivities in the Nelson Recreation Center on Saturday, Jan. 14.
The twelve-person Traditions Committee participates in a similar selection process each year, but occasionally certain performers stand out as especially suitable for Winter Carnival.
“Every year we talk to our agent, James Anderson, who works for the College, and he gives us a list of names within our budget for the DJ and for the comedian,” Traditions Committee Co-Chair Caroline Brown ’15 said. “We receive that list and then we share and discuss it with our committee before either voting on it or going with the general consensus that is forming. Usually there are one or two names that really stand out as more popular than others so it’s really easy to choose.”
Though the Winter Carnival comedian almost always sells out the over 400-seat venue in Wilson Hall, this year’s performer, Jay Larson, carries even more name recognition than usual. Originally from Stoneham, Mass., Larson draws from his childhood experiences, time spent living in a condemned house in Venice, California and his outlandish imagination to provide a fresh exploration of the metaphysical and surreal worlds. After starting his standup career only about a decade ago – after flunking out of college in Los Angeles – Larson has achieved success through appearances on Tosh.0, The Late Late Show, The Smoking Gun Presents, Conan and his own half hour special on Comedy Central.
“I’m excited because our comedian this year is really famous,” Brown said. “We listened to a lot of his YouTube videos before choosing him, and he is really funny.”
The budget for the Winter Carnival is granted through the Student Government Association (SGA) Finance Committee, which distributes funding to each committee within MCAB based on statistics from previous years. Though ticket sales do contribute to each committee’s budget, it is a small percentage relative to the amount derived from the SGA.
The Winter Ball, which falls on Valentine’s Day this year, is featuring DJ Clinton Sparks, who has produced chart toppers with artists like Lady Gaga, Akon, T-Pain and Pitbull in addition to his personal work as host of the worldwide syndicated radio show ‘Get Familiar with Clinton Sparks,’ which first premiered in 2005. Nominated for a 2012 Album of the Year Grammy Award for Lady Gaga’s ‘Born this Way,’ Sparks began interviewing a wide range of artists as a correspondent for E! News in 2008 and was one of the first producers to show interest in Eminem before the rapper gained fame.
In addition to boasting an internationally known DJ, the Winter Ball also features an impressive spread of food — last year the event included sushi, limitless appetizers and a dessert bar — in addition to a beer garden for 21 and over.
“It’s fun to see everyone dressed up,” Traditions Committee Co-Chair Mary Richards ’15 said. “It’s probably one of the only times that is really more formal than the other events on campus. It’s really great to celebrate and have a day off.”
Sandwiched between the comedian and Winter Ball is the Friday, Feb. 13 concert by Cloud Nothings and Vacationer at 8 p.m. in Wilson Hall.
“We had open space within the Carnival schedule, so we asked the Concert Committee and they agreed to fill the spot,” Richards said.
Though planned by a different MCAB committee, this event goes through much the same vetting process as the entertainment chosen by the Traditions Committee, with a list of names presented by agent James Anderson. The Concert Committee’s decision is presented to the MCAB executive board, where the vote for this year’s bands was fairly unanimous.
The indie-punk rock sounds of Cloud Nothings began as a solo project by singer and guitarist Dylan Baldi in 2009 in his parents Cleveland, Ohio basement, but he soon added drummer Jayson Gerycz and bassist TJ Duke, and to date the band has released three albums and completed extensive American and European tours.
Vacationer, originally based out of Philadelphia and Brooklyn, only started performing their eclectic mix of Hawaiian Na-Hula and world music four years ago, but the band has gained a strong following.
Tickets to the performance are only $5 through the Box Office, or $8 at the door on show night.
Tickets to Jay Larson’s Thursday, Feb. 12 performance at Wilson Hall are $10 through the Box Office, and Winter Ball tickets are available now for $15 or at the door of Nelson Recreation Center for $20 on Saturday, Feb. 14. Winter Carnival packages are also available with or without a 2015 t-shirt through the Box Office.
(02/11/15 10:29pm)
Before the squash program enjoyed yet another successful weekend, where women’s and men’s teams placed third and fourth respectively in the NESCAC Tournament, “ABC Local 22” Sports Director Erin Cofiell dropped by the squash center to visit with Annie Wymard ’15 and David Cromwell ’16 for the news program’s ‘Darin’ Erin’ segment. Erin went up against Wymard in a best of three matches while Cromwell served as her coach. Though Wymard only needed two of the possible three to knock off Darin’ Erin, Wymard provided good, encouraging and informative instruction to the sports director who had minimal previous exposure to the sport. After the fun on the court was over, Erin asked Cromwell what he thought of her effort against Wymard. With great restraint and a slight smile he responded to what he had witnessed by encouraging Darin’ Erin: “I thought you did well, for a rookie.”
With that serving to loosen them up, the squash program headed to Williamstown, Mass. for the NESCAC tournament.
Highlights on the men’s side included a five to four win over Wesleyan on Saturday in the quarterfinals where Middlebury picked up straight-set victories from Wyatt French ’17 in the third slot (11 to four, 11 to seven and 11 to seven), William Kurth ’18 in the fifth slot (11 to eight, 11 to three and 11 to six) and captain Robert Galluccio ’15 in the eighth slot (11 to four, 11 to five and 11 to seven). Galluccio and French ruled the day for the Panthers. In the afternoon’s narrow five to four semifinals loss against Williams, French and Galluccio recorded their second victories of the day. French earned a point for the Panthers with a four set victory from the third slot, despite dropping his first match (seven to 11, 12 to 10, 11 to seven and 11 to six). Galluccio was slotted ninth for the Panthers against Williams and won in four sets (11 to nine, 11 to eight, eight to 11 and 13 to 11). Sunday, the Panthers lost the third place match to Bates by a tally of six to three, although it was just two weeks ago when the score was flipped and Middlebury got a home win in the squash center.
The weekend was even brighter for the women’s side as the team placed third in the tournament after defeating Bates seven to two on Sunday. The Panthers success was spearheaded by the aforementioned Wymard as well as Charlotte Dewey ’15 and Zoe Carey ’16. The trio earned victories in all three matches the team played at the tournament. In Friday’s nine to zero quarterfinals victory over Hamilton, Dewey dominated her opponent from the third slot 11 to two, 11 to four and 11 to five. Carey also won in straight sets 11 to seven, 11 to nine and 11 to five from the sixth slot. Wymard battled back from a 12 to 10 loss in her first set, as she swept her remaining sets 11 to five, 11 to six and 11 to four to earn a point in the second slot.
The three earned the Panthers’ only points in Saturday’s six to three semifinals loss to Williams. Williams provided more of a challenge for the trio, but each managed to overcome a lost set and earn Middlebury a point. Carey went the distance, overcoming a two to zero deficit after dropping her first two sets 13 to 11 and 11 to six. Though all might have looked lost, she found in herself the will to battle back and win the final three sets 11 to seven, 11 to nine and 11 to five.
The seniors, Wymard and Dewey, each dropped one set 11 to six but managed to gain four set victories. Yet, the seven to two third place match victory over Bates on Sunday proved a breeze for Dewey, as she won in straight sets 11 to six, 11 to five and 11 to three. Carey and Wymard each would have to overcome deficits to earn points for the Panthers. Carey dropped the first set 12 to 10, but still managed to close out her opponent in four frames, winning three straight 11 to three, 11 to six and 11 to seven. Wymard overcame a two to one deficit, as she dropped the first and third set 11 to five and 11 to seven respectively. She managed to win thanks in part to her 11 to seven wins in her second and fifth sets. Where she really won the match, however, was in her 12 to 10 grind-it-out victory in the fourth set which broke the back of her opponent and earned the Panthers a big point toward their third place finish.
With their third place finish and a 15 and six record, the women’s squad has all but wrapped up its 10th straight berth in the “B” division tournament to take place this weekend in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“With our third place finish we earned the chance to play Williams at Nationals this weekend,“ Wymard said. “After losing closely to them twice this season we’re ready for revenge and to move forward in the tournament competing against non-NESCAC schools.“
The men’s side, however, entered the NESCAC Tournament with an 11-5 record, ranked 15th and in prime position to finally break into the “B” division after winning four of the last six “C” division tournaments for the “Summers Cup.” After their close call against 13th ranked Williams and their loss to 18th ranked Bates in the third place game, with no matches left to play before the men’s national championships next weekend in New Haven, Conn., their postseason destiny remains uncertain and out of their hands.
(02/11/15 10:28pm)
The Middlebury men’s basketball team won one of three games this week, defeating Keene State on Tuesday, Feb. 3, before falling to Colby on Friday, Feb. 6 and Bowdoin on Sunday, Feb. 8 in its two NESCAC games.
Playing host to Keene State on Tuesday, the Panthers fought off a slow start to pull away from the visiting Owls and win 96-83.
Keene State opened an early 12-6 lead only to see Hunter Merryman ’15 and Dylan Sinnickson ’15 hit threes on consecutive possessions to tie the contest. Twice more the Owls built leads of seven and six by converting five Middlebury turnovers into 10 points in an eight-minute span, but the Panthers responded with spurts of their own to knot the game at 27, and eventually took a 41-33 lead into the halfway point.
A foul on Keene State 13 seconds into the second half seemed to epitomize the tone for the rest of the game (the teams combined to commit 22 fouls and shoot 35 free throws in the second half), and neither team could make any headway for much of the period.
After Keene State’s Tom Doyle knocked down two free throws to make it a 74-68 Middlebury lead with just over six minutes left, a Merryman three once again sparked an 11-4 Middlebury run that proved to be decisive as the Owls could never again get the lead into single digits again. Behind a robust 23 points from the foul line and a 56% from the field, the Panthers gathered a 96-83 win.
“We settled in and started making better decisions,” Captain Dean Brierley ’15 said. “We’ve had some spurts of turnover prone play this year. Against Keene State, we were able to deliver the balls to open teammates. That comes from good ball movement and good decision making.”
Merryman and Sinnickson seemed to be the open teammates for most of the night as the Panthers’ leading scorers did just that against the Owls, both tallying a game-high 27 points. Jake Brown ’17 added 11 points of his own while assisting on six other baskets, and Nick Tarantino ’18 scored two points and controlled the boards, grabbing 13 rebounds in only 18 minutes.
The Panthers were on the road in the NESCAC on Friday, falling to Colby in heartbreaking fashion 84-80.
Merryman opened the scoring with a layup to give his team a 2-0 lead, but it was the team’s only lead of the game as Colby quickly tied and took the lead 17 seconds later on an old-fashioned three point play. The Panthers just couldn’t defend behind the arc in the first half, and the Mules knocked down 9-18 from three to build a 48-40 halftime lead.
Like Brierley said, “When you can’t defend, it’s difficult to win games.”
For much of the second half, Colby kept Middlebury at an arm’s length and threatened to pull away, going up by 10 more than once, but the Panthers wouldn’t cave. With 56 seconds left in the contest, Brierley capped off a 15-6 Middlebury by converting a traditional three-point play of his own to tie the game at 79. Off a Colby timeout, the Mules’ Luke Westman drew a foul and calmly knocked down two free throws to regain the lead. The Panthers’ Matt St. Amour ’17 had a chance to answer at the other foul line but missed his second attempt, and Colby sealed an 84-80 victory at the foul line to move to 13-9 overall and 4-4 in the NESCAC.
St. Amour scored 18 to lead the Panthers offensively, while Jake Brown ’17 stuffed the stat sheet, tallying 13 points, seven assists, four steals and three rebounds. After his monster game against Keene State, first-year Tarantino earned his first start in the blue and white, playing 13 minutes.
Middlebury had its second NESCAC game in Maine of the weekend on Sunday, losing to Bowdoin 88-70.
It seemed like the Panthers didn’t have anything left in the tank in its third game of the week after the tough loss as they quickly fell behind 12-3. The team showed some fight cutting the lead to two with 8:48 left in the opening period, but the Polar Bears were having none of it, building a 45-35 halftime lead.
In an effort to spark his team, Coach Brown gave Matt Daley ’17 the nod to start the second half at center, and he responded with four quick points to make it a six-point game. After keeping the game within reach over the next five minutes, the Panthers seemed to finally run out of gas, and Bowdoin pushed its lead to 21, 84-63, with just over five minutes left in the contest, before winning 88-70 and pushing its record to 15-6 overall and 5-3 in the NESCAC.
For the second straight game, St. Amour led the Panthers in scoring with 23 on 9-12 shooting. Sinnickson and Daley were the other Panthers in double figures with 13 and 10 respectively.
One win and two losses brings Middlebury to 15-6 on the season and 3-5 in the NESCAC. This week the Panthers play three home games, including non-conference foe Lyndon State on Tuesday, Jan. 10, and NESCAC rivals Trinity and Amherst on Friday, Jan. 13 and Sunday, Jan. 15 respectively.
Currently sitting eighth in the conference standings, the Panthers will have to hold their current position in order to secure the final berth in the NESCAC postseason tournament. Doing so will likely require the team to knock off either Trinity or Amherst — the first and third-seeded teams in the conference, respectively — in order to extend their season.
If they are unable to do so, it would be the first time since the 2005-2006 season that the Panthers failed to qualify for the NESCAC postseason. The team is already virtually assured of missing the NCAA tournament during back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006-2007.
“This is a big week for us, but we’re up for the challenge,” Brierley said.
(02/11/15 10:26pm)
The Middlebury men’s hockey team have had a tough past two weeks that ended in a milestone achievement. The Panthers lost to Tufts 2-1 and were shut out by Connecticut College 3-0 in two away games on Jan. 30 and 31 before returning to Kenyon Arena the next week and losing to fourth-ranked Trinity in overtime 2-1 and then beating Wesleyan 3-0 for Head Coach Bill Beaney’s 600th career victory.
Bowdoin took the 1-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game when a Bowdoin pass took a weird bounce off of a Middlebury defender and landed right on the stick of a Bowdoin forward, who managed to snap a shot past Stephen Klein ’18. Middlebury answered just over two minutes later on the power play when Evan Neugold ’16 picked up his third of the season. After the quick flurry of goals to start the game the two teams locked down as the game evolved into a defensive showcase. Middlebury had a couple of stellar chances in the second but were unable to put any past the Bowdoin goaltender.
The Panthers were able to take the 2-1 lead early in the third period when Mike Najjar ’17 put home the rebound from a shot from Cameron Romoff ’17. Middlebury was then granted an opportunity to put the game away when a Bowdoin player boarded a Panther resulting in a five-minute boarding major and a game-misconduct 11:49 into the third. It seemed as if Middlebury had cashed in on the extended power play when it appeared as if Mark McLellan ’18 was able to put in a rebound off a David Belluche ’18 shot from the point, the red light went off and the fans cheered, but the ref made a controversial no-goal call, claiming that the puck had never completely crossed the line. Bowdoin was then able to equalize with 1:22 left in the third when they pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.
The game then went to overtime where, despite having an early power play, the Panthers were unable to pot the game winner, ending the game as a 2-2 tie. Middlebury outshot Bowdoin 36-19 in the contest.
After their frustrating tie to Bowdoin the day before Middlebury had to quickly turn around and face off against Colby in an afternoon game in Kenyon Arena.
After a closely contested first period Middlebury was able to take the lead on a goal from Neugold. After two successive Middlebury penalties just under halfway through the second Colby was able to cash in on a five on three power play to tie it up. Five minutes later Middlebury responded with a power play goal of their own. After setting up in the offensive zone Middlebury cycled the puck around before Romoff found an opening and shot it into the top left corner of the Colby net. Once again, Colby was able to equalize as they managed to put a wrap-around past Klein 1:17 into the third period. The back-and-forth game continued as Middlebury took the lead on the power play 12:09 into the third. Charles tipped in a Max Greenwald ’16 shot for his team pacing seventh goal of the year.
The Panthers were once again unable to hold on to the lead as Colby equalized with 1:58 left in the third, forcing a second game in a row into overtime. This time, however, the Panthers were able to convert. 59 seconds into the five-minute overtime period Charles scooped up the rebound from a Brendan McGovern ’16 shot and put the game away with a quick shot into the back of the Colby net. Klein stopped 19 of 22 Colby shots in the win as Middlebury outshot the Mules 35 to 22. Middlebury started off the February break away at Tufts. By the midway point of the game Tufts managed to squeak the puck by Middlebury goaltender Liam Moorfield-Yee ’16 twice, putting the Panthers into a two-goal deficit. Middlebury got on the board just four minutes after the second Tufts goal when captain Derek Pimentel ’15 put home the rebound off a Zach Haggerty ’16 shot. Despite continued pressure for the remainder of the game, the Panthers were unable to get any more pucks past the Tufts goaltender. Middlebury outshot Tufts 32-22 in the 2-1 loss.
The next away game, a day later, did not go any better for the Panthers. After the tough loss to Tufts, Middlebury faced off against Connecticut College. After a closely contested first period during which the Middlebury penalty kill stood on its head, Connecticut College got one by Middlebury goaltender Klein with 1:32 remaining in the first. From then on the Camels dominated the game and Middlebury ended up losing 3-0 as they were outshot 35-16.
After the tough weekend, Middlebury had to regroup as they prepared to host the fourth-ranked Trinity Bantams. After a closely contested first period it was 1-0 Trinity as the Bantams managed to get one by Middlebury goalie Klein with 50 seconds remaining. The second period featured plenty of excitement but no change in the scoreline.Both teams’ goaltenders made key stops, with Trinity getting a little help from their left post as McGovern’s shot made it past the goalie but hit iron and bounced away.
The Panthers went into the third looking to equalize. Middlebury poured on the pressure, playing the majority of the period in Trinity’s defensive zone. After a number of good chances, including another shot which rang off the pipe, Middlebury was able to equalize with their goaltender pulled and just 14 seconds remaining in the period. Neugold collected the rebound off a Ronald Fishman ’16 blast from the point, skated around the goal, and stuffed home the wraparound to tie the game at 1-1. However Trinity was able to come away with the victory as they scored just 47 seconds into the sudden death overtime period. Middlebury outshot Trinity 34-15 in the contest.
Middlebury was finally able to get a win in their next game. Hosting Wesleyan, the Panthers put pressure on early, with the hard work finally paying off 16:35 into the first period. Neugold picked up the rebound off a Greg Conrad ’17 drive to the net and shot it top shelf for his sixth of the season. Middlebury then doubled their lead on the power play 2:22 into the second period when Pimentel scored off the rebound from a Romoff shot from the point. Continuing to dominate play, the Panthers took a dominant 3-0 lead 14 minutes later. Fishman skated into the slot and then dropped the puck back to Najjar who made no mistake in rifling it home. Middlebury outshot Wesleyan 37-13 and Klein picked up his second shutout of the year.
Overshadowing all other achievements from the game, however, was what the victory represented for Beaney. Now in his 35th season as a head coach and his 28th year leading the Panthers, Beaney picked up his 600th career victory, making him the 12th coach in NCAA history to reach the milestone as well as the NCAA leader in Division-III victories.
The Panthers are now gearing up for the final stretch. This Friday, Feb. 13 marks the last home game of the season as Middlebury squares off against Williams in a pivotal home-and-home series. Middlebury completes the series away at Williams on Saturday. Puck drop for both games is at 7:00pm.
