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(05/04/17 1:59am)
Hosting their final three-game series of the season, the softball team geared up to compete against Williams on Friday and Saturday, April 28-29.
The Panthers lost the first contest in heartbreaking one-run fashion. The Ephs scored on an error in the top half of the first frame. Williams’ Jessica Kim reached base on an error, stole second and scored on a double to tally the sole run of the game.
Though Allison Quigley ’18 gave her best outing of the season — giving up one run earned on six hits and six strikeouts — Middlebury was unable to muster any offense.
Highlights from Friday’s game were scarce, but Melanie Mandell ’20, who posts a team-high .457 batting average, went 2-3, continuing her stellar first year season.
Taylor Gardner ’18 said that the 1-0 loss was hard to swallow.
“It was a tough one, but I am very happy how the team showed up to play today,” Gardner said. “This has been the best we have played Williams in three years!”
The loss on Friday afternoon put an end to Middlebury’s hopes of reaching the NESCAC playoffs. They fell to 4-6 in conference play.
Middlebury headed into Saturday’s doubleheader looking to close the season on a high note by stealing two wins from the first-place Ephs; unfortunately, they fell short.
In the first game, Middlebury struggled in the field with five errors, allowing Williams to score five runs off eight hits in seven innings. Williams scored two runs in the top of the first to grab an early lead — one the Ephs would hold onto for the rest of the game.
Gardner scored Middlebury’s only run of the game when Erin Giles ’17 singled down the left field line in the bottom of the first.
Williams tacked on one run in the third and two in the fourth extending their lead to 5-1. Middlebury was unable to muster any offensive momentum as Irene Margiotta ’19 suffered the loss.
On the positive side, Mandell went 2-3 again with a couple of base knocks, while Giles recorded her 44th career RBI.
In the nightcap, Middlebury jumped out to an early advantage with a run in the bottom of the first. Hye-Jin Kim ’17 reached on a one-out walk, moved to second on a pass ball and scored on a double down the line by Sibohan O’Sullivan ’18 — her 25th career double and 42nd career RBI. O’Sullivan’s RBI would be the only one run for Middlebury as Williams took the lead for good in the third. Ephs’ Kristina Alvarado smacked a single to left, followed by Jessica Kim’s single to center and rounded out by Mackenzie Murphy’s three-run homerun.
Although the Panthers had themselves in a solid position to cut into the Ephs’ lead with the bases loaded and no outs thanks to three-straight singles by Giles, Gardner and Olivia Bravo ’20 leading off the sixth, Middlebury could not score a single run.
The visitors held on to their 3-1 lead as Allison Quigley ’18 took the loss in what was her 13th complete game of the season.
Highlights of the game included an impressive performance by first-year Marybeth Stone ’20 who went 3-3 at the plate and Bravo who went 2-3 with a double.
It is the end of an era for seniors Giles, O’Sullivan, Kim and Sarah Freyre ’17 who have contributed pride, energy, commitment and hardwork to making the program better.
Giles reflected on her last game in a Middlebury uniform.
“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to continue my softball career in college,” she said. “Middlebury softball not only allowed me to grow as a player, but also as a person. I can’t imagine my time at Middlebury without softball, the team has become my family and for that, I’ll always be grateful.”
The future is bright for the softball squad, as ten of 14 players will return to the diamond next spring.
“Middlebury softball will be back stronger than ever next year,” Giles said. “With two pitchers coming in, a lack of pitching will no longer be a challenge. The rising senior class is composed of great leaders and the team is incredibly talented. I am super excited to see what they accomplish next year!”
(04/27/17 3:37am)
The Middlebury team headed to Middletown, Conn., for their third West NESCAC series against the Wesleyan Cardinals this past weekend. After taking the previous series from Hamilton, the Panthers were riding into Middletown with a four-game win streak and a chance to keep it going.
On Friday, April 21, Allison Quigley ’18 started on the bump for Middlebury. Quigley, who would throw her 10th complete game of the season, is one of Middlebury’s most reliable pitchers, sitting at an 8-5 record.
The Panthers took the lead in the top of the first when Olivia Bravo ’20 tripled to the gap in right-center. Bravo, who is hitting an impressive .379 with 15 RBI’s, scored on a single from fellow first-year Melanie Mandell ’20. Although Wesleyan would score in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 1-1, it would be their only run of the game.
Quigley got into a jam in the bottom of the third when the bases were loaded with one out. But she quickly worked herself out of trouble with a fielder’s choice and a groundout to end the inning, setting the stage for the Panthers to take the lead in the fourth.
Carrying that momentum, Middlebury was able to score two runs. Hye Jin-Kim ’17 plated Quigley and Sarah Freyre ’17 after a single to right field that extended their lead to 3-1.
In the top of the sixth, the guests added onto their lead when Quigley doubled to center and scored on a Freyre double to right. Leading 4-1, both Freyre and Mandell scored on an error to give the visitors a 6-1 advantage. Kim reached first following these two runs and later scored on a groundout by Siobhan O’Sullivan ’17. Quigley would hold the Cardinals scoreless in the seventh for her ninth win of the season.
Freye, a team captain, earned NESCAC Player of the Week hitting .522, recording her 100th career hit in a 5-1-1 week for the Panthers. She belted six doubles to go along with a home run, eight RBI’s and nine runs scored.
Due to poor weather conditions, Saturday’s double-header was moved to Sunday, April 23, and Wesleyan proved harder to put away this time around. In the first inning, the Cardinals got on the board with an RBI double to left field and almost scored again, but Ali Della Volpe ’18 had other plans. Wesleyan’s Julie McDonald hit a fly ball to left field with the bases loaded; Della Volpe, however, caught the ball for the second out and fired a laser to Liza Tarr ’19 gunning down the runner trying to tag up for the third out of the inning.
“In my head this was just another routine play,” Della Volpe said. “I knew ahead of time that if the ball came my way, it was going home. I stayed calm and was prepared to do what I had to do to get the out.”
The hosts tacked on two runs in the bottom of the third inning, however, to give them a 3-0 advantage. Middlebury’s offense, though slow to get started, finally picked up at the top of the fifth.
Mandell scored on a double by Marybeth Stone ’20 cutting the lead to 3-1. Freye joined Stone on base and both scored on a double from Gardner tying the game 3-3. The score remained that way until the top of the eighth inning when O’Sullivan hit a solo homerun to deep center field, giving the Panthers a 4-3 edge.
The hosts answered back in the bottom of the inning, plating one run and tying the game. The Cardinals almost won in the eighth, but O’Sullivan threw out Estella Zeng at the plate trying to score and sent the game into the ninth. Middlebury was unable to score in the ninth, however, and with two outs in the bottom of the stanza, Wesleyan’s Julie McDonald singled to right to end the game.
“As a team, we knew that we had played strong defense and exploded on offensive,” Kim reflected. “But honestly, we were just missing some timely hits.”
Irene Margiotta ’19 tossed the first five innings, followed by Quigley who recorded the loss. Quigley, however, struck out a pair making her the fifth pitcher in softball history to record 200 career strikeouts — she sits at 201.
“This season is different from others because we have a small team and only two pitchers,” Gardner said. “We rely on our pitchers every game and [Quigley] is always there ready to pitch when we need her — so is [Margiotta]. Both of them are extremely valuable to our team and are great team players, as they are always willing to step on the mound when we need them.”
In the nightcap, Middlebury jumped on Wesleyan early, scoring twice in the first inning. Freye reached first and later scored on O’Sullivan’s double in the gap; Gardner followed right behind with a double of her own giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. At the top of the third, Freye drove in two runs with a double to center and then scored on a base hit by O’Sullivan. With a 5-0 advantage, Middlebury only gave up one run in the fourth. Margiotta pitched another complete game to earn the 5-1 win for Middlebury giving up only one run on three hits.
The Panthers return home for their final NESCAC series against Williams College on April 28 and 29.
“The mentality really is one game at a time,” Kim said. “But it’d be really run to sweep Williams. Moving forward? ‘Work hard and get better everyday,’ in the words of our captain.”
(04/21/17 5:29pm)
Following a tough weekend against Amherst, Middlebury’s softball team headed up to Clinton, N.Y., to compete against the Hamilton Continentals for their second NESCAC series of the season.
On Friday, April 14, Allison Quigley ’18 started on the mound against Hamilton’s Zoe Singer. Quigley, who boasts a solid 5-4 record, is one of three starting pitchers; she consistently throws strikes, gets outs and can throw complete games as well as contribute to her team’s offense. On Friday, she went 2-4 at the plate, including a double and an RBI.
In game one of the series, Middlebury got on the board first as Ali Della Volpe ’18 singled through the infield and later scored on a fielder’s choice — Della Volpe has had an impressive junior year so far with a .348 batting average and seven RBI’s. The Continentals, however, responded in the bottom of the inning with three runs, two of which were unearned. With a 3-1 lead, Hamilton held the lead through the second.
“In the first game on Friday we played very clean defense as a team and also stayed focused on offense, which led to our success,” Della Volpe said.
The Panthers came right back in the third inning. Della Volpe started the rally, reaching on an error, while Kati Dackzowski ’18 and Sarah Freye ’17 walked to load the bases for Melanie Mandell ’20. Mandell, who has had an amazing first year campaign, — batting .459 with a .820 slugging percentage, 21 RBI’s and three home runs — continued to live up to her offensive potential. She smashed a triple in the gap to give Middlebury a 4-3 lead. Quigley helped herself out by crushing a double to deep center to add another tally and she scored when captain Siobhan O’Sullivan ’17 hit a deep sac-fly to the outfield.
The Panthers led 6-3 until the bottom of the fourth when Hamilton tacked on its final two runs making it a one-run 6-5 game. But Quigley held the Continentals to zero runs for the rest of the game as Middlebury tacked on two insurance runs at the top of the seventh and went on to win 8-5.
“After our loss in game two, we learned that we could not leave nearly as many runners on base as we did and still come out on top. We knew we had to refocus,” Della Volpe ’18 said.
On the second day, Saturday April 15, Middlebury geared up to try to sweep Hamilton for the Double Header. In game one, the Panthers got on the board first as Della Volpe drew a leadoff walk, coming all the way around to score on a passed ball. With a 1-0 lead in the first, Mandell also drew a walk and scored on a single by Erin Giles ’17.
Middlebury continued its offensive power as they scored another two runs in the second.
Hye-Jin Kim ’17 started things off with a basic hit and scored on double down the left-field line by Taylor Gardner ’18, who later advanced on a pass ball and scored on a fielders choice. The Panthers held a 4-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth when Hamilton’s Kendall Searcy drew a basesloaded walked for the first run and Emily Fraser brought the second and third runs home with a two-run double. The score remained that way until the seventh.
The Panthers had not scored since the fourth and they could not generate anything in the second half of the game. In the bottom of the seventh, down by one, the Continentals hit back-to-back singles with two outs. Hamilton’s Sophie Cerreta sealed the deal with a three-run walk-off home run to end the game 6-4. Irene Margiotta tossed the first 4.1 innings while Quigley took the loss giving up three runs on five hits.
Though they had lost on a walk-off, Middlebury was ready for redemption. In the nightcap, the Panthers scored in each of the five innings. Quigley brought home the first run with an RBI double in the gap; Liza Tarr ’19 smacked a run-scoring double in the second and Della Volpe made it 3-0 with an RBI groundout.
It was in the third, however, that the offensive floodgates opened up scoring six runs including a two-run homer to left center off the bat of Quigley and a double by Gardner that plated two more runs for a 9-0 advantage.
In the fourth, Gardner plated another RBI for a 10-0 lead, followed by a runscoring base hit in the fifth to extend the lead to 11-0. Hamilton pushed a single run in the bottom of the fifth for the final score 11-1.
Quigley picked up the win in the circle, allowing just one run on four hits with three strikeouts in her eighth complete game of the spring. She went 4-4 at the plate with four RBI’s, while Della Volpe and Gardner both had doubles and scored twice.
“We came out with high energy and cheered very loudly,” said Della Volpe ’18. “Also on the way to Hamilton we watched Remember the Titans, which really pumped us up for the weekend, especially the second game. We started quoting lines from the movie, which helped everyone to loosen up.”
The Panthers return to action this weekend with their third NESCAC series of the season against the Wesleyan Cardinals.
(12/08/16 5:11pm)
Panther Athletics Middlebury College has made unprecedented efforts to develop a more diverse student body in recent years and those efforts are highlighted by the many faces in classrooms, dining halls and on campus in general, especially in the last ten years. The numbers have soared and the College continues to build its resume of racial diversity. T
his year, the general student body has a total of 2,532 students and of that number, 24 percent identified as a U.S. person of color, which is 628 students who identify as American-Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latino or Mixed. Ten years ago, there were 2,455 students in the general body and of that number, only 361 students identified as a U.S. person of color, a mere 14 percent.
Despite these advances, the College’s athletic program has not reached nearly the same levels of diversification. In an effort to better understand how membership on sports teams where diversity is low shapes the lives of players, the Campus interviewed several student-athletes of color about their experiences on their team and at the College.
Athletes at the College are often balancing a number of different social spheres: their team, who they interact with generally on a daily basis; those involved in their academic commitments; and those friends they have outside of either of these. For athletes of color, another sphere exists: relationships with non-athlete students of color.
The following accounts come from students with different backgrounds and a variety of experiences before coming to the College. However, each decided to apply and for that reason, each shares a similar appreciation for and commitment to the College.
The Experience
“One of the places we’ve achieved great diversity is through prep schools; like Middlebury, they are investing and changing with the times,” Dean of Admissions Greg Buckles said. Many private schools, including boarding schools and Catholic schools, send their athletes of color to colleges such as Middlebury.
Many athletes of color, especially those from these top-ranked high schools, come to the College to succeed both academically and athletically, regardless of a lack of diversity on the sports teams.
Diego Meritus ’19, who identifies as African American and is a running back for the football team, described coming to the College despite the lack of diversity as almost a no-brainer.
“I chose to attend Middlebury because the opportunities this school has to offer outweighed any other factor,” Meritus said. “I would have regretted the decision to turn down four years at a top-ranked liberal arts school and the potential doors it could open for me.”
Meritus was not shocked after his arrival on campus, because he had grown accustomed to the majority-white campus and locker rooms at his high school.
“Coming from a private catholic high school in Massachusetts, the dynamic with regards to diversity was very similar to Middlebury. There were very few minorities and students of color in comparison to the general student body,” Meritus said. “At times this situation presents challenges for me, but being exposed to this phenomena early on, I was prepared for what was to come at Middlebury. At the same time, just because I am used to being a minority does not mean I am content with the lack of representation of students of color in the student body.”
Jourdon Delerme-Brown ’20, who plays alongside Meritus on the football team, identifies as AfricanAmerican of Jamaican and Haitian descent and attended a private school in Greenwich, Conn. Delerme-Brown, like Meritus, said that the opportunities that come with a degree from Middlebury College far outweigh a lack of diversity. He said his time here at the College so far reminds him of his high school.
“It’s virtually the same dynamic here compared to Brunswick, with respect to diversity,” Delerme-Brown said. “In the past, I’ve learned how to find solidarity between myself and other students of color, while not secluding myself from making friends and being around people who do not share my same ethnic background. This was a crucial lesson before coming to Middlebury because in college, no one will coach you to branch out, you have to take those steps on your own.”
Like Meritus and Delerme-Brown, Griffin Price ’20, who also identifies as African-American, has constantly found himself as the minority on his soccer teams. He said that it is sometimes a challenge, however “you learn that getting along in the locker room is crucial if you want to succeed out on the field. Sometimes you have to ignore the outside noise and come together as a group.” Price, a first-year goalkeeper for the men’s soccer team, attended the Westminster School, a private boarding school in Simsbury, Conn. He and his brother were the only two students of color on the predominately-white team and by his senior year, his brother having graduated, he was the only one.
“I thought about going to a historically Black college or university (HBCU) like Howard and exploring that type of learning experience in an environment dominated by African Americans. But ultimately I fell in love with what Middlebury had to offer,” Price said. “I had never had it easy in my life when it came to race, especially in my sport. Similar to a quarterback in football, the goalkeeper position is typically dominated by white athletes, so I am used to being an anomaly in a sport dominated by white privilege.”
Meritus, Delerme-Brown and Price have all had previous experiences in a predominately-white environments that have helped them transition smoothly from high school to college.
Alex Huffman ’19 and Olivia Bravo ’20 are two students of color who attended public high schools but, like their peers who came from private high s c h o o l s , t h e y had experiences that prepared them for the predominantly-white culture of the College’s athletic department.
Huffman, who identifies as African-American and half-Caucasian, is a guard on the women’s basketball team and went to a charter public school in Massachusetts. Her school furnished the opportunity to attend a camp in Colchester, VT, every summer between ages 11 and 17. Here, she met people who attended Middlebury and surrounded herself with people aware of the College’s academic and athletic esteem.
“I was not shocked at the lack of diversity on the women’s basketball team,” Huffman said. “Throughout my life, the teams I’ve been on, whether it was basketball or soccer, have been predominantly white. There have been few exceptions, but for the most part, being one of few persons of color is normal for me.”
In addition, Huffman spoke of how her bi-racial upbringing helped her maneuver the environment she has encountered at the College.
“Under the conditions of my parents and growing up with two different cultures, I feel that I’ve gotten more experienced at weaving in and out of the two worlds,” she said. “Some people are just learning that when they come here. All of my cross-cultural experiences have proven that my bi-racial identity is not a burden.”
Bravo, who is of Mexican descent and a freshman on the softball team, attended a public high school in northern Virginia. Bravo also recognized the academic and career benefits of coming to Middlebury as opposed to another liberal-arts school. In Bravo’s case, she too experienced an environment dominated by white culture.
“The public high school I attended was in one of the most affluent areas in northern Virginia and there was very little diversity there,” Bravo said. “So the lack of diversity here at Middlebury was not surprising or upsetting. When I applied I knew of the lack of diversity and was prepared to be in the same environment I had been in for most of my life.”
When applying to the College, Meritus, Huffman, Bravo, Price and Delerme-Brown were all prepared for the lack of diversity they would face on their teams. But not all athletes of color experience the same easy transition.
Another Look
Chellsa Ferdinand ’20, a first-year on the volleyball team who self-identifies as an African-American, and Emilio Ovalles-Misterman ’19, a former football player who identifies as Dominican and Caucasian are two athletes of color whose experiences have differed from their peers.
Ferdinand attended Brooklyn Technical High School — a public high school in Brooklyn, New York, with 5,500 students. There, most students were of Asian descent, however a significant portion of those students identified as African-American and/or as a person of color, she said. Ferdi - nand is also a member of the POSSE program, which is a college access and youth development program that identifies, recruits and selects students from public high schools and sends groups of these students to top universities and colleges across the country.
Throughout high school, Ferdinand was surrounded by people of similar experiences of growing up in the urban metropolis of New York. Within her POSSE group, she found solace with friends who not only shared her skin color but the experiences that have come along with it. Now at the College, she struggles to find the people who have had the same experiences as her and can truly understand the differences she’s faced throughout her career.
“Students of color often exist in two communities, one where they lend themselves to assimilating to those around them and another where they can be their true cultural selves,” Ferdinand said. “You have to constantly be aware of things you say and who you say them to. I think many athletes of color have to battle with those two worlds in this predominately-white school.”
She went on to articulate her experience of being the only of person of color on the volleyball team both in high school and in college and the difference in camaraderie among her teammates then and now.
“Being the only Black person on the team is a weird experience, but I’ve known it before,” she said. “On my high school team I was the only Black student, but looking back it didn’t feel like that, and I think in part that had to do with the fact that those girls were used to being around other students of color all the time. At Middlebury, it is not the same. On one hand, I love my team so much. I am able to share jokes, bond with them and train with them all the time. But on the other hand, my teammates share something that I do not: being white.”
Ovalles-Misterman attended St. Francis High School for four years, a private catholic high school with a graduating class of less than 10 people of color out of 120 students. However, after missing his junior year of football due to a severe tear in his patellar tendons, he opted to take a post-graduate fifth year of high school at Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts. It was at this prestigious boarding school that Ovalles-Misterman first learned about the College.
“Prior to Andover, I didn’t know a single thing about Middlebury or any other prestigious universities outside of the Ivy League and Patriot League schools, and I only [found out] about them because there were a few kids that ended up going to those places,” he said. “I was never made aware of these schools at St. Francis, partially because I only thought about football and partially because my counselors only tried to sell local schools to me despite the fact I had grades to go further.”
It was his time at Andover that ultimately led Ovalles-Misterman to seek out the College. However, he struggled to see the College as the place he truly wanted to be and as he spoke of his experience, the uncertainty of the College’s white-dominated environment came forth.
“Middlebury wasn’t my favorite place when I came to visit — it was cold, in the middle of nowhere and I don’t think I saw one person of color the entire time I visited, which really scared me,” he said. “The thought I could be going to an institution that was whiter than the places that I had come from was pretty daunting. But fast forwarding, my decision to come to Middlebury was mainly dependent on my financial aid package.”
Ovalles-Misterman’s experience with the football team parallels Ferdinand’s sentiments toward her team and the difficulty that arises in dealing with a team that is predominantly white.
“I don’t in any way regret playing ball at Middlebury and I am forever grateful to the staff and to the team because I knew they would always have my back. I always have a lot of love for those guys, ” Ovalles-Misterman said. “But the thing that affected me about the lack of color was the team culture was dominated by whiteness — it was a different vibe and I found it difficult to find my niche within the team. It just wasn’t a place I felt like I could go to forget about all my other issues.”
Limitations to Diversity
A op-ed piece published in the Campus last February titled “Deconstructing College Athletics,” explored how the NESCAC has limited coaches who try to recruit students to certain forms of communication, setting budget reservations for travel and lodging expenses and setting an extremely high bar for academic standings.
These policies, which aim to ensure academics take precedence before athletics, are a major factor in consistently homogenous sports teams. The majority of students of color who come to the College to play sports have either gone to a prep or private school where they have already adjusted to academic life where they are in the minority, or they have learned of the College through a leadership program such as POSSE. For students without a prestigious high school experience or the support of a leadership program, the culture at the College can come as a shock.
Although the Admissions office is able to pick and choose students based on a number of factors, the Athletics department is prevented by NESCAC policy from approaching potential student athletes who might not otherwise apply to the College, as is common practice in sports recruiting in other divisions across the country.
“At a NESCAC level, we’ve had diversity task forces working for the past ten years that I have been here,” Director of Athletics Erin Quinn said. “However, as a conference we have struggled over the years to balance the core principles of the NESCAC with the need for greater diversity among our teams.”
The NESAC mandates that a coach cannot come up to any player, without previously being contacted first, and pitch the College to them. This puts the College’s diversity initiatives at odds with the goals of the admissions office because of the lack of information that many students of color have regarding the College.
Buckles also noted the problems of the NESCAC policies that hinder the College’s ability to truly diversify their athletics, while the numbers of the general student body have gone up.
“If you look back historically, athletics have provided a very significant portion of the number of students of color represented at the college,” Buckles said. “Now the numbers have flipped as the College has made great structures in the general student body, but athletically, the numbers have not kept up.”
Chief Diversity Officer Miguel Fernandez spoke of the struggles of expanding diversity initiatives when NESCAC recruiting politics are so strict. “Our coaches recognized the lack of diversity and tried to work on it, but the numbers don’t show it,” he said. “The limitations put on NESCAC teams with respect to recruiting makes it very difficult to reach out to athletes who are not aware of NESCAC schools.” Many of the athletes of color that are recruited to Middlebury often enter without the help of a leadership or mentoring program such as Prep-for-Prep, Jack & Jill or POSSE. Often, those students who have the benefit of being a POSSE member and an athlete form tight bonds that their peers miss out on. Fernandez explained how administrators viewed the phenomenon of athletes of color and how the NESCAC has increasingly shaped one kind of athlete of color to come to Middlebury.
“The athletes we recruit have been at predominantly white high schools. They have kind of been through this before — not to say that it eliminates all problems — but they have lived through it and they know what they are up against. It is not a shock when they get here,” Fernandez said. “On the other hand, when we get the rare student of color who comes to one of the College’s teams from a predominately minority school, we, as administrators, are really just shocked.” Moving forward Each minority athlete who was interviewed agreed that an environment with more people of color teaches people how to interact with different cultures and is a positive experience, not only throughout the athletics program but also in the general student body. Ferdinand says her experience has been pleasant but, “Middlebury is just not as diverse as it says it is. There needs to be more students of color, plain and simple. Without having a group here such as POSSE or even your sports team, it is definitely more difficult to find your place here.”
Delerme-Brown also agreed with Ferdinand’s sentiments and reflected on what a more diverse Middlebury would look like. He said that an increase in culture can positively affect the experiences of others around him and hopes that the College notes the importance of expanding their diversity initiatives.
“Personally, I would never say no to more students of color, period,” Delerme-Brown said. “From an athletic standpoint, a more diverse locker room can be an improvement for everyone on the team. By having more people of color other students and fellow athletes can become more cultured, which is something I find important and somewhat of an unappreciated gift. Let’s bring more culture and diversity to our teams and to our school because we can bring new levels of ideas and experiences.”
Price also expressed his thoughts about the benefits of engaging with more people of color. He respects the challenges that any person of color has to face in college and in the real world, especially a person of color who is also an athlete. Price wants to see more of those people come to the College.
“Making an effort to attract and accept more students of color, not just athletes, benefits those students but also benefits our student body as a whole,” Price said. “What is unique about being a student-athlete is that you are expected to uphold the same academic standards as your peers while participating in our sports. When a minority applicant shows that level of determination to fight against the inherent inequalities that persist in their daily lives, to work hard not only in the classroom but on the sports field, it should be accepted that those people have what it takes to survive at Middlebury and we need more of those people here.”
(03/10/16 4:04am)
Last weekend, March 4-6, Saskia Pownall-Gray ’16 and Tiffany Hau ’16 competed at the College Squash Association individual championships at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, Connecticut. Pownall-Gray and Hau entered the tournament ranked 51st and 60th.
Powell-Gray faced 46th-ranked Hedvika Suchanova of Dickinson College in her opening match. She was defeated in a five-match marathon, losing the deciding game 11-7.
Powell-Gray then entered the consolation bracket, and lost to George Washington’s Abigail Shonrock in a three-game match. In the last game, Pownall-Gray showed signs of comeback, but ultimately Shonrock gained the upper hand and won 15-13.
Hau competed against 37th-ranked Alexandra Toth from Princeton and unfortunately fell in three games (11-5, 11-4, 11-7). However, Hau remained upbeat about her time at the championships.
“I had a wonderful weekend and played some of the best squash I had all season,” Hau said. “It was really exciting [playing at Chelsea Piers that] I hadn’t been to before.” Hau had a crowd of supporters on hand, including her family, Panther teammates, Coach Mark Lewis and friends from home.
After her loss in the opening-round match, Hau beat 69th-ranked Brandy Williamson from Mount Holyoke in a four game showdown. She won the final game 11-5. Though she lost in her next match against 53rd-ranked Victoria Arjoon of Bates College, Hau put the weekend in perspective.
“It was nice being able to finish on that [note] being a senior in my last weekend of squash,” Hau said.
When asked about her goals, Hau said she just wanted to enjoy her time and compete to her best potential.
“I wanted to enjoy it,” Hau said, “it was my last weekend of collegiate squash so I wanted to leave the weekend feeling proud of myself and the way that I played. I wanted to be able to look back and remember how fun it was. I definitely achieved that and with those good feelings definitely came some good results.”
Hau also gave praise to her teammates for their support and encouragement.
“[Though] it was strange not having the whole team together,” Hau acknowledged, “hearing from [teammates] and remembering the energy from the weekend before at Nationals definitely propelled me through the tournament.”
(03/02/16 8:43pm)
The road to the CSA Team Nationals, held this year at Yale’s Brady Squash Center, is far from easy. Composure, desire and mental toughness are key components to reach the tournament. The Middlebury Panthers conquered these elements throughout the season and it paid off.
The 15th ranked Middlebury Panthers clawed and scratched their way to earn a spot amongst No. 1 Harvard, No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 Trinity just to name a few. The team, comprising of Zoe Carey ’16, Ti any Hau ’16 and Saskia Pownall-Gray ’16, faced Drexel, Franklin & Marshall (F&M) and the University of Virginia.
The Panthers faced the Drexel Dragons in the quarterfinal match of the Nationals on Friday evening. Coming into the tournament the Panthers knew they would have to give one hundred percent effort and heart to come out on top. Though several of the matches were close, the women’s team fell 7-2 to the Dragons.
“It was long,” Coach Mack Lewis said. “It started off a bit rough with both teams losing their first two matches to strong teams.”
In the quarterfinal loss, Caroline Jahrling ’18 and Lucy Bostwick ’18 had the only victories. Jahrling went the full mile in a five-match win against Drexel’s number seven, pushing through in the final match with a 11-7 victory.
Bostwick also had an amazing tournament run. In each of her victories, she dismantled the competition.
Lewis said, “Bostwick had a particularly strong performance this weekend. She is a tough competitor who has over the course of the season tightened up her game.”
In her matches against Drexel’s number six, she won all three of her matches: 11-7, 11-4 and 11-5. Bostwick would continue to shine as she won her next six matches; one against Franklin and Marshall, the others against the University of Virginia.
She has “acquired a greater self-awareness of her own game and pushes herself incredibly hard day in and day out. This combination yields results,” Lewis commented.
Though the Panthers fell early, Lewis applauded the team’s effort.
“The scores for the women accurately indicate the matches were close and that we had chances in both,” he said. “We wanted to win every match we played but came in seeded to finish 15th and that’s where we finished.”
After the quarterfinal loss to Drexel and a consolation loss to Franklin Marshall, the Panthers faced No. 16 Virginia. Middlebury beat the Cavaliers 8-1, in 2007. This time around Virginia was hungry for a victory against the Panthers. However, revenge would not be had as the Panthers beat the Cavaliers 7-2 to hold their national ranking at fifteen. The Panthers cruised to their victory and ended their season on a high note.
Liddy Renner ’18 was very optimistic about her team’s standings during the weekend.
“The weekend went well because we beat the teams we should have beat,” she said. “I’m excited for what we are going to be capable of next year and hopefully compete at a whole new level at Nationals.”
Lewis also had positive things to say about the women’s team after their last victory against Virginia.
“What does the future hold? I can’t be certain, but I know that [they] are committed to work on their games in the off-season. We’ll look to be physically and mentally stronger next year.”
The Women’s Squash team ended their season with a record of 9-9. Next year the Panthers hope to minimize their injuries, compete at an even higher level and look to bounce back next season stronger and tougher than ever.
“I expect that we’ll be ranked near where we are now (No. 15) and will see to move up as far as possible,” Lewis said.
(02/18/16 4:25am)
The women’s squash team headed to Hartford, Conn. for the NESCAC tournament over the weekend of Feb. 6-7. The Panthers entered the tournament ranked 15th in the nation and third in the conference.
The Panthers dismantled Hamilton in the quarterfinal match winning 8-1. Middlebury had strong performances from Zoe Carey ’16, Alexa Comai ’19 and Beatrijs Kuijipers ’19.
Kuijipers started an exceptionally strong weekend at the NESCAC tournament by winning in straight sets against Hamilton with scores of 11-4, 11-3 and 11-3. Kuijipers would later have the only victory for the Panthers when the team fell to Williams in the semifinals.
Coach Mark Lewis said that “the loss to Williams was tough. Carey and Comai lost in five close games so the score line of 8-1 was not indicative of how close the match was.”
After beating Hamilton, the third ranked Panthers renewed their classic NESCAC rivalry with Williams. Earlier in the season, Middlebury lost 7-2 with wins from Carey and Comai.
Though Middlebury put up a strong fight, Williams beat back the surge of Blue and White and beat the Panthers 8-1, ending Middlebury’s NESCAC Championship run.
This time around, Kuijpers had the sole victory against the Eph’s, winning in straight sets in the third slot.
“She is extremely hard working and the epitome of a competitor,” injured player Liddy Renner ’18 said of her first-year teammate Kuijipers. “As soon as she steps on the court it’s clear that she is focused and willing to let her opponent come out on top. She’s been a rock
for our team this season.”
She won her first two matches 11-6 and completed the sweep with an 11-4 win.
“Bea [Kuijipers] has been a very tough competitor all season — a reliable win [for the team],” Lewis said about the first-year standout. “Her fighting spirit and work ethic inspire her teammates day in and day out.”
After the loss against Williams, Middlebury competed against Amherst for third place. The Panthers beat the Lord Jeff 8-1 and won the third place for the second year in a row.
“The team came out firing on all cylanders,” Lewis said of the team’s effort against Amherst. “Convincing wins by Carey, Comai, Kuijpers [and] Lucy Bostwick ’18 put us in the lead. Audrey Ellen ’17 and Hope Matthews ’18’s tough four game victories put us over the top.”
After securing the win, the Panthers improved to 8-7 and will return to the National Team Championships.
Overall, the Panthers have had a strong season and look to make a run in the B division at nationals Feb. 25-27 at Yale.
(10/22/15 12:25am)
Williams’ Purple Ephs visited the Middlebury Panthers at Alumni Stadium on a chilly Homecoming Saturday, in a game that the Panthers won comfortably in the end, 36-14, despite a back-and-forth first half.
The first quarter was a defensive gridlock as neither team could put points on the board. An uneventful first half was solely highlighted by an interception by Addison Pierce ’17, but Middlebury could not capitalize as the first quarter ended with a 0-0 score.
Williams scored early in the second quarter on a three-yard touchdown run that put the Ephs up 7-0. However, Middlebury answered quickly and in great fashion.
Tanner Contois ’18 caught the ensuing kickoff on Middlebury’s four-yard line, dodged a tackle, cut back towards the middle of the field, picked up a couple blocks and never looked back. A 96-yard kickoff return silenced any Williams’ fans in the stands, turning a 7-0 lead to a 7-6 game. Charlie Gordon’s ’19 extra point attempt was blocked and Williams held onto the lead 7-6.
After another eight minutes of strong defense, the Panthers took the lead with 6:21 left on a 24-yard field goal by Gordon to make it 9-7. At this point, a close game seemed inevitable, as both the defenses were forcing punts and immovable at the line of scrimmage. The Panthers clung to that two-point league coming halftime.
Head Coach Bob Ritter commented on his team’s play coming out of the first half.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple times,” Ritter said, “Williams controlled the clock in the first quarter. They slowed the tempo of the game. They converted on a couple third downs, and their execution was thorough.”
William’s control of the tempo did not phase the Panthers in the second half.
The Ephs came out of the locker room hot as their first possession in the third quarter resulted in a touchdown by running back Connor Harris, putting his team up 14-9.
On the next drive, Middlebury coughed up a fumble on its own 29-yard line, and fans began to wonder whether the Panthers would be able to rebound. But their worries were for naught.
Williams could not capitalize on the fumble. The Ephs missed a 38-yard field goal attempt after Middlebury’s defense held tight and three plays later, quarterback Matt Milano ’16 hit wideout Matt Minno ’16 with a 10-yard pass which Minno took 71 yards to the house and put the Panthers up 15-14.
“The chemistry between these two is unbelievable,” Ritter said. “During the second-half of [last] season the two really clicked. Minno is a great, tall target and Milano isn’t afraid to throw it up for him to grab it.”
However, Panthers were again unable to convert the extra point, keeping it a one-point game.
Minno’s touchdown started a powerful second half and the Panthers didn’t look back as Williams went three-and-out and Middlebury’s offense followed that with a nine-play, 96-yard, 2:48 touchdown drive. Amidst the drive, running back Diego Meritus ’19 rushed for 20 yards and caught an 11-yard pass, along with catches from tight end Trevor Miletech ’16 and Minno. Milano found Minno in the corner of the right half of the end zone to stretch the lead to 21-14, but Middlebury missed the extra point once again.
“We need to make those extra points and we will work hard in practice to clean it up,” Ritter said, “especially in close games, it can be the difference.”
Meritus’ success on that drive helped him tally 118 yards on the ground, his first 100+ yard game in his career.
“It felt great knowing that I was able to do my job and contribute to our teams success,” Meritus said. “Coach [Ritter] talks about winning our one-on-one battles each week. Being able to win my one-on-one battle allowed us to move the ball effectively in both the run and passing game.”
Ritter praised the young back’s performance.
“He is a strong and tough runner,” Ritter said. “He can lower his shoulder and run a defender over or make a quick move and beat his man. He is a player who wins his one-on-one battles. More importantly, Diego is mature beyond his years and it shows on the field,” Ritter said.
At some point, a fan chanted “Go, Diego, Go!” and the first-year back took the fan’s advice.
The Panthers began the fourth quarter with the ball and a short field while holding onto that 21-14 lead.
Middlebury quickly scored on a flat pass from Milano to Meritus who caught the pass and ran 19 yards for the touchdown to make the score 27-14. Since Middlebury struggled with extra points all day, the team went with a two-point conversion play. The Panthers converted, but Middlebury was called for a blocking-in-the-back penalty and the Panthers got moved back to the 18-yard line. This didn’t phase Milano as he fired back with a pass to Contois who hauled it down in the endzone to make it 29-14.
Williams showed some fight in the fourth, marching up the field with a couple big catches, but, their momentum was whisked away as cornerback Nate Leedy ’17 snagged the ball in the end-zone for a Middlebury interception.
This was the end for Williams. Middlebury marched down the field again which resulted in a 16-yard dash to the endzone for the touchdown by Meritus. with 7:57 left in the game, the Panthers secured their insurance points and kept the comfortable 36-14 lead until the final whistles blew, signaling the end of the game.
Milano threw for 319 yards, connecting on 20 of 41 passes with three touchdowns. Minno caught eight passes and set a career record with 171 yards. Meritus ran for 118 yards, another career best.
The Panthers face the Bates Bobcats this weekend on the road in Lewiston, ME.
“A focused week of practice” is going to be what Midd needs to get the win, as “Bates runs a unique offense and defense is what we will have to prepare for,” said Ritter.
With a record of 3-1, Middlebury keeps their hopes alive for contention of the NESCAC title.