Athletics

Wesleyan on Ice – Hockey Thrives

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Wesleyan’s hockey teams have been having very strong seasons. Let’s start with the women. Long a hard working and dedicated group, this year the team has had a nose for the goal and an almost uncanny ability to protect our own net. Most recently against Hamilton, Cara Jankowski ’15, Jordan Schildhaus ’15 and Jess Brennan ’17, each posted a goal and an assist to lead the Cardinals to our largest margin of victory ever over visiting Hamilton, 5-0. We swept that series, and remember that Hamilton students are all used to going to class across an icy campus!

A great reason for our success is goalie Laura Corcoran ’16. Against Hamilton in the first game of the series, she came up with 27 saves to post her third shutout of the year. Laura is one of the NESCAC leaders for both save percentage and goals-against average this season, now with .944 and 1.56 figures, respectively. She anchors a fine defense, while the offense has been putting the puck in the opponents’ nets. Coach Jodi McKenna leads a great squad.

The men’s hockey team has also excelled this year, and they had an AMAZING weekend. First, they soundly beat a solid Williams’ team, 7-3, after having jumped out to a 4-0 lead. A sophomore line was firing on all cylinders, as Alex Carlacci ’16, Jaren Taenaka ’16 and Terence Durkin ’16  accounted for the final four goals of the contest for the Cardinals. Another sophomore, Jay Matthews, ’16, has had an impressive season, already earning NESCAC Player-of-the-Week honors. Our frosh phenom Elliot Vorel ’17 also received that honor and he has been an intense offensive threat all year.

Speaking of intense frosh phenoms, the Wesleyan goalie Dawson Sprigings ’17 had a superb weekend, limiting the powerful Middlebury team yesterday to just a single goal, while our guys netted a pair. Coach Chris Potter has forged a fiery, young team, and we should wish them all luck as they head up to Maine at the end of the week.

Go winter Wes!

This Weekend: Super Theater and Athletic Competition

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This weekend the Brooklyn-based theater collective The Assembly brings HOME/SICK to the Center for the Arts. “HOME/SICK tells the story of a handful of student activist leaders in the 1960s who, searching for justice and an end to the Vietnam War, became convinced that violence could pave the way toward peace. With ambitions to overthrow the government, they formed the Weather Underground after taking control of the Students for a Democratic Society movement in 1969.” The play combines the personal and the political, the anecdotal and the historical, and we are fortunate that this group of young alumni (and others) are staging the work at the CFA. You can read more about it here.

There is also a tide of sports events crashing into the Freeman Athletic Center this weekend. The men’s and women’s basketball teams will see plenty of action Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and the track team will be competing against a bunch of teams in another invitational. Men’s hockey is at home Saturday and Sunday…while many of our other squads are carrying the Red and Black on the road.

The semester is only just getting underway, but I suspect these artists and athletes are already at the top of their game.

 

 

 

Athletes Soar During Break

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I just learned that last weekend Kiley Kennedy ’16 set a new Wesleyan record in the pole vault, clearing nine feet, ten inches. The old record stood for more than a decade, but at a meet at Yale Kiley flew right over it! Sierra Livious ’14 was our top finisher of the weekend, as she got the attention of those Division I schools with her prowess at the shot put and weight throw. Kimora Brock ’15 was outstanding in the 800 meters. Congratulations all!!

This coming weekend the track team will be in competition at the first of three consecutive Wesleyan Invitationals. As I stumble around the fitness center, I’ve run into some of our hard working tracksters. They seem more than ready.

Other groups that are more than ready are the basketball and hockey teams. Are you on campus or near Middletown? Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14 at 7 pm, the men’s basketball team will take on a tough Amherst squad. On Friday, both the men and women hoopsters are at home, as is the men’s ice hockey team. You can see the schedule here.

I’ve got to go back on the road myself, but if you can come out to cheer the Cardinals, the Freeman Athletic Center will be jumping!

 

What a Great Homecoming!

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It was an amazing weekend, filled with artistic, athletic and academic achievements. It was great to see the crowds at the Alumni Show II art exhibition (which you can still see at the Zilkha Gallery), and I enjoyed meeting some of the artists there. My early bedtime prevented me from seeing the play in the Olin stacks, but I heard it was an enlivening experience.

John Ravenal ’81, P’15
John Ravenal ’81, P’15

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I was also thrilled to learn that Gail Jenkins Farris ’84, P’14, P ’16, one of the founders of our volleyball program, was awarded a special Letter over the weekend. A great athlete herself, Gail has been a tireless advocate for women’s sports. She was still pretty jazzed about being recognized for her work when I saw her at a reception later in the day.

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This swim team had a successful meet, and men’s soccer won a tough match against Connecticut College in the first round of the NESCAC tournament. We were all very excited by football’s first Little Three championship in over forty years! Lacrosse, softball, soccer, and baseball have won Little Three crowns in recent years, and we are delighted with football’s success. I was very moved when Coach Whalen presented me with the game ball.

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Alumni Association Chair Megan Norris ’83, P’17 distributed a very cool video today on football’s victory. You can see it here.

 

 

Welcome Home!

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Today marks the beginning of Homecoming/Family Weekend. There are many great seminars, concerts, sporting events and recitals planned. Some families will just want to spend time together enjoying Connecticut in the fall, and many alumni will simply want to re-visit their favorite haunts. Whatever your pleasure, I hope you find Wesleyan welcoming, stimulating and festive.

I’m particularly excited about the Dar Williams concert Friday night at 9 pm in Crowell Concert Hall. I’ve been listening to Dar’s CDs for a long time, and recently I’ve been able to hear her play live on campus. It’s great to have her back at alma mater, especially since this concert is a fundraiser for financial aid. We are all working hard to establish more scholarships that meet student needs without high loans, and this concert is an important addition to our efforts.

There are some great seminars, panels and lectures during the weekend. One of the highlights: the 21st Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium: Women of Color: 40 Years at Wesleyan, and Beyond will take place at 4 pm in the Chapel. You can find a list of events here.

There will be plenty of sports excitement over the weekend. The volleyball team will be in the Silloway gymnasium battling Little Three Rivals, while cross country, women’s soccer and field hockey are playing in NESCAC tournaments on the road. Men’s soccer will have a home contest in the tournament on Jackson field Saturday at 12:30. The mighty Wes football team will take this year’s undefeated streak into a battle against Williams. The game starts at 1:00 pm at Corwin Stadium. Connecticut Public Television is broadcasting the game, and we will have a video link here.

I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. THIS IS WHY!

 

 

Fall Break Travels — Amherst, Washington, San Francisco

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Fall break is usually a busy time for me, and this year is no exception. It started off with a bang at Amherst. All our athletes competed superbly, and our football team won at Amherst for the first time in many years. It was an exciting game, and there was a great Wesleyan turnout in the visitors’ bleachers. I’m not sure if our lusty cheering helped all that much, but it didn’t hurt. In the end the team left Amherst at 5-0. This is a result for which Alumni Director John Driscoll ’62 has been waiting for a long time!

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This morning I headed down to Washington, D.C., to talk about improving learning outcomes in higher education at an event sponsored by the Hamilton Project. Our session was chaired by former Secretary of the Treasury Robert E. Rubin, and I was joined by University of North Carolina President Thomas Ross and Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa from the University of Texas. Although the challenges of these large public systems are quite different from those we face at Wesleyan, I was proud to learn that many were looking to our work at Wesleyan for innovative ideas that might translate to a variety of educational contexts.

Hamilton Project Panel on Higher Education
Hamilton Project Panel on Higher Education

Tomorrow I head West for a great THIS IS WHY event in San Francisco with Michael Pollan P’15 and Jonathan Bloom ’99. They will be talking about food as pleasure, necessity, and industry. I can hardly wait!

UPDATE:

We had a great turnout last night for the conversation about food, politics, culture and the environment. I saw several recent alumni and alumni from decades back (some who are also current Wes parents). Jonathan was a wonderful interviewer, and Michael described both the systemic issues in the way we produce (and waste) food and what we can do about it. I was particularly glad to hear him describe the massive political challenges while also analyzing the positive steps that we can take that make a difference immediately. And he gave a great shout-out to Wesleyan farmers at Long Lane and to our environmental activists more generally.

Michael Pollan P'15 and Jonathan Bloom '97
Michael Pollan P’15 and Jonathan Bloom ’99

This is Why.

 

Volleyball, Tonight…Football, Field Hockey and Soccer Tomorrow

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Tonight at 8 pm, the volleyball team takes on Middlebury in the Silloway Gymnasium at Freeman, and they face off against Hamilton there tomorrow at 2 p.m. The team has played some tough matches this season, and Kim Farris ’14 was recently named a NESCAC Player of the Week.

Speaking of Players of the Week, Jesse Warren ’15 leads a powerful Cardinal offense tomorrow against a tough Colby squad at 1 p.m. at Corwin Stadium. LaDarius Drew ’15 and Kyle Gibson ’15 have been a terrific pair running the ball. And we’ve had the ball a lot because the defense has been awesome so far this year, with Nik Powers’15 recording eight tackles last week against Hamilton. Men’s and women’s soccer play tomorrow as well, and both teams have been ultra-competitive this year. Victoria Matthews ’16 put on a great display this week for the women, and Emmett McConnell ’15 in goal was yet another Player of the Week for the men. Field Hockey has simply been tenacious, with Sara Grundy ’16 and Sarah Prickett ’17 shining in goal. You can see them all play tomorrow (Saturday).

As usual, there’s plenty of great music on campus this weekend. Art House and Buddhist House are hosting concerts that will be the envy of Brooklyn, and tomorrow at Long Lane Farm there will be the annual Pumpkin Festival. Should be some great sounds at eats at the farm…

Pumkpin Fest 2013

 

Middletown Day, Turf Field and Athletic Contests

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Tomorrow, Saturday, September 21, we welcome Middletown residents onto campus for an afternoon of games, music and athletic contests. We will dedicate the new Turf Field and Andersen Track at noon, and you can catch plenty of great games from men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey. The football season gets underway at 6:00 pm — our first night game ever!

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It should be a great day. GO WES!!

Wes Stars: Softball, Baseball, Filmmakers

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Wesleyan softball star Allee Beatty ’13 was named NESCAC player of the year, fitting recognition for this senior who has established new Wesleyan records for her offensive production. Allee was also named defensive player of the year by the conference for her standard of perfection out in the field. Pitching sensation Su Pardo ’16 was named NESCAC rookie of the year.

The baseball team had a tremendous season that led all the way to the conference championship game. This was our first trip to the final match-up, and we  got there the hard way, having dropped a nail-biter against Amherst College in extra innings on Saturday. Donnie Cimino ’15 was one of many stand-out performers over the weekend, capping off his stellar season. The young Cardinal team will be back in the mix for years to come!

The art of film making is certainly a team sport. Over the weekend I also had the opportunity to take in some of the senior productions made by this year’s film studies majors. Whether working in 16 millimeters or video…whether putting together animation, musicals, comedies or existential thrillers, the Wesleyan film auteurs (and their teams) display craft and ingenuity. If you didn’t see the screenings over the weekend, there’s usually another chance over Commencement/Reunion weekend.

Baseball on a Roll: Another Little Three Crown!

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The Wesleyan baseball squad took two out of three games from Amherst this weekend to secure first place in the NESCAC West division and gain the Little Three crown for this semester. Donnie Cimino ’15 had a powerhouse weekend at the plate, while Jeff Blout ’14 and Nick Cooney ’15 were all but unhittable from the mound.

Wesleyan Baseball Little Three Champs
Wesleyan Baseball Little Three Champs

We will be hosting the NESCAC baseball tournament, while the softball team will be traveling to the playoffs. The men’s lacrosse team will also be on the road for the semi-finals of the conference tournament, after a thrilling overtime victory against Bowdoin Saturday. Mike Giambanco ’14 and Quentin DellaFera ’15 had hat tricks for the Cardinals. All three teams were Little Three champs this semester.

Men’s and women’s tennis had shutout victories against Colby yesterday. Both teams have been having great seasons. Did you forget about rugby? The rugby men had an amazing come-from-behind victory against Williams over the weekend.

Go WES!!