The Slots System Pays Off

Part III in the New York Times series on recruiting in small college athletics ran in Sunday's editions. Links to the stories can be found below.


Admissions and the Cold Slap of Rejection
"Kevin Friedenberg was certain he had played by all the rules of the college recruiting game. A top high school lacrosse goalie from Needham, Mass., he had e-mailed coaches to promote himself and had attended showcase camps and tournaments. An A student who said he had College Board scores equivalent to 1,380 on the two-part SAT, Friedenberg narrowed his choices to three Division III institutions, including Haverford, a small, selective liberal arts college. Friedenberg twice visited the Haverford campus outside Philadelphia, with astute questions for the lacrosse coach, Mike Murphy: Could he study a year abroad? How many advanced placement high school courses did he need to take? Did Haverford need a goalie? Would the coach support him in admissions?"


One Division III Conference Finds That Playing the Slots System Pays Off
"Tom Parker has been involved in the Division III athletic recruiting process at small, elite liberal arts colleges for 25 years, long enough to remember when civility and common sense were the rule. "Now absolutely everything in athletics has to be regulated, in detail," said Parker, the dean of admissions at Amherst College since 1999. Before that, he spent 19 years in the same position at Williams College. "Everything," Parker added."

Hoops Today 12/10

We bring down the curtain on the first semester of basketball action today with four men's and three women's Conference games. On the women's side, we know that Johns Hopkins and Dickinson will remain in a first-place tie at the end of the day. The Blue Jays (6-1, 4-0 CC) are idle, while the Red Devils (6-1, 4-0) travel to take on #23 ranked Catholic in non-CC action. Ursinus (5-2, 3-1) welcomes #12 ranked Moravian to Helfferich Hall. In Conference play, McDaniel travels to Bryn Mawr, Haverford is at Gettysburg, and Muhlenberg visits Washington.

On the men's side, Johns Hopkins (5-2, 3-0) looks to remain unbeaten in Centennial play when the Blue Jays visit Dickinson (3-4, 2-1). A Hopkins stumble leaves the door open for Franklin & Marshall and Washington to move into a first-place tie with victories. The Diplomats (5-2, 2-1) travel to Haverford (2-4, 1-2), while the Shoremen (3-4, 2-1) entertain Muhlenberg (5-2, 1-2). The other contests find Gettysburg (3-3, 1-2) visiting McDaniel (3-4, 1-2) and Drew at Ursinus (5-2, 3-1).

All the latest scores can be found below on our score 'blog. Enjoy the games!

Every Little Thing Counts

Part III in the New York Times series on recruiting in small college athletics ran in Sunday's editions. Links to the stories can be found below.

Haverford Debates Impact of Athletics
"With a duck pond at its main entrance, a nature trail encircling the campus and more than 1,400 labeled trees and shrubs defining the grounds of its arboretum, Haverford College hardly looks like a jock school. The athletic fields are tucked at the back of campus. The college dropped football more than 30 years ago. And of the 21 sports Haverford does play, only the men's and women's cross-country and track teams would be called powers, albeit in N.C.A.A. Division III. Still, a contemporary debate has arisen on campus."

In Winnowing the Candidates at Haverford, Every Little Thing Counts
"Wherever he goes, Jess Lord, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Haverford College, says he hears the same thing: An athletic career is a good way to improve your chances of getting into an elite college. It is no myth."If you're an athlete and can get a coach to support you, there's your concrete hook in admissions," Lord said in an interview in November at his office on campus. "It's true. Just like it's true that living in North Dakota is a hook because we seek geographic diversity. It's also true that there's a hook for brilliant 17-year-old physicists and pianists. But those are the less observable paths in the admissions process. And that's the problem. People like the idea of something concrete.""

Hoops Tonight 12/8

It has become very clear very early that this will be a balanced year for Centennial Conference basketball. On the women's side, who would have thought that McDaniel, the preseason favorite to "three-peat," would be 0-2. Granted, the Terror has taken on Dickinson and Johns Hopkins who have a combined 11-2 record. But still ...

Did you realize that Ursinus (4-2, 2-1 CC) is a buzzer-beater by Swarthmore's Debbie Farrelly away from making it a three-way tie for first place in the Conference? The Garnet (4-4, 1-2) has its Centennial losses at the hands of Hopkins (5-1, 3-0) and Muhlenberg (5-1, 2-1) - a combined 10-2. Yes, it will be an interesting winter in Conference gymnasiums for women's basketball.

On the men's side, Ursinus (4-2, 2-1) travels to Swarthmore (0-8, 0-3) tonight in a game that was moved from Saturday due to the start of finals at Swat. The Bears have won 16 straight from the Garnet, but know they cannot look past anyone ... see last Saturday's loss at McDaniel as example A. It will be interesting to see UC's Matt Fabian and Will Furey battle against Swarthmore big men Ian McCormick and Jon Tundel.

Keep up with all the scores right here this evening on our blog.

Hoops Tonight 12/6

It's a full night of Centennial basketball action with five women's contests and five men's tilts. On the women's side, the big game sends McDaniel (3-2, 1-1) to Baltimore to face Johns Hopkins (4-1, 2-0). You can listen to the game on WJHUradio.com or follow the stats via Hopkins' Game Tracker. Dickinson (5-1, 3-0) looks to remain unbeaten in Conference play at Franklin & Marshall. You can hear the game on the radio at WFNM-FM 89.1. Another interesting matchup pits Muhlenberg (4-1, 1-1) and Swarthmore (4-3, 1-1) at Tarble Pavilion. Elsewhere, Haverford (1-6, 0-2) travels to Washington (0-5, 0-2) and Ursinus (3-2, 2-1) plays host to non-CC opponent Delaware Valley (4-1).

On the men's side of the ledger, Franklin & Marshall (5-1, 2-0) and Johns Hopkins (4-2, 2-0) look to remain unbeaten in Conference play with home tilts against Dickinson (2-4, 1-1) and McDaniel (3-3, 1-1), respectively. Gettysburg (3-2, 1-1) travels to Ursinus (3-2, 1-1) for a rematch of the 2005 CC semifinals. Elsewhere, Haverford visits Washington and Swarthmore is at Muhlenberg.

For more information on tonight's action, check out our Gameday links for women and men. If you have an updated score from tonight's action ... leave a comment below.

Saturday's Hoop Review

One thing that is becoming increasingly clear about competition in the Centennial Conference ... it's good from top to bottom. No easy games ... no breathers ... the old cliche - "On any given day" - has never applied more than in our little Conference.

Example #1 - McDaniel 79, Ursinus 77. Huh? Green Terror senior Mike Dipiero canned a 25-footer as the horn sounded to give the home team a shocking upset of the CC's favorite in men's basketball. There's new life in the McDaniel men's basketball program behind first-year head coach Bob Flynn. Flynn walked into the dining hall on Friday, blew a whistle, and invited the entire student body to a Friday night "pep rally" and to Saturday's game. 420 attended the game, which may not sound like many, but was the most to attend a Terror men's game in many years.

Example #2 - Washington 81, Dickinson 74. Three nights earlier, the Red Devils had thrashed McDaniel, 69-48, while the Shoremen had fallen at Ursinus, 82-73. Washington's road woes have been well-documented, so it figured that Dickinson would have little trouble on the home hardwood of the Kline Center. Wrong! Joe Breslin tossed in a career-high 28 points to lead WC to the victory.

Example #3 - Dickinson 49, Washington 43. Earlier in the afternoon, the 4-1 Red Devils had their hands full with the 0-4 Shorewomen before a Patrice Johnson three with 1:22 remaining finally gave the hosts breathing room and the final margin.

Example #4 - Ursinus 58, Gettysburg 56. Is there a changing of the guard in women's basketball in the CC? The Bears' Stephanie Cavalier made three of four free throws in the final 20 seconds as UC held off the visiting Bullets. Ursinus is now just a game off the league-leading pace set by Dickinson and would be tied with the Red Devils and Johns Hopkins if not for a one-point loss to Swarthmore on a buzzer-beating jumper.

There's more excitement in store on Tuesday as first semester play draws to a close. We hope to see you at a Centennial game this week ... or join us on the internet with webcasts and live play-by-play.