Showing posts with label Student Blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student Blogs. Show all posts

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Student Blogs #2


Morgan Koopman, McDaniel College Women’s Golf

McDaniel Tournament Fights Through Mother Nature
The weekend seemed to fly by so fast, as it is already Monday and another grueling week lies ahead. A week of many tests and papers awaits, and it was very hard to prepare for them as my weekend was consumed by golf, golf and golf. As I mentioned before, McDaniel College hosted its own golf invitational this weekend at The Bridges Golf Club. Many teams attended the tournament, from Division I, II, and III institutions, specifically, New York University, Kutztown University, SUNY Cortland, Gettysburg College, Nazareth College, and Franklin & Marshall College.

Saturday we had tee times starting at 1:30 p.m. Normally I would not prefer to tee off so late, but for this weekend in particular, it was great because of the weather. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was not too kind this weekend. Both days it was between 35-40 degrees with wind, so if we would have played in the morning time, it would have been even chillier. The conditions were very brutal, and made for tough play on both days; however, McDaniel finished 4th out of 7 teams, and first out of the two other teams in the Centennial Conference (Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall).

Saturday and Sunday were both very long days. Both days we would make the trip to the course around noon, and not return until about 8:00 p.m. that evening. After such a long day, it is hard to keep a good energy level to begin homework due for the upcoming week. This week, it is especially important to get ahead on all assignments because it is a very important weekend here at McDaniel College.

On Friday, April 1, McDaniel’s “Spring Fling” begins and continues into Saturday, April 2. I have never personally experienced Spring Fling because usually our Conference Championships are held during the same weekend, but for some reason Spring Fling is a bit earlier this year, and it just so happens that we do not have a golf tournament schedule for this day. I have heard many fun and exciting stories about Spring Fling. Apparently, many different fun activities are available for students to do. For example, there are many sporting events that are played throughout the day on campus, as well as music, food, prizes, and even an inflatable moon bounce to jump in! Needless to say, I am super excited to go to my first Spring Fling, and I will certainly enjoy it because I am not be able to participate in years to come due to our golf schedule.

I hope that everyone has an enjoyable week. Until next time…



Vivien Chen, Bryn Mawr College Women’s Tennis

To Give it Your All …

The school year goes by so much quicker when you’re in season. I think this is mostly because my mind preoccupies itself with future match dates, so I am always constantly looking forward to a new challenge or new event. So far, we are scheduled to play Muhlenberg College on Wednesday, March 30, so I think the team is definitely pumped for that match. Before we know it, Wednesday will be right around the corner and soon this week will almost be over; however let’s not forget our match on Saturday against Dickinson College.

Thinking about how many matches the team has played thus far really makes the season seem so short, and that is without a doubt one of the sad parts about it. If you really think about it, the season is quite short, especially in the fall. This has huge importance to me. This means that it is so important to put a lot of effort in our matches (as our coach says: give 200% effort and leave the court knowing you left everything on it), no matter the opponent. This brings up our match against Johns Hopkins University this past weekend. This match was definitely an interesting one especially since it was scheduled to be a “home” match; but because the cold weather would not permit us to play outdoors, we instead played indoors at Swarthmore College. Going into the match knowing that Johns Hopkins is the top tennis team of the conference, did not deter us from giving all our effort. Before the match, we did not think this would be an automatic “loss” for us; instead, we believed that this was a great opportunity and experience for us to play against one of the top teams in the conference and we kept this mindset while playing our individual matches. Johns Hopkins played its game well, and I was more than pleased with our performance and effort against them.

I briefly mentioned before that our location for the match had to be changed last minute. Even though this may seem to pose as a small obstacle that can easily and quickly be fixed, it definitely was not. Sometimes, I feel that team members expect certain things from their coaches. Something like a location change for a match can easily be resolved by pushing the match until the end of the season, but instead my coach made the effort to convenience our team and Johns Hopkins’ team (by saving them a trip and us a match at the end of the season) and hustled to get available indoor courts for us. This meant drafting a proposal, contacting various sources like Swarthmore College’s athletic department and Johns Hopkins’ tennis coach, verifying this change with the referee, getting a time change for the match, and finally, making sure the teams’ schedules would permit this new time of competition.

This common example just shows the lengths in which our coaches take for us, and this should not go unnoticed. Our coaches are always there for us, and therefore I believe we should be there for them too – giving 200% effort during practices and during matches is a good start to show them we care and appreciate them, too.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Why Time Begins on Opening Day

A new blogger joins our ranks today as Gettysburg College junior Chris Liegel takes his turn. A right-handed pitcher from Oak Ridge, N.J., Chris was the 2007 Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Year after recording a 9-0 record with a 1.92 ERA and holding opponents to a .201 batting average. As the Centennial baseball season begins on Saturday, Liegel talks about the preseason preparation that goes on in the classroom and on the field (or, as the case may be, the gym).

by Chris Liegel, Gettysburg College

Rows of palm trees, 80-degree temperatures, the smell of fresh cut Bermuda grass…not exactly. Preseason baseball preparations in Gettysburg, Pa., are more like rubber indoor pitcher’s mounds, groundballs off of an unforgiving field house floor, and late sessions that last until 12 a.m. Still, no matter where you are, baseball is baseball and nothing can get you down with the thought of the start of another season. That is not to say, however, that it isn’t hard.

From a personal level, one of the biggest preparations is getting your academic life in order. As Division III athletes in liberal arts schools, we all know (with or without our parents constantly reminding us) that academics come first. As a result, a good four-hour chunk of your day that may have otherwise been devoted to class work is now taken up by practices. That does not even take into account increased fatigue. That leads me to my next point; you need to keep yourself healthy. Sure we are technically in spring season preparation, but if you go outside it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Dressing for the weather, eating well, and getting the right amount of sleep during this time are crucial for your success six weeks into the heart of the season.

Another important aspect is bonding with your team. With a new season come new faces, personnel changes, and new roles to be fulfilled. Team chemistry is just as important as talent when it comes to winning games and so a lot of the preseason here at Gettysburg is devoted to, well, essentially ‘hanging out’ as a team. We try to make time before and after practice to meet up, and almost always eat meals together as a team. Having a strong core makes preseason fun, not to mention helpful when your buddy gives you a wake up call for 8 a.m. practice on Saturday mornings.

So my best advice is this. Get your life together and get on the ball, because you don’t want your athletics to interfere with academics, or vice versa. Stay healthy and sleep. Enjoy the time with your team. Work hard in practice, but remember to mellow out with their company after. Being able to play a sport you love for another four years is a gift, and all of us are lucky to have it. Tom Hanks in "A League of Their Own" said, “Of course baseball is hard, if it wasn’t everyone would do it. The ‘hard’ makes it great.” So even though the grind of the preseason in the Mid-Atlantic can get you down, cherish it because I am pretty sure that one day you will miss it.

Back to the Future

The 2008 Centennial Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships begin Saturday at Ursinus College' Floy Lewis Bakes Field House. Haverford senior standout Annick Lamar takes you inside as the Fords prepare to defend their women's championship.

by Annick Lamar, Haverford College (pictured left)


As a senior in college I can’t help but be sentimental. Trapped between the overwhelming desire to graduate and crippling waves of nostalgia, every personal account I write from here on in is bound to result in an emotional flood of words. So ask me to write about my track team—my second family—I’ll make a Lifetime Original Movie look like a Senate hearing on CSPAN. I could attempt to give you the cold hard facts of this upcoming Centennial Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, but like CSPAN you’d learn a lot and be very bored. So instead I’m indulging in my own personal Lifetime Original Movie of the Week: Don’t Stop Believing, Part II.

The movie opens with a flashback to Ursinus’ field house two years ago. The scene’s set at the Indoor Conference Championships, a two-day event, and the women’s title is on the line. The 4x400 meter relay is to determine the outcome. The relay runners mill around restlessly and are, at the same time, fatigued from the weekend’s efforts. One young runner, we’ll call her Annique, is being gripped by the shoulders as her captain, Aislinn Sowash, tells her she’s going to have to run faster than she’s ever run before. Annique nods and prepares herself for the lead off leg. Gripping the baton, Annique sprints off the line as the gun sounds. Four minutes and six and a half seconds and one fantastic sports montage later, Haverford’s women have secured a heavily battled-for title.

Editor's Note:
1 Haverford College 'A' 4:06.50
1) Lamar, Annick 2) Sowash, Aislinn 3) Massare, Brittany 4) Lunne, Darian

2 Muhlenberg College 'A' 4:09.65
1) Mount, Karen 2) Lombardi, Jenna 3) Martini, Amanda 4) Seiler, Danielle

3 Dickinson College 'A' 4:11.16
1) Straw, Laura 2) Nichols, Lisa 3) Luthringer, Dani 4) Creme, Katie

FINAL Team Scoring: Haverford 135.5, Muhlenberg 134, Dickinson 129.


The flashback ends and the scene is now Haverford College’s indoor track. A few female runners, jumpers, and throwers mill around stretching and waiting for practice to begin. One can tell they’re preparing for this weekend’s Conference Championships at Ursinus by the serious expressions on their faces. An older version of Annique leans against a wall looking at her teammates. She reflects on their faces and mentally notes they aren’t the same ones from the flashback. Ah, yes, there are a few veteran runners here and there, but many are relatively new. As a younger runner, Annique thought that upon the graduation of the classes of ’06 and ‘07 much would change. She was not wrong, for much has changed. A new group of women have entered Haverford. These women are too young to have participated in the great Victory-of-Oh-6, yet they work toward team victory with the same determination of women who have tasted it before and hunger for it again. They contain an unmatched enthusiasm for the sport and an unrivaled dedication to training. These underclasswomen run and jump and throw as if they’ve been part of Haverford’s team for years and as if they’ve always known the excellence which this team demands from each athlete. The classes of ’06 and ’07 left such big spikes to fill, but fill them ’10 and ’11 have.

Then through a haze a man appears. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” plays quietly in the background. The women hold their breath. It’s their coach, the illustrious Fran Rizzo, and he says as he approaches “spikes on.” It’s the last work-out before Conference. They are ready. It is time.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Three Wins to Cedar Rapids

Gettysburg senior 149-pounder Matt Shank is one of the favorites to win the gold medal at the Centennial championships at Ursinus on Saturday. Today, Shank shares with us what is going through his mind - and others - in preparation for the season's big day.

As the Centennial Conference wrestling tournament approaches, my mindset begins to change. Back in the early part of the season I put a lot of effort into getting into better shape and maintaining my strength. I did that by working hard during practice and doing some additional morning running and lifting.

However, for a couple weeks leading up to the tournament the coaches and wrestlers have placed a lot more emphasis on cutting back exertion during workouts in an effort to peak at the right time. The notion of ‘taking it easy’ is difficult indeed for your typical wrestler, but it’s necessary. All the nagging injuries that have accumulated over the past 5 months of the season can be given a little time to heal and our rested bodies will hopefully be ready to go.

Come Saturday, beginning with the first match, everyone will be as ready as possible both physically and mentally. Every wrestler is competing for ONE spot per weight to get to the big dance. There can be no lapses of focus or ill-advised attempts, because your opponent will be as ready as he’s ever been to capitalize.

Over the past four years, I’ve watched the level of competition within the conference steadily increase and I look forward to going at it with the best that the Centennial has to offer this Saturday! After all, there is nothing I would enjoy more than spending my spring break in frigid, barren Cedar Rapids, Iowa… I think I’ll leave the board shorts at home.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Losing Your Hair


The 2008 Centennial Conference swimming championships begin Friday at Franklin & Marshall College's Kunkel Aquatic Center. One of the favorites to bring home multiple medals is one of our bloggers - Anne Miller of Swarthmore. Today, Anne talks about the team's preparation for the weekend and the hair-raising (and removing) experience.

Most swimmers look forward to taper all season. For those of you unfamiliar with the term “taper” it means a gradual and beautiful decrease of yardage and increase in time between sets before a big meet. It allows the individual to be rested and at his/her peak the weekend of competition. The change in the water and weight room is exciting and relieving when you’ve been working hard and pushing yourself to the limit all season.

However, it is generally acknowledged that taper is about more than just the physiological benefits. Much of taper and the pre-championship preparation are about being prepared mentally. For many swimmers, and certainly on the Swarthmore swim team, part of the mental preparation involves an obsession with hair. While shaving can reduce drag, it becomes a ritualized and mental tradition for many. Starting a couple of weeks before Conference, guys start to chop off their hair in stages – going from a mohawk to a shaved head, for example. In another tradition involving hair, much of the men’s and women’s team will gather together to dye our hair about a week before the meet. Finally, the night before conferences all over campus, sometimes in small groups, there will be swimmers shaving their legs and in some cases arms and heads. For girls who haven’t shaved since training trip (or in one case Christmas) this is an exciting and freeing moment.

Throughout other preparations for Conferences, whether it be creating a pump up mix with a song picked out by everyone (therefore including songs ranging from Britney Spear’s “Piece of Me,” Bloc Party’s “The Prayer,” “Be a Man” from Mulan, to Daddy Yankee’s “Lo que Paso Paso”), trying on new super-tight suits, or going to dinner as a team, the obsession with hair will not fade.

Editor's Note: Miller finished third in the 500 free in 5:09.96 on Friday night to earn a bronze medal.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

The Stretch Run

It's the final week of the basketball regular season and the every game gains in importance. Today, Franklin & Marshall's Sarah Meisenberg shares her thoughts on the stretch run to the playoffs.

Our team mission that we established the first week of the season was to make the playoffs. Everything we have done this season is to make it into the top five. To make the final five would be a huge step for our program, especially because we are rebounding from a 6-19 season last year. We have grown so much as a team and as individual players. We have learned to trust each other and our coaches and to gain confidence and motivation based on our teammates strengths.

Gettysburg and Dickinson are key games for us. Both teams have quality playoff experience and know how to play in crunch time. They are very athletic, talented, hard-working, and well coached. That being said, only a tremendous team effort will pull us to victory. We want to concentrate on doing the little things such as hedging on screens, playing until the last whistle, helping the helper, and making our foul shots.

This year our conference has a lot of parity, leaving many teams an opportunity to take a spot in the top five. Making the playoffs would give us even more confidence and pride because of where we started from in November. Since then, our team has suffered two knee injuries. It’s a heart breaking feeling to see your teammates go down and not get back up. This has made us realize that we cannot wait until next year or even next game. We have to play with heart and hustle play by play, because there might not be a next time to run down the court. Part of our motivation comes from the fact that two of our best friends are hurt and that we need to play for them, because they would give anything to be back on the court.

One of the most important things I have learned in my athletic career is any day, anything can happen. It all depends on who wants the game more and you can be sure that my team will not play any game without everything we’ve got.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Spring Training in Chestertown

A new blogger joins us today ... Washington College senior softball player Tricia Carroll. A native of Owings Mills, Md., Carroll sheds some light on the preseason preparation that goes on in getting ready for the start of the 2008 softball season. Or as we call it ... spring training in Chestertown.

Spring training is pretty long in the Centennial Conference. We start practicing February 1st and our first game is not until March 1st. During this month, it is important that we train hard but make sure we have fun so things don’t become tedious. As a team we practice six days a week for about two hours. Our practices involve lots of conditioning focusing on our legs and sprints. In addition to the conditioning, we focus on the fundamentals. After a three-month break since fall ball ended, it is very important that we fine-tune the basics.

In addition to practicing as a team, it is very important that we hit the weight room. The weight room is our way to stay in shape during the off-season and to continue to say in shape during season. In the weight room, this is my time to build up my endurance and strength. For me, as a pitcher and outfielder, endurance is very important, so I am a huge fan of long-distance running and strengthening. In the weight room, I make sure that I get a good 30-minute cardio workout and lift both upper and lower body. This is stuff that you cannot do at practice, so as an individual it is very important to make time for the weight room.

It is also important that I find a balance for my academics during this first month before games start-up. Beginning in March, I become pressed for times with three-hour games and then bus rides. I am also forced to miss classes at times for either home or away games. Therefore, it is important that I get my academic priorities straight so that I do not get behind on work. If I get behind on my academics it just adds more stress which in turn affects my focus on softball.

For me this physical preparation has been made a little more difficult with my senior year student teaching internship. Since I am at the elementary school all day and get back just in time or a little late for practice, and then have lesson planning to do, I have to do my conditioning in a different way. Instead of relying on weights and machines for conditioning, I have been using resistance training by doing band exercises and relying on my own body weight. No matter how busy you are it is very important that you find a way to condition. Your body is put through three months or more of strenuous physical activity. Our preseason is spent getting our body back in softball shape by conditioning and fundamentals training so that we are ready to play 30+ games in a two-month span.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Time Management and the Three-Sport Athlete


by Annick Lamar, Haverford

For 11 sporting seasons and seven semesters I have been a Haverford College student and runner. When first asked to write an article about how a three-season athlete manages her time, I had trouble identifying with the person I was supposed to be writing about. Over these four years, as my running has become a lifestyle, my ability to manage my time has become second nature.

There was a moment at Haverford when running became more than a sport to me. It was perhaps during one the races of my freshman year that instead of thinking of training as a tiresome burden, training became the road to achieving my dreams. I wanted to ice more, stretch more, run longer miles, faster times, bigger venues, and risk much to achieve my goals. I approached cross country, indoor and outdoor track not as simple races but as personal challenges that I could rise above and answer. Yes, I am better than the week before. Yes, my fear does not control me. Yes, I dare to show the competition the back of my singlet. Never having been a spectator, I don’t know what non-runners see when we perform. I only see runners willing themselves beyond their physical boundaries, demanding that they yield. And, because I see battles in races and unimaginable strength in those willing to push their limits, I have built my life around doing what I love and doing everything I can to preserve it.

Despite my previous analysis about the psyche of a runner, I am first a student at Haverford College. Whether I want to be five seconds faster than last week, an All-American, or a shock to Division I runners that I dare to be better than, I can achieve none of this without being the kind of student Haverford demands of me. Haverford sets such high expectations and in answering these expectations, I again achieve victories, though they may not be as obvious as the ones on the track. If I can successfully write the best thesis of which I am capable, prove that I am well read in Africana existentialist philosophy, and understand the complexities of Black Nationalism, then I am victorious in the most essential part of this balancing act.

Though I write as if I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, I am no Atlas. On my team alone, I find nothing but intelligent women who must organize their schedules, plan their time, and make choices—not sacrifices—all to participate in an activity that gives their life a certain amount of meaning. I can only reason that this is why my team of 40 goes to bed early, brings homework to meets, writes papers in advance, and participates in its own personal balancing act day in and day out. As for advice I can only say that if you truly love your sport and you respect your professors, then the burden you bear of having not enough hours in the day will be lessened. Choose classes that interest and challenge you, and do not be afraid to lean on your teammates to get you through the hard times. For me, these past 11 sporting seasons and seven semesters would have meant nothing without the other, and for that, I have learned how to keep my balance.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Basketball Without Books

Semester Break on an Empty Campus.
by Sarah Meisenberg, Franklin & Marshall

During the winter months when the rest of school is on vacation in the Bahamas, we spend six hours a day playing basketball. Our days consist of 2-3 practices, film, and then spending nights on the couch almost unable to walk. This schedule probably appeals to very few people but that’s what playing a college sport is like, and the rewards are worth the troubles.
We enjoy spending a lot of time together, eating three meals a day and going to events such as men’s games, the movies, the mall, and out to special dinners. Spending time with your teammates is very important because I really do believe that it makes everyone closer on the court.

We are also lucky to have a lot of support from professors and fans who organized a team dinner for parents, players and coaches.

Perhaps one of the most favorite and intense activities of the team is playing Singstar. This involves everyone singing into a microphone as loud as they can, trying to follow the words on the screen and seeing how close they can get to the proper pitch. Although this may sound a little elementary, it enhances team chemistry off the court.

With hardly any other students back on campus, spending time with the team is mainly all there is to do, but when you love your teammates like I do, you can make some of the most memorable experiences ever. Many members of the team that I have talked to think that this winter break was a very productive month and the bond we have gained off the court translates to our play in the gym.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The Joy of Wrestling During Winter Break

We have asked four Centennial Conference students to provide us with some insights on life as a top-flight athlete at an elite institution of higher learning. Over the next two months, you will have to opportunity to hear from Franklin & Marshall's Sarah Meisenberg (basketball), Gettysburg's Matt Shank (wrestling), Haverford's Annick Lamar (track and field), and Swarthmore's Anne Miller (swimming). Today, Shank shines a light on life as a collegiate wrestler during Winter Break ... and the differences between wrestling as an individual and for the team.


The difference between the fall and spring semester for a Centennial Conference wrestler at Gettysburg College is like night and day. The fall semester consists of four tournaments where individual achievement is all that really matters. You can, of course, look for the pin and get that extra half point for your team, but no one really worries about that. The main objective is to win at all costs, no matter by what margin, just win. But all that logic goes right out the window with the coming of the New Year.

You’re back on a nearly empty campus, for example this year it was New Year's Eve. You see the occasional basketball player, the kind of person who typically towers above the average wrestler (in height only), but other than that you’re alone with your team. And that is the reason you’ve left your family and friends at home to come back to a steamy wrestling room and a diet of boneless, skinless chicken and tasteless vegetables. You’ve returned to commence the dual meet season along with your teammates. If it weren’t for your teammates, you think it would be highly unlikely that you would have returned at all, let alone 17 days early with nothing but two-a-day practices in sight.

Now you begin to work off those unwanted pounds that inevitably accumulate during the holidays. It's most likely not that much fun, but in the back of your mind you’re thinking of the matches that will come down to you, if your 133-pounder can beat his rival, and the Conference tournament that always so unmercifully decides whether or not you get to go to nationals again this year.

Now you’ve been back for six days, or 12 practice sessions, depending on how you choose to keep track of time. You’ve finally made weight and although it wasn’t easy and your body tells you that, you’re satisfied and it's time to get to work. After your coach’s pre-match speech, the coin flip, and national anthem, it begins. Ten matches where each wrestler on your team attempts to not only win, but win big. Your 157-pounder is up by seven in the 3rd period, but only wins by two after he tried an ill-advised throw with 30 seconds left. But you clap and congratulate him because even though he gave up a five-point move as time expired, he was trying to get the bonus point for a major decision in an unquestionably selfless act. Now the match is over, and although you performed well, your team lost and that leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Nothing you can do about that now though, so you focus on your next match two days from now. After a small but satisfying meal you’re back at the gym wearing layers of clothes, nothing on your mind but the ice cold Gatorade at 11 a.m. promised you in a day and a half, and the noon start time of yet another match where this time you’re certain, with a little luck and a couple of lineup tweaks, you and your team will emerge victorious.

Shank is a senior from Reedsville, Pa., and a graduate of Indian Valley HS. He is the reigning Centennial Conference champion at 149 and recently became just the second Gettysburg grappler to win 100 bouts in a career.