Sports

All-Maroons 2007-2008

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:59:00 +0000

You voted, we listened. Over 100 ballots were cast in each category. Six candidates managed to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, but a single vote kept offensive MVP from ending in a three-way tie. Here are the winners representing the best of the year:

Best Team- Women's track and field (33.9%)

•Finished 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championship
•Won the UAA Indoor Championship and finished second in the Outdoor Championship
•Featured five All-Americans at the national meet

Best Coach- Chris Hall (38.32%)

From the track teams:
“Coach Hall’s love for the sport is infectious.... It is inspiring to
run for someone so enthusiastic about this team and his athletes....Coach Hall is honestly concerned about his team as a whole, not just as athletes, but also as students... and he has a wicked awesome Wisconsin accent.”

Best Play-Brooke Bontz nets two against Wash U (23.53%)

With a bid to the NCAA D-III tournament hanging in the balance, second-year forward Brooke Bontz tallied two goals in the final 15 minutes to give Chicago a 2–1 upset win over 10th-ranked Wash U and its ninth postseason appearance in 12 years.

Best Rookie- Ellie Elgamal (48%)

•Earned honorable mention All-American honors with a 15th-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly at Nationals
• Also qualified for the national meet in the 200-yard butterfly and 200-yard medley
•Set at least one school record at all of her regular-season meets

Overall MVP- Nate Hainje (38.68%)

•Named UAA Player of the Year as the only player in the conference to finish in the top ten in scoring, rebounding, and assists
•Earned NCAA D-III Second Team honors
•Averaged 16 points per game, along with 7.6 rebounds and 50 percent field goal shooting
•Recorded six double-doubles in the team’s last seven games to lead the Maroons to their second straight UAA Championship

Defensive MVP - Tim Reynolds (25.72%)

•Led the Maroons with 32 blocks
•Finished second with 77 defensive rebounds and third in steals with 16
•Anchored a defense that held opponents to 67.3 points per game and 44.8 percent field goal shooting

Offensive MVPs

Jen Jacobson (22.64%)

•Recorded a hit in 25 consecutive games, reaching bases in every game of the season
•Notched a .719 slugging percentage with a .517 batting average, a .537 on-base percentage, 25 runs scored, and 13 RBI

and

Matt Corning

•Led the Maroons with 17.7 points per game on 54.6 percent field goal shooting
•Also tallied 31 offensive rebounds (third on the team) and 42 assists
•Knocked down 77.9 percent of his free throws, the highest mark for the starting five

Perry opts for D-I job after building Maroon tennis program

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:48:00 +0000

After revitalizing the men’s and women’s tennis programs in his four-season tenure, head coach Marty Perry will leave this summer to take the same position at D-I University of Richmond.

Perry broke the news to his team just under two weeks ago, as second-year Marissa Lin and third-year Vindya Dayananda were preparing to represent the women’s squad at the NCAA tournament.

“I told the team the day we left for NCAAs,” Perry said. “I wanted to let them know before we left because it was probably going to get out soon, and I wanted them to hear it from me. I think it surprised them; I don’t think anyone knew about it.”

With Chicago’s recent success and solid prospects for the future, the announcement surprised many athletes.

“It was just really a surprise that he would leave Chicago after dedicating the last few years to building up the team and turning it into one of the most successful programs at this school,” Lin said. “It especially caught all of us off guard because we have an incredible new recruiting class coming in for next season, and we had no idea Marty wouldn’t be around to be a part of that.”
Perry first interviewed for the Richmond job after Chicago’s teams concluded their seasons at the UAA Championships in April.

An opportunity for the Virginia native to be closer to his family was the main draw for Perry, who also cited the simplicity of leading just Richmond’s men’s program rather than continuing the dual coaching duties he carries at Chicago.

Immediately transforming Chicago tennis after his arrival from Colgate University in the fall of 2004, Perry guided the women to a three-win turnaround and the men to a whopping 11-win rebound in his debut year. The rapid upswing earned Perry UAA Coach of the Year honors.

Since then, each squad has earned an NCAA postseason appearance, and each has boasted at least one All-American finish at individual NCAAs.

This past season, the men posted a 13–8 mark, and the women a 10–9 record. With Lin and Dayananda heading to Nationals this spring, Perry leaves after managing to send at least one athlete to the postseason each year.

With the top players on each team returning next fall, including UAA Rookie of the Year Will Zhang for the men and All-Americans Lin and Dayananda for the women, Chicago’s rising prominence made Perry’s decision a hard one.

“It was tough having to leave Chicago,” Perry said. “The teams are just starting to get competitive, and I think they’re just going to get better. It was a really, really tough call. I think it kind of took everyone by surprise, but I had to make a decision professionally to stay or to have the chance for a quality life for my family, and that’s what its all about.”

However, the same promising programs that made it difficult for Perry to leave the Maroons also make Chicago an attractive option for prospective new coaches. As the Department of Physical Education and Athletics begins its search for his replacement, both Perry and his team are optimistic about finding a coach who can help the Maroons become fixtures on the national stage.

“I’m real confident they’re going to bring in someone that’s going to lead the team to the next level,” Perry said, “and they’re going to have a lot to work with.”

For the Maroons, hopes are centered on finding a replacement that can continue what Perry started with the same devotion.

“Hopefully our new coach will be equally experienced and energetic,” Lin said. “Finding someone who can match Marty’s enthusiasm and dedication won’t be easy, but we are hopeful and optimistic that there will be another perfect fit for us.”

Perry’s departure is the second of the year after having no turnovers in 2007. Former volleyball head coach Dorinda Von Tersch left in early February, and Vanessa Walby was named as her replacement in mid-April.

U of C Hall of Fame announces new inductees

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:45:00 +0000

Jay Berwanger and Amos Alonzo Stagg’s company at the University of Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame just got bigger.

The University announced its sixth induction class on Friday, introducing eight new members to the Hall of Fame, honoring both national champions of the past and recent standouts.
John Brooks (Ph.B. ’33) won the NCAA long jump competition in 1933 and captured the Big Ten title in 1932 and 1933. He would go on to finish seventh in the long jump in 1936 and still holds the track program’s outdoor long jump record.

The first All-American for women’s soccer, Shay (Feith) Patterson (A.B. ’97) earned national recognition in 1996 when she led the Maroons to the D-III Final Four. She is currently ranked among the top six in goals, assists, and points; Feith was also a three-time All-Central Region and All-UAA midfielder.

Derek Reich (A.B. ’03) earned entrance to the hall as the only four-time UAA Most Valuable Player. A three-time All-American, Reich was named the 2003 NCAA D-III Player of the Year and was selected to the D-III All-Decade First Team earlier this year. The 2003 Amos Alonzo Stagg Award recipient is also the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Chicago’s history.

Bill Gray (Ph.B. ’48, M.B.A. ’50) served as captain for both the baseball and basketball teams, leading the basketball squad to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 29 years and the baseball team to three consecutive winnings campaigns for the first time in 36 seasons. Named to the Sports Illustrated Silver Anniversary All-American Basketball Team in 1975, Gray won the Stagg Award in 1950.

Following in Gray’s footsteps, William Pearson (A.B. ’68) captained for baseball three times and for basketball twice. Pearson led the baseball team in RBI in 1967 en route to the squad’s best record in almost 20 years. He also led hoops to a 35–17 record in his final three seasons at Chicago and was named the Stagg Award winner in 1968.

Neal Cawi (A.B. ’92) starred for the Maroons in both football and track and field. He garnered track and field All-America honors twice, finishing fifth in the shot put at the 1992 indoor NCAAs and improving to fourth in the same event the next year. A key member of the defensive line for the South Siders, Cawi was also a two-time All-UAA selection and 1991 All-American.

Louise (Wilkerson) Speth (A.B. ’90) turned in classic performances at back-to-back DIII Championships in 1989 and 1990, placing in the top six in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke in 1989 and moving up to the top three in those events the next year. A six-time All-UAA athlete, Wilkerson won the Gertrude Dudley Medal in 1990 for her outstanding leadership and skill as a fourth-year.
Rounding out the 2008 honorees, two-time swimming captain Robert Smartt (AB ’76) led the Maroons in points scored during his career. He set records in several events, including four freestyles and two individual medleys.

To be eligible, the inductees must have attended the University of Chicago, competed in an intercollegiate sport, and completed their participation in intercollegiate sports at least five years prior to induction. Faculty, staff, alumni, and current Hall members select eight athletes each year for induction. The latest Maroons honored will be officially inducted at homecoming October 10.

After early success, Hirve finally found records and titles in senior year

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:39:00 +0000

The indoor track season was winding down, and fourth-year Appie Hirve’s chances to blast down the runway were dwindling. But with several disappointing finishes behind her, it was clear that Hirve had saved the best for last. Leaping a mighty 11.52m, she jumped above her high school record, past the current University record, and into the ranks of the NCAA All-Americans.

“I started the season with pretty horrible jumps and was beyond frustrated at this point because I hadn’t improved at all since junior year of high school,” Hirve said. “I’ve had so many indoor meets at Henry Crown, and at the very last one I finally did it.”

It was only February, but Hirve had surged back onto the triple jump scene. And when the Maroons seized the UAA title in early March, Hirve’s prowess in the triple jump was a critical factor. While it didn’t surpass her February Henry Crown record, Hirve’s 11.42-meter jump at the Championship catapulted her to a second-place finish. Both this and her 11.52-meter finish met the NCAA provisional qualification, which meant Hirve would head out to Ohio on March 14 to face the top jumpers in the nation.

“I was the only person on our team to actually get to go to Nationals, and there was an online broadcast of it. I knew my parents and teammates were watching, and I was so terrified of just embarrassing myself again, but I trusted myself a bit more this time around,” Hirve said.

This was not Hirve’s first shot at national prominence. She had reached Nationals three years before, at the end of her first season at Chicago. As a first-year, Hirve left an immediate mark on Chicago’s track team. In the first meet of her college career, she shattered the old school record with a 10.93-meter jump, and by the end of her second week on the team, she was named UAA Athlete of the Week. When March came around, she continued to astound, meeting NCAA provisional qualifications with an 11.45-meter record.

“I had the best first season of track that I could have asked for,” Hirve said. “I think a lot of why I did well is because we really make track a team sport here. The upperclassmen were really supportive and encouraging and genuinely excited for their teammates’ success, so they were great about getting us fired up for meets.”

As Nationals approached, both Hirve and her teammates were hoping for big results. But Hirve did not even scrape her earlier records when the time came for the meet. Her 10.98-meter performance was disappointing but not wholly surprising.

“I was among several people to provisionally qualify for the national meet, but only two of us went, and that was a wreck. I’d heard that competing in DIII was like having an extended high school season. But I was totally mentally unprepared for my first national meet and completely tanked. It was embarrassing,” Hirve said.

From the moment she joined the Maroons, one of Hirve’s top priorities was beating her personal record of 11.45m in the triple jump, set in her junior year of high school. Reaching this goal turned out to be more difficult than Hirve expected. When her second indoor season began, Hirve seemed off-track. Despite more UAA Athlete of the Week appearances, she was unable to beat her first season distances. She managed to jump an NCAA-provisional 11.30 meters, but did not qualify for Nationals. Further complicating matters, Hirve studied abroad in her third-year, completely missing the indoor track season. Her high expectations and higher goals were stuck on the ground.

“I didn’t improve second year, and then missed indoor track my third year to go abroad in the winter. I probably could have had a good third year, but that threw a wrench in things and the following outdoor season, I didn’t even hit the provisional standard. Every other season I had, although it hadn’t always been enough to go to Nationals,” Hirve said.

With one year left, Hirve resolved to finish strong, and by the time Nationals came around in March, it was clear that she would make good on that promise. In front of a huge audience, Hirve readied for her final pass at the indoor triple jump. She was ready and well prepared, and with an 11.45-meter jump, she bounded into fourth place in the nation and All-American honors.

“The best part was definitely my phone buzzing for 10 minutes after I was done, when my friends and parents found out how I did. It was a pretty surreal experience,” Hirve said.

Although she had beaten her old record back in February, the year was not over. Having bested her old personal record by a mere 0.04m, Hirve pushed one last time for a big personal finish. In the past, the outdoor season had not been her strongest arena. Piles of schoolwork and the fatigue of the year had kept her from any serious personal victories.

2008 was different. From day one onwards, Hirve hit the NCAA provisional standards. By the end of the outdoor season, she had advanced from an 11.51 to an 11.59 and was on her way to the final showdown at Nationals. With her high school record buried, the only question was how far she could go. Bringing a fairy tale ending to a fairy tale story, Hirve vaulted to sixth with an astounding 11.71-meter jump.

“This year especially, the personal success I had in track was really exciting and a huge part of my life. The high points I had really worked out well,” Hirve said. “I knew I had a big one left in me.”

With her career now in the books, Hirve attributes most of her success to her teammates and coaches.

“Assistant Coach Svoboda told me from the start that he thought I could win Nationals, even though I never actually believed him. Any meet where he knew I was trying to hit a qualifying mark or a big jump, he’d always get people to come cheer,” Hirve said. “The jumpers from my year, Cynthia [Lin] and Somayeh [Jahedi], were always competing with me and it was a great feeling knowing the three of us could dominate any school in terms of points at conference. I’d always have my biggest jump when people were the loudest, and I know it helped all of us to know people were supporting us.”

Despite her personal victories, Hirve has always been more impacted by the overall group. To her, the biggest achievement of her four years was not All-American, Nationals, or even breaking a personal record. It was finally winning the UAAs.

“If I could relive any track experience, it would definitely be the moment we knew we had won indoor conference this year. Our team is getting better every year, and it would be sad for people to lose sight of the team aspect of what is already a fundamentally individual sport,” Hirve said. “It’s going to break my heart to graduate and not get to be a part of something like that ever again.”

It won't show on any transcripts, but sportswriting the perfect major

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:32:00 +0000

When people ask what my major is, I always say, “History.”

I answer “history” because it’s a lot simpler than telling the truth. What I’ve really spent the bulk of the past three years studying at the University of Chicago is the Maroon, with a concentration in sports.

In a way, I feel a little guilty about lying, but I do it anyway because in polite chitchat it takes too long to explain the Maroon response. The few times that I’ve tried, the “uh-huh” and “Oh. That sounds interesting,” haven’t been encouraging, and the conversation usually stalls afterward.

I can understand why people are perplexed by my choice. It runs contrary to most perceptions held about the University. Chicago, isn’t that the school that left the Big Ten? Who goes to one of the nation’s premier academic institutions and studies sports?

Well, it didn’t start out that way. Like most of the students walking around the quads, I was initially drawn to the U of C for its gothic architecture, quirky faculty, and Life of the Mind slogan.
While the Reg remains one of my least favorite spots on campus and I never got into any conversations about Socrates versus Plato at Bartlett, I’ve still found ways to live up to the credo. The classroom provided one outlet, but by and large the much -hyped Life of the Mind took place in the second-floor coaches’ offices of Ratner and in the bleachers at Stagg.

In both places, there was something new to learn each time I went there, with the added bonus of not seeing That Kid from Hum. Admittedly, I had quite a bit to figure out starting out as a first-year on both the sports and journalism fronts.

A softball player who grew up in a family that primarily watched baseball, my knowledge of the nine other sports played at Chicago was limited to say the least. That started to change after watching home games, hanging around the Go Maroons audiocast announcers, and interviewing the players and coaches.

Writing articles for the paper later put all my newly acquired sports know-how to the test. It also gave me an appreciation of the fact that more often than not there’s another piece to the puzzle. Stat sheets and press releases give me an idea of what happened in a game, but rarely have I walked away from an interview without finding out something unexpected.

Now that I’m stepping down as sports editor, I can say that at least the basic Xs and Os of all the Chicago sports are no longer a mystery. It’s only passing knowledge, though, because there’s always something more to learn. Teams get new players, the style of play changes, and each day different game situations reveal something about the game itself.

That kind of ongoing sports education has fed the Life of the Mind more than debates at Bartlett or sleepless nights at the Reg. And while history classes to fulfill my official major have certainly sharpened my critical thinking skills, they don’t offer that same feeling of getting fresh information each day.

Even though going into next year I’ll switch over from focusing on sports and the newspaper to completing a B.A., I’ll still secretly mean the Maroon when I answer questions about my studies at Chicago.

After all, as one of my Sosc professors said in class, there’s a strong connection between historians and sportswriters. Neither can predict the outcome, but both can explain how it happened.

Sidelined for beginning of career, Catalano seized moments as a starter

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:28:00 +0000

Fourth-year defender Amanda Catalano specializes in taking advantage of opportunities.

One of the constants for women’s soccer in 2006 and 2007 was the sight of Catalano placing the ball on the opponents’ corner arc, looking toward her teammates inside the penalty area, and raising her hand after picking out her spot. A few steps later, she’d send the ball curving into the box, usually resulting in another scoring chance for the Maroons.

Catalano’s offensive upside was a pleasant discovery, though not an unusual skill; it was always a part of her game. Still, with a seasoned set of defenders already cemented in the Maroons’ defense ahead of her, she spent most of her first two seasons as a Maroon watching and learning from the upperclassmen.

“She certainly had the skills and skill set,” head coach Amy Reifert said. “It was just a matter of that class graduating and her stepping up to be the best defensive player that she was able to be.”

Once Catalano made the team, however, she made the most of her chances. She attributes the success of her transition to the regular starting lineup to the example set by the stalwart back five of Andrea Przybysz, Elise Aiken, Diana Connett, Ellen Fitzgerald, and Kay Saul (all A.B. ’05), who formed one of the most dominant defensive units in Maroons history.

“I got to learn the system from really experienced players who knew exactly what they were doing,” Catalano says. “It was obviously frustrating at times to be sitting on the bench, but I learned so much just by watching them, and I knew my turn would come eventually.”

In her third season, Catalano flourished, not only as a leader in the defense, but in her ability to change the course of a game with just one swing of her right leg. Along with four assists, Catalano notched an unorthodox hat trick against NYU, scoring directly from two corner kicks and a free kick, all in the first half of Reifert’s 200th win.

Those three goals, her only tallies of the season, were certainly unexpected, even to those who witnessed the game firsthand, but Catalano’s memorable performance in that game was indicative of her overall impact on the team.

Catalano’s senior season was one of ups and downs. The Maroons hit a rough patch in the middle of the season after a strong start but were able to find their stride in time to finish strong in the UAA and make headway into the NCAA postseason tournament. Posting two goals and six assists in 2007, Catalano again contributed heavily to the Maroons’ late-season resurgence.

“She was a huge part of the heart and soul of our team.... She put the team on her back at times this year,” Reifert said.

Catalano’s dead ball delivery embodies skill and accuracy, and years of practice and repetition are evident in her almost effortless consistency. But for every pass in soccer, there has to be a recipient, and Catalano takes pride in the team ethos, such a strong mark of the women’s soccer program.

“It’s easy to hit a good corner or free kick when you have players like [second-year midfielder] Claire Gill and [third-year defender] Anne Scherer on the field because they will connect with anything,” Catalano said.

Similarly, Catalano’s best memories are a mix of on-field success—the Final Four run in 2005 stands out—and off-pitch camaraderie.

“The soccer players are my best friends here and, as cliché as it may sound, I’m pretty sure we’d all consider ourselves friends first and then teammates,” Catalano said. “I’ll miss the long bus rides with no bathroom breaks...or someone getting locked in the bathroom as much as I’ll miss playing Wash U and Wheaton.”

These friendships will draw Catalano back to Stagg Field next year to cheer on current and future Maroons in her year off before attending law school at Boston University the following autumn.
The year off will be an opportunity to rest, but Catalano said that her break from action won’t be long.

“I definitely want soccer to be a part of my life for as long as I can play.”

Versatility enabled track’s Rodgers to contribute in many events

Fri, 30 May 2008 05:43:00 +0000

At first, it’s hard to tell if fourth-year Zach Rodgers is well-rounded or just indecisive. Maybe he couldn’t choose between Crown and Crerar, so he got top grades while becoming an all-conference track star. He couldn’t pick just one specialty in the classroom, so he went with three, and majored in chemistry, physics, and biology. Rather than settling on a single track-and-field event, he opted for 10, and did the decathlon.

As it turns out, such a range of activities and experiences was exactly what Rodgers wanted, and the opportunity to pursue several interests was one of the things that convinced him to become a Maroon.

“What struck me about Chicago,” Rodgers said, “is that the track and field and cross country athletes, rather than being the less-academically interested ‘jocks,’ were, in fact, some of the more interesting people I met when I visited.

“That sort of contrasted with some of the other schools I visited, particularly the D-I schools like Rice and Princeton, where the athletes were very clearly there to do athletics. At Chicago, the athletes were just a lot of really interesting people.”

Rodgers, a native of Nashville, TN, arrived at Chicago with backgrounds in a variety of track and field events, making him a natural choice for the decathlon, a two-day competition during which participants do the 100-meter, 400-meter, long jump, high jump, shot put, 110-meter hurdles, 1500-meter, discus, pole vault, and javelin. The athletes receive a score in each event, with their total scores determining how they place overall.

“I never had one single event which stood out as being much better,” Rodgers said, “so decathlon naturally made sense as something to do, since I was good at everything but not extremely good at anything.”

Though the decathlon is not included in the UAA’s indoor and outdoor championships, training for it put Rodgers in position to contribute to the team in other events. As a rookie, he finished third in the triple jump at the conference’s indoor meet and since then has also placed in the long jump and high jump during Association championships.

While he was picking up points at UAA showdowns, Rodgers was also progressing as a decathlete, so that by the time he was a third-year, he was scoring high enough to qualify for Nationals in the event. With 2007’s 16th-highest score among D-III decathletes, Rodgers was invited to the NCAA outdoor championships, where he improved his performance enough to finish 11th, three spots shy of All-American honors.

En route to that 11th-place finish, Rodgers tallied 6,415 points, the most ever by a Maroon. Jay Berwanger, who set the previous Chicago record in 1936, was a multi-talented guy like Rodgers. In 1935, he won the inaugural Heisman Trophy.

“I was happy about breaking the school record...last year,” Rodgers said. “That had been a long-term goal of mine, so breaking that and doing it at the national meet was special.”

For Rodgers, though, the best was yet to come. This winter, he scored points in four events—the long jump, the triple jump, the high jump, and the 55-meter—as the men’s team won its first UAA indoor crown since 2002. To sweeten the accomplishment that much more, the women’s team got its first ever conference title to complete a Chicago sweep of first place.

“All throughout my 10 years doing track, I’d never had the experience of winning a team championship, and it’s something we’ve worked toward for years,” Rodgers said. “It was really exciting to get that, especially getting it on both sides, men’s and women’s.”

As the squad transitioned to the outdoor season, Rodgers took one more chance to show his versatility. In mid-April, he began concentrating on the triple jump, an event that wasn’t previously his focus, in hopes of qualifying for Nationals, which were held this past weekend. Sure enough, Rodgers hit the provisional-qualify mark and was seeded 11th at the NCAA meet.

“Zach made it to nationals in the triple jump because he can perform under pressure like no other,” second-year Terrence Robertson said. “Aside from his focus at the track meets, his concentration on technique at practice allowed his strength to flow throughout his jumps, resulting in massive jumps that landed him at Nationals.”

At Nationals, Rodgers was 11th in the preliminaries and didn’t make the finals. He wasn’t thrilled with the result that left him out of attaining All-American with Chicago, but he did end up with the top finish among the Maroons’ national qualifiers for the men.

With his collegiate career winding down, Rodgers has picked up some hardware as mementos. Last week, he won the Mary Jean Mulvaney Scholar-Athlete Award, which goes to the fourth-year with three or more varsity letters who has the highest GPA during his last two years at Chicago. He also got the Ted Haydon Medal for earning the most points at the indoor and outdoor UAA meets.

Rodger’s academic accomplishments haven’t gone unrewarded, either. Last June, ESPN The Magazine named Rodgers to its Academic All-American squad for track and field and cross country.

Perhaps the greatest recognition of what Rodgers has done as a student will come this August, though, when he matriculates at UPenn to begin an M.D./Ph.D. program.

As for athletics, Rodgers plans to keep participating in college track meets as an unattached competitor.

“I just started working on [the triple jump] seriously this year, and I still feel like there’s a little bit more that I’d like to accomplish in that event,” Rodgers said.

And after that?

“I think eventually I’ll do something more old-person friendly, you know, triathlon or distance running,” Rodgers said.

Sithian embraced mentor role as tennis team grew around him

Fri, 30 May 2008 05:39:00 +0000

Looking back at their careers, some seniors will point to championships or dominant performances or astounding career statistics.

Fourth-year tennis player Bharath Sithian would rather talk about centering his chi on the court.

“My parting thoughts for the team are to stay balanced on and off the court and never forget the importance of having control of your chi,” Sithian said. “If they do this, they will continue to rise in the rankings in years to come.”

Four years ago, he was probably thinking more about his hairstyle than the philosophy of his game.

A successful high school career facing tough competition from New York’s best private schools set Sithian up with a slightly more than confident attitude on the court, one that his transition to the University of Chicago would soon challenge.

“There were some...things that differed between college and high school tennis I had to get used to,” Sithian said. “In high school, I was kind of the ‘big man on campus,’ so coming here was an adjustment. For instance, in high school I used to wear hair gel on the courts, something I quickly found out I couldn’t get away with at the college level.”

Sans hair gel, Sithian found himself ready to play his role on a team with more than enough potential to build on the previous season’s 7–16 record.

“I was definitely very impressed with the level of talent of the entire incoming class. I had a feeling that the team would be able to do well in DIII,” Sithian said.

After earning a spot on the squad, Sithian immediately made his presence known, compiling career-best season performances in both singles and doubles, with records of 19–10 and 15–13, respectively.

As one of four rookies on the team, Sithian recorded the squad’s second-highest winning percentage in singles while competing at mostly the fifth and sixth slots.

More importantly, though, the infusion of young talent marked the righting of the men’s tennis ship at Chicago. A squad that finished the previous season dead last in the conference tournament closed out the 2004–2005 season with an 18–10 record, placing third in the UAA tournament and capturing a bid to the D-III tournament for the first time in program history.

“It was definitely my best year statistically so I was really happy with how I performed my freshman year,” Sithian said. “By the end of the year. I had really matured as a player and a teammate.”

The program’s turn-around, however, would force Sithian to compete for playing time even after a successful rookie season.

Over the next three years, Sithian would see his match total drop from 57 in his first-year to just 20 in his fourth-year. The Staten Island native would spend most of the “golden years” of his athletic career watching from the bench.

“I certainly had a bigger role on the team my first three years than I did my senior year, but that was no surprise to me,” Sithian said. “As a team, each year we were performing better and moving up in the rankings. I was always sure that we were going to get great recruits, and I was going to have to fight for a spot on the team. I was not at all frustrated with the lower playing time, so long as I was able to contribute.”

So while statistics might indicate a diminished role for Sithian this season, it would be the veteran’s philosophical approach to the game that gave him a renewed role on the squad. The once-cocky youth had developed into the squad’s spiritual leader, a mentor to up-and-comers like first-year Mark Bonner, Sithian’s partner at third doubles.

“I have tried to use my time to teach my teammates about the benefits of playing a spiritually centered match,” Sithian said. “I think I was able to succeed as a tennis player because I was always in control of my chi. I have made it a point this year to teach the other guys on the team the importance of channeling positive chakras and reflecting away negative ones.”

After three seasons of playing with multiple doubles partners, Sithian has especially channeled his efforts toward developing Bonner’s doubles play, hoping to round out a strong doubles lineup for the future.

“Mark and I were able to work very well over the course of the year,” Sithian said. “I basically took Mark under my wing…. I tried to teach him everything that I learned about doubles over the years so that he could be successful with future doubles partners.”

Increasing his focus on the tactics of winning each point during his first season at Chicago, Sithian has thrived this season as one of two fourth-years on the squad.

Modest records of 3–1 in singles and 8–8 in doubles did not detract from Sithian’s run as a tennis elder, as he shifted his focus to working with the team’s younger players, who Sithian is confident will add to the squad’s string of four consecutive winning seasons.

“I thought that by the end of the year everyone had learned how to be smart collegiate players and more importantly in my mind, how to be spiritually balanced tennis players,” Sithian said. “I am glad my emphasis on spirituality was able to rub off on them, and I am sure it will help them in years to come.”

There won’t be any fireworks or festivities for Sithian or for his team, but the fourth-year departs from Chicago content with his life on the court over the past four years.

“I am very pleased with my career here,” Sithian said. “When I first got here the team had accomplished next to nothing, and as I am leaving we are consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally every year and I know the team will only get better and better in years to come.”

As Sithian moves back home after this year, he will look to make a transition to competitive squash in New York while pursuing a career in acting.

Women take 10th at track Nationals

Fri, 30 May 2008 05:36:00 +0000

After sending its largest contingent of athletes to compete at NCAAs, Chicago track and field pulled away from the tournament last weekend with nearly half of them as All-Americans, the women’s highest national finish, and a sense that the best is yet to come.

Of the 12 Maroons traveling to UW–Oshkosh, five members of the women’s team closed the books on 2008 as outdoor All-Americans. The 21 points collected by the group placed the squad in a three-way tie for 10th place with Messiah College and Texas Lutheran University.

“We didn’t talk a whole lot about specific teams’ goals going into this meet,” head coach Chris Hall said. “I think behind close[d] doors we were thinking that we had an opportunity to be in the top 10…. We had to have some really good performances for that to happen.”

Representatives from the men’s side didn’t have the same fortune, with fourth-year Zach Rodgers missing the finals for the triple jump and a poor call by an official disqualifying the 400-meter relay in the preliminaries.

Despite these disappointments for the men and a few for the women, the Maroons have very little to regret about the weekend that capped off two long and successful seasons for the teams.

Leading Chicago in the final standings, second-year throwers Claire Ray and Nicole Murphy both finished as runners-up in respective events. Murphy distinguished herself in her first NCAA appearance with a toss of 14.22 meters in the shot put while Ray backed up her All-American status in the discus.

Last spring Ray took sixth with a mark of 42.37 meters. This year she improved on her effort by over five meters, nailing a distance of 47.82 meters. She and Murphy shared the UAA’s final Athlete of the Week recognition for their performances.

“They certainly didn’t go in seeded that highly, and if somebody had told me that they would be second, I would have said, ‘No they can’t be second,’” Hall said. “I believed that they could, but they really had to rise up to the moment, and they definitely did that.”

Among the young Maroons setting a new pace for Chicago, first-year Stephanie Omueti edged into All-American territory in the 200-meter dash. She clocked a lifetime best of 25.20 to finish eighth, taking the last spot for the division’s highest honor.
 
“She really showed some great stability out there,” Hall said of Omueti. “I think it’s harder for a freshman to go into a meet like that and to feel like, ‘I’m going to rise up to this level of competition.’ And she definitely did. To have your lifetime best performance in that field and not be intimidated, I thought was a really impressive performance by her.”

The strong performances by rookie Omueti as well as Ray and Murphy indicate that the team has nowhere to go but up next season. Their success as underclassmen underscores the talent and the ability to handle the pressure of tough competition on Chicago’s roster going forward the next few years.

Rounding out the South Siders top finishers was a pair of veteran jumpers, fourth-years Myra Collins and Appie Hirve, who have played important roles in building the Maroons up to this moment. Collins recorded a leap of 5.46 meters in the long jump to take eighth, while Maroon photo staffer Hirve claimed sixth in the triple jump.

Hirve’s mark of 11.73 meters ended her collegiate career in style. She not only secured back-to-back All-American honors in the event for the outdoor and indoor season but also landed her personal best by a significant margin in her final jump as a Maroon.

On the cusp of eighth place before her last attempt, Hirve mustered up a little something extra and leapt three spots to hold fifth briefly. McMurry University first-year Breana Anderson eventually passed her.

“I think you can really feel good about that as you walk away,” Hall said of the soon graduating Hirve. “She didn’t leave anything out there.”

Three of Hirve’s classmates didn’t get to join her in individual celebrations. Rachel Venezia, Cynthia Lin, and Zach Rodgers missed on making All-American in their final national championship.

All three had competed at NCAAs before, making this weekend a particularly bitter pill to swallow. Rodgers placed 11th (14.08 meters) out of 19 in the triple jump preliminaries and didn’t reach the finals. Competing in the third heat of the 400-meter dash Lin (58.89) also missed the cut for finals.

Venezia came the closest to achieving All-American with her 10:46.42 in the steeplechase. After powering through her last lap to position herself among the top eight and head for the finish line in the thick of the competition, Venezia got edged out of eighth by 0.13 seconds.

“It’s not like Rachel let up,” Hall said. “The other person was coming home hard too and just out-leaned her.”

Although seeing three of its seniors come up short in their final bids for All-American was tough, the most frustrating part of the tournament for Chicago was the disqualification of the men’s 4x100-meter relay.

Ran by second-year Blake Obuchowski, third-year Herman Reeves, second-year Patrick Offner, and first-year Keith Newhouse, officials ruled that the Maroons left their zone on the first exchange. Smooth handoffs have been a weak point of the squad, but video evidence showed that Chicago runners had stayed in their lane.

“Unfortunately, there’s no appeal,” Hall said. “You can try to fight the system, but there’s only one corner judge and that’s the only person who gets a say.”

The four Maroons on the relay can take comfort in the fact that their team is looking to use this year as the first building block of a dominant track and field program in Chicago.

This time next year, the men hope to be at the level shown by their female teammates this season. They have a host of young provisional qualifiers who missed the cut this year but given more training could make an impact in 2009. On the women’s side, the squad is looking to advance from its 10th-place finish to the top four in DIII and bring a new trophy to showcase at Ratner.

Spring All-Maroons

Fri, 30 May 2008 05:29:00 +0000

Top team: Women's Track and Field
The numbers tell the story for women’s track’s breakout spring: seven NCAA qualifications, five All-Americans, two Nationals runners-up, and one 10th-place National finish. Taking second place at the outdoor UAA Championships and then sending an unprecedented number of athletes to compete on their sport’s biggest stage, the young squad outdid itself to follow an already successful winter. With 17 of the team’s 21 National points coming from underclassmen, the future is bright for these Maroons.

Men's Track and Field MVP: Zach Rodgers
Competing at Nationals for the second year in a row as Chicago’s only individual qualifier, fourth-year Zach Rodgers posted an 11th-place finish in the triple jump. His squad’s most versatile athlete, Rodgers was the runner-up in the long and triple jumps at UAAs, and was hoping to earn an NCAA–qualifying score in the decathlon before he surprisingly posted a nationally eighth-best 14.32 leap in the triple jump during his last meet of the regular season.

Women's Tennis MVP: Marissa Lin
The Central Region’s Rookie of the Year last season turned in another classic season, finishing the year with a 24–4 record at first singles. Second-year Marissa Lin made a second trip to the NCAA tournament and with doubles mate third-year Vindya Dayananda, made the second round. A Regional Champion at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s fall tournament in solos and pairs play, Lin was an All-American in both divisions this season.

Women's Track and Field MVP: Nicole Murphy
Racking up points for the Maroons all year alongside fellow second-year Claire Ray, thrower Nicole Murphy was new to the National stage last weekend when she rose from her sixth-place seeding to take silver in the shot put. The win gave her eight of Chicago’s eventual 21 points and boosted them to a 10th-place finish. Murphy also smashed a conference record in the shot put as she topped the podium in April at outdoor UAAs.

Men's Tennis MVP: Will Zhang
First-year Will Zhang earned his stripes with a 14–8 singles record, with most of his action coming at the first singles spot. Shouldering the burden at the top of the lineup for the Maroons, the UAA Rookie of the Year turned in strong performances throughout the season, highlighted by a two-set win over the NCAA DIII’s top-ranked player, Wash U second-year John Watts, on March 2. He was also named an alternate to the NCAA tournament.

Softball MVP: Jen Jacobson
Stringing together a DiMaggio-esque 25-game hit streak, fourth-year shortstop Jen Jacobson never failed to make it to first base this season, reaching it on a fielder’s choice during the only game in which she couldn’t get a hit. An offensive fixture, the captain led her squad in batting average, hits, total bases, and home runs, while taking a team second in slugging, runs, and on-base percentage.

Baseball MVP: Dominik Meyer
In his first season as part of Chicago’s batting order, fourth-year designated hitter Dominik Meyer led the Maroons in batting average, slugging percentage, and RBI. Seamlessly adjusting to the lineup after an injury forced him out of the pitching rotation, Meyer singled in his first collegiate at-bat this spring. Closing his career in an equally impressive fashion, he roped a two-run game-winning homer in his final plate appearance last month.

Phelps organizes soccer tourney to kick HIV/AIDS in Africa

Fri, 30 May 2008 05:17:00 +0000

For some athletes, it’s not always just about the love of the game. The most famous ones can use their money and influence to make a difference in the world through donations and charity work.

And some, like fourth-year Stuart Phelps, strive to bring social awareness and change on a more fundamental level—through sport itself. He’s currently organizing a three-on-three soccer tournament called Kicking AIDS in Africa. The event is sponsored by the Phoenix Phanatix and will take place Saturday, June 7, at Stagg Field.

Phelps, who played defense and midfield for the Maroons, is a field intern with Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit organization dedicated to HIV/AIDS education in Africa—by far the most affected continent with over 22 million people living with the infection, according to the 2007 UNAIDS epidemic report.

“It’s astounding, especially when you consider that by and large, HIV/AIDS is a preventable disease,” Phelps said. “What fuels the spread of the disease is mainly lack of education and debilitating social stigma.”

Based on the principles of Social Learning Theory, Grassroot Soccer places the sport—which is wildly popular on the African continent—at the center of a curriculum that unites the youth population with professional soccer players and other community role models, empowering participants with the knowledge and support necessary to fight the spread of the virus. Since 2003, the organization has achieved tremendous results through its athletics-driven method, increasing awareness, discussion, and continued action in their program sites across Africa. They have also formed partnerships with other non-profit and non-governmental organizations in order to spread their work to other countries on the continent.

“I think it’s a unique and powerful approach to solving one of the greatest social injustices of our time,” Phelps said. “It’s a use of sports and role models that could be applicable not just in Africa, but in places like Russia, India, and China, places where HIV/AIDS is erupting while governments hesitate to act.”

Phelps’s playing career makes him a perfect fit for Grassroot Soccer, but the organization’s direct humanitarian aim resonates with his family background as well. Phelps lived in West Africa until the age of four, as his father worked for USAID and his mother helped establish special education programs in the region.
 
“Talking with my parents about their experiences, and growing up in a family that values international development and aid work, greatly impacted my goals,” Phelps said.

The Kicking AIDS in Africa tournament will accomplish two goals: The first is to raise funds to help cover the cost of Phelp’s one-year internship, which will land him in Africa this autumn. There, Phelps will train at the newly built Grassroot Soccer headquarters—funded in part by a grant from FIFA, soccer’s worldwide governing body—before being dispatched to project sites along with other field interns and locally based trainers.

Although a year can go by quickly, Phelps’s impression of the work done by Grassroot Soccer has been a positive and encouraging one.
 
“Right now, I’m unsure what my plans are afterwards, but it could be anything from staying another year in South Africa to working in a health clinic on an Indian Reservation in Montana, to doing AIDS work in Chicago, to applying for medical school,” Phelps said. “From my experience with [Grassroot Soccer] already, I imagine I will be involved with the organization in some fashion long after my internship is over.”

Organizing the three-on-three tournament has the added purpose of increasing awareness around campus. On that front, Phelps knows even the smallest bit of exposure is important. “The tournament is obviously very small in size in the big scheme of things, but even simple conversations I’ve had with people about HIV/AIDS because of the tournament have been meaningful,” he said. “I also hope people just come out and enjoy themselves playing soccer.”

Although forms for Kicking AIDS in Africa are due today to Phoenix Phanatix at Ratner, Phelps welcomes late entries and questions regarding both the event and Grassroot Soccer. He can be reached at sphelps@uchicago.edu. The tournament begins at 1 p.m. at Stagg Field on June 7.

Versatility gave Meyer second shot

Fri, 23 May 2008 05:36:00 +0000

If you’ve got the right combination of talent and determination, bad luck is the only thing that can get in your way. When fate hoped to disrupt fourth-year designated hitter Dominik Meyer’s plans for success, fate learned a painful lesson.

Graduating on the heels of one of the most dominant careers in recent Chicago baseball history, the River Forest native will leave Hyde Park a testament to the power of hard work. He’ll also go down in the record books leading the Maroons in batting average and ERA across two separate seasons, a feat believed to be the first of its kind in modern program history. Although a natural hitter, Meyer joined the Maroons as a pitcher and ultimately rose to dominate on the mound after a couple of hard seasons. When forced to return to hitting, the warrior rocketed his way to the top spot.

Meyer’s success story is not at all typical. A versatile player in high school, he thrived at multiple positions, getting playing time at catcher, first base, and shortstop, in addition to pitching.

He ran into big trouble when he broke his wrist playing football. The injury took him out of the baseball team’s lineup, and he was relegated to pitching full-time.

“From my freshman year of high school until my fourth year at Chicago, I didn’t hit,” Meyer said.

The misfortune continued when he arrived in Chicago. Meyer contracted mono a month before the baseball season started, disrupting his workout routine and weakening his leg strength. A couple of poor outings and a 6.48 ERA was all it took to send him to the bench for the remainder of his first season.

Hoping to start his second season healthier, Meyer again found himself injured just before the start of the spring. Two abysmal losses and a 14.21 ERA later, Meyer was benched again.

“I decided that I wanted to go into medicine, so I was taking two labs, and it was really rough,” Meyer said.

After two seasons of shockingly substandard play, Meyer met with Coach Baldea, who frankly said it was time for Meyer to step up his game or risk elimination from the active roster.

With pressure to perform at his best, Meyer knew that his team needed him to come through. After blazing his way through workouts and greatly increasing the speed of his fastball, Meyer gained the confidence necessary to pitch with pride.

“I felt that the team needed me to do well, and that I could do well,” Meyer said.

Meyer’s hard work paid off. The righty posted a team-leading 1.84 ERA in 2007, winning five games and notching 51 strikeouts. Now a force to be reckoned with on the mound, Meyer helped lead his squad to its eighth straight .500 or better season.

Riding his successful year into summer league play, misfortune once again reared its ugly head. In his last game of the summer, he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm, sending him to the operating room in September for Tommy John surgery and ending his pitching career.

“Generally, it’s a year recovery period before you’re allowed to pitch again. But the throwing program starts at about five months after surgery, so my goal was to be able to throw enough so that I could play first base in the spring.”

Meyer wasn’t going to let his injury sideline him for his final year with the Maroons. On the first day of practice for the ’08 campaign, he commenced vigorous batting practice, hoping to bring back out his natural hitting talent.

“I told Coach Baldea that I could do one of two things: Either sit on the side and be a cheerleader, or I can give it my best and play,” Meyer said.

Meyer’s perseverance paid off. He readied himself for play in time for the Maroons’ trip to Japan this past March to face off against Waseda University, the nation’s College Baseball Champions. While Chicago didn’t stand much of a chance in the three game series, Meyer went an astounding four-for-nine against some of the best young pitchers in Japan.

“That was definitely the biggest moment in my Maroons career, and it really helped my confidence,” Meyer said.

Gleaming with confidence from his outstanding hitting in Japan, Meyer crushed balls left and right, ending up as the team’s top hitter in ’08 with a .352 average, 17 RBI, and a .446 slugging percentage. Since he wasn’t quite ready to play in the field, Meyer was penciled into the lineup as the team’s DH. In a sort of poetic justice, Meyer earned his greatest glory during the Maroons’ final game of the year. With Chicago trailing IIT by a run in the eighth, Meyer belted a two-run homer to deliver a come-from-behind win for the Maroons.

“I had been in a bit of a slump going into that game,” Meyer said. “The coach asked me if I wanted to play; I said if I go out and get hurt, I go out and get hurt. It wasn’t like I was going to miss any more games.”

This success story will graduate with a degree in psychology. He’ll work as an EMT for a year before hopefully enrolling in medical school.

In face of team adversity, Kendall crushed program records

Fri, 23 May 2008 05:35:00 +0000

Like most Chicago students, fourth-year Koryn Kendall was drawn to Chicago by the University’s academic record and certainly not by its dominant sports programs.

When Kendall committed to becoming a Maroon, volleyball was in the midst of a 7–29 season, and the middle hitter saw the team as a positive group where she fit in, not as a vehicle for athletic dominance.

“I had wanted to apply to the U of C since sophomore year,” Kendall said. “I was initially attracted to the school for its academic prestige, but I have been involved in athletics since I was very young, and I knew my college experience would not be the same without it. Once I met the girls and the coach, I knew it was the place for me.”

Ironically, the Napa, CA, native, whose priorities set academics above athletics, would go on to be one of the most overpowering athletes in volleyball’s program history.

As a first-year, Kendall’s impact was immediately felt. A solid bench player, she led the team in attack percentage, hitting 31 percent as the squad battled to its first winning season in eight years.

Entering the rotation full-time in her second year, the middle hitter became a force to be reckoned with behind the net, attacking at her career-high clip of 39 percent while posting a team-leading 350 kills on the season. On her way to becoming the most dominant blocker in Chicago history, Kendall led the team in blocks (54), block assists (73), and total blocks (127).

Her spot at the top of the charts wasn’t going away. Kendall led the squad in at least one attacking or blocking category for each of her final three years and was an All-UAA honorable mention or second-team selection for three seasons in a row.

Unfortunately, Kendall was faced with the problem of watching her team struggle while her game improved individually. While the Maroons posted a 20–14 record in her rookie season, they had slumped to a 6–29 mark in the fall of 2006.

Despite the slow season, the squad managed to pull off a surprise fifth-place finish at the UAA Championships. With promising new recruits on the way and an energizing preseason trip to China scheduled for the summer, Kendall’s senior season was looking up, and the Maroons entered the year hoping for a breakout.

However, a rash of injuries and other departures from the roster quickly dashed Chicago’s dreams and left Kendall alone in her leadership position as captain and the team’s lone senior. Even when she broke the all-time blocks record and passed 1,000 kills, the Maroons suffered a 1–3 weekend in the UAA Round Robin and it was becoming clear that Kendall’s record-breaking season would be the upside of an otherwise tough year for the South Siders.

“It was frustrating,” Kendall said, “but not in the way you would think. I was more frustrated because I always felt there was something more that I could do to help the team win. I never felt like I was doing enough. But being a good athlete and a good team is not always about the record; there is so much more to it. There is no way I could have had my individual success without the constant support and effort of my teammates.”

In this unselfish light, Kendall downplays her personal efforts, speaking modestly despite the fact that she will graduate first all-time in total blocks and block assists with 389 and 244, respectively, and second all-time in kills and solo blocks, with 1,135 and 145.

“It felt pretty good to do that,” Kendall said. “It will be cool to have my name in the hall of records at Ratner for a while.”

Without deep postseason runs or conference championships to fall back on, Kendall’s biggest memories are the sort that brought her to the program in the first place: the squad’s personality.

“I’m going to miss the laughter,” Kendall said. “No matter what the outcome of the game was, I could always find something to be happy about with my team. They have been my family away from home for these past four years, and I’m going to miss having them around.”

Graduating with a degree in public policy, Kendall is pursuing a career in human resources.

A ping-pong fix-all

Fri, 23 May 2008 05:34:00 +0000

So much depends upon a white ping-pong ball.

Tuesday night’s draft lottery saw the ever-objective ping-pong balls bounce Chicago’s way, and on June 26, the Bulls will welcome the top pick in the NBA Draft to the Windy City.

And finally, everything will be alright.

Forget the fact that the once proud Bulls haven’t reached the Eastern Conference finals since 1998.

Forget their 289–499 record over the past 10 years.

The Bulls have the first pick in the draft, so everything is going to be fine.

It doesn’t matter that this past season the Bulls lost all of the momentum they built up over the previous three years. It doesn’t matter that they followed up a 49–33 year in which they held claim to the third-best record in the East by plummeting down to the 11th spot.

It doesn’t matter that the team experts across the country expected to contend for the Eastern Conference title finished the year contending with the Charlotte Bobcats for that much-prized 11th spot.

Because the Chicago Bulls have the number one pick in the draft, they’ve got the chance to turn everything around, and everything is going to be fine.

Who cares that the Bulls don’t have a coach?

Who cares that Luol Deng and Ben Gordon still have to settle on the contracts that both opted not to finalize before last season?

Who cares that, overnight, the Bulls became a team full of players who show up late for practice and team meetings?

Who cares that Cap’n Kirk Hinrich looked like a poor man’s Smush Parker while making $11.25 million last season and still has another $37 million left on his contract?

I certainly don’t, because we have the top pick, so really, the team is going to be great.

Don’t worry about Tyrus Thomas either. They traded down to get him with the fourth pick just two seasons ago, and even though his game has grown slower than Charles Barkley’s hair, he’s got great upside.

Don’t worry about the Bulls’ history of failure in the draft. Nobody even remembers Chicago taking Marcus Fizer with the fourth pick in the 2000 draft, so it’s almost like that never happened at all.

I’m not worried. The Bulls have the first pick, so they can’t mess this one up.

Don’t get me wrong; I love this team. Nobody likes Luol Deng more than I do. Ben Gordon is one of the coolest players in the league. I have a Kirk Hinrich cardboard standup in the corner of my room.

More importantly, though, I believe that this team can win. They had the right chemistry when they swept the Heat out of the playoffs in 2007, and even though that chemistry faltered this season, they still have the right pieces, especially with the mid-season addition of Larry Hughes, a shooting guard with size, and Drew Gooden, a big man who can play some offense.

Adding either Memphis’s Derrick Rose or Kansas State’s Michael Beasley, the Bulls will certainly be a tough team to beat, especially in the slower-paced Eastern Conference.

But no team has ever won a championship just by winning the lottery.

Of course, maybe the Bulls will find their Tim Duncan, who led the Spurs to 57 wins in his rookie season and has since won four championships.

But it’s a big maybe. Rose and Beasley both could be great players, but there’s no telling how they’ll mesh with the team and how the Bulls’ record will look this time next year. Maybe they’ll be in the conference finals. Or maybe they’ll be right where they are now, watching the series from their couches.

So let’s be reasonable here. This part of the draft is called the lottery because it is entirely luck. The Bulls went into the draft with approximately 1-in-59 odds of getting the first pick, and Tuesday happened to be their day.

I know that it’s hard not to be excited. I cranked a celebratory Soulja Boy when I saw that the Bulls had won the first pick. This could be the beginning of the beginning for the Bulls; we just don’t and can’t know for sure yet.

But at least the ping-pong balls have given us some hope.

Sports shorts: Men celebrate year's end

Fri, 23 May 2008 05:30:00 +0000

Male varsity athletes celebrated their 2008–2009 season Tuesday night with an awards banquet hosted by the Undergraduate Order of the “C” at International House.

Over the course of the evening, which included dinner and the presentation of a video slide show highlighting the graduating seniors, thirteen student athletes won awards.

The Amos Alonzo Stagg Medal, granted to a senior who has demonstrated athletic commitment, scholarship, and character throughout his collegiate career, was awarded to forward Nate Hainje. Hainje, the only player in the conference to rank among the top ten in the NCAA Division III in scoring, rebounding, and assists in the regular 2007–2008 season, was named to the State Farm NCAA Division III All-American Second Team. This past season, he helped lead the Maroons to a second straight UAA victory and earn an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division III tournament.

The Mary Jean Mulvaney Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to the senior with at least three varsity letters who has earned the highest grade point average during his third and fourth years, was awarded to decathlon runner Zach Rodgers. Rodgers was recently named UAA Athlete of the Week and will compete in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship this weekend in the triple jump.

Rodgers also won the Ted Haydon Medal, since he was the track and field competitor who amassed the most points at the Indoor and Outdoor UAA Championship meets.

Three other sport-specific awards were given to members of the tennis, baseball, and basketball teams.

The Max Davidson Award, recognizing the tennis player who has distinguished himself by his dedication to the sport and his team, was given to fourth-year Bharath Sithian.

Outfielder Mike Serio won the J. Kyle Anderson Award, which is given to the senior baseball player who best exemplifies character, leadership, integrity, dedication, and athletic ability throughout his collegiate career.

The Joseph A. Stampf Award, presented to the senior basketball player whose commitment to values and integrity is expressed through his relationship with his teammates and coaches, was granted to guard Kirk Ellsworth.

Team MVPs were awarded to Hainje, Rodgers, fourth-year cross-country runner Ryan McCarl, fourth-year linebacker Gaby Fernandez, fourth-year midfielder Stuart Phelps, fourth-year swimmer Zach Ergish, second-year wrestler Troy Carlson, fourth-year thrower John Anderson, fourth-year pitcher Dominik Meyer, and first-year tennis player Tim Walsh.

Track sending 12 to Nationals

Tue, 20 May 2008 05:48:00 +0000

The breakout year isn’t over yet for track and field. After winning indoor UAAs, claiming an indoor All-American, and setting records all season long, Chicago qualified a program-record 12 athletes for outdoor NCAAs and will get a chance to go out in style when the meet kicks off Thursday at UW–Oshkosh.

“It’s the largest contingent that we’ve taken to the national meet for Chicago in total numbers,” head coach Chris Hall said.

Spearheading the men’s group, fourth-year Zach Rodgers will compete in the triple jump a year after finishing 11th in the decathlon. Sending four athletes to Wisconsin for the price of one, Chicago’s young 4x100 relay team, which consists of third-year Herman Reeves, second-years Blake Obuchowski and Patrick Offner, and first-year Keith Newhouse, also made the cut.

The women have two outdoor veterans on their side, as second-year Claire Ray and third-year Rachel Venezia return to NCAAs for the second year in a row in the discus and steeplechase, respectively. Joining Ray in the throwing events is second-year year Nicole Murphy. Fourth-year Myra Collins will compete in the long jump, and fellow senior Appie Hirve, who went to indoor NCAAs earlier this season for the triple jump, has qualified again in the same event.

Rounding out the record contingent, fourth-year Cynthia Lin will sprint in the 400-meter dash, while rookie Stephanie Omueti will represent Chicago in the 200 meter.

Among the Nationals-bound athletes, some Maroons, such as Ray and Murphy, have been expected to make trips to NCAAs all season long. Some, however, have come as more of a surprise. The men’s 4x100 relay sneaked in with a last-minute qualifying time at last weekend’s North Central Last Chance, as did Omueti.

“Looking at the group that’s going, I can tell you that from going into the outdoor season I don’t think we have any real surprises,” Hall said. “Maybe Cynthia. I think Cynthia was probably chasing different events before she adapted to the quarter mile. We would have predicted Rodgers to qualify in the decathlon, not the triple jump.”

“We have some freshmen in the national meet,” Hall continued, “and I don’t think you ever expect to have freshmen make it, just because of the adjustments they have to go through during the season.”

Just like indoor NCAAs, the outdoor championships are based entirely on individual qualification, and teams are not sent altogether. The top eight finishers in each event score points, and so having contenders in as many events as possible, or several contenders in one, is the key to team placement.

With a wide distribution of qualifiers, Chicago’s women are well-positioned to pick up points across the board. It won’t be easy, though; with just three athletes ranked in the top eight of their events, the Maroons would only pick up eight points if they finish according to seed.

At last year’s women’s championship, UW–Oshkosh won with 57 points, and 25 points was good enough to place in the top 10. With Chicago’s athletes all ranked sixth or worse, they’ll likely need to meet or beat their placements if the Maroons want to get a high national placement.

With six athletes qualified in four events, including two first-place seeds, the hosting Titans are likely to be among the top finishers this year as well. Calvin College, last year’s runner-up, placed team members in 10 events this time around and is also poised to come in at the front of the pack.

“I think that Chicago is going to be a national trophy team; I’m just not so sure that it’s going to be this year,” Hall said. “I’d like to see our women be perhaps a top-15 national team. I don’t think top 10 is out of the question, but in order to do that we’d need to have some really big performances.”

Sending athletes for only two events with neither seeded in the top 10, the Maroon men have a tougher road ahead if they want to get team recognition. Defending champion UW–La Crosse, which blew away the field with 99 points last spring, will compete in six events. The Eagles have established themselves as a D-III dynasty, with four titles in the past five years and 11 championships overall.

Yet, despite the inherent team focus on each side, Chicago’s athletes will also have a distinctly individual goal in mind. Out of the 20 or so qualifiers in each event, the top eight are named All-Americans. Ray was the only Maroon to earn the honor last spring, placing sixth in the discus.

“Everybody that’s going to the national meet has expectations of being an All-American, I’ll put it like that,” Hall said. “I don’t think we have anyone going who says, ̒'My goal is to be 10th or 12th.' We feel if we match our performances that got us into the national meet we’ll have All-American finishers. I expect all of them to have those goals.”

With only two full days in between Sunday’s NCAA selection and Wednesday’s departure for Wisconsin, the Maroons have little time to work on conditioning or technical finishing touches. The next few days will instead be a time for Chicago’s athletes to collect themselves before stepping onto the National stage.

“Everything’s been done at this point,” Hall said. “There’s nothing we can do to increase fitness levels or sharpen technique. Right now, it’s just about feeling good and knowing the competition best we can. Right now, it’s probably more of a mental thing than a physical one.”

Lin, Dayananda eliminated in NCAA round two

Tue, 20 May 2008 05:47:00 +0000

It was a busy Friday for third-year Vindya Dayananda and second-year Marissa Lin, but not quite busy enough if you ask the pair of women’s tennis stars.

Dayananda and Lin, Chicago’s representatives at the NCAA tournament this weekend, each won their opening matches Friday but could not advance past the round of 16 on the singles half. The tennis season would come to a close just hours later, as a first-round loss on the doubles side sent the Maroon contingent home.

Entering play with the sixth seed, Lin struggled early in her first match of the day, as Washington and Lee fourth-year Kelly Will took the first set 6–2. Lin, returning for her second-straight tournament appearance, countered with strong second and third sets, giving up just four games over that stretch to advance with a 2–6, 6–3, 6–1 win.

Dayananda, who appeared in the NCAA tournament two seasons ago, dominated her first set 6–0, but it wouldn’t be smooth sailing for Chicago’s co-captain.

Struggling to close out the match, Dayananda lost an early lead in the second set–allowing fourth-year Jessica Ruth of UC–Santa Cruz to tie it with a 7–5 win. Ruth’s momentum would carry her into the final set, as Dayananda soon found herself in a 5–0 hole, just one game from going home.

“I wasn’t discouraged; I was just determined to come back. It’s been done before,” Dayananda said. “At one point my opponent double-faulted, and that helped me get back into it.… The momentum completely shifted.”

Pushing the score out of her mind, Dayananda won seven straight games to win the match and move on to the round of 16.

“I was probably thinking, ‘If there was any time to play my game, it was now,’” Dayananda said.

The comeback secured Dayananda’s elite placement among the All-Americans for singles. Both she and Lin are All-Americans in singles and doubles from the fall’s Regional results.

The celebration, however, would be short-lived.

After a short respite, Lin struggled in her second-round match to Bowdoin fourth-year Kristen Raymond, falling in straight sets 6–0, 6–1. Dayananda found herself in a similar situation against Vassar second-year Nicole Pontee, dropping the first set 6–0 but battled back with a 6–3 win in the next set.

“I didn’t figure out how to play her until the second set. I played...more defensively, and she couldn’t play that game,” Dayananda said.

Pontee responded in the third set, however, winning the tie-breaker 7–5 and officially ending Chicago’s singles season.

Just 45 minutes later, Lin and Dayananda returned to the court for doubles action. After over five hours of play apiece, the pair met Mary Washington’s fourth-year Natalia Fulgate, who had not played singles, and third-year Rebecca Morse-Karzen, who had lost her first-round match.

“The wind was just so strong…. I had had two three-set matches, and it just caught up with me,” Dayananda said.

The Maroons stumbled through two sets, succumbing to the opposing duo 6–2, 6–3.

“We started out completely out of sync. We weren’t playing our best at all. It just wasn’t a good day for doubles,” Dayananda said. “We beat ourselves. We didn’t execute our strokes properly. It wasn’t what they did…. We weren’t doing what we did so well all season.”

Top-ranked Siobhan Finicane, a second-year from Pomona-Pitzer, played to her seed by winning the singles title, while Amherst College’s pair of second-year Brittany Berckes and fourth-year Alicia Menezes took the doubles crown.

Meanwhile, with both Dayananda and Lin returning with another class of recruits next season, the Maroons hope to build on this season with a follow-up NCAA berth next season.

“I’d love to go back,” Dayananda said.

McCarl beat injuries to set 8K mark

Tue, 20 May 2008 05:43:00 +0000

No one was surprised to see fourth-year Ryan McCarl toe the line at cross-country Nationals this fall. The Muskegon, MI, native established his running prowess long ago with impressive performances at conference and regional meets. Bolstering his NCAA credentials further, he competed at the 2005 national championships where Chicago’s men landed ninth in the nation, the highest team-finish in program history.

The only Maroon to race against the best of the best in 2007, McCarl was aiming for All-American honors and appeared to be within reach of the top 36 for the first half of the race. In the end, that Saturday simply was not McCarl’s day, and the wunderkind-turned–team stalwart fell back to finish 141st in a field of 240 while clocking in with a respectable 26:03 8K.

“While I’m glad I got to have the experience of competing at Nationals as an individual, there’s no doubt that it would have been more fun with teammates along,” McCarl said. “The experience of racing alone really drove home the lesson that it’s a team sport, and a lot of the motivation to race well comes from a desire to help out your teammates.”

McCarl’s commitment to the concept of distance running as a group endeavor is somewhat impressive, given his immense talent, his career-long status as a key component of the men’s cross-country program, and the tendency of the uninitiated (and, perhaps, the deluded) to view cross-country as a lonely sport.

With an extraordinary prep background, McCarl came to the University already poised to do great things.

“Ryan was the best recruit in program history,” head coach Chris Hall said. “He had the fastest two-mile time we’ve ever recruited. He placed ninth at the cross-country state championships during his senior year, and many of his personal records were truly phenomenal.”

Yet, McCarl, who will receive a joint B.A.–M.A. degree in International Relations next month, was reticent about a collegiate career. Like most student-athletes in the College, Chicago’s academic reputation drew McCarl to Hyde Park. Only after enthusiastic persuasion from Hall did the then-hesitant prospie join what during his rookie season would become the best squad in program history. In the end, he found that training with a group, which included 2006 Rhodes Scholar Nick Juravich (A.B. ’06), offered both intellectual and physical stimulation.

“Ryan was definitely very focused on his studies and concerned that athletic demands would make him cut corners academically,” Hall said. “But I don’t think that ever happened during his time here.”

“I learned at least as much from having political and philosophical discussions with my teammates during long runs and at Pierce dinners as I ever did in class,” McCarl said.

While balancing class and athletic commitments proved to be less of an issue than expected, McCarl’s true kryptonite during his collegiate tenure was a long-standing propensity for injury. Benched during his senior year of high school by a persistent stress-fracture in his lower left leg, McCarl has been forced to sit out several track and field campaigns with similar injuries. While he was able to compete during every cross-country season, a bout of heat stroke during his first-year conference race pushed him to the sidelines at 2004 NCAAs, where Chicago’s men placed 16th.

“Training Ryan has been like walking on egg shells almost every day,” Hall said. “I think it’s because he’s so talented, he can come in, not in the greatest shape, and do some really impressive things. Plus, he’s so competitive. This combines and leads him to run above his fitness level, and he gets hurt.”

Hall also makes the conjecture that McCarl’s frequent, prescribed absences hampered his ability to comfortably lead the men’s contingent during his final cross-country season, but the Maroons’ resident comeback kid hit his stride during the winter term, which ended in conference gold for Chicago’s men and women.

“Heading the team during his senior year seemed to be a little awkward, at first,” Hall said. “But he really got going and guided our youngest runners during the indoor season.”

Chicago, which takes pride in assembling a diverse and passionate student body, seems to have done well by the diversely passionate McCarl, who will work for a civil liberties lawyer in Cambridge, MA, following commencement. Despite the bumps and bruises along the way, McCarl, who points to his program-record-breaking 8K at the 2007 Regional meet and his expedited M.A. as his greatest accomplishments to date, relished his years in Hyde Park, where he seems to have embodied the ideal of the scholar-athlete.

“I was proud of the way the team competed during each of my years at the U of C. Each season was fun in its own way, and I learned a lot from my teammates and coach each year,” McCarl said.`

A closer look at All-Maroons MVP candidates

Tue, 20 May 2008 05:41:00 +0000

Ellie Elgamal

No matter the strength of the competition, women’s swimming could count on a strong showing in a couple races, the 100- and 200-yard butterfly―first-year Ellie Elgamal's signature events. Elgamal took on the role of team leader in her first meet for Chicago, when she won the 200 fly and chopped more than four seconds off the school record.

That was just the beginning for Elgamal, who maintained her record-breaking pace all season. She again reset the standard for the 200 butterfly while breaking her own mark in the 100 fly three times. Her breakthrough year landed her a spot at Nationals, where she took home All-American honorable mention for her 15th-place effort in the 100 fly.

Elgamal’s individual accomplishments should not overshadow her contributions to the team. Her achievements have attracted new recruits and helped the team to a fifth place finish at the conference meet, the best in program history.

Appie Hirve

Last season as a third-year, Appie Hirve, along with the rest of the Maroons, followed the lead of a core of fourth-years. This year, on a squad that won the UAA title for the indoor season and has seven members headed for outdoor nationals, Hirve, a Maroon staffer, was someone to watch out for.

During the winter, Hirve started hitting the provisional qualifying standard for the triple jump in mid-February, leaving her with a month to improve her distance and make the final cut for Nationals. A week after her second-place showing in the triple jump and bronze effort in the long jump helped the team win the Association crown, Hirve was the only Maroon to compete at NCAAs.

At the national championship, her distance of 11.45 meters in the triple jump took fourth in a field of 16, good for All-American honors. Hirve is headed to outdoor Nationals for the triple jump this weekend, this time with six of her teammates in tow. Beside defending her previous All-American title, she’ll be trying to help her team win national recognition.

Will Zhang

With a 14–8 mark in singles play, first-year Will Zhang recieved the UAA’s Rookie of the Year award and was named an NCAA alternate. But there’s more to Zhang’s achievements this year than can be seen in the statistics.

Zhang got his first taste of collegiate tennis against D-I Northwestern, where he posted the Maroons’ only win of the match. A few weeks later, Zhang faced the son of five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg, UW–Whitewater second-year Robin Borg. Zhang dispatched Borg in straight sets, pushing a fast-paced game against his bigger opponent to win 6–4, 6–4 at first singles.

While the victories at Northwestern and UW–Whitewater gave Zhang a boost for the season, the best was yet to come for the rookie. In early March, Zhang got to take on Wash U second-year John Watts, then the nation’s top-ranked D-III player. With a 6–4, 6–4 win, Zhang downed Watts as the Maroons split solos play.

Nate Hainje

Noted rapper-philosopher Snoop Dogg once said, “Drop it like it’s hot.” Fourth-year forward Nate Hainje must have taken those words to heart, as his clutch shooting and versatile play carried the Maroons to a second-straight UAA title and NCAA tournament berth.

After the Maroons started the season 3–4 and then found themselves the middle of the UAA pack with a 5–3 conference record, Hainje shouldered much of the burden down the stretch. He recorded double-doubles in five of the Maroons’ final seven games, helping the South Siders to a six-game winning streak to close out conference play and guarantee another conference title win.

Hainje’s senior season came to close with a full stat sheet, as the UAA Player of the Year was the only player in the conference to finish in the top ten in scoring (fourth, 16 points per game), rebounding (fourth, 7.5), and assists (ninth, 3.4). He also shot 50 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point territory.

Leading the Maroons in rebounding nineteen times this season, the 6-foot-5 Indiana native also paced the Maroons in scoring nine times this year, eight of those performances coming during conference play.

Ryan McCarl

During a down year for men’s cross country, fourth-year Ryan McCarl went way up. McCarl, who has also competed in track and field, highlighted this fall’s cross-country squad, turning in the best time for the Maroons in every meet in which he participated and eventually qualifying for the D-III National Championships.

Showing his talent early on, McCarl was the runner-up at the season-opening Earlybird Invitational at Elmhurst College, where he finished just three seconds behind the top runner.

The impressive results continued all season for McCarl, with perhaps his best day coming at the Midwest Regional Championship in November. There, he placed seventh overall with a time of 24:32, the best 8K time in Maroon history and a considerable improvement over his 56th-place showing in the same race as a third-year.

McCarl concluded his Chicago cross country career on the biggest stage of all, the D-III Championships. The lone Maroon qualifier, McCarl finished in the middle of the pack with a time of 26:03.

Marissa Lin and Vindya Dayananda

While inconsistency in the lower rankings caused women’s tennis some problems this season, the Maroons’ one-two punch of second-year Marisa Lin and third-year Vindya Dayananda hung tough through injuries to make Chicago competitive. Posting respective singles records of 24–4 and 17–5, the duo’s abilities kept the South Siders in close matches and led the way to a fourth-place finish at UAAs, where Dayananda was named to the All-UAA first team.

Dominant from the beginning of the year to the end, the pair, who together posted a 20–8 doubles mark, opened with a fourth-place doubles showing at the ITA Small College Championships in October, with Lin taking a third in singles. They concluded their season last weekend at NCAAs, where they competed in both doubles and singles action. Across the nation, only 32 singles players and 16 doubles-duos are selected for Nationals. The players made both made it to the Sweet 16 in individual play, but were knocked in the first round of doubles action by a tandem from the University of Mary Washington.

Lin, Dayananda prep for tennis NCAAs

Fri, 16 May 2008 04:31:00 +0000

With months of training and competition in the books, the women’s tennis team’s elite duo will head to the NCAA tournament this weekend in a bid at national glory.

Repeating previous showings at Nationals, second-year Marissa Lin and third-year All-American Vindya Dayananda will be the only representatives from their team to head out to the courts at Gustavus Adolphus College. Lasting from Friday until Sunday, the tournament will see the two Maroon players compete in both the singles and doubles brackets, facing off against the toughest competition in the division.

“It has been a really strong year by both of them,” head coach Marty Perry said. “Any time you can make the NCAA cuts in singles, you know you have a good season. They had a really excellent year, definitely a year to be proud.”

This weekend marks the first time Lin and Dayananda will head into the National spotlight together, although they had individual showings in 2007 and 2006, respectively. Over the season, Lin compiled a 23–3 record in singles play, and keeping pace with her partner, Dayananda accumulated a 16–4 singles record.

With each athlete losing only one singles match since mid-February, the two have powered through the spring season. Their momentum has held in both singles and doubles competition, as the two have fought their way to a 20–7 record. They are now poised for big individual wins this weekend.

“It’s really great to be here with Marissa,” Dayananda said. “Coming with your doubles partner means you have each other to work with and talk with. It’s good company.”

Wrapping up their regular season schedule in late April, both players have been training intensely to prepare for this event. Coach Perry’s main goal for the pair has been to maintain their level of play in the period between UAAs and Nationals. Practices have continued under Perry, where the girls have split their time between singles and doubles play.

“We’ve been trying to get as many hours on the court as possible,” Dayananda said. “Mostly it’s been basic work, nothing special. We’ve been doing everything we can to finish stuff up and keep it at the same level.”

Hitting has been a main theme in practices, with both players working to keep their stroke in shape. While match play is a critical part of any competitive training program, it has been difficult with practices officially coming to a close. Playing with members of the men’s and women’s teams, Lin and Dayananda have kept their game in peak performance.

“Both players will be pretty rested, although their opponents will have had more matches in the last few weeks. That first day, you need to win two singles matches and then doubles right after. We played enough, hit enough, and hopefully are fresh enough to win those,” Perry said.

While Lin and Dayananda have enjoyed an impressive season within their region, NCAAs will dish out some tough opponents from the opening serve. First up for Lin is Washington-and Lee fourth-year Kelly Will. Having won the Team Championship title last year, Washington and Lee has one of the most dominant programs in the nation. Will, who dominated her championship match 6–1 and 6–2 last spring, is a leading member of this squad and a formidable face across the net for Lin.

On the other side of the bracket, Dayananda will face fourth-year Jessica Ruth of UC–Santa Cruz. Ranked as the third-best singles player in the West Conference, Ruth has lost only one match during the entire season.

After the morning singles bouts, the duo will move into the doubles brackets. Their first opponent is University of Mary Washington, represented by third-years Natalie Fugate and Rebecca Morse-Karzen. Morse-Karzen made it to the second round of last year’s doubles bracket, while Fugate boasted a 14–7 singles record, the highest on the team. If they triumph in round one, the Maroons will likely have to overcome teams from first-ranked Washington and Lee, UAA champion Emory, and Amherst on the way to the finals.

Now that training has given way to trial, both players will find themselves staring down the best of the best.

“It is a real opportunity to be out here—quite exciting, really,” Dayananda said. “All we can hope for is to play our best. No matter what happens, it’s definitely been fun.”

Three-sport Mojidi fueled women’s hoops’ rise to top of UAA

Fri, 16 May 2008 04:29:00 +0000

When Nofi Mojidi arrived on campus as a first-year in September 2004, the women’s basketball team was coming off a 10–15 season, during which it finished next to last in the UAA. That was the third losing season in a row for a program that hadn’t made the postseason in a decade and hadn’t won a share of the conference title since the late 1980s.

In case that wasn’t enough, at the team’s first meeting that fall, then–head coach Jennifer Kroll announced that she was resigning, meaning current–head coach Aaron Roussell had to take over as interim coach just before the season began. Roussell himself had only arrived at Chicago a few weeks prior.

The chance to take on such a challenge, though, was exactly what attracted Mojidi to Chicago.

“I knew I was joining a program where we’d have to build the team from the ground up, because we were, in terms of record, seven out of eight,” Mojidi said, “so that attracted me, knowing I could come here and make an immediate difference, an immediate impact.”

Four years later, it’s probably fair to say that Mojidi made an impact. She was named to the All–UAA teams every year—twice to the first team—and finished second on Chicago’s all-time points list, second in field goals, and second in steals. The team had a winning record for all four of her seasons and, this winter, won the conference outright before making a run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAAs.

But life at Chicago wasn’t all basketball for Mojidi. She also ran sprints for the track and field team, and holds or held school records in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400-meter splits, 4x100 meters, 4x200 meters, and 4x400 meters. All told, an impressive career for someone who wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a Maroon.

Mojidi, who grew up in Silver Spring, MD, started getting recruiting letters from the school while still an underclassman in high school. After a knee injury junior year derailed her plans to play DI, Mojidi got out her old letters from Chicago and started considering the school. Her mother, who had applied to the College herself, encouraged Mojidi, but the school didn’t click for her right away.

“My first two visits, it was rainy, cold; I didn’t really see anyone on campus. There was that U of C mentality in full swing,” Mojidi said.

But on the third visit, the school worked its charm.

“It was bright, sunny, everybody was out, and to see that atmosphere let me know that I could probably survive on a campus like this,” Mojidi said.

Once she arrived, Mojidi didn’t waste any time establishing herself as a diaper-dandy. Starting all 25 games her first year, she was the team’s third-leading scorer, putting up almost 12 points a game.

“She brought an exciting style of play,” Roussell said. “She brought a sense of flash to our team and to our league.”

Usually the fastest player on the court, Mojidi could often be seen pushing the ball up court, sprinting on fast breaks, or weaving around defenders in the lane. And even though her shots weren’t always pretty, she had a nose for scoring and a knack for getting improbable looks to drop.

Even this year, after undergoing knee surgery in the off-season, Mojidi regularly created fast breaks and, while dribbling, easily outran defenders.

“When I get the ball I have a scorer’s mentality,” Mojidi said. “I know something needs to get done in terms of making things happen. So whenever I go into the game, [Coach Roussell] will look at me on the sideline and say, ‘All right, time to make things happen.’”

Mojidi came to Chicago with that speed and flash, but during her college career, she developed other talents to complement her natural ability.

“Her first year she was a phenomenal athlete,” Roussell said. “Over time, she really honed her basketball skills and got to be more fundamentally sound.”

Those improvements started to show themselves on the court at Ratner. Mojidi became one of the team’s top outside threats and posted one of the UAA’s top field-goal percentages her final two years.

And the “oohs” and “ahhs” Mojidi created here started getting attention elsewhere. In April 2007, Sports Illustrated featured Mojidi in its “Faces in the Crowd” column, a regular feature on lower-profile athletes.

The Nigerian basketball team took notice, as well. Mojidi moved to the United States from the country when she was young but is still a citizen. When the national team heard about her success, she was invited to try out for Nigeria’s Olympic squad.

Unfortunately, a nagging knee injury prevented Mojidi from completing the tryouts. She toughed it out during her third year, but the injury finally caught up with her, and Mojidi had to have surgery.

After the surgery, Mojidi was told she would have to miss the first couple of months of this basketball season.

Sitting on a bench would have been a trial for the player whom fourth-year guard Lori Tanaka said “never quits no matter what the circumstances.”

“I once remember her at Wash U, hunched over a garbage can during the game and still went out and competed,” Tanaka said.
So when the Maroons opened their 2007–2008 campaign at home against Concordia, it was no surprise to see Mojidi in the starting lineup.

Months later, after a 22-win season—one of the best in program history—Mojidi is moving on but staying close by. This summer, she’ll start working downtown for Northwestern Mutual Financial. Her time as a Maroon, as well as all she and her class did for the basketball program won’t be far from her mind.

“This is something that will be talked about for years and years to come,” Mojidi said, “and to know that I was a part of that, that changing the swing of things, that really means a lot.”

Haskell wins national title for cycling

Fri, 16 May 2008 04:27:00 +0000

The University of Chicago Velo Club (cycling) may not be the best-known team on campus, and they may not even have the title of “varsity sport.” They do, however, have something other teams on campus don’t have—a national title.

On Saturday, economics graduate student Devon Haskell took home the national championship at the D-II road race, dominating the field in Fort Collins, CO. Haskell, along with her teammates, economics graduate student Aspen Gorry and anthropology graduate student Carly Schuster, qualified for the race by earning enough points at the conference championships. The trio took on the rolling hills of Colorado, and Haskell came away with her first national title.

After the first climb, the pack started to break up, and Haskell established her place among the five pace-setting racers. She made her break from the front six miles from the finish and never looked back, crossing the line for first with 24 seconds to spare. Taking the gold marked an improvement from a third-place effort in last year’s race in Lawrence, KS.

“I’ve been training all season with this race as a priority,” Haskell said. “The road race turned out to be a challenging course with strong winds, long and steep climbs (which you can’t find anywhere in Chicago), and tough competition. [The win] was definitely a highlight of my cycling career.”

While Gorry and Schuster weren’t able to join Haskell among the top finishers, they completed their races successfully and earned valuable experience in their first appearance at nationals. They didn’t have much time to rest, and Haskell was unable to savor her victory because the next day the three were back on the bikes and competing in the D-II Criterium race.

Shorter and usually held on closed-off city streets, the Criterium featured a much tighter race. Gorry and Schuster both turned in solid performances, with Schuster finishing in a strong position and Gorry among the pack. Haskell was again at the front of the race, this time taking fourth. No clear break occurred in the Criterium, and Haskell ended up being part of a mad dash for first.

Combining the points from her results in the road race and the Criterium, Haskell wrapped up the weekend tied for first in the ominium classification but had to settle for second overall. Taking runner-up honors bumped her up from last year’s fourth-place standing.

The strong showing at nationals by Haskell, Gorry, and Schuster is a sweet end to a successful season that included a Midwest Collegiate Conference championship for the Maroons. Haskell’s individual title is the second of its kind for the velo club; the first came when Todd Yefezski won the Criterium race in 2005.

This is an especially amazing accomplishment given the difficult competition at nationals, where powerhouse programs are able to qualify more riders with their large budgets. Chicago’s cyclists, on the other hand, are part of a club sport that gets the majority of its funding through donations and sponsorships. In addition, riders have to balance the rigorous demands of academic pursuits with a world-class training schedule.

“I have a great coach, Brian Conant, who helps me keep a manageable workout schedule that fits in well with a grad student’s agenda,” Haskell said. “My training actually provides me a good balance with my studies.”

Haskell will continue to train and compete in races over the summer, but for now the Velo Club’s focus is on this Saturday’s Monsters of the Midway Criterium, when the UCVC will play host.

The race, which attracts over 400 participants from the Chicago area, has been organized by the club every year since 1993 and perhaps earlier. The one-day event, which takes place on a 1.1-mile rectangle around the Midway, features categories for all ages and skill. The youngest competitors fall between 10 and 12 years old, and the oldest bracket is from 60 to 69, while the experience ranges all the way up to the professional level.

The Monsters of the Midway competition gives UCVC riders an opportunity to compete without traveling, as well as to gauge how the young riders are progressing.

The first race will start at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Midway Plaisance between Ellis and Dorchester Avenues.

Reliving the year's top plays

Fri, 16 May 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Bontz is bad news for Bears

When 10th-ranked Wash U rolled into town to take on women's soccer for the final game of the regular season, the Bears got to play with the comfort of knowing they had their fourth UAA title locked up and a spot in the playoffs. The Maroons had no such luxury.

On the bubble for NCAAs, Chicago needed a win over its St. Louis rivals to make the postseason. The Bears took a 1–0 lead late in the first half, and it looked like it was going to be enough for a W.

Then, with 15 minutes left in the game, second-year forward Brooke Bontz evened things up with a shot to the upper 90 from 20 yards out. Just seven minutes later, she netted the game winner, finishing up the late comeback that she started and icing Chicago’s playoff bid.

Walk it out: Lenson smashes first home run

A walk-off home run is news any day of the week. But a walk-off grand slam ranks as one of the year's top moments.

In a back-and-forth game with North Park, the Maroons had regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth, but second-year second baseman Jill Lenson put an end to the seesaw game with one swing of the bat.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Lenson took first-year starter Tatum Sexton deep for the first homer of her career. The slam capped a seven-run rally that ushered in the mercy rule and a 13–5 victory for Chicago.

Hainje comes through as Mr. Clutch  

Ahead of Wash U by only a point, with under a minute remaining in the UAA Championships, the Maroons needed a score to ensure that the Bears couldn't end Chicago's playoff hopes with a final shot at the buzzer. Feeding the ball to fourth-year forward Nate Hainje in the senior's final home game, second-year point guard Jake Pancratz knew he'd set up the right play.

“Once I got him the ball, I knew, everyone on the team knew he was going to hit that shot,” Pancratz said.  Draining a clutch three-pointer with 49 seconds to go, Hainje made it a two-possession game and virtually ensured the win for Chicago, sending the Maroons to their second straight NCAA appearance and giving them outright ownership of the conference crown that they had to share with Wash U last year.

The dunk

With the UAA schedule one game old, the Maroons found themselves needing to regroup after a 76–50 blowout loss to Wash U. Third-year guard Matt Corning thought he would do his part against Case Western from above the rim.

After a Chicago basket gave the Maroons a four-point lead less than ten minutes into the contest, Corning stole a pass to the wing, blew past the remaining defenders, and dunked the ball with authority while getting fouled.

“When push comes to shove, I think that there were a lot of good plays made when we made shots,” head coach Mike McGrath said after the game. “That one just stood out a little bit.”

While McGrath was ready to downplay the dunk, some Chicago fans packed into the stands that night had been waiting a long time to see a Maroon slam one in at Ratner. When Corning made his move, the crowd went into hysterics at the rare piece of showmanship at the D-III level.

Zhang topples D-III's best

On February 23, first-year Will Zhang had to be carted off the court after suffering a full-body cramp in his match against Wabash. Eight days later, he was cleaning the court with the division's top-ranked singles player.

After getting swept on the doubles side of their March 2 contest with Wash U, the Maroons looked to their young first-singles player for a bright spot in what would end in a 6–3 loss. To do so, Zhang would have to defeat the number-one ranked John Watts. Zhang not only got the best of the now NCAA-bound Watts, he breezed by him. He took the match in straight sets, defeating Watts 6–4, 6–4.

“I think that going into the match, I actually felt less pressure to win because of how highly ranked he was,” Zhang said. “I felt like having a shot at the best would be fun, and it was…. Obviously, the win was my biggest one in D-III, and I was really glad I could play at that silly level and help my team out against a tough rival team.”

Sports Short: Trio of Maroons grab UAA recognition

Fri, 16 May 2008 04:22:00 +0000

As the spring season draws to a close, Chicago has claimed three UAA Athletes of the Week for the second straight time as Maroons from three different squads netted the honor.

After blasting a game-winning home run in his last at bat as a South Sider, fourth-year Dominik Meyer took home the league’s recognition for baseball. The solo shot gave Chicago a 3–2 win over Illinois Institute of Technology as the squad finished its season with an 11–17 record. The designated hitter batted a team-leading .352 this season, also topping the squad’s leaderboards with a .466 slugging percentage and 17 RBI.

With track and field competing waiting to hear if any of its athletes have made the NCAA cut, representatives from both the men’s and women’s sides were given the Athlete of the Week nod.

A near lock for Nationals, second-year Claire Ray tossed a 46.23-meter discus over the weekend at the Penultimate Invite hosted by Chicago last weekend, posting the eighth-best throw in all of DIII this season. Ray, who earned All-American status at last year’s outdoor NCAAs, is also provisionally qualified in the hammer throw.

Also standing at eighth on the National leaderboards, fourth-year Zach Rodgers made the NCAA provisional qualifying standard with a triple jump of 14.32 meters at Haydon Track. Rodgers is seeking his second straight National bid, after an 11th-place finish in the decathlon last spring left him just short of All-American honors.

Sports Short: WAA honors female athletes

Fri, 16 May 2008 04:19:00 +0000

The Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) hosted its 104th annual awards banquet Tuesday night at the International House, where athletes celebrated their 2007–2008 seasons by receiving awards and certificates and enjoying a three-course meal.

The presentation of awards was preceded and followed by remarks by current WAA president Eva DeLaurentiis and was complemented by entertainment provided both by a team (the softball team performed an amusing skit) and an individual (first-year sprinter Jordan Dexter sang Anna Nalik’s “Breathe”).

Team MVP awards were presented to second-year midfielder Claire Gill, fourth-year cross-country runner Hannah Moots, fourth-year middle-hitter Koryn Kendall, first-year swimmer Ellie Elgamal, fourth-year guard Nofi Mojidi, fourth-year jumper Appie Hirve, first-year tennis player Chrissy Hu, third-year shortstop Jen Jacobson, and second-year thrower Claire Ray.

The Gertrude Dudley Medal, given to an outstanding fourth-year for her leadership and skill, and the Patricia R. Kirby Multi-Sport Athlete Award, given to the fourth-year who earned the most varsity letters, were both awarded to Mojidi, who earned 10 varsity letters during her athletic career at Chicago; she received four in basketball, four in indoor track and field, and two in outdoor track and field. Additionally, she was a four-time basketball All-UAA selection and a five-time UAA track-and-field champion.

The May Jean Mulvaney Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to the fourth-year with the highest third-year and fourth-year grade point averages who has earned at least three varsity letters, was given to fourth-year catcher and designated hitter Vanessa Pineros.

The Edith Ballwebber Awards, given to members of each class for their contributions to the athletic program by the Graduate Women’s Athletic Association, were awarded to first-years Elgamal and defender Claire Denz, second-year guard Jamie Stinson, third-year defender and swimmer Callie Brown, and fourth-years DeLaurentiis and Moots.

The fourth-years who competed all years of eligibility with at least three years in one sport and earned at least three major letters (one during their fourth year) were presented with blankets adorned with stars representing each sport they played and denoting if they were also captain. As per tradition, the two current WAA vice-presidents draped the proud fourth-years with the blanket like a cape as the crowd applauded.

The banquet concluded with a video slideshow featuring candid and posed pictures of members of each of the teams, including a special section set to upbeat and sentimental music honoring all of the fourth-years and celebrating their four years spent as University of Chicago varsity athletes.