Author Archives: sportsinfo

Athletes of the Month

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Proof that it takes all sizes in sports, Muhlenberg’s top athletes for January 2013 are separated by about a foot-and-a-half in height.

Female Athlete of the Month – Stephanie Carnevale, Track & Field

Carnevale set one school record and neared another one in three January meets. She shattered an eight-year-old record in the 55-meter hurdles while finishing first at the Muhlenberg Invitational and came within six hundredths of a second of the mark in the 55 meters. Her hurdles time was the 10th-fastest in Division III at the end of the month. Carnevale also finished fifth in the 55 hurdles at the season-opening Kutztown Invitational

Male Athlete of the Month – Kevin Hargrove, Basketball

Hargrove averaged 13.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots while shooting 59.8 percent from the field in nine games, helping the Mules go 5-3 in the Centennial Conference (5-4 overall). He started the month by recording a triple-double (12 points, 13 rebounds, 10 blocks) against McDaniel, and in the second-to-last game of January, he became Muhlenberg’s all-time leader in blocked shots. Hargrove also scored a career-high 24 points in an overtime loss at Gettysburg.

 

Super Bowl Preview

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For the third straight year, we asked Muhlenberg athletes with a local rooting interest to break down the Super Bowl. This year, Dani Beiser, a freshman on the field hockey team from Cupertino, Calif., takes the 49ers side, and Terrence Dandridge, a senior on the football team from Baltimore, represents the Ravens.

It’s worth noting that the first two times we did this, the female athletes’s team won:

2012 Giants vs. Patriots /2012/02/05/super-bowl-preview/
 
How far do you live from your team’s home stadium?
DB: About a half hour south of Candlestick Park.
TD: 25 minutes.
 
How many games have you gone to?
DB: A few every season, tickets are hard to get.
TD: 4.
 
On a scale of 1 to 10, how big of a fan are you?
DB: Probably an 8. Love watching and love the team but I know there are many more diehard fans.
TD: 10.
 
How do you feel about Colin Kaepernick and Ray Lewis?
DB: Colin Kaepernick is a young new leader for the Niners and brings an element of surprise and great energy to the team. He also is talented at reading the field which makes him really hard to defend.
TD: I would rather have a veteran almost-retired linebacker like Ray Lewis because he has an in-depth analysis of the game and is such a great motivator on the team to help other players perform well at the professional level.
 
Are you doing anything special for the game?
DB: Hanging out and watching with friends.
TD: I’m having a Super Bowl party with my friends at school.
 
Who wins and what’s the score?
DB: Niners obviously win 28-24!
TD: 24-20 Ravens win.

 

Empowering the Next Generation

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Devon Barber, a senior field hockey and softball player at Muhlenberg, writes about a special event on campus last weekend.

Female coaches, mentors, and student-athletes from the Centennial Conference arrived at Muhlenberg this past Friday night for the Snell-Shillingford Coaching Symposium. The symposium is designed to educate young female athletes on the history of women in sports, acknowledge the importance of their accomplishments thus far, and empower them to continue their work professionally, whether that entails becoming a coach, administrator, or simply an advocate for the continuation of women’s athletics in our own communities.

Most of the athletes stayed in a hotel close by, but Alexandra Franck, Alex Bellini, Katy Mitton and I had the luxury of strolling into the first night with confidence in knowing that “Haas” is not an indication of a person excessively exhaling, and “Ettinger” [a building on campus] and “Eddinger” [head field hockey coach Megan] are indeed of different substance. After congregating for a quick introductory meal, we moved to the Friedman Family Conference room where the presentations began.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the presentations we experienced this weekend:

“Many Hats of Coaching:” Communicated by Muhlenberg’s own Alexa Keckler (head volleyball coach), athletes were educated on the different roles they will play if they are to become coaches, including specific advice associated with each role. The purpose was not to scare female athletes away from the profession, but rather prepare them for the many positions they will be asked to fill.

Did you know that female coaches are not only coaches, but they’re motivators, counselors, referees, artists, drill sergeants, mentors, P.R. extraordinaires, social directors, travel agents, lawyers, managers, fundraisers, jesters and humans all at the same time!? Whose head is spinning?

“Understanding Title IX and Its History:” This presentation was given by Amy Wilson, an individual who has worked closely with nationally recognized Title IX expert Dr. Christine Grant on gender equity issues in intercollegiate sport. Title IX, as most people know, is a law that was passed in 1972 by President Nixon, which states that “no person in the United States, shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Although seemingly straightforward, Wilson reminds us that there are many little-known socio-historical factors that led up to the passage of this law and the history of its enforcement was a long, rollercoaster of a process. Yet today, Title IX is recognized as the source that changed the history of sports forever and allowed women to be relatively on the same playing field as men in athletics (no pun intended).

“Developing Your Coaching Philosophy:” As one of the last we experienced, this presentation allowed us to delve into our own values in order to determine what kind of coaches, administrators, mentors or advocates we are/may be in the future. The first step in developing a coaching philosophy, we learned, is to get to know ourselves: what rules do you live by? What can you control and what can’t you control? What coaches have shaped you and how?

Next, we learned that we should take a look into our objectives: why do you want to coach? What makes a good coach? What is your definition of success? Lastly, we had to get to know our context: What level do you want to coach? What position do you want to hold? What are the aims and philosophies of your school/conference organization? With the answers to these questions, student-athletes were able to have a better understanding of their own hopes and beliefs, which in turn, facilitates the development of a solid, personal coaching philosophy.

All in all, the experience was one that not only informed me about the steps it takes in potentially becoming a great coach, but also the steps it takes into becoming a better athlete and person. It was great to move off the field and meet people from our conference that may be opponents during the season, but are fun and interesting athletes who are strikingly similar to me (emphasis on the fun, if that’s the case).

I greatly appreciated the coaches and mentors for taking the time out to inform us/entertain us/cater to our cuisine-based needs throughout the entire weekend. I think Alexandra, Alex and Katy would agree with me in promoting this symposium to Muhlenberg female athletes for next year. If sports are a big part of your life, like mine, the benefits you can receive from this symposium are beyond what you could even imagine.

Think about it! If knowledge is power and influence is a snowball, this symposium can pump out a pretty awesome snow-based super-crew of talented, and well-informed, female coaches. But I digress …

 

 

Writer’s Blocks

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The last three Centennial Conference players of the year are in Kevin Hargrove’s book. So are a Division I player and a set of brothers.

The 6-10 junior center became the Muhlenberg men’s basketball team’s all-time leader in blocked shots on Saturday. With 171 blocks and more than a full season left to play, Hargrove is in position to put plenty of distance between himself and Mark Lesko ’02 (a former CC player of the year). He also can move up the all-time CC list, on which he is currently in sixth place, just two away from moving into the top five.

Currently the fifth-leading shot-blocker in Division III, Hargrove has amassed his 171 blocks against 107 different players on 25 teams. More important than the shots he blocks, however, are those he influences, either by causing a shooter to change his motion or by making opponents think twice about coming near him. It’s no coincidence that when Hargrove’s been at his shot-blocking best, his freshman year and this season, opponents are shooting .395 and .394, respectively, against the Mules. Last year, opponents shot .421.

But they don’t keep stats on shots influenced, just shots blocked. So here’s a breakdown of Hargrove’s first 171 blocked shots:

by site

  • home – 94 in 33 games (2.85 average)
  • away – 57 in 27 games (2.11 average)
  • neutral – 20 in 7 games (2.86 average)

by game type

  • Centennial Conference regular season – 109 in 45 games (2.42 average)
  • Centennial Conference playoff – 7 in 2 games (3.50 average)
  • Scotty Wood Tournament -12 in 6 games (2.00 average)
  • other – 43 in 14 games (3.07 average)

by game result

  • Muhlenberg wins – 94 in 39 (2.41 average)
  • Muhlenberg losses – 77 in 28 (2.75 average)

by Muhlenberg record

  • 0 blocks – 0-5
  • 1 block – 18-5
  • 2 blocks – 7-4
  • 3 blocks – 6-6
  • 4 blocks – 5-1
  • 5 blocks – 1-4
  • 6 blocks – 0-2
  • 7 blocks – n/a
  • 8 blocks – n/a
  • 9 blocks – 1-0
  • 10 blocks – 1-1

by result of blocked shot

  • defensive rebound – 100 (58.5 percent)
  •    by Hargrove himself – 42
  •    by Muhlenberg teammate – 54
  •    off opponent out of bounds – 4
  • offensive rebound – 71 (41.5 percent)
  •    blocked out of bounds – 35
  •    live rebound by opponent – 36

by time into game (5 fastest)

  • 12 seconds vs. Haverford, Jan. 27, 2011
  • 16 seconds vs. Franklin & Marshall Feb. 6, 2011
  • 51 seconds vs. Haverford, Feb. 16, 2011
  • 1:13 vs. Immaculata, Nov. 19, 2011
  • 1:14 vs. Johns Hopkins, Jan. 29, 2011

by opponent (top 10)

  • McDaniel – 19 (5 games)
  • Franklin & Marshall – 16 (5 games)
  • Swarthmore – 16 (4 games)
  • Dickinson – 14 (5 games)
  • Johns Hopkins – 14 (6 games)
  • DeSales – 13 (2 games)
  • Washington – 12 (6 games)
  • Moravian – 10 (2 games)   
  • Gettysburg – 9 (6 games)
  • Haverford – 9 (5 games)

by opposing player (4 or more)

  • Will Gates, Swarthmore – 6
  • Georgio Milligan, Franklin & Marshall – 5
  • George Bugarinovic, Johns Hopkins – 4
  • Jordan Federer, Swarthmore – 4
  • Matt Harte, Wentworth Tech – 4 (all in one game)
  • Brian Hunter, DeSales – 4 (all in one game)
  • Jay Kober, Swarthmore – 4
  • Jon Ward, Ursinus – 4

note: In addition to Milligan, Hargrove recorded blocked shots against CC players of the year James McNally of F&M (1) and Andrew Powers of Gettysburg (3).

miscellaneous

  • Hargrove has had two blocks on the same possession four times (once against the same player)
  • Twice (vs. Franklin & Marshall as a freshman and vs. McDaniel this season), Hargrove blocked shots on three straight possessions. In the McDaniel game, the three blocks came 36 seconds apart.
  • Hargrove’s first career block came against Moravian’s Chris Cullen. He recorded two blocks against his younger brother Cameron Cullen, also of Moravian, last month.

 

Taking the Plunge

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For the past two years, NCAA Division III has been engaged in a partnership with Special Olympics. According to the NCAA website, the purpose of the partnership is to improve the lives of Special Olympics athletes through their involvement with Division III student-athletes and to foster a mutual learning experience between Division III student-athletes and Special Olympics athletes.

Last Saturday, three members of the Muhlenberg baseball team went to extreme – as in extremely cold – lengths to support the Special Olympics. One of them, junior outfielder Nick Gazzillo, describes the experience.

“Cold? Cold doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

These were the words of sophomore pitcher Matt Clarke after coming out of the freezing Easton River this past Saturday. Clarke, along with myself and junior infielder Nick Kennedy, represented the Muhlenberg baseball team and Muhlenberg College Athletics as a whole at the first-ever Polar Bear Plunge in Easton. All together over 600 people braved the chilling water, raising over $80,000 dollars for the Pennsylvania branch of the Special Olympics.

“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Kennedy. “We’re blessed to have the ability to go out and compete on a daily basis. We felt it was the right thing to do, to help those that maybe aren’t as lucky as we are.”

The three of us were given the opportunity through the Muhlenberg Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Headed by Coach Eddinger of the field hockey team, the organization worked hard to raise the money necessary for the three of us to participate in the event. Along with Coach Eddinger, senior women’s basketball player Kate Clawson and sophomore pitcher Matt Lawsky were at the forefront of this effort, organizing the event from the get-go.

SAAC plans on participating in the event next year and hopes the number of athletes will grow. As for whether or not he would do it again next year, Clarke responded, “Absolutely,” while Kennedy added, “We’re going to bring a few more teammates along.”

Mules on Broadway: A Newfound Tradition

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Four years ago, the women’s basketball team took a trip to New York City to see a broadway show called Hair. And little did we know, a tradition would be born. Over the past four years, the seniors have also seen Billy Elliot, Memphis, and then, most recently, The Phantom of the Opera.

The Phantom of the Opera is a classic love story and is the longest running show in the history of Broadway. Set in France, the play features a “ghost” who torments an opera house. This ghost is actually a man who wears a mask to cover his disfiguration, and who also happens to be a very talented singer. He secretly takes a young girl named Christine under his wing, teaching her how to sing beautiful opera music. The phantom demands that she be given the lead roles in the various operas that are performed, otherwise he will make terrible things happen to the cast members. Over time, the masked phantom ends up developing feelings for her. But Christine rekindles a relationship with a man she knew as a child named Raoul, and the two fall in love, leaving the phantom desperate and alone, as he has felt his entire life. He proceeds to kidnap Christine and try and convince her to be with him instead (not exactly the most romantic gesture). She is forced to choose between the two men, but ultimately the decision is not up to her.

The Phantom of the Opera is a story of love, loss, and twisted fate. The voices of the cast are very impressive, and the music is quite catchy. But despite those two positive features, I have to say, I think it’s pretty overrated. No offense to any of you Phantom lovers out there, but I just didn’t find the story to be convincing. The phantom and Christine never even share a nice conversation and the audience is supposed to believe that he truly loves her. I think I loved the cupcake I had before the show more than he loved Christine.

I asked my fellow classmates, Alita Zabrecky and Kate Clawson, what their favorite play we had seen over the past four years was. Alita and I both agreed that the best was Hair, a musical about the youth counterculture of the 1960s, which featured awesome music and long-haired hippies dancing around in the audience. At the end of the show, they invited anyone to come down and dance on the stage. So naturally, I ran down with a few of my teammates and we danced around with the cast members. It was amazing. Kate’s favorite was Memphis – the play we saw last year. That was about the first white DJ to play soul music by African American artists in the 1950s. I have to say, that one was pretty great too.

Despite the fact that Phantom of the Opera wasn’t the best play I’ve ever seen, we still had a great time in New York. We had dinner and a few of us walked around a bit before the show began, stopping at a little bakery called Baked By Melissa. It had bite-sized cupcakes in all different flavors – a perfect little treat. Going into the city to see a show is a great opportunity for all of us to do something fun together. And since we come back to school so much earlier than the rest of the students, it’s nice to have a little trip to look forward as a way of spicing up our sweatsuit-clad lives.

I think special events like this is a way of bringing our team even closer than we already are. We are so much more than a team, and it definitely translates on the basketball court. Communication is crucial for success in games, and we certainly get plenty of practice talking to each other on a day-to-day basis. I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to call my teammates. We all get along so well, and it’s really a testament to Coach Rohn. Our friendships and memories with eachother are more important than the game of basketball, but I do think that is why we have achieved so much success as a team over the past years. The yearly trip to see a Broadway show may be a new tradition, but the bond that exists between players on the Muhlenberg women’s basketball team is far more long-standing.

— Julie Kelly ’13 

Dream to Read

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Every January, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, the Muhlenberg men’s and women’s basketball teams take a short drive to Jefferson Elementary School in downtown Allentown to participate in the “Dream To Read” program.

The event is organized by the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley with the cooperation of Muhlenberg and the elementary school. Each year the children receive t-shirts to commemorate the event.

more on Dream to Read: photo gallery | Service Electric TV2 video

For the first half of the event, the players read a book to the children, who ranged in age from first to third grade. The book was about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, and during and after the story, they asked the youngsters questions about civil rights and racial issues.

“With first graders, difficult topics like segregation and racism aren’t things that they face on a daily basis, but that they will be faced with in the future,” said junior Erin Laney, an American studies major who will graduate with a certification to teach fourth through eighth grade. “It’s hard to introduce those topics without them having prior knowledge.”

Laney felt that her background in education helped with getting the youngsters to raise questions about the issues.

“First-graders are so fun,” she said of working with a younger age group than that for which she will be certified to teach. “You can joke around with them and laugh, and it’s really carefree in the classroom.”

After the reading sessions, the players asked the children to think about and envision their own dreams. The children then gathered around their desks to draw their dreams while the players talked to them and had them explain their drawings.

“It’s a chance for us to come and get a laugh and give back to the community,” added Laney. “Jefferson Elementary and Muhlenberg have always had a great connection and we see these kids a lot between the Jefferson Field Day and other events that occur on campus.

“It’s great to have that connection and do something other than basketball during the two weeks we’re here before classes start.”

Athletes of the Month

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It wasn’t hard to pick the sport for the Muhlenberg’s athletes of the month: The basketball teams were the only ones to compete in December! But picking the athletes was more challenging, as both teams had good records for the month (the women 5-1 and the men 4-2) and plenty of good performances.

Female Athlete of the Month – Alita Zabrecky, Basketball

Zabrecky averaged 13.7 points in six games – exactly what she needed to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She became the ninth Mule in the 1,000-point club by hitting a three-pointer in the first half of a 52-point win at Misericordia. Zabrecky also averaged 9.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the month and will head into Saturday’s home game against McDaniel as the only player in the Centennial Conference who ranks in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists.

Male Athlete of the Month – Malique Killing, Basketball

Killing scored 38 points in the final game of November but increased his scoring average in December, averaging 20.8 points in six games. He shot .452 from the field and .786 from the foul line while averaging 3.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Killing hit the game-winning shot (a three-pointer with 27.4 seconds left) in a key win at Dickinson and notched his third career 30-point game at Johns Hopkins. He is in the top 10 in the CC in scoring (second), steals (third) and assists (sixth).

Our Favorite Things 2012

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Inspired by the classic movie The Sound of Music, following is a review of the best of 2012 in Muhlenberg College athletics, to the tune of “My Favorite Things.” The Halls (Memorial and other) are alive with the sound of Mules-ic!

 

Goals scored by Cody, three-pointers by Chili

Moves by Malique making defenders look silly

Women’s soccer defense a playoff berth brings

These are a few of our favorite things

 

Basketball in Puerto Rico, men’s soccer in Spain

A game-winning touchdown on a field goal feign

Rice sprinting fast and getting more bling

These are a few of our favorite things

 

Field hockey beating national finalist Montclair

Academic laurels for DeAngelis and Baer

The women’s hoops team bringing home one more ring

These are a few of our favorite things

 

When the Bears win

When the Dips score

When the losses add

We simply remember our favorite things

And then we don’t feel so bad

 

Duke’s hundredth win and Gimbar’s record sacks

All-region middie Umbach in women’s lax

Liddic becoming the CC rebounding king

These are a few of our favorite things

 

Rispoli winning faceoffs and Mayden winning races

Mules reading books bringing smiles to kids’ faces

Kline hitting home runs with powerful swings

These are a few of our favorite things

 

All-conference v-ball freshmen Kaser and Boll

Baseball starting on a 9-1 roll

Bauer’s javelin flying on gold-medal wings

These are a few of our favorite things

 

When the Fords win

When the Blue Jays score

When the refs make us mad

We simply remember our favorite things.

And then we don’t feel so bad

So long, farewell, auf Weidersehen, goodbye. We’ll be back in 2013 to bring you more of your favorite Mule things!!

 

Ace Artist

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Before the first serve went up for 2012 season, freshman Katherine Boll had already made her mark on the Muhlenberg volleyball program.

Boll had committed to come play for the Mules and was browsing the Muhlenberg website during her senior year of high school when she found something missing for her new team. “I just decided I was going to make us a logo,” she recalled.

That logo (pictured here) was used by head coach Alexa Keckler on her camp t-shirts over the summer and was also used in the team’s yearbook. And yes, it’s on the website now too.

The logo was just one of many design projects for Boll, whose talent on the volleyball court (she was named to the All-Centennial Conference second team as a freshman) is matched by her affinity for creativity.

Boll says that when she was little, she was always doing arts and crafts. But her interest in graphic design really took off after she worked on the yearbook staff as a junior at Seacrest Country Day School in her hometown of Naples, Fla.

Watching tutorials on YouTube, Boll learned how to use Illustrator and PhotoShop. Then as a senior, she did an independent study with a family friend who has a master’s in graphic design.

Boll’s biggest project (other than the volleyball logo, of course) was designing a plaque for the sidewalk in front of Seacrest that lists the names of all the members of a graduating class at the small school. The plaque includes a quote from Walt Whitman: “The strongest and sweetest songs yet remain to be sung.”

“It’s funny, because once people know that you do this, they just come to you,” she said. “I had a friend who was starting a restaurant in Naples, and I did a flyer introducing the restaurant. I also did stuff for the yearbook, student government and the prom.”

Boll also does non-computer art – charcoal drawings, paintings and one of her favorites, tattoos. Some of her works are pictured below. She will look to branch out even more when she takes a class on digital photography in the spring semester.

“If it was up to me, I would be taking all art classes!” she joked.

And even though she still intends to major in psychology, another subject in which she has great interest, Boll says she can definitely see a career in design in her future.

“[The family friend] told me once about how he was up all night finishing a project for a customer,” she said. “And I was like ‘I’m jealous!’ I’d love to do something like that.”