Sacrifice for the love of the game
In Washington, double-speak and controlling the message is the name of the game. It's true when it comes to politics, but do college athletes do the same thing?
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In Washington, double-speak and controlling the message is the name of the game. It's true when it comes to politics, but do college athletes do the same thing?
At the start of the second half of Saturday's match against Bucknell at Reeves Field, the AU Women's Lacrosse team seemed dangerously close to repeating the same mistakes that had mired it in a three-game slide.
By KEVIN HILGERS Eagle Staff Writer
If things had gone as planned earlier this semester, the AU Golf team might have entered this weekend's Patriot League championship with its off-the-course situation on its mind.
There was a positive vibe building up for the AU Women's Lacrosse team's home match Saturday against first-place Colgate.
The last 11 minutes of the first half of Tuesday's match at Reeves Field looked good for the AU Women's Lacrosse team. No. 11 Johns Hopkins, with the ninth best offense in the nation, didn't score once, while the upset-minded Eagles got a pair of goals from junior midfielder Moriah Linnell to trail by two at halftime.
Women's Tennis struggles in winless weekend Women's Tennis (1-16, 0-5 Patriot League) ended PL play Sunday without a win after 5-2 loss to Colgate that capped an 0-3 weekend. The Eagles also couldn't win a set earlier in the weekend in 7-0 losses to George Washington and Big East-leading Syracuse. The loss to the Red Raiders (8-9, 2-2) officially marked the end of the worst PL season ever for AU, which will not qualify for the conference tournament it had won twice in three seasons.
Men's Tennis again secures regular season title Men's Tennis (13-3, 5-0 Patriot League) upset No. 67 Army and beat Colgate on the road as it clinched home-court advantage in the PL Championships four the fourth-consecutive year. AU's Sebastien Proisy survived a three-set battle (6-3, 4-6, 6-3) in what proved to be the deciding match in Saturday's narrow 4-3 decision over the Black Knights (16-4, 3-1). The Eagles started from behind after losing doubles play, but their top three of Juan Jaysingh, Juancarlo Vasquez and Nicolas Frayssinoux swept their matches. AU had more breathing room Sunday in a 5-2 win over Colgate (8-15, 3-2). The Eagles got the doubles point and their bottom three of Proisy, Jeff Schnell and Mark Doumba swept their sets for the win. The team returns home Tuesday for a match against Howard.
Washington has two worlds. There's the one of politicians and lobbyists, and there's the other one that rages against that machine.
Men's Tennis wins PL 2005 season crown
By KEVIN HILGERS Eagle Staff Writer The last 11 minutes of the first half of Tuesday's match at Reeves Field looked good for the AU Women's Lacrosse team. No. 11 Johns Hopkins, with the ninth best offense in the nation, didn't find the net once, while the upset-minded Eagles got a pair of goals from junior Moriah Linnell to trail by two at halftime. But then, the second half came. The Blue Jays showed how much their offense is dangerous in both quality and quantity, scoring the first four goals of the second half for a 16-10 win. Their depth also surfaced in the win as Mary Key and Sarah Walsh scored six points each, joining eight other players on the scoreboard. Despite the outcome, the Eagles gathered for coach Ashley Flannigan's postgame talk in an upbeat mood. "I think this was the best we've played this season, and the best we've ever played versus Hopkins," said Linnell, who scored a game-high five goals. That goes without saying. AU (5-8, 3-1 Patriot League) fell behind 7-2 in the first half to a team with a knack for scoring a lot of goals at just the right time. But the Eagles scored four of the next five goals to bring them within striking distance at the break. The run was capped by a pair from Linnell, who scored the last goal of the half at 5:36 after cutting to the net and firing a pass from freshman Chloe Dee, who came into the game with only one goal but added two more and an assist Tuesday. The Blue Jays (8-3) called timeout after that and finished the session without any more harassment from the Eagles. They then kicked off the second half by controlling the ball for the first five minutes and getting two goals in the process. They had scored two more 15 minutes later with no response from the Eagles, who saw the attempt for their first-ever win over Hopkins slip out of reach. "It definitely got us into a big hole," Linnell said. "If we had stopped that run earlier it would have changed things. The momentum switched." Despite being behind the whole game, the Eagles didn't let up their pressure, although Hopkins' stranglehold on midfield made playmaking a challenge. AU, which has been outscored 68-39 in the first half this season, fought back to enter the break trailing only by a respectable two goals. The team also pulled off three goals in the final 2:10 of the game, although the game had been all but officially decided by then. The game also required adaptation to a change of goalkeepers. In her third appearance of the year, freshman Katherine Vida started in place of junior Kathleen Finnegan. She allowed 14 goals, but had six saves. Several times she was left without help from defenders as the Hopkins offense, built on speed and finesse, created odd-man rushes. A match against a nationally ranked opponent came at a good time, tucked in the heart of the toughest end of AU's PL schedule. According to Linnell, it's good preparation for Saturday's home match against defending champion and league-leader Colgate (9-4, 4-0). "By the way we played today, it showed what we're capable of," she said. "If we beat Colgate and Bucknell [on April 23] we can host the tournament, and that would be great"
If anyone can relate to the potential elimination of three AU teams after the spring of 2006, it's the swimmers of Dartmouth College.
Last weekend's matches at Reeves Field showcased two sides of the Women's Lacrosse team: The one that's assertive only late in the game, and the one that can put on 60 minutes of pressure. The latter side showed up Sunday for the Eagles (5-6, 3-0 Patriot League), who led LaSalle (5-5) in the opening minutes before striking hard in the second half as they broke a two-match losing streak, 17-13. The win followed Friday's 11-9 loss to Denver (2-9) in which a strong finish couldn't overcome a miserable first half. AU outscored the Explorers 9-3 in the second half Sunday, but the Eagles were also pleased with their good start. They opened with a 4-1 lead in the first eight minutes, thanks to a pair of assists and a deking goal by Moriah Linnel. She finished with three goals and two assists after being held scoreless by Denver. "We're a second half team, so it was important to have that first goal of the game," said Rebecca Copeland, who scored five goals in Sunday's match, including the one that gave AU the 12-11 lead it kept for the victory But it was perhaps the most timely goal of the afternoon that swung the match in AU's favor. With just one second left in the first half and the Explorers riding an 8-3 run, Lauren Aksionoff (two goals, three assists) took a pass from behind the net and fired it past the LaSalle 'keeper. It brought the Eagles within two and gave them the foundation for their second-half onslaught. AU's 17 goals, all scored despite icy wind gusts and rain, were the most scored by the team since last year's Patriot League semifinals when the Eagles beat Bucknell, 17-3. The Explorers are no stranger to the AU offense: They were on the losing end of an 18-12 decision to the Eagles in 2003. AU coach Ashley Flannigan praised the efforts of her team, which had lost the previous two games by a total of three goals. "I think they were hungry for a win," she said. "We've had three games in five days." One of those games was Friday's frustrating loss to Denver, which had lost seven straight but scraped by a win with its patient offense and midfield defense. The Pioneers led 6-2 at the half after controlling the ball for most of the session and challenging the Eagle offense the whole length of the field. The lead grew to six goals with 10 minutes left in the game. Copeland then scored two of her game-high four goals in AU's four-goal charge to end the game, but it still left the Eagles short. AU now turns its attention to the heart of the PL season as it plays the top half of the league's talent. The team has already taken care of the first three games of the conference schedule but next Sunday travels to Holy Cross (6-5, 3-1). The Eagles finish with two home matches, taking on defending champion Colgate (8-4, 3-0) and Bucknell (3-8, 2-1).
Last weekend's matches at Reeves Field showcased two sides of the Women's Lacrosse team: the one that's assertive only late in the game, and the one that can put a team under pressure for all 60 minutes.
With the Tennis and Golf programs in their penultimate year, questions have been swirling around campus about the vision AU Athletics has for its future.
When AU's teams hit the fields and courts next year, the only sport fans might recognize is basketball. In a move unprecedented in college sports, AU Athletics announced it will reduce the number of teams to 14 while competing only in basketball and Division I's obscurest sports. The move is consistent with the Unversity's goal of concentrating resources where it will have most success, one athletics official said. "When you look at track, volleyball, soccer, you're talking about hundreds of other programs in the way of a championship," the official said. "But when you look at badminton, women's rugby, fencing, you're talking about sure-fire winners." AU will keep Men's and Women's Basketball as its highest profile sports. The athletics official said the programs were kept for television publicity: basketball is now AU's only sport to have ever been televised in the U.S. Among the least notable programs to be added are men's and women's badminton, archery, and squash teams. There will also be a woman's synchronized swimming team, which will join men's and women's water polo programs to replace swimming and diving programs in the pool. "I applaud Mark Davin for the job he did here at AU," the official said. "He is one of the finest coaches in the nation and our swimmers have succeeded both in an out of the pool. We wanted to build on this success, and that's what we're doing by replacing his teams with a greater number of aquatics programs." AU officials added that the new sports will put the school among other prestigious private northeastern universities, another one of its goals. However, the reduction leaves AU with the minimum number of teams to compete in Division I, making it the only prestigious private northeastern university to have this profile. Members of the cut programs were noticeably saddened by the news, which they received in yesterday's "Today at AU" e-mail. Many said they were outraged that the sweeping changes were only announced via the campus-wide e-mail. Members of the field hockey team were especially upset, as they will lose the chance to build on last fall's run that fell a game short of the Final Four. "This is unbelievable," said one field hockey player. "If this is how they reward success? This school doesn't do anything to deserve the respect of its students." The elimination of field hockey is also a surprise considering the investment in the new artificial turf field. The athletics official said the area will now be used for men's field hockey, which will be the first of its kind in Division I. He said the men's version of the sport, which found mainly in New Zealand, will add to the school's international flare. The only members of the AU community who did not seem disappointed by the cuts were faculty members. One SIS professor said the move was a positive step toward eliminating the scourge of popular culture from campus. "Sport is a material concept that exists outside the framework of reality," she said. "Much like all things people consider 'fun', it only depoliticizes the working class, distracting it from more important things, like Medicare reform." AU Vice President for Development Al Checcio, who oversees athletics for the president's office, could not be reached for comment.
AU wrestler Daniel Waters had been through a lot before making it to last weekend's NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Before transferring to AU two years ago, the 28-year-old senior had to watch the title bouts from the sideline at Penn State, and before that he was even farther from the college mat as a Navy SEAL.
Before transferring to AU two years ago, 28-year-old senior Daniel Waters had to watch the title bouts from the sideline at Penn State, and before that he was even farther from the college mat as a Navy SEAL.
Thanks to a record-breaking performance at its conference tournament two weeks ago, AU will send four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, which begin today in St. Louis.
The Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's Golf teams will be eliminated after this season, AU Athletic Director Joni Comstock announced Thursday.