Month: October 2012

Categories
Field Hockey Sports Women

Field Hockey wins PL home opener

Andrew Arnao
Senior Writer

The field hockey team dominated its Patriot League home opener against the Colgate Raiders with a 7-0 blowout last Saturday, but suffered a 4-3 defeat from Rutgers in an away game on Sunday. Bolstered by her two goals and strong defense this weekend, midfielder Kayla Sullivan ’16 won the Patriot League Rookie of the Week award.

“It was exciting to come off the field with another shutout this season, especially against a league rival,” forward Kiersten Sydnor ’16 said. “We were able to execute on our attacking half by finding the ball in the circle and getting it into the goal. We also did exceptionally well with our execution on our corners.”

The Bison (6-6) got on the board early against Colgate, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes behind shots from forwards Rachel Misko ’14 and Leigh Hillman ’14. Hillman added another goal to give the Orange and the Blue a 3-0 lead at halftime. Second-half goals from midfielder Kelly Stefanowicz ’13, Sydnor and Sullivan allowed the Bison to put the game out of reach for their opponents.

Against Rutgers, the Bison fell behind 2-0 after failing to score in the first half. In the opening minutes of the second half, Hillman and Sullivan each scored, making it 2-2. The Scarlet Knights scored again to go ahead, but a clutch goal from defender Tayler Siegrist ’13 with less than two minutes remaining tied the score at 3-3, forcing overtime.

Rutgers then scored less than two minutes into overtime, marking the first Bison overtime loss this year. The defeat snapped a streak of seven consecutive overtime victories which started back in September 2010.

“We had a slow first half, down 2-0 at half time, but at the start of the second half we came out strong,” Sydnor said. “We scored within two minutes of the half and you could see the tempo of our game was where we needed to be in order to beat this team. Unfortunately we fell short in overtime, but it definitely shows us that we need to play the whole game like we did in the second half if we want to win next time.”

Next up for the Bison will be a trip to Massachusetts to face off against Patriot League rival Holy Cross tomorrow at 1 p.m., followed by a matchup against Harvard on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Categories
Cross Country Cross Country Men Sports Women

Cross country dominates at St. Francis

Alex Wagner
Sports Editor

In addition to winning the team titles at the Father Bede Invite, the men’s and women’s cross country teams had D.J. Krystek ’13 and Deanna Godby ’16 win their first individual titles for the Orange and Blue. The tournament in Loretto, Pa. over the weekend allowed the Bison to showcase their strong running against Saint Francis and their alumni.

On the men’s side, Krystek finished the seven-kilometer course first with a time of 24:18.1. His first career victory was not an easy one, as teammates John Dugan ’15 and Andrew Garcia-Garrison ’15 each finished less than one second later than Krystek with times of 24:18.4 and 24:18.9, respectively.

The Bison also took the next two top spots, with Michael McGowan ’15 and Charles Seigneur ’13 finishing in fourth (24:19.0) and fifth (24:19.2), respectively. Following them, the next nine finishers were Bison runners.

Behind these strong individual performances, the Bison took the invite’s top spot with 15 points, while Saint Francis finished with 52 points and the Saint Francis Alumni with 74.

For the women, Godby was the first to complete the 5K course, finishing in 19:41.5. Once again, more Bison were close behind, as Caroline Tolli ’13 finished in second with a time of 19:43.0 and Katie Jessee ’15 in third with 19:44.4. That finish marked the third time in the team’s three meets that Tolli and Jessee have finished in the top three.

“The course at Saint Francis is very tough and hilly, so we really emphasized running as a pack during the race. Running with teammates helped us stay focused and maintain our pace through the hard parts of the course,” Tolli said. “The Invite was excellent preparation for our Patriot League championship meet at Colgate, another hilly course.”

Meghan Carroll ’16 (19:55.2) and Beth Braunegg ’14 (19:55.4) rounded out the top finishers for the Bison, coming in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The Bison, who had 14 of the first 15 runners, finished the invite with 15 points, ahead of Saint Francis’ 50 points.

The Orange and Blue runners will split up for their next competitions on Oct. 13, heading to the Pre-National Invitational in Louisville, Ky. or the Gettysburg Invitational, both of which will be the athletes’ last races before the Patriot League Championships. 

Categories
Golf Sports Women

Women’s golf excels at Nittany Lion Inv.

Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s golf team performed strongly at the Nittany Lion Invitational last weekend, getting better each day with scores of 326, 316, and 311 in the three rounds for a 16th place finish out of a very competitive field.

“The team got off to a rough start this weekend, but we progressively got better as the tournament went on. We are a very young team and still have a lot to learn,” Bridget Wilcox ’14 said. “I was happy to have another consistent tournament but I still have room to improve and will be working hard this week and next to gear up for the MAC Preview.”

The Bison started off the three day tournament with a team score of 326 last Friday. The format for the tournament had six girls play and the top four scores count on each day. Wilcox and Meghan Garanich ’16 led the team with a 79 and an 80, respectively. The counted scores for the day were rounded out by Lauren Bernard ’14 with an 83 and Lexi Klein ’15 with an 84.

Saturday went well for the Orange and Blue as the team improved their overall score, moving them into 15th place in the tournament. Kasha Scott ’14 led the team on the day with one of only seven sub-par rounds out of 103 players with her 1-under-par 71. Anchoring the rest of the team’s scores were Wilcox with her second straight 79, Bernard with an 81 and Jen Lee ’16 with an 85.

“I was very excited with the way I played on Saturday; it was really fun to be hitting the ball well, but I need to work on my consistency. I’m excited to see what our next tournament in Ohio holds for us, as I think the team has the potential of going really low,” Scott said.

The Bison finished out the tournament strong by improving their score again to 311 on Sunday, placing them in 16th place with a total score of 953 for the weekend. Bernard finished her tournament strong with a 73 and Wilcox stayed consistent with a 78. Garanich and Lee rounded out the scores for the team with an 80 and 81, respectively.

The team will now prepare for their next tournament, the MAC Preview, on Oct. 15 and 16 in Ohio.

Categories
Arts & Life Columns Sleeping Around

Sleeping Around: What it means to be sexy

Dixie Rose
Columnist

Being sexy is something that plagues most college girls (and even some boys). We all want to have the sex appeal of Marilyn with the class of Jackie O. It’s the whole “freak in the sheets, but a lady in the streets” dilemma. But what exactly does it mean to be sexy? And how the hell can we get there?

Some people naturally exude sex appeal. They are the ones that make someone’s head snap as they walk into a room. Those are the Marilyns of our generation, and today, being sexy isn’t as taboo as it was in the 1950s and 1960s, so girls really strut their stuff and let it all hang out. 

I am not a sexy person. Cute, maybe. But sexy? Woof. Absolutely not. My friends (a.k.a. Rocky Blue) have taken it upon themselves to teach me how to be sexy. Their advice is to walk and shake my hips (which is a lot of multitasking), and to work toward a “smize” that would make Tyra Banks proud. This advice usually leads to me prancing around like an idiot, trying too hard and over thinking, leaving me with more of a lack of sexiness than I starte. Watching me do a strip tease would be about as hot as watching Zach Galifianakis and Michael Cera star in “Magic Mike.”  

I think being sexy is about being comfortable. It’s about knowing who you are and knowing your body, and then being able to manipulate both personality and body, basically confidence. People always tell me that being sexy is about being confident. I personally find it to be incredibly sexy when someone has the confidence to approach me and tell me exactly what he or she wants from me. So why shouldn’t I do the same?

Confidence is something that both Jackie O and Marilyn possessed. Both of these amazing women had a true sense of self, a definite presence. People noticed them when they walked into a room. They had a certain naturalness about them and never looked like they were trying too hard. They were just themselves and it showed, especially in the way people responded to them.

Everyone always asks, who would you rather be, Jackie or Marilyn? I think it is possible to be both. Marilyn was overtly sexy, while Jackie O was subtly sexy. Both women were confident, and that confidence helped them to showcase their own natural sex appeal. Maybe I’ll never be a Marilyn, but there could be some hope for me falling into the Jackie category. There is something to be said for focusing on being confident instead of the superficial features that make someone attractive. After all, isn’t it what’s on the inside that counts?

Sex appeal is a secondary benefit of confidence, not something that should be independently striven for. Be yourself and be confident, and people will respond.

Categories
Sports Volleyball Women

Volleyball drops to Army and Holy Cross in PL play

Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s volleyball team had a tough weekend, dropping matches to both Army and Holy Cross on Sept. 28 and 29, respectively.

“This weekend started off great. We really put up a fight against Army and in the second set against them we had them against the ropes,” Morgan Mientus ’14 said. “We could’ve taken the set, but overall our performance against them was strong.”

The Bison started out strong at West Point, but ended up losing in three sets to a talented Army squad that is 3-1 in conference play. Many individuals stepped up in the match, including Mientus and Leylin Marroquin ’14 on defense with 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

On offense, senior captains Kebah Edoho ’13 and Kat Tauscher ’13 led the way, with Edoho putting up nine kills and two blocks, and Tauscher posting an impressive 30 assists. Claire Healy ’16 and Jessica Serrato ’14 also had strong contributions, with Healy adding two blocks and seven kills and Serrato adding eight kills.

“While there were definitely glimpses of us showing a lot of heart and improvement, we were overall frustrated by our performance. But our captains, Kat [Tauscher] and Kebah [Edoho], have done an amazing job this week with keeping us motivated and playing for each other, something we’ve lost touch of recently,” Katie Price ’16 said.

The Orange and Blue then made their way to Worcester, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to face Holy Cross. While the team rallied to win the third set, they were not able to defeat the Crusaders in the final, losing 3-1 overall. Tauscher stepped up again, this time recording a double-double with a season-high 41 assists, as well as 10 digs.

First-year teammates also performed strongly on the day. Healy led the Orange and Blue in kills and digs, with 14 and 18, respectively, to post her third double-double of the season. Price also posted a career high 15 digs on the day.

“Our main goal is to win a Patriot League Championship, and in preparation for the rest of the season, we are reassessing why we play the game and why we love it so much,” Mientus said. “From now on we are playing for our amazing seniors and leaving it all on the court like we have nothing to lose.”

This weekend, the Bison will travel to California to take on CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 7, and then face off against Pepperdine on Oct. 8 in Malibu, Calif.

Categories
Arts & Life Columns

Trend Report: Lots of leather

Kate Jansen
Writer

Now that it is officially fall, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on seasonal shoes this week, mainly because flip flops and Jack Rogers just won’t cut it when the leaves start to fall and the ground starts to freeze.

I would classify this season’s shoes as the following: boots, loafers and lots of leather. Riding boots are back this fall and are definitely a wardrobe necessity. I have a pair of Pour La Victoire boots that I got on sale last season that go incredibly well with skinny jeans and leggings.

Western-style boots are also widely popular this season. Although Frye boots seem to be the cowgirl’s shoe of choice on campus, other designers have produced similar styles. Sam Edelman and Dolce Vita, for example, have recently come out with some adorable Western-inspired booties. Ankle boots surprisingly come in a wide variety of styles: buckled, zippered, studded and my personal favorite, laced. Clark, Rebecca Minkoff and Lucky Brand ankle boots are heeled and laced in the front. I love these shoes, mostly because they add a certain unique flair to an otherwise average outfit.

Loafers are also great wardrobe accessories for this season. While Sperry Top-Siders are obviously a staple in nearly everyone’s closet here, loafers from Nine West are classy and chic (Nine West Panto flats come in a many colors and animal prints). Gap also has a line of patterned, solid canvas and calf hair loafers that are decently priced.

Finally, to stray slightly from the leather theme, rubber rain boots have been widely promoted through major department stores. Hunter boots, of course, are essential for rainy days on campus. It seems as though top designers like Burberry and Kate Spade have added a chic quality to the typical Wellie. This fall, rain boots are adorned with leather trimming and quilted toes. Personally, I think I’ll stick with my muddy black Hunters.

Categories
Arts & Life Campus Events

PHILADANCO performs a diverse selection of pieces, putting a twist on modern dance

Molly Ford
Writer

The Weis Center for the Performing Arts hosted the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) on Sept. 28. The audience also had the opportunity to attend a pre-performance talk with company founder Joan Myers Brown. Brown has experienced many accomplishments in the international dance world. Her experience with racial prejudice inspired Brown to train young black dancers and provide them with opportunities to perform. PHILADANCO is founded on the basis of integration and equal opportunity not only in modern dance, but ballet as well. Brown’s simple goal turned into an exceptionally successful international dance company.

Audience members were impressed with the company’s performance. Kelly Knox, associate professor of dance, articulated why she loved the performance, hightlighting the group’s diverse repertory.

“With all of the different choreography they were performing, the dancers had to be well versed in ballet with clean lines, pirouettes and leg extensions,” Knox said. “They also had to understand Horton and African techniques while being able to incorporate an integrated, full body experience of modern [and] a hip hop piece to top it all off.”

“The dancers showed immense strength while also showing incredible beauty,” Kelsey Fletcher ’14 said.

For Fletcher, the highlight of PHILADANCO’s performance was the piece performed atop a table. She was impressed with how effortlessly the dancers jumped and danced on a tall table.

Knox also commented not only on “the exceptional ability of the dancers,” but also on the “range of pieces, and elegant and vibrant design elements.”

“The audience didn’t just see technique; we saw human beings oozing with vitality and creating universes with their bodies,” Knox said.