Category: Featured

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Featured Men Sports Tennis

The Dominant Duo

Alex Wagner

Assistant Sports Editor

 

The Bison’s top men’s tennis doubles team of Gregg Cohenca ’12 and Evan Zimmer ’13 is currently ranked No. 51 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. 

The two, who began playing together in the fall of 2011, quickly found that they were able to work together well, helping them climb to a position among the elite doubles teams in the nation.

“We played all the fall tournaments together and have meshed since,” Cohenca said.

A key to their success this year has been their ability to stick to the basics.

“Sticking to our fundamentals and tactics [has] brought us our success thus far. We stay positive for every single point and focus on setting up points to end in our favor. Trying to stay completely relaxed and confident out there has propelled us to beat many teams, such as Penn State,” Zimmer said.

In fact, the Feb. 11 victory over Penn State’s Jason Lee and Russell Bader, who are currently ranked No. 25 in the nation, proved early in the season that Cohenca and Zimmer deserve national recognition.

But the hard work to get to the top began for the two of them long before they started seeing themselves in the national rankings this year. Their career records are a testament to their patient approach. Cohenca is currently ranked fourth for the Bison in terms of all-time doubles victories, with a record of 64-46. Zimmer is not far behind in a tie for 12th with a 48-24 record.

In addition to their constant focus on the fundamentals, the teammates also cite their unity off the court as a strong point of their play.

“Off the court, we are good friends, which helps during those crucial moments in the match,” Zimmer said.

As the season progresses, they hope to continue the short-term thinking that has gotten them to where they are today.

“Our goal on the court this season is to play one point at a time. Once that point is over, win or loss, we move on to the next point,” Cohenca said.

There is little doubt that if Cohenca and Zimmer stick to the principles that they have been employing, they will continue to do great things this season.

 

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Arts & Life Featured

Opera Company Performance

By Jen Lassen

On March 31, the Bucknell Opera Company and dancers from the department of theatre and dance collaborated to perform an evening of Zarzuela, a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes. An orchestra complemented the performers. This cultural, rhythmical and lively performance lasted about an hour and a half long and was widely attended by students, faculty and locals. Annie Schulenberg ’13, member of the Bucknell Opera Company, discussed her favorite thing about the performance. “We got to work with the different dancers and it was really cool to see the other side of performing in their art form, and working with a conductor and a professional orchestra was an amazing experience because it really tested our musicality,” said Schulenberg.

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Arts & Life Featured

Environmental Club improves campus footprint

Anna May

Arts & Life Layout Editor

There are many student groups on campus that are not widely publicized and deserve recognition for the many contributions they make to our campus community. One such organization is the Environmental Club.

This student-run organization has the goals of making our campus more sustainable, spreading environmental awareness and providing students with opportunities to become more involved with current environmental issues.

Unlike many other student organizations, the Environmental Club does not focus on raising money.

“The club focuses more on campus greening issues and environmental awareness on campus. We do, however, try to support other group’s fundraising efforts, such as the Bucknell Brigade,” president Rebecca Shopiro ’12 said.

The Environmental Club is responsible for many changes around campus. The organization is responsible for the placement of small devices called VendingMiser motion sensors on the soda machines around campus. This was the first project conducted under the new Bucknell Green Fund. The VendingMiser helps reduce the amount of energy used to cool the machines when they are not in use. Although it may not seem like a significant difference, the Environmental Club calculated that these gadgets save the University about $4,000 a year in electricity costs. This is one example of the many small steps that can be taken in order to make the campus more “green.”

At the moment, the Environmental Club is most concerned with planning events for Earth Day on April 22. Club members will give out free plants to students in order to help support the environment and create awareness for the holiday. They are also planning an event called “Swap Till You Drop.” Students are asked to bring in gently used clothing in exchange for a voucher. With this voucher students can participate in the event and pick up some clothes that other people brought. Clothes that are not taken by students will be donated to charity. This is a creative way of bringing students together while sharing the message that reusing can be enjoyable, as well as beneficial to the environment. 

There have been other changes around campus that can be attributed to the Environmental Club’s efforts.  A few years ago, the organization urged the Bison Café to switch from disposable plastic baskets to reusable ones. They have also helped with other events such as the fall environmental festival and a local pub night where the drinks are all served in glass mugs in order to reduce plastic waste.

In addition, they subsidized reusable water bottles sales on World Water Day in order to increase the number of reusable waters being used and decrease the number of plastic bottles being wasted. The club also held an Eat your Greens Event where environmental professors presented their research with students.

Although the Environmental Club may not always be in the public eye, there is no disputing that they are actively making changes at the University to improve the campus for us all.

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Featured Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lacrosse falls to American

By Ajan Caneda

Writer

Following an overtime victory against Liberty, the women’s lacrosse team was unable to pull off another comeback, falling to American 22-9 at home on March 24. The Eagles prevented the Orange and Blue from winning consecutive games for the first time this season.

The Bison’s leading scorer, Arriana Sajjad ’15, had another offensive showcase with five goals, while Molly Ford ’14 finished the game with four assists. Emily Kookogey ’15 and Katelyn Miller ’14 scored two goals each.

Both teams traded goals in the opening minutes of the first period, as the game stayed close. A 7-0 run by the Eagles allowed them to surge to an 11-4 lead at the half. American forced 13 turnovers in the first half, 18 for the game and stayed aggressive on the offensive end as they outshot the Orange and Blue 20-12 in the first period.

“Draw controls were a huge aspect of the game. In the second half, they pulled a six-goal streak on us, and it was all from winning the draw,” Sajjad said. “They knew exactly where the ball was going, where to place themselves on the circle and how to execute their break properly. This eventually caused our defense to break down, giving them the lead.”

After an American goal in the opening minutes of the second period, Sajjad posted two goals within two minutes that trimmed the lead to six with 23:20 remaining in the game. The Eagles responded with two goals of their own, but Miller answered with her second goal of the game. The offense of American was too much for the Orange and Blue to overcome, as the Eagles finished the game on an 8-2 run that capped the victory.

American outscored the Bison 18-15 in draw controls and had a 12 shot advantage against the Orange and Blue. Goalie Caroline O’Neill ’15 finished the game with seven saves.

“American worked around the crease really well, and were able to score goals off of tough angles,” O’Neill said. “I think our team has definitely improved greatly and even though the score didn’t show it, the game was really competitive. I think the main difference was the fact that American capitalized on our mistakes, while we did not.”

The Orange and Blue will be seeking their first conference win this Saturday, March 31 against Lafayette in Easton, Pa.

“In situations where we are down like in this game, you just have to keep reiterating positivity and heart, which is what we tried to do,” Sajjad said. “It was a tough loss, but we are preparing to come out strong for Lafayette on Saturday.”

 

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Featured Lacrosse Men Sports

Bison extend win streak to seven, defeat Albany and Penn State

By Reed Dempsey

Writer

The men’s lacrosse team collected a pair of wins against Albany and No. 18 Penn State this past week to extend its winning streak to seven straight games.

Coming off five straight victories, the Orange and Blue entered the week looking like a different team and continued to play at a high level.

“The team has great morale right now. Following the three straight losses to start the season, we’ve played incredible,” goalie Kyle Feeney ’13 said.

In their game against Albany, the defense held the Great Danes to just seven goals in a convincing 15-7 win. 

Nick Gantsoudes ’12 led the Bison offense with six points (five goals, one assist), while Todd Heritage ’14 and Chase Bailey ’13 upped their season goal tallies with three apiece. David Dickson ’15 registered five assists, and Feeney increased his save percentage with a solid 12-save performance.

On March 27, the Bison faced a tougher test with a game against Penn State on the road. Over the first 14 minutes of play, the Orange and Blue held the Nittany Lions scoreless as goals by Billy Eisenreich ’12 and Heritage gave the Bison a two-goal advantage.

Less than a minute after Penn State cut the Bison lead in half, Peter Burke ’14 found the back of the net with four seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Nittany Lions battled back in the second quarter with three goals compared to just one from Bison.

Coming out of halftime tied at four, the Orange and Blue dominated the third quarter with two goals from Bailey and a single from Heritage, his second of the day. Bailey attributes the offensive success to efficiency and teamwork.

“The offensive play as of late has been awesome,” Bailey said. “The middies and the attack are working well together; we’re averaging more than 10 goals per game and we’re ranked by Inside Lacrosse as the most efficient offense in the country.”

To complement the scoring attack, the Bison defense stifled Penn State throughout the third, holding them scoreless on just two shots.

The speed of the defense coupled with better decision-making has been the difference as the Bison have turned their season around.

“[The defense] is flying around and making smart decisions, and it’s paying off,” Feeney said.

The Bison opened the fourth quarter with Burke’s second goal of the game and held the Nittany Lions of the board until the 10-minute mark. 

Over the final 10 minutes, the Orange and Blue were held to just one shot, but Eisenreich made the most of it, scoring his 23rd of the year.

An increase in turnovers and failed clears plagued the Bison in the fourth quarter, but solid defensive play during man-down and six-on-six situations held Penn State in check. Feeney tied his season high with 13 saves in the 9-6 win.

The Bison look to extend their 10-game in-league winning streak tomorrow at Holy Cross.

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Featured News

ROTC: “…to serve my country, to have a greater appreciation for freedom, for the training and for the adventure”

By Christina Oddo

Writer

Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a national four-year program offered at the University designed to train cadets to become commissioned officers of the United States Army, the Army Reserve or Army National Guard. The University is a host school for Army ROTC.

Students currently enrolled at Bloomsburg University, Susquehanna University, Pennsylvania College of Technology and Lycoming College have the opportunity to participate in the program along with University students.

“The benefits of the program are that upon completion you are able to commission in to the Army as an officer at the rank of second Lieutenant. Also, there are a variety of scholarships available including two-, three- or four-year scholarships that can cover your tuition, housing, meal plan, books and you even get a little spending money with the stipend,” cadet Brian Charland ’13 said.
Charland got involved in the program during his junior year of high school when he started talking to and meeting with college representatives. 
“I decided to join Army ROTC to serve my country, to have a greater appreciation for freedom, [for] the training and for the adventure,” Charland said.

First-year students with scholarships and first- and second-year students without scholarships have the ability to enroll on a trial basis without committing to the military. Students can also leave the ROTC program or continue to earn a commission as an officer upon graduation. It is possible to join ROTC as late as the fall of junior year. If students take part in a 28-day summer training camp, they have the opportunity to skip the first-year and sophomore training levels.

First- and second- year cadets have a time commitment of five hours a week. Juniors and seniors then spend ten 10 hours a week for the program. During this required time, cadets take classes, train, attend monthly leadership labs and participate in semester field training exercise. Cadets have class once a week. This class is an hour for first-years, two hours for sophomores, and three hours for juniors and seniors. These weekly classes do not count for academic credit at the University. Cadets learn lessons in leadership, as well as army structure, values and communication. The ROTC program also requires cadets to take a 33-day summer training course between their junior and senior years.

“We also meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 0600 or occasionally earlier for physical training,” Charland said. “A Junior (MSIII) will take the role of platoon sargeant and lead the group through a series of exercises.  Twice a semester we are tested in an Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) that makes sure we are meeting the Army standards.The test consists of two minutes of as many push ups as you can do, and two minutes of as many sit ups as you can do and a two mile run. Every couple of months we take a weekend and will go out into the woods and practice the skills we are learning in the classroom out in the field.”

Cadets also generally participate in day and night land navigation, squad training exercises, patrolling and battle drills.

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Featured Men Sports Swimming & Diving

Bison Athlete of the Week: Mike Nicholson ’14

Chris McCree

Sports Editor

 

Profile:

Mike Nicholson

Sophomore

IM/Breast/Fly

Hometown: Chappaqua, N.Y.

Major: Economics and Sociology

 

Season bests:

200 breast: 2:01.71

200 fly: 1:48.57

200 IM: 1:50.11

400 IM: 3:53.37

 

One week after falling just short of a second consecutive Patriot League title in the 400 IM, Mike Nicholson ’14 captured two gold medals and a silver at the ECAC Championships this past weekend in Annapolis, Md., making him the first Orange and Blue swimmer to earn multiple titles in the same year since 1993.

Starting off his weekend with as the runner-up in the 200 IM, Nicholson came away with individual titles on each of the following days in the 400 IM and 200 breaststroke. Nicholson posted a season-best time of 3:53.37 in the 400 IM finals to edge out the second-place finisher by 0.74 seconds and claim the Bison’s first gold of the meet. Following this performance, Nicholson came back on Sunday to post a career-best time of 2:01.71 in the 200 breaststroke, putting him just 0.03 seconds shy of the men’s swimming program’s all-time mark.

Largely due to the Nicholson’s successes, the men’s swimming team was able to capture its second runner-up finish in as many weeks. Over the course of the three-day meet, the Bison accumulated a total of 503 points, allowing them to beat Patriot League rival Army once again.

With two full seasons under his belt, Nicholson has already been able to accomplish what few swimmers are able to do over the course of their careers. Currently, Nicholson holds school records in the 200 IM, 200 fly and 400 IM and ranks in the program top 10 in the 1,000 freestyle and 200 breaststroke. Next season, Nicholson will look to add to his collection and recapture his Patriot League title in the 400 IM.

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Basketball Featured Men Sports

On to the next one

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

The men’s basketball team’s opening round match-up with the Navy Midshipmen was a return to form as the Bison dominated the Mids from start to finish, winning 87-63. After struggling towards the end of their Patriot League schedule, the Orange and Blue advanced to the conference semifinals for the second consecutive season.

Before the contest began, two members of the Bison squad were honored for their outstanding season. Bryan Cohen ’12, in his final season in an Orange and Blue uniform, won his third consecutive Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year award. He became just the second player ever to win three major individual conference awards and the first to win the same award three times. After leading the Orange and Blue to a 12-2 league record and their second straight regular season conference title, head coach Dave Paulsen was recognized with the Patriot League Coach of the Year award, one he won last season as well.

The Bison delivered the first blow against Navy, jumping ahead 11-3 just five minutes in. The three-point shot kept Navy within striking distance early on, but it would not be enough on this night.

The Orange and Blue played one of their most efficient offensive games on the season, shooting 62.7 percent from the field and making over half of their baskets from beyond the three-point arc. Leading the way offensively was Joe Willman ’13, who tallied 18 points while shooting over 70 percent from the field in 24 minutes of play.

Bryson Johnson ’13 found his stroke from outside, knocking in five three-pointers off the bench. Three of those came during a three-minute stretch late in the first half in which the Bison swelled their two-point advantage to 11. The run kept going into halftime, when the Bison took a 20-point lead into the locker room.

The second half proved much of the same story as the first. The Orange and Blue would extend the lead to 31 at one point. Navy was cut the lead to 24 but it proved too little, too late.

The Bison will face the Lafayette Leopards at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinal round of the tournament. 

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Featured News

Univ. welcomes esteemed historian

By Sara Blair Matthews

Assistant News Editor

 

Historian Robert A. Caro, the 2011 Janet Weis Fellow in Contemporary Letters, presented years of research on former President Lyndon B. Johnson in a talk on Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. Caro is the author of two Pulitzer Prize-winning biographies on Johnson and Robert Moses. 
His talk, held in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, was entitled “Power in the Hands of a Master.”
“We [were] excited to have Robert. A Caro visit Bucknell in the midst of a presidential election. [He] is among the country’s foremost presidential historians, and his insight and expertise offer a valuable perspective,” said Andy Hirsch, director of media communications.
Caro explained that he wished to highlight the achievements of the accomplished political figures in his works.
“I never thought of [my works] as biographies. I thought of them as means of illuminating the lives of the people I was writing about,” Caro said.
Caro also discussed the importance of turning every page and not assuming anything when conducting research. He mainly discussed his research for the biography “The Years of Lyndon Johnson, The Path to Power.” Caro talked about how Johnson’s term was a “watershed presidency” because when it ended, the United States was a very different country than when Johnson assumed office.

“[Primarily,] America changed through Johnson’s use of political power,” Caro said.

Caro discussed how one of the main emphases of Johnson’s presidency was to drastically lessen poverty in America.

“He created a war on poverty, [but] no one understood why it meant so much to him,” Caro said. The historian began to understand why this was true when he went to live in Johnson’s native Texas Hill Country, a region in Central Texas, for three years while conducting research for his book.
“I’ll never forget the first time I drove out there. I saw incredible loneliness and incredible poverty,” Caro said. He believes that once he understood the place, he was able to better understand Johnson and his actions.
“I came to understand his ruthlessness to do anything to win, his desire to help the poor and his need to get out,” Caro said. “One man changed tens of thousands of lives. When I talked with people in the town, I kept hearing the same word, ruthlessness, over and over again. People said, ‘no matter what he was like he brought the lights.’”
He did so literally, as he brought electricity to the town during his term. Caro said he did not necessarily come to like Johnson by doing research on him, but he certainly did come to admire his achievements.
“He had a great desire to help poor people and people of color. [He was capable of doing so much.] It’s a tragedy for America that he ruined it [with the Vietnam War],” Caro said.
President John Bravman hosted a private dinner event with Caro at 5:30 p.m. prior to the talk. Students were asked to register, and the names of four students were randomly drawn to join Caro and other guests.
“We had thought that meeting the man who wasn’t afraid of Robert Moses, had won two Pulitzer Prizes and had been awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama would be intimidating,” said Margo Cain ’13, one of the students chosen to attend the dinner with Caro. “Robert Caro turned out to be a knowledgeable, humorous, fascinating man with a dedication to history and politics, and an interest in hearing how the younger generation views the world.”
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Featured News

Bison Chips perform annual “Chipfest”

By Jenni Whalen

Staff Writer

 

The Weis Center for the Performing Arts was packed last Saturday at 8 p.m. with students, faculty and parents listening to the Bison Chips sing their annual concert, Chipfest. 
The Bison Chips have 13 members this year: Sean Gritters ’12, Mike Kurban ’12, Vince Mistretta ’12, Sam Stulberg ’12, Yann Wester ’12, Ryan Mextorf ’13, Brian Pei ’13, Justin Honigstein ’14, Harrison Mills ’14, Michael Strauss ’14, George Beatty ’15, Andrew Killman ’15 and Connor Small ’15.
The Silhouettes, the University’s all-female group, sang four songs in the middle of the performance.

“The Chips are pretty much the first group I really got to know at Bucknell, so they’re kind of like my original family here,” Gritters said. “This Chipfest was the best we’ve ever sounded as a group. We worked so hard on all of these songs over the past month and a half, and it’s really something to be up there and listen to all of that work come together. It’s a great way to end my Chips experience.”

The Bison Chips and audience agreed this was the best the Chips have sounded in years, mostly thanks to the incredible amount of time the members spent preparing for this year’s event. The group began working on new arrangements immediately after Christy’s, a long-standing tradition that takes place during Parents Weekend each fall. Kurban, the leader of the Chips, kept the group practicing three times a week until the week of Chipfest, when the members practiced for at least two hours every night.

As usual, this year’s concert began with a comic video of the Chips losing their suits and ties and running around campus in their boxers. The Chips then ran onto stage and performed 14 songs, almost all of which were arranged and performed by different members of the group. Two of the songs were traditional closing numbers and six were new arrangements. 

New arrangement “Fix You” was arranged by Sean Gritters ’12 and featured soloist Sam Stulberg ’12. “Otherside” was arranged by Yann Wester ‘12 and featured Justin Honigstein ’14. 

Other favorites included “Umbrella” and “Lady in Red,” a classic Chips song during which Johanna Moyer ’12 was serenaded in her red dress.

Overall, those in attendance agreed that the concert was enjoyable and demonstrated the talents and hard-work that University students put into the performance. 

“I think the night overall was awesome,” Damon Quattrochi ’12 said. “It was great to see so many Bucknellians fill the Weis Center in support of a student-led group. The whole show was so well organized and put together.”