Categories
Arts & Life

Cocktail Theatre: An Evening of One-Act Plays

Molly Ford

Writer

If you are looking for a treat before finals, stop by the Tustin Studio Theatre on Dec. 3 and 4 at 5 p.m. to see “Cocktail Theatre: An Evening of One-Acts.” This series of one-act plays is directed by students from Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance Anjalee Hutchinson’s Theater 240 class.

Hannah Cordes ’15, a student director, explained that there are nine Cocktail directors, each in charge of a few cast members. Professionals wrote the one-acts, but everything else is up to the students. Since the cast members are student volunteers, this event brings the theater department together to support the novice directors.

Not sure what to expect?

“The theme of this year’s cocktails is ‘lovers and strangers,’ so it encompasses a lot of really great stories (both comedic and tragic) about chance encounters as well as deep-rooted romantic relationships,” Cordes said.

Support the University’s theater students next week as they show off their talents. Admission to all of the plays is free.

Categories
Arts & Life Columns

Trend Report: Snow Boots

Trend Report: Snow Boots

By Kate Jansen

Writer

This November has been unseasonably chilly. I’m sure this week’s snow episode was a rude awakening for those who have not yet had the privilege of bearing Northeastern winters.

After nearly four winters of warmth, I officially retired my Uggs this season and decided to look for a more reliable pair of snow boots. So, amidst Black Friday chaos, my mom and I traveled to the nearby L.L. Bean store.

I must admit, I have wanted a pair of duck boots–commonly known as Bean Boots–since they became wildly popular last spring. When we had finally meandered our way to the outerwear section of the store, a pair of tan Bean Boots immediately caught my attention. Needless to say, I was sold in an instant. And, in case you were wondering, I’m wearing them as I write this article.

L.L. Bean, however, is not a duck boot monopoly. J. Crew is currently selling an exclusive line of Sperry Top-Sider Shearwater boots. They come in a variety of preppy two-tones, including navy blue and pink. They’re also fur lined, making them perfect for Pennsylvania winters.

Bean Boots also look adorable when paired with calf-high wool socks and black leggings. On days when I want to feel extra-outdoorsy, I throw on a plaid flannel and Patagonia vest to complete the look.

Categories
Arts & Life Campus Events Music Review

Lin and Svard honor Merce Cunningham through attention to both silence and notes

Laura Crowley
Writer

World renowned pianists Jenny Lin and retired University professor Lois Svard gathered a crowd of University students and members of the Lewisburg community for their piano duet, “For Merce” on the evening of Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rooke Recital Hall of the Weis Music Building. Despite the fact that many of the pieces were composed for just one piano, the two came together to create a more authentic sound, and to honor the choreographer and dancer, Merce Cunningham, after whom the performance was named.  In total, the night consisted of seven songs from composers who worked with Cunningham prior to his death in 2009.

Each piece was more unconventional than the former; the first piece was played from a composed graphic score, another was performed from images rather than notes and the last was composed electronically from the notes generated throughout the entire concert.

But, such an innovative performance was to be expected from Svard and Lin. Svard, who taught at the University until last year, is especially known for combining classical piano with new-age technology, such as multimedia, keyboard and microtonal tunings. Last year, Svard left the University to dedicate herself to the combination of classical piano and new technology. Most notably, she has been examining how neuroscience can be applied to music for listeners and performers. One of the songs played was composed when the composer observed his brain waves and imitated them musically.

Lin currently lives in New York City, where she serves on the faculty of the 92nd Street Y.  Her impressive resume includes more than 20 albums, with one that was selected as the Best of 2009 by the Washington Post. She has also performed in Carnegie Hall, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Lin described one of the pieces played, “Music for Piano with Magnetic Strings,” as “music of chance.” She explained that “the clefs can be interpreted as treble or bass depending on how we feel,” so the outcome “depends on timing and the mood we’re in.”

This piece was played by touching the strings on the inside of the piano rather than by touching the keys.

Svard described Morton Feldmans’ piece, “Two Pianos” as a piece about “time and space.” Since none of the pieces played at the event had a melody, Svard stressed that the experience as an audience member is more about “listening to the texture, to the tambour, to how instruments interact with each other,” as well as “hearing the silences between the notes” and “how sounds overlap.”

The combination of classical and contemporary music offered the audience insight into the expanse of sounds pianos can create. While classical piano is limited in the sounds it produces, the integration of technology increases the sound potential for classical pianos.

Categories
Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apples

Katie Mancino | The Bucknellian

Katie Mancino

Writer
Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apples
150 calories, 0.5g fat, 39 carbs, 1g protein
For the holidays this year, you can forget the apple pie with this incredibly delicious treat. This is one of those fantastic recipes that tastes phenomenal and just happens to be more healthy for you. You can also try adding nuts or dried fruit to the filling (golden raisins are my favorite). I topped a few of mine with a half teaspoon of chopped pecans. You can bake the apples longer to make them more soft so they fall apart, or cook them a little less so they still have a bite.
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 6 large apples
  • 2 Tbsp Truvia Baking Blend
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar (packed)
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp Land O’Lakes Light Butter
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 400 F.
  2. Core apples–make sure not to cut through the bottom. You can use an apple corer or carefully use a paring knife.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together sugars and spices.
  4. Cut butter into 6 cubes and put one cube into each apple along with 1/6 of the sugar spice mixture (you can also top with chopped nuts if you’d like).
  5. Place in a casserole dish and add about 1/2 inch of water to the dish as well.
  6. Bake 30-40 minutes until browned and soft.
Categories
Sports Swimming & Diving Women

W. Swimming wins home meet

Katherine Harris

Writer

The women’s swimming and diving place first in a field of six other teams at the Bucknell Invitational, ousting second place Delaware by just 2.5 points.

“Our team did an awesome job! We were truly united as a women’s team and it showed in our support and hard work. We gave everything our all in every event from diving to the relays and all races in between,” Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 said.

The Bison started out strong on Nov. 16 in Kinney Natatorium, finishing in second to Delaware by 17 points at the end of the night. Elizabeth Porcellio ’13 won the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.74, while teammate Ashley Henderson ’16 followed in fourth place with 2:07.30.

Porcellio was also part of the 400 medley team that took third place, along with Emma Levendoski ’16, Morgan Oxley ’13 and Lauren Perry ’15, posting a time of 3:53.80 that took 10th in the school record books. Katie Hetherington ’15 led the diving team with a second-place finish in three-meter diving, scoring a season-high 255.15.

The Orange and Blue then took the lead on Nov. 17, coming back to lead Delaware by eight points at the end of the day. Porcellio once again had a strong day, winning the 400 IM with a personal best time of 4:25.08 that moved her into third in school history. She also took fifth in the 200 free. She joined teammates Perry, Stephanie Koziol ’15 and Pontecorvo to win the 800 free relay, posting the second best program time in the event’s history. Perry also had another victory for the Bison on the day, winning the 200 freestyle with a school-record breaking time.

The final day of the invitational was down to the wire, with the Bison finally prevailing over Delaware by a mere 2.5 points. Pontecorvo won the 1,650 free with a time of 16:41.18, and also broke the school record with her 1,000 free time of 10:04.55. Levendoski also had another impressive day, recording a second-place finish in the 200 back. On the diving team, Hetherington finished third in the one-meter diving, with teammate Tori Molchany ’15 following in fifth place.

“Individually, I was very happy with my races,” Pontecorvo said. “I went a personal best in my 1,000 freestyle going out in the 1,650, so it makes me very optimistic for Patriots in February. I could hear the whole team cheering at that point and there was a roar in the crowd that gave me the extra motivation to finish my best.”

The Bison will compete at home again this weekend, hosting Binghamton tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Categories
Opinion

Holiday eating needs preparation

Mary Morris

Contributing Writer

With Thanksgiving behind us and the winter holidays around the corner, many of us are wondering how we can possibly find the room in our already bulging bellies for round two. Considering the season of giving is upon us, I am here to offer the gift of eating advice.

Have you ever starved yourself all day for that Friendly’s 12 Scoop Challenge or holiday meal? This is the first major no-no! When prepping yourself for the meal of a lifetime, it is pivotal to snack throughout the day. This keeps your stomach at its full size, while going the day without eating actually shrinks it so that you cannot enjoy the meal to its maximum capacity.

Some people might tell you that you can’t sprint a marathon; these people are wrong. In order to appropriately enjoy the holiday meals, it is imperative that once you begin eating, you do not slow down until you are done. Eating slowly allows your body to realize what it has consumed and you will feel full faster than you want to. In order to beat your body at its own game you have to eat faster than the speed of self-control.

The last rule is that you must eat until you think your pants are going to explode. Once at that point, you must move on to the second course. This pattern of indulgence continues until everything from the appetizers to the dessert has been tasted, enjoyed and gobbled. Sure it might sound simple or even absurd, but the holiday meal is not for the faint of heart.

Next to the Olympics, the holiday meal season is the next greatest test of the human spirit and ability to come together. As we gather around in the spirit of the holidays, loving our families and stuffing our gullets with secret recipes, remember to eat like a champion and you, too, can have 22 gold medals.

Categories
Men Sports Wrestling

Wrestling finishes sixth in season opener

Billy Tyler

Contributing Writer

The men’s wrestling team opened its season on Nov. 17 at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md. The team faced stiff competition including Ohio, The Citadel, Cleveland State, West Virginia and Navy. The Bison finished the meet in sixth place out of the nine teams present with 45.5 points behind a strong performance from Paul Petrov ’16. Kent State won the event with a total of 115.5 points.

Petrov stepped up in his first collegiate meet and was one of the top performers for the Bison. He advanced to the championship bout in the 133-pound weight class after receiving a first-round bye and winning two bouts by decision. In the finals, Petrov was defeated in an 8-5 decision to top-seeded Colton Rasche of Navy.

“Petrov had a great tournament. He wrestled aggressively and is adjusting well to the college style,” head coach Dan Wirnsberger said.

Corey Lear ’13, ranked 17th nationally in the 165-pound weight class, was also a high performer for the Bison. He won two matches on a pair of decisions to advance to the meet’s semifinals. In the semifinals, Lear was pinned by Jacob Schalles of Navy, which pushed him into the consolation bracket. However, he then dominated his next two matches with a total score of 24-2 on his way to a third-place finish, giving Lear a second top three-finish in his career at the Navy Classic. Although this was not quite the result Lear was looking for, he still impressed Wirnsberger with his ability to retain his focus and return strong following the tough loss.

“In college wrestling, it is important to be able to put both wins and losses behind you and focus on the task at hand,” Wirnsberger said.

Tyler Lyster ’15 also earned a third-place finish. Lyster was unseeded going into the meet, yet pinned his first two opponents on his way to the semifinals. In the semifinals of the 197-pound weight class, Lyster faced the eventual champion Dustin Kilgore of Kent State. After putting up a tough fight, Lyster was pinned and moved into the consolation bracket. Lyster went on to defeat his next two opponents by a combined score of 16-2.

“Tyler [Lyster] put in a full training cycle in the offseason and it has paid off. He went into the tournament unseeded and really deserved his third-place finish,” Wirnsberger said.

The next match for the Bison will be on Dec. 1 at the Hoosier Duals.

Categories
Football Men Sports

Football wins final game

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The Orange and Blue football squad brought its up and down 2012 season to a close with an exciting 24-21 victory on Nov. 17 against Bryant. Although the Bison failed to match their win total from last season with a 3-8 record, the team was able to win two of its final three contests and provide much promise moving forward into next season. 

The offense, led by Brandon Wesley ’14 who passed for 200 yards and two touchdowns on 18-26 passing, had a time of possession advantage, 35:57-24:03, allowing them to control the pace of the game. The offense had three scoring drives of seven plays or more.

“I believe that in the last game of the season, the offense was just playing inspired and really wanted to send the seniors out with a win,” fullback Terna Ityokumbul ’13 said. “The coaches gave us a great plan, and we went out and executed it. I think the seniors got more vocal in the last week, which really showed the younger guys how important this last game was to them.”

Despite dominating the time of possession, the Bison never led by more than a touchdown until halfway through the fourth quarter when they extended their lead to 24-14 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wesley to running back Tyler Smith ’13, who finished the game with 101 all-purpose yards. The touchdown was set up by an interception by Joseph Francis ’13 that gave the offense great starting field position at the Bryant 13-yard line. Bryant responded quickly with a touchdown of their own on a 40-yard pass from quarterback Mike Westerhaus to receiver Jordan Harris.

After the Bison went three-and-out on their next possession with just over six minutes remaining in the game, Bryant drove deep into Bison territory, reaching the Orange and Blue 25-yard line. The defense was able to hold Bryant on fourth down and nine. Still, Bryant had a chance to receive the ball again with two minutes remaining, but they were flagged for a roughing the kicker penalty on punter Ryan Gutowski ’13, which sealed the win for the Bison.

On defense, the Bison were able to hold Westerhaus to just 13-28 passing and sacked him four times. Safety Jordan Dudas ’15 led the team with 10 tackles, and Evan Byers ’15 record nine (three for loss) and 1.5 sacks. Byers finished the season with 100 tackles.

On offense, Wesley’s most chosen target was Victor Walker ’14, who finished with seven catches for a season-high 97 yards. Smith, who finished with 76 yards rushing and 25 receiving, ended an impressive collegiate career with 3,991 total yards and 20 touchdowns.

While the Bison struggled at times this season, the team showed in the final weeks that there is much promise moving forward to the 2013 campaign.

“The ups and downs that the team went through this year will only make the team more mentally tough for next year,” Ityokumbul said. “As long as this team is able to learn from the things that this past year’s team did well, and change the things that we weren’t able to do as well, they should be successful and serious competitors in the Patriot League next year.”

Categories
Men Sports Water Polo

M. water polo second at Easterns

Alex Wagner

Sports Editor

Following their first place finish at the Southern Championships, the No. 15 men’s water polo team put out another elite performance at the Eastern Championship in Princeton, N.J. After defeating Harvard and No. 20 Princeton, the Orange and Blue fell in overtime to No. 12 St. Francis (N.Y.). The Bison had not reached the Eastern Championship finals since 1993.

The Orange and Blue began their play with a 15-13 win against Harvard. The Bison beat Harvard twice earlier in the season by a combined 10 goals. Alex Nowlin ’14 led the Bison, registering four goals and three assists in the contest. Brian Barron ’13 also had a good showing, adding two goals and five assists of his own. Stefan Aleksic ’16, with three goals and two assists, and Nick Hale ’16, with two goals and three assists, showed the strength of the underclassmen as well. Matt Napleton ’13 performed strongly in goal, making seven saves.

Although the Orange and Blue jumped out to an early three goal lead, they had to overcome a two goal deficit in the second half to pick up the win against Harvard, the fourth seed in the Northern Division.

The Bison survived a much tougher test the next day, when they beat Princeton 7-6 in the semifinal. Aleksic scored the eventual game-winning goal with just 1:48 left to play. He was the only Bison to score twice in the match. The game featured five lead changes and no team ever led by more than two goals. Going into the fourth quarter, the game was tied 5-5. The Orange and Blue then had goals from Barron and Aleksic, while only surrendering one goal, allowing them to hang on for the win.

While there were no particular offensive standouts, the Bison had a balanced attack as six different players ended up on the score sheet. Napleton had another superb night in goal, racking up 11 saves and a steal against the Princeton attack.

The second win of the weekend for the Bison sealed their meeting in the final with No. 12 St. Francis (N.Y.). The Orange and Blue had faced them twice already this season, losing both contests by just one goal. Unfortunately, their third meeting would be more of the same, as the Bison fell 10-9 in overtime.

The Bison kept the game close for the first half, but they could not hold off St. Francis in the third quarter, when they were outscored 4-1, and they then entered into the fourth quarter down 8-5. Barron and Aleksic each scored early in the fourth to bring the Bison close, and Nowlin scored with under three minutes to play, tying the game and sending it into overtime.

Jack Else ’14 scored a clutch goal for the Bison just 30 seconds in overtime to give his team the advantage. St. Francis answered once again with a goal on their next possession, and then took the lead for good with under two minutes left to play on a power play goal.

Despite the loss, the Bison had many achievements to be proud of. Barron was named First Team All-Eastern Championship, while Napleton, Else and Aleksic were named to the second team. In addition, Aleksic was given the honor of being Rookie of the Tournament.

Although they fell just short of their first NCAA tournament berth in 27 years, the Bison certainly achieved a great amount in the 2012 campaign.

Categories
Men Sports Swimming & Diving

M. Swimming finishes third at home meet

Cooper Mead

Writer

The men’s swimming team finished third in the Bucknell Invitational in Kinney Natatorium on Nov. 16-18. The team was led by Mike Nicholson ’14, who won the 200 breast with a time of 2:01.71, which tallied second in Bison Swimming history.

Nicholson finished in one of the top three positions four times during the meet, as he also won the 400 IM, and placed third in the 200 fly and the 200 IM. Trevor Reitz ’14 also had a good showing, coming in first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.30, and was joined by five other Bison who finished in the top 16. Reitz was the only Bison in the “A” final and also won the prelims.

“The invite represented a great opportunity for us to step up. A three-day meet like that is long, but as a team we swam hard and put ourselves in a good position for the rest of the year,” Reitz said.

In addition, Bison first-years had an impressive weekend as Will Rappaport ’16 placed seventh in the 200 back with a time that was only .05 seconds shy of tying the 10th best time in Bison Swimming history. Brian Phillips ’16 also placed ninth in the 1,650 free.

In the end, the Bison finished with a score of 1191, behind Yale with a score of 1550 and Delaware with a score of 1265.5. The Bison placed ahead of La Salle (793), Binghamton (747), Georgetown (619) and Fordham (608.5).

“The Bucknell Invitational was a very exciting meet for both the men’s and women’s sides,” Daniel Wallace ’14 said. “Many season-best times were posted and this sets us up well as we move into the second half of our season, especially with our Florida training trip only a few weeks away.”

The Bison will prepare to compete against Binghamton at home tomorrow at 1 p.m.