Categories
News

Students and professors “dig” into the past

Allison Busacca
Writer

The Gallery Theatre in the Elaine Langone Center was filled on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. with an audience eager to learn about the University’s Excavation in Thebes, Greece. Two University associate professors of classics, Kevin Daly and Stephanie Larson, gave the presentation on the University’s first two seasons of an archaeological dig (summers of 2011 and 2012) at the sanctuary of the Ismenian Apollo. Larson and Daly headed a select group of students along with several Penn State University students on a six-week long excavation. They spent hours each day digging in the Mediterranean sun at the Ismenion hill and an area to the northwest of the hill.

Daly began the presentation with “Thebes in Context,” a fascinating account of the mythology and history behind Thebes.

“[Thebes is] ground zero for much of Greek mythology,” Daly said.

He explained the importance of “how myth informs archaeology and vice versa.” Thebes is the birthplace of Hercules and Oedipus, where the alphabet originated and an ancient Greek power. With its historical and mythical presence, it is a natural site for excavation.

Larson continued the presentation with a discussion on some of the excavation team’s discoveries. One of her favorite discoveries was late sixth/early seventh century BCE Byzantine graves which revealed vessels and bones. Also of interest to the group was a red-figure askos, a vase depicting a scene of two humans fighting two sphinxes. The group also cleaned the southwestern side of a temple to restore it.

Jen Weber ’13, who went on the 2012 season, called the trip “one of the most unique summer experiences” she’s ever had. Even though the days were hot and required a lot of physical labor, she said the “anticipation that you might find something really awesome in a trench at any time during the day” kept her going. Digging the graves was “the most interesting and challenging part” of the excavation.

Larson and Daly explained how they get their digs started in Greece. First, they have to get the locals on board. They have to get approval to do these digs from the local Greeks through the Central Archaeological Council of the Greek Ministry of Culture. They must also agree that the knowledge of the material and what they find belongs to the Greek state. All the artifacts must stay in Greece to respect their community and history. Second, they need funding. Their largest funder is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Additional funding comes from the University and other contributions, including The Gladys Delmas Foundation and the Loeb Library Foundation.

The presentation was complete with pictures and maps of the area, detailing the work the excavation team did.

“Professors Larson and Daly gave a really wonderful presentation that explained why it’s important both to us and to current archaeological studies,” Weber said.

The third season will go from June 17 to July 26 in 2013. 

“[I am] looking forward to opening up a new area right above the ancient temple and continuing to explore the second millennium BCE tomb we found last year,” Larson said.

Categories
Opinion

Creating change requires more than just your vote

Justin Marinelli
Senior Writer

I am rather skeptical about the ability of politics to actually solve the problems facing us today. Sure, we’ve spent the last two years convincing ourselves that our candidate was the solution to our problems, and that the other guy would bring fire and brimstone down upon us. But you know what really fixes the problems of society? People who are fed up and tired of the way things are going who actually get up off the couch and do something, not our elected leaders.

Let’s start off by slaughtering a sacred cow. Your vote is not important. It really isn’t. Your one-in-200-million say in how this country is run counts for essentially nothing. If you’re going to enact change in our society, voting isn’t the way to go about it. You need to actually take it upon yourself to get out there and take action to make the world a better place.

Suppose you are of a more liberal persuasion, and you feel that our society should strive to do more to take care of the poor. Is it going to make more of a difference to vote for a candidate who will increase funding to welfare programs or to volunteer at soup kitchens yourself and give to charity regularly? Which will really have the most impact?

Or perhaps you possess a more conservative leaning and you feel that we should have a large military so you can feel secure. Is it more effective to use your minuscule say in how this country is run or will you feel safer if you learn martial arts and/or how to use firearms? Once again, greater results come from taking personal responsibility, not assuming that politicians will solve your problems for you.

It’s rather unimpressive how so many people sit around waiting for change, then get annoyed when the gridlock of our political system fails to provide it. We have the power within us to enact change in the world around us, but we never exercise it. Sure, it takes more effort to start a charity, join the Peace Corps or be a part of the neighborhood watch than to submit a ballot, but it yields more potent results.

When I look at the world, the people and organizations I see making a difference aren’t elected. Instead, I see the American Red Cross, Alcoholics Anonymous, researchers searching for new technologies that will benefit humanity and countless other volunteer organizations, NGOs and compassionate, driven people. These are the people who really make a difference.

Yes, it’s true that there are some things that can only be decided by the government (legality of gay marriage, tax policy, etc.). For issues like these, voting makes sense, but only if you can rally large numbers of people to support your cause. The onus is still on you to go out and win hearts and minds and try to change the popular attitude to suit your views (or even to run for office yourself, if you feel this is the best way to change things).

So call me a heretic and burn me at the stake, but if you didn’t vote, I don’t have a problem with that. If you did vote, awesome. Thanks for taking a little initiative to make the world a better place. But whether you did or you didn’t, the question to ask yourself now is: what can I do that will actually change not only my life, but the lives of the people around me for the better?

Categories
Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: Sports News Across the Nation

 

Courtesy of onlineathens.com
Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim may be in for a rude awakening when his program joins the ACC.

Julian Dorey

Writer

“No one wins. One side just loses more slowly.”

The Big East Conference has reigned supreme over college basketball for years. The tradition, the urban settings, the old-school play and the over-integration of toughness has separated the league from the rest of the country.

In a way, that will all be gone come July 2013. Effectively, this upcoming season will be it for Big East basketball as we know it. Why?

Simply because the forces are shifting. The winds of the almighty dollar have broken the bonds of greatness that had no business being broken. This time next year, both Syracuse and Pittsburgh, two of the Big East’s most important teams, will have taken their talents to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). And, as if these two traditionally bruising basketball institutions leaving the league wasn’t enough, Notre Dame, another important school in the Big East basketball landscape, will also be joining the ACC within three years. In a shocking decision that came about in September 2011, Pittsburgh and Syracuse bolted for what they consider to be greener pastures, leaving the Big East’s brand name in question. Notre Dame followed suit shortly after.

For so many years we have heard coaches and athletic directors within the Big East rave about the special identity the teams within it share, that no other conference in college basketball can match. At the forefront of it all was Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

Yet after starting with all of the politically correct comments about why he’s sad to leave the Big East after the news of Syracuse’s departure was announced, Boeheim finished off by saying, “We’re going to a very, very good basketball league, one that arguably has the best track record over the last 30 years.’’

So much for the Big East being above the rest, Boeheim. Now the Big East sits in limbo.  Half of its schools privately have one foot out the door because the league has lost its stability. And the kicker to all of this? It all started over one or two schools joining the Big East.

“There was uncertainty with the Big East with TCU coming in and rumors of adding Kansas or Kansas State or whatever. They could be losing West Virginia or somebody else. We needed to be in a stable league, and we had to be in a stable situation,” Boeheim said.

So let me get this straight, Jimmy boy. You’re advocating leaving a conference because you are worried about its “stability” (your word, not mine) when the new league you are joining is doing exactly what you are advocating against in adding your school to its league?

Talk about a paradox.

The truth is, no one wins here. Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame all lose because they leave behind a tradition that their geographically Northeastern roots could truly claim to be a part of. They join a more southern league with a finesse style of basketball and a totally different identity. That’s not to say the ACC isn’t special in its own right. It is. It’s just different from the Big East and, in my opinion, not quite as special.

In the meantime, the Big East has lost credibility. For years, the central hub of the league has been Madison Square Garden in New York City. For years, Syracuse has transformed the arena into a sea of orange during all of the big tournaments held there, including the ultra-competitive Big East Tournament. Pittsburgh and Notre Dame have also played in many special games within the confines of that holy basketball temple.

Now the league will expect the bottom feeders like DePaul, Providence and South Florida to step their games up to levels they have either never experienced or have for so long failed to reach, all while sticking to the same recruiting norms as Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. They will most certainly maintain a hold of their regular, successful recruiting areas. After all, it’s not like Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame are changing addresses.

Neither side is going to get a “W” in this one.

The question is: which one will look back in 30 years and say, “that move cost us our reputation forever”?

Categories
Sports

Bison Athlete of the Week: Brian Barron ’13

 

The Bucknellian Archives

Alex Wagner
Sports Editor

Player Profile

Brian Barron ’13 

Oak Park, Ill.

Economics

 Season Stats:

28 starts in 28 games

52 goals on 118 shots

34 assists

31 steals

12 blocks

Brian Barron ’13 was one of the main reasons the men’s water polo team captured their first ever Southern Championships over the past weekend. The four-year starting attacker’s 13 goals, 11 assists and four steals are just a couple of the key statistics that helped the Orange and Blue go 4-0 over the course of three days.

“The key to my individual success was just to follow our game plan,” Barron said. “The whole season we’ve been practicing to take our time on offense and the openings will come. When we were playing well, that’s exactly what we did. My individual success came mostly from my teammates being able to draw the defense away from me and then finding me open.”

Barron also has a knack for making big plays when they count the most. In the opening game of the tournament against George Washington, he scored the game-winning goal with just over a minute left in the second sudden-victory period of overtime. In addition, he had three goals and five assists in the Bison’s 13-12 victory. Barron also came up big in the game against No. 14  Navy, compiling six goals and three assists to equal his career high for points in a game.

The senior now has 146 career goals and 232 career points, which are the highest totals for the team.

After winning the Southern Championships, Barron and the Orange and Blue will head to the Eastern Championship, beginning on Nov. 16.

“We know that it was a huge accomplishment to win a Southern Championship and we are proud of that, but we are not satisfied,” Barron said. “Our main goal all along is to win an Eastern Championship and a berth in the NCAA Final Four, and that’s all we will focus on moving forward. Southern’s gave us the confidence we needed to know we can win Eastern’s. But we know other teams still think they can beat us, so we have to improve and go prove them wrong again.”

Categories
Men Soccer Sports

Men’s soccer qualifies for PL playoffs

 

Madelyn Zachara | The Bucknellian
Midfielder Jonathan Grad ’15 blocks the path to the goal. Despite a heart-breaking loss to Lafayette, the Bison managed to secure a place in the Patriot League Playoffs.

Chris McCree

Sports Editor

The men’s soccer team qualified for the Patriot League Tournament last weekend, despite a devastating overtime loss to Lafayette on Nov. 3. With the game scoreless after 90 minutes of regulation, the Bison fell victim to a fluke of a goal just nine seconds into extra time. Though a disappointing result, the Orange and Blue maintained its playoff spot after a Colgate victory and a tie between Army and Lehigh prevented any team from climbing up the standings.

“When Lafayette scored in overtime, we all felt our season had just ended,” head coach Brendan Nash said. “Since it happened on such a strange goal it was an emotional end to the game. Knowing we had no control over our postseason chances, it was a somber tailgate and bus ride home.”

Coming into the game, the Bison knew all they needed was a tie to guarantee a bid into the playoffs. Both teams struggled to manufacture many good offensive opportunities with each side managing to record just seven shots in regulation. Goalie Mike Lansing ’16 ended with three saves on the day.

In overtime, Lafayette sent a 50-50 ball forward towards the Bison goal and it took an unusual spin past Lansing to give the Leopards the 1-0 win. The Orange and Blue then had to wait the rest of the night to hear whether they would play in the postseason.

“Over the course of the season, the team has learned that even though soccer is a 90 minute game with very little scoring, each play throughout the game is very important,” Nash said. “We must still improve on playing the game for the full 90 minutes, or 110 if overtime is required, this weekend.”

The Orange and Blue closed out its regular season with a 7-7-5 record overall and 2-3-2 in the Patriot League. Despite winning just the two league games, the team has not lost a contest by more than a single goal.

As the fourth seed in the tournament, the Bison will go up against top-ranked American in the first round. The only time the two teams met in the regular season, American came away with the 1-0 victory.

“I think the loss will motivate us rather than deflate us,” Nash said. “Our team has had some tough losses this year and we have needed to bounce back from each one. This will be the same situation.”

The first round matchup will take place today at 11 a.m. in Washington D.C. Second seed Lafayette will take on Colgate later in the day, and the championship game is expected to be played on Nov. 11.

“Our confidence is still high because our team has experience and knows what it takes to win the tournament,” Josh Plump ’13 said. “As long as we show up to play and put together two complete games, we should be successful this weekend.”

Categories
Football Men Sports

Football earns first Patriot League win

Eric Brod
Senior writer

Thanks to a complete team defensive effort and a career-day from running back Tyler Smith ’13, the Bison football squad ended its losing streak with its second win of the season by coming from behind to defeat the Fordham Rams 27-24. The Orange and Blue improve to 2-7 on the season, while the Rams fell to 5-4.

Smith, who has been hampered by injuries throughout the season, turned in a performance for the ages, rushing 29 times for 179 yards, part of 208 all-purpose yards, and scoring three touchdowns. After falling behind 6-0, Smith broke off a 76-yard touchdown run to give the Bison an early 7-6 edge. It was the first rush of over 70 yards for the Bison in five years.

The Bison found themselves down 21-7 at halftime, but scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to propel the Bison victory. Head coach Joe Susan made a point to keep the team motivated at halftime.

“I brought them together when we got into the locker room and told them how important it was for us to keep our composure as we were on the verge of losing it at times in the first half,” Susan said. “I also told them that I sensed our opponent felt they had already beaten us.”

After closing the gap to 21-17, the Bison drove all the way down to the Fordham two-yard line, but Smith was stopped on fourth-and-inches. After the Orange and Blue defense forced a three and out on the ensuing possession, Kyle Sullivan ’14 returned the Fordham punt to the Rams’ 35-yard line. After a personal foul penalty on Fordham moved the ball up to the 20, Smith rushed in for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Bison a 24-21 lead. 

‘This was the first game that [Smith] has been 100 percent healthy. His ability to make people miss in space was critical to his success,” Susan said.

On Fordham’s next offensive series, safety Matthew Steinbeck ’15 intercepted his fifth pass of the season, returning the ball 78 yards to set up a Sean Cobelli ’14 field goal that extended the lead to 27-21. The Rams then connected on a 39-yard field goal of their own to close the score to 27-24.

The Bison received the ball with 6:10 remaining, but only gained a single first down, giving  Fordham a chance to tie or take the lead. Ryan Gutowski ’13 provided a 42-yard punt that gave Fordham the ball at their own 19-yard line. Fordham’s quarterback drove the Rams all the way down to the Bison 36-yard line, but a sack by defensive end Samuel Oyekoya ’13 pushed them back to midfield. Joseph Francis ’13 then picked off a pass to seal the second victory of the season for the Orange and Blue.

On top of his sack, Oyekoya also had five tackles (three for a loss), forced a fumble and recovered one. Evan Byers ’15 led the defense with 12 tackles, and Beau Traber ’13 and Sean Sellers ’14 had seven tackles and a sack each. The defense forced three turnovers total for the game.

“We made some adjustments as a unit, but the main thing was that we came out in the second half with a lot of energy,” Byers said. “Everybody just did their job and our playmakers made plays.”

Brandon Wesley ’14 was steady throughout the game, going 10-22 passing. The ground game powered the offense though, as they rushed for 217 total yards. The team was also much improved on third down, converting 7 of 15 third down opportunities.

The Orange and Blue return to action tomorrow when they travel to Washington D.C. to face Georgetown. Susan knows that young players are important to the team’s success as the season winds down to its final two weeks.

“They continue to improve. This team is good in understanding that the Fordham game is over. The next opportunity is the one we will focus on,” Susan said. “Each opponent brings a new challenge physically and mentally.”

Byers also explains how the feeling of earning the victory against Fordham can carry over to tomorrow’s game against the Hoyas.

“The feeling after getting the win versus Fordham was awesome,” Byers said. “Nobody on the team wants to lose again and we just have to use that as motivation to work hard all week and come out on Saturday and make plays.”

Categories
Sports Swimming & Diving Women

Women’s squad splits meet

 

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
A Bison swimmer prepares herself at the block. The Bison defeated American but fell to Navy.

Lauren Boone

Contributing Writer

The women’s swimming and diving team held its own in a dual meet against American and Navy, defeating the host Eagles 252-36 but falling to the defending Patriot League champion Midshipmen 185-113.

Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 (1,000 freestyle) and Emma Levendoski ’16 (100 backstroke) led the Orange and Blue in the swimming competition held at Reeves Pool in Washington D.C., both earning first place finishes in their respective events. Levendoski posted a time of 57.98 seconds in her heat. Although she already held the eighth fastest time for this event in Bison program history, she improved her record by 0.26 seconds. Additionally, Levendoski was the runner-up in the 200 backstroke. Pontecorvo also added to her contribution with a third place finish in the 500 freestyle.

 

Leading the Bison in diving were Tara Boyle ’15 and Katie Hetherington ’15, who finished with first place victories in the one-meter and three-meter boards, respectively. In support, Tori Molchany ’15 was fourth off both boards, followed by teammate Lisa Bolle ’13 who finished seventh in the one-meter and fifth in the three-meter.

“Our meet this weekend went very well,” Levendoski said. “We are continuing to improve and are getting faster at every meet. It was the first meet against teams in our conference so it was a good gauge of our competition. We are looking forward to our meet this weekend against Lafayette and the Bison Invitational next weekend.”

The weekend left the Bison’s overall record this season at 1-3. Tomorrow the Orange and Blue face Lafayette at home before the Bucknell Invitational takes place on Nov. 16-18.

Categories
Men Sports Swimming & Diving

Men’s team wins one, loses one

 

Chris Paine | The Bucknellian
A Bison swimmer leaps into the water. The Bison showed promise in the highly-contested meet.

Billy Tyler

Contributing writer

The men’s swimming and diving team saw career-best performances from Tyler Wenzel ’16 and Mike Nicholson ’14 this past weekend as the team split its double dual meet against American and Navy, beating American 196-98 while falling to Navy 187-108.

The diving competition on Nov. 2 featured very tough competition from both Navy and American. Stepping up to the challenge was Wenzel, who set school top marks on both the one meter and three meter boards. Wenzel came into the event knowing he, and the team as a whole, would need a solid performance to be competitive.

“I was nervous in the beginning, as Navy has a good reputation for their ability in water athletics,” Wenzel said.

He was able to shake off his nerves and delivered a career best score of 245.3 on the one meter-board, earning him the sixth best performance in the school’s history. This was followed up by a score of 245.55 on the three-meter board, gaining him third in the heat and seventh in the school’s records.

“I just did what I could within my ability and was given confidence by the support of my family and my two teammates, who both dove very well this weekend,” Wenzel said.

The swimmers, who competed on Nov. 3, were led by Nicholson, who won three out of the four individual events captured by the Bison. He finished first in the 200 breast, the 200 fly and the 200 IM by a combined total time of 5.06 seconds. The two-time All Patriot League swimmer was pleased not only with his performance, but also those of his teammates who stepped up to the tough competition, especially from Navy.

“We won four events and the events we didn’t win we managed to get to the wall ahead of some of their other guys, which was what we had to do to prevent them from running away with the meet,” Nicholson said.

The other individual win for the men’s swimming team was earned by Ben Seketa ’15. In addition to his victory in the 100 breast, Seketa finished fourth in the 200 breast and second only to Nicholson in the 200 IM. Some of the other top finishers for the Bison included Chris Ortiz ’16 (third in 100 free, fifth in 200 free and seventh in 50 free) and Brian Phillips ’16 (fifth in 1000 free and eighth in 500 free).

“We really emphasize making improvement from week to week and meet to meet at this point in the season and we definitely saw improvement in a number of areas from a number of people,” head coach Dan Schinnerer said.

The next time the Bison take the water will be at the team’s home invitational event on Nov. 16-18 in Kinney Natatorium.

Categories
Sports Volleyball Women

Volleyball goes 1-1

Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s volleyball team played their last home games of the season last weekend, first crushing Holy Cross in a decisive 3-0 victory before falling to a tough Army team.

The Bison came out for Senior Night on Nov. 2 against a Holy Cross team they had lost to earlier in the season, and quickly took care of business with a victory in three straight sets. Kebah Edoho ’13 and Kat Tauscher ’13 were honored that night, and both players stepped up with impressive performances, with Edoho racking up six blocks and a career-best 14 kills, while Tauscher pulled a double-double with 10 digs and 22 assists.

“Friday night was a great senior night for Kebah [Edoho] and I. We had a lot of fun playing in front of our family and friends and really appreciated all the love and support we received from our teammates and coaches,” Tauscher said. “It was a great overall team effort with no lulls or setbacks and it was icing on the cake that everyone, including Kebah and I, had such great games.”

Many other members of the team also stepped up for the Bison in the victory. Leylin Marroquin ’14 recorded 14 digs on the day, while Kristen Titley ’14 recorded eight kills. Karen Campbell ’16 also added two blocks to Edoho’s six, putting the Orange and Blue in the lead for team blocks.

The Bison struggled to keep up the momentum on Nov. 3 when they went up against Army team, losing in straight sets. The team was against bolstered by Tauscher and Meghan Wentzel ’16 who each recorded nine assists on the day. Campbell and Titley also played well, racking up eight and five kills, respectively.

“The difference between the two games was clearly the level of the competition as well as us as a team just not having a good night,” Tauscher said. “For some reason, on Saturday night we couldn’t put things together and nothing was going our way. With that said, it gives us something to work on this week and a chance for redemption this weekend at Navy and American.”

The Bison will finish out their regular season this weekend with two games on the road, travelling tonight to face Navy, and then facing off at American tomorrow afternoon.

Categories
Field Hockey Sports Women

F. Hockey ends season

Andrew Arnao

Senior Writer

The field hockey team concluded its season on Nov. 2 after a 4-0 loss to American in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament. The Orange and the Blue finished with a 3-3 record in Patriot League play, and a 9-10 record overall.

“I’d say that it was an exciting season with goals scored by multiple players, people stepping into new roles and taking them on with determination and a real infusion of emotion into the game by our players,” assistant coach Jamie Montgomery said. “They set the bar high this season and in doing so took real risks trying to get there.”

After facing American the previous week and dropping a close 2-1 contest, the Bison put in a week of practice to readjust and entered last weekend determined to come out on top. The practice appeared to pay off in the first half, where the Bison defense held American to seven shots and only one goal scored right before halftime. However, the usually dominating second half offense did not make an appearance for the Bison, and American was able to tack on three more goals to pull away.

“We traded opportunities to score with them in the first half, and when they were able to capitalize and we were not, it really changed the way we had to approach the second half,” head coach Jeremy Cook said. “Had we been able to put one away in the first, I think it would have gone differently.”

American finished with a 13-4 shot advantage, as well as a 6-4 edge in penalty corners. The Eagles lost to Lafayette in the final.

Goalie Erica Perrine ’14 recorded eight saves to go along with four goals allowed, and finishes the season tied for sixth in program history for wins in a single season. Defender Tayler Siegrist ’13 also finished the season with a team-leading eight goals. Midfielder Kelsey Mucelli ’15 and forward Rachel Misko ’14 were named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team.

“This year was an awesome year for our team,” Misko said. “We were a young team who went out to every game with a lot of heart and the will to win every game … We may not have won the Patriot League Championship but we have made unbelievable strides toward the future as a team.”

Graduating from the team are Siegrist and midfielder Kelly Stefanowicz ’13.

“We are graduating two phenomenal student-athletes this year, both of whom are fantastic representatives of the scholar-athlete model in completely different ways,” Cook said. “I am very proud of them and the whole group; we were relentless in our pursuit even if we came up a bit short at the end.”

“Expectations are big next year … We return a large group of experienced student-athletes that I think have big potential within the league,” Cook said. “Adding a traditionally powerful program like Boston University will change the landscape in the league, but with hard work this spring and a strong incoming class, I think we’ll be in a great position to take another step forward.”