Photo Credit : Jacobson

This weekend, Whitman men’s tennis took on Willamette University and Lewis and Clark College on the outdoor courts. Whitman—who came into these matches ranked 25th nationally and sixth regionally—increased their Northwest Conference win streak to 55 after besting both Willamette, 7-2, and Lewis and Clark, 9-0.

On Saturday, March 6, the Missionaries started off strong in doubles against Willamette, winning all three matches. At number one doubles, senior Matt Solomon and junior Etienne Moshevich won 8-3; at number two doubles, senior Christoph Fuchs and junior Quin Miller won 8-2; and at number three doubles, senior Jake Cappel and first-year Jeff Tolman dominated their Willamette counterparts, winning 8-0.

Even with team leaders, Solomon and Moshevich, losing early singles matches, 7-6 (5-7), 4-6, 6-3 and 6-2, 6-4, respectively, the Missionaries were still able to clinch the win after junior Chris Bailey comfortably defeated his opponent at number four singles 6-0, 6-2.  Fuchs swept his opponent at number five singles in similar fashion 6-0, 6-2 and first-year Sam Sadeghi demolished his opponent 6-0, 6-0.  Tolman faced some trouble from his opponent at number two singles, but pulled out a 7-6 (7-2), 0-6, 6-4 win in the end.

After the match, Head Coach Jeff Northam commented on his team’s potential and ability to overcome challenges.

“Injuries haven’t been very kind to us this year. Seems like since the first week of the season we have had guys out with injuries. I know that as a team we are capable of playing better. Hopefully everyone will continue to improve and we will be at the top of our game by the conference tournament. This weekend we probably played our best doubles of the year. Against a good Willamette team, we came out with a lot of intensity and jumped out out to quick leads,” he said.

Sadeghi was similarly excited about the Missionaries performance.

“We needed to make a statement this weekend after our come-from-behind 5-4 win against Pacific Lutheran University and we did just that,” he said. “Willamette is arguably the second-best team in the conference and a 7-2 win is impressive. Hopefully we can continue to play this well into spring break when we play some of our most important matches of the season.”

On Sunday, March 7, the Missionaries capitalized on the momentum they gained from their victory over Willamette cruising to a 9-0 win over Lewis and Clark. Fuchs and sophomore Conor Holton-Burke easily defeated their Pioneer opponents, 8-1 in the number one doubles match. Senior Thomas Roston and sophomore Adriel Borshansky won 8-4 at number two doubles and senior David Deming and first-year Matt Tesmond won 8-1 in the final doubles match.

The singles portion of the match was all Whitman. The Missionary players combined to lose only six games each dominating their Lewis and Clark counterparts in straight sets.

Cappel, playing Lewis and Clark sophomore Quinn Roth-Carter in the number three singles, was the only Missionary to be challenged at all. After deftly taking the first set 6-0, his game eluded him in a second set plagued by missed serves and unforced errors. By the end of the set frustration was visible—and in some cases audible—by both players. However, good baseline and net play by Cappel coupled with superior shot placement gave him an advantage over Roth-Carter as the set went to tie-break.

Early on Cappel looked to be taking control of the tie-break as he went up 2-0 with a good serve and backhand winner. However, Roth-Carter fought back to tie the score at 4-4. Late in the tie-break Cappel displayed his superior conditioning as he took the last three points from his visibly exhausted opponent, grinding out a hard-earned 6-0, 7-6 (7-4) victory.

Both the coach and players say that the 55 game win streak is not a concern or a blessing for the team; in fact Sadeghi said he did not even realize that they had such a win streak.

“One pretty unique aspect of our program is we often split the team into two different teams and go play conference matches. If I [or the team] was concerned about a streak we wouldn’t split squad our matches,” Northam said. “Our conference has gotten better the past few years and we are far from over-confident. One thing about consistently being one of the top teams in the conference is we always get every team’s best effort. ”

The Missionaries hope to continue their win streak Friday, March 12, against Pacific Lutheran University at home.

The men’s team managed a 28-over par, 316 total, finishing behind both Whitworth (304) and North Idaho (306). It was a rather disappointing outcome, but there were a number of highlights to take from the first match of the season. Missionary senior Steve Campbell, who has been slowed by illness in the last few weeks, shot a stellar 72, finishing in a tie for first with North Idaho’s Branden Dalton. First-year players Geoff Burks and Peter Clark both finished in the top 10 as well, Burks with a six-over, 78and Clark with a seven-over, 79.

“It was basically a kick-off tournament for us. It was a good sounding board for us to see where we are and where we need to go,” said Head Men’s Coach Peter McClure. “It was a good learning experience and a good physical experience.”

Whitman’s last tournament action was in mid-October. As a result many of the players were a little rusty.

“I didn’t play quite as strongly as I’d like, but for such a long layoff I felt fairly happy with my game and am expecting much lower scores later in the semester,” said Burks. “As for the team, I think that we all did pretty well—there were a couple people who are still coming off of the long winter layoff, but I expect everyone’s game to be back up to par by our next tournament.”

The women’s team finished with a 357, just behind North Idaho (354) and well back of Whitworth (332). Despite finishing third in the match, Head Women’s Coach Skip Molitor found positives in the women’s performance.

“In the fall season, the Whitman women surpassed the 357 team total only twice in seven outings, so this first spring round was a promising start to what looks to be an exciting spring for the Whitman women’s team,” Molitor said.

Much of Molitor’s excitement is due to first-year player Tate Head, who finished alone in third place with an 81. Head held a four-stroke lead after the opening nine holes, but ran into some difficulties on the back nine. Junior Sydney Saito played a consistent game and recorded Whitman’s second-lowest score, a 91. First-years Sydney Conway and Caitlin Holland finished with a 92 and a 93 respectively.

The women’s team will head to Clarkston, Wash. on March 15 to participate in the two-day, Lewis-Clark State Invitational; then both teams will head to California for two matches during spring break.

Photo Credit : Jacobson

The Whitman men’s lacrosse team took down Central Washington University on Ankeny Field Saturday, March 6, by a final score of 18-8. Whitman’s win over CWU is their first of the season following two losses to perennial Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League powerhouses, University of Idaho and Western Oregon University.

The victory was especially satisfying as the team was still reeling from their Feb. 28 loss to defending league champion, Western Oregon. The loss was particularly heart-breaking as the Missionaries held the lead for the majority of the contest before the Wolves bit back with three fourth-quarter goals–the last of which coming under a minute left–to secure a 10-9 victory.

First-year attacker Aedan Weber spearheaded the Missionaries dominant offensive attack. Weber’s seven goals led all scorers Saturday, and his adept passing and nimble footwork in the offensive zone helped create several other scoring opportunities.

On the defensive end, fellow first-year Ben Skotheim held down the fort on defense, limiting the Wildcats scoring chances to a bare minimum, while initiating the offense from his own end. Skotheim’s effort made helped first-year Luigi Lollini—who put together an exemplary performance as goalie—collect his first college victory.

“It was great to get my first win. I had a lot of fun,” said Lollini. “I can’t wait to get back out there next weekend.”

The beginning of this season finds the Whitman men trying to balance youth with experience, following last season’s unprecedented playoff run that took them to the finals, only to lose in a gut-wrenching double-overtime thriller. Although their current record of 1-2-0 doesn’t look impressive on paper, junior Zach Morrissey says this team has the potential to go all the way.

“We’re expecting to go far this season,” Morrissey said, following a stellar performance at midfield last Saturday. “Last year, we went to our conference championships and lost 10-9 in double overtime. This year, we fully expect to win. We’ve got a much deeper team and play really well.”

Morrissey, who opted not to study abroad this semester in part due to the lacrosse season, believes Whitman has all the pieces in place to take home the title.

“We’re doing really well. The team is having a great time this season and we’ve got some really good freshmen talent along with some other returners who have really stepped up their game this year. We’re only 1-2-0, but our team is showing a lot of promise,” he said.

Despite championship aspirations and a legitimate star performer in Weber, the men’s lacrosse team goes widely unnoticed by the Whitman community at large, but Morrissey says the team is content just to play and continue enjoying club status.

“If we wanted to be a varsity sport our entire league would have to become D3, and that’s not going to happen any time soon . . . Everyday we live and breathe lacrosse,” he said.

The Whitman men’s lacrosse team, which has made the division playoffs every year since 1995, travels to Salem, Ore. this weekend for a showdown with Willamette University. The team will look to build upon their recent success and continue their march towards the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse playoffs.

On a cultural level, he was one of the most celebrated sports icons in history. No athlete since Michael Jordan had been so unequivocally the face of not only his own sport, but of the sporting world. He was put on a pedestal that few people—let alone athletes—ever reach. Being half Asian, a quarter African American, one-eighth Native American and one-eighth Dutch, he was also a social phenomenon—an unquestionably marvelous product of America and the embodiment of what America represents. But that was then.

On Feb. 19, 2010, Tiger delivered a televised speech from the PGA Tour headquarters in Florida, apologizing for his “transgressions,” or more plainly, his “rampant infidelity.” Since his marriage to Elin Nordegren, a former Swedish model, in November of 2003, Tiger allegedly had affairs with 14 different women, some of which lasted over two and a half years. Augmenting the inherent despicability of his actions, Tiger’s adulterous texts and phone calls, as well as interviews with his mistresses have pervaded the media world. Ultimately what we have found is that one of the most celebrated cultural icons of our time has been totally obliterated.

It shouldn’t be overly shocking that Tiger Woods (like so many other athletes and celebrities) is guilty of marital infidelity. After all, he’s an unbelievably prominent athlete, he spends much of the year touring away from his family and he’s been elevated to an almost God-like status in this country since his late teens. Still, this scandal is relatively earth shattering in that it surfaced and altered public perceptions regarding Tiger so abruptly. Over the years, Jordan revealed himself to be an egomaniacal, vindictive man with a gambling problem (among other things). However, his negative traits appeared rather gradually and, in some cases, not until after he retired from the NBA. On the other hand, Tiger went from being viewed as a respectable and worthy role model to an adulterer and depraved sex addict in a matter of days.

Is there really any precedence for something like this? Let’s list some of the greatest cultural icons of the last century or so: JFK, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Dean, Michael Jackson, Madonna. Not too surprisingly, all of them had pretty publicized vices and issues, some of them even sharing the same vice as Tiger Woods. But never have those vices and issues been so ubiquitously symbolized in society as the text messages, voice mails and cell phone IDs that damned Tiger. A cultural icon’s own text messages from his cellular phone becoming the symbols of his demise? The exponentially increasing speed and ever-expansive process of accessing and spreading information in today’s cultural framework has finally culminated in becoming the very antagonist to Tiger’s attempt to manufacture and carefully construct his image.

All of a sudden the image he projected throughout his career suddenly proved to be nothing more than a carefully crafted illusion. While some have referred to Tiger’s apology as sincere, we see it as little more than a calculated attempt to rebuild this tarnished image. His audience was carefully selected—only few hand-picked reporters were allowed witness his speech live—he showed astonishingly little emotion and he refused to answer questions. Obviously, it was enough for some, but his return to the PGA Tour—whenever it is—will undoubtedly be met with a range of emotions. The question is, “What does this all mean for golf’s future?”

Golf without Tiger is almost obsolete in mainstream America. When Tiger’s epic final round in the U.S. Open in 2008 was broadcast on NBC, it bested Game Five of the NBA Finals in the TV ratings, which was airing on competing station, ABC. Immediately following his U.S. Open victory, Tiger underwent season-ending knee surgery and television ratings subsequently plummeted. No one wants to see Padraig Harrington and Kenny Perry play golf. Even golfers such as Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els are only quasi-stars at all because they occasionally compete with Tiger.

Ever since he stormed onto the professional golf scene with his dominating victory at the 1997 Masters, golf has been viewed in terms of Tiger. Y.E. Yang’s victory in the 2009 PGA Championship did not captivate the nation’s attention in and of itself; the central storyline was not that Yang won, but that he did so as the David to Tiger’s usually insurmountable Goliath. Whether Tiger wins or loses, the golf world and the media that covers it unswervingly revolve around his status as the sport’s unquestioned alpha dog, as its only player who figures into the pantheon of American sports legends.

For all of the damage his transgressions have caused to his previously untarnished reputation, golf needs him to return and to resume his previous dominance. Most sports fans will never view Tiger as they did before and some will never forgive him. However, Tiger’s personal life only receives the scrutiny that it does because his skills as a golfer are so otherworldly. We are a forgiving people and our guess is that returning and winning some tournaments will do more to remind the American public why they fell in love with Tiger than a staged apology ever could. That doesn’t negate his guilt; it’s just the way our sports culture works. We are predisposed to hope for the fallen sports hero to rise and mesmerize us as he did before.

Photo Credit : von Hafften

After breezing by Pacific University 9-0 on Saturday, Feb. 27, completing their their third shut out of the season, Whitman’s women tennis took on the Linfield Wildcats Sunday, Feb. 28, on the outdoor courts. After many a hard-fought match, the Wildcats were able to squeak by Whitman 5-4, bringing Linfield’s Northwest Conference record to 4-2 and dropping the Missionaries to 3-2.

Linfield took an early 2-1 lead following the doubles matches and never looked back as the Missionaries and Wildcats split the six singles matches. Whitman went down at number one and three singles in close decisions, both matches fell 8-6 to Linfield. Senior Divneet Kaur and junior Elise Otto battled it out for position at number one doubles, but in the end, even Kaur’s encouraging words and both their efforts fell short.

At number three doubles, sophomore Emily Rolston and first-year Kate Kunkel-Patterson also fought hard; despite Rolston’s inspired play, they fell short as well.

Coach John Hein is pleased with the effort shown by the team this weekend and thinks that Whitman will prove to be even more formidable in upcoming matches.

“[Sunday against the Wildcats] was one of those matches that a few points here or there and we’d walk away with the win, so I’m definitely excited to play them again,” said Hein.

First-year Alyssa Roberg and senior Hadley Debree were the only Whitman duo that won, and they did so in dramatic fashion, winning the tiebreaker. With both girls giving it their all, uplifting on-court communication by Roberg and strong hits and serves by both DeBree and Roberg, the two were able to pull out the win, even after trailing 0-3 in the decisive tiebreak.

Unforced errors by both teams allowed break points to be won and lost and chances to slip away. However, the tiebreak showed just how focused and intense Roberg and Debree were and how much they wanted to win. After falling behind 0-3 due to three consecutive unforced errors, they rallied back with good serves and un-returnable volleys. Roberg and Debree only allowed Linfield two more points in the tiebreak, eventually winning 9-8 (7-5).

“The doubles match was definitely a difficult one for which Hadley and I had to block everything else out and just really focus on every point,” Roberg said. “It was tough not to let the results of other matches affect you, since Had and I were the last ones playing. It was a great feeling to pull that match out, and it lets me know that under any situation Hadley and I can compose ourselves and pull out any match.”

Photo Credit : von Hafften

The doubles matches proved to be the decisive ones, as on the singles side Whitman and Linfield split the decisions. At the number-one spot, Roberg deftly handled her Wildcat counterpart 6-4, 6-4. Despite dropping her second set, Kaur, working at the number-four seed, kept it rolling into the third set, pulling out a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win. In the sixth spot, Kunkel-Patterson was the only other Whittie to win a singles match.  After splitting her first two sets, she won the third set tiebreaker 10-8.

Struggling at the second spot, Otto fell in a heartbreaking 4-6, 4-6 loss. DeBree, playing at the third seed, dropped the first set 2-6, made it a match by taking the second 4-6, but quickly fell 6-1 in the third. Rolston fell in step at five singles, losing 3-6, 2-6.

Whitman hopes to avenge this loss next time they play Linfield on Saturday, April 3, in McMinnville, Ore. The next women’s tennis match is Saturday, March 5, against Lewis and Clark in Portland. The next home women’s tennis match will be Saturday, March 27, against George Fox University.

When Benner turned 16, an age which found many of his classmates struggling to understand the intricacies of using turn signals, Cameron began attending a school for high-performance driving.

“It started out as a love of driving,” Benner said.

The same feeling of freedom that so many associate with getting their first driver’s license eventually drove Benner, a Portland native, to Track Days, a Portland-based program that caters to driving enthusiasts. Benner says it was his experiences at these casual events that started him down the road to competitive racing.

“At Track Days, you get in different cars and drive them on a racetrack; I got to drive Porsches and Audis, just cruising cars for fun, but I quickly found out I kind of had a talent for it. I was just faster than everyone else, and from there it was sort of a natural progression into racing,” Benner said

Barely two years after Benner stepped out of Driver’s Ed, he found himself in the winner’s circle.

Last summer  he won the Oregon Region ITE championship as well as the Oregon Wheel-to-Wheel Rookie of the Year award. It was then Benner knew he had found his calling.

“I really love racing,” Benner said. “I always say, life moves slower at 160 miles per hour.”

As of this month, however, Benner says things are going to start moving a lot faster.

“I didn’t know I’d be driving this year until two week ago. COBB Tuning has been informally sponsoring me for a while, but a few weeks ago I got a call from one of the sponsors saying he’d submitted a projection of costs for the season, and that this year for the first time they’d be putting together a three-car national team, and he offered me a position,” said Benner.

After a negotiation process that included stipulations that Benner appear at press releases, write summaries of his performance and give interviews for the company Web site, the deal was finalized: Benner and the number 21 car he has driven for the past year will be competing in 10 races from California to Florida.

Keeping up with his schoolwork and his racing has been no easy task for Benner. When asked how he juggles school and racing, he just smiles.

“Oh boy. It hasn’t been easy, especially because racing isn’t a Whitman-recognized program,” said Benner. “I’ve had to meet with the dean and my professors, but luckily this semester I’ll mostly be racing on weekends, flying out of Friday nights. My priorities are education first and then racing a distant second.”

Benner has also had to deal with the reality that very few Whitman students care for professional racing, let alone know how it works.

“Most people think, oh, you go in a circle. That’s NASCAR,” he said. “The tour I compete on has cars with 550 horsepower going 165 miles per hour through road courses that have turns all over, left and right, along with elevation and terrain changes, all while competing wheel-to-wheel against other cars going just as fast.”

Red Line Time Attack, the nationwide tour Benner will soon be racing on, is among the first competitive circuits to completely make the change to biofuel. Benner says the switch to biofuel makes sense on a competitive level as well as an ecological one.

“The chemistry behind the biofuels actually generates more horsepower because it burns much more efficiently than leaded fuel,” Benner said.

Benner is also familiar with the hostility felt toward motor sports by environmentalists.

“I always hear people say that racing is horrible for the environment, with terrible emissions, et cetera,” he said. “The reality is that the car companies like Porsche or Audi make for professional racing are the pinnacle of their technology. All the advances you see in new cars for public consumption, all of these technologies were presented in race cars first. They’re looking for that upper edge, stretching their legs, flexing their muscles, getting recognition. That’s why I’m so interested in biofuel. The motor sports industry taking on biofuel will eventually trickle down to the consumer market.”

While he’s more than content enjoying his first-year Whitman experience for the time being, Benner can’t wait to get back on the racetrack.

“You just get in this zone, the driving zone. If you’re worried about risk, you can’t do it,” he said. “If you let the idea of risk integrate its way into the race craft, you might as well not be driving.”

Photo Credit : Jacobson

The Whitman men’s basketball team fell just short of its first winning season in more than a decade, falling to Linfield College 74-70 on Friday, Feb. 19, in McMinnville, Ore. to close the 2009/2010 season. The loss dropped the Missionaries’ record to 12-13, a three-game improvement over last year that shows a definite step forward for the young team.

Whitman played with focus and fire in their last game despite their elimination from playoff contention following their Feb. 16 loss to seventh-ranked Whitworth University. Whitman, as they’ve done all year, showcased a youthful core that will lose only two seniors: guard Jordan Wheeler and forward Jordan Brandon.

“We’re are losing two great seniors in Brandon and Jordan,” said Head Coach Eric Bridgeland.  ”We will miss them.  They have been great leaders.”

However, the Missionaries’ young legs couldn’t keep up with senior Wildcat Cody Tesoro, who scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half, including 12 of Linfield’s first 16 points. He would finish 6-7 from the three-point line in his second-to-last home game.

Whitman trailed by 13 in the first half before reducing the deficit to five at halftime. When play recommenced Linfield proceeded to stretch its lead to 12. As the fourth quarter began, Whitman’s youth movement needed to step up.

Led by first-year LuQuam Thompson’s 18 points and sophomore David Michaels’ double-double, the Missionaries surged back into contention, pulling within two points with three minutes left. It seemed as though the Missonaries might be able to sneak past the Wildcats, but the free throw line failed to live up to its “charity stripe” nickname as Linfield iced the game with foul shots.

The win brought the Wildcats’ conference record to 10-5 (12-11 overall) and insured them second place in the Northwest Conference. Whitman finished 6-9 in the NWC—good enough for sixth place, the same position they finished in last year.

The Missionaries’ roller coaster season saw a five-game winning streak at the beginning of the season, a five-game losing streak at the end of the season and very few dull moments in between. For example, sophomore Brandon Shaw—who led the team in scoring—and first-year Drew Raher, both major contributors against Linfield, were forced to cheer on their teammates from the stands during last week’s game against Whitworth after an on-court altercation with the University of Puget Sound Feb. 13.

The Missionaries know that they aren’t the OKC Thunder yet, but spirits run high when the team looks to the future. Second-year coach Eric Bridgeland has transformed the team from perennial losers into a high-scoring, turnover-causing squad.

Whitman was first in the Northwest Conference in steals and turnover margin and second in points per game and scoring margin. Shaw led the conference in individual steals per game at almost 2.5 per game after adding four to his season total against Linfield.

Peter Clark, one of three first-years to log major minutes this season, led the conference in three-point field goals made per game, cementing himself as one of the best shooters in the conference in only his first year on campus. Whitman will bring back its top six scorers and nine of its top 10 players for the 2010/2011 season.

Second-year Head Coach Bridgeland is similarly optimistic for the future of his young team. “When I was at Puget Sound we had a losing record for my first two years, [before rattling off three consecutive Northwest Conference titles] but it was a similar situation, playing with mostly freshman and sophomores,” said Bridgeland. “By the time these freshman are juniors and seniors they are going to be tough to take down.”

If Coach Bridgeland continues to recruit as well as he has recently, and especially if Whitman is able to add some interior bulk to its post attack, Whitman Basketball looks to climb the conference rankings in the coming years. A winning record and a playoff berth are well within the Missionaries’ reach in 2010-2011.

Photo Credit : Jacobson

The Whitman College women’s basketball team ended a season filled with adversity and close losses on a high note Friday, Feb. 19, traveling to McMinnville, Ore. and decimating the Linfield Wildcats, 81-52. Whitman’s victory capped off a season that saw the Missionaries go 12-13 overall with a 7-9 record in Northwest Conference play.

Playing away from home didn’t stop Whitman’s shooters from making Friday senior night. Whitman’s three seniors, playing in their final games as Missionaries, combined for 46 points—just short of the offensive-output of Linfield’s entire team.

Senior Hilary White, just one game removed from scoring 25 in her final home game, dropped 22 points and seven rebounds on the Wildcats, while fellow senior Dawna Mello put on a clinic on how to play point guard, padding her 11 points with a game-leading seven assists.

Four-year starter Michelle Krall put on perhaps the most versatile showing of the night, collecting 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a block and a steal. Whitman’s seniors ensured that a season defined by last-second finishes would end in blowout fashion. Even a second-half Wildcat charge only brought Linfield within 14 points of the lead, one which Whitman would bolster in part thanks to sinking 13 three-pointers, one shy of the Whitman single game record.

Head Coach Michelle Ferenz reflected upon the 2009-2010 campaign as a missed opportunity.

“This was a challenging season for us,” said Ferenz. “Injuries are disruptive to any team and we definitely had more than our fair share. It forced us to adjust our style of play and ask players to step up and assume different roles. Basically, we were always playing catch up in terms of making adjustments to fit our healthy personnel. If we had a few possessions go our way in the first round, we picked a couple more wins and we are in the playoffs this week.”

Although clearly disappointed with a losing season, Ferenz believes closing with a blowout victory may be emblematic of things to come, remarking on Whitman’s chances in 2010.

“We look forward to returning a strong core of players and getting [juniors] Anna [Forge] and Jenele [Peterson] back healthy and ready to go—we also need to add about six new faces to our team and we are off to a good start.”

First year Kelly Peterson, who scored 14 points against Linfield on Friday, shares Coach Ferenz’s optimism.

“I think we’re looking at a really good season,” Peterson said. “Losing so many players to injuries this year was hard, but it did let younger players who might not have gotten much playing time find their role on the team. Having this experience and getting Forge and Peterson back, I think we could really have a breakout year.”

In a season wrought with bad breaks and near misses, hope springs eternal for the women’s basketball team as they begin recruiting for next season.

We’re talking about LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Tyson Chandler, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Redd, just to name a few. All of these players will be in a position to get out of existing contracts or sign new contracts come this off-season. As a result, teams around the league are scrambling to reorganize so that they have the financial means of scoring a big-time player in free agency.

Feb. 18 marked the NBA trade deadline, the latest date in the season where teams are allowed to trade for players. The Los Angeles Clippers’ Marcus Camby shipped to the Blazers for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw, providing Portland with a much-needed veteran big man. Tracy McGrady proved he’s still got it in his first game playing for the Knicks, where he ended up after escaping Houston in a three-way deal involving the Sacramento Kings, the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets.

In local news, the Celtics picked up Seattle native Nate Robinson from the Knicks in a trade that sent veteran guard Eddie “Headband” House to the Big Apple.

The Chicago Bulls were also relatively active this past week, sending away veterans Tyrus Thomas and John Salmons for Hakim Warrick, Joe Alexander, Flip Murray, Acie Law and a protected first-round pick.

However, the team that made the most significant transactions was the Knicks, and for good reason. They are one of the top contenders to sign a big name during the off-season. There are even rumors of the King himself, LeBron James, moving his court to New York. But let’s not be silly; Bron Bron is staying in Cleveland.

All of the maneuvering that goes on to free up enough salary cap space to build a championship-caliber team is a reflection of a flawed business model. NBA commissioner David Stern and the owners drafted a proposal just over a week ago outlining their demands for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, an agreement between the NBA Players Association and team owners which determines salaries. The owners’ proposed resolution is meant to bring about a wide-scale reduction in player salaries and a firm salary cap to limit spending.

It’s about time. The current structure is disproportionate and untenable. Owners don’t manage their money wisely, players get paid too much and it is too expensive for cities to maintain state-of-the-art stadiums (see the exodus of the former Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City). An ugly dispute between owners and players will inevitably occur, and the owners will probably win. Many analysts are saying that a lockout after the current CBA expires in 2011 is almost a sure thing.

One of the problems with professional sports is that they do too good of a job hiding the business side of things. When players sign huge contracts and then begin performing inconsistently, it is a major drain on franchises. They have to decide whether to keep their expensive disappointments or swallow their losses and move on.

Acquiring players in the NBA isn’t like trading Magic cards or quarterbacks in your fantasy league; it’s not solely about value. The transactions that are made in professional sports, specifically the NBA, are controlled by the financial restrictions made by players’ existing contracts, not the objective worth of the individuals involved.

For more commentary and sports related jargon from Doyle and Gabe, tune in to KWCW 90.5 FM Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for Whitman Sports Radio.

This victory didn’t come as a surprise, as last season the Bruins finished 1-16 overall and winless in Northwest Conference match-ups. However, Whitman was looking to bounce back from a frustrating performance last week against Pacific Lutheran University, where the Missionaries barely pulled out a 5-4 win.

“PLU left a sour taste in our mouths,” said senior Matt Solomon. “[That] was one of the worst matches I’ve ever played.”

Against the Lutes, the Whit men were their own worst enemies, allowing little things to get to their heads. Head Coach Jeff Northam focused on harnessing that energy this week, in preparation for the match with George Fox.

“After our match against PLU, we had talked a lot about energy and trying to play with positive energy. We were very angry on court and it effected our play,” said Northam. “Against George Fox, [I wanted the guys to] really bear down and play with good positive energy.”

The 9-0 outcome was just as much Whitman’s prestige as it was George Fox’s lack of competitiveness. The ease with which the Missionaries dispatched the Bruins was so elegant and deftly done that the matches didn’t provide for too much entertainment.

Early on in doubles action the Missionaries set the tone. They dominated on their home court, Whitman’s Bratton Tennis Center. At the number-one doubles spot, both Solomon and junior Etienne Moshevich stunned the Munoz brothers, Juan and Pedro, 8-0. Similarly, senior Jasper Follows and first-year Jeff Tolman routed their counterparts at third-ranked doubles 8-1, not dropping a game until a 7-0 lead.

Photo Credit : von Hafften

The only dramatic storyline in doubles, if you could call it that, was at the second seed. George Fox’s Scott Barnett and Nick Jenness came out of the gates strong, storming to a 3-2 lead over senior Christoph Fuchs and junior Quin Miller. However, the Missionaries remained unfettered. Chipping away at the lead, Miller and Fuchs coolly handed the Bruins an 8-4 loss.

In the singles round there were a few entertaining sets, but otherwise, it was as much of a snooze-fest as the doubles matches.

The headline match pinned Whitman’s own Solomon against George Fox’s number one player, Scott Barnett.  Barnett, the Bruin’s only all-conference player, gave Solomon a run for his money as he went up a break at 1-3.  However, that would be all the fight Barnett could muster, as Solomon settled down and sent his foe packing 6-3, 6-1.

Seeing Solomon stumble in conference play is a rarity, and this was two weeks in a row.

“This season has been a bit of a struggle,” Solomon said. “I felt that I was playing too conservatively in the beginning, but after talking it over with coach, we changed some strategy. I’m hoping it’ll [carry over] to the rest of the season.”

Tolman had the most trouble, relatively, wrapping his match up at third singles. After a convincing 6-1 first set, he nearly dropped the second but pulled out  an inspiring 7-5 second set victory.

In a repeat of their earlier doubles match, Moshevich made quick work of Pedro Munoz with a 6-1, 6-0 victory, at number two singles. Junior Chris Bailey, who did not play doubles, didn’t seem to suffer from that as he handily took care of his counterpart at fourth-seeded singles, 6-1, 6-1. Fuchs joined in on the action at the number-five spot, dismantling George Fox’s Matthew Gardner 6-2, 6-2.

Despite everyone’s tremendous success, perhaps Follows had the best night overall at sixth singles. He outplayed and outmaneuvered the Bruins’ Chris Schoon in every way possible, earning the a well-deserved 6-0, 6-0 victory.

This victory over George Fox University marks the Missionaries’ 53rd consecutive Northwest Conference win, an outstanding record that Whitman will certainly keep building upon. Despite being the most successful varsity sport at Whitman, Northam remains humbly optimistic.

When asked what some of the tennis team’s goals are—given that perfect seasons and conference titles are routine—Northam replied, “Routine? That’s funny! There is nothing routine about conference titles or perfect seasons. We are riding a pretty good streak at the moment but it is nothing we discuss. Our team goal for the year is to win the end of the conference tournament which qualifies us for the NCAA tournament.”

Photo Credit : Jacobson

Whitman entered two teams into the tournament. The Whitman A team managed to sweep its three group matches against Eastern Washington University (21-18, 21-16), Western Washington University (21-18, 21-12) and Idaho University (21-8, 21-6) to qualify for the elimination portion of the tournament as the second seed out of 16 teams. However, they were upset in the first round by Heritage (23-25, 26-28) in a closely contested match.

Oregon University won the tournament in dramatic fashion, defeating the ‘Zags in three games after losing their starting middle hitter to a broken ankle in the first game.

Despite the early exit of the Whitman A team in the elimination rounds, it was a much better showing than was expected, especially considering that Whitman, a school of just over 1,400 students, was competing against big NCAA Division I teams such as Gonzaga (more than 7,000 students), the University of Oregon (over 22,000), and Eastern Washington University (upwards of 11,000). Of course it helps that Whitman, despite having a significantly smaller enrollment than the other teams in the tournament, did have one of the tallest teams. Senior Graham Brewer and sophomore Aaron Rosenbaum each stand 6’6”. Further fueling the Whitman team to its great showing was the raucous home crowd that cheered on their fellow students at Sherwood.

“Our team loves to get pumped up and plays with a lot of emotion, so being able to play in front of all of our friends and the really loud crowd that we had out there on Saturday made a big difference,” said sophomore John-Henry Heckendorn, captain and founder of the Whitman men’s club volleyball team.

With the results of the tournament, the Whitman men feel like they can make some noise in the conference championships Feb. 27-28 at Gonzaga University and further establish themselves as a contender in the Pacific Northwest.

At the same time, they are very aware of where their weaknesses lie and what they need to improve in order to keep the trajectory of the less-than-two-year-old club team pointing upwards.

“The team’s progress has been fantastic. We need to get better at playing under pressure in big elimination matches, but that will come with experience. Having players with outside experience like [sophomores] Chase Richards, Greg Safranek and Ryan Smith makes a big difference,” said Heckendorn.

One big step that the Whitman team took this past weekend—aside from its play on the court—was displaying the ability to smoothly host such a large-scale tournament.

Whitman Fitness Facilities Director Michele Hanford, was duely impressed.

“I will say that I was impressed with the tournament from the standpoint of a critical eye of a building director,” Hanford said. “It appeared to be well organized, professionally ran, clean and wonderful. The students seemed to be having a great time, everyone performed well and the building looked great when they were done.”

Whitman men’s club volleyball team is putting in the work and effort to set itself up for long term success much sooner than anyone would have thought possible.

Photo Credit : Bullion

Whitman’s women’s tennis opened their season last weekend with two wins over Northwest Conference foes the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University and a disappointing loss to NAIA pre-season ranked number 14 Lewis-Clark State College in a non-conference match-up.

The Missionaries dominated conference play, sweeping both the Loggers and the Lutes 9-0. On Friday, Feb. 12, against Puget Sound, junior Elise Otto and senior Divneet Kaur won number one doubles 8-2 in a pro set. Senior Hadley DeBree and first-year Alyssa Roberg won at number two doubles 8-3, while sophomore Emily Rolston and first-year Kate Kunkel-Patterson won at number three doubles 8-2. Otto, DeBree and Kaur were not only successful as the top three singles. They demolished their opponents in straight sets, each giving up only one game on Friday evening in Bratton Indoor Tennis Center. Fans gathered above the courts and cheered on the Missionaries; some even came with homemade signs for their friends.

Kaur credited the team’s early season success to their off-season preparation.

“This was the most focused pre-season I have ever been a part of and it really made a difference in how we opened our season,” she said.

Rolston came back from a first set loss to win at number four singles with scores of 5-7, 6-2 and 6-4. Coach John Hein was very proud of her and the team as a whole.

“The best sign of our team dynamic was Friday night versus UPS when the match was already decided and [Rolston] was in a close third set and the entire team was there cheering her on,” he said.

Kunkel-Patterson and sophomore Charlotte Scott continued to dominate with wins at number five and six singles, respectively, each only giving up two games. First-year Lauren Olson completed the shutout with a win at number seven singles.

The Missionaries kept it rolling Saturday, Feb. 13, with their second consecutive 9-0 shutout, this time of Pacific Lutheran University.

However it was not as easy. DeBree and Kaur had to fight to win at number one doubles, ending up 9-8 and 7-3 in the tie break. Rolston and Roberg had a much easier task at number two singles, winning 8-1. Kunkel-Patterson and Scott teamed up at number three doubles to post an 8-3 victory.

Although it was the first collegiate singles match of her career, Roberg handily defeated her opponent, winning 6-0 and 6-2. Debree, Kaur and Kunkel-Patterson also routed their opponents at two, three and five singles, dropping only five, three and five games, respectively. However, Rolston and Scott, at the four and six spots, had more of a challenge with their victories. Rolston outplayed her counterpart 6-3 and 7-5, and Scott reciprocated with a 7-5 and 6-3 victory.

The Whitman women’s non-conference match against Lewis-Clark State College was unfortunately not as successful for the team, as they dropped a 6-3 decision to the ranked Warriors. The Missionaries gave up two of three doubles matches, only getting a win at number three, with Scott and Kunkel-Patterson earning a hard-fought 8-5 victory. The number four doubles team, Olson and first-year Dena Wessel, also got a win, but it did not count towards the final score.

With the normal number one singles player Otto, not participating, Roberg took her place, and showed what a formidable player she can be with a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Kaur also added to Whitman’s win column with a grueling 5-7, 6-4 and 10-6 win at number three singles.

This weekend was a good start for women’s tennis; they finished 2-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference matches. Even though the team did not sweep all of their opponents, their showing this weekend shows that this season has promise to be a very successful one.

“Make no mistake, this is a talented team that has a great shot to win conference this year, but it is the way that we have worked together and faced adversity so far that has me so excited about this team,” said Hein.

After the loss, Whitman, whose season concludes on the road against 6-17 Linfield on Friday, Feb. 19, stand poised to finish a paltry 7-9, a number hardly indicative of the team’s gritty performance in the second half of a season defined by injuries and last-minute losses.

Head Coach Michelle Ferenz emphasized the toll injuries took on the Missionaries this season.

“Losing [juniors] Anna Forge and Jenele Peterson for the season was huge blow,” said Ferenz. “Both were playing really well when they got hurt. Another injury that hurt us was [sophomore] Jennifer Keyes’ ankle injury. It took us time to adjust, and [as a result] we lost some close games.”

Six of Whitman’s nine conference losses were by four points or less. The latest came at the hands of a highly-touted 17th-ranked University of Puget Sound. Saturday, Feb. 13, the Loggers defeated the Whitman women 74-70 thanks to an impressive 18-3 run to open the second half, which inflated a two-point Logger lead to 17.

While the Missionaries fought back and made it close in the end, Ferenz said the Loggers’ sudden second half offensive explosion was simply insurmountable.

”We just couldn’t recover from that,” Ferenz said. “We played very well defensively, except for that one stretch; we battled back, but just ran out of time.”

Demonstrative of the determination the Missionaries displayed in winning six of their last eight conference games—fighting their way back into playoff contention despite a dismal 1-7 start—Whitman went down swinging Tuesday night.

Missionary seniors Dawna Mello, Michelle Krall and Hilary White led the charge in the last home game of their Whitman careers. Mello contributed seven points and three crucial assists, while none of Michelle Krall’s 10 points were larger than her two free-throws which put Whitman within a basket, with two seconds remaining.

However, on a night fraught with emotion on both sides of the court, no player held a candle to White, whose 25-point, eight-rebound highlight reel game defined Whitman’s performance from buzzer to buzzer. Already the current NWC player of the week following a weekend that saw her average 22 points in games against Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound, White somehow outdid herself against Whitworth.

From her back-to-back three point shots to close out the first half, to her dramatic three which gave Whitman their last lead of the game, White played with the air of an athlete carrying a team and its entire season on her shoulders.

While White will never play another collegiate game in Sherwood, she left on a high note. Her 25 points Tuesday cemented her position as Whitman’s 14th all-time leading scorer with 953 career points.

Meanwhile first-year Kelly Peterson—whose last-second steal of the Pirates’ inbounding pass following Krall’s free throws gave Whitman one last shot—sees a bright future ahead on the Whitman team.

“All the injuries have meant that the underclassmen have really found their role on the team,” Peterson said.

Ferenz lauded her first-year players efforts this season.

“[First-year students] Mary Madden, Kelly Peterson and Emilie Gilbert have played really well in a tough situation,” Ferenz said, adding that she is “proud of the way they have stepped up.”

Peterson, Gilbert and Madden—who scored her first collegiate double-double on Saturday, Feb. 13—are three of nine Missionaries expected to return next season, including four incoming seniors, placing Whitman in position to return strong for the 2010-11 season.

Despite not taking second, the men showed glimpses of magic as first-year Kevin Dyer lived up to his new moniker, phenom. In the first night of preliminaries, Dyer set a new school record for the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:42.42. He never finished below fourth place in any of the events he swam. In Sunday night’s grueling 1650-yard freestyle final, Dyer placed second with a time of 16:46.21, twenty-four seconds faster than his season-best.

“He is a hard worker who deserves all the success in the world. Certainly, he will be a big part of our program in the coming years,” Head Coach Jenn Blomme said about Dyer’s contributions this season and future to come.

Fellow freestyler sophomore Chris Bendix clocked a time of 16:55.91 in the same race, and for the second year in a row, came in third. Despite the same result, Bendix noted a significant difference in both NWC championsips he swam in.

“This was the most tactically planned meet I have ever been in. Each coach planned each race around each swimmer to try to get as many points as possible and it ended up being an incredibly close and exciting meet because of it,” Bendix said. “All the teams brought their A-games and it was incredible to watch.”

The points continued to pile on with the help of junior Jamie Nusse. On the final night, Nusse finished third in the 100-yard freestyle checking in at 47.20. Nusse also led the 400-yard freestyle relay team, the last event of the evening, to decide the second-place team. Leading sophomores Mitchell Lee and Matt Rowett, and first-year Paul Chang, Nusse and company were given an opportunity to hold onto their one point second-place lead over the University of Puget Sound. Unfortunately, their time of 3:11.14 was just good enough for third—almost two seconds short of the Loggers who came in second, outscoring Whitman 34-32.

On the women’s side, first-year swimmers also keyed their success. First-year Katie Chapman led the Whitman women, coming in second in the 200-yard fly and third in the 100-yard fly. Fellow first-year, Charlotte Graham also had an outstanding Championships, as she finished third, fourth and sixth in the 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard intermedley race, respectively.

On the first night of preliminary action, the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay team, who have been swimming well all season, out-did themselves as they broke their previous school record with a time of 1:41.21. The relay team was led by junior captain Lauren Flynn, with first-year Helen Jenne, Chapman and Graham rounding off the group.

This past season, the Whitman swim team has enjoyed tremendous success and much of their inspiration comes surprisingly from themselves. Despite the inherent individuality of the sport, Whitman swimmers have united as a team to push each other to be the best swimmers possible.

Bendix said that Whitman’s team is what motivated him to swim so well at the conference championships.

“Swimming is a team sport despite the fact that the actual races are very individual. Without the team behind the lanes, cheering and screaming waving flags, no one swims as fast,” he said.

This tremendous sense of team unity can only be fostered with the hard of work of good coaching. This particular year, after all the swimming was done, Blomme was rewarded for all her hard work, as she was named NWC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year. This is the first time she has received this distinction in 10 years of coaching at Whitman. Previously, she has earned this honor on the women’s side twice, in 2005 and 2006.

Blomme was quick to write off her success, attributing it to the fantastic performances of her swimmers.

“There is nothing more meaningful than an honor awarded by your peers.” Blomme said. “But in the end, the award is really for the men’s team whose efforts and desire have resulted in incredible accomplishments for our team.”

This is a huge coaching victory for Blomme, who, only five years ago, had six swimmers on her men’s roster. Currently 22 men are on the Whitman roster.

Blomme has benefited from the tremendous success of her teams in the past two seasons.  The men posted a record of 7-1 overall, 6-1 NWC and the women went 6-2, 5-2 NWC, both the last two seasons. One of the men’s victories this season included a thrilling upset over NWC powerhouse, University of Puget Sound.

Unsurprisingly, Blomme is optimistic about the swim program’s future.

“The team’s primary job for the next few weeks is to rest and recover from the heavy workload of the season. Then we’ll start setting our sights on next year. With 2nd- and 3rd-place finishes at the championships so close within our reach, we are more motivated than ever to improve.”

1) They’re expecting to have a winning season . . . again

The Division II nationals competition last season resulted in the women’s team dominating the criterium, with senior Kendi Thomas leading the way.

“We’ve got a good chance this year to beat the odds again as a club team,” said senior Ben Chaddock.

They also started off the last season strong by leading the conference on their first race weekend which took place in Corvallis, Ore. On the weekend of March 13-14, the Whitman cyclists are set to win big in Boise, Idaho.

2) They’re well-rounded

Many of the current cycling team members have participated in varsity sports here on campus and have chosen to stay active in the off-season with the club sport. For some, it ended up becoming an athletic career move. Senior Colin Gibson is a former varsity swimmer who decided to take on cycling full time.

“The team has so many different interests, but [riding] brings everyone with all different skills together,” Gibson said.

The varying levels of athleticism that many cyclists bring to the table have proven to be a major plus. Most of the big wins have come from former swimmers like Gibson and Thomas, as well as skiers like Chaddock.

3) They’re involved in the community

Unlike some other sports or clubs on campus, the team actively participates in Walla Walla events to build good relations with the community.

“We do bike rodeos for elementary schools, teaching safety rules and distributing helmets purchased from donations,” Gibson said.

He added that they are also actively involved with helping Walla Walla’s own Allegro Cyclery put on their annual “Tour of Walla Walla” by organizing routes and sign-ups. In return, the team is given discounts on gear and is able to participate in the tour as well.

“We’ve got a lot of sponsors who have definitely helped us out,” said junior Roxy Pierson.

Whitman cycling’s strong presence within and outside of campus shows their vested interest in keeping the club sport alive and well for years to come.

4) They’re staying afloat

Due to budget cuts and financial strains, the team has been faced with the inevitable challenge of raising money with the help of the community.

“It can be a pretty expensive sport,” said Pierson. With registration fees and gear, the cost of even participating has put a major dent in the budget. Due to community involvement and generous cycling alums, the team is holding strong.

“I would love it if more teams followed what we’re doing. Without involvement in the community outside of Whitman, we wouldn’t be where we are,” she said.

5) They’re not exclusive

With a new batch of first-years and new riders joining the team this year, the varying experience levels have been accommodated through frequent training and a class offered through the college.

This week kicks off the second annual February Week of Cycling in which the team tables at Reid for students to sign up to borrow a bike for a team ride the following week.

“It’s a chance for new riders to experience the feel of racing in a less competitive environment,” Gibson said.

For more information on what the team has been up to, visit whitman.edu/cycling.

Two first-years led the Missionaries in scoring against the Lutes with Peter Clark scoring 18 points on 6-8 shooting, while LuQuam Thompson scored eight of his 17 points from the free throw line. Pacific Lutheran was led by wing Kyle McTaggart’s 21 points.

Whitman’s defense forced 18 turnovers against Pacific Lutheran and 22 against Puget Sound despite Coach Bridgeland’s decision to play less full court press defense. This change allowed the Missionaries more time to recuperate after offensive possessions.

“We had more energy, which helped us play harder in the half court,” said sophomore guard Brandon Shaw.

Shaw had an active night against the Lutes, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists, but was unable to replicate his performance against Puget Sound because of an on-court incident that occurred with seven minutes left in the first half. There was a brief scuffle between opposing players during a loose ball and when the dust finally settled, three players—two of them Missionaries—were ejected. Shaw and key reserve first-year Drew Raher, known for his scrambling defense and hustle plays, were both forced to sit out Tuesday’s game against Whitworth.

When asked about the altercation, Shaw was both remorseful and determined.

“It was the heat of the moment. It’s unfortunate, because now I can’t play in the Whitworth game, but if I could do it over again, I don’t know if I would do anything different,” he said.

With the score tied and the home team down two players, the Whitman men needed a cliché sports movie rally to gain back invaluable momentum. The Missionaries delivered on the moment’s ESPN “Classic” potential with a furious 13-3 run. Tacoma natives Thompson (28 points) and junior Justin Artis (18 points on 8-10 shooting) led Whitman in scoring against their old home town team.

Senior Jordan Wheeler also contributed 18 points against the Loggers. On the other end of the court, Puget Sound recieved a stat-stuffing effort from Nadev Heyman who finished the game with 16 points four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Missionaries were allowed little time to rest following their win-at-all-costs weekend: The Whitworth Pirates came to Walla Walla Tuesday, bringing with them a 20-game winning streak, seventh overall ranking in Division III Men’s Basketball and an undefeated conference record.

As the game started it seemed as though Whitman might be able to defeat the conference heavyweight. The two highest scoring teams in the Northwest Conference combined for only three points during the game’s first seven minutes, an incredible defensive feat. Shaw and Raher cheered their teammates from the stands as the game unfolded, a double boiler of hive-mind defense and calculated offense with both teams playing very tight. The first half progressed, though, and Whitworth began to make buckets, something the Missionaries struggled with throughout Tuesday’s action. By halftime Whitworth had a 13-point advantage, which was also the final margin of victory.

The Missionaries did not go quietly into the night, reducing the deficit to eight on several occasions, but cold shooting from everyone except for Artis, who finished the last home game of the season with 32 points, would doom the Whitman men to also-ran status. Artis’ most important point may’ve been his first, a free throw fully 12 minutes into the first quarter that was also the first Missionary point.

The Whitworth men were led by the 20 points of hot-handed Wade Gebbers and Nate Montgomery’s 12 point, 13 rebound double double. Their final game is against Linfield College this Saturday, one day after the Missionaries finish their season Friday, Feb. 19, at Linfield as well. Whitman is 12-12 following Tuesday’s game, and is trying for a winning season for the first time in over a decade.

Despite losing by 11 to defending Division-III National Champion George Fox in Walla Walla on Jan. 8, the Missionaries built an early lead against the Bruins Friday. George Fox rallied in the game’s final minutes to win 50-46, improving their conference record to a perfect 11-0.

Whitman, a team riddled with injuries fighting to keep its playoff hopes alive, played with a tenacity and grit uncharacteristic of their win-loss record. Senior Hilary White, one week removed from her first double-double of the season, led Whitman with 12 points, eight rebounds and three crucial steals. Junior Rebecca Sexton chipped in nine points and six rebounds, but in the end the game came down to free throws. The Bruins made the best of their 20 free-throw opportunities while only letting Whitman get to the line for five attempts.

In desperate need of a conference win, Whitman bounced back to build a huge halftime lead and coast to defeat Pacific, 71-55. One day removed from a solid six-point showing, first-year Kelly Peterson tore into Pacific for 21 points, 19 of which she scored before halftime. White put up a second-consecutive 12 point night, while Sexton, senior Michelle Krall and first-year Mary Madden each scored nine. Whitman’s victory over Pacific, along with their near-upset of George Fox, put in perspective the radical resurgence the Missionaries have experienced after losing six of their first seven NWC games; no one in attendance Saturday would recognize Whitman as the same team that lost a 71-70 heart breaker to Pacific at home just over a month ago, a sentiment Peterson echoes.

“The team has been playing so much better as a whole lately,” Peterson said. “People are finally playing more comfortably with one another. Everyone has been stepping their game up and playing really well. We have some challenging games ahead, but if we stay together and play as a team then we can do very well in the coming few weeks.”

The Missionaries find themselves two games back of Whitworth for the final NWC playoff spot with just four games to go. Of Whitman’s seven conference losses, four have been by four points or less, and teams like Whitworth, who beat Whitman by three points in Spokane in January, have fared substantially worse than Whitman against the conference’s best teams. Just a day after being pushed to the brink by Whitman, George Fox shellacked Whitworth 70-43.

Head Coach Michelle Ferenz stresses the fact that Whitman’s rocky start to conference play can be rendered irrelevant by a strong showing in the week ahead.

“We lost a lot of really close games early on, but it’s all still up in the air. These next three games are huge for us,” she said.

Whitman enters a crucial three-game homestand this weekend, culminating Feb. 16 with a rematch against Whitworth. The Missionaries will face Pacific Lutheran at home on Friday Feb. 12, followed by a Saturday night game against the University of Puget Sound.

In men’s singles top seeds, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro all made it through the first three rounds. However, in the fourth round, fourth-seed Juan Martin del Potro was upset by a 21-year-old Croatian, Marin Cilic, the 14th seed. Cilic went on to defeat seventh-seed Roddick in the quarterfinals, while defending champion Nadal, seeded second, was forced to retire because of knee problems in the third set of a match in which he was two games to love down to fifth-seed Murray. The third seed, Novak Djokovic, was also upset by 1oth-seed Jo-Wilfied Tsonga in the quarterfinals. However, Tsonga’s and Cilic’s Cinderella stories came to an end in the semifinals. Federer proved to be too much for Tsonga to handle as he bested the Frenchman in straight sets and Murray ousted Cilic in four. The 2010 final was boring compared to last year’s classic battle between tennis titans Federer and Nadal, in which Nadal won his first hard court title, outlasting the number-one player in the world in five sets. This year Federer got his vengence—albeit not against Nadal—sweeping Murray in straight sets.

On the women’s side, the Australian Open marked the first major tournament back for Belgian Justine Henin,who returned after 20 months of retirement. Henin’s countrywoman Kim Clijsters who also recently pulled a Brett Farve and returned from retirement, also qualified for the tournament. Nonetheless Clijsters exited unceremoniously early, losing in straight sets to Nadia Petrova in the third round. Former world number one, Henin proved she still belongs in the upper echelons of the sport, playing her way into the finals.  However, her run at a second career Australian open title fell just short as she lost to Serena Williams in three sets. Russian Maria Sharapova continued to struggle with her game in the wake of 2009 shoulder surgery as she was upset in the first round by her former doubles partner, Maria Kirilenko. The 2010 Australian Open marked an historic achievement for Chinese tennis as Li Na and Zheng Jie became the first two Chinese women to advance to the semifinals of a Grand Slam event.

The 2010 Australian Open was characterized by comebacks and injuries. Nadal had to retire from his game against Murray because of a right knee injury—no, not the same injury he had last season, but the same knee—and Del Potro suffered foot and back injuries during the course of the tournament. Injuries were not limited to the men’s side: Serena Williams walked into the final against Henin heavily taped. The emergence of Na and Jie and impressive play by the top men and women suggest that this year could be an interesting and exciting one for tennis fans.

Her modest beginnings as a Junior Olympics competitor and college-level skier led to remarkable racing results as a professional and a place on the four-woman Olympic national team.

Brooks’ name was initially cut from the list of skiers that were to represent the United States in Vacouver, Canada. But due to a fifth, additional spot allowed by a newly installed Olympic quota system, the former Whittie managed to make it on the team. The good news followed days of uneasy anticipation.

“I’m not going to lie; it’s been pretty horrible,” she said in a recent interview with KTUU News in Anchorage. “You go through phases—I would kind of get excited in my mind then pessimistic in my mind. I’ve gone through a little bit of an emotional roller coaster the past couple of days. I’m just glad that part’s over.”

Brooks was a sociology-environmental studies major who spent all four years of college on Whitman’s cross country ski team. She also participated in the first Semester in the West program at Whitman.

“It was a wonderful way to experience the West but I wasn’t in shape that winter,” Brooks said in an interview with FasterSkier.com last December.

Her athletic performance also suffered during her last year at Whitman due to a sinus infection that prevented her from advancing to nationals.

Not allowing that to stop her from doing what she loved, she graduated from college and moved on to coach at the Maine Winter Sports Center. Brooks relocated to what is now her current home in Anchorage, Alaska and started coaching the Alaska Winter Stars; she was later named head coach of the ski team at West High School, where she remained for three years. She now coaches the juniors, masters and women’s-only programs at Alaska Pacific University.

Balancing her coaching career with her competing career, Brooks still continued to succeed as a cross country skier. In 2008 she won the Tour of Anchorage marathon and dominated again the following season. This summer, a rare health condition briefly interrupted her success. She managed to recover over the course of several months, and bounced back stronger than ever.

“I’ve always loved skiing and wanted to be better but I was pretty far away from big success . . . I suppose you could say that I’m a ‘late bloomer,’” Brooks said.

After her brief hiatus, Brooks beat out over 87 athletes in November as she won four of six races at SuperTour, a series of events that take place in West Yellowstone, Mont. Her back-to-back wins put her on the radar for the Olympic roster.

At the U.S. National Championships this past January, Brooks placed a close second in the 20-kilometer classic with a time of 1:14.29.2, a mere 10 seconds behind top skier Kikkan Randall. Brooks also finished fourth in the classic sprint race.

Brooks got a call late January—a mere few weeks before the games are set to begin—and was invited to join the U.S. Olympic Team.

“It was an awesome, awesome feeling,” she said in her interview with KTUU. “It’s taking a while for it to set in. I guess just hearing people’s reactions and excitement and getting to call my mom and dad, talking to everyone, it’s finally sinking in, but I don’t think you can really appreciate it until you’re in the actual atmosphere.

According to an interview featured on the U.S. Ski Team Web site, Brooks is “thankful for all the support [she's] received from [her] family, [her] loving husband Rob, Alaska Pacific University and all of the Nordic Ski Center members, the ski community of Anchorage, and [her] wonderful friends.”

The 2010 Vancouver Olympic games are set to open on Feb. 12. Up until then, Brooks will be training with the rest of the U.S. skiers at the Canmore Nordic Centre in Alberta, Canada. Brooks is recording an account of her Olympic experience on her blog, hollyskis.blogspot.com.

If Whitman’s baseball team is searching for hope as a new season rapidly approaches, the recent past is probably the wrong place to look. Since 2003-2004—the team’s last 10-win season—success on the diamond has eluded Whitman’s grasp with striking regularity. In each of the past two seasons, the team has won just three of its 37 games. However, with an infusion of new blood in both its coaching staff and its roster, Whitman may have reason to believe that this season will be more fruitful than the ones that have preceded it.

Much of Whitman’s newfound hope hinges on the renovation that has taken place within its coaching staff. Jared Holowaty, formerly a star outfielder for 2002 NCAA Division III national champion Eastern Connecticut State College and an assistant coach for Division I’s University of Maine, will replace Casey Powell as the team’s head coach.

Holowaty believes that coaching Whitman is “a good situation” for him and that his experience in Division I, where he was able to pick the brains of high level coaches, will help his players.

To this point, senior outfielder and pitcher Brian Kitamura—one of the team’s two captains, along with junior Erik Korsmo—seems pleased with the addition of Holowaty.

“Coach Holowaty has been great for us. He brings a lot of energy, an outstanding baseball background and a new mentality to our team, which has helped us improve each time we step on to the field,” said Kitamura.

The improvements within the coaching staff do not end with Holowaty; Pitching Coach Mark Michaud joins incumbent Assistant Coach Sean Kinney to assist Holowaty in his coaching endeavors. Michaud previously served as an assistant coach at Eastern Connecticut, after stints at NCAA Division I schools Siena College and the University of Maine and Division III’s Rockford College and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Photo Credit : David Jacobson

For Kitamura, the new coaches bring not only valuable past experience, but a bright future.

“The past is in the past for good and we’re excited to start building a championship program,” he said, referring to Holowaty, Michaud and the attitude that they have brought with them.

While it is highly unlikely that Whitman will transform itself into a championship program overnight, winning more games than it has in recent seasons may be an attainable feat. At the very least, it is a more reasonable short-term goal.

In spite of the team’s relatively small roster, Kitamura expects considerable improvement in the win-loss department.

“I expect for us to vastly improve upon our win totals from previous seasons and for our team to play to the best of our ability all the time,” said Kitamura.

While Holowaty is less focused on wins, he too hopes that the team will improve and seems to believe that it will.

Holowaty said, “My expectation for the guys is just to improve every day and to take pride in the work ethic…I’m very happy with how hard they’ve worked.”

Whitman’s roster, which Kitamura believes is extremely unified, includes key returning players—Kitamura, senior Jason Sease, senior Blaine Mercado, Korsmo, junior Patrick Stauffer and sophomore Peter Olson—and a promising group of incoming first-years.

“We’re versatile, have the right mindset and are going to play the game the right way. The freshmen who have come in have already made a huge impact and everyone who’s returning has experience to draw from playing at the college level,” Kitamura said.

The new coach’s feelings towards the roster are similarly positive.

After applauding his seniors for the willingness with which they have bought into a new and relatively grueling program, Holowaty said of the team as a whole: “We’ve got an athletic group.  They’re a pleasure to coach.”

Though Kitamura and Holowaty’s words are encouraging and perhaps even convincing, actually improving is far more difficult than talking about doing so during the preseason. No matter how viable the idea that the new coaches and new players offer a fresh start may seem, it is yet to be seen whether three win seasons are truly a thing of the past.

Beginning with three games in Anthem, Ariz. between Feb. 11 and 13—against Whittier College, La Verne University and Occidental College—the team will have a chance to decisively prove whether or not its present and future are less futile than its past.

Prior to the beginning of conference play, the Whitman men appeared poised for a groundbreaking season. They won six of their first eight games playing an intense brand of basketball reminiscent of former Arkansas Razorbacks Nolan Richardson’s “40 Minutes of Hell,” a style characterized by full press defense and a fast-paced offense. Due to their frantic pace on both ends of the court the Missionaries lead the conference in steals, turnover margin and field goal attempts.

Pacific University turned the ball over 26 times against the Missionaries, normally a staggering number for any team-let alone the winning team-but a number that has been approached and passed several times by Whitman’s opponents. Coach Eric Bridgeland’s sticky full court press has insured that his team has plenty of opportunities to score. However, the team has struggled to hit shots  in Bridgeland’s dribble drive, which is largely dependent on the three.

“Recently we have tried going inside more,” said first-year guard Peter Clark. “When we go to the post and let those guys work down there we get a lot of high percentage shots which helps open up the perimeter.”

Whitman leads the Northwest Conference in field goal attempts, but they are last in field goal percentage. Whitman also ranks last in the league in assists per game for the second year in a row, largely a result of their poor shooting. The Missionaries may be second in the conference in points scored per game, but after studying the box score it becomes apparent that although Whitman has more chances to score than their opponent in any given game, the team is not consistently executing offensively. This trend continued against George Fox last Friday.

The Bruins of George Fox countered Whitman Coach Eric Bridgeland’s fast paced attack with a nine-man deep bench with sweet shooting throughout the game, hitting 57 percent of their shots. Whitman was able to keep pace for most of the game thanks in large part due to a balanced offensive attack featuring five players scoring in double figures led by Clark with 17 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc.

However, a four-point nail biter at half time quickly became a 13-point George Fox lead thanks to an 18-7 run by the Bruins. The lead would shrink to eight at one point, but that’s the closest the Missionaries would get Friday night against a George Fox team they had beat 90-85 last month.

“We were already running on fumes[after the first half] — George Fox’s depth wore us down by the end of the 2nd,” said Bridgeland.

Last week the Whitman men responded to their loss against Lewis and Clark by rallying for a surge of points and a win against Willamette. Sadly, this week Whitman ran into a wall in their Saturday game against Pacific, a wall built by their own missed shots or bricks in the basketball world. First-year LaQuam Thompson and sophomore Brandon Shaw were the only Missionaries in double figures with in their 81-64 loss to the Boxers with 16 and 12 points respectively.

Bridgeland feels that the Missionaries’ struggles on offensive are due to a lack of confidence.

“We are making each player hit one hundred 3’s and one hundred free-throws [this week, in practice] to build up their confidence,” said Bridgeland. “But at the end of the day, we have to hit our open shots.”

Colin Wester’s 19 points led Pacific, who also received an excellent contribution from 6’6” senior post player Ross Bartlett, who finished the game with a double double consisting of 13 points and 15 rebounds;  he also added five blocks.

Pacific University was able to take advantage of the Missionaries’ offensive woes, cruising to a relatively easy 81-64 victory. Whitman struggled mightily from the field the entire game shooting 28 percent overall and only 14 percent from three-point range. During one particularly cold 10-minute stretch in the first half Pacific outscored Whitman 16-2.

Clark spoke about how the team tries to maintain a positive attitude when the shots aren’t falling.

“We talk about shooting each shot as you mean it,” said Clark. “That’s got to be our focus; if we do that they’ll start dropping eventually”

Poor offensive execution has been Whitman’s bane throughout the 2009-2010 season. The Missionaries have only scored less than 80 points in a win once this season, during a late November win over the hapless—and winless, 0-20—Cal Tech Beavers, 78-63. The Missionaries will need to turn this trend around in their last four games in order to complete their first winning season since 1998.

Whitman will need to win out in order to have any chance at making the playoffs, starting with this weekend’s home games against Pacific Lutheran University, Friday, Feb. 12, and The University of Puget Sound, Saturday, Feb. 13. They will have to defy the odds the following Tuesday, Feb. 16, against eighth-ranked NCAA Division III Whitworth University.

Photo Credit : Bullion

The Whitman women’s basketball team overcame a six-point halftime deficit and held off a late charge from Lewis and Clark College to win a crucial home game at Sherwood Center Friday, Jan. 29. Despite a first half that saw the visiting Pioneers put together an 11-0 run and compile a six-point lead to close the period, the Missionaries took the lead early in the second half and held on to win 61-56.

The Missionaries, just one win removed from a five-game losing streak, rode strong performances from upperclassmen and first-year students alike to knock off a talented Lewis and Clark team and improve their Northwest Conference record to 3-6. The Pioneers, who entered the contest alone in second-place in the NWC and leading the conference in rebounding and rebounding margin, were out-rebounded by the Missionaries 44-29. With the win Whitman evened the season series with Lewis and Clark avenging an early season road loss, which saw the Pioneers dominate the Missionaries 53-38.

Head Coach Michelle Ferenz was optimistic about the Missionaries ability to adjust their style of play in their second match-up with the Pioneers.

“We changed our whole defensive game plan this time around,” said Ferenz. “We did a much better job defending their inside game and made them shoot from the perimeter. They struggle from long range, and we did a much better job on the boards. Lewis and Clark leads the conference in rebounding, so to beat them on the boards is a great effort.”

Megan Spence, Lewis and Clark’s 6-foot center and leading rebounder, was held to just five boards, while Whitman senior Hilary White put together her first double-double of the season, adding 14 points to her game-high 13 rebounds. White, who averages just over 12 points a game and whose two three-pointers per game is second in the Northwest Conference, kept the Missionaries in the game at both ends of the floor. Eleven of White’s 13 rebounds came on the defensive side of the ball, and her three free-throws in the game’s final minutes cemented Whitman’s victory.

Despite being trounced 44-29 in the rebounding column, the Pioneers stayed with Whitman throughout. Although the Missionaries took the lead for good with nine minutes left, Lewis and Clark surged back to tie the game at 38, 40, 42 and 44.

“The game was back and forth for the whole time,” Ferenz said. “I think a key for us was [junior] Jessica Brice in the first half. We were really struggling to score, and Jess grabbed three offensive rebounds putting two back in for scores to give us a real lift. Otherwise, we would have been down double digits at the half.”

When dominant junior center Rebecca Sexton fouled out midway through the second half, first-year Kelly Peterson filled the void in the paint.

“I was just trying to be aggressive, and I was looking for my shots every time down the floor,” said Peterson, whose 16 points throughout were far overshadowed by the six points she scored in the final two minutes. “We really needed to win on Friday—this was a really pivotal game for us.”

Peterson is one of three Whitman first-years to make substantial contributions this season.

“Mary Madden, Kelly Peterson and Emilie Gilbert have played really well in a tough situation. I am really proud of the way they have stepped up and helped us despite being first year players,” Ferenz said after Friday’s game.

As Madden, Peterson’s roommate, put it, this season has been a decidedly comfortable transition.

“Since all three of us played so much in high school, this year has really been a smooth transition back into playing for us. We’ve been able to get into roles we’re already familiar with,” she said.

Madden’s three offensive rebounds in the second half proved to be crucial, and Gilbert’s put-back of a White miss to close out the half sent the Missionaries into the locker room on a positive note.

Decimated by injuries, the Missionaries entered Friday’s game needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

“We just have to take it one game at a time,” Ferenz said.

While losing junior guards Anna Forge and Jenele Peterson for the season was “a huge blow,” Ferenz has been impressed by her team’s ability to play well together under difficult circumstances, a sentiment echoed by Madden.

“[The injuries] hurt our offensive flow at first, but we’ve had really good togetherness in the last few games.”

Ferenz’s team showed no signs of fatigue in their Saturday night game, in which they routed conference cellar-dweller Willamette 67-35. The win brought the Missionaries’ conference record to 4-6 and placed them two games out fourth-place and a playoff berth. Whitman will play two crucial road games this coming weekend. Friday, Feb. 5, they will travel to Newberg, Ore. for a showdown with defending Division III National Champion George Fox University followed by a match up with struggling Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore. on Saturday.

Whitman players and coaches recognize the importance of each game going forward as the try to make up ground in the conference standings.

“We can’t afford to miss more than one more game, and we can beat both George Fox and Pacific,” Madden said.

With six NWC games left the Missionaries have overcome catastrophic injuries and a series of close losses to place themselves in position to make a late season run at the playoffs. However, Ferenz is keeping their recent success in perspective.

“We just have to keep focused on getting better each day, each game. If we do that, things will take care of themselves.”

1. Shootout Potential
The Saints’ offense led the league in scoring and total yardage during the regular season, yet with Peyton Manning leading the Colts’ offense, it is unclear who’s offense is more threatening. Needless to say, the Super Bowl point record could be shattered. Additionally, Brees threw for 419 yards against Washington in the regular season and Manning approached 400 passing yards last week against the Jets. With these two prolific passers, we could realistically see Kurt Warner’s record for passing yards in a Super Bowl (414) get shattered.

2. Loaded Sub-Plots
The Saints have never been to a Super Bowl in their franchise history and for a city like New Orleans, which is still devastated from Katrina, there is absolutely a larger significance for the city as a whole. A Saints victory will bring Mardi Gras 10 days early, ya dig? On the Colts side, the fact that Peyton Manning’s dad, Archie Manning, played with the Saints for 11 seasons and that the Manning family is hugely popular amongst New Orleans fans could bring about some tension, despite what official media reports suggest. Also, Colts wide receiver Pierre Garçon has dedicated his playoff performance to his native country of Haiti, hoisting the Haitian flag after the AFC Conference Championship game.

3.     Dynamic Defenses
In their two playoff games, the Saints’ defense has officially ended one legendary quarterback’s career (Kurt Warner), and may have indeed ended another’s (Brett Favre)—both in a brutal fashion. New Orleans’ defense plays extremely aggressively, relying on turnovers to keep opposing offenses off the field. The Colts, on the other hand, are small and speedy on the defensive side of the ball, relying on a ruthless pass rush to apply heavy pressure on the quarterback. Unfortunately, the Pro Bowl man-beast that is Dwight Freeney is suffering from a torn ankle ligament which will limit his mobility during the game. Although each team has a distinct defensive style, both units have the capability of being successful.

If you actually required any persuasion to watch the Super Bowl, you probably hate freedom. And in that case, this column is not meant for your eyes. The purpose of this article was to get you as excited as we are about the big game on Sunday, and prove to you why this game will not be boring, despite Peyton Manning’s participation. In the last 10 years, no better-balanced teams have met in the Super Bowl, and oh yeah, there’s the commercials . . .

For more commentary and sports-related jargon from Doyle and Gabe tune into KWCW 90.5 FM Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for Whitman Sports Radio.

Matt Solomon (Photo Credit : David Jacobson)

In the midst of losing five straight games to Whitman’s number one doubles team of senior Matt Solomon and first-year Jeffrey Tolman, University of California—Santa Cruz’s Marc Vartabedian unleashed his frustration by turning away from the court and forcibly hitting the tennis ball against the stone wall of the Bratton Tennis Center. The tide appeared to be turning favorably not only for Solomon and Tolman, but for the men’s tennis team as a whole. However, the team fell short of fulfilling the promise encompassed within this fleeting sign, dropping a series of close matches to fall 8-1 to UC-Santa Cruz, the top ranked team in NCAA Division III.

Aside from seniors Jake Cappel and Jasper Follows, who combined to defeat UC—Santa Cruz’s Ulrich Capaul and Parker Larsen in a 9-8 (7-4) decision, the Missionaries emerged from this Jan. 30 match winless in both singles and doubles play. That being said, Whitman was far more competitive than the final score suggests.

Head coach Jeff Northam described the match as “a good loss.”

“At every position we competed with Santa Cruz and had opportunities in most every match. The difference between winning or losing a set 6-4 comes down to a point here or there,” he said.

In doubles matches shortened to eight games, Solomon and Tolman ultimately lost a tantalizingly close 9-8 (7-3) decision while the number two doubles team of senior Christoph Fuchs and junior Quin Miller succumbed to an 8-6 defeat.

In singles Solomon played evenly with UC-Santa Cruz’s number one, Bryan Pybas for a short while, only to lose in consecutive sets (4-6, 1-6). Junior Chris Bailey and sophomore Conor Holton Burke—playing second and sixth, respectively—each claimed a set, but were unable to win their matches. Tolman lost consecutive 6-4 sets in number three singles while Fuchs lost in straight sets in the number four match.

Considering UC—Santa Cruz crushed Whitman last year at the NCAAs, this showdown with the defending Division III National Champions was by no means a complete disappointment.

Quin Miller (Photo Credit: David Jacobson)

“The big thing the team takes out of the match is belief. We now know that we can play with the best team(s) in the nation,” said Northam.

It was especially impressive that UC-Santa Cruz was unable to overwhelm Whitman this time given that junior Etienne Moshevich and senior Nadeem Kassam, two of Whitman’s top players, were unable to play due to injury.

In a testament to its depth, the team was able to remain competitive in spite of the injuries to these players.

“In college tennis you only play six singles players. We have 15-16 guys that can compete in our conference . . . Going into the weekend, Conor Holton-Burke was our number eight player. However injuries to Etienne and Nadeem Kassam gave him the opportunity to play and he almost knocked off the number six player from the number one team in the nation,” said Northam.

Along with team depth, Northam and Solomon cite togetherness and experience as the team’s primary strengths.  In light of these strengths, Solomon is cautiously optimistic regarding the team’s future.

“At this point, I think it’s hard to say whether this match was a setback or building block. It’s all in how we use this match as motivation to push ourselves harder in training over the next few months. We have a chance to be a very special team,” said Solomon.

Whitman will have two weeks to practice and hone its game before conference play begins with matches against Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound on Feb. 13 in Tacoma, Wash.

Justin Artis (Photo Credit : Fennell)

The Whitman men’s basketball team went 1-1 this weekend, losing its first game against the Pioneers of Lewis and Clark 68-62 on Friday, Jan. 29, before smashing conference cellar-dwellers Willamette University 103-82 Saturday, Jan. 30.

The Missionaries have six games remaining this season. Considering all six are against conference opponents, Whitman will need more offensive explosions like Saturday in the coming weeks, rather than a repeat of the drawn out brick-fest that was Friday’s game.

While Whitman was able to end its five game losing streak against the overmatched Bearcats, the Missionaries struggled offensively against Lewis and Clark, posting their lowest point total of the season up to this point. First-year LaQuam Thompson tossed in 19 points versus the 6-12 Pioneers, going three of six from behind the arc. However, the rest of the Missionaries were unable to match his production, combining to make only six of their 29 attempts from three-point land.

Lewis and Clark was able to capitalize on the poor offensive execution of the Missionaries with a balanced attack that allowed four of its players to break double figures. They were led by senior guard Josh Kollasch with 17. The game remained close until the beginning of the second half, when the Pioneers went on a 14-4 run, extending their seven-point half time lead to 17.

Whitman was able to bring the game within a manageable distance thanks to clutch shots down the stretch from senior Jordan Wheeler, junior Justin Artis and Thompson. It looked as though Thompson’s one-man offense—he scored 10 straight Whitman points late in the second half—might be able to steal the home team a win, but the clock proved to be the Missionaries’ real enemy as Lewis and Clark made their free throws to preserve the win.

After the loss on Friday, Whitman sorely needed to break out of the five-game losing streak that had been dragging them towards the bottom of the Northwest Conference standings. Luckily the Missionary men were able to do just that against the 4-15 Willamette Bearcats on Saturday.

Everything that went wrong against Lewis and Clark seemed to fall into place for Whitman against the Bearcats. In the same arena where Whitman just one day earlier couldn’t buy a trey, the team sunk jump shots like layups. Peter Clark, a 6′4” sharp shooting first-year who missed eight of his 10 threes against Lewis and Clark, poured in six long bombs against Willamette, while sophomore Brandon Shaw led the Missionaries with 25 points, 14 of which came from the free-throw line.

“The Willamette game was a must win not only because we needed to protect home court, but also because we needed it to continue to be in the hunt for a playoff spot,” said Clark, who leads the Northwest Conference in three-point shots attempted per game.

Whitman shot 39 percent from three-point range and 46 percent for the game, continuing to prove their offensive dominance and pushing their already conference leading points per game to 85.5, but it was Coach Bridgeland’s swarming press defense that really prevented Willamette from keeping the score close.

“We were very happy to have the consistent effort from beginning to end versus Willamette,” said Bridgeland. “We struggled with this versus Lewis and Clark.”

The Bearcats were unable to maintain possession throughout the game, finishing with an astonishing 27 turnovers. The Bearcats’ 6′7” senior post player Cameron Mitchell, leading scorer and rebounder in the Northwest Conference, was the only visiting player who was able to exploit Whitman’s lack of interior size, leading Willamette with 28 points and 11 rebounds. The Bearcats left the game with a 1-9 conference record occupying last place in the Northwest conference. Their next opponent will be Bridgeland’s old team, the University of Puget Sound on Feb. 5.

The Whitman men will try to prove that Saturday’s game symbolizes a new swing in momentum during this coming weekend’s games at George Fox University and Pacific University on Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6, respectively. The game against George Fox, which sits above Whitman at third in the Northwest Conference standings, will be especially important for the Missionaries post-season hopes.

Photo Credit : Jacobson

The Whitman men’s and women’s swim teams are on their final laps as the season draws to an end. The dual meet on Friday, Jan. 29, against the University of Puget Sound marked the final home appearance for the Missionaries,  with the men’s team earning a 102-101 victory and securing second place in the highly competitive Northwest Conference with an impressive 6-1 record.

The men’s team victory is their first over UPS since the Loggers joined the NWC in 1997.  The win will undoubtedly give them momentum going into the NWC Championships where UPS will try to defend their NWC crown.

First-year Kevin Dyer and sophomore Chris Bendix are among the notable underclassmen who sped past UPS. Dyer broke Bendix’s NWC record from last year for the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:14.27 and Bendix held his own at second place with a time of  10:27.46.

For the women’s meet, Whitman fell short against the Loggers with a 152-53 loss, but they still remain hopeful for the conference championships.

“We pictured ourselves doing well at the beginning of the season and remained confident,” said senior Sidney Kohls of the women’s team.

The Whitworth Pirates men’s and women’s teams beat the Loggers on Saturday, Jan. 30, leaving the Whitman men secure in their second place standing, and the women in third place.

Coach Jenn Blomme sees the tremendous progress of the program with Whitman’s standing going form the bottom of the conference to the top third.

“But we’re not going to stop there,” Blomme said. “Right now is a time when it’s becoming more of realistic goal to reach for number one.”

The Whitman teams have not finished above third in Northwest Conference since 1987, making this season particularly noteworthy.

“Despite finishing our dual meet season with a couple of losses against top teams like Whitworth and UPS, we can attribute our progress this year to our freshmen women,” Kohls said, hopeful for the next few seasons.

First-year Charlotte Graham won the 200-yard individual medley for the Whitman women with a time of 2:17.03.

As for the men’s team, junior team leader Jamie Nusse gears up to finish off the season strong and prepare for his senior year on the team. Nusse won the 200-yard freestyle for Whitman with a time of 1:50.23.

“The changes that this team has seen come from some of the guys stepping up and really committing a lot this year,” Nusse said, noting the team’s younger swimmers.

Kohls reflected on her past swimming career at Whitman and how the program has transformed in recent years.

“The team and swimming in general has been the most important part of my time here at Whitman. It’s going to be kind of tough to say goodbye,” Kohls said. “The rest of the seniors and I have really done a lot in our four years and just being part of this team was a huge thing for all of us.”

Whitman’s teams conclude their season with the NWC Championships at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash. Feb. 12-14.

Samaritan’s Feet is a humanitarian relief organization founded in 2003 by former college basketball player and Nigerian immigrant Manny Ohonme with the intention of putting shoes on the feet of 10 million impoverished children in 10 years.

Given Ohonme’s basketball pedigree, the Barefoot for Barefeet Coaches Initiative was a natural step for Samaritan’s Feet. It began in November 2007 when Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Head Coach Ron Hunter went barefoot. Since then, thousands of college, high school, and professional coaches have followed in his footsteps.

The idea to participate in the Barefoot for Barefeet Initiative originated with Bridgeland’s wife, Brie, and was put into action by sophomore Jen Keyes, a guard on the women’s team and the co-president of Whitman’s Student Athlete Advisory Council. All gate proceeds from Saturday’s games will be donated to Samaritan’s Feet.  The women play at 6pm followed by the men at 8pm.

More information about Samaritan’s Feet can be found at www.samaritansfeet.org. Additionally, $5 donations can be made by texting ‘SHOES’ to 85944.

Their potential is unmatched, but in the last couple of weeks their record has taken a turn for the worse. Going into their Saturday, Jan. 23, home game against the Linfield College Wildcats, they had lost three consecutive conference games, putting the team at 9-7 overall, 3-4 in conference play. Many of their losses have been lopsided; however, the most piercing defeat was nail-biter—a 88-86 loss to Head Coach Eric Bridgeland’s former team, the University to Puget Sound on Jan. 16.

Whitman’s struggles continued during Saturday’s game as the visiting Wildcats beat the Missionaries 85-81, dropping Whitman to 3-5 in conference play.

The Missionaries can take some solace in the fact that their latest loss was not for a lack of effort.

“Sometimes you can give your best effort and not come out on top,” said Bridgeland. “I thought this was the case on Saturday.”

Despite the recent losing streak, Bridgeland is still optimistic about the remainder of the season, mentioning converting free throws and committing fewer turnovers as the primary keys to future success. The Whitman squad is fighting to stay in contention for a playoff spot as it reaches the midway point of conference play occupying sixth place out of nine teams. In order for Whitman to make the conference playoffs for the first time in over 15 years they must leapfrog Lewis and Clark and Pacific Lutheran in the standings to move into forth place.

The Sherwood center was rockin’ Saturday, Jan. 23, as the men’s team battled a large and athletic Wildcat team. The constantly-dancing, crazy-hat enthusiast sitting a few rows up from the Whitman bench provided additional inspiration for an already riled up crowd. Right from the tip-off, the intensity was high on both ends of the court.

Bridgeland was particularly happy with the Missionaries’ effort on defense.

“I thought our pressure was really good—maybe the best of the season,” he said. “If we had a couple more bodies, or healthy bodies, we could have sustained it down the stretch.”

The home team applied full court pressure the entire game and forced 25 Wildcat turnovers in what turned out to be a fast-paced, up-and-down game. The majority of the Missionary offense came from beyond the three-point arc with Clark leading the way. Clark finished six for 10 from the 3-point range and almost single-handedly kept his team in the game in the first half.

In the second half, Linfield adjusted its defense to compensate for Clark’s hot hand; however, other Missionaries were able to step up and contribute. Shaw finished with a team-high of 21 points, hitting nine of 13 from the field.

However, Whitman had no way of slowing down Linfield big-man K.C. Wiser—aka Sir Dunks-A Lot—who scored 35 points, several coming off of two-handed slams. Despite Wiser’s huge game and a seven-point deficit with 3:20 to go, the Missionaries stayed in it until the closing seconds. However, late turnovers foiled the home team in the forth quarter.

With 1:20 left and the Missionaries trailing 79-75, Whitman had possession and a chance to cut the lead to two. However, Shaw turned it over, dribbling the ball off his foot in the backcourt. Senior Jordan Wheeler hit a clutch three-pointer with 27 seconds left to cut the Wildcat lead to 81-79, but it proved to be too little too late.

The most exciting sequence of the game came midway through the second half when Wheeler made an athletic move to pin a Linfield lay-up high on the glass which resulted in a transition three by Artis.

The Missionaries host Lewis and Clark College and Willamette University this Friday, Jan. 29, and Saturday, Jan. 30, respectively; both games take place at 8 p.m in the Sherwood Athletic Center.

“We have about 40 members on the team and almost half of them are freshmen or first-year riders,” said senior Colin Gibson, a former member of the Whitman swim team. Gibson is the current president of the club and an experienced rider who has competed nationally.

Usually dominated by athletes from other sports, the current cycling team features many former varsity athletes including Nordic skiers, swimmers, runners and other athletes who have competed on the college-level. The large membership of beginner-level riders is unusual, but a promising sign for the energy of the team.

When senior and fellow nationals competitor Ben Chaddock decided to design a cycling course for students to take for credit, he kept in mind the needs of new riders who would be continuing on the success of the club. Like Gibson, Chaddock will be graduating this year.

“We’re all leaving this year and we don’t want to see the team fall apart,” said Chaddock. “Cyclical movements happen in all club sports where you’ll see ups and downs come and go.”

In an effort to open riding experience to the Whitman community as well as allow students to train for credit, this SSRA course is team taught by Chaddock and Malcolm Dunn. Dunn is the head cross country running coach who has been teaching endurance training at Whitman for the last five years and has shown support for the cycling team’s athletic efforts.

“It’s not something that’s done too often,” said Dunn of the collaboratively designed course. “When a student has an interest beyond what the course catalog has to offer, they must petition for a class like this to be included.”

Along with the help of Athletic Director Dean Snider, Chaddock and Dunn were able to establish a one-credit conditioning class this semester for 15 cyclists, with the prerequisite being that each student must have his or her own road bike to use. Although not exclusively for club members, the majority of the students in this class are the team’s first-year riders.

“It’s pretty much a crash course in everything from proper recovery, athletic lifestyle philosophy and how you should apply training,” said Chaddock. He noted the benefit of having Dunn team-teaching the class because of his experience with coaching and teaching in the classroom setting.

“This class is unique because everyone in the class is very motivated to pick up the skills and apply them this cycling season,” said Dunn.

The cycling course meets twice a week with Tuesdays mainly devoted to classroom time and Thursdays allotted for actual training. This includes everything from working out in the gym to going on actual rides.

For this year’s students and new riders, Chaddock hopes his fellow team members avoid that cyclical movement that most clubs experience, facing waves of successes and failures.

“If we can keep the team running consistently physically and on an educational level, we can avoid that movement and experience continued success,” said Chaddock.

Seasoned riders like junior Roxy Pierson have the experience level that is hard for any new beginner to keep up with. After being abroad last fall, Pierson is excited to meet the new members and work with them as racing season approaches.

“It’s nice to have new riders who are willing to work to get on the same level as others on the team,” said Pierson, who will lead the club when she becomes a senior.

Although Chaddock will not be present for future offerings of this class, Dunn hopes to have it continue.

“I’d like to offer it to an even larger audience. Everyone in the class right now has an interest in becoming a competitive rider, but it might be nice to give it a broader scope and also include the recreational rider,” said Dunn.

For more information on the Whitman cycling team, check out www.whitman.edu/cycling.

For the women, the only light came in the shape of sophomore Monica Boshart, who won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:12.92. She fought off Whitworth’s upstart first-year Melissa Barringer and took the race with over a half second deficit.

“Monica swam an inspired race in the 100 breast this weekend,” said Head Coach Jennifer Blomme. “[She] is a fierce competitor and I was not at all surprised to see her race so well, bringing home our only individual event win.”

Despite her success, Boshart remained focused on the future of the team.

“I don’t think that my race was particularly special. I made a decision to go after the person in the lane next to me and it paid off . . . There will be other races, most likely against those same girls, where the outcome will probably change. If anything, it just showed that there is still a chance to bring down a strong team like Whitworth,” Boshart said.

The Whitman women finished off the meet by winning the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:44.06. The relay team was led by junior Lauren Flynn and includes first-years Charlotte Graham, Helen Jenne and Katie Chapman.

The men’s side benefited from a small mental error from Whitworth’s 200-yard freestyle relay team. In the very last event of the meet, the Pirates committed a false start, disqualifying them from the race, giving the men their only victory of the afternoon. Whitman’s relay consisted of seniors Eric Molnar and Nick Hurlburt and first-years Adam Brayton and Paul Chang. They took the race in 1:33.13.

This past Saturday’s meet was a unique learning experience for the Missionaries. With an established powerhouse team in the Pirates—who boast a roster which includes Natalie Turner, a senior who placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division III National Tournament last March—the up-and-coming Whitman swimmers knew they were in for a challenge. Despite Whitworth’s depth and talent, the Missionaries remained hopeful, if somewhat battle-ready.

“Going in to the meet, all we had in our minds was that we weren’t going down without a fight; we weren’t going to just hand them the win,” said Chapman.

This sentiment was echoed by the rest of the team, but despite the positive attitude, Saturday ended with a bitter taste in the mouths of Whitman swimmers. Yet for some, their loss was not quite as bitter. Sophomore Matt Liedtke swam a 54.7 in the 100-yard butterfly, a personal best. Under most circumstances, that’s enough to win the race, but against Whitworth, he fell short by a quarter of a second.

Graham, last week’s Northwest Conference Swimmer of the Week, set a season best in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:59.26, despite the five-second loss to the Pirate’s Turner.

The sting of defeat is a rare one for the Missionaries, but in this particular contest Coach Blomme pointed out the many positives that came from it.

“At the end of the day we went home with some season best times and even a lifetime best or two, which is practically unheard of at this time of the season. So we were extremely happy with our performance as a team,” she said.

Despite this single blemish, the team remains optimistic for its season.

“If anything, our swimmers are even more focused and more excited about the championships coming up in February,” said Blomme.

But before the Missionaries set their sights on the Northwest Conference Championships in February, they’ll have to contend with the University of Puget Sound Loggers this weekend. The Loggers and Whitworth’s Pirates are the only teams undefeated in Northwest Conference action.

The women’s basketball team came into its game on Saturday having lost four games in a row by a combined total of just 12 points, despite having leads late in those games as well.

Fortunately, the Missionaries were able to break that habit Saturday night. Fighting off multiple rallies by the Linfield women down the stretch, the Missionaries managed to close out the game, winning a game that they hope will provide momentum as they approach the second half of their conference schedule.

“We kept up our momentum and didn’t play to not lose, but to win,” said senior forward Michelle Krall, who paced Whitman early with a triumvirate of three-pointers in the first ten minutes of the game, finishing with 11 points.

With the victory, the Whitman women improved to 2-6 in the Northwest Conference and 7-10 overall. The Linfield Wildcats also move to 2-6 in conference and 4-13 on the season.

The Missionaries were led by first team, all-conference senior Hilary White and first-year guard Kelly Peterson, both of whom tallied 16 points and six rebounds.

While White made crucial baskets near the end, it was perhaps the play of the first-year tandem of Peterson and Mary Madden that helped Whitman maintain its intensity and aggressiveness in the face of losing another late lead. The energetic duo combined for 26 points and 12 rebounds, but more importantly, made it to the charity stripe 16 times, constantly drawing fouls and putting pressure on Linfield’s defense in the paint. It was Petersen who stepped up with just under two minutes left in the game to sink a three-pointer that effectively deflated the Wildcats’ final comeback push.

With eight more games left on the schedule and a depleted roster, the play of the younger members of the team will be crucial to whether or not the Missionaries will be able to build upon this victory and finish the season strong.

The losses of juniors Anna Forge and Jenele Petersen prior to the opening of the conference schedule was a devastating blow to a team with high expectations, but that hasn’t prevented them from competing night in and night out or, perhaps more importantly, believing in themselves.

“We have had to change the way we play and we do not have the depth other teams do with only 10 players . . . But I am proud of the way this team has competed. We were on the road a lot in the first round and have had a chance to win almost every time out, losing by three or less four out of five games. If we can keep improving we have a chance to do well in the second round of [the conference],” said Head Coach Michelle Ferenz.

With conference foes Lewis and Clark College and Willamette University coming into town this weekend, it is an opportune time to build some momentum for the rest of the season. They are not automatic wins by any means, but if the intensity and grittiness that were on display in the George Ball Court on Saturday night is any indication of things to come, the Missionaries are in good shape.

Anna Forge '12 led the Whitman women's stifling defensive effort with seven steals against Walla Walla University Tuesday in College Place. Courtesy of Sunn Kim.

With only an eight-player rotation that featured three first-years, the Whitman women handed the Wolves of Walla Walla University a lopsided 76-28 loss last night on their home floor, the Wolf Den.

As the teams took the court, the physical disadvantage was readily apparent. Only two active players on the entire Wolves’ roster were above 5’ 7” as opposed to the imposing 6’3” frames of sophomore Kirsten Vaculik and junior Rebecca Sexton.

Immediately after the tip off, Whitman jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and never looked back.

To say the Wolves played poorly is like saying Brett Farve is God—it’s an understatement. The Wolves lacked any semblance of direction on both ends of the court. There was no apparent offensive game plan. Their play was lackadaisical. And they were called on numerous shot clock violations. Recognizing the lack of an offensive threat, the Missionaries applied the full court pressure, stifling their opponents and outscoring them 22-7.

Midway through the first half, the Missionaries eased into a zone, daring their opponents to take a shot and exploiting the lazy careless passes of the Walla Walla Wolves.

Except for two free throws, the Whitman women held the Wolves scoreless for the last eight minutes of the first half. Junior Jessica Brice nailed a three-pointer in the corner in the closing seconds, giving Whitman a 47-13 advantage going into halftime.

The second half was not much different. Unfortunately for all the spectators, there was no miracle comeback in store for the Wolves.

Defense seemed to be the emphasis though, as Whitman came out of the gates, a talkative group, very active on defense. They shifted to a man-to-man scheme that forced three consecutive turnovers to start the half, and forced just 20 percent shooting for the Wolves.

“We mixed it up a bit. We didn’t pressure so much [in the 2nd half]. It was an opportunity to try a few things,” said Head Coach Michelle Ferenz.

With seven minutes left in the game, junior Anna Forge picked a lazy pass, and led the fast break up-court. She bounce passed to senior Hilary White who cut into the lane for an uncontested lay-up to cap a 17-4 run by the Missionaries and that’s the kind of night it was for White and the Missionaries.

Except for a play here and a shot there, the Wolves were outmatched in every way conceivable.

Forge played an outstanding all-around game with eight points, six rebounds, four assists, plus seven steals on the night. Brice sparked the offense, as she dished out 10 assists to go with her seven points. And White was sensational, scoring 10 consecutive Whitman points on two lay-ups, four free-throws and a three-pointer. She ended the night with 21 points, two assists and nine rebounds.

Sexton, Vaculik and first-year Mary Madden provided a very solid presence in the post. Combined, they had 32 points and 18 rebounds as they swamped the Wolves, the final score reading 76-28.

With the win, the Whitman women climb above .500 for the first time this season, boasting a 4-3 record overall outside their Northwest Conference schedule.

Despite the disappointing 1-3 start, the struggle has been more than just winning games. The Whitman women have been plagued with injury bug and have only had two days of practice with all 12 players on the court.  With potential season-ending injuries for sophomore Jennifer Keyes, junior Janele Peterson and senior Michelle Krall, the rest of the team has had to readjust.

“The expectations for the team are really high but we’ve been annihilated by injury. We’re going to have redefine ourselves,” Ferenz said. “We don’t have the depth we thought we would. We could potentially have just nine players, with two freshmen splitting time at the point. It’s really hard to redefine ourselves in December but it’s better than trying to redefine ourselves in January during conference play.”

Charlie Weis, the soon-to-be-ex-coach of Notre Dame, is slightly less obese. But he is still enormous.

If you look around football as a whole, you’ll see many such cases. I recently did just that. I looked at pictures of every single NFL coach. The following are obese, not all of them morbidly, but all of them significantly: Bill Parcells, Rex Ryan, Eric Magini, Tom Cable, Wade Phillips and Andy Reid. This constitutes a fairly large group, meaning its likely that during any given season, a kid watching his favorite team will see on the sidelines an obese coach.

Yes, their job requires no real expenditure of energy. They don’t have to be in shape in order to do their job, but still, they coach some of the most fit athletes in the world. They are surrounded by workouts. I mean, they lead them. Mark Mangino has repeatedly been criticized by his players for working them too hard, for making practices too physically demanding and too exhausting.

But I have yet to hear any announcer comment on their obesity. Anyone’s first thought, upon seeing Mr. Mangino for the first time, would have to do with his weight. But it is entirely ignored. What isn’t ignored is when a player shows up to camp out of shape. Jamarcus Russel, the Raiders’ six foot six inch quarterback, came into training camp weighing 300 pounds, 30 over his game-shape weight. The media exploded with condemnations. How dare he care so little about his fitness! Yet Mangino’s obesity shouldn’t be ignored and neither should Charlie Weis’.

The NFL airs commercials on national television advocating their NFL PLAY 60 program. It advocates that each child should get 60 minutes of exercise per day “in order to combat childhood obesity.” Yet they allow morbidly obese coaches. They say nothing. We ought to be appalled. How can we expect kids to take the NFL’s method to heart when they see so many obese coaches on the sidelines, being showered in praise and garnering massive contracts?

This double standard is disgusting. It is detrimental to the league’s well-intentioned programs and by rewarding these coaches it certainly sends the wrong message about what is and isn’t OK.

But this isn’t just football. As a culture we seem to largely ignore the fact that obesity ought not be acceptable. It hurts everyone and benefits no one, not the people who will die because of it, not the kids who we beg to get fit early and stay fit. I am tired of hearing that obesity isn’t a lifestyle choice or is simply genetic or is only a symptom of a culture awash in fast-food and grease and sugar. At some point we have to hold obese people themselves somewhat responsible. I wonder how anyone who played under Coach Mangino could stomach the irony of his demands that they work, work, work!

With a disappointing start to their season, the Whitman women will be seeking redemption in their next two upcoming games, both rematches. This Saturday, Dec. 12, at 5:30 p.m. they will host Eastern Oregon University. In their previous meeting, the Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon busted open a close game, defeating the Missionaries 62-53 at the Lady Yote Classic in Caldwell, Idaho. Dec. 18, the Whitman women travel to Lewiston, Idaho, to take on Lewis-Clark State University. The Missionaries will look to avenge a 74-64  home-court loss. Dec. 30, the Whitman women will wrap up non-conference play when they host Trinity Western University, hailing from Vancouver, B.C. The following Saturday, Jan. 2, the Missionaries will begin their Northwest Conference regular season schedule when they face off with Lewis & Clark College. For the remainder of winter break, they will face NWC opponents Willamette University on Jan. 3, George Fox University on Jan. 8, Pacific University on Jan. 9, Pacific Lutheran University on Jan. 15 and the University of Puget Sound on Jan. 16.

Men’s Basketball

The Missionaries look to ride a 4-1 record this season, against California teams as they face off against the Banana Slugs of the University of California—Santa Cruz this Saturday, Dec. 12, at home at 7:30 p.m. The Whit men will then begin their winter break as they host North Central University of Minneapolis, Minn. Dec. 19. Then on Dec. 28, they travel to Spokane to play in the Whitworth University Classic, where they will take on the University of Wisconsin—Whitewater Warhawks. This will undoubtedly be their toughest test for the remainder of the season as UW—Whitewater is currently undefeated at 7-0 and are ranked fifth in the nation among all Division III men’s basketball teams. The Missionaries will begin 2010 traveling to Oregon to begin Northwest Conference play against Lewis & Clark College on Jan. 2. For the remainder of winter break, the Whit men will face NWC opponents Willamette University on Jan. 3, George Fox University on Jan. 8, Pacific University on Jan. 9, Pacific Lutheran University on Jan. 15 and the University of Puget Sound on Jan. 16.

Swimming

After a brief hiatus, the swim team will get back in the swing of things on Jan. 13 at the California Lutheran University Winter Relays Invitational in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Last year, the University of Puget Sound took both men’s and women’s titles, just barely staving of the Whit men by 20 points. With a more experienced, more talented team, the Missionaries are looking to make a splash. The swimmers will then finish out their Northwest Conference schedule, taking on Lewis & Clark College on Jan. 15 and Willamette University on Jan. 16 before classes resume for the spring 2010 semester.

Matt Solomon '10 finished his prolific Whitman tennis career on a high note taking seventh place in the National Small College Championships. Credit: Von Hafften

Matt Solomon, a senior tennis player, has had many successful seasons here at Whitman, as well as one semester at Boise State. This October, Solomon competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s National Small College Championship in Alabama, taking seventh place.

Solomon has had an outstanding career at Whitman. As a first-year, he earned second team all-conference honors and won the ITA’s Northwest region in doubles with senior Nadeem Kassam.

As a sophomore, Solomon won the ITA’s west region singles and doubles tournament, the doubles tournament with junior Etienne Moshevich. He was ranked as high as number five in the ITA’s west region singles rankings and in the ITA’s west region doubles with his older brother, Daniel Solomon. In the same year, Matt Solomon also won the Northwest Conference’s Athlete of the Year award, the conference’s top honor.

Instead of traveling abroad, Solomon attended Boise State University the second semester of his junior year, where he continued to play tennis. Boise State, at the time, boasted a top 20 ranking amongst Division I tennis programs.

“I’ve always wanted to go abroad, but I also cherish playing tennis in college and didn’t want to give any of that up,” said Solomon. “I feel like I learned a lot from practicing with the guys at Boise and playing against the top Division I teams in the country. I learned a lot about how tennis is played at the top collegiate levels and the coaching staff there gave me a lot of tips that I’m excited to bring back to the team here at Whitman.”

Even though tennis is generally considered more of an individual sport than a team sport, Solomon is always more than willing to heap praise on his teammates. This last fall, Whitman had three of the four players in the singles semifinal of the regional tournament.

“One of our freshmen, Jeff Tolman, had an incredible fall tournament and his future here is really bright,” said Solomon. “In fact, his first set against me in the finals was some of the best tennis I’ve seen here at Whitman!”

Despite his many individual accolades and accomplishments on the court, Solomon focuses a lot on fostering a unified team attitude.

“We are better than we think we are, and I want this group of guys to truly believe that we can compete with any team in Division III, because we can,” Solomon said.

Credit: Douglas

Three figures cut a stark profile against the muted yellowy-brown backdrop of Pike’s Peak. Only the steady crunch of gravel sliding beneath the rubber soles of their well-worn running shoes can be heard.

It’s late afternoon and the sun is beginning to set on the Walla Walla valley, casting a shadow over the town below. After a while, one of the runners stops, puts his hands behind his head and gazes down at the sweeping panorama before him.

“You guys want to run the Seattle marathon?” he asks his two companions who stop nearby. They look at each other a moment.

“Why not?” they answer in unison, without missing a beat.

On Sunday, Nov. 29, sophomores Oliver Wood and Elliot Broze and senior Warren McDermott  ran in the Seattle Marathon. McDermott and Broze both completed the marathon in under 3:30, while Wood completed the race with a time of 3:05, making him eligible to run in the Boston Marathon if he chooses.

“It just seemed like a good idea,” said Wood. “The three of us runners were a part of the now-defunct varsity ski program, so we had lots of time and flexibility to train.”

During October, Wood, McDermott and Broze, who are all members of the club Nordic team, trained hard, averaging between 50-70 miles of long-distance running, prepping them for the upcoming Nordic season and getting them ready for the race.

According to Wood, though, training was pretty informal.

“Every once in a while we would be sitting around on a random night, and we would just up and decide to run for two or three hours the next day. I loved the spontaneity of deciding to run for an afternoon and not worry about having a distinct training schedule.”

The three did try to prepare for the notoriously hilly Seattle course, making frequent trips up the forest service roads that skirt Pike’s peak, but the majority of the time, said Broze, the three ran around Bennington Lake or the “farm loop” out Robison Ranch Road.

“I didn’t think that the hills of Seattle would be much of a problem after training in the Blues,” said Broze. “But I was sadly mistaken.”

The race starts in the city center near the Space Needle, goes southeast across Lake Washington, through the old growth forest on the south end of Seattle and ends at Memorial Stadium downtown.

“The Seattle marathon was incredibly beautiful,” said McDermott. “I have run a few other marathons in New York, and Seattle takes the prize. There were so many people and so much focused energy between everyone that it was hard to see straight.”

For Wood, the marathon was a chance to reconnect with some of his family and friends and continue a legacy.

“Part of the course is about half a block from my house,” said Wood. “We ran past my parents, [Broze]’s parents, my neighbors and four of my close friends, all cheering like crazy. This was my favorite part of the run. My parents used to run marathons and it was cool to see how our positions had swapped.”

In October, seniors Megan Bush and Katie Rouse competed in the Portland Marathon. Bush and Rouse trained hard during the summer and ran around Bennington Lake and a few other routes recommended by friends.

Record-setting numbers meant a congested race for the two.

“At the start, there were so many people that it took about two minutes after the gun went off for us to reach the start line and we were in the first ‘wave’,” said Bush. “I don’t know how many waves there were, but there was just a sea of people behind us, I’d say at least three or four waves.”

The marathon was a first for both Bush and Rouse.

“I’d run a couple half marathons and knew I wanted to try one eventually, and this just seemed like the right time to try it out,” said Bush. “I think I’m hooked though—there will be more.”

The recent events that have solidified everyone’s hunch that Woods is a self-absorbed jerk all trace back to his ‘one-vehicle accident’ at 2:25 a.m. on Nov. 27. Initial media reports stated that Woods had mysteriously crashed his SUV near his Florida home, and after hearing the noise from the crash, Nordegren had smashed out his back windshield with a golf club to ‘courageously’ rescue him. Headlines read that alcohol was not involved and Woods was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries including cuts on his lips. Sounds perfectly logical, right?

The fact that Tiger Woods refused to make any public statements about the incident just screamed scandal. That’s like letting someone guess what you got them for their birthday and then refusing to answer yes or no when they guess right; it’s a dead giveaway. But more importantly, when you are the most recognized athlete in the world, as much privacy as you would like to enjoy just is not a realistic possibility. Once you accept hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsements, you subject yourself to the scrutiny of the public. Currently, there is no word on what actually happened. An unnamed witness, presumably his wife Elin, has stated that Tiger did consume alcohol earlier in the day of the accident, and had prescriptions for Ambien and Vicodin, but the truth is still unclear.

Even before this latest scandal, there were plenty of reasons to suspect Woods was not the Mother Teresa of professional sports. He is notorious for regularly screaming profanities and throwing or smashing golf clubs. Some famous Tiger episodes that come to mind are: The time that he harassed a photographer for taking a shot during his backswing at the Doral Open a couple years back, shouting, “The next time a photographer shoots a f****** picture on my backswing I’m going to break his f****** neck.” Or the time at this year’s Australian Masters when Tiger threw his club into the crowd at the 13th hole after a poor drive. This kind of behavior is not only unacceptable because Tiger Woods is the role model for countless young golfers around the world, but also because in no other professional sport is this kind of behavior tolerated. If Rasheed Wallace blinks the wrong way on a basketball court he gets ejected and fined thousands of dollars by the NBA. Imagine if he threw a ball into the crowd.

Now, Tiger finds himself in an admittedly unfortunate predicament, yet one he deserves. In the statement he issued on his Web site, he wrote, “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart,” referring to a 31-month-long affair with Los Angeles cocktail waitress, Jamie Grubbs. His wife has since left him and surely his relationship with his two young children will be tattered. The question is, will Tiger Woods learn something from this mess, or will he continue acting as the young billionaire athlete that he is, and maybe rightly so? Either way, the man can hit a little white ball way better than anyone else, so he will be on the international radar regardless. Most likely, only age and maturity will allow him to shape up his personal life.

Jenele Peterson '11 puts up a shot in Sherwood Center. Peterson was injured in last weekend's Lady Yote Classic. She hopes to return for NWC play Jan. 2. Courtesy of Darrin Lingle

The Whitman women’s trip to Caldwell, Idaho for the Lady Yote Classic last weekend was discouraging to say the least.  Not only did the Missionaries lose games to host College of Idaho 66-48 and Eastern Oregon University 62-53, but they also lost their only established point guards junior Jenele Peterson and senior Dawna Mello to injuries. Coach Michelle Ferenz was particularly concerned with her team’s poor performance on the road.

“We had a tough weekend. We didn’t shoot well and that really hurt us, especially against College of Idaho. You can’t do that on the road,” Ferenz said.

Since opening the season with a 62-59 home victory over Macalester College the Missionaries have lost three straight games including a 74-64 home defeat at the hands of Lewis-Clark State University on Nov. 21.

Statistics clearly support Ferenz’s suggestion that her team struggled to get the ball in the basket duirng both games. After converting a meager 25.8 percent of its field goal attempts against the College of Idaho, Whitman improved its shooting slightly hitting 32.3 percent from the field against Eastern Oregon. The team crippled its efforts to win by shooting less than 50 percent from the free throw line in both games.

Ferenz rather logically posited that such pronounced offensive inefficiency places excessive pressure on a team’s defense and makes it almost impossible to win, especially on the road. However, she is optimistic that her team will be able to more effectively manufacture points in the future.

“Offensively, we’re a lot better than we showed last weekend,” said Ferenz.

Though the presumption that improved offense by itself will lead to victories is somewhat faulty, the coach believes her team can be more successful as the season rolls on.  In spite of—and, to some extent, because of—the fact that the injuries to Peterson and Mello have left the team shorthanded for the foreseeable future, Ferenz has found encouragement in the way that newer players have performed.

After lauding 2008-2009 All-Northwest Conference (NWC) players senior Hilary White and Peterson for their performances in the team’s two home games and applauding senior Michele Krall’s ability to return from her knee injury as effectively as she has, Ferenz praised first-years Kelly Peterson and Emilie Gilbert for their play filling the void left by Peterson and Mello at point guard.

“A couple of our freshmen [Peterson and Gilbert] stepped in and played well,” said Ferenz.

However, the coach acknowledged that her backcourt’s youth could be a problem and that her team will need to make adjustments, but suggested that the team’s expectations remain high. Last season, after all, the team made the NWC playoffs.

“That would be a good goal for us again,” Ferenz said in reference to that fact.

While the team’s conference standing will ultimately be a matter of considerable importance, conference play will not commence until Jan. 2 when the women travel to Portland to face Lewis and Clark College. Until then, the team will seek to improve against non-conference opponents. This coming weekend, Whitman will travel to California to play against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and the University of La Verne. These games represent a chance for the team to prove that they can win on the road and avenge their subpar performance in Idaho.

Saturday, Dec. 12, Whitman will look to avenge their earlier loss to Eastern Oregon at home. Ferenz claims that her team will be amped and ready for the rematch and hopes that students will be there lending their support, despite the fact that finals will be steadily approaching.

“It would be great to have a nice crowd,” said Ferenz. “It’s really good therapy to yell and a scream at a basketball game.”

Credit: Jacobson

Whitman men’s basketball is off to its hottest start in a decade as the Missionaries have hustled their way to a 4-2 record this season following a 3-0 sweep of their annual California swing.

The Missionaries kicked off their Thanksgiving road trip with blowout wins over California Institute of Technology and West Coast Baptist College, defeating their California counterparts 78-63 and 86-69, respectively. The Missionary press was particularly stifling in these games forcing Cal Tech and West Coast Baptist into a combined 81 turnovers.

Whitman’s last game of the road trip proved to be much closer. The Missionaries needed a last second layup from first-year Brady Brent to cap off a 94-93 comeback win over an impressive University of Redlands team.

Whitman showed their ability to finish in their first close game of the season as they erased a 88-81 deficit with under six minutes left to play.

“Winning a game like that is remarkable; it shows our team’s resilience, shows we have the extra gear it takes to win games at the end,” sophomore forward David Michaels said.

Head Coach Eric Bridgeland has taken a young group of players that showed promise during last year’s 10-16 season and turned them into a hard-nosed unit that showcases frightening inside-outside balance on the offensive and an intense full court press defense that rarely gives the opposition room to breathe.

Six Missionary players averaged double figures in scoring, led by forward senior Daniel Davidson at 12.7 points per game. This balanced attack is facilitated by Coach Bridgeland’s extensive use of his bench: In the Missionaries’ first home game of the season Nov. 20 against Portland Bible College, a 95-73 Whitman victory, 11 Missionaries saw game time and 10 of them scored at least one basket.

While this may not fully translate when conference play begins, Coach Bridgeland can sleep peacefully knowing his entire squad can ball.

“We have a lot of guys that can play, which is key because we need a lot of energy out there and 13 or 14 guys can combine to give us a lot more [than only five],” said Bridgeland.

The men’s squad has shown balance, but several of its players have shown themselves to be exceptional at specific facets of the game. Sophomore point guard Brandon Shaw, the team’s leading returning scorer, after averaging 16.6 points per game last year, is almost unguardable off the dribble. His skill set has been a perfect fit for Coach Bridgeland’s dribble-drive offense.

The offense emphasizes penetration into the lane by the point guard. Depending on how successful the player is with his drive, he can either finish at the hoop with a layup or kick the ball back out to the perimeter. First-year Peter Clark is often on the receiving end of these passes, and as a result he is averaging almost 10 three-point attempts per game. Whitman has been able to keep its opponents on its heels throughout games with this constant attack.

The Missionaries’ press defense has been just as aggressive as the offense. Opposing teams have wilted under the constant pressure, offering up almost 30 turnovers per game—leaving Whitman +9.3 in turnover margin, which leads the Northwest Conference. The press forces opposing offenses out of their natural rhythm allowing the Missionaries to dictate the pace of the game. First-year Drew Raher is the catalyst for the hustle the press requires; he always seems to outwork everyone else on the floor when chasing down loose balls.

This is true of the whole Whitman team: While they may often be undersized compared to their opposition, they make up for it with constant hustle and seemingly endless energy. So far this season, the team has been out-rebounded by 50 on the defensive glass, but on the offensive boards they are winning the battle by just about 2-1, creating a plethora of second-chance opportunities on the offense and leading to high point totals.

The press, the hallmark of this hustle, forces opposing big men who usually don’t handle the ball to bring it upcourt as their team’s point guards and wings find themselves well covered all the way up the court.

Bridgeland knows his team’s success is predicated on their heart and hustle.

“Given our style of play we know that if we play harder than the other team we have a good chance [to win], however, if we are outworked our style of play can cause us problems,” said Bridgeland.

The press does have its flaws as it is somewhat of an all-or-nothing strategy; if it is broken by successful long passes the opposition will be rewarded with wide open lay up opportunities. Portland Bible College proved this as they were able to break the Missionary press with long outlet passes which led to easy layups for the Wildcats. Whitman will need to tighten the screws before Northwest Conference play begins on Saturday, Jan. 2, against Lewis and Clark College in Portland.

The Northwest Swim Invitational was Whitman’s first multi-school meet of the season. The format tested the Missionaries’ endurance by requiring them to compete in a preliminary round with up to 47 other swimmers for a spot in the 16-swimmer finals.

The first day of the meet, first-year Katie Chapman recorded the only Whitman victory with a season best time of 2.14.07 in the 200-yard butterfly. Fellow first-year Kevin Dyer just missed a first-place finish with his season best 4.52.35 in the men’s 500-yard freestyle, but had to settle for second.

The Whitman women showed well in the 100-yard freestyle, with fifth, sixth and eighth place finishes by first-year Charlotte Graham, junior Lauren Flynn and first-year Helen Jenne, respectively. The women also had good finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke by first-year Cari Cortez and sophomore Monica Boshart who combined to score 13 points for the Missionaries.  Junior Natalie Reilly also contributed four points to the Missionaries cause with her 13th-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley. Jenne, Chapman, Graham and Flynn also tied for second place in the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay.

The Whitman men had a good first day as well. The Missionaries racked up 43 points in the 100-yard freestyle with junior Jamie Nusse, first-year Paul Chang and sophomore Mitchell Lee finishing third, fourth and seventh, respectively. The Whitman men demonstrated their depth in the 200-yard butterfly, racking up 37 points thanks to fourth-, sixth-, 11th- and 14th-place finishes from senior Eric Molnar, sophomore Matt Liedtke and first-years Brett Clark and Tyler Hurlburt, respectively. Additionally, first-year Joey Gottlieb earned 14 points for his fifth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.

Molnar and Gottlieb also combined to contribute 11 points in of the 200-yard individual medley, finishing 10th and 13th, respectively. Whitman also picked up points in the 500-yard freestyle as sophomore Chris Bendix led the the Missionaries with his eighth-place finish.

Both Whitman teams stepped up their game on the second day. Dyer led the way for the men with his impressive 20-point victory in the 1,650-yard freestyle, beating his nearest competitor by an astounding 24 seconds. Bendix also contributed 14 points to the Missionaries cause, finishing fifth.

Freestyle specialist Nusse added 33 points to the mens’ tally on day two by finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 50-yard freestyle. Whitman racked up 33 more points in the 400-yard individual medley as Molnar, Wood and Bendix finished sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively.

Gottlieb and Chang kept things going for Whitman in the 100-yard backstroke combining for 24 points with their sixth- and eighth-place performances.

The women also had a strong second day, highlighted by Chapman’s third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Flynn and Jenne were on her heels the whole way, taking fourth and fifth, respectively.

Coach Jennifer Blomme reflected on the teams’ success this season.

“Our team has always prided itself on its closeness, and this year is no different. In fact, team dynamics are stronger than ever,” she said. “Our captains [Flynn, senior Sidney Kohls, Wood and Hurlburt] are offering great leadership. They’ve been bringing a lot of focus and energy to their swim training.”

Blomme spoke also to the role that the coaches play.

“We also have a great assistant coach, Eric Hisaw, who is coordinating a new and dynamic strength program that is going to have big pay-off as the season progresses,” Blomme said. “But our hardest work in the water is yet to come; we’ll continue to get stronger and refine our strokes even more.”

Overall, both Whitman swim teams competed well against the Northwest Conference teams, defeating most of the teams, with only perennial powerhouses University of Puget Sound and Whitworth College causing any difficulty for the Missionary swimmers. With their performance at the Northwest Swim Invitational, Whitman solidified themselves as one of the top three programs in the conference. The Missionaries will only need to step up their game if they are to challenge Puget Sound and Whitworth for conference supremacy.