The Wesleyan Argus

Author: Henry Yang

  • Crew Gains Momentum in Respective Meets

    Crew Gains Momentum in Respective Meets

    c/o Mark Box
    c/o Mark Box

    While this year’s spring weather may come as a novelty to some, it is not so much the same for Wesleyan crew. Fortunately, a beautiful, crystal clear sky returned to the Northeast last Saturday, and both teams finally enjoyed a good row in the sunshine. The men’s team finished their first competition of the spring by defeating the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) in all three races, and the women’s team traveled to Philadelphia and competed against teams from all three NCAA divisions.

    The men’s team traveled to New London, Conn., for their first race of the spring. The Cardinals’ Varsity Eight (V8) had the closest race of the day, in which they kept building their momentum till the end to edge ahead of the USCGA V8 by three seconds. While they clocked in at 5:38, the second V8 of the Birds showed no fear and finished with a close record of 5:44 to defeat USCGA’s second boat. Wesleyan also had a third V8 boat clock in at 6:10, followed by USCGA, which crossed the finish line in 6:35.

    Men’s Head Coach Phil Carney said that he was content with this baseline beginning of the season.

    “It was a terrific way to start the season. The team did a great job as a whole despite very poor water conditions,” Carney wrote in an email to The Argus. “Our captains, Chris Wyckoff ’18 and Teddy Shadek ’18 have done a great job in preparing the team in the off-season. Most remarkably, our first-year student-athletes performed extremely well in their first collegiate race and were critical to our success in all our boats.”

    While every team would like to have more support from the Wesleyan community, Carney did admit that the case is very special for crew and it is likely to remain the same throughout the semester.

    “Following the crew live takes a little effort as we rarely race on the CT River due to spring floods and high fast water,” he wrote. “We are generally a short drive to the races, most of which take place on Saturday mornings. Our full schedule can be found on the Men’s Crew website through the Wesleyan Athletic Department.”

    When asked about the seasonal aim he set for the team, Carney reiterated his confidence in his athletes while providing detailed information for those who are new to the sport.

    “We aim to peak at our championship races, the New England Rowing Championships, and the National Invitational Collegiate Regatta, which take place in May in Worcester, MA. Our standing goal is to come home from these regional and national championship races with medals in all of our crews.”

    As for the women’s team, the competition was much fiercer, as they faced the challenge from a number of top teams at the 36th Memorial Murphy Cup in Philadelphia, Penn. In the women’s Division I, the Cardinals’ V8 had a great start and qualified for the Grand Final to finish sixth with a time of 7:35, only 17 seconds behind Drexel University, the title winner. In the women’s Division II/III V8, Wesleyan’s 2V boat demonstrated an enormous amount of fight, grit, and tenacity to claim a fourth-place finish in a close competition with Bryn Mawr College. They clocked in at 8:22, a little behind the third-place finisher (8:13). In comparison, the title race in the Junior V8 was not so much of a close-fought battle, as the Cardinals came to the top with a time of 7:44, well ahead of second place Fordham (7:49).

    After a few days of cooling down and reflection, first-year Meghan Heffernan was able to provide a concise and thoughtful evaluation of her team’s performance.

    “I feel like we pulled very hard and did what we needed to do, although the conditions were really rough because there were lots of waves and winds,” Heffernan said. “Our coxswains were incredible, as always, as well as all our rowers. We’ve been working hard so far, and hopefully, we will not be losing our betting shirt this weekend.”

    Speaking of the ways in which students can support her team, Heffernan prepared some creative and useful tips for the audience who has yet to experience the charm of this sport.

    “To follow and support the crew team, the best way is definitely to follow our Instagram account,” she said. “Our official one is called ‘weswomenscrew,’ and the unofficial one is called ‘wescrewsnax’. So, besides checking out our Facebook page, that’s another really fun way to see what the team is doing every day. Also, you might want to just give a little love to our local rowers when you meet them on campus because they really need it the spring season. To be honest, it’s hard to go to the races because they are all over the place, but if you happened to be in Boston or somewhere else, just don’t hesitate to swing by. Last but not the least, if you have any question feel free to ask any rower, we are always happy to talk about crew.”

    Heffernan also revealed her team’s aim of the season with a surprisingly calm and determined voice.

    “We’d like to medal at the NCAAs,” she said.

    Support for the team can start by following them on Instagram and build upward by attending one of their fundraising events or simply going on a trip with them to Worcester, Mass., this Saturday. For your information, the weather forecast predicts a temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Henry Yang can be reached at hyang01@wesleyan.edu.

  • After Success at Regionals, Wrestling Eyes National Stage

    After Success at Regionals, Wrestling Eyes National Stage

    Coaches and managers just love setting massive goals for their teams when the season starts. But the truth is, only a few people are able to help their squads live up to those lofty expectations.

    Wesleyan wrestling head coach Drew Black has always been such a change-maker. A few months ago, Black entered his 20th year at the helm of the Wesleyan wrestling team as he revealed the team’s motto for the upcoming season: “Believeland.” The Wesleyan wrestlers, on the other hand, have clearly provided a fine explanation of this motto by working diligently toward 2018 NCAA National Championships, which will be held this year in Cleveland, Ohio.

    While the team has performed and impressed constantly, the real challenge was the Northeast Regional Championships on Sunday, Feb. 25th. A strong performance at this meet was the only way to earn a ticket to Cleveland. Facing opponents that featured a number of ranked wrestlers, the Cardinals showed tremendous grit and strength to place 3rd out of the 17 teams, sending Devon Carrillo B.A. ’17E, Isaiah Bellamy ’18, and Dominic Pirraglia ’18 to Nationals. Wesleyan (91.5) left the tournament as the highest-ranked NESCAC team, as Williams (61.5) and Trinity (28.5) finished 8th and 13th, respectively.

    Six of Wesleyan’s ten starters placed in the Regional Championship. Pirraglia and Bellamy were certainly the biggest surprises  for the team. At 147, Pirraglia entered the competition as the 4th seed and battled his way to finishing a notch above his seed. Bellamy, on the other hand, came in as the top seed at 285 (HWT) and claimed the title. Remarkably, both Bellamy and Pirraglia will participate at Nationals for the first time in their careers.

    The 3rd wrestler joining them on their trip to Cleveland is Carrillo, who was also placed as the top-seed and dominated the 197 bracket with 2 pins. In his 3rd season wrestling at the collegiate level, No. 7 Carrillo didn’t face too much resistance in the tournament until the final, where he defeated No. 8. DiNardo of Johnson & Wales University in a tough battle. This upcoming weekend will be the third time that the Middletown native competes in the NCAA tournament. In a post-match interview, Coach Black specifically commented on his performance.

    “Being the top-seed is earned, but it is also challenging to stay on top,” Black said. “Everyone comes for you to knock you down. Devon was solid and wrestled a good final to put him in a good spot for the Nationals and Isaiah finished with an exclamation point by pinning his opponent in the finals.”

    Apart from the three qualifiers, Black also highlighted the performances of the wrestlers who have been excelling all season and were only inches away from a trip to Cleveland. Amir Daouk ’20, who was 16-15 last year, has made great improvements to finish 23-12 this year, earning himself the 5th seed in this bracket. From the consistency he has showed, it is hard to believe that the young wrestler is only in his sophomore year.

    In addition, Coach Black expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the other 125-pound competitor, Zack Murillo ’19.

    “We made a coaching decision to move Zack Murillo up to 133,” Black said. “Zack had a great tournament as an undersized 125, bumped to 133, and he knocked off the eighth and sixth seeds in the tournament. Unfortunately, it would come down to getting a critical takedown to win a match as he also gave the first seed a tough match and only lost 2-0 to the fourth seed.”

    At this critical time of the season, many coaches tend to make special arrangements in training in order to prepare for the most important event of the year. But unlike the practice in other sports, wrestling coaches won’t make much change to the preparation before big tournaments.

    “We have been preaching that everything is the same, nothing changes,” Black said. “It boils down to ‘just wrestle.’ Most every coach will say this to their athletes when they step out onto the mat. It means to be in your best positions, it means go score points, enjoy where you are, enjoy what you are doing, and go take what you want and deserve.”

    When asked about the what made this season so successful, Black responded that it wasn’t easy to name specifics.

    “We talk a lot about culture, durability, and coach-ability,” Black said. “These three factors are essential to having consistent success, improvement, and winning. We have great leadership with six seniors and a team which believed and followed through with working hard, smart, and together.”

    Due to the praise the team has received recently, there’s always a concern of complacency, wondering if team members will get used to success. However, Black’s feelings on the subject were firm and definitive.

    “No complacency,” Black said. “Our three NCAA qualifiers are focused, hungry, and have been getting better each week of the season, especially this last month of the season. Our team has made significant jumps in their skills, motivation, and drive to compete and wrestle to win. Our aim is to love competing, go wrestle, do what we do best and the outcomes will take care of themselves. I believe that we have very focused, talented wrestlers who are each ready to go out and compete to their highest potential and be high on the All-American podium.”

    Black thanked the fans for their support to the program this year.

    “We have great fans, alums, parents, and supporters of the wrestling program that attend all of our matches,” Black said. “Silloway Gymnasium is a great place to showcase our wrestling program in front of our fan support. Remember that we are all on the same team. We are on the Wesleyan team.”

     

    Henry Yang can be reached at hyang01@wesleyan.edu.

  • My Sunday League Childhood: Yang ’21’s Affinity for Club Soccer

    Not many soccer fans in my hometown know about Queen’s Park, one of the oldest clubs in Scotland and the only amateur side in the country’s professional leagues. However, they do make perfect examples of following the Scottish club’s old mantra, “ludere causa lundendi” (for the love of the game), during Sunday League soccer, despite ironically playing in the jerseys of rich mega-clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid.

    Like my hometown, Wesleyan has never been short of soccer lovers who embody such mantras. And that’s why there is club soccer to play every week and intramural leagues every fall. I mean, what else would you be doing on a Sunday? Laying in bed? Reading a book? No.

    Playing in club soccer at Wesleyan reminds me of the old days of Sunday League soccer: the amateur competition that has few regulations but the same enthusiasm. For me, they are so similar yet different, and now I can finally share my story without raising some eyebrows among adult readers, hoping that some details will resonate with readers who share a similar childhood.

    It was a weird experience. For example, while hockey also played a large part in my early years with two practices per week at a brand new ice rink, what I usually got for soccer practices were only muddy pitches and talky “managers” who were usually one of my teammates. The toughest part, however, was my age. Being younger than most of my teammates, I had to fight for a position while being extremely careful not to get injured. Fortunately, if I was at the game early enough (like seven o’clock), I always had a chance to play if one of the adults didn’t show up. It was a beautiful spectacle.

    If there’s one surefire thing soccer does, it’s that it turns you into an idiot on a weekly basis who puts everything aside just so you can spend an hour running on the pitch. A cold, damp, overcast morning? Be there. A summer afternoon with blazing heat? Be there. From facing fierce opponents who play like All-Stars, to half your team being hungover from the night before, your Sundays would not be the same without this kind of soccer.

    Forget about the prizes, because there aren’t any. Forget about your papers, because deadlines are still a few hours away. Forget about the silly mistakes, because they are happening all over the place. Breathe, relax, enjoy the game. That’s it.

    For some people, there is something magical about the moment when they made a crucial save, dribbled past players, or sliced through the d-line with one deadly pass. All of a sudden, it is as if they’ve stepped onto the pristine grass of Wembley Stadium and there are tens of thousands of fans cheering for them instead of three. But even if you aren’t one of them and you play terribly, you’ll still find your time well-spent, as playing with freedom can be a stress release for everyone.

    Moreover, you’ll get to find certain types of friendship over time. You may think of the game as a terrible powder keg, but that is actually not totally fair. Some relationships do survive and get built as both sides survive through the scorching sun and cold January frost. In fact, I’ve been lucky enough to get to know some wonderful human beings by playing for teams of all ages. My friendship with a graduate in agriculture and a software engineer continued even after we all “retired” from Sunday League soccer.

    But be careful about one thing and one thing only: everything about the game should stay on the pitch. Once the day is over, forget about it, please. Everyone you know – your mom, your mate, your cat – is sick to death of hearing about how you almost scored a hat trick last weekend and that your team was only inches away from lifting the trophy (if there is one at all). So all you want to do is enjoy the game when you still can, and show off your talent when you still can.

    After all, there are a number of ways to help make your club soccer experience as enjoyable as it can possibly be. No matter how busy you might’ve become or how much weight you’ve put on, the rule of thumb remains the same: get out of bed, eat the right food, learn the names, warm up well, and play like a grown-up. Last but not the least, you should always remember: even when you lost 10-0, you are “obviously the better team.”

    Henry Yang can be reached at hyang01@wesleyan.edu.