MANHATTANVILLE WINTER SPORTS REVIEW

Four major sports teams finish up their seasons at Manhattanville College

In the upcoming week the winter sports season will come to a close. Amazingly for Manhattanville athletics, two of the four teams remain in the playoff race, women’s basketball and women’s hockey. This is a great achievement for the women’s teams and only enhances their programs.  Both men’s hockey and men’s basketball just recently ended their seasons with playoff losses.

Let’s start with the basketball programs. The Men's Basketball Team had a successful season, but just fell short. They finished with a 17-10 record going 12-4 in Freedom Conference play. The men played extremely consistent and explosive basketball going on three different four-game win streaks. Major wins included a thirty-point (AP) win over Eastern University and a season high scoring game where the team recorded ninety-two (AP) points against Medgar Evers College.  The team began their playoff run by beating Misericordia College at Kennedy Gymnasium by 2 points on February 14th. This started their final four-game win streak of the season and they would go on to become Freedom Conference co-champions. Manhattanville College and DeSales University would share the title with identical 12-4 records in conference play.

The Valiants would cruise through the first two rounds of the playoffs, only to meet their co-champion DeSales University in the championship game. At the last meeting between these two teams DeSales came out victorious with a four-point win. They not only won the game but would later find out they win the right to host the conference championship game. DeSales proved to be too much for Manhattanville’s squad shooting sixty percent from the floor. With the win DeSales received the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. When asked about the season Manhattanville sophomore Peter Mehmel said:

We had a good run, but of course it wasn’t enough. We all wanted to get to the NCAA tournament, that’s what we play for. Every guy on this team played as hard as they could, and that’s all we can ask for.

            When a team doesn’t make the NCAA tournament but has a good season they are invited by a committee to play in what’s called the ECAC tournament. In a controversial move Head Coach Pat Scanlon denied the invitation and chose not to play. Coach Scanlon wants nothing but the NCAA tournament. The team sets very high standards and the ECAC tournament is not what they wanted.  The men’s team will have to look to next season for their next successful year.

            The Women's Basketball Team is currently enjoying a very successful season and is continuing their ECAC tournament run. At the moment the team is 18-10 and had an identical record as the men did at 12-4 in conference play. Their late-season play propelled them into and through the playoffs, winning their last 8 games before losing to DeSales University in the conference championship. By loosing to DeSales they lost their bid to the NCAA tournament.

            The women, unlike the men accepted their invitation to the ECAC tournament and played their first game on March 4^th. They beat a tough Centenary (N.J.) team 79-71 and advanced to the semi-final round match up. With the win they also won the right to host the final two rounds of the tournament on campus at Kennedy Gym. The semi-final match up will be held on Saturday March 7^th and the finals will be on Sunday March 8^th. The Valiants face Wesley College in the first match of the night, while Alvernia University will face Neumann College in the second match. The winners will then face off in the championship game on Sunday. Valiant freshman Kristina Ciotto said:

We are having a great run in the ECAC tournament. We’ve really come together at the right time in the season and I can only hope our success can continue. It’s great to come in as a freshman and have immediate success.

            Another team that has yet another good season is The Manhattanville Men's Hockey Team. The Valiant hockey team finished their season with a very good 16 wins, 4 losses and 5 ties. Their ECAC West record was 8-3-4 ranking them tied for second in the conference. They finished their season ranked number nine in the nation. They were only 1 of 2 nationally ranked teams from Manhattanville this season. Unfortunately for the Valiants rival Hobart tripped them up in the conference tournament as they lost 3-1. This halted their NCAA tournament dreams, but only for the moment. The Valiants still have the possibility of receiving an at-large bid to the tournament, given to teams deserving of the tournament but not winning their conference championship.

            One of many bright spots on the season was the accolade four Valiants earned at the end of the year. Senior Chris Trafford was named Conference Player of the Year. Trafford was the third Valiant in the past 4 years to receive this award. Junior Dillon Henningson received Co-Defensive Player of the Year, a new award given by the ECAC West conference. Junior defensemen A.J. Mikkelson named to the All-Conference Second team and freshman defensemen Dillon O’Hara received an All-Rookie team selection.

            Maybe the most successful team of the season was The Manhattanville Women's Hockey Team. These women finished their regular season 19-6-0 with a conference record of 17-3-0. They have already advanced to the conference semi-final match with a win over Castleton State. A big 5-2 win fills them with confidence going into their next game. Sophomore Holly Nonis said,

It’s a great way to start the conference tournament. A big win gives us some confidence but we have to keep the momentum going. It’s not going to be easy to win three games in a row, especially in this conference.

By winning their first round conference game, they earned the right to host the final weekend of the conference tournament. The Valiant squad must win their next two games to receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

            Like the men’s team the women also received numerous conference accolades. Nonis was named conference Player of the Year, giving the men and women’s hockey the league sweep of Player of the Year awards. Senior net minder Karine Turnel received Goaltender of the Year. Other awards included senior co-captain Erin Brawley receiving a First Team All-Conference selection and junior defensemen Sarah Fullerton being named to the All-Conference second team. Alex Blackwell, a senior co-captain also received honorable mention. Manhattanville was the most decorated team in the conference, receiving five awards.

            This winter season may have been one of the most successful in recent years. Having all four teams reach the conference playoffs is a great accomplishment and really boosts the school’s athletic reputation, and drives in more opportunities for better recruits. 

The Joys of Spring Break

As I sit here on the couch watching T.V. I realize how nice it is to be on vacation. The lack of responsibility and the time to relax really helps me gear up for the final stretch of the semester. I find it funny, my parents always tell me it seems like as college kids we go to school less and less every year and get more and more vacation time. Personally I don't mind it but my parents tell me they pay more for me to be on vacation than for me to be in school. This is a really good time to gather your thoughts and compose yourself in preparation for finals. For me, I haven't been home since Christmas time so it's really nice to get back and relax. I'm sure that everyone enjoys spring break, especially from some of the plans some of my friends have told me they have, going to warm places to sit on the beach, or cold places to go skiing and snowboarding. I chose to go snowboarding for the first time in a few years. As much as I love the warm weather I have always been into winter sports. Its so nice to get up on the mountain in the fresh air and away from everything around you. I just put on my iPod and cruise down the mountain. Hopefully this time will allow everyone to clear their heads and come  back to school ready for the end. It's crazy to think that I already have only one year left at school, and this break is one of my last. 

The Stresses of College

It seems that as I get older and older I realize the responsibilities and stresses that college brings. It's funny to think that in only a year I will be in the real world with a real job. I recently spoke to a professor of mine that said that it couldn't be that bad its only school, what else could be so bad. There are so many things that factor into your college life than just class. Yes this does seem to be my hardest semester yet, but other things stress people out as well. Speaking personally sometimes soccer stresses me out the most. I love the game and I love being on the team but dealing with that, school, and a social life can become very difficult. Somebody told me that it seems like as long as the social aspect of your life is going well everything else will seem to go well. I find this to be very true. If your social life is going well then classes will go well and in my case athletics will go well. The social aspect plays such a huge role in college life because, like it or not, that is what college is for, not just class. I'll admit everyone says they are here for classes but everyone knows there are a lot of other things we do here at school. This just seems like the best time to have spring break and allow everyone to unwind just a little. I certainly understand that I can not be the only one getting stressed at this point in the year, especially with midterms and tests this last week. Hopefully spring break can help us all!