Sports

Listening and Leading

Mitchell reflects on first year as Allegheny athletics director

By Tim Wetsell '09

In her first year as director of athletics and recreation, Betsy Mitchell grounded her relationship with Allegheny College in one principle: listening.

"What I've done a lot of my first year is listen to people and try to get them talking, so that I can try to understand this place," Mitchell says. "I think the most effective leadership is where you listen as much as, or more than, you talk."

One group Mitchell has heard is students, who expressed the need to alleviate some of the stresses of their daily schedule. "These are dynamic young students who want to be great students, athletes, and community leaders," she says. "But all these things they want to do come into conflict."

The newly renovated Frank B. Fuhrer Field has helped ease the conflicting interests of students by hosting not only varsity sporting events, but intramurals as well. "Our new resource, the turf and lights, helps many of our students because we can arrange varsity practice times later during the day," Mitchell says.

This may make room for other activities students wish to participate in, but Mitchell knows there are still a few kinks to work out.

"Having just one piece of turf and one lighted facility, however, creates other stresses since only one group can use it at a time," she explains. "Later practices mean later to eat, later to sleep, later to study, colder temperatures to endure, and a schedule that varies by weather instead of being dependable and static."

Yet Mitchell believes the athletics department still offers a great environment for students looking to play a varsity sport or just get a little exercise. "What was most rewarding was to feel like I'm helping students by providing a quality opportunity," she says in reference to Allegheny's coaches and recreational facilities.

Mitchell has also focused on changing the current dynamic of recruiting by encouraging coaches to travel to meet with prospective students more than in previous years. She is also trying to identify other ways the College can enhance its national reputation and visibility.

The support of alumni in this endeavor does not go unnoticed by Mitchell. "Every day I hear how important this place is to our alumni," she says. "I cultivate that so alumni continue to feel tied into this place."

In addition to keeping alumni in tune with Allegheny athletics, Mitchell sees other successes in the athletics department that do not show up in the box score.

"We certainly were successful on the field," Mitchell says. But she does not stop there. "Teams that aren't winning are improving—that's a success as much as cross country getting third at nationals," she adds. "Just as important, I think the students are enjoying their time here."

And for Mitchell, the success of the department is not always something that can be quantitatively measured. "It's much more about the qualitative feedback I get from people who have the impression the department is running well," she says.

Gator Invitational showcases new facility, track & field talent

By Tim Wetsell '09

May 10 marked the first time in nearly three decades that a track and field facility at the Robertson Athletic Complex saw competitive action, thanks to the inaugural Gator Invitational at the recently renovated Frank B. Fuhrer Field.

The Olympic-style track made it easy to attract representatives from 20 teams, including the full Gator squad. The track wraps around a 73-yard wide soccer field, rather than a 50-yard wide football field, allowing for the wider turns that don't force athletes to change their running style.

"Coaches in my sport look for those wide-turn facilities," says Bill Ross, Allegheny track and field coach. "They are conducive to fast times in distance events.

"Teams and coaches will want to come here because of the facility," he continues. "That's what my hope was in showcasing the facility—to show the coaches and athletes that this is a fast track. I think we accomplished that with 47 national qualifying performances."

Jeremy Scott '03, a two-time national champion in the pole vault, led the way. Scott cleared 18 feet, .5 inches in one try, and then cleared 18-6.75 on his third and final try, meeting the Olympic Trials provisional qualifying standard. Scott made three more attempts at 18-9.5 but scraped the bar each time, so his personal best remains 18-8.25.

Scott wasn't the lone Gator alumnus to qualify at the national level. Devin Cruea and Pat Confer, both 2007 graduates, broke school records in the discus and hammer throw, respectively. Cruea exceeded the NCAA Division III qualifying standard with a throw of 159 feet, 10 inches, while Confer did the same in the hammer throw with a toss of 167-8.

The Allegheny men's final Division III qualification belonged to Ben Mourer '07, who made the cut in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:47.29. On the women's side, Liz Earley '08 set a school record of her own in the hammer throw with a toss of 175 feet, 7 inches—good enough for the NCAC Field Athlete of the Year to reach the automatic NCAA Division III qualifier in the event.

All in all, with 47 national qualifiers, an Olympic Trials qualification, and a near sub-four-minute mile, the event provided plenty of entertainment.

"You have to know how to put people in the stands," says Ross, a 23-time NCAC Coach of the Year. "We want to continue to provide entertainment by showcasing some events." In the future those events will most likely include the mile, the pole vault featuring Scott, and another event that has yet to be determined.

Still, the invitational will remain relatively small.

"Bigger isn't always better," says Ross. "It slows the meet down. Our meet was streamlined and run very efficiently. You can't have a 12-hour-long track meet—it ruins it."

Sports Wrap-up

By Bill Salyer

The spring athletics season turned out to be a successful one for Allegheny College. The Gators brought home North Coast Athletic Conference titles in softball and men's track and field, complemented by a pair of second-place finishes in men's golf and women's track and field. Overall, the Gators produced one All-American, three NCAC players of the year, four all-region selections, and 65 all-conference performers during the spring campaign. Overall, Allegheny finished third out of the 10 conference schools in the combined spring sports standings.

Softball

The softball team (19-19, 9-5 NCAC) won its third NCAC title in four seasons after a 2-0 victory over Denison in the league championship's final game. Sophomore infielder Rachel Ryan was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, joining freshman pitcher Alicia Morley, junior infielder Abby Bodenlos, freshman pitcher/infielder Allison Korotkin, and junior outfielder Liz Burr on the all-tournament team. The Gators reached the NCAA tournament by virtue of their conference title and went 1-2 in pool play: a 4-0 win over Maryville and losses to eventual regional champion DePauw and No. 9 ranked Muskingum.

Six Gators landed on the All-NCAC squad, including Bodenlos, who was NCAC Player of the Year. Other first team selections included Ryan and junior catcher/infielder Crystal Ptacek. Second team honors went to freshman outfielder Katie Wills, Burr, and Korotkin. Bodenlos and Ryan also earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors.

Men's Track and Field

The men's track and field team captured its fifth straight NCAC outdoor title. Senior Devin Cruea was named the Field Event Performer of the Year, while head coach Bill Ross was named the NCAC Coach of the Year. Cruea won the individual title in the shot put and followed with a pair of second place finishes in the discus and hammer throws. Overall, the Gators had four individual champs and 21 all-conference performers.

Sophomore Bobby Campbell became the school's first champion in the javelin throw, junior Ryan Place earned his second straight first-place finish in the 1,500-meter run, and junior Chris Corkins was the winner in the 10,000-meter run. Corkins and senior Ben Mourer went on to compete at the Division III Championships, with Corkins placing 15th in the 10,000 meter and Mourer finishing 16th in the 5,000 meter.

Baseball

The Gator baseball team (14-23, 9-7 NCAC) finished the regular season in second place in the NCAC East Region and went on to tie for third place at the NCAC tournament. Two Allegheny players earned honorable mention all-conference honors: senior designated hitter Jimmy Fernandez and junior pitcher Colt Viehdorfer. Fernandez batted .321 with 19 RBI, while Viehdorfer led the Blue and Gold in all major pitching categories, including wins (four), complete games (five), innings pitched (56), and strikeouts (34). Fernandez was also named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division III hitter of the week after batting .875 in games during the week of April 16.

Lacrosse

The lacrosse squad (4-9, 2-4 NCAC) landed a trio of players on the all-conference team: junior attacker Ashley Hughes, senior attacker Michelle Dudevoir, and freshman midfielder Meg Grossman. Hughes earned first-team honors after leading Allegheny in goals (29), assists (12), draw controls (33), and total points (41). Dudevoir finished the season with 27 goals and nine assists, and Grossman totaled 13 scores and seven assists.

Men's Golf

The men's golf team turned in a secondplace conference finish in 2007. Sophomore Chris Moore earned first-team All-NCAC status, and sophomore Mike Wolfe was named to the second team. Freshmen Christian Goetz and Kyle Jastromb were each named to the league's honorable mention squad. Goetz and Wolfe were also named to the PING All-Mid-Atlantic Regional Team. Wolfe participated in 22 rounds with an average score of 77.05; Goetz saw action in 20 rounds with a 78.01 average.

Women's Golf

The women's golf team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III championships after a successful regular season that included two tournament victories and a seventh-place finish at the highly competitive Jekyll Island Invitational during the spring campaign. At the championships, the Gators turned in an 11th place finish out of 20 teams. Individually, sophomore Jaime Reints placed 38th in the nation, and sophomore Alison Bruckner and junior Lisa Coleman placed 43rd and 60th overall. Throughout the regular season, the team maintained a National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) top 20 ranking in just the second year of the program's existence.

Men's Tennis

The men's tennis team turned in a third-place finish at the NCAC championships, the best finish for the squad since the 1995 season. Head coach Jared Luteran was named the NCAC Co-Coach of the Year, while sophomore Matt Chriricosta and junior Andrew Zipf earned second-team All-NCAC honors for both singles and doubles competition. The Gators opened the spring portion of the regular season with an upset of Division I Robert Morris and opened NCAC play with a 3-0 mark. Chriricosta and juniors Nicholas Lieb and Tim McClung were also named International Tennis Association (ITA) scholar athletes for their performance in the classroom during the 2006-07 season.

Women's Tennis

The women's tennis team finished seventh at the NCAC championships this spring. Senior Amanda Bolger ended her Gator career earning honorable mention All-NCAC status at the No. 1 singles position, and senior Chrissy Ungaro was named an ITA scholar athlete.

Women's Track and Field

The women's track and field team turned in a second-place finish during the NCAC outdoor championships, just nine points out of a title. Junior Liz Earley was named the NCAC Field Performer of the Year following an individual title in the hammer throw and a scoring effort in the javelin throw. Senior Katie Pankowski captured the other Gator championship, with a first-place finish in the javelin throw. In addition to a pair of individual titles, the Gators had 25 all-conference performances. Allegheny also had a pair of juniors, Emily Pfeufer and Liz Straus, earn all-conference honors in the league's multi-event championships. Earley proceeded to Nationals and earned her second straight All-America honor, finishing fourth in the hammer throw. Pfeufer set a school record in the 100-meter hurdles en route to placing 16th in the nation in the multi-event championships.