The Times-Delphic

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

THE TIMES-DELPHIC DES MOINES, IOWA | THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011 | VOL. 129, NO. 38 | WWW.TIMESDELPHIC.COM

New student government elected Run-off for College of Business senator will be April 11, 12

by Lauren Horsch

Staff Writer lauren.horsch@drake.edu

Amid the heightened energy of Drake students, the nine new at-large, academic and diversity interest senators were announced for next year’s session.

A crowd of about 50 students gathered at Pomerantz Stage in Olmsted Center to await the results from the Election Commission. This time around, there was no PowerPoint announcing the outcomes, but rather Election Commission Co-Chair Alex Bergman naming off the top nine vote getters for senators-at-large and all other positions.

The results started with academic senators.

With many of the positions being uncontested, there were little to no surprises for those in attendance.

Those elected as academic senators were: Dana Hansen, College of Arts and Sciences; Nick Lund, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Sean Walsh, School of Journalism and Mass Communication; Carly Hamilton, School of Education; and Kayleigh Koester, Fine Arts.

There will be a run-off election next week for the College of Business and Public Administration between Adam Lutz and Nick Kollauf.

“I’m excited for it,” said Lutz. “We’re both really qualified candidates, and it will be a tight race.”

Tanaya Thomas will be diversity interest senator.

After those announcements came the results for senators-at-large.

Sophomore Amanda Laurent had the most votes during the election with 677 in total, followed by first-year David Karaz with 668.

The nine newly elected senators-at-large in highest vote total are: Laurent, Karaz, Seejo Valacheril, Sam Pritchard, Nate Bleadorn, Stephen Slade, Alex Hendzel, Michael Riebel and Zach Keller.

Together, they will sit around next year’s table for the 25th session of Drake Student Senate.

Riebel said it was exciting to be re-elected and that he was really looking forward to not only have returning members but also new members around the table.

“I’m really happy with how the election went, it was a pretty clean campaign process,” said Bleadorn.

Bergman agreed that the campaign process this time around was clean.

Bleadorn added that there were good candidates that were elected, but also good candidates that were not elected.

“That’s always kind of a bummer that not everyone can get on,” he said.

Valacheril will be the lone senior senator-atlarge around the table next year and with his previous years of experience he is “grateful” for the support from his constituents.

“It’s a huge honor,” he said. Valacheril said that his main goal next year will be to help make the students aware of decisions that will affect them in any way.

TO SENATE, PAGE 2

Dogtown After Hours Tomorrow

by Christine Setsody

Staff Writer christine.setsody@drake.edu

CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

WINNING CANDIDATES FOR STUDENT SENATE celebrate and are congratulated as election results were announced early Wednesday morning.

>>2011-2012 Student Senate Executive Members President: Greg Larson VP Student Life: Jessica Hamilton VP Student Activities: Matthew Van Hoeck Senators-At-Large Amanda Laurent Nathan Bleadorn Sam Pritchard Alex Hendzel Michael Riebel David Karaz Stephen Slade Zach Keller Sejjo Valacheril Academic Senators Arts & Sciences: Dana Hansen Business: RUN-OFF ELECTION Fine Arts: Kayleigh Koester Education: Carly Hamilton Journalism: Sean Walsh Pharmacy: Nick Lund Diversity Interest Tanaya Thomas

Tharp inspires listeners to dance Renowned dancer and choreographer tells audience members to ‘find your personal reason for why you want to dance’

by Elizabeth Robinson

Staff Writer elizabeth.robinson@drake.edu

Nearly 1,000 people from the Drake and Des Moines communities gathered in the Knapp Center on Monday night to listen to renowned dancer, choreographer and author Twyla Tharp as she presented the 26th Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture.

Tharp focused her speech on the concepts of creativity, hard work and inspiration. She was able to pull in examples from her dancing experience as well as several excerpts from her books “The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons on Working Together” and “The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life” which related significantly to the subject at hand.

“I believe we all are creative and we can increase our creativity by certain simple practices that we do daily,” Tharp began.

As she continued, Tharp discussed how she has found dancing as a creative outlet throughout her life.

“Dancing was the only place I could begin to challenge myself physically,” she said. “Dancers are wondrous creatures. They are silent forces of great beauty, and at their best, they’ll run through walls for you.”

Junior and co-captain of Drake’s dance team Beth Branding agreed that dance is a great, unique source of creativity and a way of expressing oneself.

“You have such an outlet for everything you’re going through

inside

through dance,” she said. “You have to pull from within yourself and find your personal reason for why you want to dance.”

Tharp went on to note the importance of hard work and

I believe we all are creative and we can increase our creativity by certain simple practices that we do daily.

-Twyla Tharp

”

preparation. She noted several of the shows she has worked on, and the effort it took to make these shows successful, including “Movin’ Out,” a Broadway production set to the music of Billy Joel. Tharp engaged in extensive research not only on Joel’s music to find a plot, but once a plot was devised, she researched the Vietnam War, which was the time period that the show was set in.

“She really focused a lot on preparation,”said junior and cocaptain of Drake’s dance team Morgan Meier. “If you want something you have to research and prepare, you have to work for it. She was serious about doing that.”

Drake students are planning to see if breaking a Guinness World Record is easy as pie.

The Drake Student Activities Board, along with several other student organizations, is hosting Drake Dogtown After Hours with the goal to break the Guinness World Record of 671 people in a pie fight, currently held by Lawrenceville School in New Jersey as of Nov. 11, 2010.

Greg Larson, vice president of student activities, said he is confident the goal will be met.

“It’s going to be tough because when this event was originally planned the record was lower, but we’ll just get more people to do it,” he said.

A minimum of 1,600 pies will be made for the fight that will be held in the parking lot of Olmsted Center.

Attendees have the chance to win more than $2,500 in prizes and a grand prize of two Allegiant Air plane tickets to their choice of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Tampa Bay or Orlando. Top prizes include an iPad 2, a $250 travel voucher with a $100 Visa gift card and a Drake Relays gift package that includes great seats for the upcoming Drake Relays.

Free food will accompany the plethora of events occurring throughout the evening including headphone disco, various contests, a hypnotist, laser tag, casino games, crafts, game shows, a glow-in-the-dark bags tournament, henna art painting and caricature drawings, as well as swing, salsa and Zumba dancing.

SAB Public Relations Co-chair Sarah Coffey said she is really excited about the headphone disco.

“It’s a huge phenomenon in Europe, and I think people at Drake will love it as well,” she said. “Walking into the room without headphones and just seeing people dancing to different beats will be hysterical. People will look completely bizarre, but it’ll be so much fun.”

Participants will pay one dollar per raffle ticket to be entered into the prize drawings and all proceeds will go to Peaks 4 Poverty. This charity was created by a Drake alumna and its mission is to raise awareness about and to educate children with AIDS. “This is a great organization to support,” Larson said.

“It literally has a global reach with affecting change. Being started by a Drake alumna brings it back home.”

Coffey said the purpose of Dogtown After Hours is to have a safe and fun night on campus, alcohol-free.

“It’s a common misconception that the only way to have fun in college is to go out to bars,” she said. “Dogtown After Hours will definitely disprove this.”

Students, professors and faculty are encouraged to attend and even volunteer at the event.

“It would be great to see professors, faculty and staff at Dogtown After Hours,” Coffey said. “Associating with these people outside of the classroom is something you don’t get at bigger schools. The relationships you are able to build with these people are one of the best things about Drake.”

Numerous student organizations are collaborating to make Dogtown After Hours a diverse and exciting event.

“This event is structured so that anybody can come and have fun,” Larson said. “There are opportunities to win a lot of prizes, help a great organization and share in breaking a world record all in the same night.”

Organizers said outdoor showers will be available for use after the fight and they advised people to wear grubby clothing. The event is Friday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

>>Schedule of events and info about Dogtown 10 p.m. Swing Dance Candy Sushi Trebbel Music

10:30 p.m.

11 p.m.

11:30 p.m.

12 a.m.

Brocal Music Food Contest Zumba Dance Headphone Disco Price is Right Caricatures Salsa Dance Hypnotist

1a.m.

1:30 p.m.

Contests

All-Night Activities

Laser Tag Henna Art Multicultural Crafts Bags Tournament Casino Events Food

SEE THARP, PAGE 2

Pie Fight

NEWS

OPINIONS

FEATURES

SPORTS

Students recently earned bragging rights

First is column series about music’s impacts on life

Drake athletes can teach you how to “dougie”

Win over Evansville puts softball team at 8-0

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PAGE 7

NEWS

quote of the

TOO HOT TO HANDLE

1:43 a.m. April 2

A male was observed on CCTV removing his shirt in the 2900 block of University Avenue and displaying his physique to anyone passing by. He appeared to be having difficulty walking. He approached a fire hydrant, appeared to embrace it and then began licking it. He then walked behind an evergreen tree and appeared to be unfastening his trousers. He was stopped and questioned about his curious behavior. The 22-year-old male student didn’t seem to have a reason and denied urinating behind the tree. He did state that he commonly experiences a glitch that causes his zipper to lower itself out of the blue. He could not give a reason for his affection toward the fire hydrant. He was escorted off campus.

9:23 p.m. March 29 Security was called to south lobby of FAC near the box office on injury.

Someone had fallen down the stairs and wanted to talk. A Drake student male was found laying at the second level base of stairs. He stated that he

had pain in his left elbow and buttox that he was nauseated. Fire/rescue was called. The Drake male student stated he had fallen down 15 stairs, after tripping on the tread cap at the top of the stairs. He refused to go to the hospital.

6 p.m. April 1 A security officer observed a male student carrying a knife in his sock.

The knife was confiscated.

9:44 p.m. April 1 A security officer observed suspicious activity by three males who were stopped near the tennis center. They

TOP DOGS

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011 | PAGE 2

“

day news SECURITY REPORTS 11:54 p.m. March 29 Dispatch received a call from a female Drake student saying she had been attacked on the east side of Cole Hall. The suspect’s description is white male in his 20s, 6’2”, black hair, slender build wearing a dark puffy coat. She was walking to her boyfriend’s house on 25th street the boy walked up from behind her and asked her if she had cigarettes. She stated she did not. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her asking for cigarettes and ran away. She was not injured.

“

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

Many times it’s unthinkable to freshman taking intro classes that someone could be an NFL football star and gay.

—BRIAN ADAMS-THIES | PAGE 5

were all students and one possessed two blunts and the other had a fake driver’s license. Police were called and the fake ID was confiscated. The officer had the students destroy the blunts.

12:19 a.m. April 2 It was reported that someone had vomited in a restroom in the Goodwin-Kirk Residence Hall.

Damage was also done to soap dispensers. A witness observed a male exit the restroom after hearing the disturbance.

2:30 p.m. April 2 A male student reported damage to his vehicle while it was parked in a Drake parking lot located in the 1400 block of 28th Street. A note was left on his vehicle from a person who stated she had struck it. She left a phone number for him to call.

2:17 a.m. April 3 A 19-year-old male student advised that he left a bar in the 2300 block of University Avenue and was assaulted by an unknown male in the south stairwell of Ross Residence Hall.

The student stated the male pushed him after words were exchanged and caused his hand to smash into a fire extinguisher glass case. He refused medical assistance but requested police. A residence hall staff member was called to the scene.

11:48 p.m. April 2 Security observed what appeared to be a fire behind 1308 32nd St. It was determined a male student had a campfire going in his backyard, and a friend threw a La-Z-Boy into the fire and ran away. The student would not release his friend’s name. The fire department was called and the fire was extinguished. The matter has been turned over to fire investigators.

Your March Madness picks may have been a disappointment, but these Drake teams are guaranteed not to bust your bracket

On campus less than a year, Collegiate DECA already succeeding

by Andi Summers

Staff Writer andrea.summers@drake.edu

Over Spring Break, Drake University’s DECA team competed in Chicago and took home two first place awards out of the four competitions.

First-year business student Austin Cooke started the collegiate DECA team at Drake this year.

While looking at colleges, Cooke decided that he wanted to start his own collegiate DECA team after he saw a former teammate start up his own DECA team at the University of Illinois.

“I talked to Dean Blum about it when I was looking at Drake, and he helped out from the beginning,” Cooke said. “He is now the adviser for the team.”

The university recognized the DECA team about halfway through the fall semester of

SIFE earns spot at national competition in Minneapolis

by Elizabeth Robinson

Staff Writer elizabeth.robinson@drake.edu

Drake’s Students In Free Enterprise members have been taking their organization’s slogan “A Head for Business.

A Heart for the World” and putting it into action.

Soon, SIFE members will be presenting all of their hard work at the national level as they travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to compete in the SIFE National Competition.

SIFE is an organization that focuses on finding a need in the community and devising a plan to fill that need. This year, SIFE has organized and worked on several projects including Helping the Homestead, Las Americas, G.E.D.–The Reengagement Center, Krafty Kids–The Haven, “Brand Yourself ” Seminar and C.U. This Week: Credit Union Simulation.

“I want to invest my time in something that I think would be worth it, and I definitely think this is worth it,” junior Amy Harren said. Harren is a project manager who headed the “Brand Yourself ” Seminar and has been very involved in SIFE for the last two years.

Drake’s SIFE team won the regional competition in Chicago on March 28 and will now go on to compete at the nationals

FROM ELECTION, PAGE 1 Pritchard, a current first-year student, is one of the newly elected senators who have not been around the table before.

“It’s good to know that I have the support and mandate of the student body,” he said.

President-elect Greg Larson and vice president of student life-elect Matt Van Hoeck are both looking forward to next year’s crew.

“There are a lot of people that are eager to do a lot of great things,” Larson said.

competition May 10-12. The competition consists of a 24-minute presentation, to highlight all of the work and projects that have been done in the last year. Six presenters speak on behalf of the organization and are evaluated based on economic, social and environmental factors.

The overall goal is to walk away as the team that was best able to use business and economic concepts as well as an entrepreneurial approach to benefit people in their community. The presentation also includes a PowerPoint presentation, member biographies and a report, which includes statistics, number of hours spent on projects, people affected, media involved, etc.

“It would be awesome to win, but realistically, there’s so much competition at nationals, so to make it to the second round would be awesome,” co-president Sara Block said.

The organization’s hard work and passion to make a difference is what makes SIFE special and is what makes going to Nationals even more significant for the group’s members, Harren said.

“Everyone there has the same passion that our SIFE group has,” Harren said. “It’s awesome to be with those people that aren’t just thinking about helping the community, but they’re actually doing it.”

“I’m pretty optimistic about what we can do,” added Van Hoeck.

At this point, there is a waiting period for all at-large senators to receive their committee placements before they can move on and create goals for the 2011-12 school year. According to Van Hoeck and Larson, those announcements will be made next week.

“Even though a lot of the races were unopposed, this is new people that were interested,” Van Hoeck said. “This senate will be different from last year’s.”

2010. The team has about 18 members active members.

The two wins came from the effort of Greg Stoker and Nick Dodd who competed in sports entertainment marketing and an individual win by Eric Baker in the travel tourism industry.

According to its website, DECA is an organization that “prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management and

Verdict: Victory Drake Mock Trial qualifies for national competition for third time in four years

by Elizabeth Robinson

Staff Writer elizabeth.robinson@drake.edu

Drake’s Mock Trial team has once again shown its ability to compete and succeed at a high level of competition. After placing fourth in the Opening Round Champion Series competition in St. Paul, Minn., Team 1237 will now be advancing to the National Mock Trial competition being held in Des Moines.

“For us to put in so much effort and to be rewarded as one of the top 50 in the country, we feel like we’ve really put the work in and deserve it,” senior co-captain Daniel Van Sant said. “Just making it this far is really exciting for us.”

The team has been focusing primarily on individual improvement in order to improve the team as a whole. More one-on-one work between attorneys and witnesses has been taking place to ensure that the group is as cohesive as possible. The team has already somewhat reached the goal of cohesiveness due to the members’ close relationships and camaraderie.

“With us, not only does our team work really hard and have a lot of talent, but we really work well together which gives us an advantage against other teams,” Van Sant said. “We’re friends and teammates, which gives us a better working chemistry.”

The team is also depending on its authenticity and somewhat on the concept of home-field advantage going into the competition.

According to team co-captains Van Sant and Kyair Butts, the foundation for the team is to learn something throughout the entire process. This constant willingness to learn, grow and improve has given the team

FROM THARP, PAGE 1

>>SENATE VOTE TOTALS At-Large: Laurent – 677 Karaz – 668 Valacheril – 609 Pritchard – 594 Bleadorn – 584 Slade – 561 Hendzel – 556 Riebel – 499

Keller - 486 Weller - 463 Birkholz – 441 Alguire - 271 Hanel (write-in) - 69 Academic: Hansen – 276 Lutz – 143 (44.6%)

Kollauf – 98 (28%) Klose – 79 (24.6%) Koester - 260 Walsh – 110 Lund – 244 Hamilton – 86 Diversity Interest: Thomas - 918

SEND YOUR STORY IDEAS TO NEWS@TIMESDELPHIC.COM

colleges around the globe.”

Students competing in an event for DECA are given different scenarios for certain aspects of the business world and then are given time to work through the scenarios and figure out what they would do. Then they present to the judges.

DECA first originated in high schools and then moved into the community college level to give business students at that level an edge in business.

The larger part of Tharp’s lecture focused on the idea of inspiration. She called forward a volunteer, first-year Monica Worsley, whom she instructed to sit on the stage with her knees to her chest and her head down, somewhat resembling an egg. She later called up a second volunteer, Jo Anne Reed of Colfax, Iowa, who was told to dump out her purse and arrange its contents into patterns. This exercise was used to demonstrate the simple creativity and inspiration that can occur in everyday situations.

When Worsley was told to stand up, Tharp explained why she had put Worsley in a position resembling an egg.

a greater passion for what they do and an authenticity that makes them stand apart from other teams.

“At the end of the day, we believe that we craft a case that’s worth presenting and worth believing in,” Butts said.

Nationals being held in Des Moines may also prove beneficial for the team. Judges in different regions tend to have different criteria or expectations for teams competing.

Drake’s team is hoping that the locality of the competition, and the assumption that judges will most likely be from around the area, will allow judges to be more familiar with Drake’s style of Mock Trial and will allow them to be more willing to respond to what the team has to offer.

Drake is well known for Mock Trial not only because the concept essentially originated at Drake, but also because of the team’s immense success in years past. This will be the third time in the last four years that Drake has qualified for the national competition.

“We haven’t sat down as a team and said we’d like to place here, here or here at nationals,” Van Sant said. “We say we want to work hard, do as well as we can, but above all else, make sure we’re taking something from it.”

Attending nationals this year is especially bittersweet for the team’s seniors. This will be the last time that these team members will compete after a history of several years in Mock Trial for the majority of them. The successful year, location of the competition and the tight-knit team are all factors contributing to the excitement of the event.

“I wouldn’t want to go out on any other stage,” Butts said. “To be in Des Moines at Nationals, in front of friends and family…

Bring it on.”

“An egg is a thing in process that is always not exactly the same,” she said. “When you set out to work and have a lot of trouble working, you think it won’t be perfect. As beautiful as an egg is, neither is an egg because it is always changing.”

Tharp ended her lecture answering questions from people in the audience. Overall, Tharp’s speech seemed to connect with several people.

“For our dance team, it was an honor to be able to listen to a professional and to gain this sort of knowledge and inspiration,” Branding said.

The next Bucksbaum Lecture, being presented in October, will feature author, humorist and radio host Garrison Keillor.

FOR BREAKING DRAKE NEWS, CHECK OUT WWW.TWITTER.COM/TIMESDELPHIC

PAGE 3 | THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

opinions&editorials

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

thebuzz

Congrats to the new members of Drake University Senate.

GREEK LIFE, A WAY OF LIFE

Greek life attraction for prospective students While I normally write my column for those of us in the Greek community, this week I decided to reach out a little further. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or that really, really heavy “History since 1776” textbook), you couldn’t have helped but notice the huge tour groups being guided through our campus.

Full of prospective students and their overeager parents, they’re shown the ins and outs of the Meredith labs, Olmsted breezeway and Spike’s Spot study rooms. If you recently went on this tour and are reading this on your boring drive down I-35 back from whence you came, there’s an aspect of Drake that you might not have gotten the full tour of—for that, you’ll have to wait until Labor Day weekend.

“

With over 34 percent of the student body in a social fraternity or sorority, we have students from every end of the Drake spectrum: senators, track stars, pharmacy majors, cheerleaders.

Whatever you’re hoping to do here at Drake, you can do it in the Greek System.

”

Greek life at Drake is one of the things that attracted me to it in the first place. With over 34 percent of the student body in a social fraternity or sorority, we have students from every end of the Drake spectrum: senators, track stars, pharmacy majors, cheerleaders. Whatever you’re hoping to do here at Drake, you can do it in the Greek system.

Have your parents started reading over your shoulder yet and lecturing you on the dangers of fratting too hard? Don’t worry, they’ll come around. And, while we definitely frat as hard as any other campus, we work to make sure that Greek life really is our way of life.

From morning and sometimes long into the night, I work to maintain the ideals to which my sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta, and I have pledged our loyalty. Our friendship and love is a constant part of my Drake experience—who I grab lunch with between classes, my Zumba dance buddies or watching a sister get engaged during a ritual ceremony. While it might be true we have the most fun and throw the best parties, we also compete for Letters in the Library and Greeks in the Gym (programs designed to create some friendly, intense competition between the houses to be the smartest and healthiest on the street), raise thousands of dollars every year during each house’s philanthropy week, clean Des Moines parks and schools during service exchanges and invite alumni back to the houses they can still call their own.

Each of these things makes up a sorority, fraternity and Greek life as a whole and, while it’s easy to get lost in stereotypes, every Greek member is a proud and promising part of his or her house. Drake’s Greek life mission statement promises “scholastic excellence, leadership development, personal growth, service to the community and social advancement” and, as one of the many, many voices of Greek Street, I can promise you that we never fail to deliver.

On other campuses, Greek and non-Greek members hardly interact. But here, while our higher expectations and ideals bind our houses together, they don’t separate us from the rest of the Drake or Des Moines community.

For the past 100 years, Greek organizations have promoted social, intellectual and moral growth for the students of Drake University and, let me tell you, we’ll be doing it for at least another 100 years. While being in a frat or sorority might not be what you had envisioned you’d be doing, trust me and just give it a go.

For less than $20 (and last year we threw in a bag and T-shirt to boot), you can meet people outside of your orientation group or first-year floor during fall recruitment.

Whether you end up an Alpha Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon or Kappa Alpha Theta, you’ll have figured out a little bit of what you want (or don’t want) in your next four years and, if you end up as nothing at all, you can still claim the title of GDI and wear it just as proudly as I wear KAΘ.

EMMA COLLINS | COLUMNIST

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Basketball not just for the professionals After reading Yoni Solomon’s opinion piece in The Times-Delphic this past Monday, I felt compelled to reply and give my take on the college basketball vs. NBA debate. Granted, all I ever watch is college basketball and loosely follow the NBA because I grew up in Kansas, where the closest thing we have to pro basketball is the Kansas Jayhawks. Nevertheless, I feel like this debate isn’t really a debate at all.

NBA and NCAA basketball are two completely different games. The NBA are the cream of the crop basketball players from across the globe who are paid to live, breathe, sleep and eat basketball. Of course they are going to be better. The majority of college players will not even sniff the NBA. A good many of them are playing basketball in college because it is the only way they will be getting a college degree. So there is obviously a playing gap.

It is obvious in every sport. From college to pro in football, from minor to major leagues in baseball, from America to Europe in soccer, there is always a talent gap.

For the NBA, it is about beautiful passing, super athletes and the superstars. For college basketball it is about the tradition, the passion and the unpredictability.

All “Matrix” associations aside, each league its their own great stories. Bill Russell and his 11 championships with the Celtics is a great example. He even won 2 straight championships with the University of San Francisco “Don’s” in 1955 and 1956 before joining the NBA. But what about Coach Mike Krzyzewski (said ‘sha-shef-ski’) of Duke reaching the Final Four five straight times from 1988 to 1992, winning back-to-back titles in ’91 and ’92?

That is absolutely unprecedented, taking into account graduation and players leaving early.

The month of March is the holy grail of all those who follow college basketball.

Well, it is for those who don’t follow college basketball as well. April, May and June are the NBA’s great months, but we’ll get to that in a bit. The NCAA tournament is a social game, during which people who are casual fans can fill out a bracket, watch ESPN and feel like part of the fan section.

People who have never watched a game the entire season can pick teams by their mascot or whatever tickles their fair-weather fan’s fancy. It is more of a television event that people look forward to experience every year at this time, rather than being a sport purist. Excitement and drama is what the people crave.

Obviously, as he stated in his article, because of the one-game NCAA system, it “doesn’t mean that the NBA’s system isn’t just as upset-prone.” That is not the point of the matter at all. Great games equal great ratings for television. It plays wholly to the cliché of “on any given day, any team can beat one another.” It isn’t about the upsets ultimately, though. These teams play their entire year to get into the NCAA tournament. The Butlers, the VCUs and the Drakes of the world hope and pray to get into the tournament every year if they aren’t in a BCS conference. Getting into the tournament for them is like they have one the national championship in their eyes. So when they get in, they play like they have nothing to lose. And therefore upsets happen. Going into a series takes away from the unpredictability. More likely the better team will win. In the NCAA tournament there is a 50-50 chance that either team will win the game, making it that much more intense.

When Drake got into the tournament there were excited fans and players. But were ousted by a half-court buzzer beater.

Where else would that happen? I am not discounting the NBA for excitement one bit. Take for example, the 2009 first round series between the Bulls and the Celtics. It was quite possibly the greatest and most exciting series of basketball games in a playoff series ever. Four overtime games, one in double overtime and one in triple overtime, took place during the season. Showcasing hopefully a future hall of famer in rookie Derrick Rose versus a loaded Celtics team with Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Everyone always tries to make generalizations about how either game is better than the other. It is completely and totally irrelevant. Both are different games. We can enjoy both thoroughly as the casual basketball fan or the crazed basketball purist that all of us are. Of course, no matter how much basketball you watch, you will see great games and great teams or the ugliest basketball possible (Monday night‘s Butler vs. UConn as Connecticut won arguably the grossest display of basketball I’ve seen in the last five years). Ultimately, I would like to remind you all that the NCAA and NBA are completely different types of basketball, and we can enjoy both thoroughly.

Tad Unruh tad.unruh@drake.edu

Collins is a sophomore English major and can be contacted at emma.collins@drake.edu

Music as it intersects a sport addict’s life As music goes through the public eye, it is easy to see how it intersects life and its various cultures. My next few columns are going to be about different aspects of how music can impact life in many different ways. This week the topic is music and sports intertwining.

In sports, it’s very evident that music has at least a supporting role in the game. I mean, most sports are just for entertainment, and sometimes it’s necessary to have a sound track for a game.

Just look at NFL films. Without their sound track and classic music, how different would it be to watch some old highlights?

One sport where music has really had an impact has been football. If you’ve ever gone to a game on any level from high school on up, you’ll hear music. A lot. Between every kickoff, timeout, pregame, postgame, halftime there’s usually a familiar tune. Go to an NFL game and you’ll hear music every time there is a stoppage. Now that we’re so used to it, it would be incredibly weird to go to a game and have silence between the score and the ensuing kickoff.

The rest of the time, I’ll talk about how music impacts my personal favorite sport: baseball.

Music is constantly playing during these games.

From batter walk-ups to the seventh inning stretch, music is everywhere in baseball.

“

Even if you don’t like sports, it’s worth just going or watching to hear the music of the field and the memories it can bring.

THE TIMES-DELPHIC THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884 LIZZIE PINE, Editor-in-Chief editor@timesdelphic.com JESSICA MATTES, Managing Editor features@timesdelphic.com MATT MORAN, Sports Editor sports@timesdelphic.com

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”

The best part of baseball music is obviously the seventh inning stretch. From the classic “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” to “Roll Out the Barrel” and everything in between, the stretch is a classic event that everyone should experience at least once. Wrigley Field’s idea of a celebrity singing the stretch has been incredibly funny, if not particularly great sounding.

After the stretch though, nothing beats walkup songs. For batters everywhere, it is the chance to put your own personal stamp on the impression you make when you approach the batter’s box. I remember my own song when I played. It was “Blue Collar Man” by Styx because it described my playing style: tough and determined.

Some use it as a chance to have some fun, such as Troy Tulowitzki having Miley Cyrus. But some use it as their signature, their legacy. To this day, every time I hear the song “Hells Bells” I think of Trevor Hoffman and his jog to the mound. Of all you baseball fans, every time you hear “Enter Sandman,” how can you not think of Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer ever. The

music not only helps them but also shows their power and it adds excitement that I can’t find anywhere else.

Even if you don’t like sports, it’s worth just going or watching to hear the music of the field and the memories it can bring. From Harry Caray to Metallica, every possible genre of music is touched upon in sports, and nowhere else can that be claimed.

MIKE WENDLANDT | COLUMNIST

Wendlandt is a sophomore broadcast journalism major and can be contacted at mike.wendlandt@drake.edu

The Times-Delphic is a student newspaper published semi-weekly during the regular academic year and is produced by undergraduate students at Drake University. The opinions of staff editorials reflect the institutional opinion of the newspaper based on current staff opinions and the newspaper’s traditions. These opinions do not necessarily reflect those of individual employees of the paper, Drake University or members of the student body. All other opinions appearing throughout the paper are those of the author or artist named within the column or cartoon. The newsroom and business office of The Times-Delphic are located in Meredith Hall, Room 124. The TimesDelphic is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. The editor-in-chief sits on the Board of Student Communications.

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FEATURES

features

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011 | PAGE 4

don’tmissthis

The Blitz Day picnic is today in Upper Olmsted, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

A blast to Drake’s musical past The development of Drake’s music program has evolved into greatness

by Erin Donegan

Staff Wrirter erin.donegan@drake.edu

With the number of students steadily increasing every year, the Drake University music department is impacting the university’s future.

The university’s first music area was established in 1881, long before Drake had to work on declining enrollment.

As only an area of the university, music classes and group rehearsals were held in a nearby suburb of Des Moines, and they lacked a steady location. The only degree offered in the beginning was a bachelor of arts in music.

Drake University bought a building off campus in 1888 and refurbished it, which laid down the foundation for the School of Music.

The School of Music was established in 1898 when educator Frederick Howard made plans to construct a building on campus meant specifically for the music department. When the building opened in 1900, Howard Hall became the Conservatory of Music.

When the Conservatory opened, 180 students were enrolled in the program. By 1908, that number rose to 482 students.

In 1901, the bachelor of music education degree was first offered. For the next 30 years, the music department spent much of its time increasing its academic standards.

The construction of the Harmon Fine Arts Center in 1972 gave the university a modern facility for the performing and visual arts. Howard Hall was then converted into offices and classrooms.

By 1990, the undergraduate degrees offered were bachelor of music education, bachelor of music performance, bachelor of the arts in music and music with electives in business.

The graduate program that offered a masters degree in music education and music performance was eliminated from the College of Arts and Sciences in the

late 1990s. Because of this cut, the music department made a compromise with the university by asking it to fund a new position, the assistant director of bands.

Currently, the music department has about 150 music majors with this number steadily increasing every year.

Eric Saylor, an associate professor of music history and musicology, said the difficulty of music requirements was a major factor in the decreasing enrollment.

“

We have one of the strongest music education programs in the state and we continue to be a leader in preparing teachers.

”

“The (music) theory requirements currently are much less rigorous than in the past,” Saylor said. “The music department saw a significant drop in enrollment because of the difficulty of classes, and after their freshman year, many music stu-

dents dropped the major. By their senior year, about a third of the starting number of music majors remained.”

After this decrease in enrollment, the music department spent much of its time working to recruit more people to the department.

Professor Robert Meunier, the director of bands at Drake, said that the scholarships Drake gives to students helps to bring attention to the school.

“We’ve gained great support from administration regarding scholarship funding to help the recruiting — it’s very competitive,” Meunier said.

Professor Tom Sletto, assistant professor music education, said the amount of money dedicated to the scholarship pool is large.

“There is a strong amount of scholarship money allocated to the music department,” Sletto said.

The newest edition to the music department came with the construction of the Fred and Patty Turner Jazz Center in 2010.

“The Turner [Jazz] Center will help attract students and bring them to the jazz program,” Meunier said.

With regards to the students Drake recruits, Meunier said it’s about quality, not quantity.

“It all comes down to the quality of the people,” Meunier added. “You could have great students, but if they’re not dedicated, it doesn’t matter.”

The Drake music department looks to the future with optimism.

“We have one of the strongest music education programs in the state, and we continue to be a leader in preparing teachers,” Sletto said.

But it is not only Drake University’s degree programs that receive recognition.

“We are beginning to receive regional and national recognition for our program as well as the jazz and wind bands,” Meunier said. “The future looks great for us.”

CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

BETSY PILKINGTON (above) performing a solo with Drake Choir.

Athletes show dance moves and support cause

by Cambria Pardner

Staff Wrirter cambria.pardner@drake.edu

There weren’t many empty seats Tuesday night in the lower level of Sheslow Auditorium.

The Annual Drake Athlete Talent Show drew quite a crowd. All in all, there were seven performances, and the evening was emceed by Dan Clinton and Amanda Aragon.

By the end of the night, two things were clear: First, Drake athletes know how to dance; second, if you need someone to teach you how to ‘dougie,’ these are the people you need to see.

“I thought we had a pretty good turnout. It was great to see athletes perform in something outside of their events,” said sophomore Sarah Yeager, Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president. The SAAC organized Tuesday’s talent show.

The men’s tennis team started the night off with a dance routine to some of today’s hottest songs. A few of the men even donned skirts.

Their routine was capped off by a solo dancer in a Jabbawockeez mask.

Next, the women’s basketball team took the stage decked out in shirts that gave props to their strength and conditioning coach, Mike Burch.

The team’s performances showcased the latest dance moves and even included a little steppin’.

Men’s soccer was third in the lineup, and their routine featured many classic dance moves from the 80s and 90s. The men also wore clothes characteristic of the time periods represented.

The rowing team opened up with some solo guitar strumming to set the mood. They then switched gears and showed the audience their dance skills as a group.

Following the rowing team, the women’s soccer team displayed their creativity with a dance routine complete with glow-in-the-dark full body suits. Because the lights were dimmed and the women ran down the steps from the upper

tier in Sheslow Auditorium, the women’s soccer team performance had a dramatic effect.

Next, in one of the longer performances of the night, the football team began by airing a video they made. Host Dan Clinton was also in the video and it received quite a few laughs from the crowd. Then, a football player who goes by the name nickname “Bonesaw” took the crowd by storm with his dancing techniques.

At the end of his act, three of his teammates joined him on stage and demonstrated impressive acrobatics.

“The video was well done, and I thought Bonesaw was fantastic,” junior hurdler Jon DeGrave said.

The women’s volleyball team rounded out the acts with a humorous skit chalk full of cheers, team spirit and bulldog pride. They wore shirts they are selling to support the charity Belize Dance Marathon. To find out more about Belize Dance Maration, visit www.helpingbelizekids.org.

At the end of the show, judges Randall Blum, Mike Cigelman, Ryan Martin and James Albert chose women’s basketball and men’s football as the runner-ups. This year’s champion was the men’s soccer team.

Over the past few years, the Athlete Talent Show has become increasingly popular. The inaugural talent show was held in Bulldog Theater but the venue changed to Sheslow to accommodate a larger audience.

Senior pitcher Brynne Dordel said she came to the talent show because “every year it’s really funny.” She missed the show her freshman year, and she said it was all anyone could talk about for a few days.

Throughout the night, Belize Dance Marathon T-shirts were given away through raffle tickets purchased with the two dollar entry fee.

Half of the proceeds went toward the Belize Dance Marathon and half will go toward funding future SAAC events.

CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

MEMBERS OF THE TENNIS TEAM (left) pulled out their best break dancing and drag to perform during the 2011 Athlete Talent Show.

KAYLA PERSON (right) and members of the 2010-2011 women’s basketball performed modern dance moves and included a little step in their routine.

View more photos in an online slideshow at timesdelphic.com.

FEATURES

PAGE 5 | THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

Have Pride

Students and professors discuss LGBT member’s role in the community, media

by Lauren Horsch

Copy Editor lauren.horsch@drake.edu

Amid snacking on brownies and fruit, the discussion around the table in Medbury Honors Lounge on Monday turned to “leather daddies” and “dykes on bikes.”

Members of the Drake University staff and student body were invited to join in the discussion about how members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans gender community are portrayed in the media.

The faculty members around the table were Sentwali Bakari, dean of students; Lori Blachford, associate professor of journalism; Eunice Merideth, associate dean of the School of Education; Brian Adams-Thies, assistant professor of anthropology; Joan McAlister, assistant professor of rhetoric; and Tasha Stiger, director of campus programming.

The president of Rainbow Union, La’Cee Groetken, started off the discussion by asking what the general impressions of LGBT members are in the media.

Adams-Thies then asked how exactly the members of the discussion were defining “queer media.”

“Is Lady Gaga actually queer,” he said.

“What does queer mean in this context?”

“I don’t really think there is a definition,” Groetken said.

Discussion then quickly turned to television channels that cater to the LGBT community such as Logo and here! in the U.S., versus Canada’s Pride TV. Blachford told a short anecdote about how her cable provider used to carry here!, but then the channel disappeared because the service provider no longer carried it.

She also said with Internet and the ability to live stream shows, people still are able to view those shows on the networks.

“We are able to access a lot more information. I think that has improved not only the community’s ability to see themselves represented in some ways, but to be part of a conversation,” Blachford said.

Merideth and Adams-Theis discussed the stereotypes in the LGBT community.

“

My opinion of queers in the media is that there is some really postitive and some really negative. It’s a good versus evil kind of thing.

-La’Cee Groetken

”

3“Most people think most dancers are gay,” Merideth said. “In my first life I was a professional dancer, and I can tell you that probably a third of them are (gay),

but two-thirds aren’t.”

Her experience with a dance instructor taught her that many straight dancers have to go through a lot to dispel those stereotypes that are directly applied to those who are dancers.

Stephanie Gibb-Clark, the vice president of RU, agreed with this aspect of performing arts. Gibb-Clark is a vocal performance major and attested to the fact that every year, those within the department try to find out which of the incoming firstyear students are gay.

“I don’t know why it’s such a big deal, but it is,” Gibb-Clark said.

“Many times it’s unthinkable to freshman taking intro classes that someone could be an NFL football star and gay,” Adams-Theis said. He also said the stereotype of males in fine arts as being gay doesn’t help the public’s perception of other “unthinkable” members of the LGBT community.

Conversation then changed to how public figures who are members of the LGBT community are portrayed in mass media.

Blachford brought up Judy Bradshaw, who is the chief of police in Des Moines, and even though she is a lesbian, the media doesn’t just display her for her sexuality.

“If key folks like that are allowed to be invisible, then we’re less exposed,” Blachford said.

Groetken said that a roundtables during Pride Week helps show an inclusiveness that students can experience with faculty through discussions that need to happen.

“My opinion of queers in the media is that there is some really positive and some really negative,” she said. “It’s a good versus evil kind of thing.”

LORI BLACHFORD (upper left) spoke about her personal experiences within the LGBT community Monday at Pride Week roundtable.

LA’CEE GROETKEN (upper right), president of Rainbow Union, challenged the role of the LGBT community in the media.

JOAN FABER MCALISTER (below) give input on the queer community in the media.

SHANE WINDMEYER (bottom) spoke Tuesday for Pride Week, sponsored by Rainbow Union.

His speech was titled “The Time is Now.”

CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011 | PAGE 6

SPORTS

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

sports

PLAY OF THE WEEK

With the Drake softball team in a 6-6 deadlock with Evansville in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday, senior Molly McClelland executed a perfect suicide-squeeze bunt to score freshman Amy Pierce for the walk-off winner. The Bulldogs are off to their best-ever start in MVC play, as the victory moved Drake to 8-0 in conference.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS

Drake men shut out NIU for ninth-straight win

by Dominic Johnson

Staff Writer dominic.johnson@drake.edu

MEN Drake beat the Northern Illinois Huskies by a score of 7-0 on Sunday, pushing the Bulldogs’ undefeated streak to ninestraight matches and putting them back into the ITA national rankings at No. 72.

Drake started off strong, as the squad lost only one game in all three doubles matches combined. At the top doubles position was senior Mauricio Ballivian and sophomore Anis Ghorbel. The duo was the first off the court with a hasty 8-0 win.

Sophomores James McKie and Jean Erasmus clinched the doubles point for the Bulldogs with an 8-0 victory. Junior Cesar Bracho and freshman Robin Goodman rounded out the opening half of the match by recording an 8-1 win.

The Bulldogs carried their dominance into singles as well, where they captured routine wins at the sixth, fifth and fourth singles positions. Bracho, who had lost his first singles match of the season last Saturday, regained his composure and dismissed his opponent at the sixth spot 6-1, 6-0. Goodman soon followed with an equally dominant display of shot making, as the freshman put Drake up 3-0 with his 6-0, 6-3 win.

Erasmus clinched the match for the Bulldogs with his victory at the fourth singles position. Erasmus, who has played as high as second singles this season, dominated his opponent on his way to a 6-1, 6-4 result.

The Huskies featured three solid players at the first, second and third singles positions. McKie was able to defeat his opponent in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-4 victory, but it was Ballivian and Ghorbel who were put to the test. Ballivian failed to capture the opening set, as his opponent took it 6-3. But in typical Ballivian fashion, Drake’s lone senior captured the momentum for the deciding two sets as he won 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Ghorbel was also pushed to the limit in his match, as he, too, lost the first set.

Ghorbel lost the tiebreaker 5-7 in the first set, but he was able to turn the match around in the second. The Drake sophomore was able to take the second set 6-2, but the third wasn’t as easy. After his opponent fended off match-points, Ghorbel was finally able to finish the match with a score of 12-10 in the third set super tiebreaker.

Despite the lopsided score, head coach Evan Austin felt that Northern Illinois was a good test for the team as it enters conference play. He said that the Huskies are a tricky team for anyone to play due to their strength at the top of the lineup.

“We were stronger at the bottom,” Austin said. “And it was nice to keep our focus at the top of the lineup.”

The team returns home this weekend for two conference matches. The Bulldogs take on the Bradley Braves on Saturday at noon. On Sunday they host Illinois State at 11 a.m. in Ballivian’s final home match as a Bulldog.

“Now our focus is 100 percent on the conference matches,” Ballivian said. “We are coming with a lot of confidence and a win-win attitude.”

WOMEN The Northern Iowa Panthers ended the Bulldogs’ three-game winning streak on Sunday as Drake fell to its in-state rivals

by a score of 5-2.

The Bulldogs had opportunities to win the match, but the Panthers were just too strong throughout their lineup. Drake’s slow start at doubles gave Northern Iowa a quick advantage, as junior Amanda Aragon and senior Jessica Labarte were defeated 8-1 at the third doubles spot. Junior Jess Aguilera and sophomore Manca Krizman came closer to victory at the top doubles position, but it was UNI who captured the win 8-5.

Even though the team had lost the doubles point, junior Gabby Demos and freshman Klavdija Rebol were able to retain some momentum with an 8-7 win at the second doubles slot.

The Panthers looked to close the match against Drake quickly. After Aguilera lost her match at fourth singles, it was Drake who evened the score at 2-2. Krizman once again showed her ability to defeat UNI’s best as she won 6-4, 6-4. Rebol then dispatched her opponent in three sets, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The Bulldogs looked to be making a comeback as Demos took her opponent to a third set, but UNI was able to close out the match as Demos lost 4-6, 6-4, 1-6.

The Panthers closed out the match with straight set wins over Labarte and Aragon at the fifth and sixth singles slots, respectively.

Drake’s next match will be against Illinois State this Saturday in Normal, Ill.

>>Men crack ITA rankings again The red-hot Bulldogs are back in the national spotlight, earning a No. 72 ranking in the latest ITA poll released on Tuesday. Drake has won nine straight matches to move its record to 15-2. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 71 on March 22, but were dropped from the rankings the next week despite not losing a match.

Maybe the ITA poll voters learned their lesson this time and hopefully won’t make the same mistake twice.

CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

SOPHOMORE MANCA KRIZMAN stretches to keep the ball in play.

Krizman won her No. 1 singles match against Northern Iowa on Sunday, one of only two Bulldog victories in Drake’s 5-2 loss to the Panthers.

MEN’S GOLF

Drake sixth, Freeman fourth at Branson Creek Invitational

due to difficult weather. Rain and excessive wind proved to be a problem, but Drake’s golfers stepped up during the second round after the weather had improved slightly.

“We had a couple guys who just don’t have enough shots yet to be consistent in this type of weather,” Bohlender said.

“Also, during the first round, we gave away a lot of shots during the last few holes. The second round was definitely better as we were more focused during the last few holes.”

The men finished Monday and Tuesday’s invitational with a total combined score of 932. Senior Cody Schweinefus finished with a score of 237 to tie for 34th place and freshman Matt Ohl tied for 42nd place with a score of 240. Senior Brad Reierson and freshman Connor Steele both contributed to the team’s success as well, both tying for 45th and 54th place, respectively.

The team is now looking forward to the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship at Sunrise Beach, Mo., on April 25-26. Last year’s team finished fourth in the MVC and is looking to do even better in this year’s championship.

“We have three weeks to prepare for the conference meet, and that’s a lot of time to get in some quality work,” Bohlender said.

by Elizabeth Robinson

Staff Writer elizabeth.robinson@drake.edu

Drake came away from the Branson Creek Invitational on Tuesday with a successful sixth-place finish overall. The team’s success can be largely attributed to senior Ben Freeman, who finished the tournament in fourth place.

Freeman shot a 76 in his final round of the invitational and ended the tournament with a total score of 222. He was the only Drake golfer who ended the two-day invitational with all three scores in the 70s, with 73s in his first two rounds.

“Ben’s rounds were fantastic,” head coach Scott Bohlender said in a Drake athletics press release. “We are hoping Ben will receive a regional invite for the NCAA tournament.”

Freeman has been extremely successful during the spring season thus far. In early March, he was named MVC Golfer of the Week after winning the Quintero Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz. Freeman went on to finish third at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Primm, Nev., shooting his best score of the spring season with a combined score of 204. The NCAA Tournament selects only 45 individuals, therefore Freeman “can’t afford any bad losses,” according to Bohlender.

Monday was a difficult day for golfers

>>Branson Creek Invitational Results DRAKE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 4. Ben Freeman

73-73-76 = 222

34. Cody Schweinefus

80-75-82 = 237

42. Matt Ohl

84-76-80 = 240

45. Brad Reierson

83-84-74 = 241

54. Connor Steele

86-86-74 = 246

TEAM RESULTS 1. Missouri State

305-300-290 = 895

2. Stephen F. Austin

300-301-295 = 896

3. SIU Edwardsville

305-305-294 = 904

4. UMKC

304-305-302 = 911

5. Western Kentucky

316-305-303 = 924

6. Drake

320-308-304 = 932

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PAGE 7 | THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011

SPORTS

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

SOFTBALL

Drake wins in extras to move to 8-0 in Valley McClelland’s suicide-squeeze helps Bulldogs sweep Evansville

by Blake Miller

Staff Writer blake.miller@drake.edu

Drake completed a three-game sweep over Evansville on Sunday, moving its Missouri Valley Conference record to 8-0.

The team played a doubleheader on Saturday, winning the first game 6-5 and the second 10-2. On Sunday, senior Jenna DeLong took the circle for the second time of the weekend and almost faced defeat late in the game. In the bottom half of the sixth, the Purple Aces put three runs up on DeLong to take a 6-5 lead.

DeLong came right back by stepping up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh and hitting a solo home run, her ninth of the season, to send the game to extra innings.

DeLong handed the ball to senior Brynne Dordel for extras, and Dordel pitched perfect eighth and ninth innings, earning her ninth win of the season.

In the bottom of the ninth, senior Molly McClelland stepped up to the plate with freshman Amy Pierce on third base, 60 feet away from victory. McClelland dropped a perfect bunt right in front of Evansville pitcher Kendall Kautz, scoring Pierce on the suicide-squeeze play for the three-game sweep and a 7-6 victory.

“Being undefeated in MVC play is incredible and almost unheard of,” DeLong said. “It definitely puts a target on our back, because we are the only team without a loss yet.”

In addition to scoring the winning run on Sunday, Pierce tied with fellow freshman Jordan Gronewold with a team-high six hits in the series. Pierce also hit her first career home run for

the Bulldogs on Sunday.

The win keeps Drake in sole first place in the MVC. Illinois State is 6-1 in MVC play and stands in second place.

“As a team, we don’t really look and focus on rankings,” junior Torey Craddock said. “We go one weekend, one team and one game at a time, and I think that has been a huge advantage to us. We are just playing very well as a team together right now.”

Drake now stands at 21-12 overall to go along with its best start in the MVC in school history.

“We want to keep this conference win streak going as long as possible,” DeLong said. “I know all of us have the same goal and that is to win.”

After Drake’s nonconference matchup with Iowa yesterday, the Bulldogs will be back in conference with a three-game series this weekend against Wichita State in Wichita, Kan. “It’s a confidence booster knowing we can come back when we get down early,” DeLong said. “We plan on using that to win this out-oftown series with Wichita [State].”

With 15 games still remaining for the Bulldogs before the conference tournament, the season is still young. Yet with this outstanding start, the team is well on its way to achieving some of its goals.

“We want to make the conference tournament; that has always been a goal,” Craddock said. “It seems simple, but every team in the Valley is capable of winning. But with this streak, our confidence grows as we keep winning. We are playing smart softball, and as long as we do the little things, hopefully our streak will continue.”

CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

JUNIOR TOREY CRADDOCK fields a sharp groundball. The Drake second baseman went 1-for-4 in the Bulldogs’ thrilling 7-6 walk-off win over Evansville on Sunday.

TRACK & FIELD

Bulldog men and women prep for Tom Botts Invitational Teams head to Missouri as outdoor season heats up; first home meet looms next weekend

by David Johnson

Staff Writer david.e.johnson@drake.edu

FILE PHOTO

JUNIOR MATT JURYSTA edges the competition. The Drake track and field team will head in separate directions this weekend with athletes in three different meets: the Texas Relays, the Duke Invitational and the Tom Botts Invitational.

Both Drake track squads will head south to Columbia, Mo., to compete in the Tom Botts Invitational which gets under way tomorrow afternoon.

Junior Jon DeGrave will continue his attempt to set the school record in the 400-meter hurdles. The record is 50.77 seconds set in 1983 by Dan Cleveland. DeGrave, who holds a personal-best time of 51.27 seconds, has a great chance to break the Tom Botts Invitational record of 52.48 seconds. DeGrave will be looking to improve on his fourth-place finish in the event last year.

One of the few bright spots for the young men’s squad at the Razorback Spring Invitational last weekend was the performance by the Bulldog throwers. Sophomores Isaac Twombly and Kevin Harp, and freshmen Andy Curtis and Phillip Beeler will look to build upon last week’s results and build momentum heading into the Jim Duncan Invitational next weekend.

Twombly placed fourth at the Tom Botts Invitational last year in the hammer throw.

In Arkansas, the Bulldogs placed near the bottom in all of the relays in which they competed. Both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 relays will be run at the Tom Botts Invitational.

“Only certain meets run a full range of relays which makes it difficult to perfect the handoffs,” head coach Natasha Brown said. “When it comes to the Drake Relays, which does offer all the relays, we are kind of learning on the fly.”

Sophomore Marissa Smith will looks to continue her recent success in the 100-meter hurdles. Smith is coming off a personal-best performance set last weekend at the Razorback Spring Invitational.

Going into the Tom Botts Invitational, the women’s team will need their senior leaders to step up and carry the team.

“Our team is made up of a series of mini-teams, and each has seniors in some capacity, so there is someone for underclassmen to strive to be like,” Brown said earlier this season.

“Now is when we start developing future leaders.”

The Bulldogs will need big performances from seniors Ari Curtis, Tyse Samani, Johanna Sprang, Casey McDermott, Cambria Pardner and Beth Hamling. Samani won the high jump crown at the Tom Botts meet last year, Pardner placed fifth in the 100-meter dash, McDermott came in fourth in the 1500-meter run, Curtis won the 400-meter hurdle crown ,while setting a then-school record in her first-ever running of the event, and Hamling finished in fourth place in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes.

No one man can have all that

>>POWER

Drake has received tremendous efforts from the big boys on the track and field team thus far, as the throwers have raced out to a fast start in the outdoor season. Here’s how they fared last week at the Razorback Spring Invitational: Phillip Beeler – fifth in the javelin (197 feet, 5 inches) Kevin Harp – sixth in the javelin (186 feet, 9 inches) Isaac Twombly – third in the hammer throw (145 feet, 10 inches) and ninth in the discus (136 feet) Andy Curtis – fifth in the hammer throw (131 feet, 10 inches) and 11th in the discus (127 feet, 8 inches)

MARCH MADNESS COLUMN

UConn prevails in ugly finish to memorable tourney

by Eduardo Zamarripa

Staff Writer eduardo.tamezzamarripa@drake.edu

March Madness has finally come to a close, and I’m kind of sad, but once again, we were left with another great year of upsets, disappointments and superhuman individual performances.

And none stand out more than the play of senior guard Kemba Walker for Connecticut.

People have to understand that the Huskies would probably be in the NIT if it wasn’t for Walker. But instead they beat five teams in five days to claim the Big East tournament title and followed that by getting six more wins in the NCAA tournament to claim their first title since the Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor days of 2004.

Connecticut should party and celebrate because it won this title because of heart, defense and the terrific play of an outstanding guard who probably will not have that much success in the NBA because of his size. But who cares about that? For about a month and a half, Walker made the NCAA arenas his playground. He stole the show.

Basketball always has a special feel when it comes to individual accomplishments. I think it’s because basketball might be the one team sport that can drastically change the most with the contributions of one player. And Walker, my man, you should enjoy this forever. All of UConn should. Alex Oriakhi rebounded and controlled the paint like he was Dwight Howard. Jeremy Lamb played like he was an upperclassman and the pesky Huskies’ defense shut down the Butler Bulldogs.

Since we are talking about the national championship here, we need to talk about the losing squad; the team that often gets forgotten, and it really doesn’t get more painful than this. Butler lost consecutive national championship games; how do you rebound from that? What can you say to your guys in the locker room?

Look, these guys have such an amazing winning swagger. They are absolute competitors and they wanted to win. You can’t give them a “you guys did the best you could” speech because guess what? They didn’t do their best, and they know that. That’s what makes it so painful for them. But come on, Butler, keep your head up.

For the second consecutive year, you made it to the national championship game. It wasn’t as close as last year, but you beat a lot of good teams to get there. And your best guy from a year ago, Gordon Hayward, is jacking up 3-pointers somewhere in Salt Lake City right now. So, it’s amazing what you did.

People didn’t think you would make the NCAA tournament; you had to win the Horizon League conference tournament to get here. But you did and you shocked No. 1 seed Pittsburgh and suffocated Wisconsin. You downed a pesky Virginia Commonwealth team and then picked the worst time ever to have an incredibly improbable and downright unlucky shooting night. But you’ll be back, I know you will. Because I said I wouldn’t see you for a while, and you came right back and showed me the value of your program. You keep teaching me what sound coaching and winning basketball brings to the table and honestly, college basketball needs you. You are not an underdog, you are an elite program and there is no shame in being the national runner-up.

It hurts, I know, but one day you’ll look back and think of what you accomplished and remember that it was all worth the ride.

But enough talk about the national championship. Let’s reminisce about some of the best moments of the tournament. Like Morehead State beating Louisville or seeing VCU show the finger to Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale and the entire ESPN crew and make it all the way to the Final Four. I mean, you’re a good team, VCU, but you beat Kansas by 10? Seriously?

Or how about watching Duke’s locker room after being defeated? No one should think the Blue Devils didn’t care; they wanted this so badly. And how about Arizona’s Derrick Williams’ layup plus the foul to beat Texas? It was another great year.

And even though Kentucky head coach John Calipari needs to stop breaking NCAA violations, he brings basketball back wherever he goes and he gave life to a dead Kentucky program, so I’ll respect him for that. His team played sublime basketball in the tournament.

But I guess that’s going to be it for college basketball for a while.

We’ll have the NBA draft coming soon and we’ll get to see a lot of these players live up to their potential. And I know America is rooting for BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. He put on a show this year.

He and Walker gave life to college basketball, so they better bring their game to the pros.

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THE TIMES-DELPHIC

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011 | PAGE 8

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