April 17, 2014 b section

Page 1

ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT

B Section

THURSDAY, Â APRIL Â 17, Â 2014

KARL LINDHOLM

SPORTS

ALSO IN THIS SECTION:

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‘Big  game,  small  world’:  Hoop  in Cameroon,  Part  1 The  big  news  in  the  basketball  world  last  week  was  that  7’0â€?  Kan-­ sas  freshman  center  Joel  Embiid  (“jo-­el  em-­beedâ€?)  will  leave  college  and  enter  the  NBA  draft  in  June.  No  great  surprise  there.  I  sug-­ gested  in  this  space  in  January  that  Embiid  was  a  name  basketball  fans  would  soon  come  to  know  and  that  the  young  Camer-­ oonian  was  likely  to  come  into  a  lot  of  money. My  interest  in  Embiid  is  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  I  am  living  this  year  in  his  hometown  of  Yaounde,  in  Cameroon,  West  Af-­ rica. Here  in  Cameroon,  the  â€œBeautiful  Gameâ€?  of  football  (“soccer,â€?  in  the  USA),  is  dominant,  as  it  is  through-­ out  the  world.  But  basketball  is  next  in  favor,  as  our  Cornwall,  Vt.,  neigh-­ bor  Alex  Wolff  documented  in  his  remarkable  2002  book,  â€œBig  Game,  Small  World,â€?  a  fascinating  exami-­ nation  of  basketball  worldwide.  Embiid  is  not  a  hoop  anomaly.  Other  Cameroonians  are  also  making  their  mark  in  organized  professional  and  big-­time  college  basketball.  Luc  Mbah  a  Moute  (bah  ah  moo-­tay)  is  in  his  sixth  season  in  the  National  Basketball  Association,  playing  now  for  the  Minnesota  Timberwolves.  Many  Cameroonian  players,  now  competing  internationally,  have  American  collegiate  pedigrees,  such  as  Albert  Aboya,  a  teammate  of  Mbah  a  Moute’s  at  UCLA  â€™09,  now  playing  professionally  in  Tur-­ key;Íž  Alexis  Wangmene,  Texas  â€™12,  playing  in  Slovenia;Íž  Gaston  Essen-­ gue,  UNLV  â€™07,  now  in  Argentina;Íž  Victor  Samnick,  Georgetown  â€™03,  playing  in  France;Íž  Steve  Tchiengang  Noubissie,  Vanderbilt  â€™12,  next  door  in  Canada.  When  Mbah  a  Moute  and  Aboya  were  starring  at  UCLA,  the  Bruins’  fans  called  themselves  â€œthe  Camer-­ oon  Crazies.â€?  UCLA  was  97-­17  the  three  years  the  Cameroonians  were  (See  Lindholm,  Page  5B)

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Middlebury  men’s  tennis  posts  wins,  reaches  12-­2 WILLIAMSTOWN,  Mass.  â€”  The  Middlebury  College  men’s  ten-­ nis  team,  ranked  No.  8  in  last  week’s  NCAA  Division  III  poll,  picked  up  three  wins  last  week,  including  one  over  another  ranked  team  that  should  move  the  Panthers  up  in  the  polls  this  week.  The  Panthers  moved  to  12-­2  with  the  victories.  On  this  past  Friday,  the  Panthers  picked  up  a  6-­3  win  at  No.  5  Wil-­ liams  (10-­3,  3-­1  NESCAC),  sweep-­ ing  all  three  doubles  matches  in  the  process.  The  Middlebury  No.  1  combina-­ tion  of  Alex  Johnston  and  Andrew  Lebovitz  took  an  8-­5  win  over  Matt  Micheli  and  Alexander  Schid-­ lovsky.  At  No.  2,  Palmer  Campbell  and  Brantner  Jones  edged  the  Eph  pairing  of  Conrad  Harron  and  Brian  Astra-­ chan,  8-­6. On  court  TENNIS three,  Mid-­ dlebury’s  Peter  Heidrich  and  Ari  Smolyar  battled  the  Eph  duo  of  Jose  Raventos  and  Rohan  Shastri  to  an  8-­8  score,  resulting  in  a  tiebreaker.  The  Williams’  tandem,  ranked  16th  nationally,  couldn’t  convert  a  match  point  at  6-­5  lead,  and  Heidrich  and  Smolyar  rattled  off  three  points  for  an  8-­6  win. In  singles,  the  Panthers’  Campbell  defeated  Howard  Weiss  in  straight  sets  at  No.  2,  6-­2,  6-­0.  The  decisive  match  point  came  from  Jones  at  No.  3,  with  a  6-­1,  1-­6,  6-­0  victory  over  Harron,  ranked  13th  nationally.  The  Ephs  got  on  the  board  at  No.  1,  where  Micheli  defeated  Johnston,  4-­6,  6-­4,  6-­2.  At  No.  4,  Schidlovsky  (See  Tennis,  Page  5B)

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0,''/(%85< &2//(*( 6(1,25 (PLO\ .UD\WHQEHUJ GLYHV IRU D IRXO EDOO GXULQJ WKH ¿UVW JDPH RI D GRXEOH KHDGHU DJDLQVW :HVOH\DQ 6DWXUGD\ Middlebury  won  both  Saturday  games  and  also  won  on  Friday. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell

Panther  softball  sweeps  league  foe MIDDLEBURY  â€”  The  Middle-­ bury  College  softball  team  won  four  RI ÂżYH KRPH JDPHV WKLV SDVW ZHHN-­ end,  including  a  three-­game  NE-­ SCAC  West  sweep  that  leaves  the  3DQWKHUV LQ D ÂżUVW SODFH WLH LQ OHDJXH play.  Overall,  the  Panthers  are  14-­8,  5-­1  in  league  play.  League  rival  Williams  is  15-­6,  5-­1  in  NESCAC  West  play.  The  Panthers  host  last-­place  Hamil-­ ton  for  a  three-­game  set  this  Friday Â

and  Saturday,  and  will  travel  to  Wil-­ liams  on  April  25  and  26  for  what  will  probably  be  a  decisive  series.  The  two  top  teams  in  NESCAC  West  will  face  the  two  top  teams  in  NESCAC  East  for  the  NESCAC  title  and  an  automatic  NCAA  Division  III  berth  on  May  2,  3  and  4.  On  this  past  Friday  and  Saturday,  the  Panthers  swept  visiting  Wesleyan  (9-­13,  2-­6).  On  Friday,  Middlebury  took  game  one,  6-­2.  The  Panthers Â

took  a  3-­0  lead  in  the  third  when  Hye-­Jin  Kim’s  bases-­loaded  double  off  Wesleyan  starter  Su  Pardo  plated  Kimber  Sable,  Jackie  Stern  and  Em-­ ily  Kraytenberg. Single  runs  off  winning  pitcher  Elizabeth  Morris  in  the  fourth  and  ¿IWK LQQLQJV FXW WKH OHDG WR EXW the  Panthers  put  the  game  away  with  WKUHH UXQV LQ WKH ÂżIWK Singles  by  Kim,  Carlyn  Vachow  and  Kelsey  Martel  loaded  the  bases. Â

Kim  scored  on  a  passed  ball,  Va-­ chow  scored  on  Alex  Scibetta’s  RBI  grounder,  and  Martel  came  home  on  a  throwing  error.  Morris  moved  to  5-­1  on  the  year  for  the  Panthers,  DOORZLQJ WZR HDUQHG UXQV ZLWK ÂżYH strikeouts  over  six  innings  of  work.  Neve  Stearns  pitched  a  scoreless  VHYHQWK DQG 6WHUQ ÂżQLVKHG ZLWK three  hits.  On  Saturday,  Middlebury  posted  (See  Softball,  Page  2B)

Panther  baseball  earns  NESCAC  series  victory CLINTON,  N.Y.  â€”  The  Middle-­ bury  College  baseball  team  took  two  out  of  three  NESCAC  West  games  from  host  Hamilton  this  past  week-­ end,  improving  the  Panthers’  record  to  4-­12,  2-­7  in  league  play.  The  Con-­ tinentals  dropped  to  8-­9,  1-­4  in  NE-­ SCAC  West. Middlebury  is  scheduled  to  host  second-­place  Amherst  this  weekend,  with  one  game  at  4  p.m.  on  Friday  and  a  Saturday  doubleheader  begin-­ ning  at  noon.  Middlebury  defeated  Hamilton, Â

Sports BRIEFS MUHS  boys’  lax  improves  to  3-­0

ST.  ALBANS  â€”  The  Middlebury  Union  High  School  boys’  lacrosse  team  powered  past  host  BFA-­St.  Al-­ bans  on  Monday,  17-­7,  to  improve  to  3-­0.  All  of  the  Tigers’  wins  have  been  by  10  goals  or  more. Sam  Usilton  led  the  MUHS  attack  ZLWK ÂżYH JRDOV DQG DQ DVVLVW ZKLOH Bobby  Ritter  and  Connor  Quinn  chipped  in  two  goals  and  two  assists  apiece.  Keenan  Bartlett  and  Nathan  Hermann  added  two  goals  each  for  the  Tigers.  BFA  goalie  Issac  Ryea  made  20  saves. The  Tigers  home  game  vs.  South  Burlington  scheduled  for  this  Satur-­ day  at  11  a.m.  has  been  moved  to  the  5HEHO WXUI ÂżHOG DW WKH VDPH WLPH 7KH Rebels  will  visit  MUHS  on  May  13. Â

10-­3,  on  Sunday  in  the  rubber  game  DIWHU VFRULQJ WKH JDPHÂśV ÂżUVW UXQV Middlebury’s  Logan  Mobley  held  +DPLOWRQ WR RQH KLW RYHU ÂżYH VKXW-­ out  innings,  and  the  Panthers  took  DGYDQWDJH RI ÂżYH +DPLOWRQ HUURUV DQG ÂżYH ZLOG SLWFKHV 0REOH\ struck  out  three  and  didn’t  allow  a  hit  until  the  fourth.   Alex  Kelly  and  Jason  Lock  each  collected  three  of  Middlebury’s  17  hits.  Kelly  scored  three  runs.  Joe  MacDonald  drove  in  three  runs  and  (See  Baseball,  Page  3B)

Otter  baseball  off  to  fast  start  in  defense  of  title By  ANDY  KIRKALDY 2013’s  17-­1  campaign.  BRANDON  â€”  It’s  way  too  But  at  least  so  far,  so  good,  de-­ early  to  say  the  defending  Divi-­ VSLWH WKH SURJUDPÂśV VLJQLÂżFDQW sion  II  champion  Otter  Valley  losses  to  graduation.  baseball  team  has  picked  right  On  Monday,  the  Otters  jumped  up  where  the  Otters  left  off  from  (See  OVUHS,  Page  3B)

ScoreBOARD HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Lacrosse 4/14  MUHS  Boys  vs.  BFA  ......................17-­7 4/15  Brattleboro  at  OV  Boys  ..... Ppd.  to  4/17 4/15  BFA  at  MUHS  Girls  ....................... Ppd. 4/15  Mt.  Abe  at  VUHS  Boys   ................ Ppd. Softball 4/15  MUHS  at  Fair  Haven  .................... Ppd. Baseball 4/14  OV  vs.  Windsor  ..............................10-­2 4/15  MUHS  at  Fair  Haven  .................... Ppd. Tennis 4/14  MUHS  Girls  vs.  Lake  Region  ...........6-­1 4/14  MUHS  Girls  vs.  Lake  Region  ...........7-­0 COLLEGE SPORTS Men’s Lacrosse 4/15  Midd.  vs.  Skidmore  ......................18-­10 Women’s Lacrosse 4/15  Midd.  vs.  Union  ..............................15-­8 Softball 4/13  Midd.  vs.  Keene  ...............................7-­4 4/13  Keene  vs.  Midd.  ...............................7-­6 Baseball 4/13  Midd.  vs.  Hamilton  .........................10-­3

(See  Schedule,  Page  3B)

SKYLER  SHUTE  GETS  ready  to  snag  the  ball  during  a  practice  of  the  Vermont  Youth  Rugby  Association  team  that  was  recently  formed  by  the  Bristol  Recreation  Department  and  the  Hub  Teen  Center. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell

Youth  rugby  arrives  in  Bristol By  ZACH  DESPART BRISTOL  â€”  Scrum.  Ruck.  Lin-­ eout.  Try  zone.  Maul.  Knock  on.  Drop  goal.  Grubber.  Bristol  residents  might  want  to  brush  up  on  their  rugby  lingo,  because  the  centuries-­old  sport  is  coming  to  town. The  Bristol  Recreation  Department  and  the  Hub  Teen  Center  are  joining  IRUFHV WR ÂżHOG D WHDP WKDW ZLOO FRP-­ pete  in  a  league  run  by  the  Vermont  Youth  Rugby  Association.  Bolton  /LWWOHÂżHOG RI WKH +XE LV VSHDUKHDGLQJ

the  effort. /LWWOHÂżHOG ZKR SOD\V UXJE\ LQ DQ adult  league,  said  the  impetus  for  the  co-­ed  team  came  from  a  conversation  with  a  fellow  player. “I  was  talking  to  a  teammate  about  how  a  lot  of  kids  at  the  teen  center  had  approached  me  about  potentially  SOD\LQJ UXJE\ ´ /LWWOHÂżHOG VDLG Âł6KH told  me  she  was  a  representative  from  the  Vermont  Youth  Rugby  Associa-­ tion  and  that  she  would  be  able  to  help  me  orchestrate  a  team.â€? The  Vermont  Youth  Rugby  Asso-­

ciation  started  with  a  team  from  Es-­ sex  in  1997  and  has  grown  to  include  a  dozen  teams  from  Colchester  to  5XWODQG /LWWOHÂżHOG UHFHQWO\ KHOG DQ informational  meeting  that  10  teens  attended.  He  said  he  believes  more  are  interested  in  joining. “I’m  hoping  there  will  be  a  snow-­ ball  effect,  that  interest  will  grow  and  grow,  and  that  people  who  are  at  prac-­ WLFHV ZLOO EULQJ IULHQGV ´ /LWWOHÂżHOG said.  â€œHopefully,  through  that  process,  we’ll  have  a  full  team  of  at  least  15.â€? (See  Rugby,  Page  4B)

OTTER  SENIOR  SHANE  Quenneville  rounds  third  base  during  Ot-­ ter  Valley’s  10-­2  win  over  Windsor  Monday.  Quenneville  had  four  hits  in  the  game. Photo  by  Andrea  Winslow

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