S PORTS W EDNESDAY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2007
PAGE 12
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
M. track cruises at Geigengack Invitational
Semi-Super Bowl Diary I’m (Joseph) Addai-ing to get going, so here we go… 5:55 — Interesting pre-game show. Cirque du Soleil? More like Circus du Suck. 6:15 — I’m no music guru, but I’m positive Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel just got owned by the note on “see” (as in, “Oh, say can you see”). Tom Trudeau 6:20 — Okay, Tru Story I’m watching the players huddling together on the sidelines, and I’m trying to read their lips. So far I’ve picked up, “No one comes into our house and doesn’t bring a Diet Pepsi! No one.” Strange. 6:26 — As Devin Hester scampers into the end zone off the opening kickoff, I’m tempted to brag about how my friends and I predicted it would happen, but after watching Indy’s special teams against New England two weeks ago, who didn’t? Side note: I’ve watched the Bears play five times this season (against the Giants, Jets, Pats, Seahawks and Saints), so I can say with confidence that they are a mediocre team that relies on Hester and Nate Vasher doing at least two incredible things on special teams, randomly forcing six fumbles per quarter and successfully completing one Rex Grossman jump ball to wideout Bernard Berrian. 6:30 — As Jim Nantz declares Peyton Manning “almost intercepted” by Brian Urlacher (he got a few fingers on the ball), it makes me wonder if it’s time to reassess that statement. As it stands, any time a defense player’s body (foot included) touches the ball, it was “almost intercepted.” 6:31 — I wonder if the Colts are going to live and Addai by the pass. Speaking of Addai, I wonder if he wears Nike or Addaidas. 6:32 — Another “almost intercepted” claim. This one bounced off the defender’s body. I think Nantz is influenced too much by Madden ’99, where the ball would vacuum into the hands of the player no matter where on his virtual body it first touched. 6:34 — Peyton is picked off on 3rd-and-12 right after Jim Nantz told us Manning specifically said the Colts needed to avoid that exact down and yardage. This might be the first time where the “what some guy told me before the game” crap was actually interesting. Don’t worry Peyton, they aren’t saying boo, they’re saying mooo—vers. 6:38 — Grossman lets fly his first jump ball, which really is almost intercepted. What a surprise, the Bears go three-and-out on their first drive. 6:46 — As Reggie Wayne gallops into the end zone off a blown coverage, I can’t help but marvel at what Manning just did. He had a 300pounder named Tank wrapping him up, and he still gets off a strong, accontinued on page 9
SPORTS SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, DAY FEB. 7 DAY, W. HOCKEY: vs. Connecticut, 7 p.m., Meehan Auditorium M. SQUASH: vs. Tufts, 7:30 p.m., Pizzitola Center W. SQUASH: vs. Tufts, 6:00 p.m., Pizzitola Center
BY ERIN FRAUENHOFER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
“It seems that some of the guys are getting (nervous) and afraid to make mistakes, so they don’t do anything to score points in their matches, and they can’t win,” Mock wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “As the sole captain left competing, I feel that setting an example out on the mat is important.” Brown mounted a quick turnaround, facing Drexel immediately after the match with Penn. Burch said the Bears learned from their mistakes against Penn and brought more competitiveness and intensity against the Dragons. In the opening match, Matt Gevelinger ’09 earned four points for the team with a 19-9 major decision at 184 pounds. After the Bears lost in the 197-pound weight class, Zach Zdrada ’09, Schell and Mark
Even with a key sprinter sidelined for the rest of the season, the men’s track and field team refused to slow down at Yale’s Geigengack Invitational. Instead, the Bears took home several top-three finishes from the unscored weekend event. Participating schools included Ivy League rivals Yale, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. “We were struggling,” said Craig Lake, director of track and field. “Michael Pruzinsky (’07), who’s a huge part of our team, just got diagnosed with a kidney infection. He’ll be out for the rest of the season.” Pruzinsky was one of the Bears’ top sprinters last year, finishing third in the 400-meter run at the indoor Heptagonal Championships. He also helped the 4x400-meter relay team to a second place finish. With Pruzinsky ailing, the other runners filled the void. Jamil McClintock ’08 highlighted the Bears’ performances, earning Brown’s only first-place finish of the day. McClintock won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.14 seconds, .04 seconds ahead of Georgetown University’s Terrell Gissendanner. “Jamil McClintock has been running really well,” Lake said. In the 1,000-meter run, Sean O’Brien ’09 took second place with a time of 2:27.23, less than two seconds behind the University of Vermont’s Sean Steinhagen. The Bears also performed impressively in the 5,000-meter
continued on page 9
continued on page 9
Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo Matt Gevelinger ’09 scored major decisions against Drexel and Princeton this weekend. Brown lost to Drexel and Penn on Friday but crushed Princeton 47-0 on Saturday.
Grapplers pound Princeton 47-0, fall to Penn and Drexel on road swing BY HAN CUI CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The wrestling team faced Ivy League opponents for the first time this season over the weekend and emerged with mixed decisions. On Friday, the Bears suffered a 33-4 loss to No. 14 University of Pennsylvania, then lost 22-14 to non-conference opponent Drexel University the same day. However, the Bears bounced back in a big way the next day, dominating their dual meet against Princeton and posting a nearly perfect score of 47-0. The team currently holds a record of 2-5 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, and 2-9 overall. Brown faced a difficult task when it opened its weekend at Penn. The Quakers boast five nationally ranked wrestlers, all of whom lived up to their hype. Matt
Valenti, ranked No. 2 in the nation in the 133-pound weight class, beat Jeff Schell ’08 in a major decision, 14-4. The rest of the team followed Valenti’s lead as the Quakers recorded five major decisions on the day. “We know we were outgunned (by Penn) at this point, but it almost seemed like the wrestlers were not bothered by losing,” said Assistant Coach Mike Burch. “Even if you lose, you should give everything you have, wrestle with good strategies and spirit … but there wasn’t the effort to execute against Penn.” Co-captain Levon Mock ’08 gave the team’s best performance against Penn when he won with a major decision of 12-1 in the heavyweight class. The four points he earned for the win were the only points Bears managed to record against the Quakers.
Both m. and w. squash teams squished by Dartmouth, Williams BY JASON HARRIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Despite gritty play, both the men and women’s squash teams fell in matches against Williams College and Dartmouth this past weekend. The men lost 8-1 to the Ephs on Friday night and fell to the Big Green by an identical score on Sunday. The women’s team just barely missed out on victories, losing 5-4 against Williams and 6-3 against Dartmouth. The weekend’s play leaves the men’s team with a 1-7 record and the women’s squad with a 3-6 mark. While the results were lopsided for the men, a number of individual matches could have gone in Brown’s favor. “Both Williams and Dartmouth were tough, and some of our guys played well,” said co-captain Dan Petrie ’07, citing strong play from fellow cocaptain Pat Haynes ’07 at the five spot and Jacob Winkler ’09 at No. 7. Mark Goldberg ’07 also
looked strong, Petrie said, despite being outlasted by Billy Nix of Dartmouth in a fivegame marathon, 9-2, 7-9, 39, 9-6, 9-7. Though Goldberg pulled out a five-game thriller last week against Bowdoin College, he was unable to repeat the feat against a tough Dartmouth opponent. Head Coach Stuart LeGassick also pointed to a valiant effort in the Dartmouth match by Pat Davis ’10. Though Davis lost three straight games in the sixth position, he pushed the first two to tiebreakers, eventually losing both 10-8. The lone victor y in both matches for the men came from Petrie, who has been solid in the No. 1 position of the Bears’ lineup all season. Petrie has won his last four matches, including a five-game, 75minute match against his Williams opponent. Even with the team’s less-than-impressive results, Petrie is optimistic about the squad’s future. continued on page 6
Austin Freeman / Herald File Photo
Tri-captain Katie Lew ’07 won her match 10-9 in the fifth and deciding game against Williams, but the Bears dropped a 5-4 decision to the Ephs on Saturday.