Volume 134 No. 12

The Springfield Student Est. 1910

DECEMBER 12, 2019

[scstudentmedia.com]

Contact us: springfieldstudent@springfield.edu

Volume 134 No. 12

The Donna Five Meet the five Donnas who help to keep Springfield College running smoothly on a daily basis.

PAGE 5 Donna Wisniowski (top left), Donna Graziano (top right), Donna Laviolette (bottom left), Donna Slezak (bottom middle), and Donna Delaney (bottom right).

(Photo Courtesy of Marty Dobrow)

Campus News Dr. janice L. Hilliard - huamnics series continues

A look at giving day on campus

Educare springfield: What it’s all about

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December 12, 2019

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Crafting future leaders Dr. Janice L. Hilliard visits campus as part of the “Humanics Triathlon.”

Hilliard addressing the crowd. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Marketing & Communications)

By Carley Crain @carley_crain12

“Do you think leaders are born or are they made?”

When people think of leaders in society, many different thoughts come to mind. Government officials, entrepreneurs, teachers, etc.

Professional athletes, however, hold a kind of leadership position that can be revolutionary. A type of leadership role that can change society as a whole.

Dr. Janice L. Hilliard, the former Vice Presi-

dent of Player Development at the National Basketball Association (NBA) gave her presentation, “Athletes, Leadership, and Social Responsibility: Where We Come From, Where We Are, and Where We are

Going” to members of the Springfield College community last Tuesday night at the Marsh Memorial Chapel.

Her lecture is part of the “Humanics Triathlon,” led by Judy L. Van Raalte, the distinguished

Professor of Humanics for this academic year at Springfield College.

Hilliard has spent her entire career working in the sports indusSee Hilliard on Page 8

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Lending a hand

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(Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Marketing & Communications)

December 12, 2019

For this year’s Giving Tuesday, the Rachel’s Challenge club took it upon itself to help out those in need.

By Collin Atwood catwood@springfield.edu

Giving Tuesday. A day for giving to those who are less fortunate than most.

Around this time of giving thanks and celebrating the holidays, people show their kindness by being selfless and giving to the community.

Donations to homeless shelters and charities are common on this day. Typical items that are given include canned foods and clothes. This worldwide event takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving every year.

On Dec. 3, the Rachel’s Challenge Club at Springfield College organized their own charitable event. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Flynn Campus Union, Rachel’s Challenge Club was accepting items such as hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, coats and any other cold weather wear.

Bags full of clothes stood filled the Union. There were also a few tables full

of clothes, too. In those short four hours, students and staff generously gave their clothes to the club so others who are less fortunate could enjoy them.

Rachel’s Challenge club has participated in this event in recent years. In the past, the club has donated to “Friends of the Homeless,” which is a local homeless shelter, and “The Food Pantry” which is a local food bank. This year, the club is giving all of the donated clothes to The Center of Inclusion.

“Rachel’s Challenge is a club that promotes positivity and kindness through chain reactions,” Meagan Sweeney said.

Sweeney is the president of the Rachel’s Challenge Club and has been a member for all four of her years at Springfield College.

Although the Rachel’s Challenge Club is a Springfield College campus club, their priorities are not limited to the friends they

know on Alden Street. “We do different events on and off campus to promote the chain reactions of kindness,” Sweeney said.

This club thrives on helping the campus community, but they are more about helping the community outside of the campus.

It is important for fellow students and staff to realize how a simple and kind gesture can impact the community around them.

“Though we are just a campus ourselves, we have to support the community around us as well and by doing small things, we are helping so many more people than who we could have reached just on campus,” Sweeney said.

The members of the Rachel’s Challenge Club will continue to think about and help serve the community that surrounds us. #Giving Tuesday is a day for everyone else to do the same.

December 12, 2019

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The brand new Educare building. (Danny Priest/The Student)

Educare Springfield Springfield College will have direct involvement with the brand new Educare program that has been built on the school’s grounds.

By Caitlin Kemp ckemp@springfield.edu

A shiny, brand-new $14 million state-of-theart building now rises up from the ruins resulting from a tornado that ripped apart the area.

Financed by a $9 million contribution from an anonymous donor, it is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods; the impressive structure

stands out against the typical architecture surrounding it. What is this new mystery building, and what is it doing in Springfield? The answer is Educare.

According to their website, Educare is “an early childhood education program for low-income families and children that provides quality early education for children

from birth to age five.

It uses research-based, high quality practices to help children develop the academic and social skills needed for life, and focuses on the core values of strong leadership and community linkages.” Educare Springfield is the first program in Massachusetts, and only one of two in all of New England (the other being located in Maine.)

The Educare Springfield program sits on Springfield College land in the Old Hill neighborhood across from Brookings Elementary School.

Springfield College is already largely involved in this program, and it has yet to officially open.

Linda Davis-Delano, Director of Educator Preparation at Springfield College, said, “We have a fairly large group

of faculty and staff who are part of this partnership and we’ve met four times since last January… where we’ve been discussing different ideas for programming and the ways that Springfield College students might be involved.”

President Mary-Beth Cooper sits on the board See Educare on Page 7

December 12, 2019

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The Donna Five Meet the five Donnas who keep Springfield College running smoothly.

By Ty Coney @tconey_

Springfield College is almost like a car; it needs certain parts in order for it to work. The engine is the professors and faculty who run the everyday academic and recreational operations to keep the school moving. The battery that gives the engine power to drive forward is the administrators; without them, the engine can’t start in the first place.

There is one thing a car cannot run without: oil. The oil in a car keeps the engine and other parts running smoothly and efficiently. Without it, the entire car would seize up and break down, unable to move forward.

The oil is the administrative co-

ordinators and associates. They have a hand in pretty much everything on campus people interact with on an academic day. Those writing studios that are here? They’re set up by an administrative associate. Communicating with all the adjunct professors?

Done by administrative associates and coordinators. Materials for the classrooms, food for meetings, even lost items found in the buildings? All handled by administrative associates and coordinators. The list goes on and on for what these wonderful people do for Springfield College.

These positions on our campus have a special circumstance. When a

The five Donnas work in various buildings across the Springfield College campus. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

person needs something in most buildings on campus they’ll run into a certain name: Donna.

There are five Donnas on campus, all of them are in those two administrative positions.

When you need something in one of those buildings, people will tell you to ‘Talk to Donna.’

These Donnas are the oil in the machine for many parts of Springfield College. From Locklin and Hickory, to Weiser and the Learning Commons, these women have an impact on the everyday lives of students.

The five Donnas consist of two administrative coordinators, Donna Slezak and Donna Wisniowski, as well as three administrative associates: Donna Delaney, Donna Graziano, and Donna Laviolette.

The unusualness of the circumstance doesn’t seem to affect any of them negatively, as all of them are quite close to one another.

“Whether we’re walking on the sidewalk or passing each other somewhere we always say hi to each other and

have a conversation,” says Wisniowski.

Wisniowski is the second-longest tenured member of the five. She and Slezak have been serving at the college for a combined 52 years.

They have been through four school presidents and have worked in various departments around campus.

“It’s weird because we are friends but we just happen to have the same name. We don’t even think about it. Donna Delaney in Locklin Hall replaced one of my best friends in the world, Mary Scibelli, who passed away, so I was worried about who would take her position and I’m also constantly calling them. She’s great and it worked out.” explains Wisniowski.

Delaney is the newest member of the “Donna” crew. She transferred here after a long career working for two separate law firms. She works in the school of health sciences as an administrative associate, alongside Donna Wisniowski, who Continue Reading on the next page

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December 12, 2019

Continued from the previous page

is administrative coordinator.

The last Donna is Donna Graziano, who works in the Academic Success Center inside of the Learning Commons. She helps students who come into the learning commons find the right people to help with whatever they need.

The most experienced ‘Donna’, Donna Slezak, is retiring in January 2020. Her impact on the college over 27 years of experience has been tremendous. She has worked as a coordinator with two deans in the school of Arts and Sciences, former dean Dr. Mary Healey, and current dean Dr. Anne Herzog.

Herzog explains the experience that what Donna Slezak brings to the table makes her life ten times easier.

“Since we deal with most of the gen-eds here on campus we have a lot of different adjunct professors that need to be hired. With Donna’s experience, she can go, ‘Oh, he’s worked here before, he’s great,’ and, ‘She’s never worked here before.’ [She just has a way of] knowing how to deal with different situations in a way that makes every day of my life easier,” Herzog said.

The five Donnas sometimes play a maternal role in their departments, for students and faculty alike.

“My office is always open, so if anybody ever needs anything, not necessarily a mom, but, you know what I mean. I’m not a counselor, but I have four children so if they’re having a bad day or if they need something I would love to help them and whenever they do come in here I do,” says Laviolette, who works as an Administrative Associate in the Literature, Writing, and Journalism Department out of Weiser Hall.

Wisniowski says sometimes their jobs are to make sure the students are calm before they meet with an administrator in order to make the process go smoothly.

“When I used to work as an associate I used to have to deal more with the students and because of the chain of command by the time they got to me they were really worked up so I did kind of have to play the mom role where I had to calm them down so that I can make the Dean’s job easier. You kind of have to make sure you have a couch or something in your office to make sure that they have somewhere to cool off before,” explained Wisniowski.

This position is not common knowledge for students, and many may not know much about these wonderful people in these positions on campus. But they have a profound impact on everything a student has done and will do here at Springfield College.

As she gets two papers signed while being interviewed, Laviolette explains, “I think that our position doesn’t necessarily get overlooked, but maybe not fully appreciated for all the work that we do. We don’t just come in and start typing out letters all day. We play a lot of important roles and every day is a different day. They always come to me if they need something...I’m always the person they go to.”

These women do the jobs in the background that make a difference for everyone. So make sure to appreciate the work these Donnas do. They do everything for the students and faculty in our own Springfield College family.

December 12, 2019

News

Educare continued from Page 4

for Educare Springfield to ensure the campus will have direct involvement with the program.

Since the school is still a little over a month away from opening, the role of Springfield students is not completely determined yet; however, Davis-Delano assures there is much talk about what students will be able to get out of Educare. She stated, “...everyone that is involved, we have an Art professor, professor from the Physician’s Assistant program, Exercise Science, and Athletic Training. We have people who aren’t faculty who are also part of this.

It’s all of the college, it’s not just the Education Department at all.”

There will be many opportunities for students of a wide variety of majors to benefit from the program in terms of research, experience, and practice.

The benefits of the program for families and children, too, are proven.

Educare reports that through the Educare Randomized Control Trial, it was determined children who enter Educare at younger ages have higher levels of receptive vocabulary, as well as record higher ratings of social-emotional skills. These results speak for themselves to prove Educare is impacting children’s lives and helping them be prepared to succeed

(Danny Priest/The Student) in life.

Educare also partners with state advocacy to pass legislation related to young children and families. It involves federal, state and local policymakers so they can see the benefits of the program. Senator Angus King attended Educare Central Maine to see what it was really like. He is helping to reintroduce the Pace Act, bipartisan legislation that would update the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

“

One of the things we’ve done already is that our faculty were fortunate enough to be able to deliver some professional developemnt to some of the Head Start staff...”

Linda davis-delano The Holyoke-Chicopee-Springfield Head Start program works with and operates the Educare here in Springfield. Head Start is a federally funded early education program that works with schools and children to get them the education they need. “One of the things that we’ve done already is that our faculty were fortunate enough to be able to deliver some professional development to some of the Head Start staff so we’ve already had these faculty present to all the staff of Head Start,” Davis-Delano explained. Through working with HCS Head Start, Educare will be able to be developed into an effective, beneficial resource that will go towards helping families and children that need it.

Educare Springfield is set to open in January 2020. There will be seven early Head Start classrooms and five regular Head Start classrooms. Eighty-five children of infant age will be attending, along with 56 children of preschool age. Everyone involved in this is very excited for the opening. Davis-Delano said, “It’s a community based model, so we’re hoping it will help us increase our community involvement by being involved with families that have children at Educare Springfield.” With plans to incorporate not only the Education de-

PAGE 7 partment at Springfield College but also students of occupational therapy, physician’s assistant, exercise science, physical education and health education, there are endless possibilities for the connections between SC students and Educare students.

Davis-Delano also mentioned the motor development skills class, and how students will be able to observe firsthand the development of children from newborn all the way up to age five. “This is much bigger than the teacher licensing program that we offer,” she said.

Educare Springfield - a diamond in the rough. It might be hard to imagine all this school will be able to accomplish before it is even open. However, there are high hopes and expectations for it. Davis-Delano emphasized, “Educare is taking best practices based on the research and based on evidence that folks who work in early education and care have to provide the best possible environment for children to learn who are four weeks old to five years old. Educare is working very hard to be a model of what the best practices in early education look like.” Although still unknown, one can say confidently that Educare Springfield is going to make a tremendous difference in the community, and Springfield College will grow with it, too.

December 12, 2019

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Hilliard continued from Page 2

try - from playing basketball at the Division I level, to working at numerous universities, to creating her own consulting business.

Her business, Hilliard Creative Education and Development Solutions, guides athletes though their athletic endeavors and educates them on other career opportunities, such as entrepreneurship, marketing and business. Hilliard has worked with many professional athletes and organizations promoting social responsibility and service.

“It is more than outstanding physical performance, but intelligence, guided by mind, spirit, and purpose,” Hilliard said.

Growing up in the 1960’s, Hilliard looked up to notable athletes such as Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Sandy Koufax. These athletes were phenomenal on the field as they all broke numerous records, won championships, and were the best of the time in their respective sports.

However, what they did off the field sparked societal-wide conversations regarding cultural, economic, and social problems. Hilliard used these professional athletes as examples to speak about the power and obligation athletes hold to spread awareness on societal wide issues such as police brutality, equal pay, and racism.

“Athletes have the influence as leaders because they are adored by their fans, they are the best in the world at what they do and they are marketed by representatives, organizations, and companies and are socially engaged and reliable to their audiences,” Hilliard said. “Athletes recognize the platform that they have known more than ever and they are becoming more and more equipped to take advantage of this,” she added.

In recent years, athletes are continuing to make a difference on and off the field. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kapernick began a movement regarding police brutality, and would kneel during the national anthem.

Megan Rapinoe and the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) are currently suing their federation regarding equal pay. Athletes in today’s society are committed to making a difference in their communities and are spreading awareness on social issues.

Hilliard spoke about how these athletes are making societal statements - and how they are influencing government officials, laws and policies. Social media has been a platform for athletes to engage their audience and create conversation about social problems.

Hilliard (left) with this year’s distinguished Professor of Humanics Judy L. Van Raalte (right). (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Marketing & Communications) Lebron James for example, has 89 million Instagram followers, compared to the NBA’s Instagram, which has only 39 million. Individual athletes are starting to make more of an impact than an entire professional organization.

“It was really interesting how Dr. Hilliard transitioned from the history of the sport to the future of the sport and how all of the greatest leaders have shared the same skill sets,” Springfield College student Taylor Low said.

Hilliard continued to speak about professional athlete’s commitment to service. Athletes like LeBron James and Colin Kapernick have their own foundations supporting youth in urban communities. Not only are these athletes making a statement on the field, but they are making an impact off the field and in their communities.

Professional sports careers for athletes are relatively short since their bodies can only be at peak performance for so long. Hilliard provided shocking statistics about “life spans” for elite athletes, such as how three years is the average time spent in the National Football League (NFL).

Since their athletic careers are so short, Hilliard has spent her entire career emphasizing education and academics for students, athletes, and coaches. Many students leave college early to go professional without a degree.

Hilliard’s business promotes education among athletes and educates them on post-professional career opportunities. Athletes such as Tom Brady, David Beckham and Julian Edelman have translated their on-field skills to other career paths, such as entrepreneurship, writing, and marketing.

Wrapping up her presentation, Hilliard spoke about the future of the sports industry, and how she hopes for women to hold more front office positions, increased developments in career coaching, and more emphasis on education regarding collegiate athletes.

Hilliard continues to make an impact on the sports industry, and has created an important conversation regarding education for professional athletes.

December 12, 2019

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A stronger swing After surgery derailed his baseball career, Mike Strong has developed into one of the most accomplished golfers in New England

By Joey Partridge @joey_partridge

It was a nice winter day at Newington High School, when one athlete’s baseball career would come to an end, but it would be just the beginning of something really special.

Mike Strong, a senior at Springfield College, is a highly decorated Division III NCAA golfer. In a matter of less than six years, Strong went from never picking up a golf club, to shooting under par in crucial collegiate conference tournaments.

It all started back on that one day, when Strong was a member of the Newington High School baseball team, representing the Indians with pride day in and day out. Strong was a pitcher for the Indians in his freshman and sophomore years of high school.

He was living the life. He was a varsity athlete play-

ing America’s pastime for his high school, until that one day. Strong learned that he had to have Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow.

Tommy John surgery is a procedure that uses another healthy ligament in the body to repair a torn ligament in the elbow. It is very common among baseball players, especially high school. The typical recovery time is between 12-15 months and takes an emotional toll on young players Having the surgery between his sophomore and junior seasons, it’s pretty simple math to figure out that his junior campaign wouldn’t happen, and his senior season was in jeopardy. Strong made a very tough life decision and switched sports to none other than that of golf.

Golf didn’t just come out of the blue. In fact, he did have some prior influence that got him into the sport

Mike Strong was introduced to golf his grandfather after Tommy John surgery ended Strong’s baseball career. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

that he is now very successful at.

“My grandpa kind of showed me the game,” Strong said. “He would take me out to golf courses around and we’d play on weekends.”

Strong had no problems calling his high school self a hack. A hack, in golf terms, is a term for bad, known as hacking it up.

“Once I started taking it seriously, that is when I made my jump,” Strong said.

After dealing with one extremely tough choice to hang up the cleats and stop playing the sport he loved, he was faced with another tough decision that many graduating high school students face, and that was college.

However, this wasn’t the end of him being a student-athlete.

The newfound love of his in golf didn’t play into his school decision much,

if at all.

“Springfield drew me in with their sports management program. I went in with an attitude of going there to focus on that,” Strong said.

He has always had a love for sports outside of just playing them, and Springfield College has a very good sports management program.

Just like the moment his life changed after finding out about having to have Tommy John surgery, his collegiate career would change before it even began. He received a call letting him know he could do sports management and play golf.

“Coach (Joe Eadie) called me, and I was like, ‘Oh I can play golf there too,’ so that was an added bonus for what I was trying to do,” Strong said.

In the span of a little over two years, not only did he switch sports, but he became so good at

his new passion which allowed him to become a college athlete. On top of that, he became the school’s top golfer as a freshman.

“As an underclassman I was, on average, our number one (golfer), so going in I was kind of thrown into the fire expected to produce, and we were really rebuilding as a program at that time,” Strong said.

“Teammate Matt Gazaille and I kind of laid the foundation for what we could become.”

Gazaille, also a senior at Springfield College, entered the school’s golf team with Strong back in 2016. However, differing from Strong, he joined in a different fashion. He was recruited to play golf.

Strong was focused on academics in picking his school, but it was the opposite for Gazaille.

“I knew wherever I went I would want to be playing golf,” Gazaille said.

December 12, 2019

That was a major connection for him with Springfield College.

Coming in with Strong, they had to adapt to playing golf at a different level and against better competition. He admits it was tough at times, but they got through it.

“As a unit we’ve all done pretty well,” Gazaille said.

With the “foundation set,” as Strong put it, Springfield looked to build on something special and become a successful program. After finishing second in the conference in his freshman and sophomore years, things were turning up, and fast.

Many people would be discouraged after finishing second twice, coming so close but unable to finish.

Strong looked at it differently.

“Honestly, there wasn’t much motivation going into junior year because Babson was just that good, and they left so we knew we had a chance to win it all that year,” he said.

And that they did.

Springfield College, with Strong leading the way, closed it out and won the NECC Tournament. It was finally time to celebrate after three years of hard work.

Something would be very different heading into his last year of Springfield College golf. Just one year removed from winning the NECC championship, Springfield would be in a new conference, the MASCAC. “There were only six teams left in the NECC and the best competitor was Elms (College), so we wanted tougher competition,” Strong said.

With this move to

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In just six years since making the switch, Strong has emerged as one of the best golfers in New England. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

the stronger MASCAC conference, in three years after the NCAA conference change policy, they would be eligible to get auto-bids into the national tournament. This is all a testament to what Strong and company came in and built with their play.

Not only did Springfield win the NECC his junior season, but he had something else pushing him.

“I didn’t end the season very well so that was motivation for me to come out my senior year and get back to that position and close the deal,” Strong said.

Strong went to work that summer to fix the mistakes he made and to ensure that they wouldn’t happen again.

“I was on the course every day in the summer, spending four hours either playing or hitting balls,” he said.

That type of work ethic

can speak louder than words and rub off on teammates around him.

Teammate and classmate Doug Shane saw the work that Strong was putting in and it inspired him to be better as well.

“He has put in countless hours on the range and putting green to lower his scoring average each and every year,” Shane said.

“He plays every day in some form to get better and he practices the right way to get himself better with a great work ethic that includes no excuses.”

Joining the MASCAC conference, Springfield got a taste of the new competition all throughout the year. Just one week before the postseason, they had a back and forth battle with Westfield State where they came up just short.

With his competitive spirit and confidence, Strong wasn’t worried about running into

Westfield State again the following week in the conference playoffs.

“They went into the tournament a little cocky because of the week before, but I knew we could beat them,” he said.

In their first season in the MASCAC conference, Springfield College came in and took it by storm, winning the whole thing.

“It was wire to wire, but we controlled the tempo going in. I felt that they (Westfield) had no shot and they peaked the week before,” Strong said.

After two years of second place finishes, Springfield now had back-toback conference titles, in different conferences.

“It felt good to win in the first year in the conference, to go out and win in the fashion that we did,” Strong said.

None of this would be possible without not only Strong’s play, but his

attitude. He claims he has a naturally competitive spirit, and it’s evident given all of the adversity he’s faced.

“I hate losing more than I like winning,” Strong said.

When Springfield moved conferences to face better competition, there was still one piece of unfinished business that Strong had in mind.

“I wanted Babson to move to the MASCAC with us, but unfortunately they went to some conference down south,” he said.

Babson was the sole reason that Springfield College finished in second place in his underclassman years, and he wanted to be able to beat them. Unfortunately, he was denied that opportunity, but that speaks to how competitive the lead golfer is.

See Strong continued on Page 15

December 12, 2019

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Jake Ross secures a place in the men’s basketball record book

By Danny Priest @dpriest3

In this past Saturday’s 76-75 win over Williams College, Springfield College’s Jake Ross etched his name atop the record books.

After knocking down a turnaround jumper in the paint with 5:10 to go in the first half of the game, Ross surpassed Derek Yvon (‘06) to become the all-time leading scorer in the history of the program.

Ross’s basket gave him 2,103 points for his career, surpassing the previous record set by Yvon with 2,101 points that had stood since his year of graduation in 2006.

History Made Yvon, who still resides in Springfield, made the 90 minute drive up to Williamstown to watch Ross accomplish the feat.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure following Jake throughout his career at SC. It’s a great honor to be recognized as scoring leader at the Birthplace of Basketball,” said Yvon, who was reached for comment through text.

“He’s an incredible player, exciting and fun to watch, and so deserving of this recognition.

It will be fun for him to tell people he is the leader scoring at the Birthplace of Basketball, I know I had fun with it. Beside Jake’s incredible talents on

Jake Ross eclipsed Derek Yvon’s all-time scoring record this past Saturday at Williams College.

(Lucy Hamilton/The Student)

the basketball court, he’s a wonderful kid off it. I’m very happy for Jake. It’s an exciting time for him,” Yvon said.

Ross and Yvon have been familiar with one another since Ross came to Springfield College for his very first visit, and his support has meant a lot to Ross over the years.

“Derek being there was pretty cool. For him to drive two hours meant a lot. He’s been pretty good to me throughout my career and been supportive of me,” Ross said. “He’s never had any negative comments or anything, he’s always been really, really supportive, so I

thanked him and I probably should send him a card or something. He’s a really good guy for doing that.”

When Ross first visited campus four years ago, it was Coach Charlie Brock’s idea to have Yvon present to try and sell Ross on committing to the school.

“He was here and he did advocate that I should come here and it’s a great place. The fact that he was the all-time leading scorer when he was here it meant a lot to me because just the fact that he came out of his way for my visit, it was pretty meaningful,” Ross said.

Now, all this time later,

Ross has surpassed Yvon as well as becoming only the third person in the history of the program to score over 2,000 points in a career.

He joins Yvon and Hassan Robinson who graduated in 1995 and scored 2,003 points for his career.

While Ross has made his history as a scorer, Brock saw something else in him while evaluating him as a recruit during his time in high school.

“He just had a great motor, and actually he wasn’t the leading scorer in either of the last two playoff games that they (Williston Academy) had, they won the Prep Cham-

pionship that year and he wasn’t the leading scorer, but he was the MVP,” Brock said.

“It was pretty noteworthy because he had done so many different things including passing the ball, rebounding the ball, moving it up the floor. Just the way he plays now, so he was special then and he’s special now. I thought he had a multitude of things he could bring to the table and scoring was only one of them,” Brock added.

As far as his teammates go, Ross has had three fellow seniors along with him for this ride. Heath Post, Jake Jacobson, and Trey Witter all came in with Ross four years ago and have seen his progression to the point he’s at now.

“Well, it’s been awesome watching him play to be honest. I mean, I think his games grown a lot in terms of just like I think it just comes easier to him now. He doesn’t have to work as hard and he’s just developed his game so well,” Jacobson said.

Witter had already played with Ross before arriving on campus.“I played against Jake at Hoop Mountain camp at Roger Williams, we played in the All-Star game together, I actually played with Heath in an All-Star game and with Jake in an All-Star game, so I knew See Ross continued on Page 15

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December 12, 2019

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Fantasy football playoffs Looking ahead to week No. 15

By Jacob Johnson @JacobJ_7

Love: Russell Wilson

Chris Carson

Wilson has not performed at the MVP level we saw over the first half of the season the last three weeks, throwing three total touchdowns and three picks. Don’t let that scare you away from starting him this week against the Carolina Panthers, who are currently giving up 27.7 points per game. The Panthers are already eliminated from playoff contention, while the Seahawks flop against the Rams last Sunday Night should give this team some motivation to make a statement win down one game to the now NFC leading and division rival 49ers. I expect Russell Wilson to show up this week.

Carson has been a solid fantasy player this season, consistently putting up double digit points and a decent number of receptions for ppr players. Against the Rams last Sunday, backup Rashaad Penny went down with a knee injury that would sideline him for the foreseeable future, making Carson the undisputed best back Seattle has right now. The Panthers are giving up 139.2 rushing yards a game (fourth worst in the league) and against a Seahawks team that will definitely be looking to prove something this week against a non playoff team, expect Carson to get a healthy amount of carries.

Hate: James Conner

Tyler Boyd

Conner has missed the Steelers last three games with a shoulder injury, meanwhile the team is 3-0 under Delvin Hodges. Conner is expected to return against the Bills on primetime this Sunday, who have been one of the better defenses in the league. They’re giving up just over 100 yards rushing a game, but are only behind the Patriots for least points allowed per game (16.3). Coming off an injury, it’s up in the air how much Mike Tomlin plans on using Conner, but against one of the better defenses in the league and possibly still treating his injury, Conner may not have as big of an impact as he’s had in games earlier this season.

Boyd has been the biggest boom or bust player this year in my opinion. He’ll put up 28 one week and then four or six for the next two weeks, then blow up for 28 again.

This week, the Bengals will host the Patriots in a game that is already swirling in the news headlines for another possible Patriots related scandal involving the unauthorized filming of the Bengals Browns match just last week. While the Patriots have tumbled as of late, we’re talking about Bill Belichick against a struggling rookie head coach with a 1-11 record and surely heading for a top three draft selection. This defense is still dominant when it wants to be, and with A.J. Greens status for the season still up in the air, the entire Bengals team doesn’t have much to play for with the limited weapons they have.

December 12, 2019

Sports

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From AAU to Blake Arena

How Sam Hourihan and Rachel Vinton continue to grow as teammates at the collegiate level

By Gabby Guerard @GabbyGuerard

Despite living two floors away, first-year Rachel Vinton can usually be found on 1C in Gulick – not because she lives there, but because that’s where her teammate Sam Hourihan lives.

Though, this duo has been in the making for much longer than just a few months. They’ve been teammates for the last five years.

Back when Springfield College women’s basketball head coach Naomi Graves and her coaching staff were out recruiting to build the Pride’s class of 2023, initially the focus was on Hourihan. However while watching the AAU team, which also featured Bea Bondhus, Vinton’s clear athleticism sparked interest quickly.

Despite some initial hesitation to recruit two student-athletes from the same team, Graves knew she wanted both players.

“That can hurt you or help you sometimes, I don’t usually bring in more than one kid off an AAU team,” she said. “But it just happened to be that when I was watching Sam, I fell in love with Rachel, I’m like, ‘We need a point guard, I like that kid, let’s do it.’”

It was only a matter of time before both Vinton and Hourihan were committed to Springfield College. While Vinton wasn’t surprised when she found out Hourihan would be

Sam Hourihan and Rachel Vinton played on the same AAU team before coming to Springfield College. (Photo courtesy of Sam Hourihan)

joining the Pride, Hourihan was pleasantly shocked to hear about Vinton’s decision last October.

“I didn’t even know that she was committing here, and then I like saw it and I was like, ‘What the heck?

That’s my No. 1 school too! Like, what the heck?’”

Hourihan recalled, as the two laughed at the memory.

After traveling the country together during the summer and playing together throughout high school, the two developed chemistry on and off the court. And knowing that there would be at least one friendly face on Alden Street was a big relief as incoming first-year stu-

dent-athletes.

“The team is like your built in best friends, all 15 of them,” Hourihan said.

“But then when you have your actual best friend, it is even more helpful because you already know someone, so it’s easier to get to know everyone else on the team.”

Both Vinton and Hourihan have had major impacts early in their first season with the Pride, each competing in every game so far. Hourihan, who averages 7.7 points and 8.7 rebounds in 28 minutes of play, has picked up three double-doubles so far, while Vinton, who averages 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.4 minutes

of play per game, is usually one of the first players to come in off the bench.

“I think what excites me the most about Rachel is you can see her getting better every day, and she’s so athletic that she’s just fun,” Graves said. “She’s explosive, she’s disciplined enough to know what she does well, she’s a typical freshman (because) she’s a little inconsistent in terms of how she finishes, but I think what excites me is just her eagerness to learn, her willingness to just be thrown into the two spot because I want to play her more, I mean I just think that’s what I’m excited about.”

Vinton initially came in

as the backup point guard behind starter Alex Goslin. However, after seeing her skills and athleticism, Graves knew she needed to find a way to incorporate her on the court more often, which meant sliding her to shooting guard as well.

“She’s so darn athletic, like I can’t keep her on the bench behind Alex because she’ll never get out of there,” Graves added with a smile.

Although Vinton had a smooth transition to the college level from a physicality standpoint, she initially struggled with running the sets. Back in high school, Vinton was used to a completely different style of offense.

“That’s a huge adjustment for me because we just like ‘run and gun’ that’s how I used to play -- no plays, like you just go,” Vinton said. “And now I’m getting used to it, but I like it. I like the structure.”

Vinton wasn’t the only one who had to adjust to a different style of play. Like her teammate, Hourihan found herself needing to take some time to adapt to the college level too.

“Sam is going to be an impact kid. I think she’s adjusting to the college game really well. She’s comfortable now, you know you can start seeing it,” Graves said. “I think there was a big adjustment of how hard you work in practice and what you have See Women’s Basketball continued on Page 15

December 12, 2019

Sports

PAGE 14

Women’s club ice hockey has exceeded expectations The Springfield women’s club ice hockey team is currently in second place in the Adirondack West division. (Jack Margaros/The Student)

By Jacob Johnson @JacobJ_7

2019 is the first year that Springfield College has not one, but two club ice hockey squads. The men have enjoyed success over their club’s history, winning the last two Northeast Collegiate Hockey Association Colonial titles, and it seems their success has rubbed off on the women’s team.

Through the first half of the season, the team sits at 4-4-1 and second place in the Adirondack Division West. Union College leads the AD West with a 7-1 record, their only loss coming from the Pride on Nov. 9. Between the AD West and AD East divisions, the top two teams from each division make the four team playoffs. If the season ended today, the Pride would be in.

“We were surprised by it, we didn’t realize we were in second place,” sophomore captain Sam Foulkroud said. “Hopefully we can stay there.”

Coming into the season, the expectations of how the season would play out were up in the air. The experience on the team

varied, not to mention that this would be the first time the players played together as a team, with only a few practices before their first ever game.

“We’re definitely doing a lot better than expected, because we’re just coming in and we didn’t know what to expect from the other teams, we didn’t know how we were gonna be,” Foulkroud said. “But we’ve been pretty impressed with ourselves.”

“I think most of our team is here to have fun,” senior captain Julia Rodrigues said. “Winning has definitely been a plus on the season.”

The team’s chemistry has improved through every practice and game.

Not only has the bond between the players helped the Pride succeed, as the season has progressed the team roster has only increased.

“We’ve gained a lot of numbers through the season, in the beginning our numbers were pretty low.”

Foulkroud said. “Our first couple of games we only had seven or eight players which was tough, now we’re up to 15 players with

two goalies which is great.

Everyone is learning as we go, which is great to see, we’re meshing as a team.”

Sophomore Nicole Sedler has been one of the leaders on the ice for the Pride, as she has put up solid numbers all year. Averaging just over a goal per game and just under an assist a game, her contributions have been vital to the Pride’s early success as a program.

While racking up some great wins this year has been a huge milestone for a team’s first season, it’s not all about the victories for the Pride this year. Not only is this the debut season of women’s hockey on Alden Street and in Smead Arena, for many this marks the first time many of the women on the team have played hockey their entire lives.

That list includes one of the three seniors on the team, Julia Rodrigues who is also a captain.

“I always wanted to play, so getting to getting to (play) has been awesome,” Rodrigues said. “I wish I could be here longer to play.”

Part of the team’s early

success has come from the guidance of head coach Thomas Verrico, who is the assistant director of intramural and club sports at Springfield College. He was a key factor in helping Foulkroud, Rodrigues, and Ashley Pilling established the women’s ice hockey team at Springfield, and has been a huge help in bringing the team together this year as the head coach.

“Tom brings a pretty interesting energy to our games and our practices, it’s a lot of fun with him and our assistant coaches” Rodgrigues said.

It’s been a whole team effort from the coaching to the players to help this club run smoothly. Senior Jaime Peck, the team’s manager, has left his mark on this season’s success off the ice. He is the equipment manager, records stats for games, and helps with setting up drills during practices.

“For a first-year team I think we’re pretty happy where we’re at,” Peck said.

“We had a disappointing weekend this past weekend but we’re sitting at 4-4-1 and have beaten some pretty good teams this year.

It’s been great to watch the girls in the program throughout the year and we’re pretty excited for the future.”

Last weekend the team played their last set of games for the fall semester dropping a weekend double header to Paul Smith’s College. They will have over a month of rest before their next home match against Smith on Jan. 24.

The team has three more games scheduled for the remainder of the year, but are actively working on scheduling a few more.

“We’re trying to schedule a game against Westfield State since we haven’t played them before,” Foulkroud said. “They’re not in our division, but we can play games outside of it.”

Before the Pride had even played a game, the team was asked what their goals for the season were; to which Foulkroud replied; “Maybe just win one game”. That was followed by sophomore Reese Earle yelling “Yoffs baby!” in the distance.

Halfway through the season, the ‘yoffs are within reach.

December 12, 2019

Ross continued from Page 11

both of these guys were really good players and that was definitely part of my decision to commit to Springfield,” Witter said.

Post on the other hand did not know Ross before coming to campus, but it didn’t take long for him to see Ross display his talents on the court.

“The first day we came to Springfield College a bunch of us went outside behind Gulick, we played pick-up basketball and Jake, I was watching one of the games, and he pump faked and drove down the middle and he dunked it, Post said.

Women’s Basketball continued from Page 13

to put out, and you know you could see that she was lost for a long time, like ‘oh my God, I’ve got to remember sets, I’ve got to work hard on defense,’ but now she’s coming into her own. She’s going to be good.”

Hourihan agreed that it took her some time to get

Strong continued from Page 10

Strong took full advantage of what was simply just a phone call. He was named to All-Conference teams in his sophomore and junior years, second and first team, respectively. In his senior year, he won Conference Player of the Week on three separate occasions, and was named to the All-Conference First Team. One award stands out from those, however.

Sports

PAGE 15

“Then, just from playing with him from then on I knew he was a good player, had a bunch of different skills. It was like Rucker Park, Gulick Style,” Post added with a laugh.

Witter also commented on the dunk: “He tried to end someone,” he said.

From a pickup game on an old hoop behind Gulick, to a turnaround jumper in the paint on a Saturday night inside a gym in Williamstown, Mass., Ross has certainly come a long way. Now, he has a chance to continue building on his own record moving forward.

Back to Business While much was to be

made of Ross reaching and breaking the record, the Pride still have over half a season to play.

They’ve gotten off to a strong start at 7-1 and will look to continue that moving forward. Previously unranked, the Pride have landed at No. 21 on the D3Hoops.com men’s top 25 rankings for games through Dec. 8.

While Ross was happy to break the record, he’s also happy to now just focus on basketball and not worry about the added attention.

“It was good to get it over with, and sort of (get) ready to move on in a sense. Just happy that we got that ‘W’ because

we hadn’t beaten them (Williams) in our career,” Ross said.

The win over Williams, a fellow nationally ranked team, was big and the Pride want to continue that momentum moving forward.

“Absolutely. It’s a good start. We have played well enough to win a couple games and scrape through and a lot of the things that we’ve been able to do are a product of senior leadership from Jake and Heath and JJ and Trey,” Brock said.

“I think we’ve been mentally prepared for a couple of different kinds of situations and that comes down

to senior leadership often times, so yeah we’ve just got to take it one game at a time. That records done and that’s not something we want to think about anymore. It’s just now trying to execute and be efficient and play good basketball,” he added.

The Pride will look to continue their winning ways on Friday night when they travel to take on Westfield State in another road test.

That game will becoming on the heels of a close 76-70 road loss to No. 25 Williams. Springfield will do their best to get back in the win column come Friday night.

used to the college level.

Especially as a starter, she knew there was a lot expected of her and has been thankful for all the help from her teammates and coaches.

“For me it was a big adjustment. It’s a lot faster and the girls are obviously, like everyone is so good and it’s a lot more physical, and so trying to find my way in the of-

fense and when I’m in the defense and playing took some time to get used to,” Hourihan said. “But now I think that everyone is in a groove all together and we all know our roles and so it’s really good now.”

With the help of the upperclassmen, Vinton and Hourihan have adjusted to the level of play and have already improved in just the opening 10 games

of the season. Considering the impact they’ve had so early, Graves sees a lot of potential in the two first-year players and believes they’re only going to continue to get better every day -- something she couldn’t be more excited about.

“Sometimes the riches of coaching don’t come in wins and losses, but come in development,” Graves

said.

And throughout that development, Hourihan and Vinton will be able to lean on each other, just as they have been doing ever since high school -- on and off the court.

Strong was awarded the NEIGA Guy Tedesco Award, given to one college golfer in all of New England who has made significant contributions to the sport, and reflects the values of sportsmanship and unselfish leadership. Even with that competitive spirit, Strong still knew that his values and sportsmanship remained higher.

“His award is a reflection on the type of people that are at Springfield Col-

lege,” Shane said. “Yes, we have great athletes on the field, course, court, but these athletes are even better people, and this award is an example of the high-quality student-athletes we have on campus.”

It isn’t just Strong who takes pride in his progression in his game since he first picked up a club.

“It’s been great,” Gazaille said. “You can see the progression each year in his game.”

Gazaille credits and notices Strong’s work ethic as a huge part of his success.

“It has been a huge benefit to our team and he’s definitely going to be missed next year,” Gazaille said.

In just six years, Strong had one of the most grueling injuries in sports, Tommy John, switched to golf -- and became one of New England’s best. It all started when Strong put down his baseball bat for

the final time, then took advice from his grandfather, then onto receiving that life-changing phone call. There were a lot of things that happened to fall into place, but hard work and determination always wins.

SPORTS Rachel Vinton and Sam Hourihan have been impactful as first-years

Women's club ice hockey thrives in first season

All-Time Scoring Leader

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DECEMBER 12, 2019

Jake Ross eclipsed Derek Yvon’s scoring record at Williams College last Saturday [See inside] VOL. 134 NO. 12

(Joe Arruda/The Student)

Mike Strong has thrived, despite previous Tommy John surgery