Volume 137 No. 17

The women’s athletic teams of Springfield College hosted a youth sports clinic for local girls in honor of National Women and Girls in Sports Day.

An uncommon cold

During the coldest stretch of winter, Townhouse residents were without warm water and had miminal heat for nearly a week.

chilly and that there was no heat, keeping the house around 50 degrees.

Many residents thought it could be the result of frozen pipes, as that can commonly occur during cold stretches. But according to Kevin Roy, Springfield College’s Director of Facilities Management, this was not the case.

off chance it does, all they can do is act as quickly as possible.

“It’s rare that this does happen, but when it does we are at the mercy of Eversource gas,” Roy said.

Last weekend, as temperatures began to sink into the single digits and even below zero, many students made their way inside, out of the cold, and to a safe haven of warmth.

Those in the Townhouses encountered something far different, however.

Many realized that hot water was non-existent. By

__ By Luke Whitehouse @Lwhitehouse12

Saturday the heating systems were also not working properly, leaving some houses with temperatures below 60 degrees.

“I tried to take a shower and it wasn’t getting hot,” said junior Daniel Johnson, who resides in Townhouse 8. “And then I waited a little longer and it still wasn’t warming up.”

No one knew what was happen-

ing. Some sent out emails, inquiring when it was going to be fixed. But for many, all they could do is wait.

“We had got an email from facilities about the situation,” Johnson said. “And so we just waited until an update came.”

Along with the water temperature, as Johnson explained, he realized that the house was

“Everyone is pulling gas from Eversource’s gas main and when it’s super cold there’s a higher demand,” Roy said. “Once we learned there was lower gas pressure available than what we needed, and we had to make changes with the gas company to the boiler, and set it up so we could use less pressure.”

Although cold weather strikes New England quite often throughout the winter, the concern of something like this happening again is unlikely, according to Roy. But with the

During unforeseen circumstances, such as this one, Johnson was appreciative of Roy and his staff doing what they could to ensure that the heat and water came back as soon as possible.

“You can prepare for these cold situations, but you can’t predict when something is going to fail,” Johnson said. “And so I was very appreciative of the fact they were able to acknowledge the issue so quickly, keep everyone updated, and get everything working as soon as possible, especially in these conditions.”

It’s rare that this does happen, but when it does, we are at the mercy of Eversource gas,” said Springfield College Director of Facilities Kevin Roy. (Garrett Cote/The Student)

‘These experiences translate to any career’

The YMCA Club is back in full swing and offering events such as a leadership summit and a trip to the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota.

___ By Nick PaNtages ___ @nick_pantages22

After two slower years dealing with COVID and hybrid learning, the YMCA Club hosted a job fair Feb. 13 in the Dodge Room at the Student Union. These job fairs provide an opportunity for students who are looking for a variety of jobs, whether it be full time after graduation, internships required for graduation or summer jobs for students.

Scott Woodaman, the director of YMCA relations at Springfield, helps organize these events, and recognizes the importance of jobs at the YMCA, where the experience gained working there is unlike any you could receive at a more common summer job.

“When you have experience at a YMCA summer camp, you are leading groups of young people everyday, you are learning time management, having difficult conversations

with parents,” Woodaman said. “Having these experiences translates to any career.”

The importance of job fairs like this to help students get transferable skills to many careers is important, but that is not all the club does.

The club also has many other big events planned. One is a leadership summit that will be held in March at Lake George, N.Y.. About 40 students will be brought by the YMCA Club to the Silver Bay YMCA after being nominated by peers or staff.

“[The students] learn and develop into being future leaders of Springfield College, possibly the YMCA, and in their communities at home,” Woodaman said.

The real crowning jewel of the YMCA club’s events is a trip to the Cheyenne River Reservation in Dupree, S.D.. There, students

will get the chance to help build tiny homes for the Lakota tribe, who lives on the reservation.

“We went there in 2019, and we started building tiny homes to give shelter and create safety and security for people in that community and on the reservation,” Woodaman said. Because housing security is questionable on the reservation, these tiny homes desperately provide affordable shelter to the Lakota people.

The tribe also gives students a chance to immerse themselves in the culture of the Lakota Tribe, while also taking trips to the Badlands National Park and more.

Applications for this trip are due on Feb. 28.

On campus, the YMCA club hosts meetings biweekly on Mondays, in the A+B rooms in Cheney Hall.

These meetings provide an easy pathway for students to assim-

ilate themselves into the YMCA club, and they also do a bunch of events to help out and engage with the community. Some events the club has participated in were the Winter Walk to end homelessness in Springfield earlier this month, which provided students an easy way to bond with the community, as well as making Valentine’s Day cards for children in hospitals.

“Those are the types of events that we’re re-

ally trying to intentionally partner with our community,” Woodaman said.

The next time the club meets will be on Monday, Feb. 27 in the Cheney A+B rooms, where attendees can expect another fun program to help them learn valuable skills, immerse themselves in the YMCA network, and help out the greater Springfield community.

The YMCA club in South Dakota in 2019.

(Photo Courtesy of Springfield College YMCA Club)

Kickin’ it around the globe

Springfield College alum Sam Zapatka’s role with U.S. Soccer has taken him from Alden Street to two FIFA World Cup tournaments.

Sam Zapatka (’13) always knew that he wanted to work in sports. While pursuing his degree in Sports Management at Springfield College, he served as the Pride’s assistant volleyball coach, which allowed him to travel with the team to the World University Games in Kazan, Russia in 2013. He also interned with BlazeSports America, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to change the lives of children and veterans with physical disabilities through adaptive sports, which motivated him to become a Certified Disability Sports Specialist.

Those experiences helped Zapatka land a job with the U.S. Soccer Federation in 2015.

With the USSF he has served as the National Teams Coordinator, the Events Operations Coordinator, the Events

Operations Manager, and now the Men’s National Team Manager.

These positions have taken him everywhere from Papua New Guinea to Rio de Janeiro to the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar. Zapatka spoke with The Springfield Student’s

Corey Raftery about why he came to SC, what his current role entails and his favorite memories of his time on Alden Street.

Why did you choose Springfield College?

Zapatka: I grew up overseas in Thailand. My older two

brothers live in the New England/New York area. I wanted to be a little bit closer to them. And, the athletic director at my international school in Bangkok was a Springfield College alum. I was always interested in Sport Management. I took a quick tour

at Springfield one summer, applied early and [got accepted]. I’m thankful for that decision.

How did your time studying Sport Management at Springfield College help you pursue your career?

Zapatka: Studying Sport Management at Springfield College was an incredible experience. I think the best thing is that, because Springfield is so small, I had the ability to make really good connections with some of my professors, like Professor [Robert] Accorsi. He was one of the first ones who I really got in touch with. He helped me get my internship that eventually led to my first job. Dr. [Kevin] McAllister is another professor that I still talk to on a regular basis. I’m doing a couple mentorships with some current students, and

__ By Corey raftery __ @Craftery03

Zapatka celebrated the USMNT 1-0 victory over Iran on Nov. 29, 2022, during the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar. (Photo Courtesy Springfield College)

it’s always good to give back. I owe a lot to Springfield for my career.

What clubs were you in at Springfield College?

Zapatka: I was involved in the Sports Management Club. And then I was one of the student assistants for volleyball. So I worked with Coach Charlie Sullivan, throughout the three-and-a-half years that I was at Springfield. We won two national championships.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at Springfield College?

Zapatka: Our sophomore year, winning our first national championship at Nazareth, was just an incredible moment.

I remember coming back and partying in the townhouses, having some fun there and then continuing the next year, when we actually hosted the championship at Springfield College the following year. Volleyball was a huge part of my college career. I still keep in touch with all of my former teammates, and I try to catch up with Coach Sullivan once a month.

Who was your biggest motivator or motivation to keep pursuing this career path?

Zapatka: Professor Accorsi and Dr. McAllister, definitely. When I came in as a freshman, I was in the mindset that I wanted to work for the NBA or the NFL, the big sporting organizations. And I quickly realized, through some help from Dr. Mac and Professor Corsi, that maybe the smaller, nonprofit, Paralympic Avenue, was where I wanted to go. So from my internship with Play Sports America, a not-forprofit organization based out of Atlanta, I got a full time job once I graduated.

How did you react when you first got the job with the national team?

Zapatka: I remember like it was yesterday. I started out in the equipment room, and I was a team coordinator then with the youth team. So I worked with a lot of the younger guys. One thing I really enjoyed: I worked with Tyler Adams, when he was in the youth under-20 program. And then when I transitioned to the

full team, it was cool to see us both go through kind of the same process. I started on the youth side and made it to the men’s national team, same as Tyler Adams. I remember our first camp together, with him coming in and then me as the manager. It was like, “Hey, we made it.” It was a really cool moment.

Was there any point in your career that you had to overcome something difficult?

Zapatka: I actually started in this role right before COVID. At my first-ever camp as Men’s National Team Manager, we were supposed to go to Qatar in January 2020 for a month-long camp. Right after we landed, we found out that [Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was targeted and killed by a U.S. attack]. When we got to Qatar, the regional security officer within our embassy recommended that we not do the camp. It was my first camp, and we had to change everything within 12 hours. We stayed up all night, and we took the whole camp and moved it to Sarasota,

Florida. Fortunately, thanks to a good relationship with IMG, we moved everything. That was by far one of the most challenging things I’ve done in my career – then in March COVID hit.

What are some of the responsibilities that you have as the men’s national team’s manager?

Zapatka: What I do is logistics. I talk to all the players and I talk to the players’ clubs. We have to get them released during FIFA windows and organize all of their travel – flights, ground transpor-

tation. I lock in all the contracts for all of our domestic and international hotels, and secure training facilities.

What career goals are left on your bucket list?

Zapatka: I always want to continue to improve. The next step for me is to take more of a management role, whether it’s working for FIFA, or working for an English Premier League club in London. That is definitely a goal and an ambition of mine.

Zapatka posing with the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy. (Photo Courtesy of Sam Zapatka)

The future is female

tor for compliance and student-athlete wellbeing at Springfield College. “They come in with great enthusiasm and are good role models for the girls.”

nities but not as many as the boys. To see it come sort of full circle with this event is really nice.”

For this year’s National Women and Girls in Sports Day celebration at Springfield College, things were a little different. Over the past year, the 50th anniversary of Title IX – a monumental law that forever changed the landscape of American society – has been commemorated. Embracing Title IX and “the future is female” message was

___ By Carley Crain ___ @carley_crain12

in full force in the field house on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Dozens of girls from the surrounding community gathered to learn and connect with numerous women’s varsity sports teams. The day started out with Springfield College president Mary Beth Cooper addressing the crowd with this question: “What do you want to be when you

grow up?” The little girls looked at each other with smiles as they raised their hands with excitement and then explained their dreams for the future.

For some, being on a sports team at Springfield College might be a part of that vision.

“Our student-athletes are what made this event great,” said Michelle Lee Scecina, assistant athletic direc-

The day then transitioned into stations that were led by the women’s volleyball, dance, field hockey, soccer and tennis teams. Each block of time with the different sports exposed the girls to numerous activities such as dancing, running, or hitting a volleyball. The variety of activities provided at the clinic gave the young girls the opportunity to see that women do belong in sport.

The Springfield teams wanted every girl to leave knowing that no matter what they wanted to do, it could be done. Title IX gave them that opportunity.

“We are celebrating the fact that girls can play and have the same opportunities that the boys do,” Lee Scecina said. “For me it is really meaningful because I had opportu-

Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics Kathy Mangano was in attendance as well. She gave a presentation about the basics of Title IX, alongside some of the varsity athletes. The short slideshow provided a brief history of Title IX and some female pioneers who have paved the path for women, like Simone Biles and Alex Morgan. When the photo of Biles jumping in the air appeared on the screen, the young crowd of girls pointed in awe. They instantly recognized the Olympic gold medalist. After learning about the importance of Title IX and the implications it still has, the girls returned to the individual stations.

The day ended with the girls cheering on the women’s basketball team in Blake Arena as they defeated NEWMAC opponent Emerson College, 81-47.

Dozens of girls from surrounding communities connected with current athletes from Springfield College women’s varsity teams to celebrate National Women and Girls in Sports Day.

National Women and Girls in Sports Day took place in the field house on Feb. 11. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

(Photos Courtesy of Springfield College)

Providing perspective

Motivational speaker Monti Washington delivered a presentation in the Dodge Room of the Campus Union where he talked about race, society, and the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.

__ By Patrick Fergus __ @patrickfergus5

Monti Washington held an impassioned presentation titled “Which Lives Matter” last Wednesday in the Dodge Room of the Campus Union. Washington, an activist, motivational speaker, actor and author, tackled pressing issues like the Black Lives Matter movement and racial equality.

In an attempt to break the ice with his audience, which he affectionately called his “family,” Washington detailed his onerous childhood. Growing up in Brooklyn, he was the product of a one-night stand, and would often find himself living in crack houses and sleeping in parks for weeks at a time. He moved from one group home to another, amounting to a total of 12 different living facilities in just three years.

Even after he moved into foster care, his caretakers didn’t treat him any better. He often cites one of his foster parents for teaching him a valuable lesson, the

power of false narratives.

“She would call me stupid every day, so much so that I thought it was my name,” Washington said. “Whether it is true or false is irrelevant, it’s the belief you have in it.”

Despite it all, Washington still graduated at the top of his high school class and earned two degrees in Mass Communication and Media Studies from Wilberforce University.

“I don’t tell my own

story to get applause,” Washington said. ”I tell it because nobody here would’ve looked at me and thought that was my journey, and that’s because we don’t look like our stories.”

The harmful effects of judgment and rigid ideologies were a principal theme through the talk, which was reinforced through the numerous avenues for audience participation.

Activities included every member moving around and talking to two people they had

never met before, and having a meaningful conversation. This exposure to people of different cultures and backgrounds was a key lesson Washington wanted to instill.

“Exposure is the cure to ignorance,” Washington said. “When you are able to have a meaningful interaction with somebody and attach a face and a story, that’s humanity.”

The speech also emphasized the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, and how

the response of “All Lives Matter” was damaging to the issues that BLM tries to address. The main goal of BLM – equality for Black people who have been discriminated against based solely on the color of their skin – is still in need of substantial advancement, according to Washington

“Equality, to a person of privilege, feels like oppression, and if you keep it ‘all lives matter,’ the sense of urgency to address the problem that Black lives are faced with, goes away entirely,” he said.

In spite of the serious and sometimes uncomfortable content matter, Washington was determined to have fun with his audiences, often adding some comedy and lighthearted humor to his examples.

“I think it just breaks people’s defenses down, and I’ve found going straightforward with it can shut some people off,” Washington said. “So to get people to be more open, you have to find light in something so heavy.”

Monti Washington presenting. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College)

Advocacy in action

Humanics initiative.

College, they invited Dottie Zenaty and Chickie Poisson, two field hockey legends, to attend and take part in the pregame rituals.

The announcer spoke about Title IX at the start of the game, and at the conclusion of the contest, the team was joined by youth field hockey players for a quick clinic and scrimmage. The project both reflected on the history of women’s sports as well as worked to grow the game.

“We learned about the history of our program and the incredible leaders that represented SCFH before us,” junior midfielder Emma Robinson said.

Similarly, the softball team attended nine elementary schools to practice with youth softball teams and give an informative Title IX lesson to the girls.

der Title IX at Springfield College.” His presentation showed an informational poster that displayed accommodations that the College has for students that may be pregnant or parents.

“I was in a Y club meeting where Erin Leeper was invited to talk about Title IX, and she talked about STEM, athletics and all of those fields,” Lamichhane said. “She mentioned that Title IX talks about pregnancy and parenting and as a public health major, I did not know that.”

Leeper said. “There used to be so much focus on Title IX and athletics, and a lot of my work now focuses on Title IX as it relates to sexual violence, but we also have some students here who did projects on gender identity, how that relates to athletics and sexual violence as well, so its cool to see students pick a project that they are passionate about and what relates to their interest but can also connect it to what Title IX is all about.”

___ By Cait Kemp @caitlinkemp09

On Thursday, Feb. 9, Distinguished Professor of Humanics Kathy Mangano hosted the capstone event, “Title IX Advocacy in Action,” of her yearlong Title IX Humanics project.

Throughout the academic year, Mangano has used her platform as the Humanics professor to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Her project “Title IX at 50: Educate and Advocate,” has helped spread awareness across campus about the landmark law.

At the “Advocacy in Action” event, members of the campus community

were welcomed to share their own projects that they organized to assist in Mangano’s mission of teaching the importance of Title IX. Many groups, teams and individuals were involved in carrying out their own projects and presented in the Dodge Room Thursday evening.

“I am elated by the turnout because there are 17, 18 projects here that are going to help educate every person that goes by,” Mangano said.

The field hockey team showcased the Title IX game that they hosted in the fall. For their home game against Gordon

“It taught us that youth don’t have as much of an education on the matter,” senior outfielder Margaret Britt said. “They should put it into school systems and talk about it more at a younger age.”

The team agreed that their project seemed to make an impact on the youth teams, especially the opportunity for them to learn from a collegiate program that they look up to.

Athletics is a big part of Title IX, but not the only part. Projects explored other aspects of the law, such as parenting, gender issues, the LGBTQ+ community and more.

Public Health major Rishi Lamichhane worked on a project titled, “Pregnancy and Parenting Un-

He was inspired to dig deeper into this topic after learning about the scope of Title IX and that it does so much more than just within athletics. He believed that this information was important to share because it is not as well-known as perhaps some of the other features of the campus.

“I thought that since I as a student don’t know that, there would be so many other students that wouldn’t know about the resources,” he said. “I think it’s helpful to bring this topic to light since now Roe v. Wade is overturned. Knowing about the resources on campus as a student is really important as well.”

Erin Leeper, the College’s Title IX Coordinator, was to see the variety of topics being presented. The Humanics project has allowed her to get involved and inform students about what she does so that students are aware of the resources her office provides.

“I do think that, over time, our understanding of Title IX has shifted,”

Mangano was proud of the event and the way students showed up for their Title IX advocacy projects. After working toward this goal to spread the importance of Title IX, she was honored to see how the community bought into her idea. Her goal was to not only talk about Title IX, but bring more awareness to the law and help the community to understand the past, present and future of what it means. This goal, coupled with her encouragement for students to participate directly in the project, gave everyone a chance to get involved and understand the greater significance that Title IX has brought to the nation.

“I think the most important thing is action, and that’s the whole thing when I think about educating and advocating its taking action,” Mangano said. “I think that is a very key component of Humanics. My focus is not to just educate and advocate this year, I want it beyond. That’s my hope.”

Claire Munkacsi and Sarah healy presenting their Title IX project. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

Groups shared the projects they organized as part of the Title IX at 50

Angela Czeremcha

The recipient of this week’s Springfield Student Women’s Athlete of the Week was Angela Czeremcha after she got an overwhelming 63.2 percent of the vote. The sophomore forward for the women’s basketball team combined for 30 points on 13-for-21 shooting in the Pride’s two games last week.

Maya Belog came in second in the poll with 15.8 percent of the vote after a spectacular performance. The sophomore gymnast had career-bests in the floor and vault with scores of 9.750 and 9.550 respectively, and led the way on the beam for Springfield

Panayiotis Kapanides

Panayiotis Kapanides won this edition’s Springfield Student Men’s Athlete of the Week after receiving 51.9 percent of the vote. The senior forward for the men’s basketball team scored 21 points and was 9-for-9 at the free throw line in Springfield’s game against Babson on Wednesday.

Second place was a tie between Joe Wong and Dylan Mulvaney. Wong is a sophomore mid-distance runner for the men’s track and field team who ran a personal-best in the 800-meter with a time of 1:55.02 at the Dave Hemery Valentine’s Invitational on Saturday. Mulvaney is a first-year setter for the men’s volleyball team

who combined for 93 assists in Springfield’s trio of games this past week, and also earned all-tournament team honors for the Morgan Classic.

Rece Gobel rounded out the vote after a great performance on the track over the weekend. The senior mid-distance runner for the men’s track and field team ran a personal-best in the mile with a time of 4:21.30 at the Dave Hemery Valentine’s Invitational on Saturday.

Be sure to follow @TheSpfldStudent on Twitter to vote in the next poll!

with a score of 9.700.

Tied for third were teammates Brenna Lachapelle and Kristina Kyle. Lachapelle is a senior mid-distance runner for the women’s track and field team who ran a personal-best to qualify regionally in the 1000-meter with a time of 3:07.14 at the Dave Hemery Valentine’s Invitational on Friday. Kyle is a first-year mid-distance runner for the women’s track and field team who ran a personal-best in the mile with a time of 5:16.32 at the Dave Hemery Valentine’s Invitational on Friday.

Panayiotis Kapanides. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

Angela Czeremcha. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

really got our culture back’

at this level,” Bugbee added.

However, the 2023 squad will mix in its fair share of younger players, as well.

“At the same time, we have seven freshmen who will play some significant time,” Bugbee said. “I wouldn’t say we’re young, but we [will have] some youth out there.”

Bugbee seems confident that this mix of experience and youth will be a combination that sparks a successful season for the Pride. But for that to happen, individual players will have to step up.

Bugbee has his eyes on a few prospective candidates, in particular: senior captain Mason Nocito, a midfielder, and fellow senior captain Jackson Lane, who also plays midfield.

in exuding optimistic energy about the Pride’s chances this year.

“We’re in a good spot, so I’m excited to get back into it with games,” Lane said.

Meanwhile, Nocito cites team chemistry as a main reason why he is enthusiastic about the weeks and months ahead.

“I’m looking forward to [the bond this team] is going to build together,” Nocito said. “We have a great group of guys, a bunch of competitors.”

Nocito undoubtedly also has his eyes set upon success, however.

“I want to [help the team improve],” Nocito said. “I want this team to win a NEWMAC championship. That’s always the ultimate goal.”

__ By Tucker PaqueTTe __ @tpaquette17

The Springfield College men’s lacrosse team, coming off an 8-9 record last year, is feeling optimistic about the upcoming season, and the team’s leadership isn’t shy about expressing said feelings.

A lot of the positive feelings coming from the team’s head coach, Keith Bugbee, are rooted in the fact that the team has a significant

amount of experience.

“It’s an interesting mix [of players],”

Bugbee said. “We have some fifth-year guys, a bunch of really good seniors, some transfers. I feel like we have some [strong] leadership.”

Bugbee believes that because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the team to play a mere four or so games for two consecutive seasons,

players had valuable reps taken from them, but they’ll be better off this year.

“[Some of the older players] before last year didn’t get to play that much,” Bugbee said. “They were like rookies in a lot of ways.”

“You can’t substitute experience…It takes a while to be able to figure out how to play

Lane is also one of the Pride’s three preseason All-Americans, joining graduate students Connor Roberts and Conor Tracy in earning those high honors.

For his part, Lane is simply eager to return to action.

“[I’m looking forward to] getting out there and playing games again,” Lane said. “Last year was our first season back since COVID. This year, we’ve had a full year and we know what’s coming, we know what’s going on. We’ve really got our culture back.”

Lane joins his coach

The Pride kick off the forthcoming campaign on the road against Nazareth this Saturday at 1 p.m.

Between Bugbee’s bullish prognostications on the fusion of veterans and younger players on the team’s roster, coupled with the enthusiasm on the athletes’ part to play well and play together, there is plenty to look forward to for those who follow the Pride.

Now, as the games soon will get underway, we wait to see if Nocito’s main goal of winning a NEWMAC crown will come to fruition.

Riley Burgmyer getting himself open. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

The Springfield men’s lacrosse team is looking to use its experience to its advantage in the Pride’s upcoming season.

‘We’ve

Horns up

__ By Braedan Shea __ @braedan_shea

As the scoreboard on Stagg Field on the campus of Springfield College began ticking closer and closer toward zero on May 7, 2022, the Pride women’s lacrosse team was quite visibly getting anxious. The sidelines were full of players and coaches alike pacing back and forth, hopping side to side from one foot to the other, or yelling out words of encouragement to those on the field.

And they had a good reason to be nervous.

If the scoreboard, which read 8-6 in favor of Springfield, remained the same, the Pride would come away with their biggest win of the season – the NEWMAC championship. Even sweeter, Springfield had the opportunity to completely avenge its

crushing 22-4 defeat in the previous year’s championship to the same opponent of Babson College.

With just 17 seconds remaining in the game, junior midfielder Allison Delmonte poked the ball away from a Babson attacker, basically eliminating any chance for the Beavers to come back.

A Haley Moody save as time expired was the final nail in the coffin, and all of those once-nervous Springfield players and staff stormed the field in celebration, hoisting the trophy up high.

Now, less than a year later, the Pride are gearing up for what they hope is yet another successful season. But, the path to getting there is going to be different from last year.

Much different.

For starters, there

have been a few key departures for Springfield. Seniors Taylor Pichel and Katie Martel – who were both voted to the NEWMAC All Conference First Team last season and scored over 100 career goals during their time on Alden Street –graduated last spring. The biggest change, however, comes from the leader of the team. After 13 storied sea-

sons at the helm of the Pride, head coach Kristen Mullady shockingly stepped away from the position to be closer to her family.

But even with this new-look team, the goals remain the same: succeed, and have fun in the process.

“Our expectation is to win,” head coach Jenn Thomas said.

“Just win, win, win. We want to win a NEW-

MAC championship, obviously, and win out our non-conference games – just win as many games as possible.”

Thomas believes that in order to reach that goal of remaining on top of the conference, the team needs to recognize that while the landscape of the team may be different, the drive is not. As of now, Thomas

Women’s lacrosse has a new motto, along with sights on repeating as NEWMAC champions.

Gianna Scialdone was voted NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Year and earned First-Team All Conference honors. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

is extremely happy with how the team has adapted.

[The team is] buying in completely,” Thomas said. “We have a bunch of new coaches, so we have a lot of different perspectives and philosophies – and they’re buying into it which I think is great. That was something that we focused on day one, was ‘the faster you guys buy into this and believe in it, then we can run with it. but if there’s resistance, the bus is going whether you’re on it or not. So hopefully you’re on it.’ The faster everyone’s on it, then the faster we’re going to bring on success. So far, the mentality is there, and they’re buying into the season.”

Thomas accredits Springfield’s ability to adapt so quickly to a new coach and philosophy to the great culture the program has. She believes that the extreme bonds the team has with one another will translate to the field – another key part to having the season they want.

In order to keep the bonds strong with one another, Thomas has implemented four team captains for the upcoming season: Delmonte, senior attack Arielle Johnson, graduate midfielder Jade O’Connor, and senior Gianna Scialdone.

“It’s a huge deal being captain,” Scialdone said. “For any team it is really serious, but especially for women’s

lacrosse here. It’s a huge representation of everything that

we stand for, which is being able to show up every day. We started like this new term, ‘horns up’, which kind of comes from all the positivity that you could bring, all good vibes. If our horns are up, we’re up and ready to go.”

With the high talent and drive to repeat as NEWMAC champions, Thomas notes that the team needs to stay focused on themselves, taking the year one day at a time.

“The expectation, or goals, are that, however, we don’t really talk too much about the championship. We

believe in the process, so we talk a lot about practice. We try to focus on ourselves. We try our best not to focus on external things, because those are the uncontrollables. The biggest thing is yes to win, but to grow and just fall in love with the process.”

If this season’s Springfield College women’s lacrosse team wants to hoist the conference championship once again, the Pride must buy in, and most importantly, have their horns up.

The Pride women’s lacrosse team defeated Babson 8-6 in the NEWMAC Championship. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

Springfield President Mary-Beth Cooper hoisting the NEWMAC trophy. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

Adding to the shelf

The

Springfield men’s volleyball team swept MIT and NYU to win its seventh consecutive International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic championship.

the Pride, and the bond between Shaw and the team has grown ever since.

“It’s been a special relationship for our team and our program,” Sullivan said.

“Sometimes, I don’t know who’s getting more out of it - our players or Conlan. We look at both these parties and what they’re sharing with each other, and giving each other support.”

Team IMPACT shirts were also spotted in the Blake Arena crowd to help spread awareness about the cause.

dominant pace for the remainder of the first set en route to a 25-12 victory in the frame. Anderson, Costley, and Noah Weislo each had a trio of kills in the set. Despite their slow first set, the Engineers started the second set effectively. After the Pride went up 2-1, MIT scored four points in a row, which forced a Springfield timeout. “They just had some really good rallies in game two, so we tried to regroup and kind of get refocused and gain our momentum back,” Sullivan said.

With seven consecutive championship victories in the Morgan Classic, the tournament is Springfield’s until someone takes it from the Pride.

“It’s just hopefully another thing in our unique story at Springfield College,” said Springfield men’s

___ By Chris Gionta @Chris_Gionta

volleyball head coach Charlie Sullivan.

“Hopefully our volleyball team is at that different level, too, so our uniqueness is really important.”

The Pride swept Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Feb. 10 and New York University

(NYU) on Feb. 11 en route to the tournament win.

Prior to Springfield’s first win of the weekend, the Pride’s partnership with Team IMPACT was recognized. In March, Springfield announced 15-year-old Conlan Shaw as a member of

In the match, the Pride were in control from the very start. MIT began with the serve, and Evan Costley provided a kill to put the Pride up 1-0. Following that was a Jarrett Anderson ace before another Costley kill. Next, Anderson landed an additional ace to make it 4-0.

Springfield kept the

The Pride responded to the timeout with three consecutive points on kills from Anderson and Weislo along with an MIT attack error to make it 5-5. The set remained back-and-forth, with the score being tied at 12 about halfway through.

However, from there on, Springfield went on a 13-2 run that won

The Pride taking a picture with the Morgan Classic trophy. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

them the set 25-14. The run was powered by three kills from Anderson, two from Noah Weislo, and two service aces from Ethan Weislo.

The Pride continued their control through the third set, where they won 25-15. Anderson played a large factor in the final pair of frames - combining for 11 kills after the first. Overall, he was amazingly efficient with a .591 hitting percentage on 22 attacks.

“It’s intimidating having Jarrett [Anderson] hit the ball at you,” Sullivan said. “I imagine it’s kind of a spike in our momentum when he does really well.”

The next night, NYU proved it was going to be a tough opponent when the Violets started the match with a 10-7 lead.

“[NYU] offered things at a really high level that we hadn’t really seen before,” Sullivan said. “So, we’re a young team - we were kind of figuring it out on the fly. They were a really good team - a lot of fire power, a lot of really good armsthey played really well. That’s gonna be a really good matchup for us when we play again.”

What particularly

stood out with NYU were its middle blockers, whose tall presence and spry jumping ability made it difficult for Springfield to deliver the spikes they wanted to.

“Their middles were great,” Sullivan said. “They’re huge, they close well, they’re athletic, they move well, so that was a challenge for us.”

Springfield retrieved control after a service error by NYU, then Jarrett Anderson landed an ace to make it 10-9. After that, two Violet attack errors gave the Pride the lead.

After NYU tied it back up, the two teams underwent the longest rally of the game, where each side hit hard and defended well. Dylan Mulvaney, Noah Weislo, and Chris Rouleau were constantly blocking and recovering the ball in the front row, and it ultimately set up for a Jarrett Anderson kill on a hard spike.

The Pride did not lose their lead for the remainder of the set despite the Violets being competitiveultimately capping it at 25-21.

The second frame went a similar route as the first, with it remaining tight until

Springfield pulled away at the end. NYU held a 16-15 lead before the Pride called timeout and scored three points in a row. That sparked a 9-2 run that brought Springfield to a 24-19 set lead. The Violets

got a few back, but it proved too little and too late after Weislo executed a kill for the 25th point.

In the third frame, the Pride scored the first three points and did not let go of the

lead for the whole set. Springfield will face a significant challenge in its next match, which will take place on Feb. 16 on the road against No. 4 Vassar at 6 p.m.

Jarrett Anderson preparing for a serve. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

Sports

Goal-Driven

The men’s and women’s lacrosse teams are preparing for their seasons, which start on Feb. 18 and Feb. 22 respectively.

[See page 11]

The Springfield Student

(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)