Volume 137 No. 6

(Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

Wearing purple with pride

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and on Oct. 20, students across the country wear purple to show their support for the affected individuals.

__ By Carley Crain __ @carley_crain12

According to a study done by the United States De partment of Justice, one in five women are sexually assault ed during their time in college – and many of these cas es are incidents of dating and domestic violence. October is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and some Springfield College students have been affected by domestic violence in some way – typically through their own interpersonal rela tionships or within family.

At the end of September, the De partment of Justice announced a $21.72 million grant that will directly help reduce sexual and domestic violence on college campuses across the country. The grant aims to better equip and train public safety officers, encourages schools to combine different offices to combat sexual vio lence, and includes additional support

for HBCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges/ Universities.

Black men and women are more likely to experience domestic violence and sexual assault compared to oth er races, according to the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Black Women are also almost three times more likely to die from domes tic/sexual violence than other women, according to Time – which is why the Department of Justice has made it a priority to support colleges that have a higher population of

BIPOC students.

At Springfield College, the De partment of Public Safety’s most recent Clergy Report re ported no cases of domestic violence or statutory rape and had only one case of rape and dating violence during the calendar year 2021. While these num bers are very low, most survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence do not report what happened to law enforcement, typi cally because of five main reasons: guilt, shame, fear, avoid ance, and uncertain ty, according to The National Library of

Medicine.

So far this se mester there have already been two instances of domes tic disturbances on campus, which is al ready more than last year’s statistics.

Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Women of Pow er club, the Title IX office, and Men of Excellence combined forces for a group event, titled: Tinder In Real Life. The event featured a pan el discussion about domestic violence with Gary Enright, the Associate Di rector of the Coun seling Center, Title IX coordinator Erin

Leeper, and gradu ate student Natalia Kompocholi. With a diverse student population attending the meeting rep resenting different genders, numerous perspectives were presented about do mestic violence.

Additionally, on Thursday, Oct. 20, Purple Day will be celebrated on campus, which en courages students to wear the color purple to support domestic violence survivors.

On the Spring field College Ti tle IX Instagram, Purple Thursday is described as, “a way to show support for survivors of domestic violence. The SC community is encouraged to wear purple in any form in support of domestic violence awareness month and show that you firmly stand against intimate partner vio lence in all forms.”

Purple ribbons represent domestic violence awareness. (Photo Courtesy of NPR)

‘Racism is not just about getting your feelings hurt’

Award-winning author Mira Jacob came to Springfield College to talk about her experiences with injustice and the impact it’s had on her family.

because she believed that the conversations she was having with her 6-year-old son were equally important to have with her readers.

“The reality is that there are a lot of systems that are made entirely unfair for people in this country,” Jacob said.

When pondering how to construct these con versations with her child into an interesting read for her audience, Jacob believed that the book should take on a more artful and creative look.

There was only one problem for Jacob, she had never done anything of the sort before.

“I had never drawn professionally,” Jacob said. “I had never drawn people….and it was very hard to figure out what to do with them.”

Jacob describes her earliest attempts at sketching her characters as “totem pole heads with strange mouths.”

of color and takes away opportunities for them, and not just a destructive belief.

“Racism is not just about getting your feel ings hurt,” Jacob said. “It’s getting your jobs taken and feeling uncom fortable walking down the street.”

Jacob distinctly de scribes a conversation with her husband where she was concerned about writing the prejudices she had faced, even from her family, and the effects that telling her story would have on their rela tionships.

“It’s gonna hurt us…. it’s gonna hurt our fam ily,” Jacob recalls telling her husband.

In the end, she recog nized the importance of her experiences and the effect it could have on people who may struggle with their racial identity and its relevance in their lives.

“Anyone can be a jerk,” Mira Jacob said. “Anyone can be prejudiced.”

Jacob, the author and illustrator of the award-winning book Good Talk, visited the Springfield College cam pus on Tuesday night and shared that message.

Blake Arena was filled to the brim with stu dents as Jacob gave an enthralling presentation about the origins of the

___ By Patrick Fergus @Fergus5Fergus

graphic novel, which is being read by all firstyear students as a part of their seminar class.

Published in 2019, Good Talk received an abundance of praise for its subject matter and presentation. The book earned numerous awards, including being named Book of the Year by Time, Esquire and more.

Jacob grew up in New Mexico after her parents

immigrated there from India. Her book details her journey of identity and race in the U.S., and additionally through the lens of her son.

Some of the most notable conversations of the story include her son’s questions about identity, racism, and the realities of a world that is not always fair. This partly inspired Jacob to create Good Talk,

One of the most admirable skills of Jacob writing and drawing is her ability to mix serious topics such as racism and prejudice with comedic elements. Perhaps, it is what makes Jacob’s sto ries feel so relatable and interesting.

“Everyone thinks these conversations are too hard to have, every one thinks we can’t talk about this stuff, but actu ally when you’re laugh ing, you can talk about a lot,” Jacob said.

Jacob mentioned throughout her presenta tion that she has a differ ent definition of racism than some. She sees it as a system that works to knock down people

For Josiah Evely, a first-year student who at tended the presentation, this resonated deeply for him as a person of color.

“It was informative,” Evely said. “It’s import ant to understand your own identity because then other people will appreciate you for who you are,”

Jacob’s presentation served as a reminder for many of the relevance of racial and identity issues in the country, and was an essential glimpse into someone’s experience of both.

Jacob addressing the Blake Arena crowd. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

Checking in with MBC

Co-Editors-in-Chief Garrett Cote and Cait Kemp sit down with President Mary-Beth Cooper to discuss all things Springfield College.

The Student: This year is your tenth year as President. How would you describe your journey as the first woman president at SC?

President Cooper: During my first few years here – I came in August of 2013 – every time I was introduced, they would say, ‘this is the 13th President and first female president.’ Finally around year three I said to whoever was in troducing me, ‘you don’t need to say that anymore.’

People would ask ‘what is it like being a female president?’ and my answer always is, ‘well, I don’t know what it’s like to be a male president so how do I answer that?’

I think here, the first couple years when Dave, my husband, and I would walk into a space, people would assume he’s the president because he looks like what you think a president would like. Now I think it’s more normal. About 33% of all college presidents are female and that number has not changed in the past 10 years, plus or minus, and so I don’t know when there will be more female presi dents in the mix, but someday I hope that number changes.

What brought me here 10 years ago was really my involvement not only in administration at other colleges, but I was board chair for the YMCA in Roch ester, (N.Y.); So I’ve been a volunteer for the Y for 25 years before I came here. That connection of working with the Y as a volunteer and working in higher education, here is this campus that was a perfect intersection of my values and what I believe is important, and that’s the YMCA and serving youth and serving families and then certainly our mission, it was a natural draw.

The Student: What has it been like serving on the NCAA Board of Governors, especially as the lone Div. III representative?

President Cooper: The Board of Governors had more than 15 board members, and they reduced the size to nine voting members and gave each division, Division I, II and III, a rep resentative that represents the constituencies of that division. So there are two student athletes but neither one of them are voting, but three presidents that are on the Board of Governors that each have a vote and I represent Division III. It also gives me the opportunity to be involved in two other initiatives, one is I had served on the Name, Image and Likeness Committee. It’s interesting, for me, it’s very stimulating. I am also the repre sentative for the search committee for the new director of the NCAA. I am working with a small group that will be selecting the new president of the NCAA.

I think what’s really good is to have Springfield College at the table when they are talking and I’m sitting next to the pres ident of Georgetown University, the president of the Universi ty of Georgia, and then Springfield College. It elevates us and they no longer ask me ‘where is that located?’ Now they know Springfield College, Springfield, Mass.

The Student: Why is Springfield College undertaking the Campus Climate survey now? What is the timing, and what do you hope to learn from it?

President Cooper: We did it two years ago, so typically surveys like this are done every other year so that you get a sense, you get a benchmark. I really thought there were some interesting questions about safety, about [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion], about the climate in general.

Calvin and I hope it will produce a lot of information that can help us get a sense of how the community is feeling about being here on this campus and our focus on belongingness.

Cote and Kemp with President Cooper during Health Sciences Center tour. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

President Cooper at the 2022 Unergraduate Commencement. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

The Student: Is there anything in particular you are excited about this year? What do you hope to accomplish this year?

President Cooper: I am really ex cited to think about what traditions we keep and what progress we make. We all learned a lot throughout the pandemic about Zoom capability, if people could work remotely, what would it look like if the campus had some people working remotely and other people working on campus. I think what people like about this, the energy is so much more palpable when people are back walking and being together and going to events, people com ing through Cheney and Union. We really missed it.

What I am looking forward to is getting to know a lot more of the sopho mores and juniors this year because I am getting to meet a lot of freshmen, and I know many of the seniors, but the sopho mores and juniors, they were masked.

I’m looking forward to just having people be together and having people take care of each other. Mental health and loneliness and how people are struggling with a lot of issues, that is probably the thing that weighs most on my mind. Do we have enough support for our students? Are they accessing it enough? I think that the counseling center here does a great job, Brian [Krylowicz] and his team, and we’ve put a lot of resources there, but the question is if it is sufficient, and do our students feel comfortable accessing it.

Campus News

The Student: What do you think is Springfield College’s greatest challenge right now?

President Cooper: I don’t know if there is one great challenge, we just came out of a master plan meeting, we have a strategic plan, and so from my perspective we need to re main competitive. The high school population is declining and so ensuring that we remain competitive in the marketplace so we recruit and retain students is really another thing I spend a lot of time thinking about. We are in the middle of a capital campaign trying to raise $50 million and we’re building a $62 million Health Science Center, so I’ve spent more time in the last five weeks talking to donors about supporting the college, so raising funds to support students both in scholarships and facilities is how I’ll be spending much of my time. A former president (Dr. Richard Flynn) just gave a million dollar gift to the campaign and so that was a result of a few of us going out and talking to him, asking if he would like to support the campaign and he and his wife said yes, so part of my job as president is to raise funds to support the institution.

The Student: This is essentially the first full ‘normal’ semester without COVID restrictions since fall of 2019. For you personally, as president, what was the toughest part of getting through the past two and a half years?

President Cooper: Not giving students the full Springfield College experience was probably the most troubling. Living on campus during COVID, it was so lonely for everybody, and I had a chance to experience it because I live on campus as well so not seeing the traffic, people walk ing around, being together hanging out, that was probably my greatest concern.

The culture on this campus is really created by the students. We have a responsibility obviously to support it but all the excitement comes from students. And our faculty were great during the pandemic, they turned on a dime, they made themselves available, they showed incredible grit and persistence and flexibility with students.

President Cooper (left) participates in the 2022 Sti-Yu-Ka Games, and (left) speaks at the 2022 All-College Meeting. (Photos Courtesy of Springfield College)

A new addition to Alden

Overlooking the west side of campus stands the shell of the new Health Science Center. Four floors of what will be a state-of-the-art facility will soon be a resource for students at Springfield College come the fall of 2023. The building will consist of a terrace similar to that of the Learning Commons and will have a large academic green, with both features offering new spaces for students to gather and study on campus. As stated by Springfield College, the building will serve the pur pose of “investing in the future of healthcare and in the future of our community.”

(All Photos Courtesy of Springfield College)

Red light for the green

The long-standing tradition of why the Springfield College community is not allowed to walk on the beautiful campus grass.

_ By Tucker PaqueTTe @tpaquette17

“Get off the grass!”

Whether it be at New Student Orienta tion or an ordinary day at Springfield College, chances are all stu dents here have heard this yelled toward at least one individual who chose to walk on the grass. Upon being called out, most stu dents will then imme diately get back onto the walkway, distancing themselves from their misstep.

Why is this dynamic in place, though? How long has avoiding the grass been common practice at this school?

It turns out there’s more to the story than you might think.

One aspect of this discussion most stu dents likely aren’t privy to is how far back the tradition of avoiding the grass spans. As it would be, the tradition goes back a long time.

“From very early on, this [not walking on the grass] has been something that has been done,” Springfield College Archivist Jeff Monseau said.

As a matter of fact, a document in Monseau’s archives titled, “Fresh

man Commandments”, one he estimates is from around 1930, has a section called “You Shall Not:” and the first item listed is “Walk upon the grass.” That’s right –the Springfield College community has not been walking on the grass for almost 100 years.

This archive, com plete with a beanie from back in those days (yes, Springfield Col lege first-year students donned beanies in the early-to-mid 1900s, too), just goes to show how avoiding the grass is a practice that has withstood the test of time on this campus.

In fact, the beanie back then was mainly green in color, notice ably different from the predominantly gray beanies Springfield College first-years wear nowadays. If the pol icy of not walking on the grass can remain consistent for longer than the color of the much-discussed bean ies, then this custom certainly has some real staying power.

For more evidence as to how many years the code of not walking on the grass has been rou

tinely observed here, the 1959-60 Frosh Hand book reads “Springfield students refrain from walking on the grass” under the “Traditions of Springfield College” section.

As for the question of why we avoid the grass, while there isn’t one commonly accepted answer, there are sev eral viable possibilities that have been bandied about.

“I’ve seen various reasons for it,” Mon seau said. “To keep the campus beautiful. [So] the students learn order, restraint and learn to follow rules.”

Interestingly enough,

Monseau mentioned how former Springfield College President Dr. Richard B. Flynn was quite strict about en forcing the tradition of not walking on the grass. Judging from how students respond ed, they didn’t want to take any chances.

“I used to take peo ple to Cheney [Dining Hall] who would come and visit, and we’d sit [near] the window and watch the students, and not one of them would cross over [onto] the grass,” Monseau said.

Monseau noticed how the policy of avoid ing the grass became at least a little bit less

strict when the current President, Mary Beth Cooper, arrived. He said how she’s more cognizant of fun things students may want to do that happen to take place on the grass.

“I think for activi ties and everything, it’s usually okay now to go on the grass,” Monseau said.

Still, whenever possible, it’s probably best to stay away from walking on the grass. That way, the traditions of this school continue to be obeyed, and there’s no risk of verbal repri mand.

(Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

Kaleigh Dale

Kaleigh Dale took the overwhelm ing majority of the vote for the Springfield Student Women’s Ath lete of the Week when she received 61.6% in the poll. This came after The senior midfielder for the wom en’s soccer team scored two goals to help lift Springfield to a 2-1 win over Babson last Wednesday.

The runner-up in the poll was Eliz abeth Rose with 22% of the vote.

The senior runner for the women’s cross country team set a personal best when she had a time of 24:36.4 in the 6K at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday.

Following Rose was Remy Niland with 9.8% of the vote. The junior goalkeeper for the field hockey team was 9-for-9 on save opportunities en route to a shut out in the Pride’s 2-0 victory over Clark on Saturday.

Riley Donahue rounded out the vote after a great week on the court. The sophomore outside hitter for the women’s volleyball team combined for 46 kills and 29 digs in the Pride’s undefeated week. That included a season-high 22 kills in Springfield’s five-set victory over Emerson on Saturday.

Chris Vayda

Chris Vayda earned Springfield Student Women’s Athlete of the Week after getting 47.1% of the vote. The junior runner for the men’s cross country team receives the honor after he set a personal best when he had a time of 25:27.0 in the 8K at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday.

In second place came David Wells with 29.4% of the vote. The gradu ate quarterback for the football team ran for a season-high 135 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for 59 yards in the Pride’s 69-20 victory over Norwich.

Marc Villanueva Abad came in third place with 17.6%. The firstyear tennis player won both his doubles matches and both his singles matches to help lift Spring field to an undefeated week against Colby-Sawyer and St. Joseph.

Rounding out the vote was Bryan Feliciano. The first-year defensive back for the football team gathered three tackles and came down with an interception in Springfield’s win over Norwich.

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

Chris Vayda. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

Kaliegh Dale. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

A Pioneer for the Pride

Dottie Zenaty was Springfield’s OG woman athlete, playing four varsity sports and coaching the field hockey team to 377 victories and three undefeated seasons.

___ By Cait Kemp @CaitlinKemp09

When women’s varsity athletics were introduced at Spring field College in 196364, Dorothy “Dottie” Zenaty became one of two women to play all four sports during that inaugural year. She also coached Springfield’s field hockey team for 34 seasons and ranks fifth on college field hockey’s all-time wins list. She spoke with Cait Kemp, a midfielder on the cur rent Pride field hockey team, about how wom en’s sports have evolved on campus.

What were ath letics like when you attended Springfield College?

Zenaty: When I arrived on campus in the fall of 1961, there were no women’s ath letics here at Springfield College. All we had was play days, which were like intramurals. I was

a junior when intercol legiate athletics started at Springfield in 196364. It started with field hockey, then basketball, then softball and tennis.

[Softball coach] Diane Potter had to adjust the games around my tennis schedule. Title IX, of course, wasn’t anywhere near being in existence at that point, so we had no uniforms. We started off with four teams and a little bitty schedule.

How did women’s sports grow through Title IX?

Zenaty: Fast forward to AIAW and us not being able to go to the nationals. The NCAA, when they saw what the women were trying to do, they decided “We’re going to get those wom en to come with us.”

So 1980 was the first year of women [being part of] the NCAA. I was on the first NCAA

field hockey committee, I ended up being the chairperson of all three divisions.

What was the field hockey program like when you coached?

Zenaty: Once we joined the NCAA, field hockey was Division I. So we played all the top teams in New England and from other parts of the country. We were the smallest school and the only one that did not give athletic schol arships. My philosophy was: “I want to play the best competition we can play.” When we went Division III, I made the promise we would play

the best teams – which meant Williams, Smith, Ithaca, Cortland, Mid dlebury – and we did.

We were having a U.S. national team prac tice here at Springfield. Whether it was a com petition or a practice, I always had my kids involved, and these are U.S. players, Olympians. I remember this one U.S. player, an Olympi an, asking some of our players “Who sponsors your shoes?” And they said, “Nobody.” The girl asked, “Then why do you go to school here?”

How did Spring field advocate for women’s sports?

Zenaty: Springfield really did try to get more and more women’s teams. We would al ternate practices [with football] and, let me tell you, [coach] Mike DeLong did not let his players step on that turf until our practice was done. When they were on first and we were warming up, he would leave his practice, come over to the fence and say, “Dottie, we’re not going to be using that far end for these last 10 minutes, you go over there whenever you’re ready.”

Zenaty played four varsity sports while attending Springfield College. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Archives)

Coming back stronger

The Springfield men’s and women’s teams wrapped up a successful fall season that resulted in development for the players along with team chemistry.

___ By Braedan Shea @braedan_shea

The Springfield College men’s and wom en’s tennis teams didn’t quite get off to the start they expected this fall season.

But that hasn’t slowed either program down.

In the early days of September, then head coach Mike Louis stepped down after four years of leading both programs. In just that short amount of time, Louis made quite the impact on Alden Street,

especially on the wom en’s side.

The 2022 women’s tennis team registered the most wins in Di vision III program history with 13. In 2021, Louis became the first-ever Springfield

College coach to collect the NEWMAC Coach of the Year recognition in the sport of women’s tennis, as he led the Pride to the No. 2 seed in the conference tour nament and clinched a spot in the NEWMAC Championship for the first time in program history.

While some may have questioned the future of both pro grams, new lead coach, Rachel Ahlmeyer, has made quite the state ment in the fall season. Ahlmeyer, who played for and coached along side Louis, already looks to be following in his successful footsteps.

Both programs had promising preseasons, as the men’s team finished off the season with a 5-2 overall re cord, including winning its last three matches in blowout fashion. The women went 2-2, end ing their season with a crushing 8-1 victory over Colby-Sawyer.

Amongst those matches, it is clear that the top performers on both sides have some thing in common: they are mostly underclass men. On the men’s side, first-year students Phakin Thongboon charoen (4-2) and Marc Villanueva Abad (5-2), along with sophomore Zach Taub (4-2) carried the best singles records. For doubles, when Marc Villanueva Abad and graduate student James Foley were paired together, they didn’t suffer any losses (3-0). The men are also led by sophomore Waseem Sablon, who was the team’s ace last season.

On the women’s side, the best performers were first-year Emma Aberle and sophomore Ramida Manataweewat, who both sported 3-1 singles records. When paired together, the two had an unbeaten doubles record of 4-0.

Ahlmeyer was happy with how both teams

The women’s team went 2-2 in its fall season. (Springfield College Atheltics)

performed, and was especially pleased with the performances of the first-year players, and how comfortable they already look.

“I’m very impressed with how the fall season went for both genders,” Ahlmeyer said. “They honestly had a lot of resilience. We are a really strong, really young team this year, and we have a lot of really great freshmen on both sides integrated really nicely into the program. It seems like they have been a part of the program far longer than they have been.”

With both teams ending their seasons on a high note, both play ers and coaches find that they are heading into the offseason, and even tually spring season, in a positive direction

“It’s a big momentum help,” Sablon said. “We not only played well, but it also gives us oppor tunities to work on the bad; which is a posi tive… We can only go up from here, not down. I am actually really hap py with where we are.”

The thing that will help the team go up is their extreme passion to improve.

“A lot of these athletes really have a strong desire to get better,” Ahlmeyer said. “I think they’re going to spend a lot of time in the offseason, just

continuing to play and go to strength and conditioning sessions. It’s only going to just continue to translate into really strong re sults when we start off with matches again in March.”

Besides doing strength and condition ing work on campus, off of it, the team will be spending time playing matches against one another; in hopes to not only build their games, but also build their rela tionships.

“I’m going to focus on playing as much as I can, working on my weaknesses,” Sablon said. “There’s also off-campus courts in Enfield [Conn], where [the team] and I are going to get together and play as a team, and keep growing together and building chemistry.”

Coming off of a tough 3-12 campaign in 2021, where they dropped their final ten matches, the men’s team feels that this year’s ros ter is much stronger.

“I love where the team is right now,” Sa blon said. “Last year we were good, but you had to have set people on lines. But now, anyone can play anywhere. You could have the number five kid, and move him up to number three. You got the number two kid playing number one. Not everyone is way

better than the other person, we are much more equal. We have such a strong team, I feel that we are going to be much better than last season.”

Ahlmeyer not only agrees with Sablon, but believes that this roster has the potential to be one of the best in recent memory.

“Honestly, I would say on the men’s side, they haven’t looked

this strong in years,” Ahlmeyer said. “It prob ably goes back three or four years at this point. There’s just a different desire within them to continue to get bet ter and to continue to play that high level of tennis.”

To summarize how the fall season went for the Pride programs, Ahlmeyer was apprecia tive of what she saw.

“I’m really proud

of them… They had a rough start just with the change in coaching staff and things like that, but I don’t think they let that really stop them,” Ahlmeyer said. “They wanted to come out guns blazing and really play a strong high level of tennis and I feel like that was their goal, and that’s what they came out and did.”

The men’s team went 5-2 in its fall season. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

Making the push

The Springfield women’s soccer team is carrying momentum from the past month, and looks to use it to get into the playoffs.

___ By Luke Whitehouse @lwhitehouse12

Coming off a season in which they were the run ners-up in the NEWMAC, the Springfield College women’s soccer team looked poised to build off of that and carry the momentum into the next season.

But there was going to be a noticeable change at the top.

Kristin Cannon was hired as the new head coach, replacing John Gibson, who was at helm for the previous 22 years. Coming into the new season, Cannon was keenly aware of last year’s heroics, and she sensed this year’s team had great potential to be even better.

But first, Cannon had to see what she had.

“We had 37 players that

came in for preseason,” Cannon said. “[My first job] was to start building relationships…and then figure out what they bring to the field.”

Once the season started, the Pride realized that making it back to the postseason was not going to be an easy task. They dropped two out of three games, getting outscored 11-3.

Cannon knew though, through hard work and more practice, and taking it “day-by-day,” that win ning would follow.

“They love competition [and] they thrive on it,” Cannon said. “As a coach ing staff we tried to build that in every session that we do.”

And success has defi

nitely come.

Over the next nine games the Pride flipped the script and went 6-2-1, outsourcing their oppo nents 16-5, and improving their record to 7-4-1.

As the team got used to a new head coach, and chemistry started to build, the Pride’s offense started to flourish and the defense tightened up.

“We got more com fortable with each other,” first-year Kaitlyn Suller said. “We were able to form connections and [started to] move the ball much better.”

The winning has come from an abundance of contributors.

The Pride have felt the veteran presence from graduate students Kaleigh

Dale and Vissi Rizos, who have 11 and seven points, respectively, on the season.

Additionally, the team has received beneficiaries from junior Jen Walker and the aforementioned Suller, who have 19 points combined.

Even with the improv ing offense, the biggest storyline has been the defense the Pride have boasted throughout the latter half of the season.

Between the elite defenders, led by junior Gabby Scott and graduate student Heather Jenna to, and the goalkeeping tandem of Taryn Ryan and A. Harper, the Pride have kept their opponents at bay, allowing two goals or less in nine straight games.

With that fierce defense comes a lot of of fensive opportunities, and to make a deep postseason run, Cannon knows they will have to improve on the offensive end.

“We have to be a bit more clinical around the net…we have to capitalize on our chances.”

The Pride finish up with three conference opponents: Wheaton and Clark, both who are right behind the Pride in the standings, and Emerson, whom they hope to over take for second place.

“We want to be a pre mier team in the NEW MAC,” Cannon said. “We know every conference op ponent is hard… we have to go show up everyday.”

(Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics)

the fold this year for both men and wom en, allowing students to play competitively against other schools.

A lot of students have a difficult decision to make. Do they play club sports, or do they try to compete in reg ular NCAA athletics. This situation directly applied to freshman Corey Raftery.

“If I ended up trying out for the actual team, I probably wouldn’t have gotten any playing time,” Raf tery said. “Whereas for club sports, you actu ally get more playing time then what you do for normal sports.”

kind of trying to find an outlet at the same time,” Steiner said. “Really just to stay active, be in a routine, was a big thing, too.”

On top of the fact that it’s a great way to get exercise and to fill up some time, it’s also a great way to make friends and meet new people as well.

“It was a great time,” Steiner said. “Made a lot of close friends, we still hang out, we’re still practic ing in the offseason.”

As for Raftery, the same thing applied.

‘Everyone was excited to play’

The Springfield men’s and women’s club soccer teams launched their inaugural seasons this year.

__

Club sports at Springfield College are back this year. For some, club sports can bring people new expo sure to different sports they have never played

By RiveR Mitchell @rivermitchell27

before. For others, club sports allow people to get playing time in the sports they love without the pressure of being on an NCAA team.

It also opens a new door for people to create bonds and friendships with other students.

Springfield College added club soccer into

Raftery, unaware of tryouts for the main team, had to settle with joining the club team for a year. However, it all worked out in Raf tery’s favor. “I actually think I am probably going to stay on the club team, and prob ably not try out (for varsity),” Raftery said.

The club soccer team also allows grad uate students to par ticipate, so there is no eligibility requirement for who can play.

Team member Ryan Steiner decided to give club soccer a try for a different reason.

“There were some things going on in my personal life, and I was

“We had two prac tices a week, and there’s so much time after those practices during the week that you can just bond and chat with them.”

Outside of practices and games, the team still made an effort to hangout in Cheney or someone’s dorm.

The team’s inaugu ral season has a less than desirable record at 2-5-1 record, but they had a few winnable games slip through the cracks. That didn’t stop them from having fun.

“It was a great vibe,” Steiner said. “Everyone was excited to play, be around each other, get to know new faces, and we all just had a pretty good time together.”

The men’s club team gathered a couple of wins in their first season. (Photo courtesy of Springfield Men’s Club Soccer Instagram)

Stepping it up

Springfield cross country runner Kate Bonanno has consistently been setting personal bests in her junior year, which can be credited to her consistent effort in and out of season.

__ By Sean Savage @SeanSav13

Perseverance is the ability to forge ahead despite setbacks that threaten to undermine all efforts to succeed.

For Kate Bonanno, it provided the stepping stone for her collegiate career.

Perhaps her teammate, senior Arianna Vessic chio, explained her work ethic best.

“Kate is the type of person that never settles. She is always looking to achieve something new – even when she is not feeling 100 percent, she never uses that as an excuse and always works out to her full potential,” Vessicchio said.

Bonanno, a junior on the Springfield College women’s track and cross-country team, put in copious amounts of work and is having her most successful season to date.

Born in Ellington, Conn., Bonanno devel oped a burning passion

for running at an ear ly age. That passion bloomed with her moth er and father, Ellen and Tony, right by her side.

“Kate started running with her dad early on, who always made it about having fun,” Ellen said. “Kate has always

been extremely hard working, both on and off the track.”

Throughout Bonanno’s childhood, they used to

do trail runs together. “We are a running fam ily,” she said. Even to this day, they still enjoy going on runs togeth er. Now older, though, “Kate is faster than him now” said Ellen.

Bonanno arrived at Springfield through a recommendation from her mom and one of her high school coaches. Aside from the exercise science and internship program, Bonanno said she fell in love with the atmosphere and coaches – she knew it would be the right fit.

However, upon arrival, it was not easy to get acclimated to running at the college level. During Bonanno’s first year, ev eryone was sent home, and the team did not have a fall season. Addi tionally, for the seasons they had up to this year, they had to compete in masks – which ultimate ly made running much more difficult.

“It has made us re ally grateful for every opportunity. Now, we race as if it is our last,”

Bonanno at the 2022 UMass Dartmouth Invitational. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

Bonanno said.

Her realization is a significant factor in the leader she has become. During her sophomore year offseason, Bonanno and Vessicchio would run over 50 miles per week.

They would be up at the crack of dawn, either 5 or 6 a.m., and run more than 10 miles around Springfield.

Vessicchio had to stay on campus for the Phys ical Therapy program over the summer, and Bonanno worked at East Campus.

“Having her support meant a lot. We were able to bounce off one another, which made training seem easier,” Bonanno said.

As for Vessicchio, she saw how Bonanno’s work ethic remained strong even through the offseason.

“Kate’s ability to balance her time while working a full-time job as a Camp Mass coun selor inspired me to put in the extra work in the gym even during a hard semester of Physical Therapy courses.”

Bonanno’s offseason efforts translated into her season this year.

“It is evident she brings intensity in terms of how much she likes to run and train; this also helps her team mates,” said Springfield cross country head

coach Anna Steinman.

This year, Bonanno has been arriving to practice up to 15 minutes early, and is often seen doing extra mobility work and stretching beforehand.

Sometimes even after practice, she will even stay and ensure she gets in her hurdle mobility.

“I think that has a big contribution to her staying healthy and her constant improvement,” Steinman said.

Vessicchio took note of her level of commit ment this year as well.

“Kate may be faster than all of us; she is very inclusive and does not make anyone feel left behind or lower than her. She is there after a hard workout or race and checks in on things outside of just running. She also leads by example by focusing on fueling her body, working hard, staying consistent, and getting enough sleep,” Vessic chio said.

Additionally, coming into her junior year, Bonanno and Steinman talked about her mind set.

“I have encouraged her to think, not just think about the numbers and the times. But, also think about how you can really compete, and then the times will follow. I think that is what is helping her even achieve some pretty good times.

However, also really just because she is compet ing so hard,” Steinman said.

As of this season, Bonanno’s times have been notably better. The Pride’s first 5K was at the UMass Dartmouth Cross Country Invita tional.

“I was surprised when I crossed the line. I crossed the line and was like, ‘Oh that is a minute faster than I ran last year.’”

She placed 19th this year, and 44th the year prior.

This performance was followed up on Oct. 8. She placed fourth at the James Earley Invita tional for the 5k with a time of 19:04.5. This is opposed to her previous season, where she had a time of 19:50.3 – and placed 34th.

The jarring time difference is rarely seen between the span of just a season. However, Bonanno demonstrated her improvement again on Oct. 15 at the Con necticut College Invita tional.

A year ago, she placed 86th for the 6k with a time of 24:29.3. This year, she ran to place fifth in the same event at 23:28.1.

Bonanno’s leadership style has excelled this year and it has been recognized.

“She always does the

extra mileage,” Stein man said. “I think that is an excellent leader ship style for her just to get out there and show everybody what it takes and what needs to be done.”

As for Bonanno’s parents, the answer was obvious when asked if they were proud of her accomplishments this season. “Of course, we are proud of Kate! How could we not be? She is an amazing person,” they said.

Her ability to give encouragement to her teammates has also made an impression.

“She also really sup ports everybody and where they are at as well,” Steinman said. “She goes above and be yond by hugging every body after their races.” Bonanno provided insight to the succinct success she has seen this season:

“You have to be pa tient because the results can take a long time to come,” Bonanno said. “But if you keep show ing up and you stay hungry the results will show – especially at the times you least expect it to.”

Bonanno at the James Earley Invitational. (Photo courtesy of Dylan Gasiorowski)

Running the Right Path

Springfield distance runner Kate Bonanno has displayed great improvement from her sophomore to junior year to establish herself as one of the best in the NEWMAC.

(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)