September 15, 2022 scstudentmedia.com // @TheSpfldStudent Volume 137 No. 1 The Springfield Student Est. 1910 Winners/Finalists for five Society of Professional Journalist (SPJ) awards in 2021 College)SpringfieldofCourtesy(Photos
Tipping off a Title IX Celebration
Assistant Sports Editor - Braedan Shea bshea2@springfieldcollege.edu
Staff Writer - Luke lwhitehouse@springfieldcollege.eduWhitehouse
Meet the staff
Staff Writer - Sean Savage ssavage@springfieldcollege.edu
News/Enterprise Editor - Carley Crain ccrain@springfieldcollege.edu
Co-Editor-in-Chief - Cait Kemp ckemp@springfieldcollege.edu
Sports Editor - Chris Gionta cgionta@springfieldcollege.edu
Co-Editor-in-Chief - Garrett Cote gcote@springfieldcollege.edu
Faculty Advisor - Aimee acrawford3@springfieldcollege.eduCrawford
Campus NewsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 2
The Health Center won’t offer medication abortions on site but will refer students to outside care.
_ By Carley Crain _ @carley_crain12
Campus NewsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 3
For college stu dents across the country, this news was hard to process. How ever, Massachusetts has recognized the right to an abortion under its state consti tution. Still, the ROE Act, which was passed in 2020, has two sig nificant restrictions: a parent/guardian must consent to a patient’s abortion if the patient is under 16 years old, and abortions over 24 weeks are only allowed “in cases of life or health endan germent or there is a lethal fetal anomaly.”
Under Bill H.5090, which was passed in
Will new law affect abortion access on campus?
pus. The closest Planned Parenthood is 5.6 miles away and is about a 14-minute drive. Planned Parent hood works with each individual and accom modates the cost of their care to direct income.Springfield stu dents, however, are in a unique situation compared with other colleges, as the closest Planned Parenthood location is less than six miles away. This is not the case most of the time, as The National Library of Medicine reports that “nearly one-fifth of
Abortion rights supporters rally for ‘Ban off our Bodies’ march across the US. (Photo Courtesy of New York Post)
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established abor tion as a constitution al right. That means abortion is no longer federally protected in the United States.
July, students who attend public univer sities and colleges in the state of Massa chusetts will now have access to medication abortion pills either at campus health centers or through outside resources. Each public university in Massa chusetts must submit a plan for providing services to the Massa chusetts Department of Public Health by November of next year. At some smaller, private institutions, such as advancedlegesplanshaveofPlannedorganizationsstudentsprovidersCollege,SpringfieldhealthcaremayrefertooutsidesuchasParenthood.TheDepartmentPublicHealthwilltoreviewtheseby2024.Colthatdonothavehealthcenterswillhavetocreateaplanforstudentstoreceiveabortioncare
leen Parenthoodtotion,topregnantonaccessibleabortionsibilityaskedHogan-Soltys,services,”specializeprovidersscopesomethingpapcontrolonlygynecology,arecenterOn-campusHogan-Soltys.healthstaffmembersnottrainedinandcanprescribebirthandperformsmears.“ThatwouldbeoutofourofpracticeaswhodonotinOBGYNexplainedwhenabouttheposofmedicalpillsbeingtostudentscampus.IfastudentisandwantsreceiveanabortheywouldhavetraveltoPlannedoffcam
See Abortion continued on Page 6
elsewhere. Health cen ters that do not have staff trained in repro ductive care will have to receive this type of education.Around 50-115 public Massachu setts college students receive medical abor tions every month, and even more, once private studentsuniversityareadded to theAccordingmix. to Bos ton.com, Healthtoablenottopillslege,sexualunprotectedtivesnotreasons,Thislege-agedcommonpregnanciesunintendedaremostamongcolstudents.isduetomanyincluding”takingcontracepproperly,havingsexandassaults.AtSpringfieldColmedicalabortionarenotavailablestudents,andwillbeintheforeseefutureaccordingthedirectoroftheCenterKath
Q&A with Dr. Kathy Mangano Campus
Kemp: What made you choose Title IX for thisMangano:project?
Kemp: What kind of events can community members expect to see throughout the year?
Mangano: One of the things I really wanted to emphasize is that I think it is important to make sure people know how far we have come with Title IX. We are still not there, though. There are still inequities. That is why I think it is important we work on leveling the playing field. I think the other point I want to empha size is that it’s important we focus on the culture of the College. When I think of Humanics, I think of action and making sure Humanics is in action. Beyond this year, I think it is important that we expand our campus culture in appreciation of others and embrace a more kindhearted and inclusive culture. How we do that is we invite dissent. We have a unique Humanics philosophy, it makes us special and we need to put that in action.
Kemp: What do you hope the community will learn from this project?
__ By Cait Kemp @caitlinkemp09
Kemp: You have a deep connection to Spring field College. What does it mean to you?
Mangano: Prior to me receiving this incredibly humbling and honorable position, there was a group of people who created this Title IX steering committee and I was sort of part of that, so there was discussion campus-wide to celebrate Title IX for the year. In April when it was announced that I would be the distin guished Professor of Humanics for the academic year, I wanted to intertwine my project with the steering com mittee as well as what the office of Non-Discrimination Initiatives does. Some of these events are a part of the steering committee which I am a part of, and some of them have to do with specifically the event I am doing.
Kathy Mangano. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)
Kemp: How were you able to develop the idea and create a project that would be of interest to the Springfield College campus?
The Springfield Student sat down with Dr. Kathy Mangano, this year’s Spring field College Distinguished Professor of Humanics. Her project, titled, “Title IX at 50: Edcuate and Advocate,” is a year-long initiative that will focus on educating the college and greater community about the civil rights law, what it has done, and what it means to us now.
NewsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 4
Mangano: I did both my undergrad and grad here in Physical Education, and I graduated in ‘86 with my undergrad, ‘88 with my masters in teaching and admin istration. I started teaching here in the fall of ‘89. I was a teacher-coach for the first 20 years for softball. I loved it. I retired from coaching and changed my role here and I have been here, this is year 34, so as you can imagine I love this place.
Directly and indirectly, Title IX has im pacted me so it just seemed like the perfect time to focus the Humanics project on Title IX. The title of my proj ect is Title IX at 50: Educate and Advocate. The reason for that, the key points for the “educate” and “advocate” is because anecdotally I feel like a lot of people of all ages do not know what Title IX is. Sometimes they think of it as only on the athletic side of the house but there is so much more. I think it’s important to educate about the history of Title IX and what it’s all about–its purpose and its impact. On the advocacy side, I think it is extremely important for us to secure and strengthen this civil rights law because it’s been threatened over the years.
Mangano: The entire campus received an email on August 9 that identified all the components of the project. On September 9th we’had the 9/9 History of Women’s Basketball events. It wa also the day that I dropped my first webcast. The webcasts will drop on the 9th ofevery month from September to April. On the educational side I have the webcast with an array of diverse people, from current and former [athletic di rectors], the Title IX Coordinator, a researcher, a lot of experts and different people. The other component I’m doing is what we call “reading trails”. They are lawn signs, and it’s the 37 words [of Title IX] broken up into three signs. For the month of September, those signs will be placed on different areas of campus to help people get the foundation, ‘what is Title IX?’ and every month there will be different signs.
He used his platform as an author to inspire. “My book uses sports as a way to encourage young people to get involved in social issues,” he Lookingsaid. back, Simp son and Meyers realized the impact they made both on and off the court.The book has helped bring attention to these pioneers who continue to blaze new trails.
Left to Right: Sue Guyer, Juliene Brazinski Simpson, Andrew Maraniss, President Mary-Beth Cooper, Marty Dobrow, Ann Meyers Drysdale. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)
She continued, “If you played a sport in the ‘70s, you were a theybeatthatattitudesPredominanttomboy.”socialatthetimeweregirlscouldneverboys.Therefore,shouldnoteven
___ By Sean Savage @SeanSav13
sweat or build muscle because if they did beat boys, it would damage theirAnotheregos. problem was each player had a differ ent background and no body knew one another.
The small battles started with raising mon ey. At the time, “only one percent of funds were spent on women’s athlet ics across the globe,” Ma raniss added. The team had to raise its own mon ey, as nobody supported the players financially.
received all the recogni tion,” Simpson said.
Even after the team qualified for the tour nament, there were still adverse reports. Simpson recalled a newspaper article stating, “We [U.S. Women’s Basketball Team] were the second worst team to qualify.” In addition, the team would receive no funds throughout the tourna ment, as society believed they should not be com peting.
A deep dive into histo ry, the book highlights the team of 12 women who laid the founda tion for the future of women’s basketball in the U.S. 50 years ago. These women competed as part of Team USA in the first-ever Olym pic women’s basketball tournament at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.Twoof the players, Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame members Ann Meyers Drysdale and Ju liene Brazinski Simpson, joined the conversation.
‘It was like society was against us’
Campus News
Coach Billie Jean Moore reminded them: “We are playing for all the little girls out there. We are going to make a difference in the coming years.”“These words stuck with me more than any other speech,” Meyers recalled.Theteam ended up going on to win a silver medal, beating Czecho slovakia 83-67. Simpson was asked at the press conference following the team’s last game if they were surprised to have made it so far. The con tinuing questions further expose what the ‘76 team was up against and how society did not want to believe what had just happened.ToMaraniss, this begged the question, “What was driving these women to notsocietywithpeople,whataamakethatherthingpoint?”youandincredibledoingisdoingyou“Everyonecompete?’”wastellingshouldnotevenbeitandthattherenogreatrewardforit,”hesaid.“Whatself-motivationdeterminationdidallhavetoreachthatMeyerssharedonethatresonatedwithwastherealizationtheywereabletoadifferenceevenatyoungage.“Youmakedifference.Itisaboutisright.You,youngaresoimportantwhatisgoingonintoday.Youcanoverlooktheimpor
Women’s hoops pioneers recall the fight for recognition and respect during the first-ever Olympic women’s basketball tournament.
tance and power that you have in your voice. But, you must be able to speak up in one way or anoth er,” she Anothersaid.reason for her bravery was that “other people had more opportunities than we had, so we had to fight. But this fight still goes on,” Meyers said. “I think it is important you all un derstand Title IX is not only a women’s rights issue. It is an issue that impacts everybody. So I would strongly encour age you all to understand the law more deeply because it can very well be taken away.”
September 15, 2022 PAGE 5
“Use your platform to make a difference,” Mey ers concluded.
Forward Pat Head learned how to play bas ketball in a barn. Their leading scorer, Lusia Harris, grew up in the same county in Louisi ana where Emmett Till was murdered. Forward Nancy Lieberman’s mom would puncture basket balls with a screwdriver because she did not want her daughter to play.
Team USA was not even expected to qualify for the 1976 Olympics. The 12 women were strangers to one another. Simpson recalled the ex perience as difficult, but impactful.“Thetrueness of our fight and the little steps we took [were brutal]. We look back now, and they were really major steps,” she said.
There was no WNBA at the time, nor any pro fessional women’s league in the U.S. “The men
Simpson said: “It was like society was against us.”
Much progress has been made, but there is still more to go. Mara niss added, “Just because something is a law does not mean it will always be enforced or in place. It is important to un derstand the history, so you know what you are fighting for.”
Title IX: 37 words that stand for the icon ic motto of “play for something bigger than yourself.”Springfield College faculty and students got to witness a discussion with New York Times bestselling author An drew Maraniss about his book Inaugural Ballers.
If a student makes the decision to termi nate a pregnancy, the Health Center offers emotional iseverabilityrightstooptionsstudentsSpringfieldendtheprocess,throughoutsupporttheentireaswellasatcounselingcenter.EvenwiththeofRoev.Wade,Collegestillhavewhenitcomestheirreproductive–andhavethetomakewhatdecisiontheyfeelbestforthem.
“Anyoffices.student who comes to the Health Center, we find a way to help them get the resources they need to get to
The Health Center can prescribe birth control pills to stu dents, and when used effectively they are over 99 percent ef fective in pregnancypreventingaccord
campusconducteddoms.differentallnancyareonlyhealthCollege,ally,OBGYN.toandatreceivepregnancychoosesgan-Soltysto-caseavailableareappointments.medicalTherealotofresourcesonacase-basis,”Hosaid.AstudentwhotocarryatotermcanprenatalcaretheHealthCenterthenbereferredanoff-campusAdditionatSpringfieldastudent’sinsuranceisbillediflabtestsrequired.Pregtestsarefreetostudents,aswellastypesofconSTItestscanbeaswellonbuttheyare
fective type of emer gency contraceptive, is also available for only $20 at the Health Center, which is a fraction of the cost compared to outside pharmacy rates.
Abortion rights supporters rally for ‘Ban off our Bodies’ march across the US. (Photo Courtesy of New York Post)
U.S. abortion patients traveled more than 50 miles one-way and the most common reason reported for clinic choice was that it was theStudentsclosest.”who are originally from states where abortion is now illegal can still get one in Massachusetts since they are students at Springfield College.
The Springfield College Health and Counseling Centers are located on Wilbraham Ave. inbe tween the baseball and softball fields. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)
If a student does not have access to transportation or is struggling financially, resources are available through different de partments on campus, such as with the Student Affairs or Title IX
billed to a student’s health insurance.
ing to NHS.Uk. If a student is interested in a long-term method of birth control, like Nexplanon or an IUD, they would have to be referred to off-campusParenthoodPlannedoranOBGYN.UndertheAfford
able Care Act, most contraceptives are required to be free under all insurance plans, and students who attend Springfield College are required to have some type of healthPlaninsurance.B,avery ef
Abortion continued from Page 3 Campus NewsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 6
_ By Luke Whitehouse _ @Lwhitehouse12
On Sept. 9, Basketball Hall of Famers Tami ka Catchings and Tina Thompson joined a large group of students and staff members to discuss their upbringing as wom en playing basketball, the WNBA’s progress and their experiences with TitleTheIX.panel, “Legends after Lunch,” includ ed both Catchings and Thompson, alongside Springfield College professor Martin Do brow and Naomi Graves, the head coach of the Springfield College women’s basketball team. It was one of four events held as part of the col lege’s “9/9 for Title IX” celebration.TitleIX was first introduced and signed into legislation in 1972 by President Nixon. It prohibits schooldiscriminationsex-basedinanyoractivitythat
explaining how she uses her story to inspire those who have similar strug gles.With the WNBA Finals in full swing, it was an appropriate time to look back at the huge strides the league has taken over the years. Thompson was the WN BA’s first-ever draft pick, in 1997, so she was the perfect person to speak abouts its evolution and pave the way for future female athletes dreaming of playing in the “W,” as it is commonly called.
“I believe we are in a good place,” Thompson said. “When I started, we were actually paying tele vision to broadcast our games… and now, ESPN and NBA TV are actual ly paying the WNBA to broadcast our games.”
“To now see so many little girls not just playing basketball, but playing tons of sports in general and it is support ed by people like their parents, by their teachers, by the people in their community [is great],” Thompson bestencouragefewonearesisters,—insentiments:Thompsontively,”environmentdatedbuttweenrepresentthatThompsonCatchingssaid.andemphasizedTitleIXdoesnotabattlebemenandwomen,instead,aconsolieffortforabetterforall.“It’sallofuscollecCatchingssaid.echoedher“Everyonethisroomisimpactedyourmothers,youryouraunts—youallaffected.”Throughoutlife,mayhaveoneoraspecialpeoplewhothemtobetheversionofthem
September 15, 2022 PAGE 7
selves. For Catchings, that person was her head coach at University of Tennessee, Pat Summitt. Catchings was born with a hearing impairment, which forced her to wear hearing aids. But for several years, she did not wear her hearing aids because she desired to fit in and be planet.”specificspecificwayussaidwillencouragement.again,wearsimplywrong?”was,Herintoteers,seasonCatchings’sHowever,“normal.”duringfreshmanfortheVolunshewassummonedhercoach’soffice.immediatethought“WhatdidIdoCoachSummitrecommendedsheherhearingaidsofferingalittle“Onedayyourstoryinspiremillions,”thecoach.Andshewasright.“Everysingleoneofisuniquelymadethethatwe’remadeforreasonsforapurposeonthisCatchingssaid,
receives federal funding. Although the law did not specifically mention sports, it has led to an uptick in opportunities for women throughout the sports landscape.
‘We are Title IX and Title IX is us’
Hall of Famers Tamika Catchings and Tina Thompson shared their experiences with Title IX, how important advocacy is and the impact it has had on the WNBA.
It’s not often that students get the oppor tunity to be face-to-face with and hear real-life experiences from two basketball legends.
During the past few years, the amount of league revenue has grown exponentially, player pay has gone up and the league itself has been“Beingelevated.able to stay 26 years in, I am very proud of the WNBA and to be an alumni of the WNBA,” Thompson said. Title IX has had its impact in the WNBA as well. Young girls can now have the experience of growing up with more opportunities and can now dream of playing basketball professional ly in the United States, something that Catch ings and Thompson didn’t get to do.
Campus News
Tamika Catchings and Tina Thompson with Kathy Mangano at the 9/9 for Title IX event. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)
“We are Title IX and Title IX is us,” said Thompson.Onemessage was particularly emphasized — women’s rights in sports have come a long way thanks to the imple mentation, and evolution of Title IX, yet there is still much progress to be made.“We need everyone,” Graves said.
post monthly minutes of their meetings. That way if anyone cannot attend the meeting in person, they can still be informed about what is going on. Continuing the theme of community, Graduate Student dentlegeservingpresentedannualtionexperience.givealreadyablefeedbackahasenvironment.learningordertoatespokePresidentOrganizationTinaRiordanabouthowgradustudentswouldlikeseemoreactivitiesintocreateapositiveandprofessionalTheGSOalreadyimplementedsurveyinordertogetandhasbeentohostseveraleventsthissemestertostudentsanengagingTocapoffthecelebraofcommunity,theCheneyAwardwastoamost-deSpringfieldColstaffmember.PresiCooperdescribedthis
Annie Warchol (right) accepts the Cheney Award from President Coopet during the All-College Meeting. (Photos courtesy of Springfield College)
Campus NewsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 8
Building the brand
person’s disposition as sunny, and someone that can leave anyone smiling after an interaction with them.The Cheney Award was proudly given to Annie Warchol, Spring field’s Assistant Dean for Student Engagement, who began to get emotional during her speech. War chol has worked tirelessly to create an environment that students truly enjoy being a part of, even through the difficulties of COVID-19, and is widely appreciated by the stu dent body at Springfield College.During a meeting that was centered around the idea of community, War chol is someone who truly encompasses that exact spirit – as she dedicates her work to it every single day.
special Springfield Col lege was and we needed to leverage our brand,” CooperPresidentsaid. Cooper went on to explain that the overarching goal of the year is to get the Spring field College messages of Humanics, spirit, mind and body and service to others out to a bigger campus?”theironemembers.valueisofCyrFacultytheiraspectwhomdifferentMeetingaudience.TheAll-Collegeincludedseveralspeakers,allofintertwinedthatofcommunityintoaddresses.PresidentoftheSenateEilleendiscussedthatonetheSenate’smissionstosendthemessageofamongcommunity“HowdoweleteveryknowthatwevaluepresenceonthisCyrsaid,posing
Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 12:15 p.m. marked the start of the annual All-College Meeting host ed by President MaryBeth Cooper. Standing tall on the makeshift stage in Blake Arena in front of Springfield College stu dents and staff, the topic of community was the focus as President Cooper addressed the crowd.
the rhetorical question to theHeraudience.goalis not just to work to appeal in recruit ment, but also retention. It is important to get students and staff to want to come here, but it is another thing to keep them here. Retention is something that Cyr wants to work towards, which includes equity through out aspects of the College.
_ By Cait Kemp _ @caitlinkemp09
Student nouncedtomattersthatgetwillmakingparencyorderhostingthismunity.theDougAssociationGovernmentPresidentWydommimickedsentimentofthecomHesharedthat,year,theSGAwillbeopenmeetingsintopromotetransarounddecisiononcampus.Thisallowforanyonetoinvolvedindiscussionsarehappeningaboutthatareimportantthem.WydomalsoanthattheSGAwill
During her annual All-College Meeting address, President Mary-Beth Cooper emphasized the need for community and promoting Springfield College.
Springfield College is unique in that the mem bers of its ourspring,forKing,withSpringfieldstudentsHumanicstheleges,othermission.samecommunitytight-knitsharethegoals,passionsandTherearemanysmallprivatecolbutfewthatmimiccamaraderieandphilosophythatsharepeersoncampus.“EvenBillieJeanwhenshewasherecommencementlastremarkedduring24hourstogetherhow
of her speech that she wanted the audience to understand.Whenasked about what young people can take away from Title IX, Healey said; “Learn from the mistakes of those that came before you and do everything you can to support women and women of color, in particular, specifically those who have been left out and marginalized for far too long. You are going to have a better team, company, and organiza tion if you embrace that diversity.”Asthemidterm elec tions approach, Healey is on a mission to trans form Massachusetts into a more inclusive and affordable state. She hopes to expand job training programs, modernize schools, protect the right to an abortion, and work to make childcare more accessible.Arecentpoll showed that Healy leads the Republican nominee for governor Geoff Diehl by 18%. She could be running the point again soon, but this time for the entire state.
tics.“Being a point guard, you are responsible for everyone playing as a team, but what that really means is that everyone has their touch at the right time and for having plays go,” Healey explained. “You are the floor general, and that is something I really took to that has certain ly helped me in other realms of my Inclusivenesslife.”isa large part of Healey’s cam paign to become the next governor of Mas sachusetts. Known as the “People’s Lawyer”, Healey has dedicated most of her professional career to advocating for those whose voices may not always be heard. Healey connected her experiences in both politics and sports to Title IX because with out the landmark ruling passed 50 years ago, she would not be able to have a seat at the table. Role models also had an impact on Healey’s journey to becoming Attorney General. See ing women take on roles of power reminded her that she could also be in that same position, which is one key part
The People’s Lawyer
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey came to the Springfield College campus to talk about Title IX’s impact.
also as the first woman to take on the role.
___ By Carley Crain @carley_crain12
On Friday, Sept. 9 Healey visited Spring field College and was a part of the school’s “9/9 for Title IX: The History of Women’s Basketball” event. Sit ting side-by-side with President Mary-Beth Cooper, both women celebrated the rich his tory of Title IX and its importance throughout theBeforeyears.Healey became a political powerhouse, she shined on the bas ketball court as a point guard at Harvard. In the game of basketball, point guards are known to be strong leaders, as they typically run the offense and are usually the best dribbler and passer on the team. Healey spoke about how her experiences playing both collegiate ly and professionally helped her transition into the world of poli
She’s the “next big Democratic star,” ac cording to CNN, and will become the nation’s first openly-lesbian gov ernor if elected.
Title IXSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE IX
Maura Healey (right) side-by-side with Mary-Beth Cooper (right) (Carley Crain/The Student).
Maura Healey – a for mer professional bas ketball player, Harvard graduate, and offirstchusettsNovembertoGeneralMassachusettscurrentAttorney–isprojectedmakehistorythisinMassaasnotonlythelesbiangovernortheBayStatebut
defensive side, she combined for 38 digs.Tied for second with Donahue was Katie Vita. The senior midfielder for the women’s soccer team scored a game-tying goal in the second half of Springfield’s matchup with Amherst.MeganKirtyan rounded out the vote after a quality week playing setter for the women’s volleyball team. The first-year combined for 72 assists in the Pride’s three games this past week. This included a career-high 38 assists in a four-set victory over Cortland.
Be sure to follow The Student on Twitter @TheSpfldStudent to vote in the next poll!
Audrey Bresciano
In this year’s first Springfield Stu dent Women’s Athlete of the Week, Audrey Bresciano took the top spot in the poll with 40% of the vote. The se nior forward for the field hockey team scored a game-winning overtime goal on Thursday night against Worcester State, which lifted the Pride to a 2-0 record.Riley Donahue was tied for second in the poll with 28% of the vote. The sophomore outside hitter for the wom en’s volleyball team was a standout performer with a combined 50 kills in the Pride’s three games this past week. This included 21 kills in a competitive five-set victory at Haverford. On the
Pat Tuohy took third place with a very respectable 25.5% of the vote. The graduate punter for the football
team put all four of his punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, and put one punt on Rowan’s one yard-line. He also averaged 37.5 yards on his punts.Rounding out the vote was Ars en Shtefan with 13.7%. The junior halfback for the football team ran for 97 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He had a 21-yard touch down on fourth down and a 45-yard rush to bring the Pride inside the five yard-line.
Parker Thornton. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)
On the men’s side, Parker Thornton won Athlete of the Week honors with 31.4% of the vote. The first-year for ward for the men’s soccer team scored the go-ahead goal in the second half of the Pride’s 1-0 victory over Gor don.Right behind him was Thornton’s teammate, Clayton Knibbs, with 29.4% of the vote. The senior goal keeper had 16 saves on 17 shots on goal against him, and guided the Pride to two shutouts this past week.
Parker Thornton
SportsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 10 wonthe
Audrey Bresciano. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)
going,” said Springfield head coach Mike Cera suolo. “He stepped up in the pocket — he did a really nice job doing that all game. We knew that was something that he did really well, and he stepped up. Our guy who was in coverage left coverage a yard too soon. But, the quarterback was escaping and we knew how good he was, so we don’t fault him for that. He was trying to make a play on a really goodWithquarterback.”1:48leftin the second quarter, the Pride had the opportunity to keep it tied at 14. Rowan was going for it on fourthand-four at Springfield’s 29 yard-line. However,
them to their 37 yard-line, but that was followed by three consecutive incom pletions. With about two and half minutes left to play in a agoingweek,nado]saidtouchdown.ingBarrettreceptionsMaldonadotouchdownwithtofourth-downpossessiontoofscorenadoinone-on-oneHusnirestseean’ssmooth49firstagroundsnaggedlowerage.softdownbacksituation,fourth-and-10HusnidroppedtopassandthrewitthemiddleinthespotofthezonecovThethrowcameintoCJBarrett,butheitinchesoffthebeforefallingfor14-yardreceptionandadownatSpringfield’syard-line.Fromthere,itwassailingforRowoffense,asitdidnotathirddownfortheofthedrive.Onsecond-and-goal,foundMaldonadoonafaderoutetheendzone.Maldowonajumpballtohisthirdtouchdownthedaywith1:02leftplay.ThePride’snextendedonainterceptionsealthegame.Husniwent21-for-31316yardsandfivepasses,whilegrabbedninefor115yards.alsohad71receivyardsandareceiving“They’regoodplayers,”Cerasuolo.“[Maldohad100yardslastsoweknewthatin.”ThePrideprovedtobedifficultteamtodefeat
The Profs got the ball back with 4:26 left. They got a first down to bring
Husni threw a perfect dart down the sideline to wide receiver John Maldonado for a touchdown, which put the Profs on top 2114.As the game went into the fourth quarter with Springfield ahead 28-24, there was a third-and-13 situation at Springfield’s 44 yard-line. Husni dropped back, and onn an apparent zone defense, tight end CJ Barrett found a soft spot on the left sideline, where he caught a pass in stride beyond the outstretched right hand of a Springfield safety and took it to the end zone to make it 31-28 in Rowan’s favor.However, with the ma jority of these big plays came a Springfield re sponse. Later in the fourth quarter, the Pride forced a three-and-out and took field position at the Rowan 45-yard line. On sec ond-and-10, David Wells ran for 12 yards, and on the play after, Nicholas Raneri ran up the middle for a 17-yard gain. Wells ran on back-to-back plays for four and eight yards respectively to get to Rowan’s two yard-line. The Pride wasted no time on the goal-to-go situation and immediately ran it in for a two-yard touchdown on a rush from Raneri.
In a game where the Springfield College football team converted a higher percentage and larger number of third downs, allowed less penal ty yards, and consistently won the field position battle, Rowan’s 38-35 victory was defined by its bigDownplays. 14-7 on a thirdand-15 situation in the second quarter, Rowan quarterback Mike Hus ni checked all his reads except his last one as he rolled to his right. He shovel-passed the ball to James Fara, and with help from his blockers, he sped down the right sideline for a 95-yard touchdown.
SportsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 11
The Springfield College offensive line lines up against Western New England (Springfield College Atheltics).
“We had a good rush
all game. They opened up with a defensive threeand-out to get the ball at their own 47 yard-line. They drove down to the 21 yard-line to set up a fourth-and-two situation. The ball was handed to power back Arsen Shte fan, who ran between the tackles and through all levels of Rowan’s defense to score the game’s first touchdown.OnSpringfield’s fol lowing kickoff, the Profs’ kick returner made a mistake that gave them field position at their own one yard-line. On the first play of the drive, Husni threw a deep ball that was intercepted by C.J. Lavery and returned to Rowan’s six yard-line. The Pride scored another touchdown soon after to make it 14-0. Springfield’s loudest touchdown occurred with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. The Pride were on the Profs’ 38 yardline with a first-and-10 situation. Wells faked a handoff and dropped back, then found Noah Wagnblas, who had just beat his defender on a post pattern. He hauled it in and ran into the end zone to give the Pride a 28-24 lead.The
Pride’s next game will occur at Stagg Field on September 17 at 12 p.m. against Union Col lege.
Stagg shootout
The Springfield College football team and Rowan each scored five touchdowns in a game decided in the final minutes.
___ By Chris Gionta @Chris_Gionta
Runningitback
Springfield lost four starters from 2021 — Camryn Bancroft, Sara Labadorf, Briana Tovar, and Ashley Tanner. The most notable of the loss es is middle blocker Cam ryn Bancroft, who earned AVCA Region II Player of the Year honors after a spectacular 2021 cam paign. She led the team in kills and ranked top 30 in the nation in hitting percentage with a .357 rate.
___ By Chris Gionta @Chris_Gionta
and is second on the team in digs (62).
“I think they’re bring ing some experience — we’re pretty young all around,” Long said. “Riley [Donahue] was a starter for Endicott and played their whole season — played in the NCAA Tournament and their conference championship. Ally [Townsend] was the defensive specialist at Towson and also played in the NCAA [Tourna ment]. So, I think they bring some experience to a pretty youthful group. I think they bring a high
After much anticipa tion, it was revealed that they would be facing Rowan in the first round of the tournament. A rush of emotions were released by everyone out side that weight room, as the NCAA rewarded the Pride’s hard-fought season that got them to the NEWMAC Champi onship.Springfield defeated Rowan in the first round of the tournament, then was eventually defeated by No. 1 overall-seeded JohnsTheHopkins.2022team looks to build off what it did last year, and are start ing off effectively with a 5-1 record thus far. The Pride lost some high-lev el talent through grad uation last year, but also added a lot to its young and developing squad.
However, despite her not playing for the team, she is still very much a part of it, as she is serv ing as an assistant coach.
The two transfers do not only bring outstand ing play, but also some thing that can not be observed in a box score.
level of volleyball IQ, which is really helpful.”
“I really think that ev ery one in our freshman class has the opportunity to kind of work them selves in on to the court,” LongSpringfieldsaid. set a high precedent with its suc cessful season last year, but has all the tools to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
SportsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 12
“I think as soon as her playing career was over — and even when she was on the court last year, she kind of was coaching a little bit,” Long said. “I’m just so excited to have her on the bench. She knows our system. She knows my expectations. And, it’s different because she knows the expectations from a player’s perspec tive, which is helpful for our team, and then, obviously now, from a coaching perspective for ourThisteam.”season brings many quality newcomers with a mix of transfers and first-year players. Sophomore outside hitter Riley Donahue has been making a significant impact offensively and defensively. After trans ferring from Endicott College, she is currently leading the Pride in kills (94), service aces (19),
The Pride also carry an impressive class of first-years into the 2022 season. Most significant ly, Megan Kirtyan has been a consistent starter at the setter position and has 170 assists in the team’s six games thus far. Emily Keaveny has had games making a big im pact, and that was high lighted in Springfield’s five-set win over Haver ford. In the competitive match, she provided nine kills and four service aces. Meanwhile, Maeve Voltz has been a presence at the middle blocker position with 23 kills and 10 blocks this season.
In November 2021, the Springfield College women’s volleyball team awaited the fate of its season — a fate that was not for them to decide on the court. Players’ and coaches’ eyes were glued to a television set outside the varsity weight room for the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Selection Show.
The Springfield women’s volleyball team huddling after a point (Springfield College Athletics).
The Springfield women’s volleyball team seeks to build off a 2021 campaign that brought the Pride to the Tournament.NCAA
The only player Donahue trails in digs is fellow transfer Ally Townsend, who played three years for Towson University in Division I before now playing in the back row for Springfield. Townsend has acquired the starting libero role and has averaged more than 22 digs per game.
On the court, McClen don has three simple rules he wants his players to follow. If they do, he sees the Pride returning to the NEWMAC tournament with a shot at the NCAA Tournament.“Expectations to me are not Compete.”tition.comesforaretoatingeveryity.Availability.pectationsMcClendonresult-based,”said.“Extomearethis:AccountabilShowinguptoworkday.I’mstillevalueveryone,soIhavehaveabaseline.Thosemythreefoundationsexpectations.Andwhatwiththat?CompeCompete.Compete.
New Springfield men’s basketball coach Michael McClendon emphasizes relationships with his players as he takes the helm for his first year.
and the deficiencies that you have to fix. It also shows the community how important they are to you, and they’ll want to turn around and come watch and cheer you on. It’s twofold.”At the end of every season, a team’s win-loss record ultimately deter mines whether or not they had a successful year. Mc Clendon measures success in his own way, with wins and losses holding little weight in that metric.
That includes how he deals with his player-coach relationships, the individ ual expectations he gives to each player, and the overall message he intends to convey throughout his time here on Alden Street – however short or long.
SportsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 13
Meet Michael McClendon
“As I go through my journey and I continue to evolve and grow, I realize that the most important part of being a coach is your relationship with your players,” McClendon said. “You’re coaching the person. Not the player.”
__ By Garrett Cote @garrett_cote
several invaluable lessons that he now takes with him to the Pride. Not only that he prefers to coach the person and not the player, but also how to shape those people into better men beyond their time as basketball players. And that starts with community service, some thing that McClendon cherishes and values.
The Atlantic City, N.J., native played two years at both Wesley College and Atlantic Cape College. He has an infectious aura that the Pride, who are coming off a below-average 6-17 season, need.
“How far can you take the person next to you? That’s how I measure suc cess,” he said. “If someone has a need, I have to figure out how to meet that need.”
“‘Yes, I have a curricu lum that I have to teach, but I want to meet you halfway. What do you need to get out of this class? If I’m just talking at you about my curricu lum, you’re going to ask yourself why you’re even here. I teach need-based.”
McClendon takes his holistic approach into the classroom as well. He is teaching a course on coaching and officiating basketball, and under stands that a lot of the people in that class are likely taking it to fulfill a requirement and don’t actually want to become a coach or official.
Michael McClendon on campus (Springfield College Athletics).
Over the course of Coach Mac’s two-year stint as the head coach of Middlesex County Com munity College, which was his final stop before Springfield, he learned
“I said to my class on the first day, ‘Tell me what you want out of this class,’” McClendon said.
When SpringfieldlongtimeCollege men’s basketball coach Charlie Brock informed the Pride that last season would be his final one coaching at the Birthplace, many peo ple were in shock that his seemingly immortal 24year tenure was coming to an end.The same booming voice that rang through the Pride huddle for twoand-a-half decades was calling it a career, and with that, the search to find a new person for the jobIt’sbegan.almost always a certainty that Springfield College head coaches check at least one of these boxes: they are an alum of Springfield, have some sort of connection or tie to the college or are at least from the New En glandMichaelarea. McClendon, the 15th head men’s bas ketball coach in program history, doesn’t check any of those boxes, but he checks the important ones — the necessary ones.
“You have to lead from the front. You have to be someone out there who perceives the things that your community needs,” he said. “Wherever that need is, let me go figure out how I can help it. What you’re going to get from that is growth. You’ll learn more about yourself
used word – is a really important word. Every thing that I care about is the people within my program, meet ing student athletes, our support staff, just everyone here, because if you’re building those quality relationships, the journey is even more rewarding as you go through the ups and downs of what a season looksCannonlike.”has just as much experience as anyone on what the course of a season looks like. Growing up in East Greenwich, RI, she explained that she has been a sports fanat ic her entire life, and played “everything and anything you possibly could.” Although her first love was ice hockey, she eventually brought her skills to the soccer pitch; where she became very good. In fact, she went on to play Division II at the then Assump tion College and became
Graduating from As sumption in 2007 with a bachelor’s in Marketing and Psychology, Cannon immediately rejoined
As the sun began to dip lower and lower behind Blake Hall on the campus of Spring field College on Monday afternoon, bringing with it the end of a perfect September day; it also signaled the end of another women’s soccer practice. With the shadows creeping further down Brock-Af fleck Field, the Pride finished out practice with a seven-on-seven team scrimmage. What
__ By Braedan Shea Staff Writer
“I believe in people, I believe in building rela tionships,” Cannon said. “From what I’ve seen, that all builds into the full culture of the team, and culture – although being at times an over
New coach, new goals
began as a fun drill quickly turned into a competitive battle –neither team was giving up, each side wanting to win the ultimate brag ging rights. But just as the in tensity hit its climax, new head coach Kristin Cannon stopped the practice. She jogged onto the field over to senior goalkeeper Harp er, dropped to a knee, and tied her goalies untied left shoe. Cannon
SportsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 14
After four great years at college, she found that one of the biggest reasons for her success was the coaching the team had.
then jumped up and resumed the scrimmage as if nothing happened. Although it was some thing so simple, it is the perfect representation of who Cannon is, and what she wants to bring to the program.
“I want players to feel the same kind of expe rience that I had, and that’s really important to me,” Cannon said.
After 22 years under the leadership of John Gibson, the Springfield women’s soccer team is being led by head coach Kristin Cannon, who hopes to put her own stamp on the program.
a standout defender.
Springfield women’s soccer team photo (Photo courtesy of Springfield women’s soccer team).
“I just had a really great college experience playing,” Cannon said. “My teammates and I were extremely close. That’s why I care so much about culture and building close relation ships, because that’s how I was. I also saw what that does for the program and our suc cesses in terms of wins and losses.”
It was also during this time that Cannon came to the realization of what she wanted to do.
her former team, just this time as the assistant coach, where she held the position for three seasons. But after those three seasons, Cannon decided that she wanted to go back to school for her master’s degree in Sports Management. She looked no fur ther than a school with one of the best sports management programs in the area, and an opportunity to become a graduate assistant on the women’s soccer team: Springfield Col lege.During her short stint at Springfield as a grad uate assistant, Cannon was still able to be a part of two servedMostversityUniversity,sityingII,positionsresume.builtfollowed,toenceoneinJohnsonherwomen’sherofSpringfield2012.2010ChampionshipsNEWMAConeinandtheotherinUpongraduatingfrominthespring2012,shebeganjourneyofbeingasoccercoach,firststopbeingatStateCollegeVermont,whereafterseasonofexperishewaspromotedheadcoach.IntheyearsthathaveCannonhasquiteanimpressiveShehasheldatDivisionI,andIIIlevels,includLongIslandUniverBrooklyn,XavierandUniofCincinnati.recently,shehasastheDirector
to the No. 1 MIT-typeresultdefinitelyeachandasintensitysamedeepnaut,comechancethischampionship.straightthatwhichofMassachusettsrankedInstituteTechnology(MIT),wasateamclaimeditsfourthconferenceButaccordingtoDale,year’steamhasthetofinallyovertheMITjuggeraslongastheydigenough.“Ifweallclickatthetimeandbringthewecan,aswellbelieveinourselvesespeciallybelieveinother,Ithinkwecouldputupaandovercomeanteam.”
“As a team, I want to just perform as well as we can every single game. I want to play at a certain standard, and I think we have a lot of talent this year,” she said.Dale returns to a team that despite being the sixth-ranked seed, made it all the way to the NEWMAC Cham pionship, before falling
of Athletics and head girls’ soccer coach at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, NY. After almost ten years away from campus, Can non felt that it was time to make a return home.
SportsSeptember 15, 2022 PAGE 15
“I want the players to feel connected to some thing that’s important to them,” said Cannon. “I want them to believe in themselves. I want them to believe in what we’re doing as a pro gram. I want for ev eryone in this program to just feel like they’re doing something special and that they are spe cial people. Then other things tend to fall into place.”
For others on the team, they look to keep some of the focus on the field. Returning senior Kaleigh Dale wants her final season on Alden Street to be fun, but also wants the team to play to the best of their abilities.
The Springfield women’s soccer team at practice (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)
With it being just her first year as the head coach, Cannon looks to the relationship aspect of things, and feels that if that gets sorted out, everything else will follow in turn.
“I’ve worked at a lot of different schools, and Springfield College just has a really special vibe, with really special peo ple,” Cannon said. “This program has seen such success over the years and what I want for this program is to see that success and more on and off the field. So it means everything to me.”Cannon takes over for the legendary John Gibson, who announced his retirement last year after a very suc cessful 22-season run as Springfield’s coach; and is just the sixth head coach in program history.Inaposition that many would feel pres sured about taking over, Cannon finds that her familiarity with the team and past experi ences take much of the stress“Obviously,away. the pro gram, under previous leadership, was really successful,” Cannon said. “I was here for part of that as myself, so I don’t feel pressure. It’s just different… but it is certainly a storied pro gram and I want to keep building on that.”
Springfield women’s soccer coach Kristin Cannon and men’s basketball coach Michael McClendon are among many Springfield coaches in their first years.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022VOL. 137 NO. 1 Sports The Springfield Student Athletics)CollegeSpringfieldofcourtesy(Photos New Faces
