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Season high finish for golf
THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017
The hype of March Madness BY CURT WICHMER Staff Writer
BY BROOKE BAILEY Staff Writer
The Truman State University women’s golf team got back into action over Spring Break at the Buccaneer Spring Classic in Tennessee. Although the tournament was cut short on the second day because of cold weather conditions, the ‘Dogs placed second out of seven teams. Truman came home with two top-ten finishes behind junior Nicolle Barmettler, who also made the all-tournament team, and freshman Lindsey Repp, who placed topten for the first time. Repp also shot a career-low 74 in the second round. Barmettler said the team is really proud of her, and she said she hopes it will give her confidence to continue to play well the rest of the season. Juniors Stephanie Hulett and Amanda Ressel were top 20 at 11th and 19th place overall. Ressel said the cold weather conditions really tested the Bulldogs’ mental toughness — the temperature never got above 34 degrees, and it was pouring rain. They were able to get through only seven holes on the second day before play was canceled, so these holes didn’t count. Ressel said a lot of the competition they faced came from lower southern states that weren’t used to the cold and being from Kirksville made it easier to adapt. The Bulldogs’ next meet is this weekend at Perry Park in Kentucky. Barmettler said this tournament is a big one because almost every team in the East Region will be there. Barmettler said the team should have a good shot in making it as a team to regionals — a big team goal this year — and this weekend will be a great chance to compete against good competition. Sophomore Brooke Kelley said after having a short Spring Break and continuing training on their own at home, the teammates are back working on their overall game and especially trying to get their consistency back after the long winter months of not competing.
Photos submitted by Stephanie Hulett Top: Members of the Truman State University golf team pose with their second place trophy at the Buccaneer Spring Classic in Tennesse last week. This was the top team finish for the ‘Dogs thus far this year. Bottom: Junior Stephanie Hulett concentrates as she lines up a putt at the team’s most recent meet. Hulett was one of four Bulldogs who placed in the top 20 at the tournament as she finished 11th overall.
Every March, avid fans of college basketball dust off their bracket sheets and predict who they think will defy all odds and win the NCAA Tournament. This annual event brings together all kinds of people — students, proud college alumni and even fans with no tie to any university. There’s a significant amount of hype around the playoffs for college ball — hype rarely seen to such a degree for the professional postseason. This begs the question — why are college basketball playoffs more popular than the NBA playoffs? This gap in popularity between professional and college basketball playoffs is reversed with nearly every other sport, so what makes basketball different? On The Bleacher Report, Tim Keeney said a key factor in college basketball’s reigning popularity is the effort college players show when they play compared to that of professional players. Keeney argues that the college student mentality of NCAA athletes pushes them to try their hardest for four years in the hopes of a professional career, whereas athletes who are already paid tend to rest comfortably instead of giving it their all. This drive to excel, Keeney said, is what leads more people to watch college basketball. Additionally, Keeney said the NCAA’s superiority over the NBA extends beyond the postseason into the regular season. Professional teams often intentionally drop games near the end of the regular season to get a better draft pick, but college students, many of whom “are staring their final game of their career right in the face,” as Keeney said, give maximum effort, leading to upsets late in the season. This keeps college games competitive at the point in the season where NBA games would start to become less interesting. Though I agree with the previous arguments, I think there are additional factors that keep the NCAA’s popularity above the NBA. For one, college basketball is more accessible to fans, especially in the Midwest. Sure, teams like the Bulls and the Cavaliers are technically in the Midwest, but there’s no strong desire for the vast majority of people from Missouri, Kansas or Nebraska to root for a team like the Milwaukee Bucks, for example. Instead, we have our regional college teams to cheer on. Through college basketball, areas with little to no likelihood of owning a professional basketball team still have multiple teams close to home to follow through the season. College basketball is also more interactive than the NBA. College students naturally feel more included in the NCAA than the NBA because their school is such a big part of their lives, but college basketball’s level of fan interaction extends to non-students as well, particularly through the bracket. Classes, families and workplaces have bracket competitions to see who can predict the early winners, who can predict the upsets and ultimately, who can predict the winner — you don’t see this for the NBA. NBA players might be more “talented” than college athletes, but the connection fans have with their regional team is what makes the NCAA prevail over professional basketball. Hold on basketball fans, March Madness is here.
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PRESENTS
Tickets
St. Louis Brass
A limit of four tickets, per person, may be purchased for $5 each (includes tax) at:
7:30 p.m. Monday, April 3, 2017 Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall*
• University cashier window located in McClain Hall • Edna Campbells on the Kirksville Downtown Square • Online at lyceum.truman.edu * The Kohlenberg Lyceum Series St. Louis Brass performance will take place in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall due to the renovation of Baldwin Hall. The Performance Hall provides a wonderful venue for the performances, however, it has a smaller seating capacity, with 450 seats compared to 1,395 seats in Baldwin Auditorium.
Brass Quintet adds zaniness to its talents. Diverse material combined with imaginative presentation marked the engaging concert.
Earn credit at STLCC this summer
Enroll at PATHTOSTLCC.COM
— The Kansas City Star concert review
lyceum.truman.edu