10 SPORTS
The Williams Record
February 21, 2018
Skiing hosts Winter Carnival, finishes in fifth place
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
Alpine captain Marc Talbott ’18 took home seventh in the giant slalom, setting a personal record of 1:42.24. By JACK SCHRUPP TEAM CORRESPONDENT Skiing placed fifth at the Winter Carnival last weekend with strong performances from both the Alpine and Nordic teams. Friday’s rainy conditions did not dampen the Ephs’ perfor-
mance at their home hill as the Alpine team posted solid results on the first day of the Williams Carnival. The highlight of the day came from captain Marc Talbott ’18, who had a career-best result and finished seventh in the giant slalom. He put down two fast runs with a combined time of 1:42.24, just
1.71 seconds behind winner Brian McLaughlin of Dartmouth. Head coach Kelsey Levine ’10 commented on his performance. “I am so proud of Marc and the way he skied his home hill,” she said. “What a way to celebrate being a senior Eph.” Backing up Talbott’s performance on the men’s side were
teammates Bryan Bailey ’19, who cracked the top 30 to finish 25th, Paul Sheils ’20, who tied for 37th, and Ryan Schmidt ’20, who was 41st. The women were led by Isabel Torres ’19, followed closely by Anna Bruce ’21 and Gibson Donnan ’19. The three were 38th, 39th and 40th, respectively. Makena Jones ’18, Payton Spencer ’18 and Madeleine Dekko ’21 rounded out the women’s team in 46th, 48th and 52nd, respectively. After the first day of the carnival, the men stood in seventh, and the women were in eighth place. At Prospect Mountain, the Nordic teams were challenged by the weather in the 5k and 10k classics. Sonya Jampel ’19 led the women’s team in 11th place. She was followed by Ingrid Thyr ’20 in 18th and Carmen Bango ’20 in 31st. Lucy Alexander ’20 had a great race, placing 33rd. Ivy Spiegel-Ostrom ’20 and Elowyn Pfeiffer ’18 both finished strong for the Ephs as well in 37th and
44th, respectively. The women’s team finished the day in fifth after a strong performance on their home course. On the men’s side, Nick Gardner ’19 led the way in 11th place. Jack Consenstein ’20 cracked the top 20 in 18th. Henry McGrew ’21 was close behind in 25th. Jack Schrupp ’18, the only other Eph to start the day, finished in 33rd. The men’s team ended the day in fifth as well. Head coach Jason Lemieux ’01 commented on the weather conditions. “We were happy to have scrapped together a course,” he said. “Big thanks to all of the volunteers for shoveling and raking snow.” On the second day of the carnival, the Ephs looked forward to the slalom races at Berkshire East Mountain Resort and the 3k skate prologue at Prospect Mountain. The Alpine team built on their success to help the whole team take fifth place overall. The Ephs were once again led on the men’s side by Talbott, who
cracked the top-10 standings for the second day in a row, finishing just 2.18 seconds behind the first-place racer. Bailey had the fourth-fastest second run to end up 16th for the day. The women had three skiers in the top 30. Torres came in 18th and was followed by Dekko and Bruce, who were 21st and 25th, respectively. At Prospect Mountain, clear skies and fast conditions made for an exciting 3k skate prologue. On the women’s side, Bango led the way in 20th. She was followed by Jampel and Alexander, who finished neck and neck in 39th and 40th, respectively. Thyr was close behind in 41st. Also finishing strong for the Ephs were Spiegel-Ostrom and Pfeiffer, who earned 46th and 48th, respectively. The women’s team secured 10th place on the day. Overall, the Ephs ended the carnival in fifth place. Williams now looks forward to its final carnival on the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association circuit at Middlebury next weekend.
Women's basketball falls to Men’s ice hockey tops Amherst, ties Hamilton Bowdoin in quarterfinals By MADELINE ABRAHAMS STAFF WRITER
By BEN WIPPER STAFF WRITER Women’s basketball (12–13, 4–6 in the NESCAC) saw its season come to an end on Saturday when No. 3 Bowdoin defeated the women in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament. The Ephs fell 77-35 to the Polar Bears in Brunswick, Maine. After the teams traded early baskets, Bowdoin closed out the first quarter on an 18-0 run, leading Williams 22-4 at the first break. Bowdoin’s 22 points tied the NESCAC tournament record for points in a single quarter. Williams went scoreless for almost eight minutes and had 16 first-half turnovers. However, a 7-0 surge by the Ephs brought the women back to within 20 midway through the second quarter. Emily Chang ’20 started the run when she was fouled and hit one of two free-throw chances. Tri-captain Lydia Zaleski ’18 followed a defensive stop with
a layup. After Chang caught a defensive rebound, tri-captain Kristin Fechtelkotter ’18 knocked down a jumper. Fechtelkotter then came up with a steal that led to another Zaleski basket. Kate Kerrigan, who led Bowdoin with 16 points, hit a jump shot late in the first half to give the Polar Bears a 41-18 lead at the break. The Polar Bears added 36 points from their bench, including nine from Hannah Graham and eight apiece from Maddie Hasson and Annie Maher. Bowdoin forced 29 turnovers in the game and converted those takeaways into 31 points. Fechtelkotter and Zaleski led the way for the Ephs with six points and six rebounds and six points and four rebounds, respectively. “They’re a very good team that has a lot of weapons,” head coach Pat Manning said of the Ephs’ opponent. The women graduate Fechtelkotter, Zaleski and tri-captain Amanni Fernandez ’18.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Tri-captain Amanni Fernandez ’18 ranks 14th in school history with 1070 points.
Men’s ice hockey (13–10–1, 9–8–1 in the NESCAC) tied Hamilton 0-0 on Sunday and defeated Amherst 6-5 on Saturday. The Ephs came into Sunday’s contest riding a threegame winning streak, while the Continentals had not lost a game since late January. The first period was scoreless, but the Ephs led 9-4 in shots. At 19:59, however, Roberto Cellini ’19 was sent to the box for slashing, and the Continentals started the second period with a power-play. But just 36 seconds into the second period, Hamilton’s Brandon Willett took his second penalty of the game, a minor for hooking, leading the teams to play four-on-four. At 2:35, Continental Blayne Oliver was called to the box for tripping, giving the Ephs a oneman advantage. The Ephs had one more power-play chance in the period when at 16:07 Continental Ian Nichols was called to the box for charging, but they could not capitalize, and the score remained tied at 0. The Continentals threatened on offense for much of the third period, but the Eph defensive unit stayed stalwart, so the game continued into extra time. Hamilton took a timeout with 2:25 remaining in overtime play. Then, with just 22 seconds remaining in the match, the Ephs were given a power-play opportunity as Willett was called to the box for hooking. The Ephs called a timeout to try to engineer a game-winning play, but they were unable to score, and the game ended in a 0-0 tie. “Short of scoring today, we played a complete game, which
the staff was really happy with,” interim head coach Mike Monti said. “Hamilton was a great test heading into playoffs.” During his last regular-season home game, Eph goaltender Stephen Morrissey ’18 stopped all 23 shots from the Continentals. “We competed in all three zones,” Monti said. “It was especially great to see Morrissey get a shutout today.” On Saturday, the men defeated Amherst 6-5 on home ice. Goaltender Michael Pinios ’19 made 24 saves during the offensive battle. The Ephs took a 3-1 lead in the first period. The first goal came from Daniel Woolfenden ’21 on a play assisted by David Italiano ’18 and Cellini. Amherst equalized quickly, however, as Mammoth forward Jack Fitzgerald was able to get a shot past Pinios at 7:28. Williams recaptured the lead near the midway point of the period. At 10:29, assistant captain C.J. Shugart ’18 was able to fire one past Amherst goalie Giancarlo Ventre on a play assisted by captain Colby Cretella ’18 and Myles Cunningham ’21. Less than two minutes later, the Ephs padded their lead to two goals. At 12:02, Woolfenden scored his second goal of the period and game, assisted by Max Fuld ’20 and Tyler Scott ’21. Just 1:07 into the second period, Nick VanBelle ’21 scored with assists from Shugart and Jack McCool ’21. The score was now 4-1.The second Williams goal of the period came at 5:56. Max Fuld ’20 was able to convert on the play, assisted by Scott and Marcus Mollica ’19. Less than three minutes later, the same line was able to produce another goal to bring the score to 6-1. Fuld cashed in
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Max Fuld ’20 scored two goals in Saturday’s 6-5 win over Amherst. on his second consecutive goal, with Scott and Mollica earning assists on this play as well. “[In] the first and second period[s], we were able to capitalize offensively,” Monti said. “It was nice to score six even strength goals. Our five-on-five play was good.” The Mammoths put substantial pressure on the Ephs in the final 20 minutes of play, scoring four unanswered goals and ultimately reducing the Eph lead to one. 47 seconds into the third period, Mammoth Joey Lupo fired off an unassisted goal to bring the game to 6-2. At 4:51, Connor Meike ’19 received a five-minute major for deliberate injury as well as a game misconduct penalty. Amherst was able to score twice on this one-man advantage. At 8:40, Lupo scored his second goal of the night, assisted by Jack Fitzgerald and P.J Conlon. The second goal on this power play came at 9:35, when Thomas Lindstrom fired a shot through
the Eph defensive unit. Patrick Daly and Noah Gilreath earned assists on the goal, which cut the deficit to two. The final goal of the game also came on a power-play for the Mammoths. At 15:22, Bobby Beniers ’21 was called to the box for high-sticking. At 16:56, Daly was able to fire off his 10th goal of the season. The score was assisted by Lindstrom and David White. The Ephs maintained their slim lead throughout the remainder of the contest and ultimately avenged an earlier loss to the Mammoths. “Pinios had to make some really big saves,” Monti said. “In the third period, we took a major penalty, and another minor after that, which gave Amherst some momentum and ultimately three goals.” On Saturday, the seventhseeded Ephs will travel to New London, Conn., to face secondseeded Connecticut College in the NESCAC quarterfinals. The game will begin at 4:30 p.m.
CAPTAINS’ CORNER: SARAH BECKER ’18 Why did you choose to attend the College?
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
By CHARLES XU SPORTS EDITOR
Team: Nordic Ski Hometown: Yarmouth, Maine Residence: Currier Major: Biology and art history Snack bar order: Pancakes
Looking back, it’s so funny. The image that we have of Williams is so different than reality. I was really drawn, like so many people are, to the tutorial system. I said I was going to take one every semester, but I only took one [Laughs]. It seemed like Williams struck a good balance between being very academically intense, but also that kids were able to have fun and have lives outside of the classroom. That balance is important to me. And also, the feeling that you get on campus goes a long way. I really vibed with the people that I met when I visited. What sports did you play as a child? I grew up playing lots of different sports. I would say soccer was my first love. I got into skiing because my parents made us ski, but it was very much a hated activity, and they would bribe us with candy. Occasionally, they would bring us a sled, tow us to the sledding hill, and
leave us on the hill while they would go and ski around, and my brothers and I would go sledding. I tried everything: basketball, swimming, tennis, cross-country running. Why did you choose to ski? I moved in sixth grade, and skiing was really big, unlike basketball, which was not a thing at the high school I went to. Every year, we struggled to form a basketball team, and everyone was on the ski team, so I [thought], ‘Okay, cool, I want to make some friends.’ So, I joined the team, and I made a bunch of friends, and it became a huge part of my life. What’s your relationship with head coach Jason Lemieux ’01 like? Jason’s awesome. He’s honestly like a father figure. The number of times I’ve cried in his office is probably embarrassing, but he’s just so steadfast, so positive and really approachable and accessible. I feel very fortunate to have had him as a coach. He sees us as people first, and then athletes.
How would you describe the culture and environment of the Nordic team? I think our team is a little bit unique in that, similar to cross country or swimming, it’s a co-ed team. But then unlike those teams, we are very small – there are only 10 women and 10 men, so it’s really like a family. We spend an exorbitant amount of time together. We are driving all over the place to these races or going to practice. It just ends up being a lot of time in the van, out to dinner or wherever we are. You just form very deep, strong bonds with the people. It’s a very supportive environment. What’s it like having your younger brother Braden Becker ’19 on the Nordic team with you? It’s been awesome. We went to high school together and did basically all the same sports in high school, so I was used to spending a lot of time with him. It’s been such a blessing to have him here, and I feel really lucky to have gotten to spend so much time with him.
Thoughts on the cow suits? Love the cow suits. Funny story: I raced in a cow suit in high school. I don’t know why because our mascot wasn’t a cow, but it just felt very natural for me. They are very distinctive. It’s really easy to pick out a Williams skier when they are coming around on the course. You’re doing a thesis on the human microbiome. What influenced your interest in this topic? It’s sort of been a long-running passion of mine. I got sick after traveling abroad, and I did a lot of research on my own to investigate what was going on, and that led to this interest in the microbiome. Increasingly, we are understanding the microbiome to be implicated in glucose regulation, so that has consequences for different kinds of metabolic diseases like obesity and Type II diabetes. The research that I am doing is investigating the effect of different kinds of artificial sweeteners on the population of bacteria. [I am
investigating] how changes in that group of bacteria can then lead to changes in glucose and insulin regulation. As as senior, how have you progressed in your four years as a skier? Results-wise, I’ve definitely improved, but more broadly speaking, one thing that Jason really emphasizes is giving to the team, and that you get what you give. I think my focus has really shifted. As a younger skier, I was much more self-invested. To a certain extent, as an endurance athlete, you kind of have to be selfish and focus on taking care of yourself. But at the end of the day, what you give to the team is so much more important, and I think I really shifted into [this mentality] over the course of my skiing career. What is your favorite place to ski? We have a training camp up at Mont Saint-Anne [near Quebec, Canada]. Their training facilities are just so beautiful. That’s probably my favorite.