Sport

It was many and many a year                           
ago,

This past Friday, the wrestling team fell to Columbia University, 32-12, at home at the Mayser Center.

“I love dunking,” said Salandra. “I’m not gonna lie. Dunking and winning.”

As the days of January wind down, the victories for F&M’s women’s squash team keep on coming.

Given how much ink—and its similarly viscous cousin blood—has been spilled over the merits and shortcomings of Tim Tebow, the beatified love-child of Jesus Christ, John Elway, and Vince Young, you would think I could somehow resist the urge to write about him.

Both the men’s and women’s swim teams have put in a lot of work for the rest of their 2011-2012 seasons.

Triumph and success are the words to describe the women’s basketball team during the month of December, as teams like McDaniel, Gettysburg, Haverford, Randolph-Macon, and Scranton all  lost to F&M.

While many of us were sitting at home enjoying our winter break, the men’s basketball team was back on campus, doing two-a-days and competing in a number of games.

After two losses to begin the season, the women’s basketball team has bounced back to win its last three games.

“Defense is how we create our offense,” forward Jon Salandra ’14 said, a statement backed up by F&M’s dominating 63-46 victory Saturday over rival McDaniel. 

There’s no way around it: losing sucks.

A new era has begun for the squash programs with the beginning of the tenure of new head coach Gavin Jones.

The men’s basketball season opened with a bang over the weekend, with the Diplomats knocking off Neumann and Oneonta St. to win the Rotary Tip-Off Tournament title.

The men’s basketball season opened with a bang over the weekend, with the Diplomats knocking off Neumann and Oneonta St. to win the Rotary Tip-Off Tournament title.

In the first game of the season, the women’s basketball team fell short in an exciting matchup against York College this Saturday in the Terry Greene Memorial Tournament.

On the spectrum of fervor generated by college coaches’ recent mistakes, the use of a single timeout doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

Unbelievable, fantastic, and amazing are all words that describe the field hockey team’s most recent performance, as the Dips fought past Haverford in overtime Saturday, prevailing 3-2 in the first game of the Centennial Conference playoffs. 

As the buses departed Lancaster for the two-hour trip south to Baltimore, there were few people who gave the football team much of a chance.

As the final whistle blew on the women’s soccer team’s 3-0 loss to Haverford in the first round of the Centennial Conference playoffs, the players probably felt disappointed and upset. However, that certainly wasn’t evident talking to them after the game. For a team that two years ago finished the season 3-15 and was at the bottom of the conference, to even be in the position to compete for the Centennial Conference crown was a huge accomplishment.

“This was the best season I have had in my four years playing for F&M,” said Bailey Huber ’12, co-captain. “It was such an amazing feeling to be a part of a team that could really compete with some of the top teams in the conference. In past seasons, we were considered the underdogs, and this year I think we were really seen as a threat. The team was so close, and everyone really displayed a lot of passion for the game and for F&M women’s soccer.”

“I thought the season went really well,” added co-captain Jess House ’12. “We went farther than any other year while I’ve been here, and I am proud to say that. I wish the end could have turned out just a little bit differently, but we worked hard and had a great run. In the long run, I think it’s the hard work we put in that matters.”

F&M finished the regular season with an 8-7-1 overall record, with a 6-4 record in conference play. The team’s final record does not give credit to how competitive the Diplomats were, as their tie and three of the losses came in either overtime or double overtime. F&M finished fifth in the conference standings.

Regardless of how the season ended, the team reached new heights in 2011 and was rewarded for it with a trip to the playoffs, something that seemed unattainable just two short years ago.

“I think the team had two great achievements. The obvious one was making the playoffs,” Huber said. “I believe it has been a long time since the team made it to the playoffs. While it was disappointing to lose in the first round, just reaching that goal was a huge accomplishment.”

“The second [accomplishment] would be beating some of the more competitive teams that we have never beaten in the past,” Huber added. “For example, I’m pretty sure F&M has only beaten Muhlenberg four times in the last 20 years. Personally, I think the big wins against big threats were our greatest accomplishments.”

With big, unexpected wins against teams like Muhlenberg, Ursinus, and Dickinson, the team secured a playoff berth, a feat considered by many outside of F&M to be a long shot. Even down to the end, however, the journey wasn’t easy, as the Dips needed help from Swarthmore in its last game of the season against Haverford. F&M did not know its destiny until after Swarthmore downed Haverford, knocking Dickinson out of the playoffs.

“The whole team was sitting in the ASFC watching the live stats of the Swarthmore and Haverford game,” Huber said. “When Swarthmore scored its second goal, we all went crazy with excitement. It was such an amazing feeling. We worked so hard for so long and to have that work pay off was wonderful. I know for the seniors it was an amazing way to finish our careers and extend the season a little more.”

Although the year ended on a high note for the Diplomats, the season wasn’t always a smooth ride. However, through the ups and downs, House believes the team grew closer as a group, which paid dividends towards the end of the season. 

“From day one, I thought the team meshed really well,” House said. “The upperclassmen were all really close from last season, and the first-years fit right in. They are now definitely a part of the family. I think, as the season progressed, our chemistry off the field began to show on it.”

As seniors, both House and Huber will hold on to the memories they made in their final season long after graduation in May.

“Definitely the senior day game against Dickinson,” House said when asked about her favorite memories. “It was our last chance to make the playoffs, and the team was determined for it not to be our last game of the season. I thought we played one of our best games all season and, to be honest, I felt the team was working especially hard to make sure it wasn’t the seniors’ last game. I don’t think I will ever forget how good it felt to win that game.”

“I think I have two favorite moments from this season,” Huber added. “The first was beating Ursinus. It was pouring rain that entire game and it was a really good, competitive game. We had never beaten them in the three previous years I played, and, when we won that game, I knew it was going to be a special and successful season. The second [moment] was beating Dickinson. It was a big accomplishment, and the team made it a really special senior day.”

As their collegiate soccer careers come to a close, both House and Huber say they are going to miss the sport. However, both captains said they were going to miss their teammates more than the games, cherishing the moments they had together as a group in what was one of the more successful season in recent women’s soccer history.

“I am going to miss soccer so much,” Huber said. “While it is hard work and a large time commitment, the feeling with being some of my best friends and playing the sport I love is perfect. It is so nice to share that time every day with other people who love soccer just as much as I do.  The F&M women’s soccer team was the best part of college, and I am so excited to always have that connection to the school.”

“[I will miss] hanging out with my best friends every day,” House said. “I love the sport of soccer, but it’s my teammates that made the experience for me.”

Do you remember the NFL lockout a few months ago?