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News in Brief: Botetourt Gallery to feature alumnus’ photos

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The photos of Chiles Larson ’53 will be displayed in an exhibition titled “Wisdom, Wonderment and Humor: a Retrospective of the Work of Chiles Larson” in Swem Library April 5 to May 28.

Larson worked as a staff photographer for The Virginian-Pilot, where his father served as an editor. Larson also worked as a photographer during the Korean War after enlisting in the Air Force in 1951. He returned to the College to finish his degree and worked as a photographer for Colonial Williamsburg.

Larson has worked with National Geographic, the Chrysler Museum and Sports Illustrated. He was commissioned in 1967 to take photos for a book on the Peruvian Central Railroad.

Larson wrote and photographed the book “Virginia’s Past Today,” which was used by the Virginia Historical Society in a state-wide exhibition. In 2008, he also published “Barboursville Vineyards: Crafting Great Wines Inspired by Spirits of the Past.”

Getting global exposure

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Cameras follow people everywhere, chronicling both daily occurrences as well as exotic adventures abroad. Not only do pictures ensure that the beautiful, interesting or embarrassing moments of a person’s life are not forgotten, but they also create a way for people to express to others what makes these moments memorable. Recognizing this, the International Relations Club Cares is sponsoring the Developing World Gallery as an outlet for students to share the photographs they’ve taken while traveling in developing countries. Starting Thursday, the Sadler Center will display about 60 student photos that will be auctioned off a month later and donated to a charity of IRC’s choice.

“Through Facebook, we created an outlet for students to submit their pictures, and then we choose the best pictures from hundreds,” IRC Cares director of campus outreach Shannon Beydler ’12 said. “[Then] the Muscarelle Museum [of Art] professionally developed and mounted our selections.”

Johanna Christensen ‘10 is one of the photographers selected to have her work displayed in the IR Club gallery. Her photograph, taken during her study abroad trip to Kenya, was part of a series depicting life in East Africa.

“The picture that I find most fascinating is one of roadside fruit stands in southern Uganda,” Christensen said. “The concept of just how much food is depicted in the picture is astounding — especially fragile and nutritionally valuable food. The idea of boom-and-bust agricultural cycles, and actually being dependent on weather and agricultural output, is an idea that is so foreign to us here in the United States. I may not have gotten the point of the picture across — it’s a kind of crazy juxtaposition in my head — but each of my pictures that I submitted actually has a story or lesson that I associate with it.”

Beyond giving students a chance to share their travels with the College of William and Mary community, part of the club’s mission involves raising money for a nongovernmental organization that is chosen by IRC members from year to year. Past beneficiaries include CARE and Doctors Without Borders. The Developing World Gallery came as an extension of this goal.

“All photos are auctioned off. After about a month-long display in the SC. The winners get their photos, mounted and everything,” Chair of IRC Cares Kelly Danner ’10 said.

Although IRC Cares does a few more fundraisers throughout the year, its main focus is on exposing rich
cultures beyond the United States, as well as some of the problems that they face.

“IRC Cares should really be more focused on raising awareness of issues beyond Williamsburg and beyond Congress, and that’s what the gallery is supposed to do,” Danner said. “It’s a good way to show students how the other half lives, so to speak.”

This year, proceeds from the gallery auction will benefit Practical Small Projects, a small nonprofit organization based in New Town. According to the PSP website, the organization works with Malian communities to ensure sustainable growth by using locally made solar panels.

“It’s a really fantastic organization. I love supporting it,” Danner said. “A lot of organizations have great intentions but are largely misguided about how to make a sustainable difference in developing countries. PSP has this fantastic framework where it teaches community members about solar energy, uses a Malian company to supply solar panels and sets them up in hospitals, schools, maternity wards, even homes.”

The organization has already begun to see the positive effects of their hard work. PSP has noted increased test scores in students who can now go to school with lighted classrooms and families who can now obtain portable water without walking great distances. Danner also added that hospitals wired with solar power electricity can provide better medical care.

“There are little old ladies who sell electricity for blocks of time and make a decent income,” said Danner. “How many people in Williamsburg can say they use solar energy for cooking? That’s a pretty fantastic outcome.”

This unique initiative began as a vision of a college student. The founder of PSP, Mary Graham, was a student at the University of Mary Washington when she started the project.

“One eager college student has made a huge difference,” Danner said. “Now she’s giving talks at the World Bank, and people are listening to her ideas because they’re working. That’s pretty inspiring.”

This same eagerness can certainly be attributed to the work with the Developing World Gallery. Beydler credits the photographers as the reason for the gallery’s inspirational success.

“Photography is something so accessible to anyone who travels and wants to preserve their experiences abroad,” she said. “It is able to capture a moment in time and allows the viewer to connect to the subject matter on a visceral and personal level.”

The photographs are intended to become a medium for travelers to share their experiences with the College.

“We wanted to bring more light to the developing world with this gallery,” Beydler said. “We wanted to provide a window into areas that many people aren’t able to see firsthand. Hopefully it will inspire some to see it for themselves.”

the positive effects of their hard work. PSP has noted increased test scores in students who can now go to school with lighted classrooms and families who can now obtain portable water without walking great distances. Danner also added that hospitals wired with solar power electricity can provide better medical care.

“There are little old ladies who sell electricity for blocks of time and make a decent income,” said Danner. “How many people in Williamsburg can say they use solar energy for cooking? That’s a pretty fantastic outcome.”

This unique initiative began as a vision of a college student. The founder of PSP, Mary Graham, was a student at the University of Mary Washington when she started the project.

“One eager college student has made a huge difference,” Danner said. “Now she’s giving talks at the World Bank, and people are listening to her ideas because they’re working. That’s pretty inspiring.”

This same eagerness can certainly be attributed to the work with the Developing World Gallery. Beydler credits the photographers as the reason for the gallery’s inspirational success.

“Photography is something so accessible to anyone who travels and wants to preserve their experiences abroad,” she said. “It is able to capture a moment in time and allows the viewer to connect to the subject matter on a visceral and personal level.”

The photographs are intended to become a medium for travelers to share their experiences with the College.

“We wanted to bring more light to the developing world with this gallery,” Beydler said. “We wanted to provide a window into areas that many people aren’t able to see firsthand. Hopefully it will inspire some to see it for themselves.”

Beyond the Burg: 13-year-old college sophomore barred from class

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Colin Offir, a 13-year-old student attending the University of Connecticut as an academic sophomore, is seeking legal action against his school and the U.S. Department of Education citing age discrimination.

UConn has rejected Offir’s request to enroll in a class on conservation work, which includes fieldwork in South Africa. Offir and his mother said that university officials denied him on the basis that he was too young to take an overseas course. According to Offir, the course is vital for his major.

Colin is pursuing degrees in ecology and evolutionary biology, as well as a major in environmental studies. He is an honors student, maintaining a 3.9 GPA.

Jessica Offir, Colin’s mother, attempted to negotiate with UConn by offering to release the university from liability concerns. She also proposed to accompany her son as a chaperone, but the university prevented Colin from taking the course.

Michael Kirk, a spokesman for UConn, did not offer any comments on Colin’s case. He said that safety is the university’s first priority when travel is concerned.

The decision for Colin to gain approval from the university lies with the study abroad office and the faculty member leading the trip.

“I’m losing time in my four-year plan for college,” Offir told The Associated Press. “They’re upsetting the framework of one of my majors.”

Colin’s rejection from coursework in South Africa has forced him to change his thesis plans. After his undergraduate studies, he planned to pursue a Ph.D in ecology and evolutionary biology and a degree in environmental law. He said he wants to attain both degrees by age 22.
Despite being barred from UConn’s field study, he will be going to South Africa through a National Science Foundation-funded research group to study plant ecology.

Colin and his mother are in the process of talking with their lawyer, Michael Agranoff, to ensure that UConn allows the NSF-funded research trip and seminar to fulfill the original course Colin wanted to take. The mother and son have also asked for $5,000 reimbursement in stipend and expenses.

According to The Associated Press, Colin began reading on his own at the age of two and read Harry Potter at four. He eventually skipped two grades in public schools and took courses in psychology and history at UConn when he was nine. Colin proceeded to graduate from Stanford University Online High School at 11 and then enrolled as a full-time student at UConn.

Beyond the Burg Blurbs

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Florida International University running back Kendall Berry was stabbed to death on the school’s campus in Miami-Dade County March 25. Nearly 1,400 people gathered at a memorial service March 29 to mourn his death. Police say that Berry was stabbed outside the university’s recreation center by another student, Quentin Rashad Wyche. The two were engaged in a fight over an insult to the victim’s girlfriend. Wyche has been charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.

A recent study at Ohio State University revealed that the deficiency of a protein in the brain of Down’s Syndrome patients might be the cause for the syndrome’s cognitive impairment and congenital heart defects. Scientists are manually manipulating pieces of RNA, which regulates protein synthesis, to increase levels in human cell lines and mouse brains. Currently, experimental drugs have shown a return in protein levels to that of normal levels in mice with the syndrome.

Dartmouth College is hosting two displaced Haitian students for the spring semester while Université Quisqueya in Haiti is repaired. Ronel Lefranc and Daphnee Charles are studying at Dartmouth through a scholarship organization called the Haitian Education and Leadership Program. Both students experienced the 7.0-magnitude earthquake. During their time in the U.S., the students will pursue studies in water supplies and the protection of birds in Haiti.

Tulane University’s School of Medicine has been accused of violating federal law for its treatment of pigs in a trauma training course. Dr. Leslie Brown filed a complaint March 24 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Western Animal Care Office, claiming that the school is violating the Animal Welfare Act. Participants work on anesthetized pigs. The pigs are killed after the procedures are completed. Tulane’s medical school is one of nine that still uses live animals for medical training.

Staff Editorial: Brown-Manning: the safest choice

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This Wednesday, following delays and some particularly heated campaigning, students at the College of William and Mary are again tasked with electing the new leaders of their student government. The choice is hardly an easy one. Each ticket provides a unique perspective, but none is without quite sizable flaws. While we find it difficult to support any of the tickets currently running without any reservation, we believe that Ben Brown ’11 and Betty-Jeanne Manning ’12 are the candidates best suited to provide effective and reliable leadership to the Student Assembly.

The dedication both Brown and Manning have to the SA is immediately apparent. Both have generated some of the most meaningful initiatives proposed this year — Brown, as the SA chairman, and Manning as a student senator. Brown has helped extend STI testing, as well as the second round of flu shots, at the Student Health Center. He also, along with current SA President Sarah Rojas, began efforts to reform the College Alcohol and Drug Policy. Manning has been essential in adding campus safety telephone numbers to student ID cards. Clearly, each has the experience needed for the positions of president and vice president.

Their familiarity with policy clearly shows through in the objectives they’ve chosen to pursue. While these objectives may not be flashy, they are still significant and, most importantly, realistically implementable. Brown and Manning’s plan to reach out to the graduate community, especially in restructuring graduate student fees to allow graduates to see more of a return on their money, is incredibly sensible. Furthermore, their sustainability ideas, as simple as providing partial reimbursements to students who purchase energy-efficient appliances for their dorms, are simple ideas that promise concrete results.

Their experience, however, is the source of both their greatest asset, but also a significant weakness; it stresses their abilities to act within the SA, but also stresses their lack of any perspective from outside that admittedly restricted sphere.

The other pairs of candidates are better in integrating areas of the campus community, although often at the expense of others. Chrissy Scott ’11 and Kaveh Sadeghian ’12 have a strong service aspect to their candidacy, an area not greatly emphasized by the other candidates. Sadly, this enthusiasm does not extend to their other issues. For a campaign based around “the student voice,” Scott and Sadeghian often seem to distinctly lack their own leadership voice.

As far as pure passion is concerned, Jessee Vasold ’11 and Caitlin Goldblatt ’11 are easily ahead of the other candidates. However, while this advocacy applies strongly to some issues, such as sustainability and student rights, it’s entirely missing from others. A concrete proposal to improve the budget application process — a major campaign issue for all three tickets — is entirely missing, which points to only one of several areas in which Vasold and Caitlin’s knowledge of policy and views beyond their own seem insufficient, despite their activism and zeal.

Brown and Manning represent the opposite pole in this regard. Their ticket is the only one for which the phrase “hit the ground running” actually applies. Their ideas are clearly based on a working knowledge of what is possible, given the system they will be, and have been, working within. True, their knowledge comes at the expense of the passion shown by other candidates. But what they lack in enthusiasm they easily make up for in pure gumption. Brown has been one of the most active members of the SA in the past year, even helping to revise the SA code last summer, and shows no sign of stopping. The ticket’s promise to staff most, if not all, executive undersecretary positions before the end of school — and to spend the summer months initiating policy work — speaks to that dedication. Yet, despite vowing to fill these positions quickly, they’ve yet to establish a method for finding the most involved students in each issue area, instead of just the normal SA in-crowd.

We temper our support of Brown and Manning, then, with one qualification. We would hope that, should they be elected, they take effort to seek out those students already passionate in their respective areas of campus life. We would even hope that other candidates be considered in their respective areas of expertise.

If such a partnership could be created between passionate issue advocacy and effective leadership, both the SA and the student body would stand to gain a great deal. We sincerely believe that Brown and Manning are the candidates most prepared and willing to try.

Chipotle opening spiceless

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The queue was enormous, snaking around the side of the restaurant and into the packed parking lot, with those at its end as close to being squashed on Richmond Road as they were to actually getting in the door.

No, this was not the scene at the first nightclub to open in Williamsburg — although a couple of bouncers wouldn’t have looked out of place — but a new Chipotle franchise peddling free burritos to what seemed like half the College of William and Mary population, many of whom had been watching the building’s progress with a growing frenzy ever since the big red sign was first bluntly displayed.

While this shows the popularity of production-line, Tex-Mex food, it’s also testament to the enduring power of gimmicks and college students’ craving for novelty.

Not that Chipotle is that much of a novelty. It now has over 900 locations in 35 states, with a net income of $78 million — or one Alan B. Miller Hall — per year. Founded in Denver, Colo. in 1993, Chipotle’s largesse extends well beyond Williamsburg, as the young chain allegedly gave out free burritos to reporters during the 1997 trial of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Students at the College aren’t exactly lacking for places to eat, and — provided you have a car — there aren’t many chains you can’t get to within half an hour. Chipotle is just one in a sea of franchises on Richmond Road, but, like a drug dealer slipping a customer something on the stronger side in the hope of getting them hooked, it dangled its sweet queso under the noses of students to deadly effect, successfully wooing a clientele all Wawa’ed out and suffering from Five Guys fatigue.

All of this can’t dispel the feeling that this is consumerism gone a bit mad, but then the fact that a fast food chain can draw so many onto the streets by word-of-mouth alone is only surprising to someone who’s never heard of Black Friday. Ultimately, however, this is all that Chipotle is offering: fast food and everything that goes with it, including easily over 1,000 calories per burrito, some worryingly high sodium levels and, if you watch “South Park” as religiously as I do, an unfortunate effect on the patron’s underwear the day after.

Then again, why doesn’t the College make an effort to kick-start a student body clearly limping along as the semester nears its end? Is anyone up for free food at the Sadler Center? I can’t imagine there being such a stampede. How about a one-point jump in GPA for the first 100 students to complete the triathlon? What about a free disco in Earl Gregg Swem Library? (Scratch that last one; it’d never work.)

I didn’t get my burrito Thursday because I wasn’t prepared to wait two hours for it. I ended up going again on Saturday — prepared to shell out $7 this time — only to find that there were still people spilling out of the door.

Thus, my quest for Chipotle goes on, and I hope that giving burritos away wasn’t just another means of dressing up essentially mundane products to look irresistibly seductive, only for them to prove maddeningly disappointing at the end of the day.

I hope that the queso is as sweet as they say it is. Then again, I’ll probably be in need of some “Chipotle-Away,” as “South Park” would say, after all.

Email Tim MacFarlan at trmacfarlan@wm.edu

Baseball: A new stance

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Stand there along the wall of William and Mary Head Coach Frank Leoni’s office. Keep your voice down. It is the end of the 2009 season, and Leoni is sitting in front of his locker after another Tribe loss.

The skipper has already moved on from a senior class that has largely tuned him out. But it is his freshman first baseman, Tadd Bower, who has him at his wit’s end.

Bower spent most of the season flailing at curveballs on the outer part of the plate. By the end of the year, Bower will finish with a .279 batting average and only 19 runs scored, well below Leoni’s expectations. Even more disturbing is the fact that Bower has tuned out his coaches, failing to make the adjustments they keep recommending in his swinf.

As Leoni sits in front of his locker, visibly exhausted from what will be the worst season during his tenure at the College, he begins to talk about Bower:

“I was told a long time ago by an old coach, whom I really admire and trust, that some guys get it and some guys don’t,” Leoni said. “And I don’t know if Tadd Bower is ever going to get it. He refuses to make adjustments; he refuses to listen to the stuff we tell him. I don’t know if he’s ever going to get it.”

***

It is a rainy day in Montpelier, Vt., a one-stoplight town with a summer-league baseball team and a whole lot of time to kill. It is the summer after Bower’s freshman season and his summer team — the Vermont Mountaineers — have an off day on account of the rain.

Back home in Williamsburg, Leoni sees Bower’s name pop up on his cell phone.

“I saw his name come up, and I said to myself, ‘Do I really want to answer this right now?’” Leoni said. “I did, and I wasn’t sure what to expect, and it was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had with a player, period. It was like I was talking to a totally different kid on the other end of the phone.”

It turns out the Vermont air does wonders for your attitude, as well as your health.

“I had no purpose in the phone call; I just wanted to see how things were going over the summer,” Bower said. “I let him know I was having a great time up there and that coming back, I wanted to take more of a leadership role on the team.”

After spending a season fighting Leoni on the mechanics of his swing, Bower had epiphany while watching some of his Mountaineer teammates over the summer.

Leoni teaches his hitters to load and stride at the plate, as well as to drop the angle of the bat in order to create tilt and lift the baseball. Coming out of high school, Bower believed in a more spread approach where he would swing the bat straight down on the ball in order to create backspin.

But the more he watched some of his summer league teammates, the more Bower began to see some of Leoni’s teachngs in their swings.

“Instead of just goofing around, I would try to watch everybody’s swing and learn from it and learn how to play the game,” Bower said. “Basically, what I looked off of, I looked at what Frank had given us the year before and looked at what these guys who had success were doing, and a lot of them were the same things.”

For the first time, Bower seemed receptive to Leoni’s advice, which surprised the skipper even more than the mid-summer phone call.

“Tadd had a lot of success as a high school player,” Leoni said. “He had been doing things a certain way a long time, and it was working for him. When he got here, he was reluctant to let go of the control he had over his own game, and let somebody else help him. It wasn’t like we wanted to change his whole game, but I think that’s how he perceived it.”

The true test of Bower’s reformation would come in the fall, when he returned to a Tribe team that only returned three starters from a squad that finished under .500 the previous season. Leoni needed leaders, and Bower hoped to fill that role.

But the coach made clear to his sophomore first baseman that he would have to earn the right to call himself a leader.

“He wanted me to prove it,” Bower said. “He wanted me to prove mentally that I could handle it,” Bower said. “Last year, I wasn’t necessarily there. I wasn’t ready for a lot of stuff — I got frustrated a lot easier. But we needed guys to come in and help these younger guys who are doing really well right now.”

Multiple players have helped the Tribe to a surprising 16-8 record and wins over North Carolina and Maryland to atart the season. But no single player on this year’s squad has been as important offensively than Bower, who leads the Tribe in most major offensive categories including batting average (.387), hits (36), doubles (10), homeruns (4), and on-base percentage (.482)

Both Leoni and opposing coaches know if Bower does not hit, the Tribe lineup will struggle on any particular day.

The pressure for Bower to produce in the middle of the batting order every day leaves him unfazed, as he relishes the role of being counted on every day.

“I like to be the guy who, when he comes up, people want to win the game,” Bower said. “The guy who comes up in the sixth inning or whatever and hits the double in the gap to score two runs. I love being in those situations.”

Recently, Bower has begun to see the challenges of being a marked man. After doubling off the right field fence Saturday to conclude a 5 for 6 day against Delaware, Bower got very little to hit Sunday and was intentionally walked once.

So far, Leoni has liked the way the formerly stubborn Bower has made adjustments this season.

“It’s difficult to be a marked man — so to speak,” Leoni said. “But that is how great players rise to the occasion. And Tadd is a great player, and he’s been rising to the occasion more times than not.”

***

Now come back to Frank Leoni’s office this season after the Tribe’s 4-3 win over Delaware Sunday. This time, the scene is different. Leoni is smiling. His team has won its first conference series of the year. His daughter is running around the locker room playing with the assistant coaches.

Someone asks Leoni about Bower, about whether the head coach believes his first baseman’s turnaround is for real.

Leoni pauses. Never one to mince words, especially in the privacy of the locker room, he speaks.

“I often thought coming back from the fall, ‘Oh, is this a smokescreen, is this just an act I’m getting?’ And I just was waiting for things to go wrong,” Leoni said. “But man, has he stuck to it. He’s matured, he’s matured very quickly.”

Leoni stops, as if to play his last statement over again in his head. He then smiles:

“Man, I’m really enjoying being around him this year.”

Baseball: College wins two against Blue Hens with walk-offs

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Sophomore reliever Matt Davenport’s arm had finally started to feel tired. He had thrown over 120 pitches for the first time this season, after already throwing roughly 60 pitches in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Delaware.

But in the second game versus the Blue Hens, with two straight losses to start conference play staring William and Mary (16-8, 2-1 CAA) in the face, Davenport would have gone as long as his team needed.

“I was wondering if they were going to take me out or not,” Davenport said after the Tribe’s 5-4, 12-inning victory. “I was really hoping they wouldn’t, which I’m glad they didn’t. For these guys, I would go out there 18 innings in a row if I had to.”

Fortunately for Davenport, the Tribe only needed six and a third innings to get the win after dropping the first game of the doubleheader 12-9. Davenport threw three innings in the first matchup before coming out of the bullpen in the sixth inning in the second ballgame.

“I told [the coaches] I was available after the first game,” Davenport said. “On the list in the dugout, my name was circled, which usually means ‘[use] just if you need to.’ But I told them I was good.”

And the Tribe needed him. Davenport came in with the College trailing 4-2, about to lose its second consecutive game to start the conference season. He proceeded to strike out a career-high 10 Delaware hitters while holding the Blue Hens scoreless until the bottom of the 12th inning when junior second baseman Jonathan Slattery came to the plate.

Slattery, who was named CAA co-player of the week Monday, went 10 for 12 over the weekend with three walks. But his two-out single to right centerfield with a runner on third base Saturday was his biggest hit of the weekend, giving the Tribe a 5-4 walk-off victory.

“I knew they were coming at me with sliders, so I was looking for something to drive,” Slattery said. “I saw a fastball in just long enough to get my hands in. It’s a great feeling. The guys worked so hard, it was nice just to get the [win].”

As fate would have it, Slattery would be on third base the next day with two outs and the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning in the rubber match of the series. This time the batter was freshman centerfielder Ryan Brown, who sent a flare down the right field line to give the Tribe the 4-3 victory and its second straight walk-off win.

It was the second walk-off single of the season for Brown, who singled to win the Tribe’s March 7 game against Seton Hall.

“I like to put myself in those situations,” Brown said. “You listen to LeBron James and he says he wants the ball in the last seconds. I try to want to be in that situation, and it just gives me more confidence to get the job done.”

A pair of defensive plays by senior catcher Chris Jensen set Brown up to be the hero, as Jensen recorded two putouts in the top of the ninth inning after taking a foul tip off his protective cup.

Jensen recorded the first out by catching a foul ball off a failed bunt attempt by Delaware second baseman D.J. Long. Then, with two outs and a runner on third, Jensen stopped a ball in the dirt, hustled back behind the plate to retrieve the ball and then ran back to the plate to tag the baserunner for the final out of the inning.

The play left Head Coach Frank Leoni impressed.

“I told the team after the game in the huddle, ‘One more thing real quick. Chris Jensen took a ball off the private area there in the ninth, sucked it up and made two plays to win the ballgame,’” Leoni said. “If Jensen doesn’t make those two plays, who knows what happens in the ninth inning.”

Women’s Tennis: Doubles play helps Tribe win two over weekend

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Following a tough loss to Duke last weekend, no. 56 William and Mary (9-9) took to the court this Saturday and Sunday, seeking to erase memories of its previous outing. The Tribe began the healing process with two victories, a 6-1 dismantling of Boston University Saturday and a 5-2 defeat of Memphis Sunday at Busch Courts.

The College has now won four of its last five matches, with only four remaining in the regular season.
The Tribe began its weekend by beating the Terriers in the doubles portion of the match. Senior Carmen Pop and freshman Anik Cepeda recorded a 9-8 victory, while senior Lauren Sabacinski and sophomore Katie Kargl took home an 8-4 win. In addition to its doubles dominance, the Tribe swept all but one of the singles matches to claim the win.

“The BU match was a good match as far as taking care of business, being very competitive, having good energy, not taking anything for granted, and being ready to compete,” Head Coach Meredith Geiger-Walton said. “It was good to get a win to start some momentum behind us.”

Despite the victory, the Tribe suffered a substantial loss when Pop pulled her hamstring in the latter stages. Pop barely finished her match and was carried off the court with a full-body cramp.

Sunday’s play against Memphis began with a trio of hard-fought doubles matches. In the three spot, freshman Nina Vulovich and Sabacinski made quick work of their opponents, winning 8-4.

After witnessing Vulovich and Sabacinski’s victory, the duo of senior Ragini Acharya and sophomore Katie Kargl edged their Tiger counterparts 8-6 to clinch the doubles point.

In singles play, the Tribe dominated the lower spots with wins from Sabacinski, Kargl and Cepeda. Sabacinski, who was undefeated throughout the weekend, finished her match quickly for the second day in a row, improving her season record to 10-12.

“Lauren’s been doing a great job of really being able to start the match and finish the match with consistency,” Geiger-Walton said. “One thing she’s been wanting to improve in her game is to execute a plan and stick with it — and that’s something — she’s been able to do.”

Sabacinski agreed with her coach.

“You have to have a plan when you go, and I think that’s been my biggest strength because I get to go out and focus on one point at a time,” Sabacinski said.

Due in large part to its relatively easy victories, the Tribe was pleased with its weekend outing and hopes to maintain its positive momentum into next weekend’s home match against Marshall.

“It was a good, very solid match,” Geiger-Walton said. “I think everyone had good matches to where they felt they had accomplished some individual things out of it.”

Men’s Gymnastics: Gygax earns second-straight all-around title

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William and Mary Head Coach Cliff Gauthier simply hoped his team would build this weekend on its recent strong performance in a narrow loss to Temple last Sunday. The College did a little more than that.

The Tribe finished second at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championship in Colorado Springs, Colo. Saturday, earning nine individual All-American honors and an individual USAG National all-around title at the meet.

With a standout performance now behind them, Gauthier hopes the College can ride can ride that momentum into this weekend’s ECAC Championship at Kaplan Arena, where his team will compete for an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.

“The guys just rocked the house in the [USAG] finals; we were in good shape and prepared for it,” Gauthier said. “I was psyched by that meet because it put us in real good position for the ECAC Championship, meaning that we are ready to go and that we can put out our best performance. And who knows, we might steal an automatic bid to the [NCAA] Championship.”

Senior Derek Gygax helped the Tribe maintain its 16-year streak of top-three finishes at the USAGs, as Gygax earned his second-straight USAG all-around title with a total score of 85.450. In addition to his all-around championship, Gygax won the pommel horse competition, finished second in the floor exercise and third on both the rings and the parallel bars.

The performance qualified him as a finalist for the Nissen-Emery Award, given annually to the nation’s top gymnast.

“He just had a super meet,” Gauthier said. “He is now an All-American on five of the six events, which is amazing.”

The College’s young talent also shone as sophomore Stephen Deutsch earned his first championship on the rings with a score of 14.15.

“It was spectacular because he was a complete dark horse on that event,” Gauthier said. “He went in the finals and just totally nailed everything, and the other higher ranked guys just didn’t hit. So he just waltzed right in and took the gold medal.”

In addition to spectacular performances by both Gygax and Deutsch, several other Tribe athletes achieved All-American status in Saturday’s individual finals. Junior Andy Hunter earned a third-place finish on the floor exercise, while freshman Vince Smurro claimed his first career All-American honor with a fourth-place finish on the high bar.

“It was a good meet for everybody,” Gygax said. “It seemed like we finally came together, everyone was excited and everyone was really into the meet. We started on the high bar, which isn’t usually our strongest, but we got through it and just kept on building. All in all, our team really came together like it hadn’t yet. It was really good to see, especially with the ECAC Championship coming up.”

The Tribe will now attempt to continue to qualify for the NCAA Championship, a feat that cannot be accomplished without a strong run in this weekend’s ECAC Championship.

“I feel good about it; the team is finally pulling it together and everybody is really excited,” Gygax said. “It should be a great time; there are going to be a lot of great teams. I’m really excited and its going to be a lot of fun, and I’m glad that its going to be on our home turf too.”

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