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(09/02/14 7:44pm)
By Peter Fiorilla
News Editor
Numerous NCAA championships and hundreds of student athletes have been attracted to the College’s lacrosse and field hockey teams over the years, and there has always been one constant at the center, as sure as gravity – longtime head coach and College alumna Sharon Pfluger, who was nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame’s class of 2014 this summer.
For Pfluger, who has been inducted into the United States Lacrosse and TCNJ Halls of Fame, the latest nomination serves as yet another testament to the quality in the people surrounding her.
“I feel that I’m the representative for our programs, so I am happy for everyone who has ever played for us and anyone who has ever coached for us,” Pfluger said. “I’m the figure – they have to have somebody, right? – and I think it’s an honor for everyone.”
And since Pfluger returned to coach for her alma mater in 1985, there have been more than enough honors to pass around.
Pfluger’s teams have garnered 220 All-American nominations in that time, blazing their way to a combined 951-126-6 record and 19 Division III championships.
They’ve done it while staying true to the programs’ original identity: having serious competitive backbone but also a family-like mentality, a special part of the program Pfluger fostered from the early days.
“I’d come into the office, and they’d get to know me on a different level,” Pfluger said. “That’s what makes it great. It’s wonderful, as a coach, to have a positive impact on young adults. It’s a great feeling. But when we’re all working together on something as a family, that’s just the icing on the cake.”
For Pfluger, it’s important that each wave of Lions brings in more athletes with character or people who can form sisterly bonds with their teammates.
“That (bond) never goes away. Once they have it, it never goes away,” Pfluger said. “They’re going to have the memories of what they did on the field forever. And that’s one thing that nothing or no one can take away from them.”
Even with a tradition of great athletes, though, Pfluger had her work cut out for her when she first came to coach at the the College.
It took a workaholic’s energy to keep two programs running almost year-round — recruiting, practicing, scouting, competing in games and fulfilling the other roles that come with the job.
“I pretty much spent my 20s in my office or on the field,” Pfluger said. “I can’t tell you one TV program there was ... because that’s what I needed to do to get the job done and that’s what I wanted to do. Two very strong programs and I was honored to take them over.”
The programs were already familiar and prestigious. Pfluger had won national titles with the College as a student athlete before graduating in 1982, along the way making a neat bit of history.
After the NCAA began admitting women’s teams in 1981, Pfluger was a member of the lacrosse side that become the first-ever women’s team to win a NCAA championship. The Division I final was played the next day.
And competing as an athlete, under College coach Melissa Magee and in high school with College alumna Betty West, was ultimately the inspirational drive Pfluger needed to get into coaching.
“There was a nucleus of us who was with (West) year-round, and she was great,” Pfluger said. “She guided people well. She was very professional. So that was when I thought — as I progressed through high school — ‘I think I want to do this.’”
For several years after Pfluger graduated from the College, she worked in various other coaching jobs around the state after teaching during the day.
But when Magee left the College, creating a vacancy, Pfluger earned her dream job — and it didn’t take long to get back to national titles, albeit under different circumstances.
“Winning as a coach, knowing that you’re responsible for everything out there, and seeing the players so happy — I feel like I got a taste of being a parent well before I was a parent,” Pfluger said. “Both ways, it was great. It’s hard to explain how terrific that feeling was, to win a national championship and to have it all come together.”
It’s been an unbroken chain of winning since, with the most recent title being a lacrosse championship in 2011.
But while Pfluger has been the nucleus of the programs, she knows the people around her — her family — have been responsible for the journey she’s been on.
“It’s about all of us that have been involved in it, and I’m happy to be the guide for everybody,” Pfluger said. “But I really, truly give the credit to my assistant coaches and our student athletes. They make it, and I’m just really lucky to be a part of it.”
(08/26/14 8:21pm)
The men’s soccer team is poised to qualify for the NJAC playoffs for a second consecutive season, with much of the spine for last year’s team coming back for the opportunity at another playoff run.
The Lions were picked to finish fifth in the conference standings this
year in the pre-season NJAC poll, just good enough to make the post-season in the 10-team leauge and exactly where they finished last year.
Despite the loss of 20-goal scorer forward Kevin Shaw, among the top offensive players in D-III, longtime head coach George Nazario has retained much of the core from 2013 that drove the Lions to the NJAC semi-finals.
Twenty-two of the team’s 26 players on roster are upperclassmen, which include proven game-changers on offense and defense.
The midfield continigent of sophomores Nick Costelloe, Sean Etheridge and senior Kevin McCartney — who often pull the strings for the Lions’ sleek counter attack, combining for 14 goals and 11 assists — is back on the roster, alongside senior forward Greg Perri, who had his most productive season in 2013 with five goals.
On the other side of the ball, a stingy defensive unit that allowed 1.09 goals per game is undergoing a transition, with longtime goalkeeper Aaron Utman and defensive talisman Sean Casey no longer in the mix.
But senior defenders Greg Kaye and Ryan MacMillan — the latter having played 1,782 minutes last season, second-most on the team — along with junior defender Dan McMillan can ease the transition for the back line. Junior goalkeeper Maciej Libucha showed well with a .99 goals against average in 2013.
The changes made to the team on the field will have the chance to be tested against the best in Division III, as the Lions have a grueling non-conference schedule early on.
The College kicks off the season with a tournament in Glassboro starting on Friday, Aug. 29, as they take on powerhouses Messiah College and Elizabethtown College, several more games with high profile opposition before the home opener on Wednesday, Sept. 17, versus FDU-Florham.
(08/26/14 4:05pm)
By Peter Fiorilla & Mylin Batipps
News Editor & News Assistant
Due to mechanical issues recently discovered on the scene of T-Dubs during construction, the opening of the Towers-based dining facility has been delayed until further notice.
Although workers had hoped the renovation would be complete by the start of the academic year ahead of schedule workers ran afoul of technical problems that added to the cost for repairs and time needed for construction.
“(The repairs) included broken mechanical systems and plumbing and electric lines cast into the concrete floor of T-Dubs that had to be removed because they were failing or because they were in the way of the renovations,” said Dave Muha, vice president for communications, marketing and brand management at the College.
According to Muha, the issues that were found served as a detriment to not only the dining facility, but also the entire Travers and Wolfe buildings.
Repairing and removing the problems was necessary not only for the sake of T-Dubs dining, but in order for freshmen to move into a safe environment.
“Preparing the building without electricity or water is virtually impossible,” Muha said. “Thankfully, with the guidance of residential education, facilities was able to get it done in the nick of time and the buildings were ready for move-in last week.”
The unveiling of the new dining facility would have been months ahead of schedule, had it happened early this fall. According to Muha, the College and Sodexo originally planned to have the renovations completed by the turn of the year.
“I just want to be clear that while we would have liked to have had it ready sooner, the plan was to have this work completed by January,” he said. “Its closing for the fall was not entirely unexpected,”
Tackling the issues first that were found was also necessary in order for workers to even begin constructing a new and more efficient dining environment for students, according to Muha and assistant vice president for Student Affairs Sean Stallings.
“T-Dubs is receiving a complete makeover of its servery and back house operations,” Stallings said. “The idea is that new program will offer an expanded menu while retaining many of the T-Dubs favorites. Additionally, the new design will improve the traffic flow, food presentation, cooking equipment, and grab-and-go selections.”
As T-Dubs is not yet available, students will be able to dine late at the Lions Den in the Brower Student Center. On weekdays, the Lions Den will be open from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m., and on the weekends from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Stallings added that while he and faculty would like to have T-Dubs ready for students as soon as possible, Campus Planning and Construction will be working on all the nooks and crannies to ensure that no more problems arise.
“Our partners in Campus Planning and Construction are working diligently with the hired contractor to complete the project as soon as possible but we know we are at least two months behind schedule,” Stallings said. “Though we are prepared to open as soon as the facility is ready, we are also prepared to adapt and ensure that our students continue to enjoy the conveniences our dining program is designed to offer. We intend to keep the campus community updated on the progress of the project accordingly.”
(04/29/14 6:32pm)
The College’s track teams overcame poor conditions and a 90-minute rain delay en route to an impressive showing on home ground at the Lions Invitational on Saturday, April 26.
The women’s team continued to excel in the mid-range runs, with junior Katelyn Ary coming out on top in the 400-hurdle race with a season-best time of 1:02.95.
Sophomore Kristen Randolph followed suit in the 400-hurdle by coming in third place out of the 24 participants, while junior Michelle Cascio added another bronze at the Invitational in the 400-meter race with a time of 58.46 — the best finish of any DIII athletes.
Junior Megan Stack added another best-in-DIII time in her event, placing fourth in a field of 60 runners for the 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.82.
The Lions’ long-distance races were highlighted by the performance of Tara Nealon in the 1,500 event, who came in eighth place out of 72 participants with a time of 4:47.00, and senior Brigit Roemer led the way for the College in field events.
Roemer bested several Division I athletes in the triple jump to place third, leaping a distance of 11.48 meters, and sophomore Courtney Paciulli earned seventh place with a 10.88 leap.
A couple of throwers also earned top finishes for the Lions, with the best results coming in the hammer throw. Junior Joan Hales came in sixth place in the hammer throw with a season-best distance of 43.09 meters, while Kristen Van Benschoten took 11th with a throw of 38.04 meters.
The Lions’ day was highlighted in the throwing events. In the javelin, freshman Matt Rafferty had a toss of 57.81 meters to place third out of 33 athletes. In the hammer throw, junior Abayomi Arowolo came in fourth overall with a mark of 47.93 meters, and in the shot put, William Castore had a throw of 12.56 meters to finish ninth out of 29 shot putters.
Sophomore Michael Larkin also ended up with a top-10 finish for the high jump, getting a jump of 1.80 meters, before getting sixth in the 400-hurdles race with a time of 55.85. Sophomore Jake Lindacher also stayed hot in the hurdling races by taking fourth place in the 110-hurdle, finishing with a time of 15.15 seconds.
The Lions’ performances in the running events was highlighted by sophomore Tyler Grimm in the 5,000-meter event, as he finished third among the 25 participants. Senior Dominic Tasco also put in a strong performance in distance running, finishing third in a field of 79 runners in the 1,500 meter with a time of 3:59.12.
Up next for the track teams is the 2014 NJAC Championships, which the College will host next Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4.
(04/22/14 4:00pm)
The New York Red Bulls’ 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union was one of sports’ most fascinating events last week, if for reasons completely unrelated to soccer and the result: it continued a bizarre trend of so-called rivalries feeling less like emotionally tolling grudge matches and more like forced hype.
Since coming into the league, Union fans have been adamant about calling the Red Bulls their rivals, and Red Bulls fans have continually responded by ignoring Philadelphia — with good reason. In sports, the need to turn every team into a pair of rivals has become overwhelming.
College sports is the worst offender. Notre Dame, for example, is rivals with everything that moves, and it was refreshing when football coach Brian Kelly dismissed the media’s hype of his team’s “rivalry” with Michigan last year. The NHL is not alone among major leagues in creating “Rivalry Week” as a way to build excitement for some otherwise boring matchups, including Buffalo Sabres-Detroit Red Wings — a tame game by anyone’s standards. And the most topical case is the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, who — while battling each other in the NBA playoffs for the first time — are being called rivals because both teams have been pretty good lately and the players don’t seem to like each other much.
This ubiquitous presence of rivalries across sports cheapens the real thing, like the Oakland Raiders and Kansas Chiefs or the Red Bulls and their real rivals, D.C. United. Not only have those teams’ fans passionately loved to hate each other for a very long time, but everyone in those organizations — from the coaches down to strength and conditioning coaches — has good reason to feel the same way. A win over United is something to savor for the rest of the year for the Red Bulls fans, regardless of whether it’s a meaningful game or not.
That’s what a rivalry is, and why ESPN should be hesitant to call the Clippers and Warriors one: any ill will that with a life expectancy of a few years doesn’t do justice to actual rivalries. In five years’ time, the fans and players won’t hate each other, just as the Notre Dame faithful don’t have much reason to dislike Michigan and Sabres fans will never get excited about playing Detroit.
(04/22/14 4:00pm)
After starting the season 15-5, head coach Dean Glus’s best start in seven seasons at the helm, the Lions have gone 2-8 over the past two weeks. The team has fallen all the way to sixth in the NJAC standings, with an overall record of 17-13, but had a 6-8 record in that two-week span. The top six teams in the conference make it to the NJAC playoffs. The College is currently tied for the last playoff seed with Rutgers-Newark University.
“I don’t think it’s time to panic,” freshman second baseman Ben Varone said. “As long as we hit and the pitching keeps doing what they’re doing we will be fine.”
The Lions were able to salvage a win this week, ending the team’s five-game losing streak. The College defeated NJAC foe Rutgers-Camden University in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, April 19, by a score of 6-2. In the next game, the Lions were downed 6-3 by the Scarlet Raptors.
Lions’ ace junior pitcher Connor Smith pitched deep into the game en route to his team-leading fifth victory on the season. Smith pitched the first eight innings before handing the ball over to fellow junior pitcher Benito Gonzalez, who closed out the game. It was the first time this season that Smith has not pitched a complete game in a game he started. Smith surrendered nine hits, but worked his way out of jams all afternoon to hold Rutgers-Camden to just one earned run.
Clinging onto a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning, the Lions’ offense blew the game open with a three-run inning to expand their lead to four runs.
Coming off their first win in over a week, the College raced out to a 3-1 lead in game two. However, the Raptors came back to score runs in each of the last four innings to seal the 6-3 victory.
Earlier in the week, the College dropped both games of a home-and-home with fourth-place Montclair State University. The Lions were shut out in the first game 4-0, but were able to muster two runs the next day, still falling to MSU 6-2.
The College’s game on Monday, April 14, at Farmingdale State College was cancelled due to inclement weather. To make up for the loss, the team added a home game with Messiah College on Wednesday, April 16.
Like the Messiah himself, the Falcons offense rose from the dead to score in the 12th inning to pick up the win. Messiah relief pitcher Pat Broomell tamed the Lions’ offense, pitching five scoreless innings. The Lions’ four errors on the field were not forgiven, as two of them led to Messiah’s winning run. The College’s offense was unable to resurrect the win in the bottom of the inning and fell 3-2.
The Lions will begin their push for the playoffs this week with games against FDU-Florham University on Monday, April 22, followed by a home-and-home with Rowan University. The College will host a doubleheader with Stockton College on Saturday, April 26, before closing out their regular season with a home game against Arcadia University on Monday, April 28.
“We know we have the talent to win a lot of baseball games, and as coach Glus says, it will come,” sophomore pitcher Evan Edelman said.
(04/15/14 4:00pm)
The men’s and women’s track teams excelled at home in the College-hosted New Jersey Invitaional, as a handful of Lions won their events in a competition that included athletes from Divisions I and II.
For its part, the women’s team took home three first-place finishes in the 1,500-meter race, 3,000-meter race and 4x400 relay.
Senior runner Anginelle Alabanza paced all 25 runners in the 1,500-meters with a time of 4:43.89, more than five seconds ahead of the second-best finish, and senior Sarah Polansky placed fifth with a time of 5:00.16.
Junior Tara Nealon won the 32-person 3,000-meter race with a time of 10:07.23, while sophomore Marissa Lerit completed the race in 10:38.06 to place sixth.
In the 4x400 relay, junior Michelle Cascio, sophomore Kristen Randolph, freshman Nicole DeStefano and junior Katelyn Ary ran a time of 4:04.30 for a first-place finish, while the 4x800 relay team crossed the line in second place in 10:14.70.
Rounding out the top-three finishes, senior Bridgit Roemer tied for third in the high jump with a clear of 1.54 meters.
The men’s team picked up its fair share of accolades as well, including another tremendous result for senior Dominic Tasco.
Tasco, whose previous best in the 800-meter was 1:53.49, ran with a time of 1:52.09 to finish runner-up among 62 athletes. Freshman Alex Carry placed seventh in the race.
Sophomore Jake Lindacher impressed in the 100-meter hurdles, topping all Division III athletes with a time of 15.22.
It was a successful event for the field teams, as well. Senior Scott Lisa won the high jump with a mark of 1.95 meters, junior Juan Giglio cleared 4.70 meters in the pole vault for second place and two Lions — freshman Matt Rafferty and Lisa — finished in the top-five in the javelin throw.
This week, the Lions will travel to Princeton University for the Larry Ellis Invitational on Friday, April 18, and the Greyhound Invitational on Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19, hosted by Muhlenberg College.
(03/25/14 10:27pm)
Freelance writer and author Holly Metz illustrated how the social issues that bogged down Hoboken in the 1930s persist in the 21st century at the annual Alan Dawley Memorial Lecture held in the Library Auditorium on Wednesday, March 19, using research and excerpts from her award-winning book, “Killing the Poormaster: A Saga of Poverty, Corruption and Murder in the Great Depression.”
The 1930s were an “era of corruption” in Hoboken, N.J., as arsons that routinely killed poor people went unsolved, gangs were growing to achieve greater influence and the “poormaster” — a despised appointed official by the name of Harry L. Barck, who had the power to give and deny aid — largely refused to help needy people in the midst of the Great Depression.
“The vast majority of people who were eligible for work relief did not get it,” Metz said. “(Poormasters) felt there was always work for any able-bodied man who truly wanted it. They felt that any man who didn’t work was lazy or a drunk and only had himself to blame.”
Poormasters were a holdover from colonial times, Metz explained, when it was easier to move and find a job elsewhere. By the 1930s, they had become antiquated, yet still a frequent cause of distress for working-class Americans.
“(The poormaster) would decide if the meal client had rice or meat, if her children had sugar or milk, and the poormaster could decline aid to any person who had not lived in the region for a certain amount of time,” Metz said. “So if you have seen (Great) Depression photos of people living on the road trying to make it out West, you are seeing people who were most likely denied public aid on arrival of their destination.”
The hated Barck eventually died at the hands of frustrated applicant Joe Scutellaro, an unemployed father who police say stabbed Barck with a spike after the poormaster suggested Scutellaro’s wife become a prostitute before asking for aid.
“It was a big, big news story,” Metz said. “Part of it was that fear: if this guy gets off, all the poor people are going to go around killing relief agents.”
But the spirit of Barck and the poormasters lives on today, Metz said, as poor people continue to be on the wrong end of relief efforts from the government.
“Today, more than 46 million Americans are living below the poverty line, and yet Congress has twice voted to cut the budget for food stamps,” Metz said. “On the day of the second vote, one Congressman who has personally collected more than $3 billion for the bill on farm subsidies, argued in favor of reductions with this statement: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’ He must have known that the vast majority of food stamp recipients are children, the elderly and the disabled. I wonder, when will we rid ourselves of the poormasters, once and for all?”
(03/25/14 8:21pm)
Long derided by students as a soft spot on an otherwise rock-solid campus experience, the Physical Enhancement Center is finally being supplied with much-needed funding this semester to combat the problems that have kept students away over the years.
“I’ve met a lot of students who are paying to go off campus to gyms, and I don’t think we need to be sending students off campus when we should be able to help you have that kind of stress relief (and) take care of yourself,” said Amy Hecht, the College’s new VP of Student Affairs, in an interview in January. “I think we need to do some work (on the PEC) — a lot of work.”
Despite getting a $200,000 renovation in 2011, the PEC suffers from perpetually broken-down machines, a lack of available free weights and overcrowding, which forces students to either avoid exercise or seek it elsewhere.
Some problems, such as the lack of space and the length at which machines stay broken, cannot be fixed: Enlarging the PEC is not an option, and when machines break down, the warranties on them force the College to wait for a third-party company for repairs.
Other issues, such as how the two squat racks face each other and cannot safely hold weights, can be fixed but haven’t been.
“Honestly, the TCNJ gym is a complete embarrassment,” said sophmore accounting major Michael D’Agostino, who uses the gym frequently to work out. “We shouldn’t have to spend more time waiting for equipment to use than actually working out at the gym.”
The school is pumping money into the PEC to get results, though, and it’s already paying
dividends as a small army of new equipment arrived over spring break, thanks to the $50,000 reserve fund recently added.
Among the additions are an adjustable pulley machine, a variety of dumbbells and three barbells, which have been tested with weight up to 1,000 pounds, with the latter being a much-needed fix after existing barbells were bent into banana shapes from extensive use in winter.
“In the past, I was very dissatisfied with the amount of equipment in the gym — there were dumbbells missing, broken benches, broken machines,” said Mark Hayase, a senior interactive multimedia major and powerlifter. “However, I went to the gym recently and found out they got new bars, new dumbbells and a new cable machine ... at least now they are making strides in replacing old, dangerous equipment.”
Another even more sizable shipment of equipment is scheduled for the summer as new items including jump ropes, benches and a deadlifting area will bring about the most significant change for on-campus gym quality in decades.
“It’s amazing what you can do if there’s funds, because you’re limited if there’s no funds. You might want to do the best things in the world, but if there’s no funds, then you have to hold your breath and hope you get the best you can,” said Dawn Henderson, the College’s associate athletic director and manager of the PEC. “I think we’re doing an OK job. My goal is to have a safe, clean operating room, and we do the best we can with those parameters.”
What Henderson cannot purchase for the PEC is a larger space, and students will have to make do with the claustrophobic nature of the gym until a new one is added through Campus Town in 2016.
“I think that there’s certain areas that we’re addressing with this sort of influx of new equipment,” Henderson said. “I think the problem is — and we’re really looking forward to the new CampusTown gym (which is bigger) — the room is really small, and we serve a campus of 6,000 undergraduates with a small room.”
In the interim before the new gym opens, though, the tightrope Henderson and the PEC have to walk is in pleasing two different kinds of people: the serious lifters training for long-term results and casual students seeking a diversion.
“When I took over a couple of years ago, what I found is we’re never going to be able to make everyone happy, because you have so many different kindS of people who want to use the gym,” Henderson said. “Some people want to use aerobics things and ab things while other people want to powerlift, and those are two very different things.”
The new equipment, specifically the deadlifting area scheduled to arrive in summer, shows a continued attempt at appealing to both casual and hardcore gym-goers — an initiative that has been successful.
“People hate on the PEC a lot, but I never really had any problems,” said Robb Veltman, a recent College graduate and competitive powerlifter who used the PEC for two years. “Really, I think it just depends on the atmosphere people want, I think. They let you grunt and lift heavy and use chalk (for serious lifters), but some people don’t like that. It’s not like a commercial gym at all, which I like, but I can see how some people don’t like that.”
Taking into account the recent improvements and the gym’s continued ability to cater to both kinds of lifters, the PEC is on what might be an unprecedented upward trajectory.
“I’m glad that they are making efforts to replace (and) improve the equipment, so I think that is a good sign for the PEC’s future,” Hayase said. “Overall, I have my share of complaints about the PEC, but in the time I’ve been training there, I made a lot of progress and I appreciate it for being so accessible, even if it is lacking some things I want. So I’m thankful for it.”
(03/25/14 5:00am)
Riding teamwork and a selfless mentality all the way to the program’s best-ever finish at the NCAA Championships, the men’s swimming and diving team won national titles in the 200-free and 400-free relays, as six student-athletes etched their names in Lions lore.In the 200-free relay, senior Philip Hawley, sophomore Joseph Dunn, junior Brett Pedersen and senior Stephen Gibson earned the title with a program-best time of 1:20.47, while senior Stephen Tarnowski, Pedersen, Dunn and Gibson took home the 400-free championship with a time of 2:58.07.
“It honestly is the highest satisfaction I have personally ever felt,” Gibson said. “I never imagined my career ending in such a way. It is very surreal. To win one championship was overwhelming, but two is taking it to a level all its own.”
Season-long strategies paid off during the weekend, as the coaching staff — led by NCAA Coach of the Year head coach Brian Bishop — and its focus on sprint races paid off with two titles.
“This year our training strategy was to build up an aerobic base through intense leg workouts early in the season, and transition to more race-pace and style work with less leg emphasis for the second half to let everyone’s legs recover for the championship season,” Tarnowski said.
This resulted in what was arguably the best finish in the swim program’s 25-year history, as Bishop acknowledged.
“We were more in the national mix this year than (ever before), so I think this was definitely our best year,” Bishop said. “Winning the Coach of the Year is great, I’m humbled by it. But it’s really a reflection of our team. You can’t win a Coach of the Year award without outstanding student-athletes, and so it’s a credit to them understanding what we’re trying to do.”
The cause for the Lions’ massive relay success was their selfless approach to what’s often an individual sport, as despite racing against teams with racers with better personal times, they came out on top when it mattered most.
“We understand that even though swimming is a very individualistic sport with little team interaction, we all depend on each other to ultimately achieve our goals,” Gibson said. “Each individual performance has its role in the team as a whole.”
That’s why the team was able to play better than the sum of its parts: Even though the College swimmers in the 200-free relay finished 18th, 20th, 22nd and 24th, they swam for each other to achieve an unbelievable result.
“Bishop says we perform well on relays because we all swim for each other,” Tarnowski said. “Another Bishop-ism is that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. This took on literal significance for me, because after coming up a few tenths short in my individual races, I was able to finally achieve a title with the help of my team.”
That selfless mentality was exemplified by senior William Kasper, one of the five swimmers competing for a spot on the relay team all year.
Kasper ended up on the outside looking in, but showed strong support for his teammates at nationals.
The rest is history.
(03/25/14 5:00am)
Friday featured huge upsets in the NCAA March Madness tournament, but that madness did not carry over onto the baseball diamond for the Lions (9-4).
The College soundly defeated the struggling Eastern University Eagles 10-1 at George Ackerman Park. Eastern is off to a slow start this season, posting a 2-6 record going into Friday’s game.
The Lions’ offense continued to roll on Friday, this time scoring 10 runs. After failing to score a run in the first inning, the Lions went on to score at least one run in every inning for the rest of the game.
This forced Eastern to use five different pitchers after starter Ryan Ellison was knocked out of the game, giving up four runs in two innings pitched. Freshman Ben Varone led the way with his three RBI.
“I was looking for the fastball, and I tried to drive it deep,” Varone said about his single that scored two runners in the third inning. “You don’t see too many curveballs hitting in the nine spot.”
Senior pitcher Brendan Kelly pitched a terrific game, giving up only one run on four hits over seven innings. Kelly pounded the strike zone and dominated hitters with his fastball while racking up seven strikeouts on the day.
“I just went out there throwing stikes and attacking the zone,” Kelly said.
Sophomore JC Rizzi stole two more bases and is a perfect seven-for-seven on the season in stolen bases.
Perhaps the highlight of the day came in the bottom of the sixth inning, when junior Michael Murray hit a monster shot over the fence in left field for his first home run of the season.
Coming off its dominating performance of Friday, March 21, the College traveled to Muhlenberg College for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 22. The Lions embarrassed the Mules in the first game by a score of 23-0. The 23 runs were the most runs The College has scored since the 2009 season. The shutout was the Lions’ first of the season. Junior pitcher Connor Smith tossed his third complete game in as many starts.
The College faced a much stiffer test in the second game of the doubleheader. Muhlenberg led going into the top of the ninth inning, when the Lions piled on four runs for a come-from-behind 9-7 victory.
The Lions will ride a four-game winning streak into the home match against Arcadia University on Tuesday, March 25.
(03/04/14 8:32pm)
We saw them this past week, creeping around corners, dueling outside of Green Hall and sometimes walking on campus like average students, albeit equipped with foam swords and mischievous grins: the players of the “Human vs. Zombies” game are a great mid-semester reminder of how important it is to let off steam and relieve anxiety.
More and more College students are participating in this campus-wide game every semester, which is essentially an elaborate version of manhunt. All but one of the players are humans at the beginning, identifying themselves with strips of cloth, while a lone zombie kick-starts the game going by “killing” — or touching — humans. Once a human is touched, they are infected and must try to turn the remaining humans to win the game. Humans win by avoiding zombie contact for an entire week.It’s not unique to the College — hundreds of campuses in the U.S. have adopted “Humans vs. Zombies,” with varying rules and contestants — nearly 2,000 people regularly participate at University of Georgia, while it’s a sport of its own at host school Goucher College — and there are other fantastical clubs out there. At Middlebury College, for example, dozens of students flock to on-campus fields each Sunday to play Harry Potter-inspired games of quidditch.These games are easy to dismiss, but there’s a reason they’re so popular: it’s important to relieve stress, even if that entails dressing up (down?) a little and laying traps for your friends in Bliss Hall. Last week, The Signal published a phenomenal piece on “Generation Y” being the most depressed generation, called “Generation Y and the infinite sadness,” and it was just another piece of evidence on the seriousness and worsening state of mental health in the U.S.
This is the most anxious country in the world — it’s not even close, according to a 2012 study by the World Health Organization — where 80 percent of college students frequently suffer daily stress, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. There’s so much to feel anxious about, from looking good every morning to wondering how you’ll convince an employer you’re worth being paid real, non-Monopoly money. It can be easy to feel weighed down by the pressure that comes hand-in-hand with college life, and it’s essential to find a release.
That’s why it always brightens my day to see humans and zombies in a not-so-epic battle on campus, three feet away from where I’m walking. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the game, and I understand why it’s not for everyone. But if it helps some people completely escape the stresses of college life for a few hours, more power to them.
(03/04/14 6:00am)
Four wrestlers sealed their fate this past weekend at Kings College during the NCAA Northeast Regional tournament when they qualified for the prestigious Division III National Championship hosted in Iowa.
Sophomore 149-pounder Dylan Thorsen and freshman 125-pounder Kevin Corrigan placed second and third, respectively, in the competition consisting of 16 other schools. Leading the pack and placing first at 174 pounds and 184 pounds were seniors Zach Zotollo and Brian Broderick.
“I was real happy (with our performance at the tournament),” head coach Joe Galante said. “Coming in, I thought we could have had three to five qualifiers. To be honest, we didn’t know which of the guys it would be, but I liked the way we competed and proud of the way the guys represented the College.”
Corrigan was the first to qualify for nationals after winning five bouts, including two against another freshman from Ferrum College. Shortly afterward, Thorsen booked his ticket after winning three consecutive matches to reach the finals.
“I am unbelievably proud of them today because they wrestled awesome,” Zotollo said. “I am very happy that they are taking the trip out to Iowa (with us) and I am just proud of them.”
Galante is especially pleased with the two underclassmen and realizes the effect their qualification will have on the team for next season.
“It is great to have the young guys going because that means they will be back on the team next year,” he said. “It is nice to say we have two national qualifiers in the room every day, so it is good for our program because the guys can look in the corner and know that this guy made the national tournament.”
As for the others, Zotollo and Broderick both qualified for nationals for the second consecutive year and knew what was needed to be done to capture the title.
“We competed as a whole very well today,” Galante said. “I’m not sure if it was the best we’ve wrestled all season (teamwise), but I thought we competed hard and we did a lot of right things and our training definitely paid off.”
With a little less than two weeks separating the four from nationals, everything the men have been training for comes down to two short days.
“I want them to go out and have fun, and that’s what I tell them every time,” Galante said. “If they do that, then it should take care of itself … Our motto is to go out there, wrestle hard and have fun.”
Regardless of the results, Galante has high praise for the future of the wrestling program.
“I’ve been a coach for three years and we qualified three guys the first year, three guys last year, and now we’ve qualified four guys, so I think it is just showing that we are improving as a team,” he said. “We are becoming more solid because we are having more individuals that can compete at the national level.”
(01/28/14 11:04pm)
New vice president of student affairs Amy Hecht doesn’t have a hint of an accent, even after spending a lifetime in Florida, Pennsylvania and Alabama. Instead, she’s bringing to the College a fresh voice and a platform focused on leadership development.
The VP of student affairs holds responsibility over a budget of $53 million in a number of areas, from Greek life and risk management to health and wellness, and is looking forward to the various possibilities that come with it.
“For me, there’s such opportunity at TCNJ,” Hecht said. “The students that I’ve met during my interview, I was just so impressed by (them), and there’s a real sense of this community, folks wanting to create that seamless learning experience. I wanted to work with really talented students and really talented staff and faculty, and I think TCNJ has all of those things.”
Hecht isn’t wasting any time in putting her stamp on the College’s agenda. The Physical Enhancement Center, for example — a common source of criticism from students and a regular feature on Twitter (@TCNJProblems) — is getting new equipment as a short-term fix for students’ health needs before a new gym is built in Campus Town.
Maybe the most important long-term impact Hecht wants to bring to the College, though, is improved leadership development, or a way of equipping students with leadership skills by bridging the gap between classes and other activities.
“Every student is a leader,” Hecht said. “We are in college. We are actually training leaders of the future who are going to address the problems of society, of their companies, in our school systems, all of those elements. So what skills are we providing you to address those concerns, to advocate, to lead, to share your vision? That’s a lot of what I do.”
The idea of leadership development is to integrate the educational process and extracurricular activities so that there is one dominant College experience, rather than a fractured set of experiences. It is like how journalism majors, Hecht says, can use The Signal as a way to improve their knowledge of the major, while also taking classes.
“We have very intelligent students, they obviously have the academic credentials, but how are we bridging the gap between what happens in the classroom and what happens outside the classroom — in some of our activities, intramural sports, athletics — so that it makes sense, and not just have these two separate experiences?” Hecht said. “That’s a challenge for half the country, one that TCNJ is ready to start talking about so we could be a model for other schools.”
Hecht has been talking with students and others about making potential connections since starting the job earlier this month, but leadership development and other priorities — whether it be improving the fan experience at sporting events or bettering the collaborations between academic affairs and student affairs — might not be on the agenda if things had worked out a little differently for the new VP.
Hecht went to Florida State University for a career in TV journalism, which yielded work at NBC and PBS. Her career path changed course, though, when she decided to pursue one of the things she loves most: working on college campuses.
“I love being on campus,” Hecht said. “(I) realized TV was not for me, but at the same time, I was really involved with student leadership on campus. I had a really incredible adviser and realized I could spend my career on college campuses, doing leadership development.”
After getting her master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania, Hecht built up her résumé at different colleges. She was in the dean of students’ office at Temple University, assistant director of student activities at Cabrini College and became the assistant VP of student affairs at Auburn University in 2009, when she helped re-create the school’s division of student affairs.
In that time, Hecht has developed a philosophy on how to lead: be yourself.
“I think it’s important to be authentic and be who you are in your job, and not try to become something else or be what you think (you) should be,” Hecht said. “So that’s the core of my leadership style.”
That style is being used to confront the issues that are keeping Hecht busy throughout the first month on the job, including the environments at sporting events — another opportunity for the College, according to the FSU grad and sports fan.
“What is it like to be a fan at TCNJ?” Hecht said. “I’ve seen it, a little bit, and I think there’s a big opportunity to improve the fan experience. It should be exciting to be at our games, social and full of school spirit, music and energy.”
It has been a busy January for Hecht, but she has enjoyed her transition to the position and to a College with students she enjoys working with.
“There’s a lot of opportunity here and there’s a lot of great people,” Hecht said. “The students are incredible, every student I’ve met. I’ve had a really great three weeks.”
(01/21/14 5:31pm)
During a culturally and spiritually enriching Birthright trip to Israel, Jewish students from the College scaled mountains, swam in the dead sea and made lifelong friendships in a meaningful foreign experience over Winter break.
Birthrights, which are paid for in part by the Israeli government and private donors, are available to all Jewish people aged 18-26 for a variety of benefits.
“It’s different for everyone,” College Chabad rabbi Kivi Greenbaum said. “Some people are learning about their (Jewish) history in Israel, some people learn about their culture, some people learn the Israeli culture — the lifestyle, politics, the danger of living there. They learn anything and everything.”The trip offered numerous lessons, from what it is like to be in a highly militarized country to enhancing spiritual and cultural roots students might not otherwise have had first-hand.
“The thing about the trip that I enjoyed the most was having the opportunity for experiences that I would never had had otherwise,” sophomore special education major Carly Kalman said. “For example, doing shabbat at the western wall was an amazing opportunity I would have never done by myself.”
There were 12 College students in the 37-person Birthright group, which became tightly knit during the course of the trip.
“I had an amazing time,” Kalman said. “We went with a bunch of people from (the College), so I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to meet other people. But I was very happy that by the end of the trip everyone in the group was super close.”
The trip featured personal growth, and is a way for students to make friends on an unforgettable 10 days.
“You make new friends really quickly,” Greenbaum said. “It’s a positive life experience. People are sometimes able to come out of their shell, able to make friends quickly and are able to gain some self-esteem and confidence.”
Many students grew spiritually as well, after being re-connected with the Jewish homeland of Israel.
“I definitely made friends and many amazing memories,” Shapiro said. “But going in as someone that was not religious at all and knew almost nothing about the religion or what I was getting into, I’ve definitely learned a lot more about my faith, and I’m definitely interested in learning more. From all of the activities we did each day, I felt more and more connected with my religion and Israel as the days went on.”
Regardless of the personal or spiritual growth, the Birthright trip featured extroadinary excursions into the country.
“We got to scale the mountains (at Mt. Arvel) without any harnesses, just little ropes along the wall,” Shapiro said. “I’m not the biggest fan of (heights) but the views were incredible, and just being able to look back up after finishing the climb and being able to say ‘I did that’ was a great feeling.”
(11/12/13 6:00am)
The men’s soccer team needed to defeat an unbeaten Montclair State University squad to move on in the NJAC playoffs and qualify for NCAA’s last Wednesday, Nov. 6. But the team fell into a 2-0 hole in the first half from which it never recovered, losing 4-1 to the eventual champions.
If anyone could beat Montclair, it was the Lions (12-6-2) — one of only two teams to tie them through 21 games this season and with defense in emaculate form heading into the semifinals.
The Lions won five of six games before traveling to the Scarlet Knights, including a 2-0 playoff win over Rowan University, and had not given up more than one goal in a game during that time.
But even with NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year senior Aaron Utman protecting the net and making five saves, the College could not stop the vaunted Scarlet Knights (19-0-2) offense, which opened the scoring in the 26th minute indirectly off a corner kick after Utman guided a shot wide just a minute earlier.
A Scarlet Knight got on the end of the corner and headed the ball toward the center of the six-yard box, where it got lost and midfielder Keegan Balle lashed it into the net.
Rutgers-Camden was able to strike again for the game-winner in the 34th minute when midfielder Connor Huffe won a 50-50 battle for possession in the final third, collected himself and blasted the ball far post.
The College was on the offensive for much of the game, taking 17 shots overall and peppering Rutgers-Camden’s goal with six shots on target, but Scarlet Knights goalkeeper Mike Randall was equal to everything that came his way.
That left the Lions pushing forward in the second half, and Rutgers-Camden took advantage by scoring another two times in the game’s final 15 minutes.
Junior midfielder Kevin McCartney was able to get on the board for the Lions with a late consolation goal, but the eventual 4-1 score line was the College’s least flattering of the season in what turned out to be its final game — even though the Lions were ranked fifth in the region, their bid for NCAAs was unsuccessful.
Despite missing out, though, this year ended up being the Lions’ best season run in years — the program won its first playoff game in regulation and just second overall since the 2005-06 season while integrating a lot of freshmen into the lineup and establishing a formidable defense, setting up cause for optimism heading into next year.
(11/06/13 10:06pm)
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, which the men's soccer team took advantage of in a 2-0 win over Richard Stockton College in its first playoff game since 2010.
In a tightly contested, fast-paced 90 minutes featuring two defenses on the top of their games, it took a stroke of luck for the Lions (7-2-1 in NJAC play) to break the deadlock in the 70th minute through freshman midfielder Nick Costelloe, who took a shot from the top of the box that deflected off a defender and into the net.
“Stockton was a very strong opponent and it was definitely a back and forth game,” Costelloe said. “In the second half, we were putting a lot of pressure on Stockton and created some goal-scoring chances. The breakthrough was very fortunate. I was lucky to have my shot deflected and the bounce caught the keeper off guard.”
The Lions did not let up after Costelloe’s opener, piling the pressure on the Ospreys despite the lead, and it paid off soon after: Senior forward Kevin Shaw scored his 20th goal of the year off a feed from sophomore defender Greg Kaye in the 78th minute, effectively icing the game off.
“After the goal, it was just a matter of keeping the pressure on the Stockton defense,” Costelloe said. “Normally, if we score the first goal late in a game, we become very defensive and change our style of play. I think the team did a great job of pressuring Stockton and searching for the second goal. We knew the game wasn’t over after our first goal and that was enough motivation to go for another and really put away the game.”
For its part, the Lions defense held firm the rest of the way, with senior goalkeeper Aaron Utman making five saves for the team’s third shutout in six games — a stretch in which the College has not allowed more than a goal.
“The defense has been incredible and consistent and Aaron Utman has been at his best,” Costelloe said. “The back line has become very organized. (Junior defender) Ryan Sullivan and (sophomore defender) Dan McMillan have been the two anchors in the back that have really kept the team organized.”
The clutch defensive efforts paved the way elsewhere on the field, too, whether it came from confidence in the team’s ability to keep a clean sheet or senior defensive midfielder Sean Casey springboarding the offense in transition and keeping the Lions’ counter attack razor sharp.
“Knowing that we have a clutch keeper between the posts boosts the team’s confidence and allows us to play attacking soccer,” Costelloe said. “Casey’s work rate just in front of the back line provides support on the defensive end and almost all of our attacks come through him. I think off the field, as well, our defenders are all leaders that the whole team can look up to.”
The Lions’ success heading into and during the playoffs has been a complete team effort, though, with all 11 players on the field playing with playoff intensity at the most crucial part of the season.
“At this point in the season, everyone on the team understands that every game could be the last,” Costelloe said. “We are all playing with the seniors in mind because we want to help them continue their careers here at TCNJ. With that in mind, we play each game with high intensity.”
The Lions’ schedule only gets harder from here on, though, as they travel to No. 3 Rutgers-Camden — who the College tied 1-1 in Lions Stadium earlier this year — in a do-or-die semi-final on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
“Rutgers-Camden is a tough opponent that played a very physical game against us earlier in the season,” Costelloe said. “It will be a tough game but we are up for the challenge and can’t wait to get back on the field.”
(11/06/13 9:51pm)
The selling point of Barbara’s Hungarian Restaurant is that it fulfills a unique niche — the food is authentically ethnic through and through, from the goulash to the paprikas, but it’s easy to feel right at home in this slice of Hungary on Parkway Avenue, thanks to its comforting cuisine and cozy dining area.
Barbara’s dishes largely employ spatzel, a filling Hungarian noodle, as the core ingredient, while a variety of other foods are built around it: paprika, meats (including beef and chicken), vegetables (like carrots and celery), potato and large amounts of sour cream and pepper supplement the noodles and flesh out the menu.
There are other options, ranging from chicken noodle soup to red cabbage salad, but the heart and soul of Barbara’s is the spätzel (egg noodle), which is pre-made to minimize time between order and delivery. I ordered the chicken paprikas ($6.99 at lunch and $11.99 at dinner) while my friend got the Hungarian goulash ($6.99/$9.99). Both dishes arrived at our table in under four minutes.
It was more than worth the brief wait. The chicken paprikas’s juxtaposition of soft spatzel and sour cream with chunky, generous portions of chicken covered in broth is a memorably pleasant taste. The Hungarian goulash was similar in quality and taste, in stew form with the addition of vegetables and potato.
The dishes were large and, despite the lack of vegetables or appetizers, the chicken paprikas felt like a complete meal. It took me a while to get to the bottom of it, and the heavy spatzel left me feeling full for the rest of the afternoon.
The homey, aromatic dining area bolstered an already solid experience. From the Hungarian textiles and pictures populating the walls to the flower cups and coat hangers at each table, Barbara’s feels casually authentic and welcoming, as nice a place to eat as any.
That’s secondary to the food, though, which is good enough on its own. Barbara’s is home to some pretty tasty food and, at lunch time, the portions are well worth the asking price. It might not be your new go-to restaurant near the College, but it’s worth a try for anyone in the mood for something different.
(10/22/13 5:00am)
The stage was set for something dramatic at the end of Homecoming, a game in which quarterback Chris Spellman came alive and the football team’s defense stayed dominant for a 21-20 win over visiting Morrisville State College.
Leading by just a point in front of nearly 1,500 fans with less than two minutes remaining, the conference-best Lions (4-2, 3-0) defense needed to stop Morrisville’s conference-best offense only one more time to push the College to the top of the NJAC standings.
Morrisville drove to the College’s 37-yard line, but the Lions defense did what it needed to do in crunch time: end the game by forcing a turnover on downs, which it has done regularly this year.
“That really comes from our mentality,” senior linebacker Nick Bricker said. “Although we may not be the biggest, fastest or strongest team, we have a great team chemistry and truly believe in one another. Believing that your teammate will get the job done is pivotal to our success. As for our defense, we have a bend-but-don’t-break mentality that has helped us succeed tremendously, especially late in games.”
Bricker led the way with a game-high 19 tackles, including an assist to force fourth down on Morrisville’s final drive, while junior linebacker Ryan Lowe added 15 to limit Morrisville to season-lows of 20 points and 431 yards.
“Our main goal in every game is to shut down their offense,” Bricker said. “We were extremely excited to go up against the top-ranked offense, to truly test our defense. (Defensive coach Rocky) Hager and the other defensive assistants put together a great game plan in defending Morrisville, and our guys executed on game day. It is great to see our defense melding together and some new faces making a huge impact.”
While clutch play from the defense has been largely responsible for the Lions’ four-game win streak, its best stretch since 2010, opportunistic play from Spellman and the passing game put the College on top from the beginning.
The College never actually broke into the red zone and only entered Morrisville territory four times, but never needed anything more — getting three long TDs from Spellman, including the fourth-quarter winner.
With 10:09 remaining in the game, senior wide receiver Fred Sprengel made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch for the 30-yard TD to tie the game at 20-20, and sophomore kicker Evan Costello stayed cool in delivering the extra point for the final 21-20 score.
“Getting a win on Homecoming is always a great feeling,” Bricker said. “To show our friends, family and alumni that we are able to succeed is a great experience. It is very fortunate that this Homecoming win also concluded with us being first in the NJAC.”
Spellman ended the night 11-for-22 with 190 yards, 3 TDs and one INT, while sophomore running backs Victor Scalici and Brad Young were largely responsible for the Lions’ 121 rushing yards.
The Lions have another big game this week, though, as they travel to SUNY Cortland (2-1) on Saturday, Oct. 26 to stay in first place in the NJAC.
“Now we have to keep the momentum rolling and get ready for a great opponent as we travel up to Cortland,” Bricker said. “Take it one game at a time is our mantra from this point on.”
(10/22/13 5:00am)
There are a lot of fun stories coming out of the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs this year — one of the best among them being that Jamaal Charles is (very) quietly building a legitimate case for MVP.
No matter what Charles does, the path to the award goes through Peyton Manning. Quarterbacks have an inherent advantage in football, and Manning’s the best of the best. But arguably no team has relied on any player, quarterback or not, as significantly as the Chiefs have relied on Charles this year.
The oft-overlooked Charles has been his team’s best offensive player over the past five years, whether it be as a hyper-efficient secondary threat under Todd Haley’s pass-heavy offenses or a grinder for Andy Reid’s cautious 2013-14 team. Being the best did not mean much in the past, when the number of wins the Chiefs had could often be counted on one hand. But this year, being the leader of the 7-0 Chiefs — while playing with an inexperienced offensive line and an average passing game — is the high point of Charles’s career.
What has been best about Charles has not just been his ability to move the ball downfield, either, although that has resulted in a team-high of eight touchdowns — or 33 percent of the Chiefs’ total points so far — and 898 yards through seven games, which pro-rated is more than 2,000 yards.
The other important feature Charles has brought to the table is enabling the Chiefs to become a true “game management” team, meaning it is almost virtually guaranteed to win a game if it has a lead at any point in the second half.
Part of this stems from his natural effectiveness as a running back, but it also comes from his ability to tough it out and run the ball more often than anyone else through fatigue and injury, keeping opposing offenses off the field and unable to attempt a comeback.
Charles has the third-most rushing attempts in the NFL (135), most touches overall (171) and has helped Kansas City close out one-touchdown game after one-touchdown game, including a nine-minute drive in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles and a stellar performance against the Dallas Cowboys.
As a result of Charles’s game-killing abilities, an already-scary defense is well-rested when it gets on the field. This is a leading reason is why the Chiefs have conceded just 2.43 points per game in the fourth quarter — a historically awesome rate.
There are a lot of reasons why Charles should not win MVP. He is not the best running back in the league, especially when you take into account his 4.2 yards per rushing attempt, and there are other candidates: Manning, for example, or even teammates on the defensive side of the ball. Through seven weeks, his numbers are not quite as good as those of Adrian Peterson’s last year.
But it’s at least something to consider: the best player on the league’s best team should be talked about in the MVP race, and Charles is definitely the Chiefs’ best player. All that remains to be seen is if the Chiefs turn out to be the best league.