Spring Sports Preview 2021

MOTIVATED BY THE CHALLENGES

BY EMILY ADAMS

At the beginning of the 2020 season, the Ithaca College women’s lacrosse team looked like one of the best Division III squads in the nation. Although COVID-19 ended that strong start prematurely, the Bombers are motivated by the challenges of the past year and are focused on playing with gratitude every single day.

The South Hill squad was ranked No. 19 in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) 2020 preseason poll and posted four wins against nationally ranked teams in its first five games last season. The team entered the 2021 season ranked No. 15/16 in Division III. They have since moved up to No. 11. Senior midfielder Jacqui Hallack said the team prides itself on holding a national ranking.

“We want to be a top 10 nationally ranked Division III team,” Hallack said. “We think we deserve that, and if we work hard enough and we beat those teams that we need to that are below us, we should get the recognition and ranking that we deserve.”

Head coach Karrie Moore said the team’s greatest strength this year will be its core group of upperclassmen. Twelve of the squad’s 26 roster spots are filled by seniors, and Moore said their leadership has been essential to the smooth transition back to on-campus

activities and competition.

Defender Molly Nodiff and midfielder Rachel Rosenberg are important members of that senior class. The Bombers need to replace Becky Mehorter ’20, who was a consistent defensive force last year, and the duo of Nodiff and Rosenberg can certainly fill that hole.

The biggest challenge for the South Hill squad will be overcoming the yearlong setback caused by COVID-19. Moore said the team’s eight freshmen had not played competitive lacrosse in nearly two years because the high school season had not yet begun when the pandemic hit. Junior defender Gill Hanson said the return to practicing on campus was especially strange because of the college’s COVID-19 protocols.

“We first started off as playing in three different pods, which was so different than years before,” Hanson said. “We had to play non-contact for a while and be away from the whole team, which was super sad. However, since we did that, it made us bond as small groups so much better and get to know the freshman a lot better.”

Moore said she has seen a shift in the team’s mindset that she attributes to the loss they all experienced when their seasons were canceled in 2020.

“Every year your seniors have some urgency because it’s their last year, so they’re like, ‘Oh, my God, this is my last chance at doing this thing, or

accomplishing these goals,’” Moore said. “I think that more than just the se niors now have that sense of urgency. ... It’s shed a little light on how fragile things can be and how taking things for granted is not really the way we should live.”

The women’s lacrosse team became the first spring sports team to take part in intercollegiate competition at home when they faced No. 23 SUNY Cortland on March 17. They defeated the Red Dragons 18–11 and continued the pos itive momentum with a 9–7 win against The College at Brockport on March 20. Moore said she is less concerned with technical skills and is focused on developing the squad’s teamwork.

“Lacrosse is a game of mistakes, so you have to be okay with failing on the field sometimes,” Moore said. “The best teams get over it right away. That’s what I want to see on the field. ... It’s about playing with the right emotion and mindset on the field.”

TAKING THE SEASON DAY BY DAY

BY CONNOR GLUNT

After an abbreviated season with some promising games in 2020, the Ithaca College men’s lacrosse team will look to establish themselves as a threat in the Liberty League.

The Bombers went 2–3 last season with wins over Lycoming College and Cabrini University. The victory against Cabrini, the 2019 national champions, was the first win against a top five ranked opponent since 2016. Head coach Jeff Long is looking for his sophomores and seniors to make a jump and thinks his team can surprise people this year.

“[The ceiling] is really high and ever-growing,” Long said. “A lot of it has to do with how quickly we mature around all age brackets and positions.”

Senior Jake Hall-Goldman, who was named a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) preseason All-American, is one of eight returning seniors. Though he was excited, Hall-Goldman is not satisfied. Instead, he said his goals are to be named an All-American at the end of the season and to be a part of the best defense in

the country. Hall-Goldman set the bar high for himself and the team, but he still believes that those expectations can be met.

“I think that we can make a run in the Liberty League and we can beat anyone,” Hall-Goldman said. “After getting cut short last year and taking almost 10 months off lacrosse without the team, everyone’s excited to be back and chomping at the bit to play a different team.”

Hall-Goldman said he noticed that the offense is moving the ball extremely fast, partially due to sophomore Jake Erickson making the switch from midfielder to attackman. Long moved the sophomore to facilitate the offense from behind the opponent’s net. With Erickson working on becoming a better scoring threat, it is opening up more opportunities for his teammates, adding another element to an already dangerous offense.

“I think this year, we’re acting more as a whole group rather than just a bunch of individuals out there,” Erickson said. “We’re all playing unselfishly, we’re all playing fast, and I think that if we continue to kind of push each other and compete and practice every day, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

The team lost some key contributing seniors from last season, but Long said this year’s freshman class may be

one of the best in recent history. In a 10-game season, they will be essential to the team’s success this year.

“Our schedule is probably going to be one of the most intense we’ve ever had with the shortened amount of games,” Long said. “When you’re playing really good teams, the top guys neutralize each other, but you win a lot of games with your next level guys and the next man up.”

The Liberty League is a strong conference for men’s lacrosse with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Union College and St. Lawrence University ranking inside the top 20. Competition will be stiff this season, especially since the Bombers would have to win the conference in order to make the NCAA tournament.

Long said he does not want his team thinking ahead, so they have adopted a mantra to follow for the rest of the season. He makes his team take a day-by-day approach since the players arrived on campus in January, and Erickson said it has worked to help the team be able to adjust on the fly.

“As we’ve learned, anything can happen at any point,” Erickson said. “The more prepared we are for the unexpected, I think we’re going to be able to adapt and get through it.”

MEN’S TENNIS MEN’S TENNIS

BY JACK MURRAY

With some quality returners and solid recruits, the Ithaca College men’s tennis team is hoping to make

The team was 1–5 in the pandemic-shortened 2019–20 season and 6–13 with a league semifinal appearance in 2018–19. These records can be attributed to some lingering growing pains from joining the Liberty League in 2017 but also from losing several key players to injury. Head coach Chris Hayes, who is in his first year as head coach of the program, believes that the team should show improvement if everybody continues to

“Last year was going to be a long

year due to injuries,” Hayes said.

“However, [the team has] been competitive ever since they entered the Liberty League, and that should continue.”

First-year graduate student Minos Stavrakas has been an impactful player during his career at the college. He has been participating as a first pair singles and doubles player since his freshman season and has won 51 singles matches and 36 doubles matches in his career with the Bombers. Senior Max Prestwich has been in the lineup since his freshman year and has accumulated 20 singles wins and 19 doubles wins.

The upperclassmen on the team will serve as leaders on the court, but this does not mean that younger players are not expecting to see some significant playing time. Stavrakas shared praise for the freshman class.

“We’ve got five freshmen this year, and at least three or four are going to be starting,” Stavrakas said.

“We’re having a lot of good new additions to replace some of the guys who graduated. [Freshman] Deon Kraft has been doing a great job, and we are set to play number one doubles together.”

Senior George Lomas said these younger players are changing the

dynamic of the team due to their ability to hit hard serves.

“We’ve never been a big serving team,” Lomas said. “Now we have several freshmen who have really strong serves. ... This will allow us to get some free points from serves, which is something we haven’t really been able to do.”

Hayes named Vassar College as the top rival for the team and said the two matchups the team has against them will be interesting to watch.

“Vassar is an intense rivalry,” Hayes said. “We have clashed with them ever since we entered the conference. ... We have been able to beat them three times, and that is a huge accomplishment because Vassar is a really impressive school and really impressive program. That is our biggest in-conference rival.”

When looking toward the start of the season, Hayes said it will be interesting to see how the team responds to competing again. He said he believes the group is up to the challenge.

“There’s going to be a lot of nerves, that’s for sure,” Hayes said. “There will also be a sense of relief and a sense of normalcy. However, I’m excited, and we have been preparing for this for over a year.”

STAVRAKAS ENTIRE TEAM SERVES A PURPOSE BUILDING A LEAGUE REPUTATION

BY JACK MURRAY

When Ithaca College senior tennis player Sara Steinberg stepped onto the surface of Glazer Arena in January for practice, one word encapsulated her feelings: relief.

The Spring 2021 season will be an opportunity for the Bombers to assert themselves in the Liberty League. In the team’s last full season, 2018–19, they were unable to find much success and went 3–14 with a first round exit in the Liberty League tournament. However, that performance was not going to be repeated last season, as Brianna Ruback ’20 and second-year graduate student Jane Alkhazov were set to have strong final seasons. A large freshman class would have also resolved low roster numbers from the previous two seasons.

Head tennis coach Chris Hayes said that last year was going to be a huge step up for the team, and this year should be no different.

“We’re looking a lot like we did last year,” Hayes said. “We have had a lot of people who have come back and improved, including [sophomore Rebecca] Andrews. She has improved a ton since last year. [Sophomore] Zoe Davis has also shown a lot, but overall everyone is just improving. We are not as deep as we were last year, especially without Bri [Ruback]

and Jane [Alkhazov], but we will still be a tough out.”

Andrews and Davis both stepped in last season and received regular playing time in singles play. Sposito also received valuable time as a freshman, and she said she hopes to stand out more on the court this season while growing as a leader.

“I hope to make more of a presence on court this season,” Sposito said. “This year especially, I’m realizing that I want to make more of an effort to get everyone motivated to perform on the court, but also just be close and show love for each other off the court as well.”

Steinberg, the team’s lone senior, has been a key contributor to the lineup each season for the Bombers. This led to her selection as team captain for this year, which she said spoke to her leadership style.

“I think there’s a lot of responsibility that goes with it,” Steinberg said. “Everyone around me is supporting me, so that’s very nice to think about, and my coach advocates for my leadership skills, so I look forward to it.”

The Bombers will be playing a schedule this season that is primarily in the Liberty League to prioritize competition with similar COVID-19 protocols to the college and league. Steinberg said that getting back to these rivalries will be exciting, specifically

Rochester Institute of Technology and William Smith College.

“I know that some teams in our league aren’t as strong as they had been in the past,” Steinberg said. “I think they’re going to be competitive matches for sure, and I am hoping that we can come out on top. We have a strong team this year, like we had last year, so as long as we stay positive and keep our training up, I think that we have a better shot to find success in the league.”

Hayes said that as long as the team focuses, it will be able to continue the momentum it started last spring.

“We got robbed last year,” Hayes said. “Physically we are in a good spot, but we need to mentally dig in and believe that we can compete with teams like Skidmore [College], who are the top of the class and are who we are aiming to beat. If we can’t beat them this year, we want to be at least nationally ranked and have a chance at an at-large bid for the tournament.”

Sposito said that above all, compet ing for the college is going to be an overwhelming feeling.

“I love representing Ithaca,” Sposi to said. “I take pride in the school and am excited to wear the uniform on the court.”

TRACK MEN’S MEN’S TRACK& &

BY QUINTIN PELZEL

It has been a long hiatus for the Ithaca College men’s track and field team members, who were sidelined for a year because of COVID-19. The Bomb ers will participate in outdoor events for the first time in nearly two years and will look to capitalize on the oppor tunity to finally compete again.

The last time the South Hill squad was in an outdoor event was in Spring 2019, when they placed third at the Liberty League outdoor champion ships. The team will look different due to the roster turnover between the last two years and now. While 27 seniors have graduated and have moved on from the program, the Bombers have welcomed 31 freshman athletes to the program.

With many inexperienced underclass men joining the program, there is added pressure for head coach Jim Nichols to have his team prepared for the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The challenge for me is there is nothing to compare it to,” Nichols said. “This is the first time that we’ve gone through this type of situation. Every day is new and different. We have to adjust on the fly.”

The Bombers placed first March 6 in their first indoor meet in exactly a year, totaling 208 points. In addi tion to the team finishing in first place, two school records were broken. Fresh man Jalen Leonard-Osbourne won the 60-meter dash in his collegiate debut with a time of 6.92 seconds and ranked 12th in Division lll overall.

“I was actually expecting to run a little faster,” Leonard-Osbourne said. “I was a little sore. … The feeling after I crossed the finish line was great because I knew I won.”

The Bombers have eight seniors on the team for the upcoming spring season. This number is compara tively small when looking at the two previous seasons, when they had 15 seniors in 2020 and 13 seniors in 2019 graduate. The underclassmen will rely on this year’s senior class to help them stay focused and prepared for the outdoor season.

“My motto for leadership is to lead by example,” senior Benjamin Tiber said. “Don’t actively try to be a leader because then you could get in the way and actually become a nuisance.”

BEN TIBER 2021

This is the first time that we’ve gone through this type of situation. Every day is new and different. We have to adjust on the fly.

– Jim Nichols

Leonard-Osbourne said. “I know that I have to better myself overall and try to get better every day.”

Nichols said he has been impressed with what he has seen from this year’s seniors. Seniors Josh Endy, Alec Hofer and Hunter Stuart are

The Bombers still await their official schedule from the Liberty League for the upcoming outdoor season.

CONTACT QUINTIN PELZEL QPELZEL@ITHACA.EDU

preparing program for postseason success

BY DANNY KING

ARIYAHNA BERNARD

The Ithaca College women’s track and field team will look to build upon its strong 2019–20 indoor season and earn its third straight outdoor Liberty League championship in the upcoming season.

The Bombers will once again be under the leadership of head coach Jennifer Potter, who was named National Women’s Coach of the Year in 2020 by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. She was the only woman to be nominated for the award.

The entire coaching staff was named Coaching Staff of the Year by the Liberty League Conference on top of Potter’s award. Potter led the team with assistant coaches Mary Wallenback, Erin Dinan, Tyler Burdoff, Matt Scheffler and Leigh Martino, along with graduate assistant coach Maia Rumsey and student assistant coach Kassi Reagan.

“Our program wouldn’t be where it is without the level of coaching and the personal attention we offer,” Potter said.

The team has to work around COVID-19 restrictions that limit what it can do. Potter said travel will be one of the significant differences this year. She said the team can only travel a certain distance from campus in buses at half capacity. Potter added that because the college does not have a competitive outdoor facility, the Bombers will have no home meets.

One returning athlete is senior thrower Ariyahna Bernard. Bernard, who placed second in the Liberty League weight throwing competition and first in the shot put event, said she is looking to build on the end of her 2019–20 season and take the top spot in the weight throwing category.

“Last year, I had a personal best and was really close to qualifying for nationals,” Bernard said. Seeing my progress right now has really helped me stay focused on moving on.”

The team will also be looking to fill a hole left in the throwing events after Kendall Wellauer ’20 graduated last spring. Bernard believes the current group of throwers is ready to continue being a force not only in the Liberty League but nationally, too.

“Our throwing squad is extremely strong, especially in the Liberty League,” Bernard said. “Our chemistry together is one of the key factors in that.”

Potter said the Bombers can expect strong performances from freshman sprinter Katarina Gomez and freshman pole vaulter Gwen Gisler. Both were brought to the Nazareth Invitational on March 6th and earned spots on the podium. Gomez placed second in both

the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. She also ran the third leg in the winning 4x400 relay for the Bombers. Gisler earned second in the pole vault event after clearing 3.35 meters.

The team is also welcoming back sophomore Madison Martinez. Martinez runs the 400-meter hurdles for the Bombers and said she is looking to be a key contributor in the upcoming season.

“My personal goals are to be healthy, compete in as many opportunities as I can and be able to contribute to my team,” Martinez said.

Martinez said the Bombers have been broken up into practice pods based on their events due to COVID-19. She said that while it is unusual to not be together as a whole team, it has been a chance to build deeper relationships with just a few teammates.

“We [used to] practice together and work out together, but now we can’t really do it,” Martinez said. “It’s more of a distanced lift, workout runs and we’re broken up into smaller pods. I feel like I’ve gotten to know my pod, so that’s a positive takeaway.”

The Bombers are also being driven by what was taken from them last year. After being sent home from the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships just a day before events began, Potter said the loss hit them hard. While the team’s official schedule for outdoor has yet to be confirmed, Bernard said she felt a sense of determination from returning athletes to get back to nationals through practices and intrasquad events so far.

“We’re extremely hungry and have this thirst that has not been quenched,” Bernard said.

Potter said she wants the team to keep its attention on the outdoor Liberty League Championship and outdoor NCAA national championships.

“We’re a postseason program,” Potter said. “Everything takes time, and we are in no hurry. There’s no reason to get injured on March 6 when we’re focused on May 6.”

Above all, for senior athletes like Bernard, this season is a chance to represent the college and compete with her teammates one last time.

“I’m extremely fortunate to be able to have this opportunity,” Bernard said. “I know that there are some fall and winter seniors who don’t have the opportunity to finish out, and it’s holding that on my shoulders and doing it for the people who aren’t able to.”

ENVISIONING A NATIONAL TITLE

BY CONNOR WOOD

On March 1, 2021, when the Liberty League announced there would be spring competition at Ithaca College, seniors Beth Fleming and Haley White could not contain their excitement. After playing just eight games in the 2020 regular season, the Bombers softball team was ready to get back to Kostrinsky Field.

“Our whole house erupted,” White said. “All the seniors live together, so we were just so excited, yelling on every side of the house. It echoed everywhere.”

As they return to the field, they are led by a former Bomber, head coach Hannah Quintana ’07. She became the fifth coach in program history during summer 2019.

“Telling our team last year that we had no season was one of the low points I think I’ll ever have as a coach,” Quintana said. “They’re a fantastic group of women. They embody everything that softball is about, and I think they are ready to capitalize on this opportunity.”

As Quintana leads this year’s team onto the field, she said her goals are to keep her players safe and leave the dugout as national champions.

“We obviously have to focus on the world we’re living in right now, so the health and safety of our student-athletes is a big goal,”

BASEBALL BASEBALL

Quintana said. “Becoming national champions has been a long-standing goal of the program. I feel like our group is able to compete at that level this year.”

Quintana said that although the Liberty League did not put out its announcement until March 1, the team has been preparing for a season since it returned to the South Hill in January.

“It was a relief that we had the official word,” Quintana said. “We’ve been operating under that assumption for a little while now, which has made practice a little bit more competitive and given us a real sense of purpose and goals.”

The Bombers will only face three teams outside of the Liberty League: Elmira College, St. John Fisher College and SUNY Cortland. Clarkson University and the University of Rochester are expected to be competitive with the college within the conference. The Bombers went into overtime with both schools in the 2019 Liberty League Championships.

Quintana said she wants to bring power to the plate with strong hitting this season. On the defensive end, Quintana plans to have hard-throwing pitchers, specifically sophomore Riley Piromalli and Fleming, on the mound.

“We’re going to be a power offense,” Quintana said. “We’re going to put the ball out of the ballpark. We

believe in hitting the ball hard, and I think you’ll see that reflected in some of our power numbers.”

Fleming and White look toward their final seasons as Bombers along with fellow seniors Gabby Laccona, Kaitlin Maniscalco and Samantha Tro etti and first-year graduate students Haley Gaffney and Frankie-Ann Mc Cauley. Looking back on her four years, Fleming said she found a family within the softball program.

“I know that I have lifelong friendships,” Fleming said. “Every Bomber is going to be there for each other, and I think that is something I can be proud of. We fought through and are going to have a season, so let’s make the most of it.”

CONTACT CONNOR WOOD CWOOD3@ITHACA.EDU

SOFTBALL SOFTBALL

MAKING A NAME IN NEW LEAGUE HALEY WHITE 2021

BY TOMMY MUMAU

“People don’t understand [that] in baseball, there’s a huge aspect of team chemistry even though it’s an individual game,” Shirley said. “You’ve got to get along and mesh together now, before you start playing games. Right now, that’s what we’ve had to get used to. The chemistry’s going to be a little off. Hopefully the first couple games we can figure that out.”

Senior Garrett Callaghan, outfielder and captain of the team, said Valesente has done his best to prepare the team for this unusual season by leaning on the upperclassmen to be leaders for the rest of the players. Valesente also said he expects Shirley, one of the three team captains, to be a key contributor in 2021. He will also rely on senior Jack Lynch, shortstop and captain of the team, to play a pivotal role for this year’s squad.

Along with the team’s three captains, the club also expects to rely on some of its freshmen to make an impact. Valesente said he is particularly looking forward to seeing freshman infielders Kyle Gordon and Alex Barker-Hook and freshman pitchers Dom Trippi and Matteo Ragusa make their collegiate debuts this season.

This young team will play a rather demanding slate of games, despite the schedule being shortened to just 29 regular season games.

The South Hill squad will mostly play doubleheaders every Saturday and Sunday.

This will also be the first full season that the program has competed in the Liberty League, meaning they will face several new opponents. The club will be playing primarily a conference-based schedule, including a few games against other local programs.

While facing new opponents and entering a new league may present some challenges for the program, Callaghan said the team simply looks forward to having the opportunity to face outside competition.

“Any game that we’re playing as a team, we’re beyond excited for,” Callaghan said. “We’re just really putting our head down and looking forward to getting going. Baseball is baseball, no matter who you’re playing.”

Valesente said he is looking forward to the Bombers returning to play and making their presence felt in the Liberty League.

“We’re expecting a hard-nosed, gritty club that’s going to play every day like they haven’t played in a year,” Valesente said. “The guys are hungry, they want to play. ... We’re excited to see them get out there.”

MEN’S crew MEN’s crew

EvAN ORMSBY 2021

BY MARK PUSKEY

After over a year of not being in a boat together, the Ithaca College men’s crew team is ready to get back on the water once again.

Although the championships the team typically competes in, including the New York State Championships and the National Invitational Rowing Championships, have already been canceled or are at risk of being canceled, the team is still excited to have the Liberty League Championships and competitions against local teams.

“The Liberty League Championships is never a big deal for the men’s crew, but it will be a big deal this year,” men’s team head coach Dan Robinson said. “It will be the only multi-boat race that we will have. The guys are just excited to

Senior Evan Ormbsy, one of the team’s co-captains, said he believes the team has great roster depth this year in comparison to the last couple of seasons. He said that having three equally competitive boats will push each

group to improve throughout the season.

The projected first boat consists of Ormsby; his twin brother, senior Seth Ormsby; senior Steven Van Hoof; junior Colin McCarthy; and sophomore Jake Lentz. There are two open seats left on the boat for Robinson to decide who should fill them.

Due to the pandemic, the crew team was not able to have its usual fall competitions nor its annual spring break trip to Georgia. The team will have to get back into rhythm, but Robinson said he does not think they will be at a disadvantage.

Most of the other schools in the Liberty League were also not able to practice in the water during the lockdown. All of them are in the same boat. During the 10-month offseason, athletes found different ways to stay in shape. Senior Ethan Maines, one of the team’s other co-captains, said the team had to think outside the box to stay in shape and ready to row.

“All of us were in different situations,” Maines said. “I was lucky to have an erg at home. Some of the guys were able to get out on the water, but a lot of us had to do runs. We had to really get creative.”

Due to the small freshman class this year, there are only two freshman athletes who have rowed before: Ethan Burk and Anthony De Lapi. Robinson said that because the sophomore rowers didn’t have spring competitions last year, fall competitions or a spring break trip this year, it is like there are two freshman classes. Ormbsy said the freshmen have already improved and are becoming a part of the team with every practice.

Robinson said his goals for this season are to row a full season and bring home some wins. He usually uses the state championships to see how the team has improved, but without that competition, winning at least one race has become even more important to him this season.

Robinson considers Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to be the Bombers’ biggest rivals in the Liberty League, as all of their races are usually decided within two seconds. Maines said beating RIT is his biggest goal of the season.

The Bombers will kick off their spring season April 3 against RIT and the University of Rochester.

RACING FOR A CONFERENCE TITLE PRACTICING with purpose

BY CONNOR GLUNT

Walking into practice March 1, junior Dania Bogdanovic checked her phone to see an email from the Ithaca College Office of Intercollegiate Athletics announcing the college would be competing in Liberty League spring sport competition. While the team is still waiting for the conference and national championships to be announced, Bogdanovic said it felt surreal to finally hear good news about the team’s season.

“I was just thinking back to a year ago when we were on our spring trip down in Georgia, and everything was getting canceled,” Bogdanovic said. “We were trying to hold on to every last thing, but nothing was going to happen. … When I got the email, I just was like, ‘Wow.’ It was just so crazy to actually have something that’s definitely going to be happening.”

Bogdanovic said that before the Liberty League announced spring sports would be held this season, it was tough to train without knowing if the team would compete this season.

“It was definitely difficult to approach practice with an end goal or with an endgame, and I think that’s been the hardest part

of this last year,” Bogdanovic said. “It wasn’t necessarily that we were just practicing for competition, but we were practicing for each other. Having each other there was the best feeling ever. I think it was so easy to feel lonely based off the last year, but then coming back and having so much to work for just makes it so much better.”

Once the team received the news about spring sports, head coach Becky Robinson breathed a sigh of relief. She said she expected the team members to row against each other or local teams, but now her eyes are set on an NCAA title.

“Moving forward from here, the goal is to qualify for the NCAA championship and go there and compete,” Robinson said.

The Bombers will not be limited to just Division III competition this season. While they will race against Liberty League opponents like the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), University of Rochester and William Smith College, the Bombers will also face Division I and II teams.

The team plans to see Division I schools like Colgate University and Bucknell University and Division II Mercyhurst University.

The women’s crew team usually relies on recruiting students to join the program as walk-on athletes, but without in-person classes in the fall, Robinson had to adapt.

“I actually thought that [recruiting walk-ons] was great, and sometimes when you have fewer [walk-on athletes], they feel more part of the program and more valued, and so retention is better,” Robinson said. “That was what we saw. We didn’t lose anybody this season, and we usually do.”

One of the more experienced rowers, first-year graduate student Libby Ryan, has participated in competitive rowing since her junior year of high school. Ryan said she uses her experience to help the newcomers and the rest of the team improve at rowing and grow into leaders themselves.

“I try not to be vocal a ton because I want the younger girls to step up and do it,” Ryan said. “They obviously do, but it’s just nice to kind of split the load between everyone.”

The Bombers will host RIT and University of Rochester on April 3.

WOMEN’S crew WOMEN’S crew

WOMEN’S GOLF WOMEN’S GOLF

FINDING STRENGTH IN LEADERSHIP

BY DEVAN ADEGIBLE

Approaching almost a year and a half since the Ithaca College golf team’s last tournament, junior golfer Caitlin McGrinder said she is looking forward to

of coaching will have to change due to social distancing guidelines. He said athletes will rely on more verbal coaching than hands-on work.

“When we are on the course, it is not going to look that different, given that golf is a socially distant sport by nature,” Batson said. “It is just leading up to it — the travel and practice.”

McGrinder said the team is now practicing in simulators in the Athletics and Events Center. McGrinder said that due to COVID-19, there can only be one player in the simulator at a time with Batson rather than the whole team. The team consists of six Bombers: junior Katherine Chan, sophomore Mary Gersec, first-year graduate student Peyton Greco, sophomore Cristea Park, senior Sophia Israel and McGrinder.

The team will be led by Israel, who finished the 2019–20 season with an 18-hole average of 83.83, her lowest 18-hole round score being 77. Israel said she is relieved to have one last season of college golf.

“I am very fortunate to have this opportunity to finish out my collegiate career,” Israel said. “I want to leave everything out there. ... I want to go out with a bang. Expect me to be the best possible player I can be out there.”

With COVID-19 restrictions, the

Bombers will not be doing any two-day competitions like they have in the past. They will only be competing in one-day competitions with close schools like Hobart and William Smith Colleges, SUNY Cortland and St. Lawrence University.

Batson said the team’s biggest strength is its leadership. Greco leads the team along with Israel and said she felt unfulfilled with how her senior season ended in the spring. During her Fall 2019 campaign, Greco scored an average of 77.83. She said she is excited to continue this season.

“I felt lucky because I know there are people who didn’t get the opportunity to keep playing,” Greco said. “To be able to go out and play is very exciting.”

Batson said the Bombers’ main goal for the season is to get back to playing tournament-style golf. He said he also wants to see the team improve each week while continuing the momentum it created last year. The team averaged 333.25 in the 2019–20 season.

“Hopefully we can pick up where we left off because they were doing really well,” Batson said. “[We are] using the spring as a stepping stone for next fall for the younger players on the team.”

2021 calendar

1 p.m., 3 p.m. Rochester 2 p.m. Vassar

12 p.m., 2:30 p.m. Vassar