Stickey Tongued Frogs advance to Nationals

For the second consecutive year, the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team made it to Nationals. This year, team Co-Captain Sarah Ervin ’11 has high hopes.

“I’m really optimistic. I think we’re in an awesome position because we have improved exponentially as a team this year, both as individual players and how we work together as a team,” she said.

Ervin emphasized the benefit of most team members remaining on the team for their entire time at Grinnell.

“We have a very large and educated senior class which I think it definitely part of [our success],” Ervin said. “Also, we have grown so much as a team over these past four years and I think that has a lot to do with the [senior] class. And additionally, the juniors this year have just being so dedicated, and have spent so much time learning about the sport.”

Paige Hill ’12 describes how much more goal oriented the team has become.

“Originally, our goal for the season was to qualify for Regionals, so I think at this we are all prepared to go [to Nationals], enjoy ourselves and play really competitively. We are not going to go say we must win Nationals. However, I think we have a really good shot at it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we won, but it’s not something we are basing our success off of right now,” Hill said.

Basically, regardless of how well the team does at Nationals, they will be happy.

“If we go and we play our best and we lose every game, we still achieved our goal and played our best while doing it,” Hill said. “I think that would have been a lot harder to say if we played our best and hadn’t made Regionals, because we made it a goal all season. I think in the back of our minds we are thinking we could win, because we’ve been training really hard.”

Hill described how much these new goals have changed the team’s mentality, not only in improving their seed, but in creating a more successful approach to games.

“We really started believing that we could go to a National Championship, and do good there. We started thinking of ourselves as a much more competitive team. I think a lot of it has to do with, when you think of yourself as a team that is losing but can win you start to approach things differently. You organize your practices differently, you approach tournaments with a different mentality,” Hill said.

When describing how this season has compared to other seasons Ervin pointed out how much the team has committed to always improving.

“I think one thing that been really noticeable about this season is the incredible amount of improvement we’ve had over the year,” Ervin said. “We have a lot of first years that don’t come from an athletic background, but who have worked so hard to figure out the general aspects of the game and have come to almost every tournament performing well.” There’s been more than just physical improvement this year.

“Technically, we’ve also played way smarter this year. There are just more people on the team who know more about ultimate strategy than in any other year and this has made a huge difference. It has helped us really outsmart a lot of opponents this year,” Ervin said.

Division III Ultimate Nationals will take place in Buffalo, New York during the weekend of May 20.

Track and Field teams take second place at home

The Grinnell Track team hung with the competition at the Dick Young Classic this past Saturday, April 29, as both the Men’s and Women’s teams took second place.

David Garwood '13 starts strongly out of the blocks during the 400m dash on Saturday of the Dick Young Classic. Photograph taken by Andrew Kelley.

Propelled by a slew of top three finishes on both teams, the men finished with 190 points and the women with 151 points.

The men had five first-place finishes, including two by Sam Goldstein ’11, who won the triple jump with a skip, bound and leap of 41’-4½’’ and was a member of the 4×100-meter relay, which won in a time of 43.90 seconds.

Goldstein was quick to downplay his triple jump success.

“There [were] only five people in the triple jump,” Goldstein said. “But what is really important for me is I jumped better than the week before and so if I can jump better than I did the week before than I’m happy with how I did.”

No one was downplaying their relay victory. They struggled both to win and even to get a full team.

“For a while we didn’t have a person for our fourth leg. So, we did some trial runs at our last meet and Sam was the guy we decided,” said relay team member Scott Phillips ’11, who also placed third in the 100-meter sprint.

That trial run, as Goldstein describes it, was more like a try-out on a very public stage.

“At the meet in Des Moines, [Coach Freeman] had me, Andy Hirakawa [’12] and Davis [Herman ’11], all entered in the 100 [meters] to fill out the last two sports, and everyone else scratched out of that heat, so it was just us three and I ended up getting first,” Goldstein said.

Though a young quartet, Phillips has high hopes for the rest of the season. “I think we still have some things we could work on, but overall we’re close to being a good competitor come Conference,” Phillips said.

Also on the men’s side, Noah DeLong ’11 won the 800-meteres in a time of 1:59.56, Gavin Warnock leaped 20’7.25” to victory in the long jump and Jake Lindstrom vaulted 12 feet seven and one half inches in the pole vault.

DeLong recounted his victory.

“I think I came through the first lap in 57 [seconds]…on the way around I think was I pretty tired,” he said. “My arms were pretty dead. I’m not sure what would have happened if there was someone to push me more, if I would have been faster or not, but I pushed it pretty hard through the end.”

The women were led by Christine Ajinjeru ’14, who earned Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honors for her victory in the 400-meters with a time of 60.13 seconds and her role on the once-again school record-breaking 4×400-meter relay team of Elena Gartner ’14, Sarah Burnell ’14, Isabelle Miller ’13 and Ajinjeru, who took second with a time of 4:03.82.

Coincidentally, the relay team has found their formation less than ideal.

“There’s three of us that usually do the relay. There’s Isabelle, Sarah and [myself], so the entire outdoor season we’ve been trying to find a fourth person to start off the race and this time around the combination worked well,” Ajinjeru said.

Gartner, the fourth piece, tells the tale of formation as though it were quite serendipitous.

“It sort of happened as an accident. I hadn’t been on the relay to begin with, and I was just filling in for someone and the day that we did that we all had really good races and broke the record for the first time,” she said.

The women hope to give the MWC’s top relay team, Monmouth, a good challenge at the Conference Meet.

Also putting out an impressive day were Burnell, who won the 1500-meters (4:55.81) and took second in the 800 (2:23.48), Gartner, who placed third in the 800 with a time of (2:26.04), Leah Russell ’11, who took third in the 1500 in 5:04.89, Cassidy White ’14 who placed second in the 3000-meters (20:03.95) and Sachi Graber ’12, who pole vaulted to second in 9’-2 ¼” and was on the second place 4×100-meter relay team along with Emily Clennon ’14, Ajinjeru and Miller.

For the rest of the season, Goldstein is confident.

“I think that we’re progressing really well and I think we’re looking pretty good for Conference,” he said.

This Saturday the squad will compete at the Kip Janvrin Invite in Indianola, IA.

Kunal talks the best out there, the NBA

The NBA Playoffs are a spectacle to behold. The regular season is a grueling 82 games. It is well known that hardly any player is playing with maximum focus and intensity for every single one. Sure, the NBA is comprised of the best basketballers in the World, and star players like Derrick Rose are seemingly always playing at full-speed. However, even Rose had moments this season when his head was not fully in the game; for example, in a 107-78 loss to the Magic in early December, Rose had 15 points on 5-13 shooting from the field, four assists, no rebounds, no steals, three turnovers, and was a -24 for the Bulls when he was on the floor. He also went 3-6 from the charity stripe, which might be the statistic most revealing of the career 82 percent shooter’s mindset. The Playoffs are a totally different animal.

In the Playoffs, because the stakes are so high (“win or go home” is the NBA’s cliché of choice), every player is playing with maximum intensity all the time. When the best of the best, such as LeBron, Kobe, and Rose, all step their game up to that next level, fans are treated to a quality of basketball that is unsurpassed by any other event or tournament anywhere ever. I don’t care how good any NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is or was, that kind of basketball looks like crap when you compare it to the NBA Playoffs. Of course, the allure of March Madness reaches far beyond the quality of ball played on the court, and that’s fine; I’m just saying that if your goal is to watch the most highly-skilled basketball you possibly can, you need to tune in to the NBA’s postseason. Indeed, this year’s first-round games have not disappointed.

In the Western Conference, surprises abound. Obviously, few expected the eighth-seeded and seventh- seeded New Orleans Hornets to take the opening stanza of their matchups with the and respectively. However, did anyone really expect the third- seeded Mavericks to take a two-game lead to Portland? Bill Simmons’ pre-playoff Podcast summed up well what the general consensus on this series was a few days ago, “the Mavs might have the series’ best player in , but the Blazers might have the next three or four best players after him.” The Blazers also entered the postseason on a bit of a roll, winning five of their last seven, including a 104-96 shellacking of the Mavs on April 3. I love the Blazers, as I think that their starting five has three of the most underrated players in the NBA in LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Miller, and Gerald Wallace. I also really like Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum off the bench, but the bottom line is that the whole team needs to play better defense if they’re going to beat Dallas. The Mavs have shot better than 40 percent from three-point range in both games so far, nailing 18 total, but their offensive success has not been limited to the perimeter; Dallas has 55 free-throw attempts in two games, with Dirk taking 30 of them. The way that Jason Kidd and Peja Stojakovic are shooting from the outside, the Blazers have been hesitant to double up on Dirk, and as a result, he’s getting to the line at a ridiculous rate. The Mavs are a veteran team with tons of playoff experience and a top-10 player in the league, and as much as I love the mix of size and skill on Portland’s roster, I can’t see the Blazers clawing their way out of a 2-0 hole.

Speaking of surprises, how about those ? By now, everyone is aware of how good the Nuggets have been since the ‘Melo and Billups trade – 18 wins in 25 games, including impressive victories against the likes of Boston, San Antonio, Dallas, and the Lakers. As the postseason got underway this past weekend, Denver had become a trendy pick to not only beat the Thunder in Round One, but to actually make it to the Conference Finals and beyond. Arguably, there is not a more complete team in the playoffs, as Denver boasts basically two NBA-caliber starting lineups. The backcourt is solid with players like Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson, J.R. Smith, and . The frontcourt is formidable with players like Nene, Danilo Gallinari, Kenyon Martin, , and Birdman Andersen. The weaknesses of this Denver Nuggets team are few and far between, but I’m still not ready to sip the Kool-Aid quite yet. Why? Only because their opponent in the First Round, the Thunder, boasts similarly impressive depth, and a clearly superior starting lineup. is obviously OKC’s main guy in the backcourt, but , Eric Maynor (VCU Alum), , and are all suitable threats to score or put the ball on the floor. , , and Serge Ibaka provide a good mix of scoring prowess, defensive discipline, and rebounding, but Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed can definitely hold their own for the 20 minutes or so a game that they’re asked to play. OKC took game one behind unbelievable performances from Durant and Westbrook. While I think this will be a topsy-turvy series that goes the full seven games, my gut is telling me that Denver doesn’t have enough offensive firepower to keep up with the Thunder.

The final results of the first few Eastern Conference playoff games were not particularly surprising, as the Bulls, Heat and Celtics got off to quick 2-0 leads in their respective series. The games have been fantastic, though. The eighth-seeded Pacers have given the Bulls all they can handle in the first two games, and while it is quite evident that Chicago is the better team, and Derrick Rose is the best player on the court, I can’t compliment this Pacers team enough on how hard they are playing. If Darren Collison didn’t go down right before the half of Game 2, the Pacers might have won that game. That all being said, the Bulls smell blood with a 2-0 series lead, and the Pacers’ confidence has to be rattled after letting two late-game leads slip away. I see Chicago putting that series to bed in the next couple of games. The best series in the East, though, has been Boston-New York. Two games, two times Boston has needed late-game heroics from one of the Big Three to take care of the pesky Knicks. Carmelo went off in Game 2, putting up 42 points and 17 boards, but when Toney Douglas becomes your second best scoring option, and Amar’e Stoudemire scores four points on 2-9 shooting from the field, your team has offensive issues and it’s certainly going to be tough to outscore the Big Three plus Rondo. Despite the fact that Boston has shot well above 40 percent from the field in both games so far, I actually think the Knicks have played pretty well defensively (aside from letting Rajon “I really can’t shoot a jump shot” Rondo score 30 in Game 2). It is New York’s inability to get consistent scoring from any player other than ‘Melo, and even he went 5-18 from the field in Game 1, that has been their Achilles’ heel in this series. How ironic it is that offensive stagnancy is the biggest problem of this Mike D’Antoni-coached team? The Knicks have outplayed the Celtics at times during this series and I don’t think it is past them to win two in a row at the Garden. However, too much veteran leadership, combined with Rondo’s uncanny ability to step his game up in the playoffs and do a little of everything, will end the Knicks’ season short of the Second Round.

The Dick smaller than last year, still satisfying

Despite the recent downturn in weather, the Grinnell’s Track and Field team has grown, excelled and had athletes finish consistently in top places in sprint, distance and field events.

At the recent meet Jim Duncan Invitational in Des Moines, Pioneer women led by Elana Gartner ’14, Christine Ajinjeru ’14, Sarah Burnell ’14 and Isabelle Miller ’13 broke the school record in the 4×400-meter relay, Gartner ran her split of 63.5, Ajinjeru a 60.4, Burnell a 60.6 and Miller a 60.2, for a time of 4:04:78, besting the previous record of 4:04:91, set in 1997. A trio of Grinnell runners, (left to right) Ben Tyler '14, Shyam Deshpande '11, and Alex Reich '11, lead the pack during the Men's 5000m run two weekends ago at the Cornell College Open track meet. Photograph taken by Ben Brewer.

The Pioneer men also fared well, Griffin Lentsch ’13 and Sam Goldstein ’11 had top finishes in the triple jump event. Lentsch was ninth in the triple jump with a leap of 40-10 ¼, while Goldstein was 10th in the event at 40-8 ¼.

The season overall has seen strong performances.

“I think the season is going really well. It’s pretty exciting, it all started with having the new indoor field and that really helped us to be able to run our track practices the way they really ought to be run,” Freeman said.

Sprint Team Captain Davis Herman ’11 agrees the new facilities have contributed to the team’s early successes.

“We’ve also seen several school records broken already this season, which is super exciting.” Herman said. “This is also the first year we’ve been able to train on our new indoor track, so as a team we definitely feel compelled to make the best of our outstanding facilities.” A number of top finishes have been recorded this season. On the men’s side alone over 10 new all-time records have been placed, Herman snagged the 8th spot for fastest 400-meters at 51.83. Other entries include Alex Reich ’11 (10000m Run), Shyam Deshpande (3000 Steeplechase), Griffin Lentsch (High Jump), Scott Phillips (200m Dash) and Kevin Pflaum (Hammer Throw).

Griffin Lentsch '13 eyes the bar during his high jump attempt at the Cornell College Open track meet two Saturdays ago in Mount Vernon, IA. Photograph taken by Ben Brewer.

Another benefit this season is the number of both new and returning talent which has helped team unity.

“We have a lot of talent on our team from both the first years and returning runners. I think most of us would agree that the team as a whole is ahead of where we’ve been in past years,” said Sprint Captain Sam Bates ’12. ”There have already been a number of new records set and we just started outdoor season!”

Coach Freeman is especially pleased with the first year additions.

“We have really awesome group of freshmen, I am really especially proud of our freshmen class.” Freeman said. “I can’t say enough about their dedication and work ethic.”

These team dynamics really played out at the Indoor Conference meet that Grinnell hosted, which was also was a favorite of some of the athletes.

“So far my favorite meet was definitely the Indoor Conference meet here at home,” Herman said. “We had a lot of people come out and support the team, which was a lot of fun.”

Going into this weekend’s home meet, the Dick Young Classic, the team feels confident.

“I suspect the Dick Young this Saturday might trump [the Indoor Conference Meet], though. It’s always a lot of fun,” Herman said.

The meet has a lot of potential to set the team on the right track for the rest of the season.

“Really, right now tends to be the turning point where the countdown to conference is on, so people are buckling down and getting serious about busting out some really quality performances. It’s an exciting time,” Bates said.

Grinnell hosts the Dick Young Classic this Saturday, April 23, at Les Duke Track. The meet starts at 8 a.m.

Men’s Tennis leads MWC, eyes Regionals

Domination may be the only fitting word to describe the men’s tennis team’s spring season. Led by Juan Carlos Perez ’11, currently nationally ranked 21st in singles, the Pioneers are confident in their ability to win the Midwest Conference title and advance to NCAA Regionals for the eighth consecutive year.

Alec Moore '11 gears up to serve during practice on Wednesday. Photograph taken by Andrew Kelley.

Despite losing their latest match to Coe College last Saturday, the Pioneers have won eight of their last nine games and hold the best overall record in the Midwest Conference at 18-6.

“A lot of hard work early in the season in terms of conditioning has helped us be stronger and fitter than other teams as the season progresses,” Perez said. “It’s been great to see how the team has overcome adversity throughout the season.”

During their eight-game winning streak prior to its loss to Coe, the team swept four of its opponents, displaying its talented and depth.

“Heading into the year, we had six individuals who had all earned either a singles or doubles title in the Midwest Conference,” Head Coach Andy Hamilton said. “Experience has been perhaps the single most important contributor to our success.”

On April 3, the team bested Carleton 6-3, a strong team in the region they lost to last year.

“The [Carleton] match definitely gave us confidence because lot of players realized that we could play against a tough competition,” Dmitriy Glumov ’11 said.

Though the loss to Coe College halted the team’s winning streak, head coach is not worried at all.

“The Coe match was a great Division III competition,” Hamilton said. “I thought we played well in most positions and we competed at all lineup spots. There were no disappointments, and I was quite pleased with how comfortable we were in the difficult and tense moments.”

Along with Perez, Glumov, the team’s number two singles player and Perez’s doubles partner, has played incredibly, uplifting the team. He did not begin the season well, losing three of his first five singles matches and two of his first three doubles matches. However, since then he has lost only three singles matches since. Additionally, Perez and Glumov have not dropped a doubles match since Feb. 13.

“After a nervous start, [he] has been tremendous,” Hamilton said. “I hope he can cap off a great senior year with some special moments in the final weeks of the season. He has a big heart for his teammates and Grinnell.”

The pair of Perez and Glumov is ranked number one in doubles in the region.

“Juan and Dmitriy at the top of the lineup wins more frequently than any others and has been a tremendous help toward overall team success,” Alec Moore ’11 said. “Their great play has put less pressure on the bottom of the lineup.” Though everything seems to be heading the right way for the Pioneers, they believe there is always a room for improvement. Moore pointed out the mental game.

“As a team, we could stand to improve our game mentally,” he said. “Better mental toughness is what it is going to take to pull out close matches like Coe and potentially those at conference in the future.”

The team faces perhaps its toughest competition this Saturday against Washington University, who is ranked sixth in the country among Division III schools.

“Wash U gives us a chance to play one of the top [6] teams in the nation, and give [Perez and Glumov] a chance to play against top quality players,” Hamilton said. “[Washington University] is a classy team with great players.”

The team will cap off the regular season next Saturday against Knox College and Monmouth College before heading to Madison, WI for the Midwest Conference title.

“We are the favorites to do [win], but we need to make sure we work really hard to accomplish this goal because there are some really good programs out there who want to take Grinnell down for the first time in awhile,” Perez said.

Women’s Tennis shuffles line- up, looks to Regionals

After going 13-1 during the fall season, the Grinnell Women’s Tennis team is aiming high this spring in the run-up to NCAA Regionals. Their season restarted over spring break and the women have put up a of 5-3 record this spring, putting them one win away from tying last year’s win record. Despite the losses this spring, Coach Andy Hamilton is pleased with the way the team is playing.

“We have the option in terms of this spring being a learning experience, but I have to say, if we get everyone playing at their top level, this is the best team that Grinnell’s had. So why wait till next year, let’s make some noise,” he said.

Sadhana Athreya ’14, echoed Hamilton’s sentiment, saying that improvement that started over the fall has continued during the spring.

“Over especially our spring break trip we were not supposed to do as well as we did,” Athreya, number two singles, said. The team finished their trip with a 3-2 record. “After the spring break, we’ve continued to improve, we beat central [April 12] 8-1 and last season we struggled to beat them 5-4.”

The Women’s team is coming off a very strong fall season—as the number one seed from the south division, they cruised to their 6th Midwest Conference title in seven years.

“At the individual championships we won the number two singles, number three singles, number four singles, number five singles and number six singles and I think we won number two and three doubles,” Hamilton said. “So it was a very fruitful Midwest Conference Championships.”

After dominating the fall season, dropping only one match to Coe College, the team received recognition and is currently ranked 13th in the Central Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. This is the first time in seven years that Grinnell has been ranked in the region. Grinnell will face off against Coe, who is ranked 11th in the Central Region this Sunday at 11 a.m. in Cedar Rapids. Although Grinnell lost to Coe 6-3 last fall, Hamilton thinks that a change in mind set could be the difference between a win this weekend and last fall’s loss.

“Coe was the only team that beat us in the fall and our women are very aware of that so I anticipate a very competitive match just because of our determination,” Hamilton said. “I hope to see us go over to Cedar Rapids and really compete to win. It might happen, it might not, but I want to see that mentality. We went there in the fall saying ‘This is a barometer match, we’ll see how strong we are.’ We walked away saying ‘Darn it, if we had taken a little different attitude…’”

The women have had to solidify several aspects of their game in order to be at their very best before NCAA Regionals, including their roster. After losing number one singles player Toby Cain ’12 to study abroad, the team picked up a talented transfer in Laura Krull ’14 who replaced Cain at number one singles and got back the experienced Tatyana Sukharnikova ’12 from her semester abroad. Despite the extensive roster shifts, the women have handled the shifts without a drop in play or team unity.

“Things are different this semester,” Hamilton said. “Whenever you have changes the team is vulnerable to upsetting the apple cart. But what we’ve gained, because the apple cart remained steady so to speak, is the ability and understanding by our student-athletes that they all individually contribute to a collective team effort.”

The only issue on the court that worries Hamilton is doubles. Finding the right chemistry between two players can be difficult as is having to start over again at the beginning of the semester.

“Against Augustana we lost 5-4, we split the singles, but they took two of three doubles,” Hamilton said. “For a team’s confidence and for a team starting off the match doubles play is very important. I think I have our team’s worked out. Laura Krull and Sadhana Athreya, Constanza Alarcon [‘13] and Catherine Fitch [‘13], which of course are our two-time number two Midwest Conference Champions, and then I really like Clothilde Thirouin [‘13] and Tatyana Sukharnikova [’12], and those two are still really working out the kinks.”

Krull, who joined the team at the beginning of the semester, quickly found her place. She and her doubles partner, Athreya, found a connection almost immediately and they have cemented their position as number one doubles.

“I felt right away that I had this group of solid friends,” Krull said. “And I showed up to practice on the first day and Coach said, ‘Hey, it would be really great if you and Sadhana would pay together and we’ll see what happens,’ and we played together and never looked back. We clicked when we stepped on the court, our games complement each other and we have the same mentality on the court.”

Athreya says that the reason she and Krull bonded so quickly was their communication and understanding of each other’s style of play.

“We enjoy ourselves out there,” Athreya said. “We’re able to laugh at each other and we don’t find the need to apologize for making mistakes. But the thing is we can talk things through.”

That environment of open communication and team chemistry is also what Athreya and Krull say is the team’s main strength. But as Regionals draw nearer and match play is sharpened, Hamilton’s focus on the mental game looks like the last big step. Two solid matches (or wins) against a regionally ranked Coe and nationally ranked Carleton would demonstrate that this team is mentally ready for the Regionals match-up.

“As long as we play close tight matches, we’re going to have a lot of confidence going into Regionals,” Krull said. Kramers talks MLB, NBA, Gucci Mane and height

Let me begin this column with a dedication to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person to ever venture into outer space 50 years ago. Gagarin’s sojourn into the cosmos on April 12, 1961 was, all things considered, one of the more kickass events in human history. Yuri is like the Soviet John Glenn, except he was first in space and was literally as tall as my mom (a formidable 5’ 2”). Gucci Mane was obviously in outer space as well when he ruined his otherwise wholesome image by throwing a woman out of a moving car for refusing to go have sex with him in a hotel for $150. She was obviously not a Gucci fan, and thus she did not allow him to take her to Gucci land. Gucci’s cold actions have got his fans, myself included, saying “Burr!” So in this emotionally vulnerable state, with my heart heavy for Gucci’s sturm und drang but swelling with pride remembering the pinnacles of human achievement represented by tiny Yuri, it’s only right to examine a sport which, for me, reflects this inner tumult.

To me, the most frustrating sport to watch is baseball. Baseball can be epically boring for huge scoreless stretches and sometimes features all of a team’s scoring within the span of give minutes. But baseball remains America’s second favorite sport after professional football. “America’s pastime” garnered the primary support of 17 percent of sports fans polled by Sports Business Daily in January. Pro football received 31 percent while college football got 12 percent of fans. Men’s soccer clocks in with four percent, but that’s relatively strong compared to the NBA’s meager six. Surely with only the MLS actually possible to see live in the US, the National Basketball Association should be the favorite of more than six percent of sports fans. So to please the people who love these sports and probably tire of the endless football and basketball that appears under my byline, this one is for you. This week I turn again to Major League Baseball hoping for the best and expecting the worst from my long suffering Kansas City Royals, then the more pleasurable pursuit of the NBA playoffs. My goal: a cathartic exercise of sports demons, à la Anthony Hopkins in The Rite, via greater understanding, and also crucifixes.

After writing my baseball and golf column last year I decided to at least pay a modicum of attention to each in the next few years so that I could expand my repertoire of sports topics for columns like these. I pretty much failed—as Dean Pelton said on Community, “TV’s gotten crazy good lately.” But I did follow the Royals during the off-season as they traded Zach Grienke to the Milwaukee Brewers in another of their long saga of cost-dumping moves which have seen them part ways with the likes of Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, and David Cone. But the Royals are off to a surprisingly strong start this season, currently sitting at second in the AL Central with a record of 7-4 behind the red-hot Cleveland Indians. The Royals billed the Grienke trade as a move to secure the future of the franchise with more cheap potential stars in the minor leagues, yet their record indicates that we may not have to wait too long to see these Royals achieve the mediocrity we crave so deeply after years of last-place. The Royals’ young pitching staff, though underwhelming on paper, has been surprisingly solid this season with a combined ERA of 4.24. Reliever Joakim Soria is one of the best in the MLB with an ERA of 1.78 last season. The Royals have also been productive on offense, ranking eighth in the league with 62 runs scored. KC’s attack has been led by shortstop Mike Avilés.

Several other beleaguered fan bases have been given an unexpected gift this season from their oft terrible teams. The Baltimore Orioles are surprisingly off to a 6-4 start, which is currently good enough to tie for the lead in the AL East with the perennial division winners, the New York Yankees. Only time will tell if the Orioles are a legitimate contender in the division of if the Yanks are just off to a slower start than usual. There certainly ought to be some doubters in Baltimore with the Orioles ranking 25th in runs, 28th in batting percentage, and 28th in on-base percentage. They will have to improve their hitting beyond the solid efforts of veteran 2B Brian Roberts if they want to compete with the Yankees.

The other story in the AL East is Terry Francona’s slumping Boston Red Sox, who currently sit in the division cellar at 2-9. Daisuke Matzusaka has been struggling and the offense has struggled to produce runs. David Ortiz is too old to be the main slugger for the Sox, so unless they can turn it around quickly it may be time to make some changes in Boston. It’s not time to push the proverbial panic button in Boston, but it’s close.

The last pleasant surprise of the nascent MLB season has been the Cleveland Indians. Perhaps spurred by the “resurgence” of Charlie Sheen’s fame, the team that was the butt of man jokes in Major League is currently leading my Royals by a game in the AL Central with an impressive 8-4 record. Pitcher Justin Masterson has an excellent 1.35 ERA while Asdrubal Cabrera already has 4 homers and 10 RBI.

Finally, because I love the NBA playoffs like Ben Tape loves corgis, I can’t let this timely column go by without some brain droppings on the subject. The most intriguing matchup of the first round pits the three seed from the Eastern Conference, the , against the six seed, the . The Celtics have looked worn down lately, and I don’t think their depleted front line of ’s corpse, Shaq’s corpse, , and Nenad Kristic can stop the double-pronged, Yuri Gagarin-esque Amare and Carmelo Show. My pick is the Knicks in six. My NBA Finals prediction is that the will be too strong for the Lakers and emerge from the Western Conference Finals to face the Bulls, who will defeat the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. I can’t wait for this matchup–Kevin Durant’s unparalleled scoring ability, Derrick Rose against Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins against and Carlos Boozer. I think the Bulls simply have too much firepower, inside and out, and will take the series in seven games thanks to home court advantage in the final contest. Derrick Rose is like the Yuri Gagarin of his generation, except not the first player to win a championship, not Russian, and not 5’ 2”.

Baseball has losing record while unbeaten in MWC

Records define team’s rankings as well as indicate how well the team is playing. For the Grinnell Baseball team, their current record 9-11 does not say much. If anything, it is only the beginning. Having played tough non-conference opponents, including a Division I team, and being undefeated in Midwest Conference play, the Pioneers are confident they will bring the Conference championship trophy home this season.

They played two games on April 2 and on April 9 against Knox College. In the second game of the April 2 doubleheader, the team set the record for most runs and RBIs in a game scoring 21 runs and driving-in 20 of those runs to break the RBI and single game runs scored records that were set in 2009 and 1992, respectively.

“It’s really neat to see that we’re coming together as a team and contributing to beat the record,” said Greg Suryn ’11. “It was refreshing to see that the games we played in Florida paid off in our first few conference games.”

The team travelled to Florida during Spring Break and competed against tough teams, including Division I Dartmouth and other teams ranked in the Division III Top 25. Although the team left Florida with a losing record of 3-8, the experience still benefitted the team.

“We showed we can compete with really good teams and it’s going to set us up well for the conference because teams aren’t going to be as strong as those we played in Florida,” said Matt Blumenreich ’13. “If anything, it’s going to have positive impacts. It’s going to make us realize what we did wrong and we can improve from that.”

That experience paid off in their most recent game against Central College on April 12. The team won 15-13 in a tough come from behind victory after being down 5-0 in the first inning.

“It was a windy day, which is never good for the pitchers,” said Kainoa Inafuku ’14. “The field was tough to play on too, but we stayed together and picked each other to win the game.”

After loading the bases with two walks and a batter being hit by a pitch, Inafuku hit a single to drive in two runs. The Pioneers scored three runs in the ninth inning to overtake the lead and eventually win the game.

Early in the week, Mike Nodzenski ’12 tied the school record for most home runs in a career with 23 on Monday. He tied Paden Roder’s record, which was set from 2007-2010.

The Pioneers look forward to continuing their over-.500 winning percentage season for third consecutive season and their undefeated conference record for second consecutive season. Along with Inafuku, the first-years have elevated their games to become a crucial part in the team’s latest success.

Inafuku is the only first-year player to have started every game and is batting .275 so far. Jackson Markey ’14 has started nine games for the Pioneers while pitcher Will Pahos ’14 leads the team in wins with three and Andrew Kelley ’14 has the team’s two saves.

“I like what I’ve seen so far from a very talented group of first-years,” Ben Pope ’12 said. “We also have several talented first-year catchers, but it’s hard for them to get playing time when Nodzenski, the conference player of the year last year, is the starting catcher.”

According to Suryn, the first-years seemed to be nervous in the beginning of the season, but experiences in Florida helped them very much.

Depth in pitching, something the team lacked last season, also improved the team’s overall play.

“We didn’t really know who our third and fourth pitchers were last year, which hurt us during the conference tournament,” Pope said. “This year we have at least four pitchers to rely on, which should help us tremendously.”

Despite the recent success, the Pioneers are not getting too excited about it and are still looking to improve in every aspect of their game.

“We want to focus on each phase of the game the right way, do the little things and not get ahead of ourselves,” Inafuku said. “Staying focused and executing will help us reach our goal to win the conference.”

The team will play two doubleheaders this weekend at home. First against Illinois College on Saturday, April 16 at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and Wartburg College this Sunday, April 17 at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30, when they look to keep their confidence high and continue their winning streak.

“Lot of times in baseball, wins and losses come down to doing all the little aspects of the game correctly and not making the errors,” Suryn said. “In my four years here, this is one of the most solid teams we’ve had and most depth we’ve had. If we go out there and play, I’m confident that we’ll win.”

Future triathletes get their start in Grinnell class, earn one credit

While their peers try to juggle homework, sleep and a social life, some Grinnell students are learning to tackle a very different type of triathlon. Erin Hurley, Associate Professor of Physical Education and Swimming Coach, teaches a weekly training class which culminates in the Grinnell College Triathlon at the end of the semester.

“The triathlon training class is open to any student–there’s no prerequisite,” Hurley said. “It’s learning the disciplines in the three areas of the triathlon at a basic level, with the goal being [that on] May 7th they’ll be able to complete the triathlon.”

According to Hurley, Triathlon Training, which meets twice a week and is worth one credit, was first conceived five years ago when triathlons were becoming more popular among college students.

“[We] got a really good turnout,” she said. “We’ve had about twelve students in the class each year.”

The class focuses on training and technique for all three legs of a triathlon as well as other considerations such as training methodology and bike maintenance.

Based on weather, students are encouraged to work out either indoors or outdoors, explained Pat Stuchlik ’11, a participant in the class.

“It’s very weather dependent,” Stuchlik said. “Every rainy day that we’ve had, we’ve always been in the pool. Generally speaking, before spring break if there was a nice day [Hurley] would encourage us to get out and run, [and] since then we’ve been encouraged to bike on the nice days.”

Every semester, a wide variety of students have signed up for the class, including staff and faculty. While many of the students are very athletic or may excel in one certain discipline, Hurley welcomes anyone who can swim from one side of a pool to the other.

Eva Metz ’14 has done a few triathlons of similar length in the past, but signed up for this class just to help enforce a weekly workout schedule.

“There’s a big range [of people],” Metz said. “There’s one person in the class who hasn’t ridden a bike since she was a little kid, and then there are people who do RAGBRAI.”

While Hurley has found it challenging to balance the different skill levels of participants as well as spending time on each event, she seems to have found equilibrium.

“I would say [the workouts] are manageable for all skill levels, without really wasting anyone’s time,” Stuchlik said. “[They] are something everyone can do.”

Besides just training in the three separate athletic events involved in a triathlon, the class also needs to consider the process of shifting from one discipline to another.

“It’s the only athletic event that has the weird transitions,” Stuchlik said.

Students have discussed the transitions and will soon get a chance to put their bodies to the test when Hurley organizes a shorter, trial run focused on doing a little bit of each event before switching to the next. It can be hard for people to get used to, the instructor explained.

“What does it feel like with your legs, getting off the bike and starting to run?” Hurley posed. “What does it feel like trying to get your helmet and shoes on and get dried off and get on your bike when you’re sopping wet after swimming for fifteen minutes?”

Despite being a well-liked class, Triathlon Training is unable to provide equipment to participants. Not all students own a bike or the required helmet, forcing many participants to be creative in getting what they need.

“We don’t care what kind of a bike it is,” Hurley explained. “[One day,] someone borrowed Steve Briscoe’s bike–with his permission, of course.”

The “sprint distance” triathlon that students must participate in to pass the class consists of a 750-yard swim, a 12.5-mile bike ride, and a five-kilometer run. Students in the class look forward to the event as a symbol of their hard work and progress.

“I think it’ll be fun and bring together the work of the class,” Metz said. “It will feel really good to complete it.”

The race is organized by the swim team and is open to anyone wishing to participate. The team will be tabling for registration at the end of April, and any proceeds from the event will be donated to the Ted Mullin Fund for Pediatric Sarcoma Research.

“If anyone wants to try [a triathlon] for the first time, it’s not too late to start training, but I would recommend some training,” Hurley said. “The transition areas will be right out in front of the natatorium, so it should be spectator- friendly.”

A physical explanation of the curvature of balls

Pretty much every article about the curvature of thrown baseballs begins by saying that for decades, people debated whether curveballs really curved or just appeared to do so. Folksy sage Dizzy Dean provides the summary of early twentieth-century practical wisdom on the topic. “Stand behind a tree 60 feet away,” Ol’ Diz reputedly said, “and I’ll whomp you with an optical illusion.”

Dean was right. Curveballs do curve, but in recent years, we’ve learned more about how they work. It turns out there is an optical illusion involved after all, and that soccer kicks add a twist to their motion, and thus to our story.

Curveballs curve thanks to a phenomenon called the Magnus Effect, after a nineteenth-century German physicist, though Isaac Newton understood the principle almost two centuries earlier. As James Gleick’s biography of Newton notes, while watching tennis matches at Cambridge, Newton concluded that tennis balls curved when oblique hits generated spin. Newton wrote in a letter that the ball’s “parts on that side, where the motions conspire, must press and beat the contiguous Air more violently than on the other, and there excite a reluctancy and reaction of the Air proportionately greater.” I leave it to you, reader, to imagine Dizzy Dean whomping Newton with an apple.

Thanks to the Magnus Effect, pitchers can throw a “rising fastball,” which uses backspin to counteract the downward pull of gravity. The rising fastball still sinks relative to a straight line, but it can appear to rise because the batter expects a greater sinking. Contrarily, a curveball spins forward and to the side, and it therefore moves down and sideways relative to the path that gravity alone would produce. (For much more on the effects on spin on baseballs, see Alan Nathan’s website The Physics of Baseball or Robert Adair’s foundational book of the same name.)

Recently, however, scientists have turned their attention to a way in which the curveball does indeed produce an optical illusion. Baseball players and analysts routinely speak of effective curveballs–and other breaking balls, such as the harder-thrown slider—as having a “sharp” or “late” breaking action, whereas the ball actually curves smoothly, at essentially the same rate from the beginning to the end of the pitch. This perception of a late, sharp break is the true illusion. Thus, as a team of scientists recently put it, “a curveball creates a physical effect and a perceptual puzzle.”

Those scientists—Arthur Shapiro, Zhong-Lin Lu, Emily Knight, and Robert Ennis—won the Neural Correlate Society’s 2009 Best Illusion of the Year contest with “The Break of the Curveball,” which you can see online at http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com/2009/ . Their illusion shows how a spinning ball moving in a straight line appears to shift its position when it moves from the viewer’s foveal to peripheral vision.

Foveal vision is what we use when we maximize acuity by looking straight at something. As Leonardo Da Vinci first discovered, we focus best when we create a line of sight through the pupil to the fovea centralis of the retina. The illusion of a shift in position when an object moves out of foveal vision affects baseball because a batter’s eyes cannot track a pitch from the pitcher’s hand to the bat.

Tangent! The great hitter Ted Williams sometimes claimed to see the ball hit the bat. Malcolm Gladwell addressed this in his book Blink, where he writes that Williams “always said that he could look the ball onto the bat, that he could track it right to the point where he made contact.” And Ron Luciano, a longtime umpire, related a story about Williams seemingly backing up that claim in a 1972 experiment with a pine tar- covered bat that marked the ball on impact. Gladwell says that Williams, confronted by a scientist, backed off, saying, “Well, I guess it just seemed like I could do that.” But there is another angle to the story. I found a 1954 Sports Illustrated article titled “You Can’t Keep Your Eye On The Ball” that quotes Williams saying, “No, I don’t see the ball when it hits the bat. You usually lose sight of it a few feet away. Once or twice in my whole career I’d say I saw the ball hit the bat, but that’s all.” The real question may be how and when the myth of Williams seeing the ball hit the bat took hold.

OK, back to the optical illusion. When the spinning pitch moves from foveal vision to peripheral vision, the difference in perception causes the ball’s apparent position to shift suddenly, producing the perception of a sharp break in the ball’s motion. The batter therefore confronts the actual curvature produced by the Magnus Effect and an additional illusion of a late break.

Soccer balls, however, add a twist to their motion and to the story of the curveball. Whereas the late-breaking action of a pitched baseball is an optical illusion, a long free kick in soccer really does turn away from its established arc with a sudden final break. French scientists published this finding last September, and you can find coverage online at the website for Scientific American. The article there includes links to footage of free kicks, and it also links to a 1998 Physics World article explaining the basic principles that the French researchers further developed in their new study.

The key to the additional curve of the free kick is that a ball’s velocity decreases faster than its spin rate. At a certain point in the kick’s flight, the decrease in velocity causes a relatively sudden increase in the turbulence surrounding the ball, and the resulting drag increases the curve generated by the Magnus Effect. (A pitched baseball does not fly anywhere close to long enough to produce this sudden break.) The Physics World and Scientific American pieces both illustrate this phenomenon with a famous 1997 free kick by Brazil’s Roberto Carlos, one that veers dramatically around a hapless goalkeeper, who relaxes in anticipation of the ball sailing out of bounds, then turns in astonishment to find it in the goal. The keeper has, in fact, the precise look of a man who has been whomped by physics.

Softball has two pitchers, no wins, a new coach and hope

This season, the Grinnell softball team is still trying to find its swing. After 16 games, the Pioneers remain winless. A new coach, tough schedule and lack of new recruits have proved challenging, but also motivating to these resilient players.

“So far the season has been an uphill battle, but it really isn’t from lack of effort or hard work. We have played a really tough schedule and are playing a full schedule with one experienced pitcher,” said Head Coach Amanda Reckamp. “Our opponents are outhitting us and we haven’t been able to overcome the number of runs teams are putting across the plate.”

Captain Hannah Ney '11 fields a ball during softball practice on Wednesday afternoon. Photograph taken by Aaron Barker.

Team Captain Jayme Wiebold ’12 explains that the season is the result of a chain of events.

“The instability caused by the lack of a coach the past couple years has been difficult,” Wiebold said. “Perhaps the biggest difficulty it has caused is that there was no one to recruit for us, and therefore there is a lack of numbers as well as players to fill key positions.”

Reckamp sympathizes with the squad.

“The coaching stability has also been an issue. I am the fifth coach the three seniors have had in four years. We have a very committed group and they want to see this program reach the potential it has had for many years,” she said.

Critical issues also result from only having one experienced pitcher.

“We only have one pitcher [Amanda Stromquist ’12] with real game experience, and because we only have two pitchers total, we have to work harder than all of the teams we face,” said Kelsey Montgomery ’11. “It is also our coach’s first season, we are still figuring out how she works, including what we need from her as a coach and what we need from her as a team.”

Marlu Abarca ’14 admires Stromquist’s sportsmanship.

“The team really respects her for her efforts and the fact that she has never complained once,” Abarca said. “She simply goes out there and gives us the opportunity to make the outs.”

Through the tough losses and blowouts, the Pioneers remain firmly unified, strong and optimistic.

“We are looking to move past the situation we were put in the last few years, and I think despite all these obstacles we have the potential to be a strong team and program,” Wiebold said. “The softball program has been through a lot the past few years. This year we have a new coach who is doing an excellent job, and will continue to do so, as well as some promising new-comers.”

The Pioneers’ lack of wins can also be attributed to their rigorous schedule which thus far has included many teams from the competitive Iowa Conference, including Central College and Washington University, two nationally ranked Division III teams.

However, this season has not been without its ups. Stromquist tied Grinnell College’s career home run record in the Pioneer softball team’s game against University of Dubuque, which ended 15-3. The softball team also produced an impressive 13 hits against Wartburg, though the Pioneers fell 9-1 and 15-5 in their twin bill against the Knights.

In addition, the intense games and positive atmosphere has taught this season’s first-year players a couple of lessons.

“I would say the season so far is a test for many of us. For the first-years, I believe it’s a test for us to realize what college softball is really like. It takes commitment, physical and mental,” Abarca said. “As the new class, we are competing for starting positions, but we also learn that as a team, great things can be achieved.”

Now going into conference play, the Pioneers are expecting better results.

“We’ve played through a tough non-conference schedule and I think that now that the conference schedule is here all the hard work we’ve put in will start to pay off with some wins,” Montgomery said.

The team has a simple goal for the remainder of the year.

“Our team goals are to continually improve—which I think we’ve been doing—and to be in the conference race. Conference games start this weekend and I think we have the opportunity to do well,” Wiebold said.

The team will definitely have the opportunity to do well and to prove itself as the strength and spirit of the Pioneers will be tested when they head to Janesville, WI this weekend to compete in the Midwest Conference Classic Tournament. Grinnell plays Ripon College, Beloit College and St. Norbert College on Saturday and Carroll University and Lawrence University on Sunday.

Ultimate Frisbee finds Georgia a half-ripe peach

This spring break, instead of laying out and relaxing, the Grinnellephants and Sticky Tongue Frogs braved an 18-hour road trip to Georgia to participate in two tournaments, “Southerns” in Statesboro and “High Tide” in Savannah.

Grinnellephants, the Grinnell Men’s Frisbee team, encountered losses in Statesboro but hammered back for their next tournament, their main focus over break.

“Southerns is pretty competitive and we usually don’t go there,” said Adam Weil ’11.

With this in mind the Grinnellephants made their way to their second tournament, “High Tide.” After bringing home the trophy from this tournament last year, the team had high hopes for victory.

They performed well initially and were undefeated after the first two days. Upon reaching the semi-finals, however, the Grinnellephants lost 13-8. The loss was to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point team, the very team they had defeated in finals last year.

The team members seemed disappointed by this loss and felt that they could have played better.

“It was a pretty bad game for us. Up until that point we had rolled over all other teams and we weren’t ready for them mentally,” said Team Captain Aaron Swaney ’11.

Despite this disappointing loss, the team maintains high hopes for the rest of the season and predicts that with more focus they can do better in the upcoming conference tournament.

“One of the nice things about High Tide is that it’s meant to really have fun with. It’s frustrating to lose but not that important,” Swaney said.

Weil shares Swaney’s focus on looking forward and playing their best in upcoming tournaments. “We got a little bit down because we had some rough losses at the tournaments we went to. But going forward we’re just really focusing on conference,” he said.

If the Grinnellephants win at Conference they will go on to play at Regionals. If the team goes on to win those games they will reach Division 3 Nationals.

“Our goal is definitely to make it to Nationals and do well there,” said Jon Davis ’12.

With a more rigorous physical fitness regimen in place and the development of a new and improved Frisbee governing body, the team’s prospects for victory look good.

“We’re a lot faster than we’ve ever been before, we’re able to beat teams just by being faster than them,” Davis said.

Due to a change in how teams qualify for Nationals, Weil thinks the team’s chances have improved.

“They used to have an archaic system to see who played in Nationals and they weighted more emphasis on beating teams soundly than on the quality of the teams you were playing with. We had some tough losses last year and our rankings reflected that,” Weil said. “This year it’s changed and now we can play our way into D3 Nationals.”

With many talented players and team spirits running high, Swaney has only one thing left to say. “What’s that smell?”

“It’s Grinnell,” Davis answers.

Women have Nationals potential

The Sticky Tongue Frogs, the Grinnell Women’s Frisbee team, performed commendably in both tournaments. At Statesboro they broke seed and came in 17th and at High Tide they placed 2nd.

Team Captains were happy with the overall performance at the two tournaments but still expressed confidence in the team’s ability to do better.

“[At Statesboro] We got 17th out of 40 and placed higher than we were supposed to, so we did well,” said Paige Hill ’12. “I’m happy with our performance but I think we can always do better.”

At High Tide, the Sticky Tongue Frogs played University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to reach the finals in which they eventually lost to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by just two points.

Despite this loss the team left feeling proud of their achievements, recognizing their own capabilities and bonding as a team.

“It was rough but we played really, really well. It showed us that we are a competent team and we have the capabilities to do well. It’s just a matter of making sure we stay focused,” said Mona Ghadiri ’11. “And we got a chance to bond as a larger group. I think High Tide solidified the feeling of Frisbee being a family.”

Hill believes that the individual skills of all the women on the squad increase the worth of the Sticky Tongue Frogs as a team, and their potential for success.

“I think our team has a lot more depth and I’m proud to play on a team that relies so much on everyone,” Hill said. “It’s important to do well at Conference regardless of whether or not we make it to Nationals. … Having said that, if the team plays as well as we have the potential to … go to D3 Nationals.”

Ghadiri echoes Hill’s belief that the team possesses the talent and spirit required for Nationals.

“If everyone is on their ‘A’ game we’ll make it. This team has so much heart and desire and so many talented players,” Ghadiri said. “We made it [to Nationals] last year on a technicality, this time we want to make it because we’re good for real. We just need to focus.”

That focus will be necessary for the team to do well at Conference next weekend. Players predict that conference will be very competitive because of the number of talented teams in the area. Nevertheless, hopes are high among players and the Sticky Tongue Frogs look forward to facing their competition.

“We’ve lost to St. Olaf by a final point about three times this year. We’re hoping to beat either them or Carleton’s B team,” Ghadiri said.

Despite the hard work looming ahead, players and captains are focusing their energies on playing to the best of their abilities and on the more competitive aspects of the sport this season.

“We spent most of fall training and this is really the more competitive season where you see players come into their own,” Hill said. “Team spirit’s high right now, hopefully we can make it.”