• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Men’s basketball falls twice Last weekend, the men’s basketball team lost two games, bringing its overall record to 4-5 and 2-3 in Conference. The Pioneers competed against St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. on Saturday. Despite Grinnell’s strong show of force early in the game, the Green Knights surged forward with a 12- point run shortly after, bringing St. Norbert into halftime leading with a score of 51-44. In the second half, the Pioneers struggled to close the gap. Although a three-pointer by Luke Yeager ’15 cut the lead to just four with 18:30 remaining, the Green Knights responded with a seven-point run and eventually ran away, ending the game with a score of 102-75. Jack Taylor ’15 scored 26 points on Tuesday, Dec. 9 against William Penn University. Photo by John Brady. Head coach David Arseneault seemed unfazed by the loss, however. “What contributed most to our loss at St. Norbert was that they were a better team,” Arseneault wrote in an email to The S&B. “That’s not to say we can’t beat them. But it would take an extraordinary performance on our behalf for that to occur.” On Tuesday afternoon, the Pioneers travelled to Oskaloosa, Iowa to challenge William Penn University for a non-Conference matchup. The Pioneers had a great start with a triad of 3- pointer shots made by Yeager that put Grinnell ahead 9-5. However, William Penn remained persistent, and by halftime the Statesmen took the lead with 70-64.. They kept tight control of the ball from that point onwards and ended the match with a score of 151-134 in Penn’s favor. After Tuesday’s loss, Grinnell’s overall record is 4-5. On an individual basis, the Pioneers performed well. Yeager scored career high 50 points, which included eight three- pointers. Jack Taylor ’15 made 26 points, Tague Zachary ’15 landed 15 and Julian Marx ’17 made 11. Braedon Bayer ’18 distributed six assists while James Page ’17 grabbed six rebounds. “We shot the ball pretty well and had good defensive effort for most of the game, but the guards for William were able to handle our pressure,” said Gus King ’18. “We knew going in that the game was going to be a shootout, but we couldn’t get enough easy baskets and get over the hump.” Despite the loss, King believes their game will improve. “I think right now, with so many first-years on the team, we just need to get comfortable with the style of play and playing with each other,” King said. “As the season goes on, I think we’ll come together for a strong finish.” Women’s basketball rebounds from loss Picking up a victory last week, women’s basketball tied last year’s win total of three. Although the women’s basketball team lost to nationally ranked St. Norbert College last Saturday, Grinnell rebounded with a 77-64 victory against AIB College of Business on Monday. The St. Norbert game was a tough competition from the beginning. Early in the first half, St. Norbert’s 14-0 run left little room for Grinnell to catch up. The Green Knights eventually ran away with a 58-38 victory. “A team like that, if you let them get a little confidence, it’s going to go a long way,” said Lydia Stariha ’17. “They just started scoring and we couldn’t come up with anything which is definitely tough when you rely on your offense to carry you.” Alex Neckopulos ’17 grabbed 27 rebounds in two games last week. Photo by John Brady. However the tables turned around on Monday when the team played against their non-Conference foe. Grinnell displayed a balanced scoring attack and by the end of the first half, the Pioneers were leading the game 30-25. “We were able to dictate the tempo of the game and play Grinnell team basketball,” said Sophia Gatton ’17. “Everyone just seemed relaxed and confident on offense, which put us in great positions to score.” The team’s effort to focus on finding the open person and moving the ball up the court allowed for easy buckets, resulting in a satisfying score of 77-64 by the end of the match. Alissa Hirsh ’16 led the offense with 21 points, while Gatton contributed 16, Kayla Morrissey ’18 added 15 and Stariha dropped 10. With last Monday’s triumph, the women’s team equaled last season’s win total of three. The squad attributes this accomplishment to experience gained from last year. With the first half of the season wrapped up, the Pioneers hope to notch more wins. “The team has gained a lot through last year’s experience,” said head coach Dana Harrold. “Many of them put in time in the weight room, gym [and] track in the offseason to ensure that they were much improved this year. We are happy with our progress, but not satisfied by any means.” In the remaining schedule, all of Grinnell’s opponents, except one team, are in the same Midwest Conference as the Pioneers. With the future schedule in mind, the team will use winter break to recharge and refine its skills. “I think the nice thing about winter break and the week leading up to winter break is that we really get to figure out individual skills,” Stariha said. “Just polishing up these individual skills to make the team a whole lot better.” Roger Bauman delivers in the Bear While some students are frantically finishing their research papers and cramming for tests at dawn, equipment room supervisor Roger Bauman unlocks the equipment room and begins his busy day. At the very top of his long to-do list is making waffles for student-workers who clock in at 6 a.m. “I usually get here close to 5:30,” Bauman said. “I will prepare waffles for the student workers in the morning just to show my appreciation of them coming in that early.” After providing them with breakfast, along with blueberries and whatever topping is available, Bauman examines his agenda and performs duties he has been executing since 1985. “Basically what we do is order athletic equipment, order uniforms [and] repair equipment that I can,” he said. “I set up for events. I set up for class, launder the practice clothes, launder the game uniforms [and] I pack the uniforms and issue them out for away events and home events.” Roger Bauman has been working in the equipment room since 1985. Photo by Jeffrey Li. Bauman has been working behind the spotlight silently, usually unnoticed, yet diligently—behind Jack Taylor’s record-breaking 138-point game, the swimming and diving teams’ domination of the Midwest Conference and 1:15 p.m. Beginning Tennis class. “I’ll go out and make sure the tennis nets are up and the curtains are down so they can have a tennis class or making sure taking back down for another class coming in after that,” he said. “If there’s a lot going on, I’ll stay until the work’s done. I don’t pay attention to the clock. Whenever the work’s done, I’m done.” While Bauman may not always get recognition for his hard work, athletes, coaches and those who work in the Bear appreciate his role. “He’s going to meetings with the athletic department and he does a lot of ordering for the teams and does inventory and make sure everyone’s uniforms are out there,” said former softball player and a student manager in the Cage, Jen Fulton ’15. “While he doesn’t always do everything personally himself, it’s shocking how much he does by himself.” To fellow equipment manager Ron Cooper, this isn’t a surprising fact, as he considers Bauman a “good Iowan.” “He’s willing to help people,” Cooper said. “He’s friendly. He helps everybody out.” For someone whose early life was far from athletics, Bauman has spent almost his entire adult life in the athletic center. Hailing from Malcom, Iowa and playing little league baseball, the supervisor also farmed as a child. “I played little league baseball, but I grew up in an era where all the kids worked,” Bauman said. “I went out and worked on the farm and I didn’t get dramatically involved with competition sports.” He continued to farm after getting married a year after graduating from high school. When the farming crisis struck in the 1980s, he needed another source of income and discovered an opening at the Grinnell College Athletic Center. “I had a friend that worked here and he was going to quit and he asked me if I’d be interested and that’s back in the farm crisis of the ’80s,” he said. “The income on the farm wasn’t very good, so I need an extra income, so I started working here.” Since taking the job, Bauman hasn’t missed many days of work, allowing him to excel at his position. “I’m sure it’s just like students. You do your study promptly every day and it’s real easy for you to do them every day, right?” Bauman said. “It’s just I know what the job is and I know what to do and when to do it. The students help tremendously and I have a great bunch of supervisors who help, too. It’s a combination of everything that makes it easy.” Though he completes his tasks with ease and dexterity, Bauman continues to evaluate his performance.

Load more

  39

Copy Link