Posted on Nov 9, 2001

Autumn leaves

You think you've got a yard full of leaves to rake?

Try gathering 40 truckloads of 15 cubic yards each to be hauled off to the county compost facility, which is what staffers from grounds do each fall.
Granted, they use machinery. But as Tom Heisinger, director, readily admits, “that's a lot of leaves.”

The rite of autumn starts in early October and usually lasts until mid-December, Heisinger says. And after that, it's time to move some snow. Notes Heisinger, “It goes from one thing to another.”

Checking Rennes

If you'd like to check on the Union contingent in Rennes, France, this term, Prof. Charles Batson has developed a Web site (www1.union.edu/~batsonc/RennesWeb/index.html) in which he writes:

“An early excursion took us to the chateau of Fougères, a fortified castle meant to defend Brittany from its many invaders. Our own invading forces of 17 students …were met not with boiling water and burning arrows but with a guided tour; yes, times have changed.”
The site contains a full itinerary, descriptions of tours and photos of the Union group.

Ka-boom

Admissions veep Dan Lundquist, rarely at a loss for colorful expressions, said the following in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education story about admissions measures that institutions take to try to improve their standings in the rankings: “I get the impression that it takes a stick of dynamite and a whole lot of money to move in the rankings.”

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Posted on Nov 7, 2001

The women's volleyball team, which established a single-season record with its 25-12 campaign, will make its first-ever appearance in an Eastern College Athletic Conference championship
tournament.  The eighth-seeded
Dutchwomen will play top-seeded, and host, Springfield, Friday at 1 p.m.

 

     Second-year head coach Sandy Collins, who last year led the
Dutchwomen to their first New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic
Association invitation since 1996, guided Union to a ninth-place finish in this
year's event.  Last week the Dutchwomen
finished second in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association Championship
Tournament, losing its only match to Vassar in five sets.  The Brewers won went on to win the title.

 

      Union, which established volleyball as one of its first
women's varsity sports in 1975, has never been invited to a postseason
tournament other than the New York State event.  This year's 25-win season breaks the previous Union standard of
24, set in 1994 when the squad was 24-8.

 

 
   Junior Corinn Jordan and
sophomore co-captain Sarah Pontius have been the mainstays of the team this
year.  Both players were named to the
UCAA All-Tournament team and were joined by freshman Susan Gestwick on the UCAA
All-Conference squad.  Jordan leads the
Dutchwomen in both kills (517 for an average of 3.69 a game) and digs (727, an
average of 5.19) while Pontius is the squad's assist leader with 1,232 (an
average of 8.86).  Gestwick, meanwhile,
has a team-high 167 block solos and 223 total blocks (an average of 1.59) and
is fourth on the team with her 217 kills (1.55).

 

     Senior co-captain Melinda Colon, a four-year starter, has
enjoyed another solid season for the Dutchwomen.  Colon is second in both kills (274 for an average of 1.96) and digs
(575 for an average of 4.11).

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Posted on Nov 7, 2001

      SCHENECTADY, N.Y.-Win and get in, lose and stay home.  It is that simple for the Union College
football team.  A win over Springfield
should put the Dutchmen into either the NCAA or ECAC playoffs.  A loss to the Pride will most likely be a
very disappointing end to a season that began with great expectations.

      Kickoff for the Dutchmen's regular-season finale is 1
p.m.  The College will honor its
16-member senior class, a unit that has produced a four-year record of 31-8, in
pre-game ceremonies starting at 12:30.

 

     Union's seniors, which missed the playoffs as freshmen, won
the ECAC Northwest title by beating Ithaca, 31-7, as sophomores and were
selected to the NCAA tournament last year (where they lost to Widener,
33-26).  The team's preseason goal was
to go undefeated, an opportunity it lost when Rensselaer captured a 32-29
victory in week six) and improve their postseason performance. 

 

     “I think we can be a better playoff team than we were last
year,” said head coach John Audino. 
“But right now, that is a moot point. 
First and foremost, we have to beat Springfield.  If we can do that, we'll have put ourselves
in the best position that we can.”

 

      The 3-5 Pride would like nothing better than to destroy
Union's playoff hopes.  Three years ago
the Dutchmen ruined Springfield's opportunity for its first-ever 10-0-0 season
by beating the Pride in Springfield, 38-7. 
Two years ago Union won on Bailey Field, 33-22, and last year the Garnet
won 48-19 to knock the Pride from the ranks of the undefeated.

 

     Springfield comes into the game much like a wounded
animal.  The Pride has lost all five of
its games by nine points or less, including two one-point setbacks and one
two-point loss).  For them, this season
finale is their playoffs and they would love noting more than to repay a big
debt.

 

    “We are going to have our hands full, no question,” said
Audino.  “Springfield is a little more
than a touchdown away from coming in here with a perfect record.  Their coaching staff has got to be playing
up the fact that we've beaten them the last three years and keeping them from
finishing with undefeated records in two of those seasons.”

UNION AND THE PLAYOFF PICTURE

     But even if the Garnet wins
on Saturday, their fate is in the hands of the NCAA committee.  According to D3football.com (which has
picked 53 of 56 NCAA teams the last two years-including 27 of 28 last season),
the Dutchmen are ranked fifth in Pool B, which takes seven teams from
throughout the country.  The national
committee takes into account winning percentage, primarily against regional teams
and other Division III teams, as well as strength of schedule, head-to-head
results, and results against common opponents when determining bids.

 

D3football.com has determined that Washington & Jefferson (7-0) and
Rensselaer (7-0) are in, no matter what the outcome of their games on
Saturday.  No. 3 Hope (7-0) and No. 4
Thomas More (9-0) are in with wins.  No.
5 Union, No. 6 Pacific Lutheran, and No. 7 Linfield all must win and hope that
their strength of schedule survives the outcome of the weekend (in other words,
those three need to root that their opponents win this weekend).  The note beside Union reads as follows:

  “This is where the field
starts to get shaky.  There are a number
of one-loss Upstate New York teams. 
None has beaten another playoff team. 
Union has the best strength of schedule for now.”

 

A total of 28 teams will get “The Call” Sunday afternoon at 2
p.m. Eighteen conference champions earn automatic bids.  Three more teams from these conferences will
get at-large bids, known as Pool C. 
Seven teams who are independents or members of conferences who do not
get automatic bids (like the UCAA) will receive Pool B invitations.  There are no longer regional boundaries.

 

For the Dutchmen, step one is to win Saturday's game. Step two is to
sit by the phone…and hope for the best.

 

ABOUT THE DUTCHMEN

 

Senior quarterback Ben Gilbert, who is now the program's all-time
passing leader (7,615 yards) and touchdown leader (69) comes into the game
having completed 103 of 203 passes (59.7%) for 1,744 yards and 21 touchdowns
with 13 interceptions.  Gilbert has
enjoyed tremendous success against the Pride. 
In his three previous games, the Brattleboro, Vermont, native has completed
41 of 62 passes (66.1%) for 745 yards and seven touchdowns with just three interceptions.  Last season he was 14 of 19 for 301 yards
with four touchdowns (of 40, 53, 30 and 23 yards).

 

     Union's running game has been less than
up to par the last couple of weeks due, in part, to the ankle injury suffered
by junior tailback George Beebe in the game against the College of New
Jersey.  Last week the Dutchmen produced
just 87 rushing yards against Rochester with Beebe picking up just 25 on nine
carries.  It marked the first time this
season that he has failed to rush for at least 100 yards.  Freshman Chris Nappi, who had 35 yards on
six carries) and sophomore Sean Washington (22 yards on six carries with one
touchdown), led Union's ground game.

 

      The loss of junior wide receiver Ryan
Gallo, who injured his knee on the fifth play of the game against Hartwick, has
not slowed the Dutchmen's passing game. 
Senior Craig Kopka (who now has 257 yards on 18 catches) and senior Hank
Papale 10 catches, 205 yards and three touchdowns, have really stepped up their
games while replacing Gallo (24 catches for 558 yards and five TDs). 

 

     Senior fullback Matt Laporta has done is
usual outstanding job, catching 17 passes for 217 yards and a team-high seven
touchdowns while rushing for 178 yards and three touchdowns.  Laporta comes into what could be the final
game of his career with 1,361 combined yards and 19 touchdowns.  He has rushed for 699 yards and eight
touchdowns and caught 58 passes for 662 yards and 11 scores.

 

     Senior placekicker Andrew Ruffo will set
the all-time college field goal record with his next three-pointer.  Ruffo, who accounted for 215 points during
his three-year career, has booted 104 extra points and 37 field goals, tying
him for the lead with four-year kicker Greg Harrison (Class of '94).

 

     Union's offense is averaging 418.7 yards
a game.

 

     Defensively, the Dutchmen are led by the
linebacking trio of seniors Mike Rosenthal (51 tackles, 29 assists, 80 total),
Mike Ranfone (38-27-65) and Chris Fiengo (37-26-63).  Senior end Josh Stinehour is next with 26-17-43 and leads the
team with his 20 quarterback sacks.  He
still needs three to surpass the single-season record of 22 set in 1989 by Greg
Hallas (over 14 games).  Rosenthal, meanwhile,
comes into the contest with 272 career total tackles, fourth on the all-time
Union list.

 

     The Dutchmen Defenders are giving up an
average of 216 yards a game, 72.1 on the ground and 143.9 in the air.  Union has allowed seven rushing touchdowns
and 15 passing.

 

    

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Posted on Nov 7, 2001

     After five non-conference games this season which saw the Dutchmen log
over 1800 miles and earn a 3-1-1 record, Union will kick off its 11th
season as a Division I school in the ECAC this weekend.  Union will go west to take on the Cornell
Big Red (2-0-0//0-0-0) and the Colgate Raiders (1-4-0//0-0-0) before more
non-conference action at home on November 20 and 28.  Union will first face ECAC opponents at home on December 7 and 8
when Princeton and Yale visit.  That
will be the latest ECAC home opener since the 1998-99 season when Union faced
Princeton on January 3.

     Last weekend's
doubleheader with Bemidji State saw Union involved in a wild game on Friday,
which saw 14 total goals and 14 different goal scorers, Union came away with
the 8-6 win.  Freshman defenseman Matt
Vagvolgyi had a great night, scoring one goal and two assists to bring his
points total to four.  Five freshmen
scored goals on Friday and six players notched their first collegiate goals.

     Saturday's
game was as defensive as Friday's was offensive.  Union held Bemidji to only two shots on goal in the first period,
their first shot coming after over 16 minutes of play.  Bemidji had a total of 15 shots in the game,
which broke Union's school record for fewest shots on goal allowed in a
period.  The previous record was 16
shots set on January 13, 1995 vs. RPI. 
Sophomore goalie Kyle Loney made his first collegiate start, which ended
in a 2-2 tie after Bemidji scored the game-tying goal with less than four
seconds to play in regulation.  The
Union fans who are used to seeing senior Brandon Snee in net, got a promising
glimpse of what the goalie could do after some great saves in the second and
third.  Loney had a 1.85 GAA and .867
sv% in the game.

 

    Here is a quick
look at last weekend's action at Achilles Rink:

 

DUTCHMEN
CLAIM 2001-02 HOME OPENER

The Skating
Dutchmen improved to 3-1-0 overall after beating Bemidji State 8-6 in their
first home game of the season.  Freshman
Max Seel opened the scoring in the first period on a shorthanded goal, which
was his first as a Dutchman.  The goal
scoring exploded in the second with both teams finding the back of the net four
times.  Bemidji would score two in a row
before freshman Matt Vagvolgyi (one goal, two assists for three points) would
score his first goal at 9:00. Chuck Simard (0-1-1) and Jeff Hutchins (0-2-2)
each picked up an assist.

Union's freshman
class would account for five of Union's eight goals with Brain Kerr (1-1-2),
Marc Neron (1-1-2), and Jordan Webb (0-1-0) all scoring in the game.  Jason Kean and Glenn Sanders, who had a
shorthanded tally, would also add goals while defenseman Randy Dagenais (1-0-0)
would score his third of the season after Bemidji pulled goalie Grady Hunt.  Also adding assists in the game were Chris
DiStefano (0-1-1), Jeff Wilson (0-1-1), Nathan Gillies (0-2-2), Brent Booth
(0-2-2), and Kris Goodjohn (0-1-1). 
Special teams were key as Union capitalized on two of six power plays
and scored two shorthanded goals.

 

 

DUTCHMEN TIE WITH BEMIDJI TO
CLOSE OUT HOME OPENER

 

            Union College came within four seconds of sweeping
Bemidji State before the Beavers capitalized with an extra attacker and scored
to tie the game at 2-2.  A Union goal
was disallowed in overtime.

            Kyle
Loney made his first start of the year for the Dutchmen and made key saves in
the second to keep the Dutchmen ahead, but the Union defense was also stifling,
only allowing two shots in the first period and 15 overall. 

            Scoring
in the first for Union was captain Jeff Wilson, assisted by Kris Goodjohn and
Charles Simard.  Bemidji tied it at two
after a shorthanded goal in the second before Joel Beal put the Dutchmen ahead
2-1, assisted by Max Seel and Glenn Sanders. 
Marty Goulet would score at 19:56 to tie the game.

2001-02 Union College ECAC Honors

November 5, 2001:   Matt Vagvolgyi, D, Fr. 
(Honor Roll) Three point game vs.

                        Bemidji on 11/2/02

October 15, 2001:  Randy Dagenais, D,
Jr. (Player of the Week)  Two goal

                        weekend at Notre Dame

                        Brandon Snee, G, Sr. (Goalie
of the Week)  Turned away 55 of

                        60 shots at Notre Dame

                        Nathan
Gillies, F, Jr. (Honor Roll)  1-3-4
at Notre Dame

 

UNION NOTABLES

 

FRESHMEN PHENOMS:  Union's
freshman class scored five of eight goals in Friday's game vs. Bemidji and
tallied 15 of the 28 points on the weekend. 
They now are 6-11-17 in the first five games of the season.

 

Freshman defenseman MATT VAGVOLGYI had
a breakout game on Friday, scoring a goal and two assists.  He is now 1-3-4 on the season and leads the
freshman class and all defensemen in overall points production.  For his effort in Friday's game, Vagvolgyi
was named to the ECAC Honor Roll on November 5. 

 

Seven Dutchmen scored their first collegiate goals in this weekend's
series:  JOEL BEAL, BRIAN KERR,
MARC NERON, GLENN SANDERS, MAX SEEL, VAGVOLGYI, and
JORDAN WEBB.

 

11 Union players had multiple points vs. Bemidji: VAGVOLGYI (1-2-3),
BRENT BOOTH (0-2-2), NATE GILLIES (0-2-2), KRIS GOODJOHN
(0-2-2), JEFF HUTCHINS (0-2-2), KERR (1-1-2), NERON
(1-1-2), SANDERS (1-1-2), SEEL (1-1-2), CHUCK SIMARD
(0-2-2), JEFF WILSON (1-1-2).

 

19 Dutchmen have notched points in the first five games, 17 have earned
two or more, 15 have goals, three have multiple goals (RANDY DAGENAIS –
3, HUTCHINS – 2, WILSON – 2), and two have averaged a point per
game (GILLIES,  HUTCHINS).

 

UNION'S penalty
killing units have held their opponents to five goals in 30 attempts (.833) and
have scored three shorthanded goals in five games. 

 

UNION is tied for
first in the ECAC overall standings for scoring by periods (2-8-9=19)

 

Eye on BRANDON SNEE:  the
senior netminder is on pace to break Union's career records for minutes played,
games played, and saves, all currently held by All-American Trevor Koenig.  Snee needs173 minutes in net, three games,
and 158 saves to shatter the record. 

 

Senior captain JEFF WILSON is two games away from career-game
100.  He returns as the Dutchmen's
leading scorer from last season and is currently 2-2-4 on the season.

 

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Posted on Nov 6, 2001

Schenectady, N.Y. (November 6,
2001) – Countertenor Andreas Scholl will perform A Musicall Banquet: Lute
Songs from Around the World, accompanied by Karl-Ernst Schroeder, at Union College's Memorial Chapel on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. This performance marks Scholl's East Coast recital debut; he will then make his New York City debut at Carnegie Hall on Nov. 16. This performance was rescheduled from Friday, April 20, 2001 and all tickets will be honored.

Already regarded as the outstanding counter-tenor of his generation for his remarkable discography and performances in concert, Andreas Scholl's operatic debut as Bertarido (Rodelinda) for the Glyndebourne Festival Opera was greeted with unprecedented critical acclaim.

He has released a series of
extraordinary solo recordings including Vivaldi Motets with the Australian
Brandenburg Orchestra and Heroes – a disc of arias by Handel, Mozart, Hasse and Gluck.  His discography also includes the Gramophone-award-winning recordings of Vivaldi's Stabat Mater, Antonio Caldara's Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo all under René Jacobs, and most recently Robert Dowland's A Musicall Banquet for Decca.

In concert, Scholl works regularly with the world's leading conductors; appearances include Bach Cantatas under John Nelson with The Cleveland Orchestra, B Minor Mass, Christmas Oratorio and St. Matthew Passion with Collegium Vocale under Philippe
Herreweghe. At the BBC Pomenade Concerts he has sung Julius Caesar and Bach's Magnificat with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under René Jacobs, the title role in Solomon with
the Gabrieli Consort under Paul McCreesh, and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. This year he sang Vivaldi and Handel arias with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

This season Scholl will make his
debut appearances in the title role in Giulio Cesare with the Royal Danish
Opera, will make his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall and tour the
United States with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and tour Europe with Barbara
Bonney and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. An exclusive artist to Decca, Andreas Scholl's future releases will include Wayfaring Stranger, a collection of English and American folksongs specially arranged for him and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Born in Germany, Andreas Scholl's early musical training was with the Kiedricher
Chorbuben. Between 1987 and 1993 he
studied with Richard Levitt and René Jacobs at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis where he was awarded a Diploma of Ancient Music. In 1992 he was awarded the Conseil de l'Europe and the Foundation Claude Nicolas Ledoux, and he is a graduate of the Foundation Ernst Göhner and Association Migros.   Andreas Scholl is also a winner of the 1999 ECHO Awards and the Prix de l'Union de la Presse musicale belge.

Karl-Ernst Schröder studied guitar and lute with Professor T. Sasaki at the Hochschule für Musik Rhld., Aachen. 
After receiving his diploma in Aachen, he went to Basel, Switzerland, to
specialize in the performance of early music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
where he studied lute with Eugen M. Dombois and Hopkinson Smith. 

As well as his regular appearances as a soloist, Karl-Ernst Schröder also performs throughout Europe as a member of numerous Renaissance and Baroque ensembles including the Basel Consort / Andreas Scholl, Aurora / Enrico Gatti, Ensemble 415 / Chiara Banchini, Mala Punica / Pedro Memelsdorf, various ensembles with Rene Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester.

Tickets at $20 ($8 for students) are available in advance at the Office of Communications, Union College (518) 388-6131 and at the door at 7 p.m. For more information, call 372-3651.

The Union College Concert Series is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; additional support comes from the Times Union Newspapers. Memorial Chapel is located near the center of the Union College campus. Parking is available on campus and nearby side streets.

Note to Editors and Reporters: The Spelling of A Musicall Banquet is Correct. Please Do Not Change to Musical. Thank You!

Photos of Andreas Scholl are available electronically upon request.

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