The Union College Athletic Department will be hosting a bus
trip to Princeton, New Jersey for the final regular season game as the
Dutchmen take on the Tigers February 28th. Brown Coach will depart
Achilles Center on the Union campus at 10:00 am that day and arrive in
Princeton around 2:00 pm. Entertainment and Subway box lunches will be
provided on the bus. Get out with your fellow fans for some pre-game
shopping and a bite to eat before the game in Princeton. Brown Coach
will depart for Baker Arena at 5:45 pm for a 7:00 drop of the puck.
Departure for Schenectady will be immediately after the game. The cost
is $40 for season ticket holders and $45 for the general public, which
includes your game ticket. To get on board for this great road trip to
see your Dutchmen in action, call (518) 388-6134, or stop by the
Achilles center box office to reserve by Saturday, February 21st.
Environmental advocate Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. opened a three-part lecture series, “Environmental Science and Public Policy,” on Feb. 18 with an impassioned plea that students work on behalf of environmental stewardship and against environmental polluters.
The series is sponsored by the College's Environmental Studies Program, the Environmental Awareness Club and
the Minerva Committee.
Kennedy is credited with leading the fight to protect New York City's
water supply. The New York City
watershed agreement, which he negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and the
city's watershed consumers, is regarded as an international model in
stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development. He helped lead
the fight to turn back what he considered anti-environmental legislation during
the 104th Congress.
Kennedy serves as chief prosecuting attorney for Hudson Riverkeeper, senior attorney for the
Natural Resources Defense Council, and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance. He is also a clinical professor and supervising attorney at the Environmental
Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law. Earlier in his career he served as assistant district attorney in New York City.
He has published several books, including The Riverkeepers (1997) with John Cronin.
Other talks in the series, both at 7 p.m. in the Nott Memorial, are:
Orrin Pilkey
March 4: Orrin Pilkey, an expert on shorelines, will speak on “Rising Seas and Shifting Shores: The Mix of Politics and Science at the
Shoreline.”
Pilkey, the James B. Duke
Professor Emeritus at Duke University's
Nicholas School
of the Environment and Earth Sciences, has devoted much of his career to the
study of coastal geology, focusing primarily on the
science and policy issues of rising sea levels on barrier coasts caused by the greenhouse
effect.
As director of Duke's Program for
the Study of Developed Shorelines, he has studied beach replenishment and other
forms of shoreline stabilization, mitigation of hurricane damage on barriers
and principles of barrier island evolution in Colombia,
South America. He also works with the Department of
Marine Science at the University of Puerto Rico and with the U.S. Geological
Survey in Woods Hole, Mass. He has more than 150 technical publications to his
credit.
Pilkey has received numerous
awards for his professional contributions, including the Francis Shepard Medal
for Excellence in Marine Geology and the N.C. Wildlife Federation Conservation
Educator of the Year award. He also has won the George V. Cohee Public Service
Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Pilkey is an
honorary member of the Society for the Study of Sediments and has been featured
in The New York Times Magazine, Esquire,
Smithsonian, Chronicle of Higher
Education and National Geographic.
Richard Bopp
April 22: Richard Bopp, associate professor of earth and
environmental sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will speak on “Mercury Deposition in New York and New Jersey:
From Geochemistry to Policy.”
Bopp studied chemistry as an
undergraduate at MIT, and has a Ph.D. in geology from Columbia
University. For the past 20 years
he has conducted research on various aspects of contaminant geochemistry in the
Hudson River, its tributaries, and other natural waters
of the Hudson Basin.
His research group at RPI uses
analysis of dated sediment cores to study the sources and distribution of PCBs,
pesticides, dioxins, PAHs, and trace metals. They also study atmospheric
deposition of contaminants, and in situ dechlorination of PCBs.
Bopp has been involved in several
major contaminant issues including the PCB problem in the Hudson,
dioxins in Newark Bay,
and disposal of contaminated dredge spoils.
During the next two weekends, the women and men's basketball teams enter the homestretch of the 2003-04 regular seasons. The good news is that both teams can control their own destinies. The bad news is that all four games will be played on the road.
This weekend will find the Garnet teams traveling to the North Country to play St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday. The final weekend finds Union at Vassar and Rensselaer. Those final four games will determine where Union is seeded in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Championship tournaments the weekend of February 27 and 28, which will be held at the site of the regular-season champion. The winner of the UCAA event earns the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
While both teams have destiny in their own hands, the women's team is looking for its first UCAA regular-season title while the men still need to qualify for the four-team event.
The Dutchwomen head into the final four games riding the crest of a 13-game win streak that lifted their overall record to 18-2. More importantly, however, is the fact that the Mary Ellen Burt-coached team is 10-0 in the UCAA and starts the week leading Rensselaer (7-2) by two and a half games and third-place St. Lawrence (6-3) by three and a half games.
“We will continue to approach the final four games the same way we have played the first 20 games,” said Burt, who guided last year's team to a program-best 11-3 second-place finish in the conference's regular season and to a second-place finish in the postseason tournament – also a program best.
Katlyn Cunningham
Burt, who earned her 100th career coaching victory (all as the Dutchwomen's head mentor) on December 9 with a 79-35 victory at Russell Sage, has led her team to an overall standard of 86-40 (including this year) over the last five seasons. Union is 40-7 the last two years.
“Our ability to use all 14 players on our bench over the last two seasons, has been one of the major factors of our success,” explained Burt. “The other key component is the willingness of every single player to put the team's goals ahead of their own personal goals and statistics.”
While most teams point to players with the highest point or rebounding average, Union's key statistic has been minutes played. Eleven of the Dutchwomen's 14 players are averaging double figures in minutes played. Sophomore Erika Eisenhut leads the team with her 23.5 average and is among five players who are averaging more than 20 minutes. Nine of the 14 Dutchwomen have started six or more games.
“Being a starter on this team really means nothing more than who is on the court when the referee tosses up the opening jump ball,” explained Burt. “Once the game begins, Jamie (assistant coach Jamie Seward) and I continually shuffle players in and out of the game.”
The system allows the Dutchwomen to play extremely hard all the time, especially on defense and in the critical rebounding department.
“We have a lot of talented players on the team and that allows us to compete at a high energy level every minute of every game,” said Burt. “Because Jamie and I are always making sure that we have fresh players on the court, we are able to work extremely hard on defense and in the critical area of rebounding. We can create scoring opportunities off of those two important aspects of the game.”
The strategy has worked well for the Dutchwomen as Union leads its UCAA opponents in 12 of 19 categories including: scoring offense (64.8), scoring defense (46.5), scoring margin (+18.3), field goal percentage (.440), three-point field goal percentage (.371), rebounding off the defensive boards (31.7), rebounding margin (+7.8), assists (16.7), steals (13.3), turnover margin (+4.60), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.96), and three-point field goals made (3.90).
Individually, Eisenhut ranks sixth with her 11.1 scoring average while junior forwards Emily Scott (4.8) and Katlyn Cunningham (4.7) are 20th and 21st respectively, among the conference's rebounding leaders.
Yet the Dutchwomen boast several top-10 players in the parts of the game that stress team play. Junior guard Melissa Marra ranks third among her conference peers in assists with her 4.6 average while Eisenhut and senior point guard Tayrn Scinto are 10th with their 2.50 average. Meanwhile, Eisenhut is second in the circuit with her steal average of 3.90 with Scinto 12th (1.60). Marra is second in the conference with her assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.54.
“Our goal as a team is to focus on our next opponent,” said Burt. “St. Lawrence is next up on our schedule so that is who we are focusing on. As long as all of our players continue to perform with a high level of energy, trust in their teammates, and play within their capabilities, we'll be fine.”
Brian Scordato
The Dutchmen are in a bit of a different situation. Already assured of their sixth consecutive winning season thanks to their 16-5 overall record, Union is in the fourth and final tournament position with its 6-4 UCAA record. Unfortunately for the Garnet, last Saturday's 90-80 overtime home loss to Hamilton gives the fifth-place Continentals (5-4) the tie-breaker over the Dutchmen as the Buff and Blue also won on its home court (74-57). The Continentals' final five games are against homestanding Hobart (3-6), as well as with Vassar (0-9) and Rensselaer (6-3) in Clinton. Hamilton closes out the regular season at league-leading Clarkson 8-1 and St. Lawrence 4-5.
“I feel the last four games will be a very challenging stretch of the season for us; part of a schedule that has offered this team tough opponents throughout to compete against,” said head coach Bob Montana. “I certainly hope that this year's schedule has now prepared us for this final stretch run.
“First of all the “North Country trip” is always considered one of the most challenging road trips on every league teams' schedule, and even for the non-league teams, for whatever reason,” Montana explained. “We will continue to focus on each game and team separately as we have for eight years, and not any other elements.
“The Vassar and Rensselaer weekend will also offer us two challenging road games. Vassar, like every team in the league, is well coached, works very hard, and has some skilled perimeter kids to go with some physical inside scorers. They have struggled win-wise in the league so far, however, every coach in the league has great respect for Vassar as an opponent and knows that Vassar can have an impact on the league's playoff picture.”
Devon Bruce
Union already owns three victories against its final four opponents, having beaten St. Lawrence, (62-57), Vassar (78-48), and Rensselaer (56-48) while losing to Clarkson, 57-56, after the Knights rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit. Clarkson took the lead with 32 seconds left to play then held on as Union's potential game-winning jumper failed to fall.
Sophomore guard John Cagianello ranks fifth among the league's scoring leaders with his 14.9 average while classmate, forward Brian Scordato, is 14th at 11.9 and ninth among the rebounding leaders with his 6.9 average.
Sophomore point guard Chris Murphy leads the UCAA by a wide margin with his assist average of 5.20 (Skidmore's Frank Murray is next at 4.90) and also tops the circuit with his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.74.
“St. Lawrence, Clarkson, and Rensselaer are all post-season type teams fighting for the opportunity to make the league's top four,” Montana explained. “We will have played a very challenging schedule, with 14 of our 25 games away from Memorial Fieldhouse. Hopefully that will make us “road tested” and not “road weary” as we heard to this challenging yet exciting period in the UCAA schedule.
“I am confident that our kids will continue to work hard to prepare themselves for each game.”
Captain Glenn Sanders
(Saugas, MA) returned to the lineup Friday against Clarkson to the surprise of a
capacity-filled Messa Rink. Sanders, who suffered a ruptured spleen on
November 15th at home against Dartmouth, was thought to be out for the
entire season, and had applied for an NCAA medical red shirt. The
senior, one of the hardest-working and selfless players in the game, was
announced as the starting center Friday night to the surprised, but over
joyed crowd at Messa rink. Sanders played regular shifts on both nights,
and did not seem to miss a beat, especially on special teams, where he
blocked seven shots on the penalty kill.
“It speaks mountains of the kid, because he decided to come back and
help the team for eight games, instead of returning for 34 next season.
That's the type of person Glenn is, he's selfless, and he's a hard
worker” said head coach Nate Leaman. Sanders presence has been missed
both on and off the ice, and the Dutchmen could not have had their
captain return at a better time. Now, with just six games remaining and
the Dutchmen playing good hockey, Union will be a team with some added
leadership, when they need it most.
Senior Captain Imbrie Packard Leads by Example and Desire
“I hope they look at my work ethic and how much I want to win,” says men's basketball two-year captain Imbrie Packard of his younger teammates. “Being the captain, I want to be a leader both on and off the court. I try to be an example to the other players.”
Packard, otherwise known as “Pack” to his coaches, teammates, and friends, credits former Union standout C.J. Rogers, a senior All-Conference player during Packard's sophomore year, for the leadership traits that he carries today.
“C.J. was never the captain because he went on a term abroad for a semester, but in my mind, he was the best leader on the team,” explains the 6'5 forward. Now, as his career in a Garnet uniform heads into the homestretch, Pack continues to leave his own impression as a team leader.
“His leadership skills are outstanding,” says head Coach Bob Montana. “Pack is a very disciplined kid and he provides a great example to the other kids both in school and on the court.”
Pack grew up in Lower Marion, a suburb of Pennsylvania. He is the middle child with one brother two years his senior and another six years his junior. Packard has been playing basketball since the seventh grade. Though his younger brother shares Pack's love of sports, his older brother did not. Never the less, Pack is very close to his older brother and admires him.
“He always knew how to treat people,” he says. “And people really like him for it. I think that one of my best traits is something I've learned from him. Just like him, I always treat people with respect.”
Imbrie Packard
Four years ago, when faced with the decision of which college to choose, Pack selected Union for its academic reputation, for the quality of its basketball program, and for the fact that Union did not put him on the admissions' wait list.
“I didn't want to wait to go to school,” he explained. “I didn't even come for a visit or anything. I just showed up the first day of class.”
However he decided upon the college, it turned out to be the right decision for him.
“I have great friends here and I enjoy my life here,” he says. “I also enjoy mentoring the younger kids on the basketball team.”
A lot of great memories have been made with the Dutchmen on the basketball court, but one in particular stands out in Packard's mind; one that doesn't claim himself directly as the hero.
“On my 21st birthday we played a game at Hobart and all of my family was there to watch,” he remembers. “It was a tie game with 10 seconds left and the inbound ball was stolen by a Hobart player who scored. That put us down two points with six seconds left in the game. My roommate, Ryan Freundlich (the only other senior on this year's team) caught the ball and scored. We won that game in overtime.”
“Imbrie is a kid that I've enjoyed coaching for four years,” says Montana, whose Dutchmen are assured of their seventh consecutive winning season. “His best asset to this team is his energy and intelligence. He's a skilled and very good defender so he can contribute in many different ways. Imbrie is capable of being a starter, but he can come off the bench too because he has that tremendous energy. He evaluates situations on the court and reacts to them very well. Off the bench, he gives us scoring and rebounding. From a defensive standpoint, he can guard perimeter players. That combination of quality and skill is something that not too many players possess.”
Though he's not positive on what he wants to do after graduation, Packard, a math major, thinks he would like to go to Vietnam.
“I'm half Vietnamese (on his mother's side) so I think it would be interesting to live there and work maybe work for a year and see what it's like,” he says.
Whatever he decides to do in his future, Imbrie Packard will never have to worry about the past four years and the impact he has made on his teammates or for the basketball program.
Junior Forward Ryan Freundlich Typifies The Dutchmen's Basketball Success
Ryan Freundlich
It is amazing how fast four years can fly. Now, with just six games left in the regular season, the basketball career of senior forward Ryan Freundlich is heading down the homestretch. At 15-4, the Dutchmen are assured of their seventh consecutive winning season and the player who best typifies the success of the program the last two years is Freundlich.
The 2001-02 season featured three seniors in the starting lineup. Shooting guard Aaron Galletta (who graduated as the program's all-time leading scorer), forward C.J. Rodgers (who finished his career as one of the program's career rebounding leaders and is a member of the 1,000-point club), and point guard Jason Manning (among the all-time leaders in career assists), led the Dutchmen to a 21-4 record and the team's first NCAA tournament berth since 1983-84.
While that team was expected to achieve, the 2002-03 squad missed another NCAA berth by losing at Hamilton, 74-70, in the championship game of the UCAA post-season tournament.
This year, after losing at defending national champion Williams by seven points in the season opener, the Dutchmen won 10-straight. Heading into the final six games of the regular-season, Union is fighting for a berth in the four-team UCAA post-season event with the tournament champions earning the conference's automatic berth in the national tournament.
Ryan Freundlich
Perhaps the one player that typifies the Dutchmen's success over the last two seasons is Freundlich. The Springfield, New Jersey, native, who has been an off-the-bench role player throughout his career, moved into the starting lineup and has had two banner seasons.
“Ryan has had more success scoring inside while providing us with rebounding, interior defense, and someone to pick up a charge or two,” said Montana. “We feel Ryan gives us some energy at the post position, and provides us with quality play.”
In some ways the last two editions of Dutchman basketball may be harder for the opposition to defend than it was when Galletta and company were leading the team. In 2000-01 opposing coaches looked to keep the score down by pressuring Galletta. Keep Rodgers off the boards and the Dutchmen faced a rebounding disadvantage. Get Manning in foul trouble and who runs the floor?
But the Dutchmen's key to success the last two seasons has been a blue collar “lunch pail” approach that finds almost every game with a new hero. This year sophomores John Cagianello (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield), Brian Scordato (Mt. Kisco, NY) and Chris Murphy (Hastings-on-on-Hudson, NY) along with junior Devon Bruce (Guilderland, NY) draw the majority of the scouts' attention. However, Packard, junior T.J. Ramey (Ballston Spa), Jim Rahill (Amherst, NY), Joseph Mackey (Flushing, NY), Tyson McCabe (Guilderland, NY) and Darcy Bonner (Chicago, IL) come off the bench and do an excellent job of keeping the pressure on while defending the lead.
As for Freundlich, he continues to work hard to get the most out of his God-given talents. Whether in the starting lineup or off the bench, Ryan Freundlich typifies what it means to wear a garnet basketball uniform because brings his lunch pail with him every time he laces up his sneakers.
