 "Photo: Sun-Mee Paik '10")
The weather is colder and the days are shorter, but that doesn’t mean the end of Blue athletics. Instead, the upcoming winter season promises a different, nonetheless exciting, lineup of activities, ranging from fencing and squash matches to basketball games and swimming and diving meets.
Many winter teams, such as fencing, have started their season. Head Coach Gamil Kaliouby and the Wellesley Blue made their season premiere at the 2009 New England Women’s Intercollegiate Fencing Association (NEWIFA) Championship, nicknamed “The Big One” because of the 22 colleges that participate. Hannah Braaten ’11 won the silver medal in foil (a light thrusting weapon) and Samantha Kim ’12 placed 16th out of 78 participants. In Épée (a heavy thrusting weapon), Emily Johnson ’10 placed ninth, Ashley Paquin ’11 placed 17th and Anne Benjamin ’11 placed 22nd out of 71 competitors. Elizabeth Rowen ’11 placed 26th and Zsofia Schweger ’12 placed 34th out of 69 competitors in Sabre (a light cutting and thrusting weapon).
“This is considered a good show for us in a competition with this large [a number] of fencers, some of who came from outside New England ... I believe the results will continue to get better throughout the season,” Kaliouby said.
The good showing in this competition is not only an exciting start to the season but also a starting point for the team’s goals. Kaliouby said, “We have great goals. We want to improve our seeding through the [New England] conference and New England Championship and we want to qualify with the maximum of three competitors in each weapon in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Regional Championship.”
Other teams are still preparing for their first game and are hoping to start off the season with much-improved performances. Laura Barrett ’10, basketball player, said, “I’m so excited for the first New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game against Clark when the conference gets a look at what this year’s team plays like. Seriously, none of the teams who are thinking about playing us have any idea what that is going to look like, and I can’t wait for our hard work to pay off and for us to shock everybody.”
Basketball has seen significant changes since last season with the loss of six players and a new head coach, Jennifer Kroll. “Each year it is always an exciting challenge to help a group reach their potential as a team. It takes an extreme amount of hard work and commitment from each individual. But building relationships is the most important part of the process. Once we build trust between one another as a team, we can accomplish what we otherwise could not,” Kroll said.
For the players, this sense of trust is what they strive for everyday. “We are a completely different team. Everyday we are learning and improving and the biggest strides that we make are learning to trust each other to be there in help defense (when you help your teammate cover her player), to run the court hard and to get the rebound that you might not get if you do your job boxing out. This allows us to play the aggressive game we are looking to make our trademark this year,” Barrett said.
While changes can be a challenge for a team, it also allows for growth and development. Although fencing has not lost any players, they will be missing the support of two of their strongest fencers, Wendy Chin ’11 and Tess DeLean ’11, for the first part of their season while they study abroad. Fortunately, the team has a reserve of experienced players who will use this opportunity to hone their performances. “I do have great expectations for most of our experienced fencers this year and hope the others will improve this season and in years to come,” Kaliouby said.
Barret expressed her thanks for the help the basketball team has received from the campus athletic community. “I love the way that the Wellesley sports community helps each other out. We have been a little short on numbers in practice but numerous members of the softball team and coaching staff have stepped up to the plate and practiced with us, as well as Ali, the NCAA intern, and Austin, the novice crew coach. It has been essential to our practice growth and intensity to have the support of these members of the Wellesley sports community and of Jill, a Bowdoin College Basketball alum who helps us out.”
The sports program has been seeking to involve a broader base of students in this sports community.When the cold, the dark, and the drudgery of final coursework start piling up on one another, winter sports will be here to provide some heart-pumping action while keeping the chill and doldrums at bay.
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