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Sports

Golf Teams Compete at NCAC Championships

Langston Hood

Staff Writer

 

 

 

The Fighting Scots’ men’s and women’s golf teams traveled to Mansfield, Ohio over the weekend to participate in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament. Both teams battled it out with the rest of the conference at the Westbrook Country Club, looking to recover after their previous tournaments did not end favorably. However, there was everything to play for on both the men’s and women’s side as the tournament teed off on Thursday. 

On the men’s side, Connor Mitchell ’24, carried the torch for the Scots on day one, posting a score of 79, good for a tie for 10th, after an impressive first day. Tyler Hilbert ’24 was just a stroke behind Mitchell. Meanwhile, Noah Jackman ’25, Ben Foltz ’22 and Krishang Nayak ’25 posted scores of 82, 89 and 90, respectively. Hilbert commented on the course’s difficulty, saying, “Over the course of three days, the golf course played harder than any course I have ever played.”

The following two days of the tournament would not see many of the Scots’ men fare well and only two of the men’s golfers, Foltz and Nayak, would see their scores improve. Foltz saw a drastic improvement on his score as he posted a 76 on day two, a 13-stroke turnaround from his previous day of competition. On the final day, Foltz posted a modest 82, featuring five straight pars, which placed him in a tie with teammate Hilbert for 31st place on the weekend. Hilbert shot an 82 and 85 on the final two days with five pars on the back-nine and eight total in his final round. In a true showing of togetherness, Jackman and Mitchell finished a stroke behind their two teammates for a tie in 33rd place, posting identical scores of 83 for Jackman and 83 and 86 for Mitchell. Nayak improved on his day one performance with scores of 87 and 84, but would finish in a tie for 38th place. 

Kenyon dominated the men’s field, winning by 24 strokes as Denison and Wittenberg rounded out the top three. Kenyon golfer Nick Lust ’22 won the championship tournament by nine strokes as the only golfer to finish under par. Despite a rough ending, Hilbert focused on moving forward, “I’m looking forward to the process of improving over the summer and then coming back to tee it up and compete alongside my teammates again.”

Ben Foltz ’22 had a terrific experience as a member of the golf team. “The best part about being on the Wooster golf team is just that: the team. As I am on my way out, I am realizing how amazing it is to be a part of something much larger than yourself. So many people care about our performance and knowing this makes me want to play even better. I have loved being a member of the Wooster golf team and know the team will be on to great things in the years to come!”

At the end of day one, the women’s team sat in fourth place after posting a score of 385 through the first round. Friday saw only one golfer post a score under 80 meanwhile six finished under 90 as the course proved to get the better of the players. Melissa Burtscher ’24 shot an 88 to finish the first day tied for fifth place with an outside shot at the title. Kayla Audette ’22 placed 14th with a score of 94, thanks to a trio of pars. Ally Siewert ’25, making her debut at the NCAC Championships, ended day one with a score of 101, good for 21st place, while teammates Meghan Wright ’22 and Riley Thorr ’23 followed just a stroke behind at 102. Denison, the favorite coming into the day, held a 35-stroke lead on the second place DePauw Tigers. 

As for the Wooster women’s team, their fourth place finish offered some optimism moving forward, as they were 15 strokes off a podium finish. Siewert vaulted into the top 15 with a 14-stroke improvement from Friday and Burtscher delivered again with another 88 on the day. Wright also shot 10 strokes better than Friday to card a 92, while Thorr improved her score by seven strokes, to finish three strokes behind Wright. Audette regressed slightly, but her score was supplemented by the rest of the team’s performance as she finished in the top 20 on the day. Wooster’s Saturday performance would put them just 11 strokes behind Allegheny and a coveted third place finish. The work wouldn’t be easy as Burtscher echoed Hilbert’s thoughts on the challenging course, “Westbrook Country Club is a difficult course. It looks straightforward on most holes from the tees but the rough is thick and the greens are the most difficult I have ever played.”

Then came Championship Sunday, and the Fighting Scots were ready for the challenge ahead of them. Behind stellar performances from the whole team, Wooster turned in a 351. Meanwhile Allegheny shot a measly 364, giving Wooster the third place finish by just two strokes. Sunday saw Audette and Wright turn in their best performances of the weekend with scores of 84 and 90, while Siewert and Brutscher shot scores of 88 and 89. Siewert and Audette finished 13th and 14th, while earning honorable mention All-NCAC honors. 

Brutscher finished seventh, earning second-team All-NCAC honors and recording the second-highest finish at the conference championships in program history. Her incredibly consistent play helped the Scots claim third place as she posted scores of 88, 88 and 89. Reflecting on the weekend, she said, “The best part about the NCAC Championships is the competition. This year we were down 11 strokes to Allegheny entering the third day and we fought our way back to beat them and take third. Every player and every hole are important.” 

The nationally-ranked Denison team took home the championship as they dominated the field, winning by 78 strokes and finishing with the top four golfers of the weekend and five of the top six, as they were eight strokes away from a clean sweep. 

Congratulations to the women’s golf team on tying the highest finish in program history and the men’s golf team on finishing another great year!

Sports

Men’s Lacrosse Falls to Oberlin in Season Finale

Thomas Pitney

Sports Editor

 

 

 

On Saturday April 30, the Wooster Fighting Scots men’s lacrosse team squared off for the final time this season against the Oberlin Yeomen in front of their home fans at John P. Papp Stadium. Although the Scots had not made the playoffs, they were playing for something else: to give their seniors the opportunity to sign off with a win. Unfortunately, the playoff-bound Yeomen had other plans and defeated the feisty Scots by a score of 16-12.

         Oberlin, who was 11-4 going into the season finale, presented significant challenges for the Scots. As Ben Kennedy ’22 explained, “Oberlin is a very well coached team and has had a lot of success this year by primarily running a zone defense. One challenge presented by the Oberlin defense was switching between man-to-man coverage and a zone defense.” Despite the Yeomen’s defensive prowess, it was Wooster who scored first, as Charlie Ballou ’24 launched the ball into the back of the net to make it a 1-0 game. With 7:05 remaining, Ballou struck again – just 45 seconds after Oberlin had tied the game – to give the Scots a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately for the Scots, Oberlin controlled the rest of the first quarter, scoring three unanswered goals and seizing a 4-2 lead at the end of the quarter.

         The second quarter played out in a similar fashion as the first, with Wooster drawing closer at the beginning of the quarter and Oberlin pulling away as play progressed. Just over two minutes into the quarter, Vinny DiLeo ’24 notched his 27th goal of the season to cut the Oberlin lead to one. With 10:40 to go in the half, the Yeomen stretched their lead to two with a goal by Michael Muldoon ’22; however, Ben Byars ’23 scored a Wooster goal 30 seconds later to bring the lead back to 5-4. The Yeomen responded with an aggressive offensive strategy, scoring four unanswered goals over the next four minutes. Down 8-4 with 5:50 remaining in the first half, Kennedy scored a crucial goal for the reeling Scots. Kennedy credited his goal to an “aggressive top-side dodge from one of my teammates which forced my defender to respect him as a shooter. This opened some space for him to pass me the ball and forced my defender to take a poor approach back to me, which made my job a lot easier. I took the space I saw down the right alley and was able to get my hands free for a shot, and thankfully it found the back of the net.” Despite this, Oberlin tacked on another goal, and the Yeomen went into the break with a 9-5 advantage.

         The halftime talk seemed to benefit the Scots, as it was Wooster who struck first in the third quarter. Specifically, it was DiLeo scoring his second goal of the game to make it a 9-6 game with 11:23 to go in the period. However, this initial momentum was negated with an Oberlin goal 13 seconds later. The Scots, their resolve unaltered by the quick Oberlin strike, scored back-to-back goals thanks to Will Fink ’25 and Tyler Schroeder ’22 to bring the lead back to two with 9:47 remaining in the third. Oberlin responded with a string of three unanswered goals of their own over the next five-and-a-half minutes to make it a 12-8 lead. As was the case earlier in the quarter, the Scots refused to give up, as goals by Byars and Fink made it a 12-10 game. Although Oberlin scored a goal at the end of the quarter, it felt as if Wooster was gaining ground on the Yeomen.

         Just after one minute of play in the fourth quarter, Riley Schulze ’25 seized the Wooster momentum and notched his fourth goal of the season to bring the Scots within two goals of the Yeomen. Two-and-a-half minutes later, however, Oberlin scored a crucial goal to grow its lead to 14-11 with 11:24 to play. Kennedy again stopped the bleeding, scoring his second goal of the season and 16th of the year with 7:14 remaining. Unfortunately for the Scots, Oberlin executed its confusing defense to near perfection over the remaining minutes of the game, as the Scots were unable to score for the rest of the game. Instead, the rest of the quarter was all Oberlin, as the Yeomen notched three consecutive goals to capture their 16-12 win at John P. Papp Stadium.

         The Scots, who finished the season with a 6-10 overall record, did not qualify for the playoffs. Though this loss left a bitter taste in their mouths, the Scots are optimistic about their future. Kennedy believed that this year’s iteration of Scots’ men’s lacrosse “took some of the greatest steps forward that I’ve seen over the course of my time here. We were a young team with a challenging schedule, and I think the young talent on this team is set up very well for the future due to the steps we took this year.” Meanwhile, since this was the last game of the season, it was the last time that Wooster’s men’s lacrosse seniors took the field. Kennedy expressed nothing but gratitude to his teammates for a terrific experience. “I am incredibly thankful to have played my final season with the group we had this year and am lucky to have played with so many great players and great people along the way. I’ll look back on these four years of playing lacrosse and never forget how much fun they were.”

Congratulations to the Fighting Scots on a terrific season and to the seniors on their unforgettable careers!

Sports

Muskingum Proves Too Much for Scots Softball

Joey Harris

Staff Writer

 

 

 

The College of Wooster softball team traveled to Muskingum University this past weekend for their second set of games against the Fighting Muskies this year. After dropping their previous two games against the Muskies, the Scots hoped to get one back but came up short in New Concord, Ohio on Sunday, May 1. The Scots were defeated in the first game 5-0 after a competitive seven innings and lost their second game 17-2 after five innings.

After a scoreless first two innings in the first game, the Muskies registered two runs in the third inning, two in the fourth inning and one in the fifth, putting them up 5-0 over the Scots.

This score would not change for the rest of the game. Despite a lack of runs in the first game, Wooster put up a strong fight, with hits contributed by Brooke Swaine ’22, Stephanie Griffin-Sanchez ’24, Kaydee Clark ’24 and Sarah Lodge ’25. Pitching by Addie Tagg ’23 and Rachael Dudziak ’24 also was a key component in the Scots’ first game.

Lodge applauded the Scots persistence throughout the game. “The morale stayed up in the dugout the whole time and I think it’s a lot easier for us to push through when we stay up,” she said. Going into the second game, Lodge said the Scots were working to replicate the successful bounceback that they had in their most recent outing against Ohio Northern University, in which they won 4-2 in their second game after losing the first 6-1. While they came up short, Daphne Pate ’22 said that the team never lost its fight. “No matter what happened in those games, even if we were down, we were still having fun, we were still giving it our all, nobody went up to the plate [looking] defeated the whole time,” she said.

The Scots dropped their second game 17-2, mostly caused by Muskingum’s strong first, second and fourth innings during which they strung together multiple runs to put them above Wooster. The Scots connected for eight hits, leading up to a high moment for the team when Anna Norby ’22 hit her second home run of the season in the fourth inning, sending both her and Clark in for two runs.

Pate said that, as opposed to focusing solely on what is on the scoreboard, the Scots focused on the quality of their play each time they were out on the field. They used a whiteboard in their dugout to map their “Quality At-Bats,” a system used by the team to track how well batters perform in the batter’s box, showing them what they are doing correctly, even if the score does not always reflect it. “When a lot’s happening in the game we like to slow it down and just go back to the board,” she said. 

Beyond the team’s play alone, Pate said that this year has been special due to the growth of the team as a unit from their increased focus on mental health. Pate noted that both the coaches and the players have engaged in open discussions about their lives, leading to both a better understanding of one another and better performances by the team as a whole. “Once you feel comfortable sharing something that’s going on in your life, then you feel like you trust the whole team, and everyone has this mutual respect for each other,” Pate said. 

After this weekend, the Scots hold a record of 17-21 overall and are 8-8 in conference play. They look forward to the first round of the NCAC tournament in which they will match up against the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s third-ranked, DePauw University Tigers. The game is set to take place Friday, May 6 in Greencastle, Indiana.

Senior Editorials, Viewpoints

Taking a Step Back…

Aspen Rush

Editor-In-Chief

 

 

 

Born 337: The Love Fortress

First, I begin with freshman year. Before college, I had few friends and I was terrified that college would be high school all over again. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In my first weeks, I met some of my best friends. It was love at first sight. From the instant we connected, I knew things would be different this time. My hurt was their hurt; their joy was my joy. They taught me how to love and how to be loved in return. 

The Calcei House Porch:

Sophomore year, my freshman friend group gave birth to a house with the most absurd combination of residents, ranging from a chess enthusiast to a soccer player to a rodeo queen — just to name a few. My room was on the second floor but I could hear laughter echo all through the house. It felt like home. 

That year, I gave myself permission to change. I broke up with my high school boyfriend and I joined the Voice, something I never thought I would do. I started dating non-men for the first time. I spent the weekends dancing with my friends, throwing themed parties and chain smoking cigarettes on the porch. I was thrilled by my classes. It was bliss. Until it wasn’t. 

That year, I lost two friends to suicide and my depression grew from annoying to crippling. My friends began to drift away even as we were under the same roof. I felt completely and indescribably alone.

…and then came COVID-19.

On a walk:

Junior year, I became comfortable with my aloneness, not necessarily by choice. Despite the looming cloud of depression and constant pressure of the pandemic, I began to get to know myself for the first time. I began to pursue my passions that were unrelated to my aspirations. I started dancing by myself and listening to music, not to drown my thoughts, but to enjoy the sounds. In that time, I learned to give myself the room to feel and the grace to change.

Henderson B Stoop:

The fall of my final year began feeling much like my first. Everyone made the journey back to campus. So many questions, this time they felt more pressing, more serious, questions about the rest of our lives.

It was the year of lasts: the last time to see the trees change in the fall, the last first day of classes, the last Ohio winter (thank god), the last Covers, the list goes on. Now, as I sit in my last Voice layout, writing my last Viewpoint, I find that I have no regrets. My time here has been dominated by images of disco balls and long, honest talks laying on the floor with my best friend. While I admit I am terrified of whatever is to come and the last of my lasts inches closer and closer, I also find myself sitting on the cusp of many firsts. This time, I don’t know what those firsts will be but I think I’m ready. I hope I am.

Front Page, News

College Community Responds to The Planned Overruling of Roe v. Wade

Samuel Boudreau

News Editor

 

 

 

On May 2, Politico reported that the Supreme Court of the United States plans to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 case that established the constitutional right for a woman to have an abortion, under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.  “The 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling relied on this clause when it concluded that prohibiting abortion violated a right to privacy under the Constitution by restricting a person’s ability to choose whether to have an abortion,” said Orlando Mayorquin of USA Today.  

In a leaked draft of the court’s decision, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

The leaked draft of the court’s decision sparked protests throughout the country, including Wooster, Ohio.

On May 3, Désirée Weber, an assistant professor of political science, announced a Reproductive Rights Political Advocacy Session from noon to 4 p.m. in Kauke Hall’s second floor lounge on the same day. Weber set out a few goals for the session, goals which called for Congress to pass federal abortion protections, drive people to local polls for the May 3 primary election and to research and/or support reproductive healthcare providers locally and nationally. 

A number of students and faculty members attended the session, writing letters to Congress, drawing posters and discussing future steps for demonstrations. One of those students, Samantha Harrison ’23 put the finishing touches on a poster stating, “Abortion Saves Lives.” “Banning abortions affects people of all gender and sexual orientation and is most likely going to cause people to die,” said Harrison. 

At the next-door table, Rachel Catus ’22, Veda Massanari-Thatcher ’23, Grace Braver ’23, Riley Smith ’22 and Katherine Yordy ’22 made plans to hold a demonstration against the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday, May 5th at the Kauke Arch. “We plan to have an opening speaker come up and help people feel comfortable if they want to speak,” said Catus. 

Numerous faculty members stopped by the second floor to help meet the session’s goals. Beatrice Adams, assistant professor of history, sat down alongside Zoe Carter ’22, Isaac Schwartz ’23 and Beth Ann Muellner, Professor and Department Chair of German Studies and Russian Studies; Global and International Studies. “I am most scared with what this means for a host of other rights and things we assume are already set,” said Adams.

One of those faculty members, Tom Tierney, professor of sociology and anthropology, wrote a postcard at one table. “After waking to the appalling, but not surprising, news that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn a fundamental reproductive right,” said Tierney, “I was heartened by how quickly students (and faculty colleagues) sprang into action.” Tierney continued, “I was glad to be able to spend some time today supporting their efforts, although I wish I could have stayed longer, but I do plan to continue offering as much support as I can in the upcoming days as they organize rallies and other forms of resistance to this impending decision.”

Front Page, News

President Holds Town Hall to Address Concerns About Outsourcing

Jonathan Logan

Editor-In-Chief

 

 

 

On the afternoon of Tues., May 3 a small group of faculty members and a handful of students gathered in the Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall to hear President Sarah Bolton speak on her administration’s decision to outsource Dining and Custodial Services. A larger group of faculty and staff members also gathered remotely over Zoom. Bolton began the meeting by rehashing the decision-making process and addressing questions that have frequently come up with regards to outsourcing. She described the decision as one driven by a need to “meet the demands of students” in addition to “managing complicated staffing needs.” While the meeting focused primarily on the outsourcing of dining, Bolton mentioned that they are still much earlier in the custodial outsourcing process. In an email sent out on the same day, the College informed the campus community that two final candidates for the outsourcing of custodial services, National Management and Marsden/Scioto, would be presenting on May 5 and May 6 respectively.

President Bolton continued her opening remarks by reiterating the expertise that Creative Dining Services (CDS) demonstrates and by summarizing the driving forces behind the ultimate decision: “The priorities in making these decisions were really, first, [based] around the needs of our students, and also, very much on supporting our staff.”  She concluded by restating that the these decisions were made in response to student demands as well as stating that CDS’s “main goal is to find the right ways to make themselves a place that people want to work – that good people want to work and stay – so, they are not financially motivated to cut costs.” Following Bolton’s opening statement, the meeting took on a town hall format and opened up to questions.

With regards to the outsourcing of Custodial and Dining Services, Dr. Amyaz Moledina, Associate Professor of Economics & Business Economics; Global and International Studies, asked President Bolton “does urgency justify the way folks have been overlooked?” Moledina framed his question by remarking on the lack of transparency and collaboration, “the things we are supposed to teach our students.” Bolton responded by admitting that “there are ways to do the process better than we did it.” She continued, “I can’t responsibly, and I know that the board feels this way as well, we can’t responsibly say we’re [going to] hit the pause button and redo.” Later in the town hall, Moledina also pressed Bolton on why the faculty had not been presented with financial data or a financial report regarding the outsourcing. This was part of the faculty’s demands in the petition released on April 12.

Mark Gooch, the Collection Management and Discovery Services Librarian, followed up by asking President Bolton how she intends to alter the process and include the broader campus community. “There are [going to] be important things for us to think about next year. For example, faculty bringing us their thoughts about financial stability, and there were really important conservations raised yesterday at the faculty meeting about faculty and staff retention,” Bolton responded after saying she is in conversation with incoming Interim President Wayne Webster about issues such as these and how they ought to be included in a new “governance arranged around these questions.” Bolton concluded by saying that she certainly believes they can do better in the future and detailed how some of Wooster’s peer institutions are “formalizing a shared governance process that goes beyond what we have in the Statute of Instruction, which is a document that lays out the particular rights and responsibilities of the board and faculty.” Shared governance lays out a framework for decision-making, advising and how consultation is carried out in conjunction with those roles beyond formal College statutes.

Dr. Ng Wee Siang Margaret, Associate Professor of History; Archaeology; Chinese Studies, inquired about the College’s plans for there being a hypothetical need for the College to breach the contract with CDS. Concerns were further raised over potential financial penalties or other sanctions placed on the College by CDS. Bolton stated that she believes the real penalty would be their inability to provide the campus community what it needs. “The financial penalty is actually not the thing I would worry about. What I would worry about is providing dining to our students; there is a financial penalty because we have a signed contract.”

Also present at the town hall was Jim Prince, Vice President for Finance and Business/Treasurer, who was asked by Voice reporters about his previous role as Treasurer at Kalamazoo College where, under his tenure, Kalamazoo outsourced with CDS (they had already been outsourcing with another company, but had grown dissatisfied with their performance). Mr. Prince was asked if their partnering with CDS was at all connected with Wooster’s decision to partner with the same vendor. Prince responded by saying “My relationship with Creative Dining had nothing to do with my connection to my last institution.” He further elaborated on how the College originally engaged with a consultancy that independently gauged the College’s list of potential partners. Prince continued by saying that this consultancy helped the College “think through who are some of the best companies out there?” Bolton and Prince, throughout the town hall, continued to express their faith in CDS’s future relationship with the campus community.