Langston Hood

Staff Writer

The Wooster baseball team had an eventful weekend as they split a double-header with Allegheny before carrying over their offensive success with an explosion of runs against Heidelberg University. The Fighting Scots went Gator hunting in the first game of the weekend, as they laid waste to the Allegheny team in a 15-1 victory. The bats of the Scots were red-hot and everything thrown towards the plate was being hit. The first victim of the Scots was Allegheny’s starting pitcher Conor Deasy ’23, who had an incredibly respectable 2.40 ERA coming into the game. Wooster was keen on worsening this statistic, as they had Deasy’s number when the second inning rolled around. 

Baseballs turned to volleyballs as the Wooster lineup batted around in the bottom of the second, tallying seven runs on six hits and leaving just one runner on base. Sophomore Eli Westrick ’24 got the action started with a double before first-year Nick Pett ’25 stepped up to drive him home on a full count home run. The hits wouldn’t stop coming as the homer was followed by a Dom Stilliana ’22 single, a Michael Thomas ’22 double and a Ben Gbur ’22 walk. With the bases loaded, Ben Hines ’22 singled to bring a run in with some aggressive first-pitch swinging. Following Hines’ RBI, Tyler Chumita ’22, the NCAC’s leader in RBIs, found himself in position to break the game wide open. And he did, sending a ball into the atmosphere for a grand slam to put the Scots up by seven in the early stages of the game. 

The initial bleeding would stop after Chumita’s four-run knock, but Wooster picked right back up where they left off in the bottom of the third when Thomas homered to score two runs, which ended Deasy’s day on the mound. Mitchell Reardon ’22 would surrender Allegheny’s first and only run of the day on a solo shot in the top of the fourth. In the bottom half, Thomas would register two more RBI’s on a two-out double. The bottom of the fifth inning would host another fireworks show as Dane Camphausen ’22 hit a grand salami of his own to bring in four more runs and end the Scots’ scoring at 15 runs, as Reardon went on to finish the game allowing just four hits, eight strikeouts and a home run. 

Game one of the double header ended early as Wooster mercy-ruled the Allegheny Gators before the nightcap began. Wooster’s bats went cold for the two innings as a Pett triple served as the only hit through the first two frames of the game. Wooster would wait until the third inning for a Chumita single to knot up the game at one run apiece. The Gators went on a hot run starting in the sixth inning and carrying through the end of the game as they got a hold of the Wooster pitchers routinely. They scored nine runs over the last four innings to take the second game of the doubleheader to win the game 11-5. Wooster wasn’t up to the task in the nightcap, but they would save some firepower for their Sunday matchup with Heidelberg. 

Wooster’s Sunday game at Heidelberg got off to a fast start as they scored three runs in the top of the first inning thanks to a Hines homer which also brought Gbur home to give the Scots an early 2-0 lead. Westrick rebounded from his tough day on the bump with a little help from Heidelberg, as they mishandled a bunt and Chumita scored to give the Scots their third run of the inning. 

Heidelberg would pose a challenge early on as a solo shot brought the game to 3-1 in the bottom of the first inning; however, Wooster would respond emphatically over the next two innings. Hines registered his third RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly in the top of the second, which brought Alex Gasper ’22 home. The Scots caught fire in the next inning as Gasper recorded an RBI, while Hines and Gbur registered two apiece to put the Scots up 9-1 in the third inning. 

Wooster’s repeat offenders supplied the run support over the next seven innings, as Chumita brought home three runs and Westrick added another to give the Scots a 14-6 advantage heading into the eighth inning. But they weren’t done just yet. Gbur knocked an inside the park grand slam to score four runs and put the minimal hope of the Student Princes (terrible mascot) to bed. The “Princes” got a charity run in the bottom of the eighth and the rest of the game was scoreless as the Fighting Scots won 18-7. 

Nick Pett, one of the weekend’s premier performers had the following to say about the rest of the season: “the whole team played great this weekend and we’re excited to compete for a spot in the conference tournament coming up.” The Scots have an important couple of games coming up as they will see double-headers with the top two teams in the conference and Kenyon, who is tied with them at 8-4. 

The Scots will travel to Denison on Saturday, April 30 for a double header against the league leaders in a pivotal two game stretch. 

Thomas Pitney

Sports Editor

On Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3, Wooster’s Ballroom Dance Club competed at the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two pairs from Wooster competed in the bronze skill level of the International Samba competition. At the competition, it was evident that all the Ballroom Dance Club’s practice throughout the year paid off, as the dancers impressed at Nationals.

Wooster’s first pair – Margaret Jagger ’22 and Andrea Brown ’22 – finished tied for 51st overall of 66 pairs. This competition required that each pair dance, along with the other pairs of dancers, in front of judges that are tasked with determining the winner. In each round, the judges selected the top 50% of the dancers and called them back for the next round. Eventually, throughout several rounds, the judges selected a winner.

Jagger and Brown went to Pittsburgh with a positive attitude, believing that they were well-prepared for the competition. Jagger noted that “the atmosphere for this competition was different from the competitions and tournaments of other sports I’ve been at. Everyone is still there to compete and do their best, but among competitors there was a greater sense of camaraderie and support.” Since there were so many dancers competing in the first round, Wooster’s pair hoped to stand out amongst their competitors. As Jagger put it, “we have numbers on our backs for judges to mark if they want a pair to advance to the next round or not, and the audience shouting out these numbers may affect the numbers that the judges look for. While the judges do advance pairs who have good technique, getting noticed by the judges is the first step.” Unfortunately, Jagger and Brown were unable to advance beyond the first round; however, they did finish 51st and left it all out on the dance floor.

The Ballroom Dance Club’s second pair – Emily Pfau ’22 and Kate Runciman ’22 – were called by the judges to be invited to the second round after their performance in the first round. Though they were not called to the final round, Pfau and Runciman finished 28th in the 66 team field, an extremely impressive showing. Like Jagger, Pfau found challenges in performing in front of judges. Pfau thought that “performing in front of judges was intimidating since you could always see them in the corner of your eye.” Despite this, Pfau and Runciman advanced to the second round and performed to their high standards. Pfau was proud of her performance, saying that “I think we danced well; I was excited to get a call back especially since this was my second competition I had ever done.”

Both teams’ performances reflected the hard work that the Ballroom Dance Club put in during their practices throughout the year to improve their craft. Jagger had nothing but good things to say about her experience in the club, believing that “it taught me skills that I will be able to take with me beyond my time at Wooster and [dancing] is an activity I will be able to do post-college.” Pfau noted that the club is driven by its members, who foster a positive, fun environment. Reflecting on her experience, Pfau said that “I have had a lot of fun in the club. The people in it are always excited to learn new things and are ready to invest time practicing outside of normal club hours.”

Congratulations to Margaret Jagger, Andrea Brown, Emily Pfau and Kate Runciman for their terrific performances at the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships 2022 and for their amazing careers as members of the Ballroom Dance Club!

Langston Hood

Staff Writer

The College of Wooster men’s golf team hosted the Nye Intercollegiate Tournament last weekend, on Saturday, April 9, which was originally supposed to be a two day tournament; however, inclement weather rendered the Wooster Country Club course unplayable. Nine teams took part in the tournament as Wooster registered a third place finish, thanks to exemplary finishes from the young bloods of the Wooster golf team. The final team results of the tournament are as follows: Otterbein University, Muskingum University, COW, DePauw University, Earlham College, Baldwin Wallace University, Bluffton University, University of Mount Union and Hiram College. 

Wooster’s top finishers were Noah Jackman ’25 and Krishang Nayak ’25, who both shot 80 at eight over par to tie for sixth place with three other competitors. The Country Club course played particularly difficult on Sunday, as the best golfer on the day only managed to finish one over par. Team Captain Ben Foltz ’22 was the next highest finisher and he spoke to the difficulty of the course saying, “I said this following the round and I still believe it. Since WCC was in its prime the greens were rolling quite fast, in addition to this the pins were in some very difficult places. There was a lot of risk when attacking the pin since any downhill putt would likely roll out an extra five to 10 feet unexpectedly.”

Jackman played a particularly electric front-nine as he started his Sunday with a birdie on hole one and sat at one-under-par heading into the fourth hole; additionally he shot par on holes six, seven, eight and nine. Nayak benefitted from some birthday luck as he birdied hole one and parred holes 12, 13 and 14, before birdying 15 and shooting a par on the following two holes. 

The next highest finisher who played himself into a tie with Foltz was David Dennis ’24 as both golfers found themselves tied for 16th in a crowded finish at the end of the Sunday’s proceedings. Foltz and Dennis finished just two strokes behind Jackman and Nayak, as only five strokes separated third place from 16th. A difficult day didn’t discourage Dennis as he highlighted some of his favorite parts about the weekend. “My favorite part about the tournament was getting to play our home course in Wooster. It is always fun to play the course you practice on week in and week out. I also really enjoyed having the people I care about most there to watch me play.” Dennis also registered 10 pars on the day, a positive sign for the sophomore heading into the last month of the season. 

Tyler Hilbert ’24 posted the final counting score at an 84, 12 over par on the day, Hilbert’s score does not do his performance justice as he finished second in the field with 10 pars. Hilbert focused on the difficulty in beating out his teammates and the depth of the team this year saying, “The team is very strong top to bottom and that in-roster competition helps to bring out the best in all of us.” The scoring format of collegiate golf is slightly complicated, so Hilbert himself has been kind enough to offer a definition in layman’s terms: “it’s just the top four out of five for the A team. In reality the B and C teams are just individuals pretty much, very few tournaments will count a college’s B and C team as an official ‘team’. But just four out of five for a single team. So this weekend our A team’s scores were 80, 80, 82, 84, 85. The top four of those count so our final team score was 326.”

Within one stroke of Hilbert was his fellow sophomore Jacob Ullom ’24 who shot an 85 on the day and finished tied for 28th place. Ullom also harped on the difficulties that the pin positions presented on Sunday, “The slope of the greens and some of the pin placements made it difficult.”

Dennis has high hopes for the remainder of the season and rightfully so, “I am looking forward to seeing how many more tournaments we can win and how our scores can progress as a team.” Last weekend was Wooster’s sixth top-three finish of the season, so the Scots are familiar with success, which should serve them well heading into this year’s most important tournaments. 

Foltz shared in Dennis’ optimism making note of the work that the team put in over spring break. “Our team got some much-needed preparation on our spring trip, so we’re hoping to continue playing well. Especially coming off an initial win, we are looking to have a very competitive season.” 

Despite the tough break, the morale of the Wooster squad is high as they head into the Mercyhurst University Invitational this weekend and look to sharpen up their game before the NCAC/OAC Challenge and the NCAC Championships, which start on April 29 and continue through May 1. 

Thomas Pitney

Sports Editor

 On Saturday, April 9, the Wooster Fighting Scots’ women’s lacrosse team faced a familiar, fierce rival, the Wittenberg University Tigers, in front of their home fans at John P. Papp Stadium. Wooster came into this game with a dominant 10-1 overall record while the Tigers entered the game with a 5-6 record. As CC Dent ’22 put it, the Scots hoped to build on its positive momentum to overcome their hated rival. “Our goal as a team was to come out and have fun during that game and I know we did just that. When we’re having fun out there it makes it so much easier to do a good job and hold each other up.” Dent’s hopes were realized, as the Scots dominated from the opening face-off and coasted to a 15-2 win.

         From the start of the first quarter, the Scots made it clear as to why they had accumulated a 10-1 record. After Dent saved a Wittenberg shot attempt, Hannah Shaw ’23 launched a shot past the Wittenberg goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give the Scots a 1-0 lead just two-and-a-half minutes into the game. After her first score, Shaw continued to dictate the game, as 41 seconds later, she had won the draw control and scored again to make it 2-0 in favor of Wooster.

Following this goal, the Tigers and Scots traded possessions without scoring until Ciara O’Connor ’24 took advantage of a Wittenberg foul and subsequent free position shot to increase the Wooster advantage to 3-0 with 9:36 remaining in the quarter. Not even 20 seconds later, Caitlyn O’Connor ’22 got in on the fun and notched another goal to stretch the lead to 4-0. After another five minutes of play, Britta Treu ’23 made a free position shot to make the score 5-0. With 3:17 to go in the quarter, Shaw made perhaps her most impressive goal to tack another goal on Wooster’s side. Shaw credited the goal to strong teamwork, saying that “one of our first years, Kenzie Morris, had the assist and I specifically remember moving to get open as she passed the ball to me inside the eight.” One minute later, Kenzie Smith ’24 capped off the Scots’ dominant quarter with a goal to give Wooster a 7-0 advantage.

The second quarter featured more of the same: Wooster’s relentless offensive attack on the Tigers. Ciara O’Connor made the first strike of the quarter, scoring with 13:43 remaining to make it 8-0. Other Scots that stood out in the second quarter were Kenzie Morris ’25, who scored her 31st goal of the season, Caitlyn O’Connor, who scored her 22nd goal of the season and Morris, who scored her 32nd goal of the season. When the whistle blew signaling the end of the first half, the barrage of scores culminated in an 11-0 Wooster halftime lead.

         Although the Scots held an overwhelming lead going into the second half, they did not let the foot off the gas. Jill Murray ’23 made the opening strike of the third quarter to further expand the lead to 12-0. With 3:42 remaining in the third quarter, Wittenberg finally got on the board, as the Tigers’ Grace Kennedy ’24 scored after being fouled by Wooster. Just over a minute later, the Tigers struck again to close the gap to 12-2. Despite Wittenberg grasping some momentum in the third, Treu stole it right back by scoring with just 11 seconds left to give Wooster a 13-2 lead going into the fourth quarter.

         The fourth quarter was marked by a defensive struggle. Although both teams had several possessions, neither could capitalize for the first 12 minutes of the quarter. With 3:18 remaining in the game, Anna Truong ’23 broke the ice with a goal to expand the lead to 14-2. Shaw put an exclamation point on the Scots’ terrific performance with her fourth goal of the game and 28th of the season with 47 seconds remaining.

The team was extremely proud of its performance, as the Scots completely overwhelmed Wittenberg on the field. Reflecting on Wooster’s strong start to the season, Shaw said “it was definitely a huge confidence booster to start the season off so strong. It felt good to have many wins before moving into conference play.” Dent, who did not allow a single goal in the game, is excited for what the rest of this season brings. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and I know we can hold the same energy that we’ve created in previous games. It’s been awesome to form this culture and community during my last season here, [a culture] that I know will lead the team to ultimate success in years to come.”

Come out and support your Fighting Scots as they hope to continue their winning ways when they host Allegheny College at John P. Papp Stadium on Wednesday, April 20!

Miles Rochester

Sports Editor

Manchester City (the best team in the world) and Liverpool F.C. (respectable) clashed this past Sunday in Manchester and the game became an instant classic. Although it was just an ordinary league game, both teams were fighting for something much more important than a single result: they were fighting for the advantage in the race to become Premier League champions.

Both teams are considered by every soccer fan to be among the best of the best, housing world-class players alongside two of the best coaches in the game – Jürgen Klopp for Liverpool and Pep Guardiola for Manchester City. For these reasons the soccer world expected, and received, a thriller of a game.

The success of a team is most often defined by the efforts and skills of the players. This is certainly true, but from time to time the tactics of the coach provide players with the best possible strategy for winning. Both team’s players possessed the highest levels of skill and both coaches planned meticulously and pulled the strings as if they had been mentored by Sun Tzu himself.

With the game about to begin, City fans like myself began to doubt tactical decisions regarding the lineups. One head-scratching decision in particular was Guardiola’s omission of City’s star winger Riyad Marhez. Marhez, who has been in great form, was shockingly replaced by Gabriel Jesus, a Brazilian striker who has not seen a City start since January. Despite this little surprise, Manchester’s lineup still looked solid. Liverpool’s lineup, on the other hand, was drama-free.

A fast start was expected, but no one anticipated what came after only four minutes of play. Kevin de Bruyne (KDB) carried the ball through the midfield and found Jesus through the lines. Jesus, with one touch, squared the ball across the face of goal and put Raheem Sterling right in front of goal unmarked and shockingly, he missed. The temper tantrums over his miss would however soon turn to cries of joy when no more than 30 seconds later, a quick free kick caught Liverpool’s defense slacking and a ball was slotted to KDB who cut in and struck it. The shot appeared to be blocked, but instead took a nasty deflection and just like that it was 1-0 to Manchester City.

After the first five minutes of play and a Manchester City goal, Liverpool, the visiting team, looked as if they hadn’t come fully prepared for the constant pressure their opponents would put on them. However, to remain in the game, the visitors knew they needed to make something happen. City’s attack remained dominant through the next few plays, until a poor pinball-like clearance on the part of the defense granted Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson the time and space to pick out fellow wingback Trent Alexander-Arnold who then, with one touch, laid the ball diagonally back to Diogo Jota. Jota beat the keeper and scored with class. After Liverpool’s unarguably beautiful goal, the playing field was evened again at 1-1.

Liverpool did not seem their usual self in a bad way, trying to force play out of the back and struggling to retain possession. At the same time, Pep’s tactical philosophy took a 180-degree turn, as the team known for their possessing abilities played long ball after long ball trying to expose the high defensive line that their opponents were holding. 

The second City goal came in the 33rd minute when Guardiola’s bet on Jesus paid off. Jesus silenced his doubters and Guardiola once again proved his ability to pick the right man for the job. Going into halftime one thing was certain: Liverpool would come back as a whole new team.

And they surely did. Right off the bat, the revitalized team stopped playing directly into the pressure of Manchester City and began attempting to escape the pressure by playing the ball long. This strategy proved successful in the first minute of the second half when a long ball found Mohammed Salah of Egypt who played a phenomenal ball to Sadio Mane. Mane’s well-struck ball found its way to the back of the net to level the game to its final score of 2-2.

Although no more goals were scored, the remainder of the game was non-stop action that every single fan of the beautiful game would love. I highly recommend watching this game if getting into football is something that interests you. It was amazing.