With the 2009-2010 season rapidly approaching, the women’s soccer team has been going through their paces hoping to add to their already long history as a top team in North Coast Athletic Conference.

Coming off of a second-place finish in the conference tournament and a record of 14-6 last season they have set the bar high to improve this season.

Nora Simon ’10, whose technical skills in the midfield and final third are a regular feature on Carl Dale Memorial Field, is one of the captains of the squad this season. “All the seniors need to step up,” Simon stated when questioned about how the squad would repeat their winning record in the coming season. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Featured, Sports | No Comments »

The Wooster football team is back on Wooster’s brand new turf field as it gears up for what could be its best shot to win the conference crown in five years. As the team returns 16 offensive and defensive starters, the Fighting Scots will look to do more than post another winning season — the Scots will look to beat archrival Wittenberg University for the second straight season as well as top Wabash College, the reigning North Coast Athletic Conference champion. With returning players at nearly all key positions, the Scots will have possibly their most talented lineup since 2004.

Leading the spread offense of head coach Mike Schmitz will be dual-threat quarterback Austin Holter ’10. Holter will be a third-year starter. While he had some sporadic success as a sophomore, he enjoyed a breakout season last year. Holter has started the last 20 games for the Scots, and has won 11 of his last 14. His biggest asset is his ability to make plays through the air and on the ground. His dual-threat capabilities make him a perfect fit to run the spread offense. Last year, he led the Scots last year in both rushing yards (755) and passing yards (1,957). His 2,712 yards of total offense not only led the NCAC last year, but it also broke the Wooster single season yardage record. Holter is arguably the best scrambler in the conference.

The one concern with Holter is his inability to hold onto the ball. Last season he turned the ball over 25 times in ten games. 18 of those turnovers came off interceptions, and his seven fumbles also accounted for more than a third of the team’s fumbles over the course of the season. In the team’s loss last year to eventual NCAC champion Wabash, he turned the ball over six times. If Holter turns the ball over 25 times again this season, it seems unlikely that the Scots will win eight games again, much less challenge for the NCAC title. If Holter cuts his turnovers in half, the Scots’ chances of winning their first NCAC championship since 2004 would improve dramatically.

When he isn’t taking the ball on foot, Holter will have plenty of capable targets to look for. Last year’s standout Mike Francescangeli ’10 will be looking to return to 2008 form this season, coming off a campaign where he totaled 41 catches for 573 yards and five touchdowns. Also vying for the ball will be Mike Redick ’11 and Robert Flagg ’12, who last year totaled 25 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown and 17 grabs for 197 and two scores respectively.

In the backfield, the Scots will have to replace Dustin Sheppard ’09. Sheppard left Wooster as the fourth leading rusher in school history with 3,250 yards. While Sheppard was a strong four-year contributor, he missed numerous games over his career with nagging injuries. Sheppard, who spent all four years at Wooster in the starting role, has left big shoes to fill. Competing for the top spot are Orlando Jones ’10, Kyle Murdock ’11 and Andrew Ford ’11. Jones, who missed last year for personal reasons, split time with Sheppard in 2006-07. Ford has looked very promising, despite the small amount of playing time, and Murdock is trying to return from last year’s season-ending injury.

Heading up the defense is captain and two-time starting outside linebacker Matt DeGrand ’10, who led the league in tackles last year with 113, earning him first team All-NCAC honors. Joining him in the linebacker role will be Steve Custenborder ’11, who finished last season with 87 tackles as the middle linebacker, as well as Eric Keyes ’11 at the other outside spot. Keyes, who finished last season with 65 tackles and 3.5 sacks, will most likely split time with Hector Clavijo ’12, who looked dominant at stopping the run last year during his rookie season.

The one flaw that could be pointed out on the Wooster defense would be its defensive line, where end Chris Wade ‘10 is the only returning starter. The coaches are confident that converted linebacker Matt Carlson ’11, as well as three of last season’s rotation players (Chris Aukerman ’11, Kurt Brown ’11 and Chris Moore ’12) will be able to step into the starting role without much commotion.

As far as special teams are concerned, the Scots face a challenge in replacing punter Kevin Friedman ’09, holder of the NCAC record for punt yardage average over his career (39.7). The coaches are confident that first year Dana Obery ’13 can step up to the challenge.

The Scots kick off their season on Sept 5 at 1 p.m. at John P. Papp Stadium against non-conference Waynesberg.

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Sports | No Comments »

What do the Netherlands, United States of America, Zimbabwe and Jamaica have in common? How close could a wacky group of 13 college students all with varying interests and areas of study get over a period of one month? What does a country with only 15 years of majority rule have to teach the world about justice and reconciliation? The answers to these questions highlight just three of the experiences that awaited me when I stepped off the plane in the Port Elizabeth airport in South Africa on June 25. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Features | No Comments »

In an effort to take charge during the beginning of a depressed period in terms of the economy, the College of Wooster established WooCorps.

WooCorps is the name of the summer work program offered at the College this past summer. The aim of the program was to provide summer employment opportunities for students at the College who may have been struggling to find summer jobs during the current economic crisis. Its name, WooCorps, is derived from the Civilian Conservation Corps of the ’30s to which the school pays homage. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Featured, Features | No Comments »

Visitors to Bissman Hall may notice a startling change to the doors and lounges inside the building. This summer, WooCorps employees painted the interior of the dormitory white, covering sorority and fraternity crests and letters painted on the walls of the building’s lounges.

Residents of Bissman Hall’s Greek community expressed their shock and disbelief over the decision. Treasurer of Inter-Greek Council and Alumni Coordinator and Service Chair of Xi Chi Psi Fraternity Roger Klein ’11 stated that he was “shocked,” and President of Pi Kappa Sorority Hilary Maich ’10 said it was “really sad to come back to white” instead of her sorority’s colors and crest. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Featured, News | No Comments »

On the surface, the renovation of John P. Papp stadium might seem like a great gift to the campus — for the football team. In fact, the ramifications of the renovation will extend well beyond football and even beyond athletics.

In addition to the installation of a Sprinturf turfing system, the $1.4 million renovation of John C. Papp Stadium completed this summer includes a new outdoor lighting system by Hilscher-Clarke, the renovation of the track, repainting of the interior and exterior of the stadium and landscaping around the entrance of the field to make it more attractive. The bathrooms and visitor’s locker room also underwent extensive renovations. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Featured, News | No Comments »

After a multi-million dollar renovation, students living in the Babcock basement will no longer have to worry about the bathroom flooding.

Just in time for the new school year and for returning students and faculty, the renovations of Babcock Residence Hall are finally complete. Although a great deal of the construction took place last spring, the summer months proved extremely worthwhile in completing this $2.7 million project. Included in this undertaking were, of course, basic renovations and heavy infrastructure work. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in News, Top Stories | 1 Comment »

As one of the organizers of this year’s Body Monologues and participant of the last two, I can’t help but be jarred by the Voice’s criticism of the event (“Body Monologues funny, but fail to provoke much thought,” April 24).

In your article, you make sure to emphasize the “somewhat cheap penis jokes” that several (certainly not the majority, as you misleadingly infer in your review) of the participants used. I understand your hesitation toward accepting penis jokes as thought-provoking, but to me, their presence was an interesting twist on the evening. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Viewpoints | No Comments »

It is high time to break the silence on the issue of differential room rates. The school constantly touts that every other college already does this as if this were a justification. One would think a college with an emphasis on “independent minds” would have a better reason for such a drastic change.

Charging more, significantly more, for singles than doubles sets a dangerous precedent for socio-economic stratification in our college lifestyle: instead of singles going to those who have waited and earned them, they go to those who (or more likely whose parents) have money to burn. And the amount a student saves on a triple or quad (which, if you’ve been lucky enough to never experience it, is an experience for which I’d be happy to bestow a discount) is pittance compared to the extra charge for a single. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Viewpoints | No Comments »

My very first assignment was given to me at the Voice open house in late August 2005, in which I was tasked to cover how the Scot Marching Band had decided to forgo the traditional costume of tartan shirts and replace them with T-shirts with a tartan stripe on them instead. The lead borrowed the town’s slogan, “Keeping tradition a part of the future.”

Later that week Hurricane Katrina made landfall.In one of many semantic arguments I had with the other staff, I insisted on describing the displaced as “refugees” and that casting the government’s response as criminally anemic was an objective way of describing what was going on. How foolish of me. (more…)

Published Thursday, August 27th, 2009 in Viewpoints | No Comments »