Mike Kriston

Comprised of the most talented group of players in club history, the CUA hockey team is creating a commanding presence in University athletics. In his four years as a member, senior Mike Kriston has seen the team evolve and helped it towards this success both on and off the ice.

As club President during the 1999 season, he worked with teammates to secure stronger financial support for competition, practice, and luxuries such as “real jerseys.” After last year’s playoff berth, Kriston is leading the team as captain and focusing on playing alone. “There’s nothing else like it,” he explains. “I can do things on skates I can’t do on foot; I’m more comfortable in skates.”

Not only is he comfortable moving on the ice, he is dangerous. Younger brother and teammate Matt Kriston summarizes the threat his older brother poses to competition. “He doesn’t go around people, he goes through them.” The senior civil engineering major admits to pushing his own limits in every game and praises his teammates for doing the same. “I give my all for these guys and they know it; they do the same for me.” Club member Rob Boughan affirms Kriston’s 100 percent intensity: “you never see him pulling up and skating easy.”

Kriston’s focus on the ice is compounded by his strong relationship with his teammates. He explains that while on the ice, “you zone everything out; nothing matters except where my brother is and where my other linemate is.” Kriston calls the opportunity to play alongside his brother a wonderful addition to the experience and Matt offers a second insight into what has developed between family ties and years on the ice, “I don’t need to look up to know where he is.” Opposing teams, however, know to keep their eyes on the forward, and the growing group of CUA hockey supporters know that his all-out style is unmistakable. With his hard playing on the ice and his love of the game, Mike Kriston is exactly the kind of player who can turn anyone into a fan.

Ellie Graham

Sophomore Ellie Graham began her swimming career at age five when her older brother joined the summer club swim team in their hometown of Larchmont, NY. She decided to follow in his footsteps and joined soon thereafter. “He ended up quitting two weeks later,” said Graham. “I beat him.”

These days, she swims the 50, 100, 200, and various relay events. In fact, the 200 freestyle relay, of which she is a member, qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships last year.

In Graham’s first season as a Catholic swimmer, she earned All-Conference honors. During her high school years, Graham was a stand-out swimmer. She was named Team MVP and All-Division two years in a row, and All-Conference four years in a row.

Coach Calomeris complimented his swimmer, saying, “Ellie’s one of the most talented sprinters we’ve ever had here at Catholic University. And the thing that comes to my mind about Ellie is her cheerful, bubbling attitude- it’s always a great asset to our team.”

Graham is an elementary education major whose future plans include getting a job after college and then, after a couple of years, going back to school. She loves swimming because “it keeps me in shape and well-balanced.” Although the practices are “hard sometimes, the team’s really fun and it’s a great group of people.”

Graham names the relays as her hardest event. “There’s the added pressure because there are three other girls depending on you and you want to do well,” she said.

Senior Stephanie Bieloski, said, “I’m going to miss her when I’m gone. She is an interesting character. She’s an excellent swimmer and she brought a lot of skill to the team.”

Junior teammate Elizabeth Renken said, “Even though her goggles can never stay on her head, she fights all the way through and pulls up strong in the end.”

Team Traditions Involve Food, Fun

Without traditions, a large part of our lives would glide by unnoticed. Traditions can be found everywhere, from religion to holidays to school. If we turn off the path of generalizations and move toward a narrower subject, i.e. sports, it is evident that many traditions evolve from being a member of an athletic team. All of the 21 varsity teams at Catholic University have their various traditions, some healthy, and, let’s face it, some unhealthy. Read on for a glimpse into these teams’ traditions.

Sophomore opposite setter Katie Acuff calls the volleyball team’s van rides the “biggest tradition. It’s our team bonding time,” she said. “It’s not the same if we don’t have our van rides.” She continued by saying, “This year, everybody put a green bead on the shoelaces of our right shoes. It was a goal we set for ourselves, to do our best for the whole season. Everybody had the same bracelet, too.”

Dan Boyle, the football team’s junior runningback, explained his team tradition. “Every year at training camp, we have freshmen initiation. They have to stand up on chairs at North Dining Hall and sing to everybody. Usually, the field hockey and soccer teams are there to watch.” Boyle also commented that another team tradition was having Mass with University Chaplain Robert Schlageter at the DuFour Center on Friday nights before games.

The men’s cross-country team prefers listening to the theme song from the movie Shaft while traveling to meets on Saturday mornings. Junior Ben Dunsford said, “If that doesn’t get you pumped up, nothing will.” After the meet, the team habitually dines at the nearest Pizza Hut, and then plays “Geno,” a game devised by their assistant coach, during the journey home.

Emily Levasseur, a junior on the women’s cross-country team, said, “I think our team probably has more traditions than any other team at this school, starting and ending with food generally: from the s’mores we initiate our freshmen with at the beginning of the season to the immense Cracker Barrel meals we eat after meets. Our traditions are just as much a part of the team as individual members are and what we do. ”

The women’s soccer team also has a team tradition that involves food. Sophomore forward Erin Jones stated, “We always have a team pasta dinner the night before a game.”

As for the men’s soccer team, senior captain and midfielder Pat Heenan said that “nothing’s really set in stone” as far as traditions go. However, the one mainstay is that “the freshmen are in charge of taking care of the stuff after practice. They have to make sure our stuff is picked up off of the field, like balls after practice, or they have to move equipment.” Heenan also mentioned that his team says “a little prayer before games and then says something like, ‘Go C.U.A.!’ or ‘Go Cardinals!’ Then we talk about what we have to do.”

The men’s and women’s swimming teams have a few traditions which have held up through the ages. Senior swimmer Ryan Wallace said, “Coach Cal’s been known to give out potatoes to boost carbohydrates before our conference meets. Sometimes we’ll come in and there will be a big sack of potatoes on the table by the pool.”

Senior teammate Stephanie Bieloski mentioned the “drum” tradition that occurs right before a swim meet begins. “We beat the drum at the top of the stairs at DuFour and then we parade downstairs, beating the drum. We end up by the pool and do our ‘Catholic’ cheer.” She also said that, on the team’s annual winter break trip to Florida, “We get tortured by our coach!” Not really, but the team is put through many ritualistic practices down south, such as going out to dinner, having a dinner for the seniors, and having a pizza party.

Crew Team Races in Two Philly Regattas

The Catholic University crew team traveled to Philadelphia this past weekend to compete against Division I rowing powerhouses such as Penn State, Vassar College, LaSalle University, Villanova, and Temple in two different regattas. The club team participated in the Frostbite Regatta on Saturday and the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta on Sunday.

Rowing on the Schuykill River, both the men’s novice eight boat and the women’s novice four won gold medals in their respective events. For these particular regattas, each heat contained six boats and the top winners from each heat received medals. The men earned their gold medals at the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta. As for the women, they won first place at the Frostbite Regatta, beating out many of the Division I schools named above, and second place on Sunday.

The men’s varsity four and the women’s varsity eight also participated in the regattas. At the Frostbite Regatta, the men’s varsity boat placed fifth overall. On Sunday, they finished in sixth place. The women came in sixth on Saturday and, at the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta, the women’s boat finished fourth out of six boats in their heat. “The women’s varsity eight made an excellent showing,” said sophomore and club secretary Jessica Wozinsky. “It was a good note to end our season on. We were all rowing together and we had no major problems. The boat really felt good. I think it was our best race all season.”

Last weekend was only the third racing weekend all semester for the crew team. The fall semester is spent “getting the novice trained,” said senior and club vice-president Greg Schwab. “Our big season is the spring.”

Wozinksy agreed, saying, “Our spring season is definitely more strenuous and more time consuming. We’re pretty much gone every weekend.”

Schwab said, that although the weekend was a long one, it was “definitely well worth it. It was a great bonding time, and I’m incredibly pleased with the success of the team. I’m looking forward to the spring season. I think we’re going to do great.”

“I think all the varsity members were really proud of the novice team,” said Wozinsky. “The medals they won reflected the dedication they put into the sport this semester.”

Basketball Season Starts This Weekend

Once again, expectations are high for the Catholic University men’s basketball team. Last year, the 24-5 team finished with a number six ranking after advancing to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament Elite 8 for the first time in school history. Catholic also remains the only Division III school in the nation to make it to the Sweet 16 in each of the past three years.

The polls, like the composition of the starting line-up, have not changed much. The Cardinals are ranked among the top ten in the nation once again in three separate polls. The highest ranking comes from DIII News, which ranks the Cardinals sixth. According to D3hoops.com, Catholic is the number seven team in the nation and USA Today rated the Cardinals among the top ten as well.

Sophomore Matt Hilleary said, “We have to approach this season like we are the number six team in the nation, and be competitive.”

Four seniors and a sophomore will fill the starting positions. Carrying the squad this season is senior Pat Maloney, who will run the point. Rounding out the backcourt, which will use a three guard set, are seniors Tim Judge, Andy Rice, and wing Mike Hartman. Sophomores Kevin Wise and Craig Avallone will also see valuable playing time at the guard position. Newcomers at guard include Kevin Cullen, Ben Gibson, and Adam Dickman.

Filling in the post positions for the Cardinals will be senior Kurt Zeisler, who will start at center and Hilleary, at power forward.

Coach Mike Lonergan said, “I believe Matt will be the most improved player in the league. He has unlimited potential.”

Sophomores Brian Meyer, Chris Altenburger, and Ryan Sheehy will see plenty of playing time in the post as well. Sheehy is expected to return sometime in January after being out due to a mouth injury.

About the team, Hilleary said, “We have a lot of experience and athleticism and we are in much better shape than we were last year at this point.”

The front court, although it lacks in experience, expects to see much promise from two freshmen, Will Morley and Blair Mills. “They are both going to be getting a lot of playing,” said Lonergan. In the preseason conference poll, Catholic is expected to finish second behind Marymount, who along with Catholic qualified for the NCAA tournament. Before the team begins conference play at the end of this month, they will play in the Div. I Mohegan Classic in New Britain, Conn. The tournament, hosted by Central Connecticut State, also features SUNY-Albany and Columbia. Catholic will open against Columbia and will play either in the consolation or championship game tomorrow. About Columbia, Hilleary said, “I think we match up well and it should be close.” Lonergan added, “One win will be tough this weekend. Our goal is to be competitive.”

The Bleacher Beat

Three hours south of Washington, D.C., I found myself and seven of my teammates at the NCAA Regional Championships for Division III cross-country. We had just completed the last race of the 2000 season. Now, the celebration that we had looked forward to since Aug. 28 could begin. It was finally time to break out the Wal-Mart cigars.

While it was a first cigar for some, and a 10th cigar for others, we knew we looked cool on that Saturday afternoon as we stood by the van- in our black shorts, red pinneys, and replete with red markings up and down our arms and legs- puffing away.

After the initial giggles (and coughing) had subsided, we took the obligatory sports bra photo and then proceeded, cigars wedged tightly between our teeth, to jog from the parking lot back to the course, where officials were still tallying the scores.

With 22 other teams sitting or stretching on the grass, we swaggered into the center of the crowd as enviously as we knew how. The puffs of smoke from our cigars were drawn out and highly exaggerated. Oh yeah, we were definitely cool.

Yet, in one fell swoop, our coolness was snatched from us and our tobacco “rebellion” quenched. While we were puffing away, we were oblivious to the fact that our coach was leaping over the chute, jumping over the team from Rhodes College, and hopping the ditch in the ground until he landed right in front of the 8 of us. He wasted no time: “Put those cigars out NOW! Are you crazy?! Tobacco is banned by the NCAA! Do you all want to get disqualified? Put those away! I said, put those away!”

We hurriedly dropped to the ground and snuffed out the cigars. Coach left, satisfied that his team of renegades was once again in accordance with NCAA policy. And although 50 percent of our coolness was shamed away, we still had the other half. Those pictures and that left-over cigar taste in my mouth prove it.

Men's Cross-Country Places 8th out of 22 Teams

The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished their seasons with solid races last Saturday at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III South-Southeast Cross Country Regional meet. The Cardinal men finished eighth in a field of 19 teams while the Femme Cardinals finished 12th in a field of 21 teams. Emory University won the meet for both the men and the women.

Freshman Mike Audette was the top finisher for the men, coming in 30th overall with a 27:00. Junior Matt McHugh finished in 43rd place. Seniors Pat Leonard and Dan Dougherty were 46th and 53rd overall. Junior Michael Clarke was the fifth scorer for the Cardinals finishing in 67th place.

The men’s 8000 meter race was “a good time” according to Audette. “I personally would have liked to have placed a little higher, but this race was a positive effort for the team. We finished the season on a high note. I look forward to dropping my time next season and helping the team as much as I can,” he said.

“I ran an intelligent race,” said McHugh. “The team performed really well. We beat Mary Washington for the first time at this meet since any of us have been on the team. This was one of our best finishes in the last ten years at this particular meet.”

He added, “Along with our excitement, we felt regret that this was the seniors’ last race with the team.”

Coach Mark Robinson said, “I was very happy with our performance. We were able to bounce back from a disappointing [fourth-place] finish at last week’s Capital Athletic Conference [CAC] meet. At the beginning of the season, one of our goals was to finish in the top ten at this meet. We were ahead of Mary Washington, and almost everyone ran a career best time.”

Robinson added, “We had a successful season. The team was undefeated in dual meets. We had many best times, and four runners were named All-Mason Dixon. It was an excellent performance overall.”

Senior co-captain Nicky Bhalla led the women’s team with her 26th place finish in a time of 19:36. Junior Donna Flanagan finished in 40th place. Junior Liz Pfifer was 72nd; freshman Becca Freyvogel was close behind in 76th. Junior Emily Levasseur rounded out the top five finishers for Catholic in 94th place.

“Time-wise, this was my best race for the season,” said Bhalla. “In the past, the large number of runners at the regional meet had always intimidated me. This year, I think the Mississippi meet better prepared me for this level of competition.

Bhalla also said, “This season was wonderful. We had a new group of girls come and make strong contributions. We accomplished things at many different levels. This team has meant a lot to me and has taught me so much. It was great to be a part of it.”

Pfifer said, “My race went really well. We were all ready and excited for this last race of the season. We had heard it was a fast course so we gave it our all. Everyone worked really well together, and we were happy with our finish.” She added, “It was sad knowing this was the last meet we’d all run in together. At the same time, the seniors still have a semester of track so their careers at Catholic are not over yet.”

“We ran well considering our competition,” said Coach Joe Fisher. “I was especially pleased with Nicky’s race. She missed making the All-Region team by one place in what was a great effort. Donna ran one of her best times of the season, and Becca ran really well. Overall, we had an unbelievable season. Everyone ran faster than last year. This team had a special chemistry that contributed to their fantastic season.”

Football Loss Means No ODAC Crown

Bridgewater College defeated the Catholic University football team to win the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title at the DuFour Field last Saturday. Winning with a 46-33 score, the Eagles also dashed the Cardinals’ hopes for a fourth consecutive NCAA play-off berth.

Bridgewater shares the title with Emory and Henry University (8-2) for the 2000 season. Had Catholic won, they would have earned their second straight ODAC crown. Emory and Henry also gets the league’s automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III tournament because of their 37-35 victory over Bridgewater in September. Catholic, which defeated Emory and Henry on Oct. 28 in a 50-40 score, ended the season with a 6-4 overall record, and 4-2 in the ODAC.

“I think you have to give Bridgewater credit,” said head coach Tom Clark. “They finished their season 9-1. They hadn’t beaten us before and they played very well. I thought they would make the mistakes, but we ended up making the mistakes.”

Catholic scored the first touchdown of the game early in the opening quarter when sophomore wide receiver Dan Evans scored on an 11-yard pass from junior quarterback Derek McGee. Six minutes later, the Eagles tied the score in what would be a back and forth scoring game for the next three hours. Bridgewater slid ahead near the end of the first quarter with another touchdown, upping the score to 14-7.

Five minutes into the second quarter, junior defensive back James Parker scored Catholic’s second touchdown on a seven-yard fumble recovery, once again tying the score. Less than a minute later, Bridgewater garnered five extra points with a field goal and then a safety, allowing them to move slightly ahead of CUA. Bridgewater finished off the second quarter with a touchdown, leaving the score at 26-14 at half-time.

Bridgewater ruled the beginning of the third quarter with yet another touchdown. However, with 2:46 left on the clock, junior runningback Dan Boyle scored on a nine-yard run to nudge Catholic to 20 points.

The fourth quarter was the busiest yet, with four touchdowns in the span of 12 minutes. The score was 33-27 after sophomore wide receiver Jim Jankiewicz scored on a five-yard pass from McGee. Bridgewater moved ahead to 36 points with a 14-yard pass touchdown. The Eagles earned another seven points with five minutes left in the game. However, Catholic came back with a touchdown from Boyle’s four-yard run to end the game 46-33.

During the game, McGee completed 16 of 31 passes for 172 yards. Boyle ran for a career-high 231 yards to win the rushing championship in the conference. He finished 13th in the country and also broke Catholic’s single season rushing record with 1,533 yards. Sophomore defensive lineman Scot Lutte had a career-high 12 tackles while junior defensiveback J.P. Quinn and senior linebacker Larry Waters posted a personal record of 11 each.

“Dan Riley and Tim McCarthy are two senior offensive linemen who finished up very strong,” Clark said. “They had a great game.” Additionally, “senior captain Tim Varian and Larry Waters played their hearts out defensively. That’s all you can ask for, that kind of effort that those guys gave,” he said.

As for how the season ended, Clark said, “I think that it was really disappointing. We had won five games in a row and turned the season around. We’d put ourselves in a position to win the conference championships. It was right there in front of us. I was disappointed for the seniors who had given so much for this season. We really had a lot of emotional fuel and with the dedication of the season to Anthony Bottoni, we really wanted it to turn out well. But it didn’t and we were just left feeling empty about it.” Bottoni, a right offensive guard who was to be a captain this year, was killed in an automobile accident last December. The team dedicated its season to Bottoni.

Evans said, “I thought in general we showed a lot of heart during the season. It doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to. But we came together and we were successful.”

Clark continued by saying, “You just want to get it done so badly. But it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. God has a perfect plan, but it’s not always our plan. It’s on his timetable, not ours. The lesson learned in this particular case is that you move on and persevere.”

Notes & Asides

Three’s Company

What do an Honorary Doctorate, whining students, and Endless Reel have in common? As disgruntled faculty, staff, and students discovered this past Tuesday, not much. The three groups clashed at Herzfeld Auditorium when a lapse in communication honored the Fisher King with a Doctorate in complaining. Perhaps the Pryz will solve all our event scheduling problems. Perhaps Elvis is alive and living in Spalding. Perhaps your mom will stop calling me. Hope springs eternal.

Renegade Sleepout

On November 2000, a crack commando unit was sent in-doors by University officials for a sleepout they tried to commit. These men (and women) promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Centennial Village underground. Today, still wanted by the Dean’s Office, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a social protest. If no one else can come, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire: THE H(Hypothermia)-TEAM.

Try Smoke Signals

At the beginning of last year, the office of Housing and Residential Services changed the facscard policy and no longer allowed students free access to all Residences Halls. As a compromise to the students of Centennial Village, who do not have Hall Assistants in every building, call boxes were installed (about a year later). The only problem is that some of the call boxes don’t work. But, all is well, as the ever-resourceful CUA student body has developed an alternative form of communication.

“Hey, I’m coming over. I’ll call you from the call box. Come and let me in when you hear me beating my head against the wall.”

Study Shows Hating Roommates Is Harmful

(U-WIRE) COLUMBUS, Ohio - Not getting along with your roommate can have an adverse effects on your health, according to a research done by Ohio State University psychology professor Brad Schmidt.

A study of 143 undergraduate students showed when a person was not liked or did not get along with his or her roommate, that person’s emotional and physical health suffered.

“If you’re living with someone who’s sending you signals that you’re not that great of a person you may eventually react by buying into it,” Schmidt said.

The students who participated in the study showed higher levels of depression and illness and lower levels of self esteem when they were not liked by their roommates. However, for students who keep themselves physically fit, adverse social relations did not have the same negative emotional effects on them as they did on less physically fit people, Schmidt added.

“The general notion is how much social approval a person gets dictates changes in their emotional functions,” Schmidt said.

The more social approval a person receives, the higher their self esteem. The less social approval they receive, the lower their self esteem.

Steve Kremer, Director of Residence Life, said that his department has done studies on this topic in the past and keeps it in mind when placing roommates together.

“We realize that getting roommate requests right is important,” said Kremer.

Susannah Pell, Hall Director for Norton-Scott, said a resident’s reaction to not getting along with a roommate may also depend on his or her social connection on the floor.

“I think if an individual does not have a social network in the hall the fact they do not get along with their roommate can be obvious. If a person has a social network in the hall it (the effect) is not as clear but it still has an effect,” said Pell.

At OSU, keeping the peace between roommates, either requested or assigned, starts with a roommate agreement. Talking with resident advisors and hall directors about problems is also encouraged but if all else fails, the student may simply fill out a room change request form, Kremer said .

“People change rooms all the time. Sometimes we think we’ve made it too easy,” he said.

Roommates not getting along is a common occurrence, said Pell.

“It really depends, but I’d say that it’s pretty common that there’s at least one person in a quad that doesn’t get along with another person,” Pell said.

The study in which students filled out questionnaires on two separate occasions showed the adverse effects worsened with time. Over a three-week period, symptoms of low self esteem, depression and illness increased in students who were not liked by their roommates.

Schmidt co-authored the study with Thomas Joiner of Florida State University and Kathleen Vohs of Dartmouth College.

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