Soccer Season Kicks Off After Productive Recruiting

Written By: Jacob Luzcek '15

Published October 2014



Productive recruiting brought many new faces to the RC Women's Soccer Team
Photo courtesy of RC Athletics

What is the new formula for the Randolph College Women’s Soccer Team? This year is made up seven first-years, twelve sophomores, one junior, and one senior. Let me just repeat that last part: ONE junior and ONE senior. This is partially due to few juniors and seniors on the team to begin with and those who were part of the team left for various reasons. It is safe to say that Head Coach Kevin Porterfield put a great amount of time and work into recruiting for the Women’s team the past two years.

Recruiting is a major part of the job of being a head coach and “probably the most important thing we do,” says Porterfield. Even at the NCAA Division III level, coaches spend an enormous amount of time traveling, making phone calls, sending emails and text messages, and giving tours. They give up holidays, weekends, and family time all so that they can spend the fall completely consumed by the game. Most coach’s recruit all throughout the year, but their sport determines when their busy period and easy period is. For soccer, the busy period comes almost immediately after the season. “Every major holiday means that there’s a tournament,” says Porterfield, who spends a large amount of time away from his wife and two children. Thanksgiving is not on his side as he is usually away from them. “It is a commitment on the family as well as the coach,“ Porterfield says, “My wife basically turns into a single parent for about three to four months in the fall.”

The obvious question is: With everything a coach has to give up, why would he do it? “I think for me, having families on campus is what I enjoy the most,” says Porterfield, “you get to interact not only with the prospect, but you get to know their family.” This also helps develop a more personal connection.  

Having only one junior and one senior on the team “…pushes some of the younger girls on the team to step up and take leadership roles,” says midfielder Hunter Robinson ‘18. There are 19 of these younger girls, seven first-years and twelve sophomores. Robinson also states, “Since we are such a young team, we are excited for the years to come because of how close our team will be.”

This begs the question; will the high number of recruits continue? Forward Brittany Hammons ’15 says, “We have been a continuous growing team and we were really fortunate to receive the numbers we did last year and this year.  I think in the future the team will continue to not actually grow with numbers but grow stronger in experience and knowledge as well."

The Men’s Soccer team has had a full or nearly full roster for the past five years. Throughout these recent years, the team change in team members lost and gained has greatly fluctuated. In 2010 there were 19 first years on the team; the highest number of first years recruited. In 2014, the team lost 14 players who graduated; the highest number of graduates the team has had at one time.



After losing fourteen players this spring with graduation, RC men's soccer needed flexible recruiting strategies.
Photo courtesy of RC Athletics

This flux in the size of each class presents Men’s Soccer Head Coach Bryan Waggoner with a different outlook on recruiting; the more players he needs to complete his roster, the more the style of recruiting changes. “It depends on the year,” says Waggoner. “Usually in the smaller classes we are looking for some specific things to help improve our team,” says Waggoner. These specific traits could be speed, size, or technical ability. “We really look at what we feel the [opposing ODAC] teams weaknesses are and bolster those areas with smaller recruiting classes.” For Waggoner the larger recruiting classes don’t require the search for such specificities. “For the larger classes we are looking to recruit pretty much a little bit of everything,” says Waggoner, “We are looking for players that meet our standard academically and athletically.”

Through all of his various recruiting tactics Waggoner likes to keep a sense of balance, explaining that, “Balance, like in soccer, is very important in recruiting.”

Breaking Good: Alternative Fall Break

By: Lana Mehiar '15

Published: October 2014

This fall break is like no other!      
    

Fall break! It is that time of the year when students a time for relaxation, sleeping, and for a few a time to join a fun program and gain a new experience. You can now participate in an exciting experience: the alternative fall break program.    

The alternative fall break program is a ten day program for Randolph College students, who are interested in embarking on a new experience and giving back to the community. The program is organized by Director of Leadership and Engagement Amanda Denny and focuses on various aspects of volunteer work including but not limited to poverty, education reform, refugee resettlement, and the environment. 

What makes this program special is that students get the chance to help others in need, and also carry the learning outcomes of this experience back with them to their own communities. Denny explains, “the intensity of the experience usually increases the likelihood that students will apply the learning outcomes from the trip to their own campus communities once they return. Some of the positive outcomes of this program for students include friendship and bonding with classmates, giving back to the community, and developing leaderships skills and exploring new interests.”

They also get the chance to grow as individuals, develop their skills, and connect with others. One of the student leaders of the program, Evan Smith ‘15, participated in the alternative fall break program in 2013. Smith went to Camp Friendship in Palmyra, Virginia where he, with the rest of his classmates, participated in a camp-wide clean up as well as the creation of banners for the camp. Some of the activities included removing old fire wood from fire pits, weeding the volleyball court, cleaning cabins, and preparing and serving breakfast to campers. His favorite part of this experience was being with all the people on this trip and bonding with the community. He also recommends incoming students to try this exciting experience, he says “it is a great way to meet people, go somewhere new and help others.”

Another student who participated in the alternative break program is Abigail Smith ‘15.  This trip took place in the spring, in Wilmington, North Carolina and included various service projects such as volunteering at the NC Aquarium. Abigail participated with her classmates in a beach sweep, removing marine debris from the coast and recycling some debris. She describes the trip as a rewarding experience that enabled her and her fellow classmates to go beyond themselves for others, she comments "All students expressed some sort of gratitude about their standard of living, and some became more aware of social issues that occur in the U.S.”

If you are interested in applying for the upcoming alternative fall break program, you should apply for it quickly, because spots fill up fast! There are no specific requirements for participating in the program, but students who sign up first have the priority considering the limited space. Priority is also for new students, but returning students are welcome to apply.

Previous programs were offered for free so students were only responsible for personal expenses. As the supervisor of the program, Denny strongly advises students to participate, she says, “Give a trip a try!  You never know how it could change your life or your perspective of how you view the world.”

Lynchburg Community Gets Down at Get Downtown

Leanne Zalewski, a professor here at Randolph, provided fiery entertainment as the evening came to a close.

Leanne Zalewski, one of Randolph college's art professors introduced Lynchburg's community to a fiery form of art.

 Many street vendors provided colorful fun to the children of Lynchburg.

Many of Lynchburg's community dressed up to celebrate Get Downtown! 2014 taking it to a new level of high on life. 

The iconic Bug Mobile of Randolph cruised into Get Downtown! 

Wanda Wildcat was spotted gettin' down at Get Downtown!

All Photos Credit of Katherine McCallister.

Randolph Wildcat's Softball Team on a Winning Streak

Written By: Michael Ehilegbu ‘14

Published April 2014

Randolph College Softball Team
Photo Courtesy of RC Athletic Department

This spring, head coach Caroline Cubbage led the Randolph College softball team to one of its best starts in program history. Cubbage is currently in her fourth season as head coach of the Wildcats; posting a 66-55 overall record. In her first year at the helm, She lea the Wildcats to a program record 22 wins and the program’s first ODAC title game. In the 2013 campaign Cubbage and the Wildcats shattered their record earning 26 wins last season.

This season the resilient Wildcats have been tough to beat; currently owning an 18-9 record. Randolph began the season slow, dropping their first four games. However, the Wildcats quickly returned to form, winning 17 of their next 19 games. They recorded two separate win streaks of six consecutive games each.

So far this season, the Wildcats have registered six sweeps in double header match ups, defeating Shenandoah University, York College, Castleton State College, Bridgewater College, and Salem College. They’ve boasted a team batting avg. of .308, while scoring 154 runs, and knocking three home runs.

This year’s team has been piloted by Hunter Glaves ’17. Glaves, a first-year, has quickly adapted to the college game; she leads team in batting average (.453), home runs (three), RBI (25), stolen bases (five), on base percentage (.529), and plate appearances (86).

Glaves is joined by other first years Ashley Dudding ’17, whose average is .345, and who has nine RBI, and Jackie Lamberty ’17, whose average is.182, and has six RBI. Both are having strong seasons. Dudding ’17 states, ”My transition into my first year was pretty smooth thanks to the help of my teammates. They helped me adjust to the culture of college sports.”

Sophomores Hannah Cook ’16 (avg .414, RBI 14), Jessica Nowak ’16 (avg .296, RBI 9), and Erin Wehrhen ’16 (avg .270, RBI 5) have increased their production this season, helping guide the Wildcats to the ODAC tournament. “I feel like my success this season has been embodied through my teammates. We were picked ninth in the preseason polls, so that really motivated us and we really came together this season and fed off of each other’s play,” said Hannah Cook ’16.

Juniors Patti Vinson ’15 (avg .260, RBI 17) and Haleigh Wilson ’15 (avg .260, RBI 6) have also sparked the team this season, helping provide toughness and stability. And seniors Britney Via ’14 and Logan Carter  ’14 have helped lead this year’s surge. Via owns a batting average of .304, with 24 hits, and 15 RBI’s. She also leads the conference with eight doubles. Carter is Randolph’s ace pitcher; she has started 14 games and has currently led the Wildcats ten of their 18 wins this season. Carter holds an ERA of 2.62 with a blistering 83 strikeouts. In addition, in nine of Carter’s ten wins she pitched the complete game. She also leads the ODAC in shutout with two.

The Wildcats will have six sets of double headers remaining this season. On Saturday April 5, 2014 the Wildcats will travel to Virginia Wesleyan College for an ODAC double header. The following day Randolph will return home to host Randolph-Macon College for senior day. Next Randolph will be on the road for four straight games as they take on Sweet Briar College and then follow that up with a double header at Roanoke College. On Tuesday April 15, 2014 the Wildcats will return home to face Emory& Henry College for “Green Day” for liver cancer awareness. Randolph will wrap up its season on April 19, 2014 as they travel to Guilford College.

The Wildcats are currently ranked fourth in the ODAC standings. They will look to be playing the best ball as their season winds down and they get ready for the ODAC tournament. “We just want to stay focused and take it one game at a time. We can’t be effected by past wins or losses; the postseason is a whole new season. We understand that we have a target on our back, we just have to play our game,” said Cook ’16.

How Far Is Too Far?: Randolph’s Anonymous Twitter Craze

Written by: Alyssa DeNisco ’14 and Kendall Trewin ‘14

Published April 2014

Most colleges throughout the country have at least one “confession” site that allows students to submit anything they would like to anonymously fess up to via social media. Confessions range from the innocent: “I think you’re pretty” to the intimate: “I cheat on my girlfriend”, to the insensitive (see above picture).

Harvard, Tufts, University of Notre Dame, Kansas State University, Louisiana State University, Eastern Illinois University and the University of Alabama, to name a few, all currently have active confession sites.  Given the wide spread demographic of these Universities, it is no doubt that the college confessional trend has caught on faster among 18-25 year olds than the latest Apple product.  Until recently, these sites were limited to Facebook, but have now started to become more prevalent on other forms of social media, namely Twitter.

For those of you who have not yet joined the twitter world, “tweeting” is when you post a 140-character message on your “feed” through your twitter name or “handle”.  The main difference between Twitter and Facebook is that Twitter doesn’t require as much information to create a profile, making it much easier to create and maintain anonymous accounts. Now, it is important to point out that “anonymous accounts” and “confessional accounts” are two separate beasts. “Anoym accounts” are run by one or more people who write and post tweets under a fake name.  On a “confessional account” tweets are submitted to a separate website, like survey monkey, that maintains the senders’ anonymity.  The administrators who run the account then post the tweets on their feed using quotation marks to distinguish what was submitted from any comments they added.

Though Randolph prides itself in offering an alternative to what many would consider “a typical college experience”, i.e. a Greek system, Professors who know you only as a number and a graduation that lasts for days, we did not manage to escape the anonymous twitter craze.

Anonymous accounts started in the class of 2014’s freshman year, three years ago.  @wanda_knows_all, the prequel to @RandyProblems, would tweet about the weekend happenings on campus, usually calling out specific people by name. We can only assume that someone reported the account to Twitter as harassment, because it was only up for a few weeks before being deleted.

Shortly after the ‘original’ Randolph associated twitter handle was shut down, @RandyProblems took over. Though it was still operated by one, or a few, Randolph students, they did not post tweets nearly as scandalous as their predecessors. Instead of blatant digs at specific people, most of the content was school-wide inside jokes. The tweets were more about the experience of going to a formally all-women’s, private liberal arts school, than explicitly singling out people’s personal lives. Of course, some of the tweets incited online twitter riots. Like that time they tweeted about why the Equestrian Team was invited to the athletic banquet was so uncalled for, not that we’re biased or anything. 

        

We recently got in contact with @RandyProblems via email. Unfortunately, @RandyProblems was not able to get us in contact with any of the other accounts. Here’s what they had to say:

Sundial: “Why did you start the account?”

@RandyProblems: “I started the account to poke fun at our own lil’ Randolph, I thought everyone could have a chuckle at it.”

Sundial: “Do you think it has affected the campus community positively? Negatively? Maybe a little of both?” 

@RandyProblems: “Both. Obviously, some people can tend to get more offended than others, but they shouldn't be taking anything too serious.”

Sundial: “What do you think of all the other Randy pages that have been cropping up?”

@RandyProblems: “Some of them are kind of entertaining but nothings better than the original ;)”

Sundial: “Do you have anything to do with them?”

@RandyProblems: “We are all part of the inner Randolph social circle, kind of like the illuminati.”

Sundial: “What are you going to do once you graduate? Pass it down?” 

@RandyProblems: “Not sure. Maybe John Klein or Harvey can run it?”

Sundial: “If you could say one thing to Randolph what would it be?”

@RandyProblems: “Don't ruin the fun, let us enjoy college!”

Those who have been here for the entire anoym twitter boom will tell you that Randy Problems helped build a bridge between the academic and athletic divide in some ways. Making light fun of those early morning wake-ups that we’re all so fond of, or tweeting snarky commentary on dining hall horrors­—c’mon, we all remember taco dogs—reminded us that we all live behind the same red brick wall.

 @RandyConfession brought it to a whole new level.

@RandyConfession really does come off as a beneficial to the campus community: “Have a confession? Let us know!” is featured as their tagline. It seemed like a healthy way for students to express themselves without creating real gossip.  However, at a school as small as ours, it is not hard to guess who is writing what about who. Within the first week, cheeky confessions turned into obvious attacks.  Names got dropped, and personal information was either fabricated or exploited.   

        

When you demand that 600 18-25 year olds live and work in the same place, it is obvious that there will be a cutthroat rumor mill. These accounts can certainly be entertaining if the tweets are witty enough, but don’t we already know WAY too much about each other’s lives? Putting it in print solidifies gossip in an un-healthy way, making divisions between cliques more defined.

        

And don’t think that we are getting away with it without administration knowing. Dean Thornton was made aware of the accounts a year ago.  However, she stated that administration’s main concern at this point is the use of the college logos on the account profiles rather than the content of the accounts. As of yet they have not yet reported the copyright infringement to Twitter.

        

Though the priority at the moment is maintaining the integrity of the school’s logos, Dean Thornton does recognize the potential for these accounts to have damaging effects on students. “Because this behavior is being conducted anonymously online, I must stress the important role each of our students play in making sure our community is safe and respectful to all,” stated The Dean in an email interview last week.  She urges students to report any instances of harassment or bullying to DOS immediately because “harassing and intimidating members of our community is unacceptable and a violation of the student handbook.”

        

So, what do we do now? Shut down the pages? Turn each other in? Start more gossip and drama for our selves by getting people expelled over this? Here’s an idea, how about we start submitting actual confessions instead of passive aggressive commentary. This is not a call to clean up your act Randy. Twitter is not the place for loud, proud and positive messages, by any means; but it should not be the reason another chapter is added to our handbook either. So the next time you find your little thumbs itching for anonymity behind the redbrick wall, submit the story of how you got drunk and peed in your trashcan. Leave the snarky sub-tweet about that girl you can’t stand in your draft folder, however wittily you made it rhyme.