Women’s basketball clenches win on Friday

by Christina Russell
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

The Missionaries dominated Lewis and Clark on Friday night, claiming a victory in overtime, 71-63.

The win marked the beginning of the conference opener for both Lewis and Clark and Whitman, a game that augmented Whitman’s record to 3-1 and brought Lewis and Clark’s down to 2-2.

Senior Katie Patneaude earned a game-high score of 20 points, scoring her last six in overtime.

At the buzzer, the teams were tied at 60-60.

With Patneaude’s six points, in addition to Kelsey Krumdiek’s two free throws, Whitman was up 68-63 with 30 seconds left, when Kristina Francis scored the game shot, a three-pointer.

Patneaude is leading the team this year, alongside senior Sarah Nicholes.

“Lewis and Clark is a big, physical team,” said Nicholes. “Although we had some breakdowns, overall I was very impressed by the way our team handled Lewis and Clark’s pressure, rebounded, and earned the win.”

Other noteworthy performers included Francis, who went seven for seven, including three 3-point shots.

First-year Michelle Krall also had a good game, earning 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three clocked shots.

Overall, Whitman was most successful shooting in the second half, making 60 percent of their shots, including overtime.

Thus far, Whitman has dominated in rebounding; they have out-bounded every team they’ve played, including Lewis and Clark, 38-32.

This is the second victory Whitman has claimed in overtime play.

Last month the Missionaries faced Corban College, 90-83, with a score of 18-11 in overtime.

Nicholes spoke on behalf of the team regarding their outlook thus far in the season: “I think the game gave all of our new teammates an idea of how tough the Northwest Conference is and how hard we must play in order to win games. Even though we are a young team, we have the potential to be very successful this season.”

Six free throws round out women’s win

by Andrea Miller
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

The women’s basketball team rounded out the weekend with another victory against the Pacific University Boxers on Saturday, Dec. 2.

Junior forward Kelsey Krumdiek put 15 points on the scoreboard for the Missionaries. Senior guard Katie Patneaude followed that lead with 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Juniors Kristina Francis and Emily Shubin and first-year forward Michelle Krall each earned 8 points for Whitman.

At the end of the first half, Whitman was leading Pacific by 20 points, but the Boxers caught up in the second half. However, they were unable to stop the Missionaries, who, in the last two minutes of the game, made six free throws, from earning a 68-52 victory.

Saturday’s win puts the Missionaries 2-0 in the Northwest Conference and 4-1 for the season. The Missionaries’ next chance for victory will be at Eastern Oregon University on December 5.

Men’s basketball loses tough game

by Lizzie Norgard
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

Pacific University gained an early lead on Whitman in the men’s basketball game on Dec 2, and the gap continued to widen throughout the game. Whitman eventually lost, at a score of 65-46.

The Missionaries’ defensive strategy held reasonably well through the first half, but their offense struggled to hold on. The score was a close 30-27 at the end of the first half, after the Missionaries gained some momentum, with Chris Faidley and Ian Warner scoring consecutive three point shots. However, Whitman was unable to maintain their energy throughout the second half.

“Energy and effort are incredibly important in basketball, and we didn’t deliver,” team co-captain Kyle Born said. Whitman coach Skip Molitor started platooning the players in the second half, which boosted the team’s energy, but not enough for them to make a comeback.

The Missionaries were thrown off by Pacific’s aggressive rebounding.“You could see they wanted it more than us,” Born said. “Senior captain Aaron Hazel was the only one really competing for the ball to the level we needed.” Born hopes that the loss will be a constructive wake-up call for the team.

“The game of basketball requires one thing: heart,” Born said. “We have a lot of it, but there’s a difference between having it and using it. We need to start using it.”

Swim team places third at NWC relay meet

by Marcus Koontz
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

Regarding two recent October swim meets, Whitman swim team coach Jenn Blomme touted the team’s strong sportsmanship.

The Oct. 27 Northwest Conference Sprint Pentathlon and the following day’s Northwest Conference Relay provided an opportunity to practice diligence, win success, and grow as a team.

“Our swimmers came into the meet with a confident and relaxed attitude, and we had some fast early swims,” said Blomme. “We also got a better idea of where we need to work.”

In this season opener, the Missionaries had sophomore Ysbrand Nusse place sixth overall and first-year Eric Molnar place 11th.

This is the best performance the men’s team has had during a season opener.

In the women’s team, Erin Pettersen placed in 12th with three others finishing in the top 20.

Later, excitement filled Whitman fans when the grouping of men’s and women’s swim team scores placed them in third place at Saturday’s Northwest Conference relay meet, just trailing behind Whitworth and Puget Sound.

“I really think we had the most excited and united team at the pool,” said Blomme, “For the most part, we swam good early season times.”

Whitman will host meets at the new Paul Harvey Pool for the first time this coming weekend.

Whitman will host Lewis & Clark College at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3 and Albertson College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.

Cross-country runners earn conference honors

by Christina Russell
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

The Whitman cross-country team kicked up their heels and headed west last Saturday, where they ran in the Northwest Conference Cross-Country Championships at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.

The NWC is comprised of George Fox University, Lewis and Clark College, Linfield College, Pacific University, Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound, Willamette University, Whitworth College and Whitman. “We faced everyone,” said captain Sam Clark. “But the teams we were gunning for in particular are Lewis and Clark, Whitworth and Linfield.”

The team brought runners for both the men’s 8k and the women’s 6k events. The men concluded the conference with 138 points, five points short of Whitworth, who finished fifth, and 19 points behind fourth place George Fox. Willamette won overall with 40 points. In the women’s 6k, Whitman earned 126 points, three points more than fifth place Whitworth and 11 more than third place Lewis and Clark. Again, Willamette claimed first with 50 points.

Standout performances included senior Clark, who placed ninth overall with a time of 25:11 and claimed all-conference honors, alongside all-conference honors winner first-year Missionary Sara McClune, who ranked 14th in the women’s division with a time of 22:23. Between Clark and McClune, this is the first time in 11 years that Whitman has earned all-conference honors in both divisions. “What I am most excited about is how much we’ve improved from last year. We were competitive at the Conference meet this year,” said head coach Malcolm Dunn.

Other notable runs include junior Brian Woods, who got 20th with a time of 25:32, and first-year women Yasmeen Colia and Michela Corcorran, who claimed 19th (22:43) and 20th (22:44), respectively. Senior Caitlin Kearney, who has been out because of a serious stress fracture, was able to overcome her injury in order to run a personal best time of 23:25. All nine female runners earned personal best times, in addition to Whitman’s top six runners, who each clocked in with personal bests of the season.

Up ahead for the cross-country team are two more weeks of season, which will conclude with the West Region Championships in Chino, California on Nov. 11. “The course overall was very flat and fast,” said Clark on Saturday’s run. “[In Chino] the course [will be] slower and hillier, which will make for a very different race.”

Volleyball beats #1-ranked PLU

by Lizzie Norgard
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

The weekend ended with excitement for the Whitman’s volleyball team, as the women won home matches against both PLU and UPS.

Whitman played against Pacific Lutheran University on Friday night, handing PLU their first defeat of the season. The Missionaries won 3-2, cinching the victory in the last three games. The scores were 27-30, 21-30, 30-24, 30-28, and 15-11.

Though the Missionaries lost the first two games of the match, they were especially determined to beat PLU.

“To come back from a two game loss to the number one team takes a lot our courage and determination,” said senior Kate Borsato. “We hadn’t won a fifth game yet this season, and that match was the perfect game to do so.”

Whitman’s women maintained their strength on Saturday night, when they beat University of Puget Sound 3-0. The scores were 30-28, 30-17, and 30-26.

Spirits in Sherwood were especially high after Saturday’s match.

“We were extremely motivated to beat those girls, as they have beaten us twice previous this season,” said Borsato. “It was a really fun win; smiles were on the court the entire time.”

XC runs hard in Spokane, beats Whitworth in 8,000m

by Caitlin Tortorici
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

On Saturday, Oct. 21, Whitman and Whitworth Colleges competed in the Bigfoot Open in Spokane.

In the men’s 8,000-meter race, Whitman beat Whitworth by a single point, placing third in the team scoring with 98 points and outscoring Whitworth for the first time in several years.

Of the 84 runners in the men’s race, Whitman junior Brian Woods and senior Sam Clark proved Whitman’s top runners, finishing in 11th (27: 08) and 12th (27: 13), respectively.

Senior Sam Johnson (21st, 27:37), sophomore Nick Littman (30th, 28:07) and first-year Matt Kelly (33rd, 28:17) rounded out Whitman’s top five.

Whitman’s second five were Adam Kopet (42nd, 28:54), Curtis Reid (45th, 29:03), Tim Marrinan (49th, 29:10), Eli Asch (53rd, 29:26) and Nick Johnson (60th, 29:58). Robert Marcotte was 69th in 31:09 and Travis Meyers 71st in 31:20.

The Whitman women’s team lost to Whitworth by a single point in the 5,000-meter race.

Of 86 runners, six Missionaries finished in under 20 minutes: First-year runner Sara McCune placed fourth (18:52), first-year Yasmeen Colis placed ninth (19:00) and first-year Michela Cocorran finished 12th (19:06).

Junior Lisa Taylor placed 20th (19:29), and first-years Lizzie Littlewood and Amy Champman finished in 31st (19:51), and 34th (19:56), respectively.

First-year runner Heather O’Moore narrowly missed being the seventh under 20 minutes, finishing in 36th place in 20:11.

Other Whitman runners included Emma Catmur (43rd, 20:27), Alex Pogue (47th, 20:44), Emily Rodriguez (52nd, 20:58), Lindsay Records (57th, 21:04), Rand Biersdorf (61st, 21:48), Andrea Kunz (62nd, 21:53), Betsy Schroeder (66th, 22:18), Lauren Imbrock (75th, 23:27), Rachel Stein (76th, 23:36), Rachel Patterson (78th, 24:00), Allie Freed (80th, 24:40) and Fiona Taggart (80th, 24:40).

Lewis-Clark State College won the women’s race with 39 points. Spokane finished after Whitman and Whitworth with 72 points, followed by Clark Community College with 116 points and Skagit Valley Community College with 190 points.

The Community Colleges of Spokane won the men’s race with 25 points. Lewis-Clark State College was second with 61 points. A club team and four college squads completed the men’s field after Whitman and Whitworth. Lewis-Clark State’s Calin Hantau won the men’s race with a time of 26:02.

New pool a hit with swim team

by Andrea Miller
WHITMAN COLLEGE PIONEER

Full of STL (Swim Team Love, for those not in the know), the Whitman College Swim Team inaugurated the new Harvey Pool with a first-year performance of a Disney medley, including tunes from “Aladdin” and “The Lion King,” and a strong showing from all classes against the alumni team.

When asked about the competition, Rhea Edelman said,“Did you see the alumni cheating?”

The inauguration of the pool during Family Weekend on Oct. 21 was its first formal competition although Coach Jennifer Blomme said it was “certainly a competition, but I don’t know about the formal.”

Thus, Edelman’s comment about the cheating: Alums used fins and were able to use multiple swimmers against just one Whitman swimmer.

The women’s team has four new first-year additions, and the men’s team has six first-year additions. The first-years kindly entertained eager friends, family and students in Harvey’s raised seating with song and dance to the sounds of Ludacris and Disney show tunes.

Senior Danielle Alvarado found the performance to be a “thrilling piece of theatrics.”

Of the new swimmers themselves, Alvarado said, “We couldn’t have asked for a more excellent group. They work hard, support each other on and off the deck, and are generous with their swipes into food service.”

Of the new pool, junior captain Erin Pettersen said it is “so fun” and “has a positive impact on the team in practice and competition.”

Alum Keith Jarrett says that the Whitman swim team is “very lucky to have such a great facility to compete in—I was proud to abandon everything I stand for and blatantly cheat in the new pool today.”

The team is looking forward to the Whitman community coming out to show some STL.

Volleyball trumps Linfield, Willamette

by Marcus Koontz

Of the two games the Whitman women’s volleyball team played this weekend, both were spectacular wins.

The first win was over Willamette University on Friday, Oct. 13 and the second was over Linfield College on Saturday, Oct. 14.

On Friday, Oct. 13, Whitman battled with Willamette University at home, and Whitman won three matches to Willamette’s one.

Though the Missionaries dropped their first match to Willamette, they had three amazing match victories to pull out the win in the fourth match.

The scores for the matches were 25-30, 30-16, 30-23 and 30-24.

Whitman’s head coach Dean Snider said, “This is the first time we’ve ever had two middles lead us in kills; both Rosa and Emily were dominant tonight.”

The game on Saturday, Oct. 14 was won relatively easily for the women’s volleyball team.

“From start to finish, that’s the highest level of play we’ve had in a match this season,” Snider said. “That is a very good team we beat in three games, and they played well tonight.”

Whitman won three straight matches against Linfield in order to pull out the win, 30-28, 30-23 and 30-28.

Before their match last weekend, Linfield College had only lost one match, to Pacific University.

Last year, Linfield College placed 15th in the 2005 final national rankings for division III women’s volleyball.

This year, Linfield as been placed in the top 25 division III women’s volleyball teams in the nation.

This win is a huge accomplishment for the missionaries.

For their next game the team will travel on Friday, Oct. 20 to George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.

After that, the missionaries will head up to Portland, Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 21 for a game against Lewis & Clark College.

Volleyball loses to Pacific U.

by Christina Russell

Whitman volleyball lost to Oregon’s Pacific University last Friday night in a close competition, one of the few home matches of what has been a travel-intensive season for these athletes.

Last season, Whitman went 1-1 with Pacific  University, with each team claiming a win on their opponent’s home court.

However, nine years prior to this, Whitman surfaced, in 17 out of 20 games between the two schools, as winners.

Missionaries lost 23-25 in their first round and lost again in their second  match 25-30.

After a quick team meeting, the girls arrived back on the court for a spectacular and triumphant third round, a win for the Missionaries 30-25.

“They really stepped it up,” said freshman volleyball-enthusiast Natalie Popovich, of Whitman’s  performance in match three. “They really put up a valiant effort.”

They held on for the fourth round, but it wasn’t enough. Pacific University pulled ahead in the end and took the win in the 5th match.

Senior Kate Borsato, sophomore Rosa Brey and senior Emily Seider are leading the Missionaries this year as team captains.
In stats, Emily Seider is also surfacing as a winner, with a hitting average of .330, which is the top hitting average for the Northwest Conference.

After this match, Whitman will be entering the second half of the Northwest Conference season with a 4-5 record.

Including this loss, the team has lost the last three Northwest Conference games, all of which were played on the road.

Fortunately for the girls, this game against Pacific University marked only the first of six Northwest Conference games on home turf.

So bundle up in Whittie spirit, grab all your friends, and settle in to the  Sherwood bleachers at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 13th and again at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 14th. This weekend the missionaries will be playing the Wilamette Pirates with a  0-6 record and the Linfield Wildcats with a 7-1 record.

The girls encourage everyone to come enjoy the match and help cheer them on.