September 29, 2009
By Robin Deutsch, Sports Information Director
Click.
Got the athlete in the picture. But not the head.
Click.
Darn. Wrong player.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
Blurry. Too Dark. Too Light. Perfect!
Taking good action photographs are one of the most enjoyable things about covering college athletics. Well, when they come out, anyway.
The new athletics Web site was designed, in part, to take advantage of the outstanding action photos that are taken by our photographers at Stockton Photography. The ladies behind the cameras are Carlisle and Jeanette. To say that their work has exceptional value and meaning to the Athletics Department and for the entire college is like saying a rake is useful when you need to gather up a lawn full of leaves.
This year, the Sports Information Office has augmented the work of Stockton Photography by capturing same-game photos for selective contests involving field hockey, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and men’s tennis. More sports will follow. I hope these photos have enhanced our coverage and when possible brought a sense of “real time” to the stories that accompany these images.
The beauty of having Stockton Photography as our longtime partner is simple: It affords YOU the opportunity to purchase these images at extremely reasonable prices. The quality and customer service are straight from a Five Star French Restaurant. Perhaps this has something to do with Jeanette being a Vassar graduate.
Be sure to visit the Vassar Athletics portion of the Stockton Web site at:
http://www.stocktonphoto.com/vassar/
The Sports Information Office has added a few additional multimedia and social networking wrinkles to our coverage this year. Much like our photography efforts, videos and interviews from selected events will be available at our YouTube Channel (VassarSportsInfo) and embedded into pertinent stories where applicable. You can check a video out at this link: You Tube Channel
Vassar Athletics has also joined the social networking community with our own Facebook page, which can be easily found by typing “Vassar College Athletics” into the search box on your Facebook page. Then simply click the “Be A Fan” icon and you’ll join more than 500 fans who now follow the Brewers through Facebook. Our friends in College Relations are setting up a Twitter page for Athletics as well, taking the feed straight from our Web site to your apparatus of choice. Now you have it: Our photographic and multimedia offerings for 2009-10.
Now if someone could help me out with my ISO and Aperture settings ...
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Outside the Box Score: Vassar Women's Soccer Nearly Holds off No. 5 William Smith
September 25
By Tyler Maland, a junior student-worker in the Sports Information Office
Executing a game plan can be elusive. The instinctual nature of competition can trump tactical strategy at any time. An injury, or a well-prepared opponent, or even a freak play, can disrupt the intended course of a game plan.
At the women’s soccer game on Friday, I felt at times like I was watching Dean Smith’s Carolina Tarheels close out a second half with the time-devouring four corners offense.
The Brewers’ first Liberty League test was powerhouse William Smith, the same team that knocked Vassar out of the playoffs last year. The apparent game plan was logical. Play tightly, and limit the Herons’ offensive chances. Start league play with a shutout and, at the very least, a tie. For the majority of the game, Vassar’s execution was exceptional.
Against the nationally fifth-ranked Herons, Vassar built a seemingly impenetrable wall in the first half. Utilizing just one free-ranging forward, the Brewers packed the defense and allowed William Smith to control the possession of the game, aiming instead to limit shots and runs. They did just that: William Smith did dominate the ball in the first half, but managed just two shots on goal.
Vassar hardly looked threatening, its forwards smothered by three towering defenders each time they got a touch on the ball in William Smith’s half of the field. The Brewers rarely strung passes together, instead clearing the ball out as if asking the Herons to “take it back” before trying again at the goal. But then again, how crisp did Michael Jordan look when he stood stagnantly in the corner as Smith’s unbeatable (and unexciting) offense closed out game after game? With a scoreless first half, Vassar’s execution was perfect.
The second half saw things open up a bit. William Smith managed eight shots, and Vassar four. Vassar started to push offensively, and the time of possession evened out. But overall, the pace remained the same. The Brewers’ defenders, backed by freshman keeper Ali Higgins, cleared ball after ball, and a Herons’ offense that had outscored opponents 10-4 in its first six games remained stupefied.
But in the 83rd minute, William Smith forward BreLynn Nasypany found space on the back side of the Vassar goal and headed a cross easily into an unattended net. There was the disrupted game-plan. There was the 1-0 deficit, and eventual loss, that would tell nothing of Vassar's near-perfect execution in the box score. There was an 0-1 start in a conference where every game matters.
There are no moral victories or almosts in the standings sheets. But really – eight minutes and overtime away from out-executing the fifth-best team in the country? Almost.
By Tyler Maland, a junior student-worker in the Sports Information Office
Executing a game plan can be elusive. The instinctual nature of competition can trump tactical strategy at any time. An injury, or a well-prepared opponent, or even a freak play, can disrupt the intended course of a game plan.
At the women’s soccer game on Friday, I felt at times like I was watching Dean Smith’s Carolina Tarheels close out a second half with the time-devouring four corners offense.
The Brewers’ first Liberty League test was powerhouse William Smith, the same team that knocked Vassar out of the playoffs last year. The apparent game plan was logical. Play tightly, and limit the Herons’ offensive chances. Start league play with a shutout and, at the very least, a tie. For the majority of the game, Vassar’s execution was exceptional.
Against the nationally fifth-ranked Herons, Vassar built a seemingly impenetrable wall in the first half. Utilizing just one free-ranging forward, the Brewers packed the defense and allowed William Smith to control the possession of the game, aiming instead to limit shots and runs. They did just that: William Smith did dominate the ball in the first half, but managed just two shots on goal.
Vassar hardly looked threatening, its forwards smothered by three towering defenders each time they got a touch on the ball in William Smith’s half of the field. The Brewers rarely strung passes together, instead clearing the ball out as if asking the Herons to “take it back” before trying again at the goal. But then again, how crisp did Michael Jordan look when he stood stagnantly in the corner as Smith’s unbeatable (and unexciting) offense closed out game after game? With a scoreless first half, Vassar’s execution was perfect.
The second half saw things open up a bit. William Smith managed eight shots, and Vassar four. Vassar started to push offensively, and the time of possession evened out. But overall, the pace remained the same. The Brewers’ defenders, backed by freshman keeper Ali Higgins, cleared ball after ball, and a Herons’ offense that had outscored opponents 10-4 in its first six games remained stupefied.
But in the 83rd minute, William Smith forward BreLynn Nasypany found space on the back side of the Vassar goal and headed a cross easily into an unattended net. There was the disrupted game-plan. There was the 1-0 deficit, and eventual loss, that would tell nothing of Vassar's near-perfect execution in the box score. There was an 0-1 start in a conference where every game matters.
There are no moral victories or almosts in the standings sheets. But really – eight minutes and overtime away from out-executing the fifth-best team in the country? Almost.
Friday, September 18, 2009
In Search of the Next Great One
By Robin Deutsch, Sports Information Director
Sports pundits are always searching for the next Great One. They’re not unlike slot machine players who drop quarter after quarter into a bottomless tray, snap the magic lever forward and then helplessly pray that three bars miraculously all stop in harmony, signaling the Great Quarter Payoff, or Jackpot.
We all remember our first Great One. Our first great romance. Our first great automobile, or pet, or teacher or coach or boss or whatever you remember making your soul feel great.
Vassar has had its share of Great Ones. They arrive on the athletics stage as freshmen with little fanfare and expectation. They transform into greatness with remarkable ease. The Great Ones all share something in common, an intangible bond: They all make being a Great One appear effortless.
When he was a freshman, former basketball star Lawrence Avitabile was granted one trip around the Liberty League until his considerable talents were no longer a secret. Next time through the league he was double teamed on every offensive possession. Avitabile was still named the league Rookie of the Year.
When she was a freshman, nothing short of draining the pool could contain swimmer Emily Love. At the Liberty League meet held just two months into her career, Love was named Rookie of the Meet. She would earn All-America status five times in her career.
When he was a freshman, fencer Andrew Fischl displayed such majesty in Epee competition that he qualified for the NCAA Championships. He repeated that distinction last year as a sophomore.
When she was a freshman, cross country runner Johanna Spangler raced with a maturity and confidence that was a marvel to watch. In the six months following her high school graduation, Spangler was competing in the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
With the athletics season into its third week, there are already signs that the next Great One resides in our midst. Freshman volleyball setter Hilary Koenigs has already been named the Liberty League Rookie of the Week twice. Ditto that for men’s cross country runner Yaron Teich. Women’s cross country runner Katie Holmes has earned the distinction once.
Freshmen tennis players Andrew Guzick and Josh Kessler had impressive debuts and each have a glorious future ahead. Whether weekly awards will follow remains to be seen, but it’s improbable that recognition won’t follow each player sooner than later.
Freshmen dot the rosters of every fall Vassar team. More will follow for the winter and spring teams. If history is any indication, the aforementioned freshmen will rekindle memories of Avitabile and Love. There are a plethora of athletes that will fall nicely into Fischl and Spangler’s path.
We will continue to search for the next Great One. We will pull the lever of a mythical slot machine, watch intently as three bars rotate in circles and then stop in succinct alignment.
We will have hit jackpot again.
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