The Wake

As some university students traveled to hot spots around the globe over spring break, many stayed in Minneapolis, confined indoors, as 2 feet of snow fell and temperatures hovered near 30 degrees. And while I watched nearly 25 hours of March Madness, I thought to myself, “Where’s spring?” I turned up the thermostat and threw another Pasta Roni in the microwave and dreamt of the day when I could remain outside for more than a half hour. Well, that time has come. The snow has finally melted and the winter coats have been packed away for good. The Minnesota spring is upon us and it’s time to get outside and enjoy it, because we all know next winter is only seven-short months away. So I implore readers to get outside, but many of you may …

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College students and 65-year-old men, in a closed off room, slap around balls. There’s no foul play here, this is the University of Minnesota Squash Club. The squash club is a group of roughly 50 athletes who meet three times per week to compete in a game that few people neither play nor know much about.Brief Overview of the Game Squash is a combination of tennis and badminton. The racquet used in the sport is about as long as a badminton racquet, but it’s as strong as a tennis racquet. There are two types of balls used in squash, the hardball and softball. The hardball is traditional and not widely used anymore. The U squash club uses softballs. The court for squash is odd. Like racquetball, the game is played in an enclosed, four …

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Laura Johnson is, well, kind of a big deal when it comes to gymnastics. Johnson, a journalism senior from Albuquerque, N.M., has been an All-Big Ten honoree four years in a row, making her the fourth Gopher in history to accomplish such a feat. This year Johnson was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and is currently ranked 25th in GymInfo National Rankings in the all around. The Wake: How did it feel to win the Big Ten for the first time since 1998?Johnson: It was so exhilarating. It is almost surreal. When you go in you’re not really expecting to win, especially against a team like Michigan who has won the last eight years, and who is ranked a good 15 to 20 spots ahead of us. It really was just an amazing …

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Several members of the U’s Cycling Club stepped into the St. Paul Gym for practice with sun-scorched arms and legs, a look even Hank Hill would be jealous of. Their newly acquired farmer’s tans were the result of a spring break expedition to Tucson, Ariz. which included 60-70 miles of cycling per day, and a 25-mile climb up rock-infested Mt. Lemmon. Despite the rigorous routine in Arizona, the cycling club is very accepting of riders with little cycling experience. On the trip some riders had never been on a group ride before, and about half the people who join the club have never raced competitively. “It is a club that develops riders,” says Bill O’Reilly, fifth year coach. But it is also a club that is serious about cycling, particularly road racing. The U’s Cycling …

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It was a cold February night when a group of nine amateurs took the ice for the first time as a team. These athletes, known collectively as the Fortknighters, were unskilled, uncoordinated and undersized. Only one of these “athletes” knew that there were special shoes meant for playing broomball. Some teams wore hockey helmets, while certain members of this team opted for bicycle helmets. For their first game, the Fortknighters’ lineup consisted of LT in the net, KrS-1 and Heart ‘n Soule playing defense with Michael Myers and the Notorious BRIE playing forwards. This group took the ice like wolves on the prowl. Line changes were infrequent, but effective. Hell ‘N Brand and Bagger Vance each netted goals within minutes of shuffling on the ice. At halftime the Fortknighters wanted to change their team name …

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In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, chances are, most people have done some canoeing. If not canoeing, maybe they’ve stroked the oars of a rowboat while going fishing on one of our great state’s fine lakes.While Minnesota may not be a state known for rowing, its biggest (and perhaps best) rowing program is right here—near the banks of the Mississippi River, on this college campus.Building a program out of nothing, University of Minnesota, head rowing coach, Wendy Davis has built a rowing team consisting of 59 female-student athletes. Coming here from a well-established program back East, Davis knew building a successful rowing program in Minnesota would have its share of difficulties.“It was really tough because we’re in a tent,” says Davis about her early years recruiting rowers here. “But, I like the challenge of building …

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When people hear the words baseball and Hunter, the next word that usually pops in their heads is Torii. But there’s another Minnesota player named Hunter and he’s been a mainstay for Gopher baseball for the past four seasons.Andy Hunter, a preseason All-Big Ten pick and current .349 hitter, is a fifth-year senior on this year’s Gopher team and a St. Paul native. He also excels in academics at the U and was named an Academic All-American the past two seasons. The Wake: What are your thoughts about playing such a tough non-conference schedule year in and year out?Hunter: It’s something that our program prides itself on. It’s what Coach Anderson has always done. We try to get a sense right away of where we’re at and really the only way to do that is …

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The Minnesota Twins have oiled up the leather, stretched out the lumber and limbered up their arms in anticipation of beginning the 2006 regular season with the hope to reclaim the American League Central title. To do so, however, the Twins will undoubtedly have to hit better—especially when it comes to power. In an era known for power hitting, the Twins have not had a 30-homerun hitter since 1987 (Gary Gaetti with 31, Tom Brunansky with 32 and Kent Hrbek with 34).So, where are these extra-base hits and long balls going to come from? This year’s Like many other Twins teams in recent years, this years Twins have many players who should be considered 30-homer worthy. But, who are the top power-hitting contenders for the 2006 Twins?Tony Batista – The 32-year-old veteran third baseman hasn’t …

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Ninjas, Hawaiians and Gothics. No, it’s not Halloween. This is the different attire worn by a team in my intramural volleyball league from week to week. Since there isn’t a dress code for intramurals, they decided to make their own. Many students, like myself, play intramurals at the U to have fun and stay active during their time at the U. Since most students at the U can’t compete competitively at the varsity level, like the Gopher Men’s Basketball team, a variety of intramural sports are available. These sports range from broomball, to bowling, to hockey. Many people play intramural sports. U Intermural director, Vinh Chung, said the goal of intramurasl is, “To provide leagues and tournaments to all different skill levels and encourage social interaction.”The beautiful thing about intramurals is that when some leagues …

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Student-athletes across campus are being punished for their great academic work. Sound confusing? It is. And it’s giving coaches headaches.The NCAA, which has set the aid standards, split all athletics at the Division-I level into two categories. Sports are either labeled as “headcount” or “equivalency” sports. Headcount sports on campus include football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball. In headcount sports, athletes are either offered a full scholarship or they must try to make the team as a walk-on, receiving no aid. The football team has the ability to give out 85 full scholarships. So, 85 players on the team are on campus receiving full rides. Anyone else on the roster must pay their own way through school as a walk-on.The dilemma of accepting either athletic or academic aid comes into play when …

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The mayhem is inevitable. The upsets are shocking. With a simple flick of the wrist, ordinary human beings transform into legends. And a simple mistake, such as an inopportune timeout or turnover, can leave a player’s legacy, no matter the skill level, tainted forever. The Big Dance, or the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, is the climax of college basketball and is one of the most anticipated events in American sports. Fortunately, for Minnesotans, the Midwest Regional portion of the NCAA tournament will be held at the Metrodome for the first time since 2003, which means you can be a part of the drama and chaos of March Madness. History at the MetrodomeFor NCAA basketball purposes, the Metrodome appears to be the “House that Duke Built.” Both times the Final Four has been held at the …

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What’s in a team name anyway? To many fans and alumni at universities around the country, it means tradition and pride. To Native American activists, they see Native American symbols used in sports as offensive and racist. It’s fairly easy to understand the activists’ point of view when watching a Florida State football game on television. During their famous pre-game ritual, fans cheer loudly as the school’s mascot, Chief Osceola, rides his horse and plants a burning spear into the ground. This tradition was given the approval of Seminole tribes, but still disturbs activists across the country. Last year, the NCAA made strides to be culturally sensitive towards Native Americans. The NCAA executive committee adopted a new policy in terms of team names in August 2005. According to the NCAA rules, as of Feb. 1, …

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Pam Borton, Dan Monson and I were playing five-card stud in the Barn locker room. Like all poker games involving collegiate head coaches, there were ample amounts of alcohol. Don’t be naive; everybody knows college head coaches take five shots of bourbon before breakfast. In between body shots, beer bongs and awkward moments, the two would discuss basketball while I gazed in pure amazement at two transcendent coaching minds. I was watching a Bobby Knight and Joe Pa interview on a TV in the corner. I had two jacks and was hoping for a third to match my pair when I asked a simple question: who would win, the women Gophers or the men Gophers?Monson, with only hazy memories of Iowa and Michigan State deep in his drunken mind, said the women would win. He …

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February was a cold month. The weather, sure, but that’s expected inMinnesota. What’s not expected? The Gophers women’s basketball team losing four straight games as they near post-season.“We’ve hit a bump right now,” says junior guard Kelly Roysland during a Feb. 21 interview. “But we’ve felt we’ve played some pretty good basketball overall and we’ve got a pretty good record right now.”Fortunately, for Roysland and her team, two weeks without a win ended when they defeated Indiana on Feb. 23 and rolled over Northwestern on Feb. 26. “I think the win over Indiana was a good start, I think it was the best defense we’ve played as a team all year,” says head coach Pam Borton of her team’s elusive 65-58 defeat of the Hoosiers. “It feels good to get back heading in the right …

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Boxing is for bone-headed lunatics. It is a barbaric sport for numb-minded imbeciles who release their aggression by fighting instead of doing something normal like playing Halo, football or beer pong. Even Rocky says, “You would be a moron to want to box.” So why do people subject themselves to torture in an imprisoned square where each person wallops the other for three minute intervals? “It is a way of conquering fear,” says Josh Murphy, sophomore sociology and criminal deviance major at the U. He has boxed for four months. “Once you get in that ring, it is pretty much two guys beating the shit out of each other. What in life can scare you after that?” Murphy is so fearless in a recent job interview he had a puffy eye and cut lip …

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