Sports

Play by play: Life lessons from sports

Sports April 15, 2013 at 6:06 pm Comments are Disabled

“Don’t worry about those other guys, just run your race,” words every track coach should tell their runners. Or the any-sport substitute: “Just play your game.” You cannot waste your time thinking what the opposition is planning to do- they are going to use their talents and try to take away your strengths. It works the same in every sport. What it comes down to is being able to play your game regardless. If your game is pace pushing, fast breaks, slow and steady, hard defense or attacking on the transition- you know if you play it right it will work out for you. The every man’s way of saying this is just do you. It may sound like an overstated piece of advice, but there is a reason it’s said so much. It is because nothing else anyone else does, thinks or says really matters. None of those things have power over you unless you relinquish it to them. It may help to think of your work or your life as a race, but understand that this isn’t the Olympic 100-meter dash or the Boston Marathon. It is more like a 5k fun run. There are no winners and no losers. […]
Women’s rowing finding the right combinations

Featured, Sports April 15, 2013 at 6:04 pm Comments are Disabled

The women’s rowing team took the water on April 7 in Occoquan, Va. for the Occoquan Sprints. The race was only the second official race of the spring season. Because it is still early in the season, the team used the race to try different combinations of rowers for their boats. “We had a lot of lineup switches and, as a result, we gained, overall as a team, a lot of speed throughout our two Varsity Eights and both of our Varsity Fours and also the Novice Eights,” senior rower Bridget Hally said. “I think the expectation was to go in there and race our own race, and I think all boats accomplished that. So we were very happy with the results.” The changes to the lineup came after the opening spring race of the season at the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia on March 30. Coach Geoff Dillard was not entirely satisfied with the results at that event and felt the tweaks were necessary to keep pace with other teams. “I think coming off the first race, we did not necessarily race our own race. So, we were definitely looking to keep our heads in the boat and knowing that […]
Mason falls to Santa Clara in final game of CBI

Featured, Sports April 9, 2013 at 4:16 pm Comments are Disabled

The nets came down for the final time in the 2012-2013 season at the Patriot Center. Unfortunately for the Patriots, it was the Broncos of Santa Clara University who stepped up to cut them down. On paper, it looked as though Mason would be outmatched in the series, as Santa Clara had a highly efficient offense on the season, living and dying on their efficiency from beyond the arc. In the second tier postseason tournament of college basketball, coach Paul Hewitt was looking to participate in this tournament to gain postseason experience for the young team by electing to compete in the College Basketball Invitational. The CBI began in 2008 and was most notable for being the tournament won by Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010, the year before the Rams would go on to shock the college basketball world by advancing all the way into the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2011. In a best of three series played over the course of last week, the Patriots first traveled out to Santa Clara, California for game one of the CBI last Monday night. It was a game where Mason’s biggest lead of the night against the Broncos was […]
Heavyweight wrestler represents Mason at NCAA

Featured, Sports March 24, 2013 at 11:12 pm Comments are Disabled

Two losses ended sophomore heavyweight Jake Kettler’s long trip to the NCAA tournament. In the preliminary round Kettler lost to Indiana University’s Adam Chalfant. This moved him to the consolation bracket, which pitted him against Dan Scherer from Stanford University. “It was tough. I had a plan and stuck to it mostly but I just had some lapses,” said Kettler about his first round loss. “I was wrestling hard. It wasn’t a lack of effort. It just came down to me not knowing some positions and some little mistakes, which ended up having a big impact on the match.” Kettler has come a long way this year, along with the Mason team as a whole. However, he was the only member of the team that qualified for the NCAA. On March 13, while most students were relaxing over their spring break, Kettler was getting anxious about his qualification. “I planned on qualifying from once I started college wrestling, and I was certain I was going to get in because I’ve put in a lot of work. But it was stressful not knowing,” Kettler said. “I have been here for three years as a spectator and now I’ve been seeing a lot […]
To win CAA tournament, team must fix season-long struggles

Sports March 7, 2013 at 1:05 am Comments are Disabled

Mason’s men’s basketball team’s 2012-2013 regular season came to a conclusion with a loss to the University of Delaware, with a final score 82-77. After a several week stint at the top of the CAA at the start of the season, Mason has fallen to finish in fifth place. However, due to sanctions against Towson University,barring them from postseason play, Mason is ranked fourth in the CAA tournament. They will start the first round against fifth seed Drexel on March 9. The Delaware loss further perpetuates Mason’s rollercoaster season, which is out of control with inconsistency. Mason was up 74-69, with just over two minutes to go, and let up an 11-zero run that cost them the game. All season long, Mason has been hot and cold but often able to find a little bit of fire when they need it most. However, the last two games of the season are proof that it sometimes comes too little too late. Mason was down by as many as 10 points against Towson University on Jan. 23, before coming back in the last minute to go into overtime. However, the momentum Mason had started was lost as the Patriots only put up […]
Workout of the week: Hamstring Curls

Sports March 7, 2013 at 12:41 am Comments are Disabled

Leg workouts provide a strong foundation Normally, I do not favor using machines in the gym because they focus on one muscle when you could be working more. I like biceps curls using free weights, as opposed to a machine because it forces your body to stabilize itself and the lifting action is more dynamic. The hamstring curl is a simple exercise to perform you are basically doing biceps curls with your legs. To perform the exercise, set the pad underneath your ankles or lower legs. You need a weight that challenges you but does not have you rocking back and forth. Rocking back and forth on the machine cheats your hamstrings. The key is a slow and controlled movement. Too many people try to do these curls quickly and sacrifice the effectiveness of the exercise. It is better to lift less weight in a controlled manner than to cheat and lift more. Begin curling your feet down and as far back as possible. Slowly allow the weight back to the starting point, being careful not to let it snap back into place. The entire exercise should take a couple of seconds to perform. You may want to count to […]
Mason hosts CAA Swimming and Diving Championships

Sports March 6, 2013 at 11:32 pm Comments are Disabled

Men’s team finishes in third place, women’s in eighth after four-day competition Four long days of competing may seem like a lot to many people, but it is what Mason’s swimming and diving team look forward to all year. From Feb. 27 to March 2, Mason competed in and hosted the CAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The final results of the championship put men’s in third, behind William and Mary, and let UNCW take their twelfth consecutive champion while the women’s held steady ending the championships still ranked eighth. “In a way, it’s the only meet that matters. It’s what we train for all year. People expect to see a lot of drops [in time] because of how they train,” said Travis Lauri, sophomore swim team member. Head Coach, Peter Ward, would also say that the championships are what the team prepares fully for and is a completely different atmosphere than most individual meets. “The atmosphere here is unbelievable. I have seen a lot of meets from any age group to the Olympics, and this is just as exciting and loud as any of those,” said Ward. After finishing their second day of competition, Mason’s men took second place behind UNCW […]
Track senior holds current world record time

Featured, Sports March 6, 2013 at 10:44 pm Comments are Disabled

David Verburg is Mason’s fastest man, and he keeps getting faster. Verburg ran a stunning 45.83 in the 400m, on Feb. 9, at the SPIRE Institute Division I Invitational. Not only was it a personal record indoors, for Verburg but it is the world’s fastest time in the 400m, so far this year. “It feels great. It has never happened to me before. How many people can say that at one point they were ranked number one in the world? It is an honor,” said Verburg, a two-time 400m All-American, outdoors. “I know it will not stay there for long, but it gives me a point where I know I can be at the top. I am just trying to work hard and stay humble and will try to get [the record] back when it disappears.” Verburg, now a senior, started running track during his senior year in high school, finding success and scholarship offers. “I chose Mason because it was a small school and I wanted to make a name for myself. I wanted to build up the program,” Verburg said. “I know a lot of good recruits were coming in with me. I did not want be […]
Synchronized swimming hosts Southern Region Zone Championships

Featured, Sports February 26, 2013 at 2:37 pm Comments are Disabled

With tiny sparkly leotards and bright performance makeup, the Mason synchronized swimming team could easily be mistaken for a dance or gymnastics team. In a way, they are, as they flip, turn and propel themselves out of the pool in unison. As one of only 20 competitive college-level teams in the country, Mason’s club team is able to compete at the top-level nationally against varsity. On Feb. 23. the Mason synchronized swimming team hosted the South Zone Region Championships for teams from Texas, Florida and Virginia. The annual competition rotates between host schools each year. Each performance is approximately 4.5 minutes long, half of the time the swimmers are underwater, the other half above water. Judges critique the teams on their artistic impressions, execution, musical interpretation and synchronization. Teams can compete as a group of 8 or in triples, doubles or in solos. The Mason synchronized swimming club was created 8 years ago by a mother-daughter team who have stayed on to coach the current team. While some of the girls on the team have experience with synchronized swimming, a few have never played a sport before. “You have to learn how to be graceful in the water,” said Rebecca […]
Workout of the Week: The unsung aspect of exercise, stretching

Sports February 26, 2013 at 2:31 pm Comments are Disabled

Dedicating yourself to a healthy lifestyle is all about one idea: commitment to change. It is not just about commitment to going to the gym or eating healthy, but committing to changing your entire life. It is hard to go to the gym each day and perform the same routine. Working out should be a fun learning process, where you come to understand yourself and your body more than you did before. We are all Mason students, which means we have a desire to learn. However, our learning should not only be limited to the classroom. I like to think of the gym as just another class. Granted it can be more fun than a class, but it can also be just as tedious. The great part about working out is that you get to make it what you want. As students, we are limited by what the teacher decides we will do. However, at the gym we are allowed to explore in any number of ways. This does not mean that you should simply go to the gym and pick whichever exercise looks the most fun. Working out requires you to do your homework before you even think […]