A Return to The Glory Days . . .

By Courtney Tobe

Belk Turf Field. There is no place like home!

The Davidson Field Hockey team met up with an old friend again this past week, grass.

A surface that most of us haven’t played on since our high school glory days came back into the picture this past Wednesday evening as we traveled to Radford, Virginia for our first conference game of the season. In order to prepare for this match-up we abandoned our extremely nice and extremely fast turf for two days of practice on the grassy knoll behind Baker. Although the change of scenery was nice, it only took a couple of hits and missed stops before we were begging to go back to the turf and wondering how on earth we ever played on such an awful surface.

Playing on grass is a completely different game. The skills and strategy that we practice on turf is often ineffective on grass because it is a much slower paced game that is much more unpredictable. You never know when a perfectly hit ball is going to hit a ditch and pop over your stick, or a ball that looks like it might be going out of bounds decides to stop right on the end line, or even worse, when you are dribbling the ball and it just decides to stop instead of staying on your stick like it’s supposed to.

Despite two extremely frustrating days of practice, our hard work paid off when we beat Radford 1-0 on their home field. The trip to Radford has normally been a struggle for us as we couldn’t get past the frustrating surface to carry home a win, but this year it was different. We hope to carry the excitement of our win into this weekend as we return to the turf (thank goodness!) to face Richmond and Georgetown. Both of these games will be great matchups as we look to extend our record to 8-2. Keep following along for more behind the scenes D.C.F.H. action. Go Cats! –Tobe #7.

Battle Wounds

By Courtney Tobe

A broken nose, a busted lip, a bruised chin, and scarring turf burn were just a few of the products of two intensely fought games this past weekend at William and Mary. It is part of the DCFH culture to take pride in our battle wounds. We don’t typically mind a decent bruise from a tough practice or a black eye from an intense game because it illustrates a dedication to our sport and a sense of fight. Junior defender Steph Meador is a prime example of someone who loves the fight. In our practice at William and Mary on Saturday, Steph took a ball to the face while defending a penalty corner. The result was a broken nose and two very swollen black eyes, but the pain didn’t stop Steph from playing in our game on Sunday. She played the whole game - start to finish - without even wearing a mask.

Sophomore midfielder Annie Evans also had her fair share of battle wounds this past weekend. In our game against William and Mary on Friday Annie got hit in the mouth with a ball and developed a very swollen lip, so swollen in fact that assistant coach Catherine Somits decided to give it a name because it appeared to be taking on a life of its own. “Toni,” as her lip came to be called, lasted for a few days and has now developed into a nice bruise.

Our accumulation of battle wounds was not the only adventure we had in William and Mary. On Saturday, we had plenty of time to explore colonial Williamsburg. Several DCFH members toured the colonial shops, chatted with colonists, and took their pictures in the stacks. We also had a nice lunch at The Cheese Shop, one of Ginny’s favorite restaurants at her alma mater.



Even though this past weekend brought us our first loss it was still very successful. We learned a lot from our game against William and Mary and we finished out the weekend with a win against Penn. We hope to take what we’ve learned from this past weekend and apply them in our game against #7 Wake Forest on Friday. The game is home at 6 p.m. We have an extremely good chance against them this year so please come out and show your support! Keep following along for more behind the scenes D.C.F.H. moments! Go Cats! – Tobe #7

Commitment, Opportunity, Heart

By Courtney Tobe

The tears in senior Clare Perry’s eyes said enough after we defeated Lafayette 3 to 0 this past Sunday.  Two weekends into our season and still undefeated, something that Clare and I and the rest of this year’s senior class has never experienced before.  In our four years of Davidson hockey we have been through some difficult seasons.  Seasons full of tough losses and great successes, but we have never experienced anything like this, 4-0.  If I’ve learned one thing from DCFH, it’s that winning isn’t everything, but our recent success has brought a new sense of confidence to our team that didn’t exist before.  We finally believe in ourselves and are realizing what we are capable of, and we won’t let anything stop us from reaching our potential.

This past summer, Ginny and Catherine came up with three core values for our program to focus on: Commitment, Opportunity, and Heart.  The goal being that these three words will embody the spirit of D.C.F.H. and reflect the attitude of our program.  Wednesday evening, Sandy Helfgott, Davidson’s Director of Physical Education and Recreation, came to talk to us about the importance of maintaining these three core values and living them out throughout the course of our season.  Sandy’s speech was extremely motivational and a good thing to hear leading up to our weekend at William and Mary.  We are in a good place right now, especially after receiving 4 votes for the top 20, but we need to make sure that we don’t let up and this weekend will be a good test for us.

Keep following along for more behind the scenes D.C.F.H. moments! Go Cats! – Tobe #7

D.C.F.H. Season Underway

By Courtney Tobe

As I took to the field for our first game of our 2010 season this past weekend I could not help thinking about preseason. The 9 days of intensive conditioning, three a day practices (yes that’s right … 3 a days), sweltering temperatures on the turf, cold whirl pools, and a soreness that can’t fully be comprehended unless you have experienced it. Everyday tasks like getting out of bed, getting dressed, and even sleeping all felt impossible, and yet even while our bodies were in such intense pain, we somehow found a way to make it back out to the field for the next session. Our fans didn’t see the hard work that we put in during camp and neither did our opponents, but together we worked, struggled, and survived all to make it to this moment, when the referee blows the whistle and our season begins.

My name is Courtney Tobe, and I am a senior from Louisville, Kentucky, on Davidson College’s field hockey team. I have officially survived four D.C.F.H. preseason’s (something I never thought I would be able to say), and I have never felt as proud of the work that we put in during preseason as I do right now because we had an amazing opening weekend.

The weekend started out with a seven and a half hour long bus ride to our nation’s capital. Seven and a half hours is a long time to be on a bus, but we managed to pass the time pretty easily with an impromptu J.Lo movie marathon, good conversation, and a lot of snacks. Although there were moments when the bus ride felt like it would never end, the trip was definitely worth it. We brought home two wins, a 5-0 win against Bryant on Friday and a 5-0 win against St. Francis on Saturday, and we had an amazing crowd turn out for the games.

One of the great things about D.C.F.H. is the amount of support we get from our fans. We had several parents make the trip to D.C. and two D.C.F.H. ’09 alums, Sara Stevens, and Tyler Kirkland came out to show their support. To top things off, Darrel Young, a RB/LB for the Washington Redskins made an appearance at American University to watch our games and cheer for the Davidson Wildcats (all of the Davidson Dad’s were extremely excited about this one). The weekend was a great way to kick off our season and has really inspired us to work hard this week in practice.

We have a lot of potential as a team and a lot of goals that we have set for ourselves this season. The next step we have to take toward reaching them comes this weekend with two games. We open up at home on Saturday against Towson at 12 p.m., and play Lafayette at Wake Forest on Sunday. These are two really good match-ups for us and we can’t wait to hopefully add two more W’s to our record.

Throughout our season, I’ll be checking back in with game updates, funny stories, player interviews, and much more. Keep following along for more behind the scenes D.C.F.H. moments and please come out and show your support on Saturday! Go Cats! – Tobe #7

Back in Davidson

By Yannick Pilgrim

• Photo Gallery

Back at Davidson. My plane touched down in Charlotte around 2:00 am on Friday the 7th. Even though I was coming back to the familiar, I was nervous. Maybe it was because I was excited to see my friends, teammates and other Davidson randoms who brighten my day, or maybe it was because a wonderful semester abroad had finally come to an end. Costa Rica had really become a home to me and leaving beautiful Central America was almost as hard as leaving my beloved Trinidad on my first trip to the US.

My last day in Costa Rica was an emotional one. My host family had problems of their own but still managed to keep it together in order to give me a very special dinner and farewell. Their kindness and unselfish ways were part of the reason I really enjoyed my time in Costa Rica. Not only did this family open their house to me but they let me into their home. From babysitting my host brothers to occasionally cooking dinner, I always felt like I was actually a member of their family. They introduced me to nearly all of their relatives and went above and beyond in terms of hospitality. If I had to suggest one thing to someone going abroad it would be to form a bond with your host family. Have conversations with them, surprise them from time to time with small gifts, and treat them as if they were your real parents or real siblings.

Before I stepped on the bus to leave the town of Puntarenas my host family stopped me. My host mom put her hand in mine and gave me a key. My host dad then explained that it was the key to the front door of the house. They said that I could return to Puntarenas anytime I wanted and would have a place to stay at their house. Back in my soft days I would have cried, but now hard and experienced, I just looked up to the sky and avoided the tears from leaking out. This exchange was truly symbolic of the relationship I formed with this family. To be honest I cannot picture my future without seeing them again.

My trip to Costa Rica has afforded me the opportunity to take a step outside of my hectic life in the States and recognize the more important things and the things about myself that I need to change. Sometimes we are too busy to actually think, and living what the Costa Ricans call ‘pura vida’ for the last four months has allowed me to approach obstacles in a very calm way. I feel rejuvenated and ready to take on my senior year at Davidson. I formed some great bonds in Costa Rica and I know that my friends there will be awaiting news from me in the future. The thought that a group of people cares for you is enough to produce a motivation within that inspires one to live a life that revolves around making these people proud to be associated with you. Knowing that someone stands with you through the good and bad inspires you to live for the good. “Para siempre” I will remember this far away family and “para siempre” I will carry with me the lessons learnt on our journey together these last four months ... “Gracias por todo,” and thank you Davidson for giving me the opportunity to experience this eventful semester abroad.

Adeu Barcelona!

By Josh Zipin

Hello Davidson family. My semester in Barcelona is coming to a close and this will be my final blog entry as I will be flying out back to the US of A this Thursday. The semester has flown by and I can’t believe my time is up here.

The last month has been very full with visits from Wildcat star athletes and friends from home. Showing friends the city has really allowed me to get to know the city much better. At the beginning of the semester I felt a little bit lost, not knowing how to get to places, especially with any kind of punctuality. But I’ve evolved into a real tour guide here, with walking and metro routes of the city that I’m comfortable with. It’s different than Davidson or my hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland, because I go so many places by foot so often. I feel almost as if I know my way around this city better than either American ones.

The weather has been incredible here for the last month, and one of my favorite activities during that time has been playing ping pong outside in the Ciutadella park. It’s a huge park, but in the corner of one of its many entrances there are 6 outdoor tables lined up. It has actually been a great way to meet local Catalans, just by goofing around and playing small, very informal tournaments. Small things like ping pong helped me feel much more connected to the city and its people.

It is a bit bittersweet because I feel so comfortable here now, but I am so excited to get home and get back to Davidson. I’ve developed a genuine affection for everything Barcelona, and it is almost like I am a real citizen now. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to study abroad, and especially choosing to study here. My Spanish has reached a level of fluency I did not anticipate reaching and I have become much more independent here. I’ve also experienced some completely new cultures, and of course, been privileged to be inundated in a soccer-crazy environment, home to the best team in the world, FC Barcelona.

I just finished my last exam of the semester, and am now officially a Davidson senior. That is really weird to think about. My flight is scheduled for Thursday morning but knowing this city, there are probably a few twists and turns left for me before I leave. It’s been great connecting with people at home through this blog and I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have. Make sure to catch the Barca Champions League game today! Visc a Barca y Visc a Catalunya!

Adeu.

-Josh

Nicaraguan Adventure

By Yannick Pilgrim

• Photo Gallery

Hola Amigos,

Life is good over here in Costa Rica. In fact it rained yesterday for only the third time since I’ve been here. The temperature is still easily 95 degrees and higher on a daily basis, and I’ve gotten used to waking up in my own sweat. If the ocean was not so close, I probably would be going crazy right now. Well enough with the weather update; I have much to tell since my last blog entry.

Studying abroad is an experience, and anyone who has done it can tell you that some days are harder than others. With the travel and exploration of a foreign country comes certain risks, and for me, I learned a painful lesson crossing the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Let me first say that I have nothing against Nicaragua as a country. In fact it is a beautiful place with remarkable geography and an interesting culture. The problems I experienced in Nicaragua were limited to the border crossing.

The people that know me well can tell you that I am the kind of person who loves to do stuff on their own. Despite the warnings from my host parents, I decided to head to Nicaragua by myself for four days. I did sufficient research and planned my trip accordingly. I also spoke to some students on my program that had gone to Nicaragua in February in order to have an idea of what to expect at the border. From Puntarenas it took me 5 hours by bus to get to the border at Penas Blancas. The Costa Rican officials handled my paper work quickly and things were moving along faster than I expected.

After being done with customs in Costa Rica, I had to walk about 100 meters to a gate that was the crossover point for both countries. When I entered Nicaragua I felt a difference in the atmosphere. People were shoving customs papers in my face, asking if I needed a guide or a taxi, and telling me that if I didn’t have either, I would find myself in some trouble. I guess it was a moment in my time abroad where I really felt like an outsider. I had grown so accustomed to the “tranquila” life in Costa Rica. After breaking through the barrage of hustlers, I had to deal with a different problem. I have always heard of corruption on the border, but now I can say that I was a victim of it. The corruption practiced by police officers and custom officials at the border has become so common place that they can now do it in plain sight. I had a minor physical encounter with the border authorities who requested that I pay extra money to get into Nicaragua. They also told me I was not allowed to speak to anyone besides them. My Spanish deteriorated as my anger increased, making the situation even worse. I was outnumbered and with the law on their side I had no choice but to pay the price.

It was a tough lesson to learn and I really did not plan on using a blog entry to talk about the problems I had crossing the border. But I figure that while studying abroad a person is going to experience good and bad. Hopefully if you were planning on crossing the border to Nicaragua soon, this testimony can be of some assistance. I am doing fine now and have long since moved on from the incident. In fact, while in Nicaragua I spent time in San Juan del Sur, a beautiful beach town about 1 hour from the Penas Blancas border. While there I visited Playa Madera, a secluded beach great for surfing. It was a bit hard to find, but after hitchhiking a ride on the back of a tractor I finally found it.

I spent two days in San Juan del Sur and then I went on to Isla de Ometepe. Nicaragua has one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the world. Isla de Ometepe is also a world phenomenon, being one of the largest fresh water islands on the planet. But what makes this place so impressive are the two volcanoes located on either side of the island. I have grown very fascinated with volcanoes during my time here in Central America. They truly are magical to say the least. Beautiful yet dangerous. On the island I rented a dirt bike and went on one of the most fun adventures of my life. I stopped to see waterfalls, crystal clear streams, and to let cows cross the road. Everyone there was really friendly and was always interested in where I was from. A guy there was also kind enough to tell me that my name was a woman’s name in Nicaragua and I should change my name to Geoffrey for the duration of my stay. What a nice guy…

My Nicaraguan adventure. I must say my time at San Juan del Sur and Isla de Ometepe sure did make up for the trouble I had on the border. The thing is I had to cross it to go back. I’ll save you the details and just say that my exit was no greater than my entrance.

I am enjoying my time here in Costa Rica but I would be lying if I said that I was not missing my team and playing for Davidson. I get to play soccer here almost every day but it’s not the same. For the most part I miss the organization and scoring countless goals on Chip during practice. Too easy…

Until the next time…

PuRa vIdA

Touring and Tour Guiding

By Josh Zipin

• Photo Gallery

It’s been too long since I checked in last, and I’d like to say I’m sorry, but it’s not like I’ve been sitting at home doing nothing. Since the last time I wrote I’ve been real busy, including taking trips to Paris, Spain’s Costa Brava, and the South of Spain with my parents for my spring break. I’ve also been lucky enough to play host to some Davidson friends in Barcelona.

Paris was an exciting trip that I made with two of my best friends from home who also study here in Barcelona. Other than getting food poisoning in transit (not pretty), the trip went smoothly and we experienced what Paris is all about: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and the Mona Lisa, the Orsay Museum, the Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomph, and of course, crepes.

We spent roughly the first ten minutes of our time at the Eiffel Tower looking for the perfect Heisman trophy pose on the Tower, but after a few puzzling looks, and of course, the perfect picture, we went to the top and got a view of the whole city. I felt like I was in a Google Maps screenshot with the view we had. We could see all of the other major destinations we were visiting from the top. We even picked out our hostel from the top. A few incredible art museum visits (I saw Van Gogh’s self-portrait and the Mona Lisa in two days!), an Arc de Triomph, Notre Dame Cathedral trip (to see the Hunchback of course), and roughly 3 banana and Nutella crepes later, we headed home to Catalunya.

For my spring break, I was lucky enough to spend about a week and a half with my parents. We spent the first couple days in Barcelona as I led them around and saw some things I’d been waiting to see and experience, including the Picasso museum, Montjuic, and Barcelona’s best restaurants. We were even able to go to a Catalan seder for Passover here, which was quite an experience. I was also lucky enough to have my parents over to my host family’s house for lunch. My host mom cooked for my real mom and asked her quite seriously how she was able to feed me at home. I had to do a good deal of translating as I was the person at the table with the best knowledge of both English and Spanish. It was great to introduce my family for the last few months to my blood family and vice versa.

After our time in Barca, we headed to the South for sunny beaches and the freshest paella. We spent time in Malaga, Granada, Nerja, and Cordoba. While some people might think that spending a week and a half alone with their parents would be nothing short of the most boring time ever, I realized that I actually really enjoy spending time and travelling with my parents. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen them since January, but it was great fun teasing my Mom and catching an FC Barcelona basketball game with my dad, among other fun excursions. The weather in the South was perfect and actually reminded me of what it is probably like in Davidson right now.

I have less than a month left here in Barcelona but it still feels like I just got here. I feel like I really know the city well and it’s almost like I’m a real Barcelona citizen now (minus the mastery of the Catalan language). I realized how comfortable I am with the city and getting places when I’ve had people visiting. About three weeks ago I had my first long visit from friends. Wildcat field hockey stars Courtney Tobe and Ellie Syzkowny came and stayed the weekend here. Besides seeing the local sights including the famed Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell by renowned architect Antoni Gaudi, I showed them some of my favorite food and night spots. I also showed off some of my much improved Spanish and cultural knowledge by steering them clear of the petty thieves and teaching them the tricks of living in Barcelona (watch your purses closely ladies!). It was an epic visit and it felt surreal to spend time with people I’ve known so well for three years, albeit pretty much exclusively at Davidson, in Barcelona.

With my time left here I really want to get to the Barcelona aquarium as I hear it’s one of the best in the world, and of course I need to see another FC Barcelona game. Barca plays Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, the competition that crowns the best club soccer team in Europe. The whole city is on pins and needles in anticipation and I’m still holding out a sliver of hope that I’ll be able to score a ticket somehow. I’m not done with travelling as I still have one free weekend, as well as a trip to Amsterdam planned. In addition, this weekend I’ll be welcoming volleyball stud, Anna Bradbury, another Wildcat superstar, to Barcelona. It should be another great time. I miss Davidson a lot, including my team, my friends, the weather, lake campus, and of course girls in sundresses. That’s all I got for now. Hope everyone is well and healthy in Davidson. Hasta luego!

-Josh

Patnesky Discusses Experience

By Mark Brumbaugh - 3/24/2010 - 1:45 p.m. Eastern

Episode Four: The 100 Free Prelim Swim

By Lauren Biggers
Prelims, 100 Free

One final blog from the NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships. You'll hafta forgive me for not being lengthy (or maybe you'll be grateful?), but I've gotta be up at 4 a.m. to leave for the airport, which is only four hours from now, so I need to wrap things up here pretty quickly, so as my college roommate used to say after a near all-night of studying, I can sleep fast.

We've seen plenty of fast here in Indiana, with Lindsey turning in two personal and Davidson-best times in three swims. There were hopes of finaling in an event, but for Lindsey to finish 30th in the 50 free and 28th in the 100 free (in the whole country!) is really really awesome. And to set a new personal best in the 200 free, a race she doesn't love swimming, is pretty cool too. There was no disappointment amongst this crowd.

After her morning swim, we grabbed lunch at Chipotle (I'm pretty sure Lindsey's been thinking about Mexican food ever since we mistakenly thought we had discovered an On The Border Tuesday night) with Lindsey's parents and sister and headed back to the hotel for an afternoon of napping/studying/basketball watching.

We went back over to the finals, which came down to the final relay in exciting fashion. Florida finished as they needed to in third in the final 4x100 relay to win the 2010 NCAA Championship, and the Gators were chomping to "We Are The Champions." Seriously, great song.

Below, you'll see the video of Lindsey's final swim and one more interivew, where she discusses her race and her overall experience.

Thanks for following along on our journey. I've had a great time, and I hope that I have given you a little window into what it's like for a student-athlete to compete on the highest level. Looking forward to seeing what next year holds for Lindsey and Davidson swimming (John already wants a 160-page media guide like Auburn. So there goes my July.)