Knight of the week: Jeff Doser

For some athletes, Geneseo is the perfect combination of challenging academics and successful athletics. Such is the case for sophomore freestyle swimmer Jeff Doser—the Geneseo men’s swim team allows for Doser to strive both academically and in the NCAA.

While he maintains a double major in biology and mathematics, Doser is also breaking records for the swim team. These kinds of athletes are usually very successful, as being part of a varsity team and pushing themselves academically requires certain organizational and disciplinary skills—both of which Doser managed to figure out early on in his college career.

Doser grew up just outside of Rochester in Penfield, New York, where his swim career began approximately seven years ago. Being the youngest of four children, Doser was very much influenced by his older siblings—especially his oldest brother—when it came to swimming. His two older brothers encouraged Doser to try the sport for himself, resulting in what was soon to be a very successful swim career. Doser was the captain of his high school swim team and he also swam for a club team. He also swam for the Section V state team for three years.

With so many varsity athletes on campus, being selected to represent your team as a whole is very impressive. Doser was selected this year to represent the men’s swim team as a member of the Geneseo Student Athlete Advisory Committee. In SAAC, select players of each varsity team go to discuss topics such as issues among student athletes and what can be done within the Division III rules to resolve these problems. Being selected for this demonstrates that Doser has notable leadership qualities and that he is capable of making a difference within the Geneseo athletic community.

Doser’s events on the swim team include the 50, 100 and 200-meter freestyle swim, all of which he is successful in. Doser expressed his belief that he has been able to help the team become stronger in these events, particularly because of the close relationship the men on the team have.

“I think that the 100 and 200 free are weak spots on the team, but I believe that I have helped fill that spot,” he said. “I also think that we all work together really well on relays. We are a close group and being as close as we are helps us go faster during meets.”

Having such a strong bond with teammates has not only helped the team collectively, but has helped Doser personally. With support and encouragement from teammates, Doser’s personal goals of continuing his victories in dual meets, placing in all three of his events at the SUNYAC Tournament and ultimately swimming his way to nationals become even more attainable.

With his achievements so far—and his level of motivation and positivity—Doser has a very high probability of achieving his dreams during the 2015-2016 swim season.

Blue Wave look strong with 5-0 start

The Geneseo men’s and women’s swim teams have maintained a very impressive record through the beginning of their season. Currently 5-0, both teams are in great shape for the remainder of the season.

Head coach Paul Dotterweich expressed that he has a lot of optimism in regards to the future of the Blue Wave. “I would anticipate that, this year, we would be the favorite to win again on both sides,” he said. “This level of confidence will allow for the team to keep up their hard work, as they know how successful their results will be.”

As with any other team, having a good chemistry amongst the swimmers is essential. Dotterweich summed up this year’s team chemistry in one word: “awesome”—and this proves to be true when looking at their overall team statistics from this season so far.

“I figured out many years ago that team chemistry is really important. Even though it is not a team sport where we are relying on chemistry on game day, I think the chemistry of the team is so important in terms of the athlete’s motivation to perform, their motivation to come work hard at practice,” Dotterweich said. “And with recruiting, I think it is equally as important to find new athletes with our culture and that are going to buy into athletes, as opposed to finding athletes who are just good athletes.”

Having teammates who get along will make all the difference in any sport and while swim may be relatively individualistic, it is still very necessary. The new members of the swim team have made a positive contribution to the overall atmosphere of the team, as they exude positivity and enthusiasm during practices and meets. Dotterweich explained that this is exactly what he searches for during the recruiting process.

“We won’t sacrifice a person’s value or where they fit in on the team for talent,” Dotterweich said. “I would rather take the person that fits into our team’s culture and values over the person who is a slightly better athlete and does not fit into the culture and values because I think, ultimately, those athletes will do better in the end.” This theory has proven to work out very well for Dotterweich, as he has had a tremendous amount of success throughout his 15 seasons of being the head coach for the Blue Wave here at Geneseo.

After earning the SUNYAC title for both the men’s and women’s team last year for the 10th time, it seems very feasible for the team to do it an 11th time. Dotterweich explained that the athletes are already ahead in terms of times during their events in comparison to this point last year—providing hard evidence that the team has improved since last season.

With their chemistry, talent, hard work and coaching staff, the Geneseo swim team has everything working in their favor to result in a rewarding season.

Field hockey falls short of SUNYAC title

The Geneseo field hockey team had previously expressed their confidence about earning the SUNYAC title going into the SUNYAC Tournament, but they fell to SUNY New Paltz with a 2-1 loss in the SUNYAC semifinal on Wednesday Nov. 4. The women had a very intense season that proved to be successful, however, up until the final game.

Having only three losses throughout October, the Knights went into the semifinal at third place in the SUNYAC standings. They had a solid start to the game against New Paltz, too. Sophomore forward Diana Ruggiero put them on the board during the first half of the game, giving them an advantage going into the second half. By the 54th minute in the second half, however, New Paltz tied up the game at 1-1 and then shortly after put away their second goal, allowing them to take the win.

Even though they may not have won the game, the Knights still left the tournament with several accomplishments—both individually and as a team. This was the women’s sixth consecutive time in the SUNYAC Tournament, demonstrating how hard they have worked these past few years. For senior goalkeeper Dayna Mercer, this was an impressive way for her to end her field hockey career—she made 14 saves for final record of 474 saves throughout these last four seasons.

While this season is now over, head coach Jess Seren pointed out how far the players have come as a team. One of the key things that Seren worked on throughout the season was bettering her players both as athletes and as teammates.

“Our goal going into each season is to focus on improving each day. We want our players to be committed to the process of getting better after every practice and every game,” Seren said. “Looking back to August when we started, it's extremely satisfying to see how much this team has transformed and grown on the field because of their dedication and work ethic throughout this season.”

After welcoming such a large amount of freshmen, it could have been a difficult season, but Seren and the upperclassmen’s leadership contributed immensely to the team’s success. The Knights’ new players will allow them to start off next season very strong, especially considering they already have a great team dynamic.

“We are graduating five incredibly talented players and leaders this year, so we will use our spring season to get an early read on the new dynamic our 2016 season will present us with,” Seren said. “Having a solid core of skilled returners leaves us feeling very optimistic and excited to build on our success [that] these five seniors have worked hard to achieve throughout the course of their four years with us.”