Men's b-ball falls in first round

The Geneseo men's basketball team saw its season come to an end on Tuesday Feb. 23, losing 75-59 to SUNY Oswego in the quarterfinals of the SUNYAC Tournament. They ended the season with a 17-9 record.

Junior guard Justin Ringen led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds, but the Oswego Lakers were propelled to victory by a huge second-half push. They outscored the Knights 47-26 in the second half and at one point went on a 21-0 run.

“In the second half, some of our effort just wasn't there,” Ringen said. “Obviously it mattered that [junior guard John] Decker wasn’t there, and we didn’t have [junior forward] Nick [Fessenden] or [sophomore guard Charlie] Zaepfel. We were sticking with the game plan, but our effort wasn't there.”

Decker is the Knights second-leading scorer this season, averaging 18.8 points per game. Decker suffered a lower leg injury in practice the night before the team took on Oswego, keeping him from playing the game. Fessenden and Zaepfel have both been out for a while, a huge negative considering they were in the starting lineup to start the season. Without these three players, the pressure mounted for the rest of the roster.

“It puts a lot of pressure on me, but also the other guys who have to step up and replace [Decker],” Ringen said. “Guys like [sophomore guard Kevin] Crockett, [senior guard Connor] Keenan. It’s me, but it’s also the whole team that has to step up.”

Before the game, head coach Steve Minton emphasized the importance of stopping Oswego junior guard Brian Sortino, who is averaging 19.8 points per game. Sortino played all 40 minutes and finished with 23 points and five assists.

“Sortino, I think, is probably the best player in the league,” Minton said. “We'll find that out in a week when the voting gets done. He was a first-team All-Conference player last year and he always plays well against us.”

One positive to take away from the season is that most of the team will be back come next year. The three top scorers—Ringen, Decker and Crockett—will all be back. Those three alone combined for 50.8 points per game. The Knights were a young group this season and should come back more experienced next year.

“Freshman guard CJ Burke has been playing a lot more in the second half of the year and he's going to have to step up next season,” Ringen said. "We have a young team and a lot of guys got minutes off the bench, so it's good looking forward to next year because we'll have a lot of guys with some experience already."

On the other hand, there are a few veterans who are expected to graduate. Keenan started all 26 games, while senior guard Kevin Zabransky appeared in 21 games and played a pivotal role off the bench. For those who won't be back to make another playoff push, Ringen had a message to give.

“For having a team full of young guys and guys who are new to the program, thank you for making the transition smooth and easy for us and for showing us the way and making the season as successful as it was,” he said. “We couldn't have done it without them.”

Men's basketball hot going into winter break

The Geneseo men's basketball team recently finished off their fall semester with a third place finish in the Wendy's College Classic Tournament from Dec. 2–Saturday Dec. 5 after defeating Nazareth College 83-81, losing to Roberts Wesleyan College 85-82 and prevailing over the Rochester Institute of Technology 91-80 in the third-place game.

Junior guard Justin Ringen was a first-team all-tournament selection after averaging 27 points and seven rebounds per game for the three matches. He also made the game-winning shot against Nazareth, hitting a three with 2.9 seconds left on the clock.

“He is an amazing shooter and a guy who can just get going," head coach Steve Minton said. “Against Nazareth, he was 7-of-8 from three, which is pretty unheard of. That's just crazy good. But he scores in so many different ways—we can post him up, he can drive to the basket or he can shoot threes.”

Heading into 2016, the Knights are 6-1 and have been dominant throughout the opening stretch of the season. Minton's team is operating at an above average pace, scoring 86.1 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting from the field and an impressive 44.9 percent shooting from three-point range. Ringen alone has shot 27-of-48 from behind the arc—56.3 percent.

The Knights' record so far doesn't mean much for the playoff picture since the only conference opponent they’ve faced—SUNY Morrisville—is just an affiliate member of the SUNYAC. The team's success has been dependent on the play of several key players. One such player is sophomore point guard Charlie Zaepfel, who is averaging a team-high 5.9 assists and only 2.1 turnovers per game.

“Charlie [Zaepfel] has a knack for finding the right guys in transition. What he does better than anyone else we've got is get deep into the paint,” Minton said. “At that point, he's got a big to dump the ball off to or some three-point shooters with Ringen, [sophomore guard Kevin] Crockett and [junior guard John] Decker that he can find.”

A lot of the Knights' offensive success in recent games—particularly against RIT—has been through the use of quick sets. The team practices running quick sets in a half-court offense to get off a fast shot, usually with two options. One option is perimeter-oriented and is usually focused on a shooter such as Decker, Crockett or Ringen, while the other option can be a post-up involving either Ringen or senior forward Nick Fessenden.

“Nick [Fessenden] has shot the ball very well. I think he was 8-of-12 in our last game,” Minton said. “A lot of that came from penetration and dumping it off. He also got some rebounds and put-backs as well, but I think the guards have done a good job of finding him when they've penetrated.”

As the Knights move forward in preparation for the spring semester conference games, they will continue to practice those quick offensive sets while ramping up efforts on defense and the boards.

“I think the things we're going to try to fine tune are the quick sets that we run—which is mostly about timing and screening—and also defense and rebounding,” Minton said.

The team's first game of 2016 will be at home against SUNY Fredonia on Jan. 5.

Club tennis looks to gain recognition with competitive schedule

Although the Geneseo club tennis team has been around for a while, the team has become more organized this season, having just won a tournament hosted by Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Geneseo prevailed over not only the host, but also other participants such as Binghamton University, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Brockport and Clarkson University. It was the team's first tournament of the year, but there should be more to come during the spring semester.

"For the spring semester, we're planning to utilize some courts in the area and we have some tournaments scheduled as well," senior Alexandra Dananberg said.

Dananberg noted that the team has already been in contact with club teams at SUNY Cortland and Ithaca College about future tournaments.

Although club tennis cannot be compared to varsity tennis in terms of competitiveness, that is precisely the reason that the club is gaining popularity.

"I get to work on my form and just compete," junior Veronica Skolnick said. "It's nice to have something that's not as competitive as varsity tennis, but something where you still get to play and meet new people."

Some of the members are former varsity athletes who have been playing tennis for many years. The club gives them the chance to compete at a semi-competitive level.

"I've been playing tennis for quite a long time and I transferred here, so at my community college, I actually played junior college tennis," senior Ali Krowiak said. "I still wanted that competitive aspect like my other counterparts did."

Team captain junior Justin Bunyan runs three practices per week during the warm seasons, organizing drills to keep the team in form. Although many members are playing at either an intermediate or advanced level, the club is open to anyone.

"We also accept beginners," Skolnick said. "That's why we like club tennis: because it's for all levels and it's more relaxed."

As for the team's top performers in practice and during the tournaments, there's a long list. Some of the team's best players are freshmen who may continue to the development of the club, such as freshmen Jimmy Anania and Harrison Hipolito. Other top performers include Bunyan and sophomore Kevin Zablonski.

Because the club has gone through periods of inactivity in the past, the officers are hoping that the current underclassmen will continue to establish the club as an active organization on campus.

"This is the first year we've really established ourselves on campus," Dananberg said. "We're definitely going to play more tournaments and get our name out more. We'd like to establish the underclassmen so they can continue to keep it going."

As they work to improve the team's reputation, the team members also recognize that a lot of progress has already been made in the last couple years.

"It wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I decided to take action and make it into a more uniform club with more competitions,” Skolnick said. “I'm so proud of where it's come because I never even expected to go to a tournament, let alone beat six other schools. I'm really proud of the team and everyone who's joined. I've made a lot of good friends and it's been a really fun experience."

Men's basketball undefeated through five games

The men's basketball team remains undefeated at 5-0 after the season's opening weeks, coming off a 81-78 win against Alfred University, an 88-63 win against Misericordia University and an 89-65 victory over SUNY Morrisville. After the wins against Alfred and Misericordia, the Knights were crowned champions of the McCarthy Tire Laurel Line Tournament on Nov. 21, with junior guard Justin Ringen taking Most Valuable Player honors. The victory over conference affiliate opponent Morrisville was the team's first home game of the season.

What is most impressive about the team's torrid start is that the two most recent wins—both blowouts—were accomplished largely without junior guard and leading scorer John Decker. Playing just 18 minutes against Misericordia and sitting out against Morrisville due to the flu, Decker scored a combined 68 points in the Knights' first two games.

Head coach Steve Minton noted that while not having Ringen on the court could have been problematic, the rest of the players stepped up to the challenge. “That was a little nerve-wracking. But Justin [Ringen] has played well all year and he's a tough match up for people because he can score inside or outside,” he said. “[Sophomore guard] Kevin Crockett stepped up also. We've got several different guys that are capable of stepping up.”

Ringen is now averaging 22 points and six rebounds per game with 49.2 percent shooting from the field and 48.1 percent shooting from three-point range. He has carved out a role as one of the team's top performers, as his size allows him to battle inside the paint while his shooting stroke makes him a threat from beyond the perimeter.

Meanwhile, Crockett is averaging 12.5 points per game with 45.5 percent shooting from three-point range. Already, 22 of Crockett's 35 total field-goal attempts through four games have been threes.

Last season, the Knights were able to base their success on size. But with the graduation of 2014-15 All-American forward Gordon Lyons ‘15, Minton's team has adapted by embracing a faster pace as well as more constant three-point shooting. The Knights are currently taking 24 threes per game and are connecting on those at an astounding 41.7 percent rate. Additionally, crisp passing has led to offensive success for the past few outings.

“Before, we were trying to fit the square peg into the round hole,” Minton said. “Now, we've completed passes a lot better and tried not to always make the perfect pass."

Despite the team's collective penchant for perimeter shooting, the size has not disappeared. So far, the Knights are outrebounding opponents by an average of over 11 boards per game—a striking disparity. Senior forward Nick Fessenden and freshman forward Jack Manke are to credit for that, but so are guards such as Decker and sophomore Charlie Zaepfel.

“What I feel the best about is not just what Nick [Fessenden] and Jack [Manke] have done, but also that Charlie [Zaepfel] and John [Decker] are both averaging five rebounds per game,” Minton said. "There's a couple long rebounds here and there, but there's been a lot of times in these four games where I've seen John [Decker] and Charlie [Zaepfel] both go up and grab it.”

On the road again, the Knights play their next game against Nazareth College on Wednesday Dec. 2. With everything working out well so far, the coaches feel confident sticking with the game plan.

"The only changes we will make will be subtle and scouting-dependent," Minton said.

Decker's 34 points leads Knights

The Geneseo men's basketball team opened its regular season with an 89-85 victory at Medaille College on Saturday Nov. 14. Junior guard John Decker led the way with 34 points and 10 rebounds while junior guard Justin Ringen contributed 22 points. Of the team's 89 points, 85 came from the starting rotation.

"It's obviously a good start to get off to, especially on the road," head coach Steve Minton said. "We weren't without our transgressions defensively and we obviously turned the ball over way too much, and you're not going to beat too many teams doing that. That—along with some defensive transition—will continue to be major points of emphasis moving forward this week."

Decker was the Knights' undisputed leader against Medaille, scoring 34 points in 38 minutes on 9-of-20 shooting from the field. Decker is a transfer student from Dominican College where he played Division II basketball. He appeared in 27 games for Dominican during the 2014-15 season and averaged 7.9 points per game. Decker's performance against Medaille does not come as a surprise—he was dominant in the team's two preseason scrimmages as well.

"It was hard for me to—at any point—justify taking him off the court," Minton said.

The Knights scraped by with a victory despite committing 23 turnovers compared to Medaille's 10. Leading scorers Decker and Ringen combined for 14 of those turnovers.

"They're both great players, but they tried to force the issue a bit too much," Minton said. "With Justin [Ringen], we'll talk about his ball handling and trying to take on too much responsibility there. With John [Decker], he played a lot of minutes and got pretty tired. I'm not too concerned."

Although the Knights are a relatively small, perimeter-oriented team, they won their first game largely through rebounding and getting to the free-throw line. Geneseo outrebounded Medaille 51-33 and shot 22 more free throws than its opponent.

"We really did a good job—[sophomore guard] Charlie [Zaepfel] and John [Decker] in particular—of attacking the basket," Minton said. "We had some transition opportunities that led to fouls. We want to attack the basket and see what's there and, if there's nothing, hopefully find someone on the perimeter to kick it out to."

The rebounding came largely from the bench, as 6-foot-7 senior forward Nick Fessenden and 6-foot-6 freshman forward Jack Manke combined for 14 rebounds in just 26 minutes of playing time.

"It was very encouraging," Minton said. "I watched the film and I think a lot of those rebounding opportunities for us came from our perimeter guys doing an outstanding job of blocking out. They weren't necessarily the ones to secure those rebounds, but keeping their man from getting in there allowed Nick [Fessenden] and Jack [Manke] and Justin [Ringen] and John [Decker] to grab rebounds."

One potential point of concern is that the bench only contributed four points in the victory. Minton noted that he remains positive, however, that members of the second unit will have the opportunity to step up in the future as the team searches for a consistent scoring punch off the bench.

"Some guys who would normally get some minutes there lost out," he said. "I think there will be more bench minutes moving forward and there are a couple of guys that could step up."

The Knights' next game will be on Friday Nov. 20 against Alfred State College in the first round of the Laurel Line Tournament in Pennsylvania.

Buffalo State earns Diversity award, Geneseo aims to follow

For the third straight year, Buffalo State College has received a Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award from INSIGHT into Diversity magazine, leading to questions about the role that diversity currently plays within the Geneseo community. The magazine—which is the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in all of higher education according to their website—also recognized the entire SUNY system. Buffalo State, however, was the only specific institution to receive the award. The magazine cited its commitment to diversity through social justice conferences, faculty research efforts and partnerships with local communities and programs targeted toward first-generation and low-income students.

According to Title IX coordinator and assistant to the president for diversity and equity and affirmative action director Adrienne Collier, Geneseo has made changes in many of its multicultural programs.

“We have had the president’s commission on diversity since 1998, we’ve had the Promoting Awareness Toward Harmony awards since 1998, we have the president’s annual lecture on diversity, we have Cultural Harmony Week, we have numerous cultural clubs and organizations and we have Real World Geneseo,” she said. “We have a wealth of diversity programming.”

According to Assistant Dean of Students for Multicultural Programs and Services Fatima R. Johnson, issues of climate and atmosphere are still prevalent on campus. “In the residence halls, most of what we see are remarks on whiteboards or offensive comments or jokes,” she said.

Johnson’s primary responsibilities are working with students from underrepresented backgrounds and creating programming that can support a more welcoming atmosphere where all students can feel appreciated.

“You have to have a welcoming climate in order to recruit and retain high-quality faculty, staff and students who feel comfortable living, working and learning in this environment,” Collier said.

Collier emphasized that this is not an issue whose burden lies with any one particular group and that all students, faculty and staff should be able to come together.

“We all have biases. Often times, I think some diversity programming can be put out there as if it’s an ‘us vs. them’ scenario, but it’s important to be self-aware of where you are on the continuum of diversity,” Collier said. “Sometimes you need to recognize that you’re operating from a place of bias and must self-reflect and check those biases. In order to have an environment that is very welcoming, we all have to participate in the process.”

While Collier and Johnson try to produce change from within the administration, students such as Support, Educate & Embrace Diversity co-presidents junior Laura Brown and senior Alex Nealis attempt to actively engage students in the process.

“Students can help by going to clubs outside of their realm,” Brown said. “If you are not black, you can still go to [the Black Student Union] and learn about things that you wouldn’t have realized before. I’m not Latina, but I’m going to [the Latino Student Association] as much as I can because I want to learn about those communities.”

SEE Diversity was inspired by the program Real World Geneseo, which was founded in 2008 and is currently run by Johnson and Susan Norman. Each spring semester, 30 students travel to Rochester where they learn about forms of oppression—including sexism, racism, ageism and ableism.

“We’re going into communities where people are really challenged to think about their preconceived ideas and the way in which they interact with the people there,” Johnson said. “You’re thinking seriously about who you are and who you want to become.”

“I’m really looking forward to collaborating with faculty and any other clubs that wish to see us,” Brown said. She added that she expects to see more collaboration between cultural organizations to produce a larger effect.

“Just because you’re the psych club doesn’t mean that you can’t collaborate with BSU or the Japanese culture club or with SEE Diversity,” Brown said. “The world is so diverse and intersectional and we shouldn’t be afraid to branch out to each other.”

Geneseo Nursery School starts fundraiser to avoid shutdown

The Geneseo Nursery School is conducting an online fundraiser in an attempt to keep its academic and social programs running through June 2016. This fundraiser has a goal of $5,000; since its creation on Sept. 2, the nursery school’s GoFundMe page has raised over $1,900. Donations go toward paying for classroom supplies, space rental costs and personnel. The school was founded by the Geneseo branch of the American Association of University Women and has served young children in the community since 1961. President of Geneseo Nursery School’s board of directors Amanda Marino, interim Milne Library director and treasurer of the Geneseo Nursery School Kate Pitcher and membership coordinator Meggan Holzwarth all signed the GoFundMe page.

“We had a student volunteer in the classroom last year who had mentioned setting up a GoFundMe page,” Pitcher said. “We didn’t really pursue it, but this year because of our dire financial situation, we explored it and found that it’s a nice technological way to reach out to more people.”

According to Pitcher, the nursery school was able to raise over $1,000 through raffles and parent donations during the 2014-2015 school year. That, however, was over the course of 12 months. The current online fundraiser has proven to be more effective, but the school also faces more intense financial circumstances.

“There are more options for parents,” Pitcher said. “There are several different preschools in the area and there are also changing demographics. There are fewer children in the area than there used to be. Our enrollments have dropped significantly,” Pitcher said.

The nursery school offers one class for 3-year-olds and one for 4-year-olds. In the past, there have been as many as 36 children between the two classes. Now, those classes have a cap of 20 total children.

According to Pitcher, early childhood education can be taken for granted by adults and students alike in the Geneseo community. “We talk a lot about academic achievement at Geneseo, but early childhood is when kids are first developing literacy skills,” she said. “They’re learning to love going to school. They’re embracing reading as well as interaction with teachers and other children.”

Pitcher added that student volunteers in the classroom are always welcome. “This is a chance for students to give back to the local community,” she said.

Jennifer King—a professor in Geneseo’s Ella Cline Shear School of Education—also emphasized the importance of early childhood education.

“There’s a large body of research that tells us that early childhood education is vital to children’s literacy and other development throughout the rest of their schooling years, as well as their success in school moving forward,” she said. “It’s vital that we provide that for our youngest children, because if we don’t, we’re already leaving them behind.”

The nursery is also a cooperative school, meaning that it relies heavily on parental involvement in order to operate. According to King, that should not be overlooked.

“It’s really important to have that mutual partnership between parents and teachers,” she said, “And to realize that learning takes place across those contexts from a very young age.”

Though there is still work to be done, the board members have already posted two updates to the GoFundMe page expressing their gratitude for all of the donations received thus far.

“The response that we’ve gotten has been amazing,” Pitcher said. “It’s been really, really heartwarming.”u

Men's Soccer kicks off season with three wins

The Geneseo men’s soccer team is off to a hot start this fall, having won its first three games against the University of Rochester, Hiram College and Penn State Behrend. The Knights shutout Rochester on Sept. 1 in front of 1,500 fans at the College Stadium. The soccer team had a grueling schedule to begin the season, playing their first three games in just six days. According to head coach Dominic Oliveri, however, the contribution from the bench was instrumental in guiding the team to victory. “We’re really deep with talent this year. I’m comfortable going with our bench and we’re 17 or 18 guys deep, which helps immensely,” Oliveri said. “I think I have a group this year where no matter who’s starting and not starting, I’m extremely confident that my rotational players will play the same.”

Defense was key for the Knights in their first few games, allowing just one goal versus all three opponents combined. Additionally, the team put up 17 total shots while allowing only 11 to the opposition.

“Our center-backs have played extremely well,” Oliveri said. “Seniors Chris Kanaval and Brad Campion lead by example and are two anchors of our defense. Logan Calvey is our senior goalie and he sees the whole field, and that’s a big factor for us.”

Kanaval, Campion and Calvey are all veterans on a roster that includes 13 underclassmen. Calvey alone contributed 10 saves in the team’s first three matches. The Knights have also spread offensive production around with all four goals coming from different players. Despite that production, Oliveri still expects more.

“Four goals in three games is OK, but I know that we could have gotten a couple more goals in each game,” he said. “I think a little more confidence in front of the frame would help.”

The upcoming portion of the schedule will undoubtedly challenge the Knights––their next test includes four consecutive road games. The Knights won’t play again at the College Stadium until Sept. 25 when they face SUNY Fredonia and Oliveri understands that this current stretch carries a lot of significance.

“We’re in the middle of playing six consecutive games on the road,” he said. “I said during our preseason meeting that this seven-game stretch would dictate our season leading up to conference play, and so far so good. We just have to keep our focus.”

It may be tough to spend so much time traveling and playing in front of opposing crowds, but Oliveri remains confident.

“I think there’s more concentration when you leave campus,” he said. “I think they’re away from their friends and it’s strictly books and soccer when on the road. They’ve handled the first week extremely well and in the next couple weeks, I don’t see anything significant changing.”

The Knights’ next game is at Clarkson University on Friday Sept. 11.