Fortunately, the College Basketball Conference Tournaments condense seasons into one the most competitive and entertaining weeks in sports.

In the Big East Conference Tournament, fans pack Madison Square Garden to watch the Gerry McNamaras of the world carry their 10^th seeded teams to the title game on pure heart and determination. Rivalries are taken to a new level as team’s match up for the third time.  Emotions run high, and fans are given a reason to cheer. Mediocre teams are given a reason to play hard all season long, even when they only have 5-7 conference records in February.

For mid-major teams a conference tournament is like a mini-March Madness. A season is compressed into a win or go home format, and excitement and player determination is higher than in any other part of the season. I mean let’s be honest, how much excitement can you build up if you were to crown a conference champion based on regular season wins and losses? Where’s the hype? Where’s the Cinderella story? Where’s the number two team getting the chance to square off against the favored number one? Where’s the sense of urgency?

The NBA is struggling to find a way to make teams like the Knicks and Timberwolves play hard all season long.  But can you blame the players?  I wouldn’t be closing out on the defense when my team is 20 games out of 8^th place.

ESPN writer John Hollinger has proposed a NBA playoff  system where the 8^th through 14^th place teams in each conference would be thrown in a bracket and the winner would take the 8^th seed.

Although it might be a little ridiculous to include the words, “Golden State Warriors and playoffs” in the same sentence, this format would be a significant step forward.

College Basketball Conference tournaments have put meaning into a normally boring college basketball conference season.  Excitement is compounded, rivalries are heightened, and meaning is restored.

It’s time for other competitive sports markets to notice the superiority in the College Basketball Conference Tournaments and for once maybe we can actually care about the NBA before June.

Editor’s Note: This sports column is a regular feature from “The Nightcap” crew,  made up of Ari Zyskind, Ned Schooler, Nathan Barnett, Dan Campbell, and Kevin Shuai, a group of 5Cers who air a weekly radio talk show on KSPC. You can listen in online at KSPC.org (click “Hear us Online via Live365”) every Monday from 8-10 PM.

N.B.: The Nightcap is holding it’s very own, free, March Madness Pool. The winner will receive a collector’s item: a custom made, Nightcap t-shirt signed by the whole crew in addition to a 90 second, uninterrupted, rant on the show. If you are interested, e-mail Ari Zyskind at hzyskind12@cmc.edu or Nathan Barnett atnathansbarnett@gmail.com requesting an invitation to the pool.

Men’s Basketball

Stags basketball has picked up right where they left off after their SCIAC championship season by going 15-3 in division III play, including 8-1 (1st) in SCIAC play. Reigning SCIAC player of the year Chris Blees CM ’11 is averaging 18.5 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game to lead the team in both categories. The team had a huge win at Redlands for first place in the SCIAC last week. After blowing a 6 point lead with 1:09 to  play, the Stags rebounded in overtime to outscore the Bulldogs 16-8 and take sole possession of 1st place in the conference. The SCIAC champs have won 11 of their last 12 games, the lone exception being a tough 36-47 loss at Pomona-Pitzer two weeks ago in which the men made only 23% of their shots from the field. The team faces Cal Tech at home on Wednesday, then faces La Verne and Whittier, before a huge showdown at home vs. P-P a week from Saturday.

Women’s Basketball

The Athenas got off to a strong start this year, winning 9 of their first 11 games, but the conference schedule has been tough on the women. Aira Krumwiede CM ’12 was named MVP of the CMS-CalTech classic in late December, and has continued that torrid pace, averaging 14.5 points per game, shooting 36% from beyond the arc, and leading the team in steals. Cameron Hanson CM ’10 has been a dominant inside presence, shooting 57% from the field and grabbing 7 rebounds a game. They currently sit at 12-9, 3-7 in SCIAC (5th) with three games remaining, including a home game against P-P the same Saturday night as the men.

Nick Ostreim and the CMS swim team hope to repeat their success of last year. Photo Credit: Christopher Mitchell / Sport Shot Photo

Men’s Swimming & Diving

The two time defending SCIAC champion aquatic Stags once again have gotten off to a strong start in league play, besting CalTech, Pomona-Pitzer, Whittier, La Verne, Occidental, and Cal Lutheran before falling last Saturday in a tight one to Redlands. In the losing effort, Andrew Fevery CM ’13 and Garrett Smith CM ’11 won the 1m and 3m diving events, respectively, Brant Kersten CM ’12 set a pool record in the men’s mile, Nick Ostreim CM ’11 won the 200 backstroke event, and Vincent Pai HM ’12 set a pool record in the 200 breaststroke. The men will have a chance to avenge their loss at the SCIAC championships starting February 21.

Women’s Swimming & Diving

The seven time defending SCIAC champions have once again clinched an undefeated SCIAC record with their victory over Redlands this past Saturday. This past weekend, the Athenas dominated the 400 m relay, Carmen Lundell CM ’13 took 1st in both the 1m and 3m diving events, Whitney Dawson CM ’12 toasted the Bulldogs in the 1650, and Annie Perizzolo CM ’11 and Emma Jones CM ’12 both posted NCAA B-cut times in the 200 breast and 200 free respectively. Other event winners included Jones in the 100 free and Jenni Rinker HM ’11 in the 200 backstroke. Next for the Athenas are SCIAC diving prelims this Saturday and then SCAIC championships February 21st.

Andrew Cosentino (CMC JR) was named to the All-SCIAC first team for the second straight year. Photo Credit: Gary Stephenson.

Women’s Volleyball
A young team, graduating only one senior (Jamie Matusiak (CMC)) finished a rocky season at 14-15 overall and tied for 5th in SCIAC competition with a 6-8 conference record. Allie Macy (CMC JR) OH and Taylor Jones (CMC FR) S were named to the All-SCIAC second team.

Women’s Soccer
One of the most dominant seasons in Athena’s soccer included a nine-game winning streak, an undefeated SCIAC campaign, and a second straight SCIAC tournament title before falling in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament. Laura Hagen (CMC SR) was selected as SCIAC Player of the Year, leading the league in assists, and 2nd in goals scored.  First Team All-SCIAC selections included goalie Camila Friedman-Gerlicz (CMC SR), defender Stefanie Chan (CMC JR) and midfielder Nicole Sady-Kennedy (CMC SR). Defender Courtney Funk (SCR SR), midfielder Kirsten McAfee (HMC JR), forward Giselle Galanto (CMC SR) and utility player Julia Nishioka (CMC SO) were named to the Second team.  We finished 16-3-2 overall and 10-0-2 in SCIAC play.

Men’s Soccer
After a fourth place finish in the regular season, the Stags knocked off top seed Pomona and second seed Redlands to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. They continued their magic run in the NCAAs, winning at Santa Cruz before falling in the round of 32 to Whitworth.  Goalie Ryan Fahey (CMC SR), defender Tomislav Zbozinek (CMC SR), midfielder Michael Nguyentat (CMC JR), and forward Harrison Doyle (CMC FR) were named to the All-SCIAC first team. Midfielder David Taylor (CMC FR) was a Second Team All-SCIAC selection.  We finished 12-8-2 overall and 8-5-1 against SCIAC foes.

Football
After a 2-0 start, including the seniors’ first victory over regional rival Puget Sound, the Stags went into a mid-season funk, losing four of their next five games. However, strong performances by the defense, QB Pat Rooney (CMC SO) and DJ Lillard (CMC SR) helped the team win their final two games, clinching a winning season and retaining the Peace Pipe. First team SCIAC selections were running back DJ Lillard, linebacker Dan Picciotto, (CMC SR), and defensive back Brock Olson (CMC SR). Offensive tackle Matt Pautler, (CMC JR) and defensive lineman Rory Baird, JR, (CMC JR) were named to the second team. The Stags finished 5-4 overall and an even 3-3 in SCIAC play.

Men’s Cross Country
The men finished a strong season in 15^th at NCAAs after winning the West Region and SCIAC titles. All-Region honors for the men included Kramer Straube (HMC JR) 4^th, Brian Kopczynski (CMC JR), Florian Scheulen (HMC SR), Brian Sutter (CMC FR), Georgi Dinolov (HMC JR) and Matt Kurtis (HMC SR). First Team All-SCIAC selections were Straube, Kopczynski Kris Brown (CMC JR), and Sutter. Second Team All-SCIAC selections for the Stags were Scheulen, Kurtis, Dinolov, and Dillon Ayers (HMC JR).

Women’s Cross Country
The women finished 22^nd at NCAAs, besting conference rivals Redlands and Occidental in their final two meets, after finishing behind these two in the SCIAC championships   Jennifer Tavé (SCR SO) finished 27^th to become the first Athena All-American runner since 2005, also earning First team All-SCIAC honors and All-Region honors. All-Region honors for the women also included, Julia Rigby (SCR SO), and Breanna Deutsch (SCR SO). Rigby and Ashley Scott (CMC JR) were named to the All-SCIAC second team.

Men’s Tennis
Robert Erani (CMC SO) won the West Regional tournament and finished in 3rd place at the ITA nationals to earn All-American honors for the first time in his  budding career.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the NCAA West Region Meet across the street at Pomona. The Stags took first place honors as the only team with three runners (Kramer Straube (HMC JR) 4^th, Brian Kopczynski (CMC JR) 6^th, Florian Scheulen (HMC SR) 9^th in the top 10. This was the first West Region victory since 2001 for the Stags, and qualifies the team for NCAAs. The women finished a promising 3rd, rebounding from a disappointing performance at SCIACs by finishing ahead of 1st place Occidental and 2nd place Pomona-Pitzer, and qualifying for NCAAs. Jennifer Tavé (SCR SO) 2^nd, Julia Rigby (SCR SO) 11^th anchored the Athenas as they have all season. The D3 NCAA championships are being hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College in Cleveland, OH this Saturday, November 21. The men will look to improve on their 30th place finish from last year, and the women on their 20th place finish.

The men’s Water Polo team competed in the SCIAC tournament at home and had two big upsets before falling in the final. After a 10-8 victory over 4th seeded Cal Lutheran, the aquatic Stags drew the number one ranked team in division 3 in Whittier in the semi-finals. After falling behind 2-0 in the first quarter, the men rebounded to tie the score 3-all at the half. The back and forth game saw the Stags continue to jump ahead of the Poets, but it seemed as if Whittier had an answer for everything. However, after Whittier scored to tie the game at 5-5 in the fourth quarter, Greg Sanford (CMC JR) put the Stags up 6-5 on the ensuing possession. Whittier then brought the house on the Stags defense, not wanting to lose their undefeated season. The men held strong, shutting down the Poets, including a 6 on 5 advantage in the waning moments of the game, giving themselves a SCIAC final birth. Unfortunately the Cinderella run ended for the Stags in the finals, dropping a 4-2 tilt to Redlands in the SCIAC final.

Dan Picciotto and Brock Olson celebrate their win over Pomona-Pitzer. Photo credit: Gary Stephenson

In the Peace Pipe game, the Stags drew first blood on a 23 yd scramble by Patrick Rooney (CMC SO), but P-P responded, scoring twice to put the Sagehens up 14-7. At the end of the second half, the Stags drove 51 yards in two minutes, capped by a D.J. Lillard (CMC SR) Touchdown run, but the PAT was blocked, giving P-P a 14-13 advantage at halftime. After a pep talk by their coach, and and a pumped up 5c dance company performance, the Stags came back strong, with Mikey Hirokawa (CMC SR) catching a 39 yard TD pass after three consecutive P-P drives ended by interceptions, 2 by Brock Olson (CMC SR), and 1 by Dan Picciotto (CMC SR). After a two point conversion, the Stags went back up 21-14. P-P responded on their next posession to tie the game at 21, but Mikey Hirokawa returned a kickoff 73 yards to the P-P 3 yard line, and Nick Marineau (CMC SR) caught a Pat Rooney pass for the final score of the game. P-P threatened on their final drive, but could not get past the CMS defense. The Stags won the peace pipe for the third year in a row and finished with their first winning season since 2003 at (5-4, 3-3 SCIAC).

Olivia Sylvester (CMC FR) showed her strength as a multi-faceted midfielder.

After an undefeated SCIAC campaign, the women’s soccer team had high hopes for the NCAA tournament, where they had advanced to the round of 16 last year. The Athenas also faced the Banana Slugs but, as a higher seed than the men, had home-field advantage. Despite an early goal by the Slugs in the 6th minute, the Athenas showed composure as Julia Nishioka (CMC SO) tallied the equalizer off a Laura Hagen (CMC JR) pass just 8 minutes later. Camila Friedman-Gerlicz (CMC SR) was outstanding, stopping 11 shots on goal, and the defense held strong, continuing to give the Athenas chances on offense. Finally in the 63rd minute, SCIAC player of the year Laura Hagen (CMC JR) found the back of the net for the game-winner, as the defense clamped down to put the women into the round of 32 against Hardin-Simmons. Against the Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls, the Athenas again found themselves in a battle. The Athenas warded off the Cowgirl attack, including an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks in the first half, until the 44th minute, when Hardin-Simmons finally snuck one past Friedman-Gerlicz. The Athenas answered quickly in the second half, as Lizzie Van Buskirk (CMC JR) tied the game, but two goals within three minutes by the cowgirls was too much for CMS, and the Athenas’ season ended in a 3-1 defeat.

The Forum: How big is the regular season SCIAC championship for the team compared to being the fourth place team last year?

Keri Sanchez: I think you always want to host [the SCIAC tournament], I think home-field advantage in any sport is big, except so far with the women’s tournament, the first seed hasn’t won, so we are looking to be the first team to do that.

The Forum: Who do you see as the biggest competition in the SCIAC tournament?

KS: I think once you get to the tournament, any of the four teams can win. Redlands always plays us tough, we beat them in overtime away and had a good win over them at home, but Cal Lutheran tied us, and Oxy will be fired up to come after us. I think any time you play a team for a third time, it is tough to win.

The Forum: Which players would you consider the leaders of the team?

KS: I think we have a few, All of the seniors (Camila Friedman-Gerlicz, Giselle Galanto, Kelsey Rose, Nicole Sady-Kennedy, Courtney Funk), as well as Laura Hagen, our leading scorer, and Kirsten McAfee and Stefanie Chan have been strong all year as well. What is nice is that our team is so deep, and so some games it is different people stepping up, but our older players are definitely exhibiting the leadership needed to win the big games.

The Forum: What is your team’s X-factor?

KS: I don’t think we have a person that is our X-factor, our X-factor is our bench. When we sub in, we are as strong or stronger than when we started, so we get to keep putting in fresh bodies that are equally talented. So it’s not the same person every time, its different people, but overall our X-factor is our depth.

The Forum: How much of a role will experience play, as your team won the SCIAC tournament last year and made it to the round of 16 at NCAAs?

KS: I think that is huge, if you look at any of the top teams in the NCAA tournament, they are usually there consistently. I think the more experience that you have in big games, the better chance your team has to win, because a playoff game has a different sensation.

The Forum: Who is the top competition in the West outside of SCIAC?

KS: Puget Sound is always tough, leading the Northwest Conference, as are Trinity and Hardin-Simmons, and independent schools Chapman and UC Santa Cruz. Its always interesting because we are so spread out, and when the NCAA is trying to match up teams regionally, we [the west] tend to have some problems in getting teams in.

The Forum: Do you think your experience as a highly successful college player helps you when coaching?

KS: It always helps to coach players when you have been in their situation, and I know what they are feeling and what they are going through, I had a great college coach through those times, so I hope that my experience is bringing them a little bit of knowledge. I think it does help, but it is all about whether you can get your word across to your players.

The Forum: What do you see as the biggest games of the season so far?

I think our two come from behind wins, one of them over Redlands, and overcoming a lull in scoring, we had couple of ties, a loss to Chapman and had a close win over Oxy, which were some bumps in our road. But you always want to see how a team handles those moments, and it was really nice to see the team come through those times and find a way to tie and win games that we may have lost in the past.

The Forum: What do you see as the keys to repeating as SCIAC champions?

You know there is the famous quote “offense wins games, defense wins championships,” and the defense was a huge factor in us being able to go as far as we did last year. That is one of the things we are trying to work on is our Goals Against Average, and overall we have been doing a better job and we hope to continue that into the playoffs.

During our first weekend back from winter break, girl’s soccer coach Keri Sanchez and handful of student-athletes including Ashton Clarke, Helena Bottemiler, and Nicole Sady-Kennedy attended a Division III Student-Athlete Leadership Conference hosted by the NCAA. Our school’s SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) met (with several other Division III schools from all over the country) in Irving, Texas, to ultimately create a project to improve student-athlete and faculty relations.

Various issues concerning student-athletics were discussed including off-season practice times, sportsmanship, and student-athlete welfare. Some regulations gave some fall sports a few days to practice before their first games; others were forcing teams to practice without their coach and in some cases without a ball.

CMC’s SAAC ultimately focused on improving student-athlete and faculty relations which they determined was the most pressing issue they could adequately address given their one weekend stay. Our school’s SAAC felt that by helping facilitate better relations between athletes and their professors, they would also make progress in other areas like fan attendance and sportsmanship. To get a better understanding of the issues I spoke with SAAC candidate Nicole Sady-Kennedy.

She explained that the plan itself consisted of four main parts each designed to “generate faculty support.”

The first plan proposed by Coach Keri Sanchez would have a collective letter (as well as a letter from each coach) addressed to the faculty as a sign of goodwill and a pledge of support that would emphasize that each students coach “supports and acknowledges the academic aspect of the students life.”

The second idea is to have a student-faculty softball game in the spring, to give “students and professors a chance to bond outside of the classroom.” If non-athletes wished to participate they would also have the chance to play as well.

The next idea would be for each team to “adopt” a professor for the “all sports banquet.” This professor would ideally be on who supported the team, and the banquet would give the professor a chance to see “what his/her students has achieved outside the classroom” and be acknowledge and thanked for their support.

The last plan would make supporting events more family friendly. This fourth idea (which is already being implemented by the girl’s volleyball team) would let professors’ kids “take part in the huddles before the games and encourage them to sit on the bench and meet with the players.” The kids would also get CMC stag and Athena memorabilia to take home after the game.

At the conference our committee also participated in different psychological tests meant to help identify and learn about each individual’s different strengths and the strategies they should keep in mind while they lead ‘both on and off the field.” The two tests administered were the SLPI and DISC profile personality tests.

The way SAAC works is each school has a SAAC committee composed of student athletes that offer input on the rules, regulations, and policies governing their respective schools. They work with national-level SAAC committee workers who are in turn, “charged with the responsibility of assisting in the review of NCAA proposed legislation and representing the voice of the student-athlete in the NCAA governance structure.”