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A little healthy competition isn’t bad

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By: Abigail Frye
Twitter: @Abigail_EF
Email: fryea@findlay.edu

The University of Findlay Athletic Department hosted a dodgeball tournament for women’s sports teams on Sunday, Jan. 21. The games took place in Croy gymnasium from 1-3 p.m. with a multitude of teams participating in a battle for the trophy.

With the bleachers pulled out, and the clock set at 12 minutes for each game, the women’s swim, lacrosse, basketball, softball, tennis and soccer teams all competed for first place.

Jacelyn Litman, a junior lacrosse player and criminal justice major, was the driving force behind this new tradition. With a little help for setup from Lisa Liotta, the Assistant Athletic Director, the tournament was ready to go.

[It] gives them the opportunity to get to know other female athletes outside of their team in a different athletic venue,” said Liota. “A little healthy compeition isn’t bad.”

Litman says that the goal of the tournament was to get to know each of the other players and be able to all play in the same game for once.

“I really wanted to get to know the other athletes,” said Litman. “I wanted to be able to cheer on the other players personally at their games.”

The dodgeball tournament was deemed a success as many players were thankful for the opportunity, including Corrina Talamo, a fifth year early childhood education major and member of the swim team.

“This was a good way to bond women athletes,” said Talamo. “When we do something silly and everyone is laughing, that’s the best way to bond people.”

The winners of the tournament not only received bragging rights, but also a dodgeball trophy to commemorate their victory. The women’s basketball team came out on top and was undefeated throughout all of their games to earn the prize.

This was the first year for the dodgeball tournament, but as Litman and Talamo both agree, they’d like to see it again in coming years.

“I want to make it an annual game, and since everyone said they loved it so much, we might do it in the fall and spring,” said Litman.

With the success of this first competition, there is a chance that male athletes will be putting on their own tournament as well. Litman also described certain improvements for upcoming years, like making sign ups with a limit of how many players can be on one team, as the swim and lacrosse teams had to be split in order to make the groups more even.

“The only thing I would change is the day, since Sundays are busy for the swim team with meets on Saturdays,” added Talamo.

UF will definitely see another dodgeball tournament for student athletes in the future, considering the positive feedback that was received. “Overall, it went really well, everyone had a lot of fun and was really thankful for the chance to play,” said Litman.

UF hosts annual All Sports Day

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By: Olivia Wile
Twitter: o_wile
Email: wileo@findlay.edu

Though heavy snow was enough to cancel classes last Friday, Jan. 12, it wasn’t enough to discourage the Findlay community from coming out to participate in the University of Findlay’s annual All Sports Day.

While many students enjoyed their day off from classes on Martin Luther King Day last Monday, Jan. 15, the athletes at UF spent the day assisting eager kids ready to play, swim, and interact with some of their favorite players.

Sulli Sanders, a freshman tennis player at UF, says that she enjoyed the day.

“It gave us as athletes something to do on our day off,” said Sanders. “It was a really good experience in general. “

Athletic Director Brandi Laurita explains what All Sports Day is all about.

“All Sports Day is an opportunity for youth in grades K through five to try sports,” said Laurita. “It is definitely not a skills day, really just a day to expose kids to sports.”

Laurita says this event has been ongoing since before her ten years as Head Athletic Director at the University. As numbers were down this year at approximately 110 in attendance compared to last year’s 190, Laurita suspects the snow might have played a factor. “The snow days in schools may have prevented communication,” she said.

Tommy Schmock, a freshman basketball player at UF, explains what his team did during All Sports Day.
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“Our team had our freshman work the basketball part of the All Sports Day,” said Schmock. “It was the five players, myself, Anthony, Brady, Ethan, Corbin, and our manager Owen. We each worked a station for six minutes at a time of a different aspect of basketball and then rotated groups.”

Laurita explains how All Sports Day benefits everyone involved. “So this event is two-fold, said Laurita. “One, it is a fundraiser for the department. Two, I think that interaction is positive not for kids but also student athletes. It is a good way to give back.”

Schmock agrees with Laurita as he says enjoyed his first All Sports Day at UF.

“I loved it. It was great seeing kids you’ve never seen before admire you just for the sport you play and it was very humbling,” said Schmock. “It was also great to give back to the kids and help them out because we too were kids those days looking up to athletes wanting to learn the game. I had a blast doing it!”

Oiler Athletics maintain momentum

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By: Olivia Wile
Twitter: o_wile
Email: wileo@findlay.edu

It has been quite a controversial year for politics. From the election of President Donald J. Trump to the recent election in Alabama, the race for office remains interesting.

Last month, Doug Jones was elected senator of Alabama. This is the first time in over 20 years the state has named a Democratic senator.

In addition to the transition in power of political parties, the election also accumulated quite the controversy as sexual assault allegations emerged against Republican Candidate Roy Moore. However, University of Findlay Professor of History Mark Polelle, Ph.D explains that such claims were not the only influence on the election.

“I think the controversy definitely had to do with the sexual misconduct allegations against Moore,” Polelle said. “Even if these did not come up, Moore was already a controversial figure in Alabama.”

According to the Fox News article, “Roy Moore’s sexual assault allegations cloud Alabama special Senate election,” the initial allegations against Moore accused him of inappropriately touching a 14-year-old girl while in his 30s. This lead to additional women coming forward with their own sexual misconduct allegations against Moore.

Though being asked by multiple leading Republicans to step down from his campaign, President Trump and Former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon stood by him. Moore denied all claims and continued with the race.
“It seems that in the political arena, to say that something is not true is simply not good enough. So let me be clear. I have never provided alcohol to minors, and I have never engaged in sexual misconduct,” Moore remarked.
Along with Dr. Polelle, Fox states that Moore has been a controversial figure long before the allegations. In 2005, he stated that homosexual conducts should be illegal while also stating Muslims shouldn’t be able to serve in Congress. Moore also supported the claims that former President Barack Obama was not born in America.

As Jones went on to defeat Moore by about 20,000 votes, the question lies what will be next for the state of Alabama with this change in senate.

“The long-term significance is that the Bannon wing of the party is weakened while the McConnell establishment wing of the GOP is strengthened when it comes to picking GOP candidates to run,” Polelle explained. “Jones will be in office two years before he is up for re-election.”