Newton North shares

pool with Perkins

School for the Blind

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Lisa Cassidy/Daily News staff

Newton North Lauren Millione smiles as she swims in her lane with her goggles covered with tape during yesterday's exhibition with the Perkins School for the Blind.

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By Justin A. Rice/Daily News correspondent

Daily News Tribune

Posted Oct 29, 2009 @ 02:03 AM

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NEWTON — As much as yesterday's sixth annual exhibition meet between the Newton North girls swim team and the Perkins School for the Blind was about giving back, making friends and learning life lessons, there was also a practical and technical lesson for the Tigers to learn.

While North coach Kirsten Tuohy always asks her swimmers to count their strokes so they can work on reducing the number of strokes they take per length, she especially likes to reinforce that point at the Perkins meet - during which she blacks out her team's goggles with duct tape.

``You can really tell whose stroke is absolutely mechanical and maintains the same stroke count, and you can tell who swims with feeling, who swims emotionally vs. methodically,'' North senior captain Caeden Brynie said. ``Those swimming with a lot of emotion run into lane lines, whereas people counting strokes every flip turn is exactly the same, and they are usually in the middle of the lane.''

But, as always, the meet, in which the two schools race about 20 heats of the 50 freestyle, is more about making friends and realizing that the swimmers have more in common than they realize.

``No matter what disability someone has they are still a person and you still want to have a conversation with them about their favorite chocolate, whether they like milk chocolate or dark,'' Brynie said. ``Making friends is a universal thing. It's great lesson to learn.''

The swimmers are paired up before the meet starts and everyone introduces themselves to one another before anyone jumps into the pool. Afterwards, they share a pizza party.

``We just finished eating 25 pizzas,'' said Tuohy, noting that the Perkins team out of Watertown consists of about 30 swimmers. ``The first year they might've had 10 or 11 kids and now they have, consistently, right around 30 because they have the opportunity to swim against a regular high school team.

``It's a wonderful experience. I have students over the years head off to college and tell their coaches this is something they'd like to do.''

Tuohy doesn't exactly remember how the annual meet first got off the ground, but recalls a social worker in the school district setting it up.

``I had done volunteer work for the Easter Seals for 10 or 12 years and loved doing that, so I thought it would be a fabulous experience for my girls and, indeed, it was.

``It's a challenge for everyone. Certainly for my swim team it's a challenge not being able to see. It's something the girls haven't done before and it's very disconcerting. It's such a positive experience. I have people come back year after year to watch.''

For Tuohy, she gets a thrill out of seeing the Perkins students progress from year to year.

``It has evolved because their students are with them so long,'' she said. ``Some of their students are 8 or 9 years old, competing against a high school team. We watch them grow up, which is a lot of fun. We look forward to hearing things from them, seeing them move on and getting involved with different things and other sports - just getting to know them over the years.''

For North, which has one more dual meet left on Tuesday against Weymouth, the meet is also a chance to let their hair down before the stress of the postseason, which begins on Nov. 8 with the conference meet.

North has qualified all three of its relays for Sectionals and two of its relays for States. Hunter Hedenberg and Stephanie Brown qualified for Sectionals and States in diving, and Thao Bach has qualified for Sectionals and States in the 200-yard IM and in the 100 breaststroke. In the 100 fly, Zoe Talkin qualified for Sectionals.

``It's a fun change in pace and great social experience,'' Tuohy said. ``It's fun to see what other people are capable of doing and what kind of challenges we can step up to.

``It's really hard to maintain intensity, so this is a break and gets them excited, and gets them thinking about someone else. Typically, it is a little bit of a break and it's nice that this is still swimming.''

If the Tigers needed a reminder that they weren't only swimming for fun yesterday, they just needed to take a poll of who was counting strokes and who wasn't.

``I run into lane lines, I'm not gonna lie,'' Brynie said, ``but the thing is you have to realize to go slowly to go in a straight line, so I get the concept. In theory, I'm not as bad as some, certainly I'm not straight down the middle. ``It is a lesson about swimming and about seeing how much swimming is muscle memory and how we can do it without seeing.''

Winless Leafs Thinking Happy Thoughts

Northeast

Written by Justin Rice

Friday, October 23, 2009 12:47

Northeast Division notebook: With the lowly New York Islanders finally picking up their first win of the season Wednesday, a 4-3 shootout victory against Carolina, the Toronto Maple Leafs remain the only winless team in the NHL. But the mood around the Leafs remained upbeat Thursday as they left for a five-game road trip, including Saturday night’s game against the Canucks, who were 4-5 as of Friday. “It's all about staying positive,” defenseman Mike Komisarek told the Canadian Press. “It's easy to get caught up in the negativity if you follow what the media (are saying). You can’t let it get to you, you have to stay positive. The results haven't been there and you have to build somewhere -- and that starts in practice for us.” The 0-6-1 Maple Leafs flashed smiles and joked around with each other as they packed up for the road trip after wrapping up a four-day stretch of practice that Leafs coach Ron Wilson tried to keep lighthearted. Wilson reserved time for a 3-on-3 tournament during practice to try to pump life back into his team. But the big question mark remained: Would goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who went through his first full practice Thursday since injuring his groin on Oct. 6, return on Saturday? Wilson told a Toronto radio station that he had his “fingers crossed” that Gustavsson could play. “It's getting better and better,” Gustavsson told the Canadian Press. “I'm not sure about Saturday. We'll see what happens.” MONTREAL Center Glen Metropolit finally returned to the lineup on Thursday night after missing six games with a rib injury. He collected two assists in a 5-1 victory against the New York Islanders. … The win against the one-win Islanders was an ugly one. New York took seven penalties, turned the puck over 23 times and allowed Montreal to rifle 43 shots at goaltender Martin Biron. … Team president Pierre Boivin called for a Quebec hockey symposium on Thursday, noting that the province has had a tough time developing its youth players for the NHL. The speech came just after ex-NHL player Bob Sirois released a controversial book arguing that discrimination still exists in the NHL against French-Canadians. BUFFALO Starting the season 5-1-1, the Sabres are leading a charmed season thus far. Despite not scoring in the final two periods against Florida on Wednesday night, the Sabres still pulled out the victory -- because they registered five goals in the opening 20 minutes of the contest at Bank-Atlantic Center. “We weren’t ready to play,” Florida coach Peter DeBoer told the Miami Herald. ... Playing for the first time in eight days, Thomas Vanek returned from an upper-body injury to score a goal against the Panthers. ... Defenseman Toni Lydman missed practice Friday with a groin strain and could be replaced by Nathan Paetsch in the lineup Saturday in Tampa, the Buffalo News reported on its Sabres Edge blog. BOSTON Daniel Paille has taken quickly to his new home in Boston. After being traded by Buffalo on Tuesday he logged an assist in Boston’s 3-2 victory against Nashville the following day. “It was a little bit of a shock, but I'm also excited at the same time,” Paille told the Boston media after joining the team. “It was just to a point where I wasn’t playing in Buffalo, and Buffalo thought I deserved to play, whether it was with them or with someone else. They thought somebody else, and I'm more than happy to be here. It's exciting for me.” ... Paille is the first player ever to be traded between the two franchises. ... Brad Marchand was recalled from AHL Providence for Wednesday's game and picked up an assist in his NHL debut. OTTAWA The Senators were happy to leave with a point on Thursday night against Nashville after erasing a three-goal deficit in the third period. The 6-5 OT loss improved their record to 5-2-1, putting them tied in the points category (11) at the top of the division with Buffalo. ... G Pascal LeClaire (flu) and F Milan Michalek (upper-body) were doubtful for Saturday's game against Boston, the Ottawa Citizen reported. ... F Jesse Winchester was assigned to AHL Binghampton on Friday for conditioning. ... D Matt Carkner signed a two-year contract extension on Tuesday. ... Binghamton Sens forward Ilya Zubov, the club's leading scorer last season, was loaned to the Russian Kontinental Hockey League.

Bruins' 2018 draft pick lined up?

Headlines

Written by Justin Rice

Sunday, October 18, 2009 00:00

Northeast Division notebook: The Boston Bruins might not be giving fans much to cheer about on the ice — they were 3-3 heading into Saturday night's game in Phoenix — but Oliver Wahlstrom has. The 9-year-old has become a YouTube sensation after he scored a dazzling goal during an Oct. 4 “Mini One-on-One” tournament taped at TD Bank Garden. The goal, in which the Maine resident picks the puck up on the side of his blade, spins and then flicks it into the net, appeared on ESPN. It had received more than 300,000 views on YouTube by Saturday. The boy also appeared on the CBS Early Show on Friday. Wahlstrom told the Boston Globe he modeled the move after University of Michigan’s Mike Legg’s 1996 goal in which he carried the puck on his blade before popping it in the net. “I call it ‘The Michigan,’ ” he said. “I just dreamt it up.” MONTREAL Despite having seven men on the ice in the final moments of a 3-2 loss to Colorado earlier this week, the Canadiens couldn’t net the equalizer. The Habs sent out an extra attacker but, when Hal Gill’s penalty ended in the final minute, Gill remained on the ice and the officials didn’t realize the Canadiens had an extra man. ... A similar situation went down in Game 3 of the Staley Cup Finals last year when Pittsburgh had six skaters on the ice for 21 seconds before beating Detroit 4-2. … It does not appear that the team will discipline Georges Laraque for endorsing an alcoholic energy drink. The Canadiens enforcer appeared in an Internet ad for the drink Octane 7.0 — playing street hockey with scantily clad women — despite the fact the league prohibits players from sponsoring alcoholic beverages other than malt-based beverages, such as beer. The Habs say sanctions will have to come from the NHL, which has not commented on the issue. ... Prime Minister Stephen Harper helped unveil a set of commemorative stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Center on Saturday. He was accompanied by hockey legends Rejean Houle and Guy Lafleur and Habs president Pierre Boivin. TORONTO One of two winless teams as of Friday (the Islanders being the other), the Maple Leafs attempted to lighten things up during Thursday’s practice. Coach Ron Wilson introduced activities such as dodgeball with tennis balls and relay races. He also sent players through a length-of-the-ice gauntlet while the rest of the team shelled them with pucks. ... The Leafs did, however, get some good news this week: Thursday was also Phil Kessel's first day back to practice after an injury. ... And some bad news: defenseman Mike Van Ryn will have major knee surgery in late October, removing him from the lineup for the season and possibly ending his career. OTTAWA Milan Michalek collected a hat trick in the most spectacular fashion Thursday night, not just scoring once in each period of a 7-1 victory against Tampa Bay, but by scoring twice short-handed and once on a power play. ... Head coach Cory Clouston told the Ottawa Sun that defenseman Filip Kuba, who has missed five games with a groin injury, was to skate Saturday with an eye towards returning Thursday when the Senators host the Nashville Predators. ... Defenseman Anton Volchenkov had 18 blocked shots through Friday, tied for fourth in the league. BUFFALO The “upper body injury” sustained by standout winger Thomas Vanek kept him out of back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. Vanek left Wednesday’s 6-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings with 12:46 to go in the second period and did not return. After the game his coach, Lindy Ruff, said it was possible Vanek would be out for “weeks.” ... Ryan Miller ranked second among all starting goalies in goals-against average (1.58) and third in save percentage (.938) through Saturday. The Sabres' eight goals allowed through Saturday were the fewest in the league.

Rowing in a winter wonder land


By: Justin A. Rice, Eastern Mass. Regional Correspondent • 10/20/2009 7:00:00 AM

BOSTON — The Head of the Charles regatta normally indicates New England is in the heart of fall. That wasn’t the case on Sunday as a northeaster turned the river into a winter-wonder land.

The high school crews rowing in the world’s largest regatta, however, were lucky to get off the river before the annual autumn carnival turned into a white out.

“It was really strange, I am more used to nice foliage but the snow was interesting,” said Winsor School senior coxswain Erin Driscoll after steering her crew to a second-place finish in the youth women’s fours on Sunday, a few hours before two crews of international all stars calling themselves the Great Eights teamed up for the first time at the Head of the Charles. “That was amazing. That was probably one of my favorite crew events ever, especially to watch the Great Eights, that was awesome.

In the 45-year history of the world’s largest regatta, which drew 8,842 athletes, 1,884 boats and about 300,000 spectators over the weekend, it has only snowed two other times.

“It’s pretty crazy out there, no question,” said Lisa Stone, who coaches the Boston-based Winsor School. “I’m glad they rowed without the snow. They didn’t have to worry about hypothermia.”

Despite enduring a driving, sideways rain, the all girls’ school was one of the most successful Massachusetts high school crews on Sunday. The Winsor School’s crew in the women’s eights traveled the 3-mile upstream course in 18:27.104 for a 17th place finish.

In the women’s fours, the Winsor School boat — which consisted of junior Gianna Guarino, senior Lisa Luo, senior Katherine Ernst and senior Susannah Shipton in addition to coxswain Driscoll — started second in the race. They led the race briefly before finishing with a time of 19:38.29.

California-based Marina Aquatic Center Junior Rowing finished about three seconds faster than Winsor School.

“We raced our best race,” Driscoll said. “I honestly don’t think it had anything to do with us. Sometimes there are faster crews. It was not so much our being three seconds slower as they were three seconds faster.”

Winsor School, which led the race until the Riverside Bridge, just under one mile into the course, was also second in the same event last year. They were fifth in 2007 and also in the Top 10 the previous year.

“It was kind of a bummer,” Shipton said. “We were hoping for a win but you have to take everything in stride. A lot of crews don’t ever place as well as we did. We can be appreciative of that but it’s always nice to end with a win. But we’re grateful for what we have.

“It was definitely very dramatic. There was some wind, mostly it was cold. The cold was the problem. The rain is not so bad. It was mostly spraying on the powerhouse stretch where it probably was the windiest. It didn’t start snowing till later, it was just hailing when we went.”

Ryan Banks, who coaches the powerhouse Watertown-based youth program out of Community Rowing, Inc. (CRI), was also surprised by the snow.

“It was definitely unexpected,” Banks said. “I think we were definitely lucky because it was supposed to be real bad weather Saturday and Sunday. On one hand people were happy Saturday was nice all day but Sunday was definitely tougher.

“Forty mile per hour head winds definitely made for difficult rowing. I think everyone had a good time and enjoyed a different experience.”

For the first time in three years on Sunday, CRI did not win the youth women’s eights at the Head of the Charles. The boat filled by Priscilla Livingston, Maja Chelstowska, Rebecca Shaffer, Julijana Englander, Paige Madden, Alexandra Todorvic-Jones, Ali O'Connor, Jen Stockwood and cox Caroline Kiritsy finished second.

“They’ve had a good year, they’ve won five out of the last six or seven years so they’ve done really well and they continued in that tradition, which is great,” Banks said of his youth women's eights, which submitted a time of 17:31.626, about six seconds slower than Maritime Rowing Club. “I am sure they were disappointed. They want to win every year. Every year its different competition and that boat that did win was a very strong crew, they had a good race.”

CRI — which had more boats (29) racing over the weekend than any other club — also had 11 other youth crews racing, including in the women's double. Rae Taylor-Burns and Madeleine Johnson finished eighth in that race with a time of 21:42.214. CRI's youth men’s eights had a sixth place finish with a time of 15:58.060.

Another notable youth performance from a Massachusetts’ team was submitted by the Wayland-Weston Rowing Association, which finished eighth in the youth women’s eights in a time of 17:53.802 and 15th in the youth men’s eights (16:16.668).

In the end, however, the 2009 Head of the Charles will be less remembered for what times the rowers rowed than for what they rowed through.

“Yeah definitely [the snow] will be something people talk about as well as the Great Eights,” the Winsor School’s Shipton said. “That’s also a big deal for the river too. That’s nice publicity; it’s nice they were able to pull those boats together.

“With this regatta definitely comes just sort of a mystic. There’s something about the Head of the Charles, it’s the biggest regatta in the world. There’s something about it that can’t be matched.”

Globe South Sports

Dancer turned to crew

and never looked back

A dedicated ballerina throughout her childhood, Jenne Daley of Cohasset learned to row while at Boston University.

By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / October 18, 2009

Earning bit parts in Boston Ballet’s annual production of the “Nutcracker,’’ Jenne Daley was a picture of style and grace as a young ballerina.

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The same could not be said about her form as a rower when she walked onto the Boston University crew after graduating from Cohasset High in 2005.

“I’m sure I did not look pretty my freshman year, but in a lot of ways the focus is similar to dance,’’ recalled the 22-year-old Daley, who had never put an oar in the water before attending BU.

This afternoon, she will row the Head of the Charles Regatta for the fourth time, but her first as a member of the prestigious Philadelphia-based Vesper Boat Club. Daley will compete in the women’s lightweight eights race, continuing her quest to row on the women’s national team.

And she credits her background as a ballerina for her sculling success.

“Ballet and rowing are obviously different, but at the same time they are very similar,’’ said Daley, who graduated with a degree in elementary and special education in May.

“You have to be very in tune with your body when rowing. The technique was easy to pick up, to know which muscles to engage.

“Ballet helped with the focus; it helped with the mind-body connection,’’

After joining the Terriers’ novice team on a lark in the fall of her freshman year, Daley not only made the varsity that spring, but helped BU win a medal for the first time in 13 years at the Eastern Sprints Regatta in Camden, N.J.

BU has not since medaled at the marquee event.

Daley’s first coach, Heather Cartwright, who now heads the powerhouse women’s lightweight program at Radcliffe, said it is unusual for a freshman to walk onto the varsity, let alone medal.

“She proved herself in terms of fitness and rowing technique,’’ Cartwright said.

“She moves nice, and having that sense of rhythm and movement allowed her to become a good rower.’’

While her dance training provided an edge on the water, it was an experience on the banks of the Charles that hooked her for good.

As a freshman, Daley and other first-year rowers were assigned to cheer on the BU boats while running down the 5-mile Head of the Charles course. Soaking in the pageantry of the annual October carnival, the novice rowers didn’t receive much of a workout but they did return to campus with drawstring backpacks and other freebies.

“They brought me back a hat,’’ Cartwright said.

Daley, however, walked away with more than just swag.

“I was like ‘I’m going to be in a boat next year,’ ’’ she said, “and ever since then I’ve been in a boat, and it’s been one of the most exciting things ever.’’

She also absorbed the rowing culture, since she spent the majority of her youth inside dance studios, which is another subculture all its own.

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Daley, who moved to Cohasset from Cleveland with her family in the fifth grade, attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts in northwest Michigan and other well-known dance programs while in high school. But after enduring six-hour auditions for college dance programs, Daley decided she did not want to spend her collegiate years as a dancer.

Once she arrived at BU, she asoon realized she needed a structured activity to fill her free time.

“She was big into ballet, her goal in high school was to become a professional ballet dancer,’’ said Daley’s mother, Helen. “She decided in the end to go to BU. Some mailings came to the house to join the crew team and I said ‘You love to sail, give it a try.’ ’’

The 5-foot-10 Daley was also egged on by her roommate.

“She was 5-2 and she would sit looking at the flier and say ‘It’s just for tall people; I can’t do it but you should do it,’ ’’ Daley recalled.

“When I started rowing, I never expected I’d be here now.’’

The summer after her freshman year, she attended the Under-23 national team development camp in Boston and learned how to scull. Between Daley’s junior and senior year she raced with BU at the Royal Henley Regatta in London.

But for all her early progress, Daley still had a dancer’s frame and did not have the luxury of rowing for the lightweight squad, since BU does field one.

“I once held up a pair of medium size spandex and said ‘I want you to fill these out, no wrinkles, no sags in the spandex,’ ’’ Cartwright said of Daley, who continued to dance throughout college with the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble. “She’s a tough kid and pulls hard every time.’’

At the end of her senior year, Daley knew she wanted to continue to row and contacted Cartwright and other coaches for advice. They set her up with national team coaches at the Vesper club in Philadelphia. To pay the rent, she works as a lifeguard, teaches swim lessons, and coaches high school crew.

Daley said she will give rowing at least another year before deciding if she can reach her goal of making the national team. Even if she starts spinning her oars and plateaus, she said she will always row recreationally.

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

Head of the Charles

Friday, October 16,2009

Rowing Into The Sun

By Justin A. Rice

Bundled up in a bulky orange jumpsuit covered with yellow reflectors and a white knit hat, Michelle Guerette clutched a bullhorn and looked like she was dressed to run into a burning building. In actuality she was motoring across the Charles River before sunrise on a blustery morning.

The former rower at Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harvard’s women’s crew) and silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics pulled her motor boat up to yellow scull filled with four former college rowers.

“Alright, you guys have to get back for work, right?” Guerette, 29, asks around 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, about an hour after the men began their workout.

The members of the boat, which will race in the club fours event at this weekend’s 45th annual Head of the Charles regatta, all nodded in the affirmative.

“Gotcha, just checking,” Guerette replied before giving the crew final instructions for their row back to the Union Boat Club’s boathouse, where Guerette is in her second fall as the rowing coach and program director.
The rowing shell was one of five Guerette was instructing Wednesday morning. But her rowers were among countless crews clambering to get in workouts before the world’s largest regatta with 1,900 boats and more than 8,800 athletes competing this weekend and roughly 200, 000 spectators watching.

And with so many of those crews rowing before dawn this week so their rowers can run off to work, the traffic on the Charles can get a bit scratchy well before a the bumper-to-bumper backup begins on the Southeast Expressway.

“Three days prior [to Head of the Charles] all the crews come to town,” said Peter Schnorr, who leaves his Marlborough home at 4:45 a.m. three days a week to workout with UBC’s master’s eight team. “Nicole [Nitchie] our coxswain went crazy this morning try to keep track of everybody. It’s dark out and she’s dodging boats in the dark trying to make sure we get the workout we need so we can get down the course fast.

“It’s fun to compete and it’s a great way to stay fit,” continued Schnorr, the former Naval Academy rower. “We were all competitive and we are all competitive. We like to race. Even as you move on you want to keep your hand in the game competing and racing.

“Cruising down the river with 1,000 screaming people, it’s a whole different environment, even when it’s really bad weather it is wild.”

Appropriately named, Chris Storm was hardly detoured by talk this week that race organizers would shorten the world-renowned 5-mile course this weekend because of potential horrid weather conditions.

A law student at Suffolk University who rowed for Penn before graduating in 2007, Storm said it is more challenging to row now than it was in college.
“Although I’m not training as hard as I did when I was as an undergraduate, those workouts were harder because we did more of them, it is harder now because more is at stake in law school; everything is GPA driven,” said the 24-year-old, who trains eight to 12 hours a week and spends another 18-20 hours working at a law firm. “It’s not a neat balance. I don’t always do the best job at it. A lot gets put on the back burner. It all gets done eventually. After Head of Charles I have to refocus on school.”

Preparing to race in the club singles this weekend, Storm, who lives on Beacon Hill, rises at 5:15 a.m. each morning but can’t imagine trying to maintain his schedule with a wife and kids and commuting from the suburbs like many UBC members do.

“I love rowing but that kind of commitment, getting up at 4:30 and not getting to bed till late, I don’t know if I could do that,” he said.
That is the story of Storm’s workout partner Edward Demetriou’s life. To make matters worse, the 36-year-old lawyer living in Cambridge with his wife and two-and-a-half year old son has insomnia.

But Demetriou endures his hectic schedule because he said rowing is therapeutic, even more so after his father died this summer.
“It’s my sort of yoga,” the former Dartmouth rower said. “With all the stresses in life I need an outlet to make me focus and not worry about other stuff. Rowing is an all consuming sport. You need to focus to get the technique right. That focus is similar to meditation. It’s my stress relief.

Demetriou’s, whose wife rowed for the US national team, said he’s finally learning how to put rowing in perspective. “I used to punish myself always, do it no matter how I felt, whether it was a stress relief or stress inducer,” he said. “Now if it is a stress inducer I don’t do it, I take a day off. What complicates things is putting in an entry in a race like the Head of the Charles. I don’t want to embarrass myself.”

Joy Stark, a member of the regatta’s race committee this year, is just learning how to take days off. Moving to Boston solely for its crew culture, the former University of Texas rower lives in Dorchester, works fulltime in Waltham and takes night MBA classes at Boston College. Guerette noticed Stark was wearing down earlier this week and suggested she sleep in for a few days.

“Taking a couple days off this week seems so counter intuitive,” said Stark, 31, who will take two hours off from parking boat trailers on Sunday to compete in the master singles. “You just want to go out and row and get every last bit of workout you can. I decided to take her advice and didn’t practice Tuesday and Wednesday and went out [Thursday] and felt great.

“She really knows what she’s talking about.”

Of course skipping her 5:30 a.m. workouts has its downside too.

“When I don’t row in the morning and I’m stuck in traffic on my way to work I curse myself,” Stark said, “because I could’ve avoided it.”
Demetriou commutes from Cambridge on his bike and doesn’t have to worry about traffic but he still struggles with Stark’s problem of knowing when to let up.

“Rowing is the kind of sport that if you start putting a little time in you see improvements and want to put more time in and you feel like you can always improve,” he said. “At some point you have to draw the line because it starts to take over. It’s frustrating when you have to draw the line before you reach your potential, it’s especially frustrating as get older and you’re potential isn’t what it used to be.

“But it’s a lot more fun when you can just row and not have to worry about other responsibilities. At the same time life is more satisfying with other things going on. My mood is not tied directly to how well I’m rowing, which it was in college.

“I feel proud of the fact that I can actually row and race and not have a family that is completely dysfunctional.”

After his Wednesday morning workout Demetriou showered in the boathouse and climbed down a wooden ladder to where Storm was tending to his rowing shell.

“I’m coming in early tomorrow,” Storm tells Demetriou.

“I’m not rowing tomorrow,” Demetriou says as he walks out the door, unlocks his bike and rides down the esplanade toward his office.

All in a row

By: Justin A. Rice
Eastern Mass. Regional Correspondent
10/13/2009 11:00:00 PM

Caroline Hart and Olivia MacLean might be a couple of freshmen rowing crew for a high school program that is far from elite, but they have been leaving plenty of upperclassmen from perennial power programs in their wake just the same.

The Bromfield High duo have rowed since seventh grade but only started racing together in a double boat this summer, when they won the Philadelphia Youth Regatta on July 18 in 8 minutes and 32 seconds — beating a 16-and 17-year-old by 15.31 seconds. At the end of September they won the double again in the Tail of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga, N.Y. with a time of 14:08:65, beating a junior and a senior by 51.57. They also finished second recently in the Head of the Textile in Lowell.

“We just go in thinking we can do it and it just works out,” MacLean said. “We just try our hardest. Just because we’re underdogs we don’t look at it as a disadvantage.”

Those big wins under their belt are a big reason why the girls, who raced varsity as eighth graders last season, are so confident going into the famed Head of the Charles Regatta this weekend in Boston. Because each rower can only compete in one event at the Head of the Charles, Bromfield will only enter in the boys and girls youth eights. The boys will race at 11:24 a.m. on Sunday while the girls will race at 11:58 a.m.

“Last year we went mostly for fun,” MacLean said. “This year our new coach has been telling us she wants us to finish in the top 50 percent.”

Bromfield’s new coach, Holly Hatton, coached at Boston University for 13 seasons before leaving BU in 2008. She can only improve the team’s Head of the Charles performance from last fall, when one rower was using an oar handle that was inadvertently screwed on improperly.

“Last year they raced they were a bunch of eighth graders completely freaked out and overwhelmed,” Hatton, 59, said. “One kid was rowing and forcing the handle to stay in and the same time. I don’t know how they did it. Every time you pull it the oar would be pulling itself out of the shaft.

“Finishing in the top 50 percent is our goal. We don’t want to over reach. We’re rowing against the best of the best in the country.”

Last week Hatton, who has also coached at Harvard University, used her connections to get her team some practice time on the Charles, which was helpful for Hart because she missed last year’s event.

“What I got out of the practice certainly was a hard workout but it was also good to see where you are at different points, different landmarks,” Hart said of rowing out of the Harvard boathouse. “It will help me keep going when I get to a bridge and know how many miles are left.

“That was really exciting and cool. I think our eight [boat] has a lot of potential and I’m excited to see how we do in such a large race because we’ve been to a lot of smaller [regattas] so far. It gave us a good feel for [the course] and the environment. We row on such a small pond that has some tough turns. It was good for us to get a feel for the length of it because it’s a long race.”

Racing through the Bare Hill Rowing Association, the Bromfield High team is technically a club sport and not officially sanctioned by the school. The athletes pay a $700 fee to the rowing association and they practice five days a week on the Bare Hill Pond in Harvard both in the fall and the spring.

“It’s tiny,” Hatton said of the pond. “We can’t row five minutes without turning around. It’s definitely a challenge to get them in the condition I hope they will ultimately have. But it’s absolutely beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. That’s why when I saw the pond was so beautiful I thought, ‘what a place to be on each day.’”

Because the girls’ team shares boats with the boys’ team, Hart and MacLean only get to practice together as a double team once every two weeks.

MacLean said the lack of practice together can be frustrating.

“We just go out there and go as hard as we can and really focus when we do have practice,” MacLean said.

Hart said, “We started out and we didn’t know each other that well but we became friends over the course of a couple seasons. Now we know each other well and know our strengths and weaknesses and can help correct them even if the coach isn’t around. We can feel it in the boat.”

But Hart and MacLean both said having a former college coach at the helm of their squad has made all the difference in their technique and they have been impressed at how well Hatton has transitioned from coaching college to coaching high school.

“She motivates us a lot and makes you want to work hard,” MacLean said, adding that Hatton troubleshoots their technique quickly and accurately. “She will make one change and fix a lot of the problems. Other coaches will make lot of changes and fix things individually. Her changes, you can tell she knows what she’s doing.”

Hatton will also be a tremendous resource for MacLean and Hart when they start to get recruited by schools and decided where they want to row in college.

But until that point they don’t worry about letting all their early success get to their head — regardless of how they finish at Head of the Charles.

“I don’t think of it that way at all,” Hart said. “By the time we are upperclassmen we’ll be even better. There are a lot of things we could fine tune. We could do a little better at staying together in the boat at all times. That’s what’s good about rowing both seasons [fall and spring], there’s a lot of little technique things you can fix.”

Falcons protect

field hockey turf

---

---

Mark Fisette/Daily News correspondent

Bentley sophomore, and Watertown High alumna, Stephanie Sideris cracks a shot on net during last night's 5-2 victory over Merrimack in Waltham.

By Justin A. Rice/Daily News correspondent

Daily News Tribune

Posted Oct 08, 2009 @ 01:39 AM

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WALTHAM — Courtney Bartlett got off to a good start yesterday morning, and an even better one last night, scoring 29 seconds into Bentley University's 5-2 field hockey victory against Merrimack College.

``I was feeling it from this morning,'' the senior midfielder said before being asked if she had her Wheaties for breakfast. ``That is actually what I had for breakfast. The whole team knew this was a big game and all of us got ready. Every person on the team touched the ball to get it down the field before I scored. So it was a true team win.''

Ranked seventh in this week's Kookaburra/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II national poll, Bentley's victory against ninth-ranked Merrimack (8-6, 3-2 Northeast-10) had big implications on the league standings. No. 4-ranked Stonehill (10-3, 4-1) was upset, 3-1, by Franklin Pierce (7-6, 3-2) last night, putting Bentley (9-3, 4-1) in a tie for first place.

But the defending NE-10 champs have already lost to Stonehill twice this season - one of which was officially a non-conference match - so the Falcons will need to keep playing well, and get some help, to capture the conference title.

``We've already had our shot,'' said Bentley second-year coach Jessica King, referring to a 4-1 loss to Stonehill on Sept. 2 at home and then a 2-1 loss on the road 20 days later. ``We can only control what we do. We can't get ahead of Stonehill unless they do something wrong. But it's nice to be a bit closer. The Northeast-10, anyone can win it.

``We could've put ourselves in a difficult situation, and put us out of the driver's seat, if we lost. (Stonehill's loss) is nice. I'll take it, but we don't count on any of that.''

The victory also meant a lot in terms of NCAA Division II regional rankings too. Last week, Bentley was No. 3 in the North Region, while Merrimack was fourth. The top three teams in the final rankings earn NCAA Division II tournament bids.

``I can't think that far ahead,'' King said of the tournament.

But she had no problem recounting last night's victory, which tied the most offensive output of the year for the Falcons, who also scored five goals in their last outing against Saint Anselm on Sept. 30.

Last night, they got goals from four players.

``We're a balanced team,'' King said. ``We don't have one big star. We rely on everybody to contribute.''

Bartlett's goal came after she put back the rebound of senior forward Abbie DeMusis. At the 28:34 mark of the same half, the Falcons went up 2-0 when senior midfielder/forward Allison St. Jean scored an unassisted goal. There was a scrum in front of the goal before St. Jena poked it past Merrimack freshman Kerri Bergquist.

Bentley put back another rebound for its third goal of the half with 1:58 to go when sophomore defender Caitlin Kamide found the back of the goal for the 3-0 edge.

Merrimack finally got its own goal about a minute later. Senior forward Jaclyn Germano beat senior goalkeeper Alyssa Sliney before Merrimack went into the half trailing 3-1.

In the second half, Bentley extended the lead 4-1 when Bartlett netted her second goal of the evening at the 26:24 mark.

Another unassisted Bentley goal came off the stick of sophomore midfielder, and Watertown native, Stephanie Sideris with 18:22 to play. The goal was her eighth of the season.
Sideris, who has four assists and 20 points on the year, is only one goal behind Bartlett (9-3-21) for most on the team.

``I just wanted one I guess,'' Sideris said.

Merrimack got one goal back about six minutes later when Germano scored her second goal of the game.

Bentley returns to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday against Southern Connecticut State. The contest is Bentley's Play for a Cure game in honor of breast cancer awareness.

Globe South Sports

Hanover plays without

club soccer worries

By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / October 8, 2009

Their focus is simple: Go out and play.

	Discuss
	COMMENTS ()

Their foes feature lineups chock-full of year-round players, but the majority of the players on the Hanover High boys’ soccer team choose to participate in other sports in the offseason.

When the Indians knocked off perennial power Pembroke 2-1 last week, exacting a bit of revenge for a 1-0 loss in last year’s Division 3 South semifinals, they did so playing their game, and not worrying about the individuals suiting up on the other side.

“I don’t really know who the best players are - that doesn’t really matter to me,’’ said senior cocaptain Jon Spitz, who also plays basketball and baseball at Hanover. “I just go out there and play.’’

Only two players on the Indians (goalkeeper James Oliver and freshman Dylan Griffin) participate in the subculture that is club soccer.

That approach has proven to work well for Hanover (6-0-1) and coach Jim Sylvia, who also guides two other varsity sports at the high school, boys’ hockey and girls’ tennis.

In addition to its win over Pembroke, Hanover has also defeated a pair of tough foes in Middleborough and North Quincy.

Sylvia said two of his former players, Matt Shea and Ryan Shea, currently playing at Boston University, were steeped in club soccer culture and always debriefed their teammates before games.

“They knew different kids on different teams and they used to say who was the best,’’ the 27-year coach said. “That means nothing to me. [We] go out there head-to-head and if they are a better soccer team than we are they will win the game. I don’t care at all if a player plays on four different teams.

“I don’t really care if they are club soccer players. That doesn’t faze me. We’re out there working as a team. It’s not the end-all, save-all to play on a club soccer team. It’s like junior hockey now; some teams have junior hockey players. You still gotta go out and play the game. We’re gonna play our game and use our strengths.’’

The approach has not only maintained fearlessness among Sylvia’s teams, but playing other sports often means they are more athletic and versatile than their opponents.

“It is difficult because [other teams with club players] play a different game than us,’’ said cocaptain Andrew Bishop, who also plays basketball and lacrosse. “We don’t necessarily have the best soccer skills, but we’re a fast team and we know our roles on the field.’’

They also have the element of surprise. “They don’t know us,’’ Bishop added. “They think we’re not going to be as good this year.’’

Even after winning a share of the last four Patriot League titles as the Fisher Division champ, Hanover players don’t think they receive the respect they deserve from Keenan Division clubs (Scituate, Whitman-Hanson, Silver Lake, Hingham, North Quincy, and Duxbury).

“They definitely know we’re probably the best on the other side of the league but they definitely probably overlook us,’’ said Spitz. Last fall, though, Hanover beat Duxbury and tied Whitman-Hanson.

“They think the other side of the league doesn’t really matter; all the best teams are on the Keenan side.’’

This past week, however, the Indians knew they couldn’t rely on past success as they entered a gantlet of games: Scituate (Monday), Duxbury (yesterday), and Hingham (tomorrow).

Regardless of the results, the goal is to keep improving. “The main thing is to be better tomorrow than we are today,’’ Sylvia said. “If we can keep climbing the ladder, we’ll get better and better because of our league schedule and we’ll be ready come tournament time.’’

The Indians, with just 11 total goals entering the week, need to improve their work around the net. Griffin (four goals) and sophomore Derek Healy (three) led the way, while Spitz had five points with a goal and four assists. Colin Shea has two goals and two assists.

“We haven’t won any games convincingly,’’ Sylvia said.

Luckily, their senior keeper, Oliver, only allowed two goals through the first seven games.

In the win over Pembroke, Hanover rallied from a 1-0 deficit, with Griffin scoring the equalizer off a corner kick by freshman Chris Toohey. Spitz lofted the game-winner from about 45 yards out after fielding a free kick from senior Paul Murray taken at midfield.

“The past couple years, they’ve kicked us out of the tournament,’’ Bishop said of Pembroke. “A big win like that gives us hope for the future. When we get to the tournament we know what to expect.’’

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

Globe South Sports

Hanover plays without club soccer worries

By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / October 8, 2009

Their focus is simple: Go out and play.

	Discuss
	COMMENTS ()

Their foes feature lineups chock-full of year-round players, but the majority of the players on the Hanover High boys’ soccer team choose to participate in other sports in the offseason.

When the Indians knocked off perennial power Pembroke 2-1 last week, exacting a bit of revenge for a 1-0 loss in last year’s Division 3 South semifinals, they did so playing their game, and not worrying about the individuals suiting up on the other side.

“I don’t really know who the best players are - that doesn’t really matter to me,’’ said senior cocaptain Jon Spitz, who also plays basketball and baseball at Hanover. “I just go out there and play.’’

Only two players on the Indians (goalkeeper James Oliver and freshman Dylan Griffin) participate in the subculture that is club soccer.

That approach has proven to work well for Hanover (6-0-1) and coach Jim Sylvia, who also guides two other varsity sports at the high school, boys’ hockey and girls’ tennis.

In addition to its win over Pembroke, Hanover has also defeated a pair of tough foes in Middleborough and North Quincy.

Sylvia said two of his former players, Matt Shea and Ryan Shea, currently playing at Boston University, were steeped in club soccer culture and always debriefed their teammates before games.

“They knew different kids on different teams and they used to say who was the best,’’ the 27-year coach said. “That means nothing to me. [We] go out there head-to-head and if they are a better soccer team than we are they will win the game. I don’t care at all if a player plays on four different teams.

“I don’t really care if they are club soccer players. That doesn’t faze me. We’re out there working as a team. It’s not the end-all, save-all to play on a club soccer team. It’s like junior hockey now; some teams have junior hockey players. You still gotta go out and play the game. We’re gonna play our game and use our strengths.’’

The approach has not only maintained fearlessness among Sylvia’s teams, but playing other sports often means they are more athletic and versatile than their opponents.

“It is difficult because [other teams with club players] play a different game than us,’’ said cocaptain Andrew Bishop, who also plays basketball and lacrosse. “We don’t necessarily have the best soccer skills, but we’re a fast team and we know our roles on the field.’’

They also have the element of surprise. “They don’t know us,’’ Bishop added. “They think we’re not going to be as good this year.’’

Even after winning a share of the last four Patriot League titles as the Fisher Division champ, Hanover players don’t think they receive the respect they deserve from Keenan Division clubs (Scituate, Whitman-Hanson, Silver Lake, Hingham, North Quincy, and Duxbury).

“They definitely know we’re probably the best on the other side of the league but they definitely probably overlook us,’’ said Spitz. Last fall, though, Hanover beat Duxbury and tied Whitman-Hanson.

“They think the other side of the league doesn’t really matter; all the best teams are on the Keenan side.’’

This past week, however, the Indians knew they couldn’t rely on past success as they entered a gantlet of games: Scituate (Monday), Duxbury (yesterday), and Hingham (tomorrow).

Regardless of the results, the goal is to keep improving. “The main thing is to be better tomorrow than we are today,’’ Sylvia said. “If we can keep climbing the ladder, we’ll get better and better because of our league schedule and we’ll be ready come tournament time.’’

The Indians, with just 11 total goals entering the week, need to improve their work around the net. Griffin (four goals) and sophomore Derek Healy (three) led the way, while Spitz had five points with a goal and four assists. Colin Shea has two goals and two assists.

“We haven’t won any games convincingly,’’ Sylvia said.

Luckily, their senior keeper, Oliver, only allowed two goals through the first seven games.

In the win over Pembroke, Hanover rallied from a 1-0 deficit, with Griffin scoring the equalizer off a corner kick by freshman Chris Toohey. Spitz lofted the game-winner from about 45 yards out after fielding a free kick from senior Paul Murray taken at midfield.

“The past couple years, they’ve kicked us out of the tournament,’’ Bishop said of Pembroke. “A big win like that gives us hope for the future. When we get to the tournament we know what to expect.’’

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

Boxers give

Eagles the boot

ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT

Posted Oct 05, 2009 @ 01:46 AM

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DANVERS —

Brockton High football coach Peter Colombo called it, “kind of a muffed play.”

Boxers’ senior safety Dominique Williams labeled it, “the luck of the Irish.”

While quarterback Sam Previte’s late-game scramble against St. John’s Prep Sunday afternoon won’t be found in any Boxers’ playbook, it couldn’t have been drawn up any better as it turned out.

Bounced around in the backfield on a broken play late in the fourth quarter, Previte broke two tackles and scrambled for 16 yards before being tackled at the 8.

With less than two minutes to play in a 14-14 game, Previte’s improvisation on third-and-8 led to senior James McAvoy’s 19-yard field goal with 14.4 seconds to play, lifting the Boxers to a thrilling 17-14 win over the Eagles.

“I have to talk to him about that one in practice,” Williams said of Previte’s heroics. “Quarterbacks got moves. Everyone thinks he can run the ball, but I call it the luck of the Irish.

“He’s got great awareness too.”

Williams’ conversation with Previte, who rushed for 61 yards and threw for another 48, certainly won’t be a one-sided one discussion.

Williams proved to be just as big of a playmaker in helping Brockton improve to 3-1.

With 3:18 left in the opening quarter, Williams intercepted St. John’s junior quarterback Chris Coady at the 10 and went all the way for a 90-yard touchdown return.

The PAT was blocked by St. John’s Prep senior Michael Connor, giving the Boxers a 6-0 lead.

“I just read the quarterback’s eyes, played zone and broke on the ball,” Williams said.

Williams also made his own third-down conversion on the 20-play game-winning drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock. On third-and-12 from the Boxers’ 48, Previte completed a 28-yard pass to Williams that put the Boxers on the 25.

“He’s multi-dimensional so we had him in there at fullback on a few plays,” Colombo said of Williams. “That’s what we need. We’ve been searching for offensive answers and Dominique and Albert (Louis-Jean) need to help out.

“He (Williams) came up big, especially on that third-down catch.”

Louis-Jean, a junior defensive back and wide receiver, made his own offensive contribution on Brockton’s two-point conversion after the Boxers’ second TD of the game early in the third quarter to rally the visitors from a 7-6 halftime deficit.

The touchdown was set up by junior running back Trevor Offley’s 48-yard run on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.

Offley was almost brought down at the 30, but broke free and ran over another Eagles’ defender before being tackled at the 20.

Four plays later, Previte faked the handoff and ran it in himself for a 3-yard touchdown with 9:32 left in the third quarter. On the two-point conversion, Louis-Jean scored on a reverse handoff to put Brockton up 14-7.

St. John’s responded by taking the ball all the way down to the Brockton 23 on an 18-play drive that seemed dead on a third down after Coady was sacked by junior defensive end Brien Massie for a 6-yard loss on the 29 as the third quarter expired.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, however, Coady completed a 22-yard pass to junior Tyler Coppola on the 6. Two plays later, Coady pushed the ball across the goal line on a 1-yard keeper to tie it 14-all with 10:01 to play.

“Right now, the anchor of our team is our defense,” Colombo said. “Prep earned every inch, Prep controlled the ball the entire third quarter. I give them credit because that’s not easy to do on our defense.

“It was a great game, what I expected from two good teams. We got the ball last and hung on.”

St. John’s fell to 1-3, but the Eagles were pleased to play much better than they had in their previous losses.

“We played well the whole game,” said St. John’s Prep senior running back George Sessoms, who rushed for 89 yards on 19 carries. “We make that tackle (on Previte) and they don’t go down to the 8 and make that field goal.

“We were pretty much one play away.”

For Colombo, that one play might ultimately symbolize the difference between a successful season and a season headed toward the brink.

“It was kind of a muffed play that he made into a positive,” Colombo said of Previte. “When those things happen, maybe it will be a good year, because that’s not the way we drew it up.”

Florida State

now 0-2 in ACC

BY JUSTIN A. RICE

Special to The Miami Herald

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The pregame anticipation of another thriller between Florida State and Boston College seemed like it was just humidity left over from the torrential downpour that subsided just before kickoff Saturday.

FSU's 21-6 halftime deficit -- the Noles' largest halftime hole since they trailed Florida 28-9 at intermission of last season's season finale -- was surprising since every FSU-BC game since the Eagles joined the ACC in 2005 had been thrilling.

That included FSU's 27-17 upset of then-second-ranked BC two years ago, and the Eagles' victory against the then-20th-ranked Seminoles last season. So while fans might not have appreciated the 28-21 Boston College victory from the edges of their seats, at least they will look back on FSU's comeback fondly.

``The only good thing I like about us is we came back and made a game of it,'' FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. ``We tied it up in the last four or five minutes, but then when the game was on the line we didn't get it done. And they did.''

In particular, FSU's secondary didn't get it done. One play after freshman cornerback Greg Reid dropped a potential interception with 4:26 left, FSU senior safety Jamie Robinson was called for pass interference at the 20 on a third-and-10 play starting at BC's 43.

``It was an uncatchable pass in the first place,'' Bowden said. ``Maybe the guy tripped. That's not why they called it. I guess they called it us tripping them. I don't know.''

On the next play, BC sophomore running back Montel Harris, a Jacksonville native, ripped off a 42-yard, game-winning touchdown run with 4:07 remaining. Blame didn't only lie with FSU's young secondary. Freshman kicker Dustin Hopkins missed a 37-yarder with 7:06 remaining.

``We have to learn how to win,'' said sophomore wide receiver Bert Reed, who finished with 107 yards on seven catches. ``Somebody has to make a play. We can't have foolish mistakes in crunch time.''

FSU tied the score at 21 with 10:48 to play thanks to a reverse on a two-point conversion. Freshman running back Lonnie Pryor handed off to Reed, who found senior tight end Caz Piurowski open in the end zone.

``Caz, before the play started, said, `Find me, just find me,' '' Reed said. ``Sure enough, I found him.''

The two points were tacked onto sophomore running back Jermaine Thomas' 2-yard touchdown run. The Seminoles' (2-3, 0-2 ACC) used another reverse to start their second-half comeback. Senior wide receiver Louis Givins took a handoff from Thomas and dived into the left pylon as time expired in the third quarter. At that point, BC led 21-13.

BC took a 21-6 lead into halftime by gaining 238 yards of total offense, including 180 in the air, despite the fact that Hopkins' 31-yard field goal was the first points of the game. He added a 39-yarder as time expired in the half. After the first field goal, however, BC marched down the field and Harris scored on a 3-yard run.

The Seminoles responded with a 14-play drive that stalled at the 1-yard line, where FSU blew four opportunities to punch it in. Pryor was stuffed on three of those tries, before junior quarterback Christian Ponder (29 of 42, 341 yards) rolled out to his right on fourth down before being sacked for an 11-yard loss. Three plays later, the Eagles (4-1, 1-1) got their longest pass play of the season, a 62-yard bomb from freshman Dave Shinskie (12 of 21, 203 yards, two touchdowns) to wide receiver Colin Larmond Jr.

Reid blew the coverage down the right sideline before tackling Larmond at the 25. The pass set up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Shinskie to senior wide receiver Rick Gunnell to make the score 14-3 with 6:25 left in the half. The Eagles got another long touchdown pass, a 38-yard strike to Jeff Smith with 59 seconds remaining.

The FSU secondary was not helped by the fact that Miami native Patrick Robinson sprained an ankle late in the game and did not return.

Bobby Bowden

fires back at critics

BY JUSTIN A. RICE

Special to The Miami Herald

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Florida State's loss to Boston College on Saturday marked the first time the Seminoles have started conference play with two losses.

FSU (2-3, 0-2 ACC) also knows the 28-21 defeat -- despite erasing its largest deficit since trailing Georgia Tech 13-0 in the fourth quarter in 2003 before winning by a point -- will bring out calls for coach Bobby Bowden's job.

``Well, you know what? What would I gain by stepping down right now?'' asked the 79-year-old who will turn 80 in November. ``Fire the whole coaching staff? I'll evaluate myself; I'll wait until the end of the year.''

FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, who is slated to take over the program after Bowden retires, also knows what waits back in Tallahassee.

``You don't [worry about it], you go coach,'' Fisher said. ``That's their right to do it. Everyone wants to win. They're passionate like we are. We have to keep coaching, that's part of coaching and part of playing. You have to put that away, and the thing that will bring it back is a good victory. And to get a good victory you have to go back and practice well and stay together.''

When asked if one good victory can turn things around, Fisher said, ``One victory doesn't do it. One victory doesn't change something like one loss doesn't destroy something. But we have to get consistent and play with consistency.''

Fisher was pleased with FSU's 411 yards in total offense, which included 341 passing yards, but was upset by his team's inability to score near the goal line.

HERZLICH'S GAMEDAY

ESPN's `College GameDay' crew was in Chestnut Hill on Saturday and honored Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year who in May was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. He has been undergoing chemotherapy for the past five months, and has three treatments to go in the next five weeks.

``I understand you got some very good news in a very matter of fact way, what's the most recent diagnosis?'' `GameDay' host Chris Fowler asked Herzlich during the broadcast.

``I was out to see [a] movie with my roommate, and I got a call from my dad, he wanted to know if the rebate check from Apple was for him or to me,'' Herzlich said. ``I said it was mine, he can't keep my money. And he was like, `Oh yeah, we met with Doctor Staten today, too.' I was like, `O.K., what did Doctor Staten say?' ''

Herzlich said to thunderous applause that his doctor said his cancer is 99 percent gone.

HOMEFIELD EDGE, AT LAST

Boston College's victory marked the first time the home team was victorious in the FSU-BC series in five meetings since the Eagles joined the ACC in 2005.

At the same time, it was also the fifth consecutive meeting between FSU and BC in which the team that scored the first touchdown went on to win. The Eagles managed to reach the end zone first with 3:18 left in the opening quarter when Montel Harris, a Jacksonville native, scored on a 3-yard run. Before Saturday, the Seminoles won at Alumni Stadium in odd years (2005, '07), including their 27-17 upset of the then-second-ranked Eagles in the last road meeting. The Eagles, however, have won the even-year matchups (2006, '08), also beating FSU 27-17 last season.

• FSU senior cornerback Patrick Robinson did not return to the game after sustaining a left ankle injury. He was hit from behind by teammate Nigel Bradham with 9:39 remaining in the first half.

• Sophomore running back Jermaine Thomas started for the first time since losing his spot in the season opener against Miami. He ran 10 times for 26 yards, as FSU only had 70 yards rushing.

Friday, October 2,2009

Kicking To The Top

By Justin Rice

The No. 6-ranked BC Eagles lost to the top-ranked Tar Heels, 2-1. But starting freshman star Kristen Mewis isn't going to let the loss stop her from helping bring BC to the top.

NEWTON — As a little girl growing up in Hanson, Mass., Kristen Mewis’ favorite color was powder blue. But when it came time for the All-American soccer player from Whitman-Hanson Regional High to choose a college, Mewis picked Boston College’s maroon and gold over the famed North Carolina blue.

“They were in my Top 3,” the BC freshman midfielder said of UNC after practice on Wednesday afternoon, a day before the No. 6-ranked Eagles lost to the top-ranked Tar Heels 2-1 in front of 2,000 fans at Newton Soccer Field. “I always watched [UNC] on TV. Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly were like my idols and they both went there. I love the colors and stuff. I liked that they’ve been the best for such a long time. I visited there and loved the campus, it’s a beautiful campus and the coach was awesome.

“UNC, they don’t really recruit people. Players come to them. They don’t have to recruit.”

While playing for the Tar Heels was a more than attainable dream for Mewis, playing against them last night was a nightmare. After BC (9-2) took a 1-0 lead at the 54:58 mark of the second half, UNC (10-0-1) scored two goals on penalty kicks — both after BC was called for hand balls in the box.

While many on the BC side were up in arms that the refs would take a game of that magnitude into their own hands rather than swallowing their whistles, Mewis took the high road. “They deserved the two goals,” she said of the PKs scored by UNC senior forward Casey Nogueira with 15:31 left in the game and by junior midfielder Ali Hawkins with 8:26 remaining. “They played really well but it’s just hard to lose over two hand balls in the box.”

UNC coach Anson Dorrance, who has won 20 national championships, called the match, “One of the most bizarre games I’ve ever been a part of in 33 years of coaching. We think BC is an outstanding team and really earned the right to be up one.”

Mewis’ roommate and teammate on the 2009 Under-20 women’s national team ,freshman forward Victoria DiMartino, scored BC’s loan goal, chipping the ball past UNC senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.

“They’ve done a great job building their program,” said Dorrance, who called BC coach Alison Kulik to congratulate her after she signed Mewis and DiMartino. “We’re banging heads with them recruiting some of the best kids in the country and unquestionably two of the finest freshman in America are starting for BC right now. Not only are they a difficult challenge now but they are going to be a difficult challenge for a long time.”

Said to be the top player in the country in the 2009 recruiting class, Mewis was probably also the most heralded player ever to come out of Massachusetts — that is until her sister Sam, a senior at Whitman-Hanson, chooses between UCLA and Florida State any day now.

“She could’ve gone anywhere she wanted to.” Kulik said of the elder Mewis. “We always do our best to land local talent and we’re very fortunate that she’s a national prospect and we were able to keep her here.

“We’ve seen here playing since she was 13 or 14 and we’ve know she was going to be special come later years. We kept an eye on her.”

Apparently Mewis kept her eye on the Eagles, even while traveling all over the world to play soccer. “BC was the underdog, they were kind of like up and coming and just starting to get good; I love it here,” Mewis said, adding that after she traveled so much she wanted to play close to home.

DiMartino, who leads the Eagles with 11 goals and three assists this season, said the fact that Mewis chose BC over UNC shows her character. “She’s not looking for the easy way out,” said DiMartino, whose older sister, Gina is a senior forward for BC. “She always works extra by herself. It’s good that we’re roommates because we push each other.”

They also like to blow off steam together.

“She likes to dance all the time, I sing she dances,” DiMartino said. “[We like] all different kinds of music, 80s to modern.”

It will take a lot of juking and jiving, however, for the freshman phenoms to forget about last night’s loss. Although BC did take some consolation in the fact that the top team in the land was unable to score a goal within the flow of play and needed two penalty kicks to beat them.

“It was good competition,” said Mewis, who has four goals and five assists in 10 games. “We played really well. It was a pretty equal match. It was good to play against them. We were all excited for the game and we really want to beat them but hopefully we’ll get them next time.”

Globe South Sports

For swimmer, it

was love at first sight

‘When I saw [Notre Dame girls’ swim team] win states, you want to be a part of a team like that.’

By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / October 1, 2009

Caitlin Cronin was a believer the moment she soaked in the scene at the state championship meet four years ago. The Notre Dame of Hingham girls’ swim team was celebrating its first Division 2 state title and Cronin, then an eighth-grader, was hooked.

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“When I walked into Harvard’s pool, I saw their team unity, they were all in uniform cheering and had a lot of team spirit, that gets your attention,’’ recalled Cronin, who in her first three years at Notre Dame has helped the Cougars capture three more state titles.

“When I saw them win states, you want to be a part of a team like that. Just the look on [coach Mike Riley’s face], how happy he was, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.’’

Notre Dame now has its toughest task ahead this fall: winning its fifth straight title minus a talented cast that went 4-for-4 at the state meet.

Three graduates are now swimming for Division 1 college programs: Cara Vogel (Duke), Katy Radin (Boston University), and Ellesse Lunde (Purdue).

“They were the ones that really established it,’’ Riley said. “I talked it up, I planted the seed - but they let it grow and it was great.’’

Riley, though, still has Cronin, who won both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events for the third straight year. She also helped Notre Dame win the 400-yard freestyle relay and the 200 medley

“She was the main reason why we won state championship titles,’’ Riley said of Cronin. “But I can’t rely just on that one girl. She knows her position and what it takes to get the job done, but it doesn’t take one swimmer.’’

Senior captains Mary Kate Nelson and Clair Street return after helping ND fend off its chief rivals, Bishop Feehan and Bishop Stang, at the state meet.

Junior Erica Hasson also gained valuable experience at last year’s state meet by helping the 200 medley team 200 freestyle relay finish first and second, respectively.

Hasson was also fourth in the 200 yard IM and the 100 butterfly with times of 2:14.57 and 1:01.66.

“We had a great four seasons, but this season will show everyone that even though we lost those seniors we still have a good team,’’ said Cronin, who is considering Loyola (Maryland), Colgate, Duquesne, and Emery. “I know people look at us like they can beat us, but come states we’ll be ready. We’re ready now, so we’re excited.’’

Notre Dame (2-1 as of last week) opened the season with a loss to Bishop Feehan, similar to last year when they lost to Feehan early on before sweeping the South sectional and the state meet.

“We have some pretty big shoes to fill but as a team the girls sat down and said they want to defend their title,’’ Riley said. “We have a lot of work to do. We’ve come along in the first two weeks. The girls seem to be getting stronger and stronger.

“We’ve really started to build a tradition, which is great. One thing you try to do is set a precedent with the program. You have to have them understand what the team has been the last eight years and understand how hard it took to get where we are now and that we just don’t want to give it up.

Now Riley, who coached Cronin on the Weymouth Waves club team from seventh grade until last year, can only hope that this year’s state meet leaves an impression on one of his young middle-schoolers as it did on Cronin five years ago.

“I remember Caitlin as an eighth-grader deciding where she wanted to come to school,’’ Riley said. “I remember looking up to her and saying ‘Why not be a part of this?’ when we won states at Harvard.’’

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.