Dec 13, 2018 | Sports |
By Kaitlyn York Contributing Writer
Milani Hicks (#22) goes for a layup, fighting through the pressure of Colby College’s defense.
Dearborn Gymnasium roared with applause as the Men’s Basketball team took the court preparing to face the Mules of Colby College. After a hard fought battle, the Beavers fell short of the win with a final score of 92-76 going to the Mules.
Head Coach Richard Meader said the team knew they had a hard game ahead of them. “We knew it was going to be difficult. They were 7-1 and had a couple wins over very good teams,” said Meader. “They had good size and could shoot the ball very well.”
Knowing what they would be going up against, the Beavers worked on guarding their (Colby’s) offense during practices leading up to the game. “They’re a very good shooting team so we were just working on getting to their shooters and stopping that,” said Milani Hicks, a senior captain.
When the game began, Hicks started out strong scoring the first two points of the game with a slam dunk. Colby came back and scored a three-pointer immediately after and that was just the beginning of the back and forth battle for the lead.
“We played nervously,” said Meader “Our effort was there, there was no question about that, but we didn’t make shots and Colby did and that really makes it difficult.”
At halftime, the score was 49-32 in favor of the Mules, though the Beavers did not give up hope. Riley Robinson, a junior captain, said they knew that they still had a chance to win and were able to come up with a new plan for the second half.
“We tried to make some more changes defensively and offensively and we were able to execute them but we just came up a little short,” said Robinson.
Throughout the second half of the game, the gymnasium filled with tension as both teams played strong in hopes to beat out the other. “With a team that moves the ball as well as they [Colby] did and shoots it as well,” said Meader. “To stop them you’ve got to be aggressive and we ended up fouling them because the movement of the ball puts you in a tough situation.”
Though the game did not turn out as they had planned, the Beavers remain positive as they look back on the things they did well. “Just not giving up at the end,” said Hicks. “I know we were down 15-20 at the beginning but we didn’t give up, we still fought and that’s a positive. I’ll take that away.”
“It was hard, physical game, two good teams battling, fast-paced,” said Robinson. “I really liked the resiliency that we showed.”
Amir Moss was the top scorer of the game for UMF, scoring a total of 26 out of the 76 points. He was followed by Hicks, who scored 13 personal points.
With the loss, the team now has a record of 4-2 but remain 2-0 within their conference. “Obviously, the main goal is to win the conference and go to the NCAA’s,” said Meader, while also pointing out his team’s specific goal for the season. “Our goal is to get the number one seed and play at home with the final game.”
The Beavers will face off with the Mules again on Tuesday, Jan. 8th at Colby College. Before then, the team will continue to work on building up their confidence and getting out of the shooting slump that they are currently in according to Meader. “We’ll shoot better next time and we’ll do some things to counter them.”
The next home game for the men’s team will be played on Wednesday, Jan. 16th in Dearborn Gymnasium starting at 7:00 p.m..
Nov 26, 2018 | Sports |
By Kaitlyn York Contributing Writer
UMF Senior Milani Hicks (22) looks to make a lay-up between two defenders (Photo by Jeff Lamb Photography)
Dearborn Gymnasium buzzed with excitement as dozens of fans piled into the bleachers to support the men’s basketball team during their home opening game against the University of Maine at Machias (UMM) Clippers. Months of preparation for the new season paid off as the Beavers pulled off their first win of the season.
Riley Robinson, a junior on the team, came ready to play with an positive attitude. “I felt confident. We expected a challenge,” said Robinson. “We knew they were a good team, but I was confident in my guys.”
Anthony Owens, also a junior on the team, entered the gymnasium with confidence. “I felt great about what we were going to do, and that’s all that we can control.”
As the team ran onto the court sporting their new uniforms, the crowd roared with enthusiasm. Just twenty seconds into the game, Robinson scored the first two points for the Beavers. For the first seven minutes of the first half the teams were scoring back and forth until the Beavers began to take over both offensively and defensively.
Head Coach, Richard Meader, said that he was very pleased with the way that the Beavers played. “We really played well defensively and got a lot of fast breaks,” said Meader. “We played the way we had hoped to play.”
Coming into the second half of the game the Beavers were up 46-27 over the Clippers. “I felt confident, but I knew there was still a lot of game left and we needed to execute,” said Robinson. Execute they did, the Beavers checked back into the game stronger than before. They continued to secure their lead as they scored repeatedly throughout the half.
The team managed to pull off their first win of the 2018-2019 season with a score of 96-64 over the Clippers giving them a 1-0 record.
Though they won the game, the team recognizes that they have some work to do during their practices leading up to their next games. “We can always become better on the defensive end, though we do play solid defense,” said Meader. “Any team can always shoot better. We need consistency with the shooting. You gotta make shots to win.”
Robinson was the leading scorer for the Beavers with 24 personal points in the game. Robinson was followed in points by Milani Hicks, a senior, who scored a total of 15 points. Overall, the Beavers made 41 out of the 76 shots they attempted during the game, creating a 53.9% average.
Meader has been coaching for UMF for 26 years and has found this years team to be exceptionally special. “They practice well, they listen in practice and try to do what you ask them to do,” said Meader. “They are a good group of guys who are excellent students and they have skills.”
As they look forward to the rest of the season, they have high hopes for their team. “We got a great group of guys and if we keep working together, the goal has to be a NAC championship,” said Owens.
The teams next home game will be Tuesday Nov. 27th at 7:30 p.m. in Dearborn Gymnasium against the Polar Bears of Bowdoin College.
Nov 8, 2018 | Sports |
By Kaitlyn York Contributing Writer
Paige Carter (40) goes up for a jump ball to start off the game. (Photo by Jeff Lamb Photography)The Women’s Basketball team at UMF, buzzing with excitement and aspiration, has been working hard to prepare this year’s team for the upcoming season.
Head Coach Jamie Beaudoin shares his enthusiasm about a new year and new challenges. Beaudoin has always enjoyed the aspect of teaching the game of basketball to his players, with the ultimate goal of seeing their growth throughout the season.
Beaudoin recognizes that every year is different, though, and this year there are some major changes to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC).
“Our conference will be a little bit different,” said Beaudoin. “We lost four schools from a year ago, but we gained two others so our schedule will be much different, both conference and non-conference, because we’ve had to find some additional games.” He believes that the changes will make the team face unexpected, but exciting experiences.
“I think this season will be a lot better than last year. Last year we won 7 games,” said Sara Lamb, a junior on the team. “Overall I’m excited and I am hopeful to have a good season.”
Paige Carter, a senior at UMF and fourth year member of the team, believes that the new additions to the conference will be interesting, but she is excited to see what the future holds. “I am most looking forward to playing against and traveling to several different schools that we have never faced before, in my four years here,” said Carter.
This year, Carter also has the unique experience of balancing student teaching and playing basketball. It can be a struggle at times because of late night practices and early school days.
“Both are major time commitments but being a student-athlete at UMF has been a very rewarding experience that I wouldn’t ever change,” said Carter. “I have a lot of support from my coach, team, mentor and my students.”
Carter began playing for the Women’s Basketball team her freshman year at UMF, and though she is excited for her future career as a teacher, she will miss playing for the Lady Beavers.
“It sounds very cliche but these past four years have really flown by. I am so excited to see what the future holds for me, but will be sad to be leaving UMF and the family I have made here,” said Carter, “Being a part of the women’s basketball team has allowed me to be a part of something greater than myself.”
The Women’s Basketball team is also focuses on helping outside organizations through fundraisers during season. They will be participating in games for breast cancer awareness, as well as participating in We Back Pat, which is in memory of Pat Summitt, the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team head coach, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. The Lady Beavers also participate in Go Red for Women, which raises awareness about heart disease in women.
As well as fundraising for outside organizations, they will be selling their Finals Survival Kits and Beaver Socks. The money from these fundraisers will go towards for the teams t-shirts, for 3-point give ways, practice gear, equipment and the software to break down game film.
The teams first home game of the season will be Nov. 13th at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Men’s Basketball team at 7:30 p.m. against the University of Maine at Machias in Dearborn Gymnasium.
Oct 25, 2018 | News |
By Kaitlyn York Contributing Writer
The Aspiring Educators of Maine club at UMF plans to host Tales From the Classroom once again this November. Tales From the Classroom, a Halloween themed event, has been hosted by the Aspiring Educators since the club began, according to current President and senior, Brian Eldridge.
Students are encouraged to ask questions about being a teacher during the Q&A section (Photo Courtesy of Kaitlyn York)
“[It is an event that] that invites different educators from around the community, locally and nonlocally, to come and talk about their experiences in the classroom,” said Eldridge. “We have a range of grade levels and experience levels all the way from first year teachers to veteran teachers.”
The event includes a potluck to kick off the evening, which is then followed by a panel-style question and answer session. Vice president and junior Carson Hope said the club creates questions for the panel, asking about their stories from the classroom and advice on things club members are concerned about or would like to know more about from teachers.
The event then opens up and gives an opportunity for audience members to ask their questions. The stories are packed with “the good, the bad, and the ugly,” according to the club’s Facebook page.
“We invited all teachers who haven’t done it before so that we can hear new perspectives,” said Hope. “We also wanted to make a more diverse panel this year. In the past it has been a lot of secondary ed teachers, but we have a Secondary Ed teacher, a Special Ed teacher, and an Elementary Ed teacher this year.” Hope believes this is the first time there has been a special education teacher on the panel.
The club has made changes to the event over the years. The event used to be known as “Scarefest” and has since been changed to make it less intimidating, according to Hope. Aspiring Educators continue to host this event as they feel it is beneficial to prospective teachers.
“It gives some really valuable lessons and ideas for incoming teachers to understand kind of what they may or may not be able to expect, as well as, some of the everyday things that definitely happens that you can prepare for when you’re in the classroom,” said Eldridge.
People who have attended this event in the past seem to have enjoyed and valued the experience. Hope said people learn a lot from various experiences the teachers have had, including answers to questions that students may not learn about in their classes at UMF. Junior and Elementary Education major, Brooke Michonski, said she overall enjoyed and benefited from the event.
“I would attend again in the future because I think it is a very open place to be able to go and ask any questions that I have freely without fear of being judged and knowing that I’m going to get a direct answer,” said Michonski. “You can learn a lot from it, as an upcoming teacher I could always use advice from older teachers.”
This year’s Tales From the Classroom event will take place on November 1st in The Landing. The potluck will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the tales will begin at 6 p.m. It is a free event. For more information, go to the club’s Facebook page, UMF Aspiring Educators of Maine.
Oct 11, 2018 | Sports |
Emily Corbett dribbles the ball up field. (Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn York)
By Kaitlyn York Contributing Writer
The UMF Field Hockey team recently battled the Thomas Terriers in a regular season game that resulted in a 3-0 loss.
It was a brisk and windy morning, though that didn’t slow down the Beavers as they warmed up for the game. The team had practiced especially hard in preparation for facing the Terriers, knowing they needed the win to help to their record.
“We played a very good first half Saturday but unfortunately fell behind 1-0 by giving up a goal late in the half. In the second half we pressed a little too hard and the game got away from us,” said head coach, Cyndi Pratt, in an email interview. “It was a case of wanting something so bad and trying so hard that we played a little to tense and uptight.”
The Beavers work
UMF’s field hockey team stands at the begining of the game.(Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn York)
ed hard both offensively and defensively to hold off the Terriers for the first 22 minutes of the game.
Senior team captain, Torrie Nightingale, lead the team down the field numerous times in the first half and was just short of scoring a goal. “We were close during the first half and we were down there the whole time, in position,” said Nightingale.
Both teams came back with a bang at the beginning of the second half, each pushing harder than before on an offensive push. The Terriers scored another goal just three minutes into the second half putting them ahead 2-0. In an effort to get the game back, the Beavers pushed extremely hard to keep the ball on their offensive side of the field.
“We really connected on our passes and we worked well down the middle of the field and on the outside, so we just need to be able to finish” said senior, Gabriella Winslow. “We definitely need to be able to score some goals and out beat the opponent.”
In the last few seconds of the game, the Terriers scored their third and final goal determining the fate of the game.
“I think we played really well as a team, we just didn’t finish what we needed to,” said Nightingale, “we were the better team today, the score board just didn’t reflect that.”
“The Field Hockey program has a long history of success and tradition. Players in our program are hard working and committed to doing their very best each and every day,” Pratt said. “This year’s team is no different, we have a strong group of senior leaders and the underclassman are working hard and improving everyday.”
Pratt stated this years team lacks some playing experience at the collegiate level though she hopes that the regular season games will give them the experience that they need to be able to improve and win before playoffs. The team has seven more games in the regular season before they begin their journey into the playoffs.
“This team has a lot of character and toughness and they will keep working hard and competing to the best of their ability each and every game.” said Pratt.
