Sports Shorts

Athlete Of the Week

Senior Dave Smolev, of New Trier, Ill. is ranked among the top lacrosse goalkeepers in the country. His save percentage of .621 puts him at second place in the North Coast Atlantic Conference.
Smolev not only made 26 saves and had eight ground balls during a recent home game against Ohio Wesleyan University, but also recorded the 1,000th save of his college career.
During this season alone, Smolev has completed over 240 saves and allowed over 150 goals for the Yeomen, as well as making over 30 saves during a game on four different dates.
He will end his Oberlin lacrosse career in competition with the College of Wooster on May 4, but Smolev has been invited to participate in a professional combine this June, offering him the potential opportunity to play lacrosse on a long-term basis.

Quote of the Week

“It was...a really nice day. I was just glad to be outside
running around.”
–Logan Hegg
Sophomore lacrosse player

Marquee Event

Women’s Tennis
NCAC Championship Tournament.
Saturday Morning,
Tennis Courts.

The women’s tennis season comes to a head here. The NCAC Championship match will take place at 11 a.m. at the same time as the third place match. The lower-seed matches will occur at 8:30 a.m.

In the Locker Room with. . .

In a long phone conversation, junior lacrosse player Sam Bryar and I traverse the many and varied topics of same-sex civil unions, favorite body parts, and discovering the true nature of Santa Claus.

What is your philosophy of life?
SB: Do well unto others. It’s basically a simple premise. Try not to be too much of an asshole.

Did your parents teach you that?
SB: Surprisingly, they didn’t. My roommate suggested it to me.

Okay. So do you really admire your roommates?
SB: My roommates are great guys. But I wouldn’t say I admire them. They are not role models or anything.

Um. So what’s the most interesting place you’ve been?
SB: I went to the Grand Canyon over fall break. That’s about the best I can say. I’ve never been off the continent, but I live in Vermont, so Canada is a quick drive.

Oh, so being a Vermonter, what do you think about the issue of same-sex civil unions?
SB: I’m for it. I think it’s a great thing. If anything, it doesn’t go far enough.

So what’s your favorite fictional character?
SB: I was a huge Calvin & Hobbes fan. Calvin was everything I wasn’t in school. I kind of liked that.

So Hobbes was a stuffed toy, right? What kind of toys did you have growing up?
SB: Legos. Lots and lots of Legos.

It surprises me that you’re not an engineer, then, if you spent your childhood building things. But you economics majors are supposed to have really great prospects as well.
SB: We’re supposed to. I don’t know what we’re supposed to go into. I really don’t know what I’m gonna do two, five, 10 years down.

So do you think you are a typical Oberlin student?
SB: Maybe. I’m a liberal Democrat, which makes me normal here, though as time goes by, I get more and more conservative. Maybe it’s just a counterbalance to everything that’s going on here.

If you had five minutes to speak to the world, what’d you say?
SB: Try to understand your neighbor. That’s the key. In the end that’s where most of the problems arise. Take an extra moment or two to think. Maybe that’s not possible. But you need to try and make it possible if you can.

What do you think about Canadians?
SB: They’re okay in small doses.

Aren’t you generalizing?
SB: Yeah, but your question asked for a generalization, didn’t it?

I’ve heard there’s animosity between Vermont and New Hampshire. Is it true?
SB: We’re all kind of ashamed of New Hampshire. They’re the ugly duckling of New England. Vermont’s kind of hippy-dippy. New Hampshire is the conservative state in the region. Everyone wonders how it got there. It doesn’t seem to blend so well with the other five New England states.

What is your favorite body part?
SB: The face. The face is key. On everybody. The face is what you interact with.

So is it hard for you to interact with ugly people?

He seems scandalized by this, as if he cannot believe I have asked this question.

SB: Who am I to decide what’s beautiful and what’s ugly? That wouldn’t be fair.

Maybe that’s why you’re not an artist. Are you uncomfortable with aesthetic judgments in general?
SB: That’s not my role.

Ever believe in Santa Claus?
SB: Yes. That’s a traumatic story. There was one part of my house that was like a porch area, and I wasn’t supposed to go there, but I did....For me, everything came crashing down once Santa disappeared.

Okay, thanks a lot. I think that’ll be enough.
SB: Wait, don’t I get a last word?

All right, sure.
SB: Vote Sam Bryar for senior president.

Hm. Well. That was fun, Sam.