Horsecows struggle to regain their form

Unable to take flight, the Horsecows have of late merely mulled around in the pastures. At Terminus in Atlanta, the 'Cows broke even, going 2-2 on the first day of competition and 1-1 on the second day, exiting in the quarterfinals. Oberlin oh-fered the first day of College Easterns the next week in Wilmington, NC, before winning a Sunday morning play-in game and losing in the pre-quarters.

Spring break saw Oberlin face its strongest competition of the season, but also saw the Horsecows unable to raise their game to the next level. The offense often sputtered, and mental errors abounded on both defense and offense. The 'Cows also fell behind early and often, though they were able to bring up their effort in the second half of nearly every game. In the end, though, it wasn't enough.

The break began the morning of March 20, with Oberlin facing off against an up-and-coming Duke team. The game was tight throughout, but Oberlin was able to iron out just enough of the early-morning kinks to prevail 11-10 in a capped contest.

The next game saw Oberlin come out perhaps a little overconfident against a Tufts team who liked to put it long. Oberlin was unable to sustain anywhere near the consistency necessary, and fell 13-11.

This set up a match with Georgia, one of the South's premiere teams. Never able to kick it into gear, the 'Cows lost by a count of 13-6 to the eventual tournament champions. Down in spirit and tired in mind and body, even after a bye, the 'Cows simply did not show up early in the day's final match, against Appalachian State. It took a 5-0 deficit to finally awaken Oberlin, who proceeded to tie the game at 6, take it to half at 8-6, and took over in the second half, cruising to a 13-9 win.

Oberlin came out ready to reverse the first day's inconsistency, and seemed like they were well on their way against Columbia in the day's first game, a play-in back to the top bracket. They went up 14-4, but were unable to put the frosting on until Columbia scored five straight. The 'Cows did prevail, finally, 15-9.

That set up a game against Dartmouth in the quarterfinals. Oberlin again came out of the gate slowly, falling behind 5-2. However, Oberlin was able to pull together against a progressively more tired Dartmouth team and mount a comeback. Too little, too late, as it turned out, with Dartmouth prevailing 14-11 and the 'Cows given a week of relaxing in Atlanta, New Orleans, Myrtle Beach and the Great Smokies to ponder what to do at Easterns.

Whatever else they did, Oberlin did not come up with a winning formula. Saturday's first match was against Brown, currently ranked fourth in the nation and seeded first in Oberlin's pool, second in the tournament at Easterns. Though in the game early, Oberlin was unable to get a rhythm going, and fell 15-6 in a game that was nevertheless much closer than the final score indicated.

The second game of the day came against perennial national contender Stanford. Again, Oberlin fell behind early, this time by 3-0, before getting it together. The 'Cows did get it together, and came back to play point-for point nearly the entire game before losing 14-11. By no means a bad game, the Stanford contest instead showed that Oberlin was capable of playing with any team-but not capable of winning matches against very good teams when down early.

The day's final game came against host UNC-Wilmington, and the 'Cows, again exhausted from the intense Stanford performance, came out flatter than, well, Oberlin. UNCW took the game to half at 8-2; and then, like clockwork, Oberlin decided to play. The Horsecows scored the next five points, and kept the game close throughout the second half. But again, falling behind big early proved fatal for the 'Cows, who fell 13-12 in a capped game.

Oberlin came out the next morning with a chip on their collective shoulder, and took it out on Carnegie Mellon. In some of the best consistency of the two tourneys, Oberlin built a lead early and kept it throughout, prevailing 14-6. This set up an opportunity for the 'Cows to advance to the quarterfinals, but a large and determined UNC-Chapel Hill team stood in the way. Oberlin could never sustain an effort, and fell 14-7.

The spring break was not without its bright spots, however. Oberlin showed it could play with pretty much any team-what they did not show was the ability to win those games, or to open big games strong. The 'Cows have something to prove, not just to the competition but to themselves. And what better way than by hosting their own tournament? That's right, Oberlin's next tourney is right here, up on north fields April 10-11, Saturday and Sunday-the Great Lakes Open. Oberlin gets a chance to prove the stuff they're made of to teams from the section and region, with sectionals right around the corner. Count on an energized Horsecows team for the adoring masses of fans; home is where the heart is, after all.