First-year Recruits Boost Oberlin Athletics

by Mike Muska

As April comes around after break, the All Roads Program at Oberlin kicks into place. Prospective Obies come in all types and from all places and today I’d like to share the story of two of our first-years, Shannon Houlihan and Jay Frankel, and what led them to Oberlin College and where they are a year later.
For Houlihan, that road led from Gorham, Maine, just outside of Portland. Initially contacted by Admissions, Houlihan returned a questionnaire to Oberlin track coach Tom Mulligan, who immediately responded in interest to the talented performer. Houlihan captured Maine State Class B titles in the long jump and triple jump, as well as having outstanding efforts in the hurdles and on her school’s relays. She was looking for a small school, with an emphasis on design, with her finals choices focused on Oberlin, Carnegie Mellon and Smith.
Houlihan’s adjustment to Oberlin centers around the team concept she so much enjoys. A core group of first-year lady tracksters has developed into what Houlihan considers her best friends. She admits to being a bit homesick at first, but Winter Term and a busy winter track season did the trick. She admits the courseload has gotten tougher, with “lots more reading” but likes her daily routine in the afternoon of classes, practice, dinner and study.

This work ethic and routine was evident to her coaches this winter. Oberlin’s jump specialist, Deryl Nalle believes that Shannon can “do anything she sets her mind too” and that the “sky is the limit” for her. He sees her as very coachable, although she can often get down on herself. In Coach Mulligan’s eyes, he sees an athletic maturity in that she knows how to take care of herself both at meets and in practice, and a consistency unusual in a first-year. He sees her as a leader by example, and the consummate team player.
Houlihan would agree about the value of team. Having her best friends travel from Oberlin to Oshkosh, Wis. for the NCAA meet last week made her weekend. The weekend before at the NCAC after capturing the triple jump crown, you saw her walking arm in arm with upperclass teammates Apryl Wynn, a junior, and Liz Chandler, a senior — both of whom she holds in the utmost respect. There is an unassuming charm about her, but she aspires to make the NCAA again and continue to improve her personal records. But most importantly, she desires an Oberlin team crown this spring at the NCAC Outdoor Meet.
When tennis coaches Don Hunsinger and Adam Shoemaker look for top prospects, their first search focuses on national and regional rankings, and the name of Jay Frankel popped up on the Midwest list. Frankel responded to Hunsinger’s initial letter and later visited with his father. The continued interest by the Oberlin staff impressed Frankel, as Hunsinger traveled to the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield to watch him play. Frankel looked at both big and small in his college choices, from the likes of Michigan and Michigan State, to Kalamazoo and Denison. But Oberlin won out, for as Frankel puts it, “Adam lures them in and Coach H closes the deal.” Frankel’s future interest in medicine and a medical dad’s respect for Oberlin didn’t hurt either.
You sense this same determination in Frankel. A bit of a gym rat, you’ll find him stringing rackets in the tennis office or querying Shoemaker about recruits for next year. He admits the work at Oberlin has caught him off guard, but a more focused study program is bringing things back where he wants them.
His coaches recognize his toughness on the court, and an early season shoulder injury has not slowed him down. Frankel is clear in his season goals to establish himself as one of the top 25-30 NCAA Division III players, guaranteeing him a spot at the NCAA. He laments the team’s current lack of depth, but is focused in his resolve to help the coaching staff build a team with players as dedicated and tough as himself, building a national team contender before his days at Oberlin end.

Off the court, Frankel finds Oberlin a natural fit. He attended teammate senior Ben Fox’s recital last weekend, and then got him back on the court. He toys with the thought of playing soccer in the fall, and a three handicap in golf might find him on the links in the years ahead as well. He prides himself in being a gentleman both on and off the court, and expects nothing less from those he plays against. With balance in his life, he has no regrets about his decision.
In the weeks ahead, all roads will again lead to Oberlin. Both Houlihan and Frankel will work hard to get others to join them in their quest for two programs that at Oberlin can make their presence known on the national level. If enthusiasm, desire, skill and hard work are the key ingredients in this equation, two very important pieces of the puzzle are already in place.