The Retriever Weekly Blog » Opinion

Women’s lacrosse hot streak with 20-7 win at Manhattan

Donald Daniels — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:49:10 +0000

The Retrievers scored ten goals in each half as they handed the Jaspers their sixth loss of the season. Bria Phillips and Emily Coady were phenomenal as the both had five goals a piece in the win. In addition to Phillips and Coady performance six other Retrievers scored as least one goal. Even though the Retrievers dominated the final score the Jaspers did lead early in this game. Manhattan controlled the game as they lead 4-1 in the opening four minutes and thirty-six seconds into the game. A Coady sparked a 7-0 run that gave the Retrievers the momentum they needed to defeat the Jaspers. UMBC won the ground battle 21-18, outshot Manhattan 36-26 and was nearly perfect on their clear attempts as UMBC went 15-16 in that department. The win now puts UMBC at 8-3 on the year as they just one win shy of tying the win total for the entire 2009 season when they went 9-8 last year. The women’s lacrosse will try to make it seven in a row when they take on New Hampshire for their second America East Conference game of the season, currently the Wildcats are 5-3 on the year.

Baseball takes down Long Beach for first win of the season

Donald Daniels — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:55:20 +0000

Ryan McCarthy

Contributing Writer

The UMBC baseball team won its first victory of the year when they defeated Long Island 10-5 in Auburndale, Florida. Leading the dogs to victory with a grand slam was junior Bryan Russo. Also, senior Andrew Germuth pitched for six solid innings.

During the bottom of the fourth inning, sophomore Michael Pesci hit a double base hit to score two juniors: Rich Conlon and Rick Phillips for a tie. Following the tie, Curtis Schickner drove in Pesci with a fly to center field, which left the Retrievers winning 3-2.

Freshman Aaron Brill led the bottom of the seventh with a triple, and sophomore Casey Medairy, and junior Marty Zawacki followed the triple with walks. Phillips scored two players in with a single. Pesci also followed with another single. Lastly, Russo hit his second home run of the season to left field.

Senior Andrew Germuth allowed two earned runs from Long Isldand while striking out a UMBC season-high of nine in six innings. Freshman Sean Swetnam also struck out five players.

The Retrievers return to action on Tuesday to face NJIT at 11 a.m.

Men’s basketball team host Vermont hours after campus closed

Donald Daniels — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:20:38 +0000

Two words could sum up the scene at UMBC on Friday afternoon around twelve
o’clock: mass exodus. UMBC, a school known for being on of the last schools to
close due to inclement weather, did so Friday when they closed campus at
1:00 p.m. Hundreds of students fled UMBC as snowflakes fell from the sky as
the one of the worst storms in Maryland history began. However, as students
were departing the campus, the UMBC men’s basketball went through their warm-ups as they
prepared to play a game against Vermont at 3 p.m, two hours after the
school was closed. The notice about the game change was made on Friday
morning and the game took place as the Retrievers lost 60-79 to the
Catamounts in front of a reported crowd of 670 people.

The men’s basketball game was originally scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. and
was moved up to the Friday afternoon slot due to the storm according to
umbcretrievers.com. In addition, the women’s basketball team, also slated to played on
Saturday, was moved back to Sunday at 11 a.m. But there was also another
UMBC sporting event to take place on Saturday as well. On Feb. 3rd an a
notice was posted on the UMBC athletic website that the men’s lacrosse team
scrimmage against Villanova to take place at UMBC at 1 p.m. on Saturday was
moved up to Feb. 4th at 4:30 p.m. The announcement showed that the athletic
department knew beforehand of the storm and made steps to have the
exhibition game take place.

Blizzards don’t happen often and when they do, changes have to be made.
With that said, however, some questions have to asked about the decision-making process that went on in regards to the Feb. 6th games.

Why did the athletic department make arrangements for the men’s lacrosse
team scrimmage days before the storm and the men’s basketball team less
than 24 hours before the blizzard? How can UMBC feel as though they should
be closed at 1 p.m. but still be fit to host a basketball game hours later?
Did the athletic department feel as though students and fans would ignore
the fact the school was closed and still attend a basketball game?

These questions will be answered in an upcoming issue of the Retriever Weekly.

Mama’s Boys shame competition at Festivus Acappellius

Paul-William deSilva — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:52:27 +0000

By Nayana Davis

Staff Writer

On Friday, November 6, Mama’s Boys President, Raif Karerat, welcomed a packed lecture hall of UMBC students and guests from neighboring universities to the sixth annual “Festivus Acappellius” fall concert.

Raif, also serving as the Master of Ceremonies, proceeded to introduce the opening act, UMBC’s female acapella group, the Stilettos. The girls were dressed in black formal wear with the exception of their signature stilettos which varied in style and color from shades of pink, red, and gold to more exotically patterned fare. The Stilettos performed four songs, however, their standout performance on the night was a rousing interpretation of Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend”, lead by their President, Noelle DiSipio. With her sassy moves and powerful voice, she was able to win the crowd over with great ease.

Following the opening act was the Towson coed group, Purrrfect Pitch. They too were decked in all black though their attire was much more casual. Purrrfect Pitch garnered many cheers and laughs with their psychedelic dance moves and great chemistry. Their rendition of of Cake’s “Never There” which featured a duet proved to be a great hit. Much to the surprise of loyal Mama’s Boys fans, Purrrfect Pitch also performed a of “All These Things” by the Killers, a song popularized on the UMBC campus by Mama’s Boys alumnus Steve Gilmore. Although the Purrrfect Pitch version was certainly admirable, it paled in comparison to the Mama’s Boys interpretation.

The night continued with a performance by the Villanova University Haveners, a female acapella group dressed fashionably as if for a night on the town. Interestingly enough, this was the Haveners first time at UMBC, and they were quick to impress. A performance of “Have a Little Faith in Me”, sung by various pop icons including Jewel and Mandy Moore, proved to be both soothing and soulful. However, they were quick to kick it up to high gear and turn on the charm with the rousing number “Can’t Hold Us Down” by Christina Aguilera.

Goucher College’s Red Hot Blue were up next. This coed group proved imaginative in their costumed garb with members dressed up as fairies, pirates, wenches, and there was even a woman dressed up as Max, in his wolf costume, from Where the Wild Things Are. Their rendition of Thriller proved uproarious as it was complete with dance move and evil laughs. Another notable presentation was their version of “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus, led by Serena Shapero. The angst-ridden song, performed with humor by Red Hot Blue, proved somewhat ironic as well given Serena’s Charlie Brown costume. This group got a standing ovation by the end of their set.

Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for arrived as the Mama’s Boys assembled on stage dressed in togas. The crowd roared in approval. They began with the song “Guy Love” by Zach Braff (J.D.) and Donald Faison (Turk), featured in the hit television show, “Scrubs”. In the past, J.D.’s part had been performed by alumnus Jay Lagorio, however, the reins were passed on to sophomore Justin Lane who rose to the challenge magnificently. It was clear that Justin and Raif, reviving his role as Turk, had great chemistry, although, as is typical of Mama’s Boys interactions, it was amusingly awkward.

Next, Junior Nimit Bhatt was adept at engaging the crowd when he singled out audience members to perform a quick dance to the song “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” by the Offspring. The Mama’s Boys also performed some new numbers as well including a lighthearted interpretation of “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys and a well received pop medley which featured “Down, Down, Down” by Jay Sean and “I Got a Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas. The latter performance was especially spectacular as it also included dance moves and showed off solo performances from a good deal of the members.

Finally, the night concluded with a performance of “Where is the Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas, including, as tradition mandates, alumni members. It was interesting to see how far the Mama’s Boys have progressed since forming six years ago when looking upon some of the ghosts of Mama’s Boys past like James Grant, Alex Appelbaum, and Thaddeus Walsh. Here’s to hoping for many more years of great music and success.

Comments may be sent to ndavis3@umbc.edu

Time Magazine lists President Hrabowski among Top Ten

Ariane Szu-tu — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:16:17 +0000

In an issue that hits newsstands this Friday, Time Magazine names Dr. Freeman Hrabowski one of the Ten Best College Presidents in the U.S. President Hrabowski stated, “This recognition reflects the campus’s success and the high quality of the academic experience here.” He added, “It’s an honor for each of us to be a member of the UMBC community.”
UMBC is famous for propelling students through its science and engineering Ph.D. programs and, according to Time Magazine, is one of the “leading sources of African-American Ph.D.s in science and engineering.” However, President Hrabowski said, “We’re working to build a university that has first-rate research across all disciplines.”
Other universities in the Top Ten were Ohio State University, New York University, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Arizona State University, Tulane University, Middlebury College, Miami Dade College, University of Texas at Brownsville and the University of California Oakland.
Pick up a copy of Time Magazine or visit www.time.com for more information.

Switchfoot release new album, and make promises for more.

Paul-William deSilva — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:14:59 +0000

While releasing their first new album in years, radio-rockers Switchfoot whisper to fans of more to come.

By Derek Roper

Staff Writer

Switchfoot showed us “Stars” and that we were “Meant to Live,” and then dropped out of orbit. These singles from their two albums, The Beautiful Letdown and Nothing Is Sound, were appropriately played ad-nauseum on the radio. But the band hasn’t really gone anywhere (have they?). Sure, they had those two albums (the names escape me at the moment) but their rock sound is coming back and it brings with it a Hurricane.

Hello Hurricane was announced that it was in production in 2007. But 2008 came and there was still no album. The band had split from Columbia Records due to personal conflicts.

On Tuesday the 2nd they released the full album.The sound? Well, it is Switchfoot with a couple amps. But what is even more interesting is that after all this time the band wrote on their Twitter page; “So we haven’t been entirely honest …we actually recorded four albums.”

The band is not only releasing the new album, but they are also currently on tour, and along their way, will stop in Baltimore to do a good deed (collect canned goods) to benefit local homeless shelters on Dec. 7 at Rams Head Live! Songs from Hello Hurricane will be performed.

Comments may be sent to roderek1@umbc.edu

Correction: Crossword and Sudoku Solutions from Vol. 44, Issue 2

Greg Fiumara — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:22:41 +0000

Normally, we print the solutions to the previous week’s crossword and sudoku puzzles in the print edition of The Retriever Weekly. We mistakenly printed the current week’s answers in Issue 3. The answers to the crossword and sudoku puzzles from Volume 44, Issue 2 are available after the jump.

Would you be interested in getting the crossword or sudoku puzzles online instead of waiting an additional week to read them in the paper? Please leave a comment letting us know.

Sorry for the inconvenience — keep reading!

Dear person who taped the note to our door: we have movie tickets for you. Stop by!

UMBC Review extends deadline for submission

Gaby Arevalo — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:26:03 +0000

The UMBC Review, the campus journal for undergraduate research, has extended its deadline for submissions to Monday, September 21. The journal is peer-reviewed and seeks student research from all disciplines to be published in its 2010 edition. If you have completed research in the past or even just written a good academic paper, visit the Review’s website for information on how to submit.

Passing of Richard Butler, former Director of Facilities Management

Ariane Szu-tu — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:45:03 +0000

Many did not know that our own former Director of Facilities Management, Richard Butler, was battling cancer. Butler’s death last week was the second death this summer to reach the UMBC community, the first being the passing of Juliana Schamp on August 3. Butler began work at UMBC in 1980 as an Associate Director and eventually became Director of Facilities Management in 1991. He retired from UMBC in 1994 and was succeeded by the current Director of Facilities Management, Jim Donlan. The funeral takes place Friday, August 28 at 11 a.m. at the Colonial Baptist Church, 9411 Liberty Road.

Chicken, the new bread?

Donald Daniels — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:21:07 +0000

If we needed another reason for the terrorist we gave them another one this week. KFC is tested in out the double down. The double down is two pieces of bacon with cheese that is sandwiched between two pieces of chicken breast with the chicken serving as the buns. No bread. The sandwich is being tested in Providence, Rhode Island and Omaha, Nebraska and doing very well. The KFC website has not posted any nutrition facts on this item that could go nationwide, also the cost of the sandwich has not been released as well. With the news of the double down one question has to asked. When did Homer J. Simpson become an executive at KFC. Hopefully if this becomes available to the public Obama’s healthcare plan will go through.