Spring: when a young man's fancy turns to clubs

The Herald surveys spring club sports

Süperfly

Süperfly is halfway through a rigorous regular season after making trips to San Diego and Georgia. With 20 games already under its belt, 'Fly is well on its way to the National Championships in Boise, Idaho in late May. The next big step for the team after this weekend's journey to North Carolina is the Yale Cup, our huge home tournament, on Sat., Apr. 8, and Sun., Apr. 9.

Even though we may be young, that only means that we have learned faster than any other team this season. We've improved more than any other team in the Northeast and we're going to surprise a lot of people. A lot of teams think we're too young. A lot of teams think we've lost too much talent. A lot of teams think we're not a factor. A lot of teams think we won't make our fourth straight trip to Nationals. A lot of teams are dead wrong. We got it all, we buy gold. —James Click

Sailing

The sailing team may not be ready for the America's Cup, but we're close. "I am looking forward to this spring season because the team has lots of good sailors," commodore Betsy Cleveland, DC '01, said. "People are psyched to do some serious sailing."

While most students have been trudging around New Haven, we have already done a lot of sailing and will be on the water almost every day this spring. We had a busy vacation—Yale sent sailors to three regattas, and 33 members of the team traveled to Miami for a week of sun and intense training.

On Sat., Mar. 4, and Sun., Mar. 5, Brandon Wall, ES '03, Leslie Kuo, JE '03, Arthur Kinsolving, CC '03, and Ross Anderson, BR '03, traveled to the Eckerd Invitational Regatta in St. Petersburg, Fla. The freshman team did very well, finishing fifth out of 10 against teams made up of more experienced sailors. On Sat., Mar. 11, and Sun., Mar. 12, the women's team, comprised of Avery Patten, DC '00, Betsy Cleveland, DC '01, Isabelle Kinsolving, CC '02, and Jamie Flaherty, PC '02, finished ninth out of 17 at the Navy Spring Women's Regatta in Annapolis, Md. The women's team got off to a slow start this season, but finished strong with top-five finishes in the last five races. "By racing so much over spring break, we have set ourselves up well for a strong spring season," Coach Jay Kehoe said.

That same weekend, the varsity team finished 11th out of 18 in the Admiral Moore Regatta at New York Maritime. Tom Bayliss, MC '00, John Flynn, JE '00, Beth Apsel, CC '00, Wall, and Kuo competed for Yale.

Although happy with the weekend of racing, everyone is looking to improve this spring. "Brandon and I could have been more consistent, but we either sailed well, or knew what mistakes were keeping us from being at the top of the fleet," Kuo said. "Now we know what to work on in our next races." —Isabelle Kinsolving

M. Rugby

Yale rugby finished 6-1 this fall, the high point of the season being our 10-8 victory over Harvard, whom we had not beaten since 1994. Our loss to Central Connecticut State at the start of the season prevented us from making the league playoffs, but we finished fifth overall in the 26-team Northeast field.

Whereas the fall season consists primarily of league matches, the spring season is made up of exhibitions and tournaments. The outlook is positive, although the roster will look slightly different. A key question will be the strength of our front row, now that hooker Andrew Slater, JE '00, is unable to play. Despite this setback, we look forward to more strong performances from pack standouts such as co-captains Corey Lee, TD '00, at 8-man and Dave "Shamus" Dickson, DC '01, at hooker and prop.

Yale's backs should be as good as ever, and will be bolstered by the return of last year's phenom, Dara MacCaba, MC '02. We expect more tenacious play and accurate kicking from wing and fullback Collin May, SY '02. The inside/outside center combination of Damian Brown, SY '02, and Jeff Eliason, DC '02, that was so successful in the fall should remain intact, helping us to get crucial breakthroughs.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH The men's rugby team will have to rely on a strong but relatively inexperienced front line.

The focal point of our spring is the Ivy League Tournament on Sat., Apr. 8 and Sun., Apr. 9. The tournament should be especially exciting as the competition is more evenly matched than usual. We also have three home matches, against Amherst, George Washington (GW), and Army. Amherst is a mid-range Division I team (we are Division II) that should make for a close match. GW is somewhat of an unknown to us, but we expect to fare well against them. Army always has a dominant Division I program, so the outcome of the game will depend on how many top players they decide to send along with the "B-side" that we will play. —Alex Kallmann

W. Rugby

Fresh from a spring break training trip in San Diego, women's rugby looks to dominate their opponents this season. Because the fall season is league play, the spring gives our players a chance to see teams whom we would otherwise be unable to play, such as Vassar on Sat., Apr. 1, and Mount. Holyoke on Sat., Apr. 22.

The lower intensity of the spring season allows us to fine-tune our roster and fill in the positions of graduating seniors. The back line, including Regina Fitzpatrick, BR '01, Kate Merker, ES '02, Kathleen Eddy, JE '01, and Danielle Robinson, BR '01, has stepped up on a team traditionally dominated by the forwards to raise the level of play for all the players on the field. "We're finally understanding each other's styles of play which has helped us to improve our game in terms of the plays we use and the passes we make," Robinson said.

We will have the perfect opportunity to showcase our skills and strengths in the Ivy League Tournament, on Sat., Apr. 8, and Sun., Apr. 9 at Brown. Co-captains Amanda Munoz, CC '00, and Christine Parker, ES '01, both hope to end their Yale careers with an Ivy win. With old players reaching their peaks and a great bunch of rookies, this should be no problem. The season opener, on Sat., Mar. 25, against New England Division I champs Massachusetts, promises to be one of the toughest matches of the season. —Kristi Loui

W. Water Polo

Since we started competing in 1993, the women's water polo team has been picking up speed. So much, in fact, that gaining varsity status is now our top priority. In order to be truly competitive against other teams, many of whom are able to seek recruits and have extensive coaching staffs and financial support. The team has managed to improve dramatically in a short period of time. "My freshman year there were around 10 girls on the roster, and six at most would show up at any given practice," Sarah Citrin, SM '00, said. "We played one scrimmage the whole year."

Four years later, there are 17 players on the roster, most of whom have been playing for years and have a strong swimming background. This year is the first with an official coach, men's team member Sean Nuttall, TD '01. Last year's captains, Citrin and Michelle Landers, PC '00, faced the difficult task of coaching and playing at the same time.

For the past two years, we have been a member of the league's Southern New England Division. In this time, the women's team has also had the opportunity to join the men's team in Toronto at the end of August, for 10 days of twice-a-day practices coached by former Olympic players. This year the women added a trip to Orlando, Fla. in preparation for the spring season.

Last year we ranked first among club teams in the Ivy League, behind varsity squads Princeton, Harvard, and Brown and beating out rival club Dartmouth. The goal this season is to stay on top in an increasingly competitive league. With several freshmen and a strong returning team including three seniors, one junior, and five sophomores, women's water polo is ready to meet the challenge. We host our first and only home tournament against teams from around New England this weekend, kicking off the tournament on Sat., Mar. 25 against Brown. —Cristina Sosa

Tae Kwon Do

If you happen to be in Payne Whitney Gym on Sat., Apr. 8, don't be surprised to see a lot of black belts walking around. The Yale Tae Kwon Do club will be hosting their annual Collegiate Invitational Tournament, and this year we won't accept anything less than total victory. As many as 16 teams from all over the Northeast, including Ivy League schools, will descend on New Haven to duke it out with the best athletes in the Northeast.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Experienced black belts will have to lead the Elis at the upcoming Collegiate Invitational.

Yale finished third at last year's invitational, after Pennsylvania. Two years ago, we finished a close second behind Brown. Brown has become one of our arch rivals since they also compete at many Connecticut tournaments. Harvard will make its first appearance in our Invitational this year.

Many of the team members have honed their skills in the classes held at Payne Whitney Gym, taught by Robert Hwang, son of Grandmaster Hosoo Hwang. Black belts Lucas Britanico, BK '02, Jack Kelley, DC '02, Paul Cho, BR '01, and Michael Osier, GRD '02, have performed consistently well, and should continue their winning traditions in the upcoming tournaments. In addition to tournaments hosted by Cornell, NYU, Columbia, and Princeton, Yale Tae Kwon Do usually attends the Connecticut State Championship, the U.S. Cup Tournament, and the Tae Kwon Do Nationals.

—James Yoon

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