With a mixture of wins and losses, the Lady Marlins keep their drive as well as their attitude strong. As a team, they are determined to work out all the kinks that need adjustment to have a strong finish this season. Before Easter break, VWC played Sweet Briar College on March 22. Nine Marlins scored. Freshmen Kristen Cabido and Megan Parris led the scoring with three goals each. Senior Meagan DiCave had two goals and six assists.

The next day, undefeated Lynchburg College scored with 57 seconds remaining in the second overtime to pull out the win. “The Lynchburg game was definitely key for us as a team,” said DiCave. “Not only did it bring us together on the field and show us what we are capable of, but it also brought us together off the field.”

DiCave had four goals and Parris had three for the Marlins. The final score was 12-11. "In the Lynchburg game - we had that game the whole way, and at the end it was our offense that lost the ball, and brought the ball down on defense and we made some stupid fouls," said sophomore Anne Marie Nash. "If we had been patient, a big problem we have, and held onto the ball we would have never had to go into double overtime,... sudden death."

With the last 30 seconds on the clock, in sudden death, Parris, without a defender on her, had received the pass from DiCave. As she was going for the goal, a defender slashed at her from behind, recovered the ball, and ventured down the field to score. "If it wasn't for that defender slashing me, we would've won the game,” said Parris. “They were completely caught off guard by our play. We earned a lot of respect for that game,"

A four-goal rally in the second half was apparently not enough to lift VWC during the game against Catholic University on March 27. DiCave and Nash led scoring with four goals each. The final score for this game was 18-11. "We let ourselves get down in the beginning and forced ourselves to play catch up the rest of the game," said Nash. "We could have totally won against Catholic, but they just kept their lead and responded with a goal after each of our goals." Next up on the roster is Marymount College on April 6.

Hidden behind the hype of our men's tournament brackets and the excitement of March Madness, there were true champions. Real champions, who could say that no one could beat them, no one was better and that no one could even come close. Ignored by the male sports world, shunned by national television and lost on the back page of the sports section, they still made it to the top; to the top of their world, where recognition finally prevailed in the shadows of the University of Maryland's first men's basketball championship. So what's the best thing that happened to the University of Maryland's men's basketball team besides winning the national championship? Well, to be quite honest with you, they didn't have to play the University of Connecticut Huskies- the Husky Ladies, that is.

Almost orphaned to the masculinity of the world of sports, the UCONN women pulled in a championship of their own. Their championship came at the hands of perfection. "There was never one moment in the season where I thought we were going to lose," senior Asjha Jones said. Talent, coaching and confidence led the Lady Huskies to a perfect 39-0 season.

Thirty-nine wins without a loss puts the Lady Huskies in another final four. They are one of four Division I Women's basketball teams to finish a season undefeated. However, the Lady Huskies may not ever win this Final Four, because individual opinions do not determine the best team ever. Because of all the hype of college basketball on the men's side of things many of us have missed what could have been the best women's basketball team to ever play. But isn't this just so typical of our sexist athletic life? Don't women's sports get the mute button, the off switch, the channel changer? The answer to this is yes, it sucks, it's unfair, it's unjust, but it is a long-term change. The key is to begin making an adjustment; so here I am, a male ignoring Maryland and focusing on Husky Ladies rather than laughing at the phrase "husky ladies."

"Golf junkies." That's the terminology that head golf coach Jeremey Marks uses to refer to his young team, and he cites it as one of their strengths. "We've got a lot of guys who just love to play," said Marks.

A lot of young guys, as it were. With only one senior and eight first-year players, the Wesleyan golf team is, without a doubt, young, but it doesn't seem to slow them down. Freshman Mike Hessler medaled with a 75 at a tournament at Kiskiac, and fellow freshman Lance Roberson shot a 73 to place second in the Chowan College Invitational. In addition, Hessler has broken 80 in the last three matches with scores of 73, 77, and 79, and Roberson followed suit in the last two with a 75 and a 79.

"That young enthusiasm has injected some energy into the program," Marks said. At an ODAC match hosted by Lynchburg College at the London Downs course, in which Hessler sunk a hole-in-one on the seventh hole, the team finished fifth out of six ODAC teams with a combined 323 overall. Hessler tied for third with a 77 and Roberson placed fourth with a 79.

Despite a fourth-place finish in state competition in the fall and a third-place conference finish in the ODAC behind Roanoke and Lynchburg, the Marlins were only ranked eighth out of nine teams in the standings. "I don't think we earned a lot of respect, but it's motivation to step up and prove that it's a different Wesleyan team," Marks said. "If they pick it up, they'll surprise a lot of people. But not me."

With unpredictable spring weather affecting course conditions, a sharp short game and precise putting and chipping are a must. In addition, Marks believes that mentality is key. "We need to be more tournament-tough," he said. "We've done great in practice and qualifiers ... we just have to believe it will happen." Marks has high expectations for the rest of the season, including some individual rankings as well as a speculated finish somewhere among the top five ODAC seeds.

The Marlins struggle for consistency on the field, losing two of their last three games. The Marlins beat Guilford College on March 23. Guilford scored back-to-back goals to close out the first half and pull within an 8-5 score heading into halftime. Five different Marlins scored in the third quarter to lead the Marlins to a 19-7 win.

Senior Paul Pavon started the surge with a perimeter shot-and-score that ignited the Marlins who controlled the ball and tempo through most of the 3rd quarter. Senior Jesuma Janneh, who won the majority of the face-offs in the quarter, also contributed to the scoring with a goal. In the next eight minutes sophomore Ryan Bush, junior E.J. Amobi and junior Jay Smith all added goals to push the Marlins into a 13-5 lead. Wesleyan capped the big offensive afternoon with goals by first-year Marlins Dan Boitel and Pat Backus in the fourth quarter. Smith finished the day with three goals and three assists. Pavon also scored three goals, while Bush added two goals and two assists. Senior Brian Fox finished with a season-high six assists.

The penalty-plagued Marlins were upset at Randolph Macon on March 27. A season-high 15 penalties called against Wesleyan helped to pave the way to a 7-4 upset victory for the host Yellow Jackets, who defeated the Marlins for the first time since 1997. Because of penalties, the Marlins were unable to put together a consistent attack in the second half. Ten penalties were called against the Marlins in the second half, eight in the fourth quarter. Macon was presented with numerous man-up situations because of the penalties but managed to score only one goal. Smith finished the day with two goals; both Janneh and sophomore Ryan Naftzinger had one. Fox and Bush were each credited with an assist. Sophomore goalie Dustin Betthauser recorded 13 saves for the Marlins.

Whittier College defeated the Marlins March 30. The team was ranked # 15 in Division III, found the host Marlins ready for anything the visitors had to offer. Senior captain Bill Lingo showed he would not be intimidated by scoring four goals in the second quarter, making the score 6-5 Whittier at the half. They blitzed the cage, scoring three goals in 64 seconds in the third quarter for a 15-8 non-conference victory. Lingo finished with four goals, Bush and Fox finished with two. Betthauser recorded 18 saves. "We hit a rough patch,"said junior midfielder Jason Story. "As a team we will pull through this. We have great team captains- Nick Scroggs, Dan Greenspun and Lingo. We also have Bush, Fox, Smith, Pavon and Naftzinger, who have all stepped up right when we need them".

The Marlins next game is April 6 at 1:00p.m. against Roanoke College. "We have our fate in our hands," said head coach Michael Pounds. "We are capable of playing with the best teams out there. We held our own three out of four quarters in the last two games we played. We are putting things together."

Men’s tennis struggles to win ODAC matches

By CARLOS MARTILLO

Junior captain John Tomasheski has a 9-0 record at No. 1 and has been leading the Marlins through the rebuilding of this year's team. The Marlins played at home March 30 against Shenandoah University. Both doubles teams of Tomasheski and freshman Orrin Oles, along with senior Mike Touhill and sophomore Jason Wood, won doubles. "Players have come a long way since the beginning of the season," said Coach Dave Macedo.

Tomasheski improved his record to the current 9-0, and the rest of the top four- Oles, Wood and junior Huy Hoang-swept singles. The Marlins recorded a 7-0 victory over Chowan College on March 28. The team started off strong with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Then, the top four seeds won in straight sets. "Going into the game, I knew Chowan wasn't a strong team so the net, the weakest part of my game, was my game plan," said Tomasheski.

The Marlins’ young team improved their record to 3-6, snapping a six-game losing streak. "That was a learning experience,” said Coach Macedo. “Players have never been in that position before." The Marlins had suffered losses to Hamden-Sydney College, Roanoke College and Christopher Newport University. "Let them beat you, don't beat yourself," Tomasheski tells the players when they need words of encouragement.

Tomasheski was the only win against Hampden-Sydney and Roanoke College. Christopher Newport was a close match. The Marlins lost 4-3. Tomasheski and Hoang recorded singles wins over undefeated CNU players Brandon Musika and Patrick Murphey. The Marlins are currently 0-3 in ODAC. "We're looking at John (Tomasheski) to take the No. 1 seed," said Coach Macedo. The Marlins take the court at home on April 9 against Bridgewater College at 3 p.m.