The spring athletic season may not be over quite yet, but with The Herald wrapping up publication Thursday, it's time to look back at the highlights and lowlights of the spring semester in sports.
Best Break-out Season: Men's basketball's Keenan Jeppesen '08, who averaged 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game during the 2006 Ivy League season after averaging just 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds his first Ivy season. He was named to the All-Ivy second team.
Most with the Least Award: The women's basketball team, which tied with Dartmouth and Princeton for the Ivy League title despite having a far less talented team on paper. Chalk it up to good defense, great coaching and Ivy League Player of the Year Sarah Hayes '06. Speaking of whom...
Biggest Smile Award: Hayes, who was featured in a Herald photo grinning ear-to-ear after cutting down the nets at the Pizzitola Center in celebration of the team's championship.
Best Streak: Softball shortstop Mary Seid '06, who had a 15-game hitting steak from March 12 to April 1. The Bears' leadoff hitter leads the Ivy League with a .469 on-base percentage and 12 stolen bases and is third in the Ancient Eight with a .406 batting average and 29 runs scored.
Worst Streak: The baseball team's season-opening 12-game losing streak. To be fair, the first six contests were against then-No. 6 Florida State University and Vanderbilt University, who was then unranked but now is No. 21 in Baseball America's poll.
Best Comeback: The softball team's nine-run seventh-inning rally with two outs to beat Harvard 11-10 on April 15, which was capped by a walk-off home run by designated hitter Kaitlyn Laabs '09.
Back from the Dead ... Almost Award: The men's hockey team, which nearly upset fifth-seed St. Lawrence University in the first round of the ECACHL playoffs. After finishing the ECACHL season in last place with a record of 3-14-5, the Bears took the Saints to overtime in the third and deciding game before falling 5-4. On the season, Brown was 0-6-6 in overtime games.
No Respect Award: The men's tennis team, which on more than one occasion moved down in the rankings after winning all its matches during a given week. For example, after beating Dartmouth and then-No. 69 Harvard, the Bears dropped from No. 65 last week to No. 70 this week. Don't ask us how that works, because we have no idea.
Best Upset: The men's crew team's upset of Harvard on the Seekonk River April 8. The Harvard crew had been undefeated over the previous three years entering the race. The No. 4 Bears face another tough challenge this weekend at No. 1 Princeton. (Note: we say "best" upset rather than "biggest" because Harvard was ranked third and Brown seventh at the time.)
Believing Doesn't Mean Seeing Award: Both the men's and women's crew teams, which are ranked in the top 10 nationally - the men are fourth, the women ninth - probably get the least fan support of any Brown team. Of course, having to compete on a river makes spectator convenience a non-consideration.
Wait 'Til 2008 Award: Larry Haertel '08, who won the Ivy League Golf Championship last weekend with a three-round score of 212 (4-under). Haertel is the first Bear to win the individual title. The team finished in third place; the only other time Brown has placed that high was 1994.
Missed It By That Much Award: The women's ice hockey team, which led Harvard 3-1 in the first period of the ECACHL Championship before eventually falling 4-3. The loss came after the third-seeded Bears upset Princeton, the second seed.
Pure Domination Award: Brittany Grovey '06 and Jake Golenor '06, who blew away their competition at the Indoor Heptagonal Championships. Golenor won the shot put by more than two feet, as did Grovey in the triple jump.
"I Am a Real American" Award: Grovey, the members of the distance medley relay - Naja Ferjan '07, Akilah King '08, Kelly Powell '06 and Anna Willard '06 - and skier Kelly O'Hear '07, who all earned All-American honors this winter.
Not Quite Edwin Moses Award: Diver Jessica Larson '06, who went undefeated through the dual meet season and set the school record in the 3-meter dive. She faltered a bit late in the season, narrowly missing a spot in the NCAA Championship by finishing second in the 1-meter dive at Zones.
Willis Reed Award: Men's squash member Breck Bailey '06, who shared the Skillman Award for the nation's top player despite injuring his knee at the Hoehn Cup.
All in the Family Award: Ed '08 and Megan '08 Cerullo and Patrick '07 and Breck '09 Haynes, the squash program's two pairs of siblings. It's worth noting that Chester Hall '08 is a cousin of the Hayneses whose sister, Letitia '02, also played for Brown.
"Bullet Bob" Hayes Award: Paul Raymond '08. Widely rumored to be the fastest player on the football team, the wide receiver joined the indoor track team over the winter. He won the 60-meter dash at Indoor Heps with a time of 6.85.
Snake-bitten Award: The baseball team's starting pitcher, Shaun McNamara '06, who, despite having a 4.08 ERA in his four Ivy League starts, has gone 1-2 in those games.
Graduation Award: The fencing teams, who competed in the Ivy League for the first time this season. The men and women picked up one win apiece.
Into the Sunset Award: All the graduating Brown student-athletes. Thanks for giving us here at The Herald Sports Desk most of our subject matter.
