From the spring of 2010, when I received my first beat, until the fall of 2012, when I finally became too busy with classes to continue writing, I was fortunate enough to be a sportswriter for Ithaca College’s award-winning newspaper, The Ithacan. Here are some of my highlights from my time on the paper.
Underwater hockey club seeks new home in Athletics and Events Center
My final piece for The Ithacan originally started as an article I wrote for a class website/quasi-newspaper focused on “Weird Ithaca.” When I told my editors at The Ithacan what I was writing about though, they were intrigued and asked me to expand it into a sports front-page feature story. The result is one of my favorite stories, a profile of the bizarre sport called underwater hockey and the Cornell University students who play it.
The Extra Point
From the start of the Spring 2011 semester to the end of the Fall 2011 semester at Ithaca College, I wrote The Ithacan’s general sports blog, The Extra Point. Starting here, on page 2 of my Ithacan archives, and going back to page 10, you can see almost all of the posts I wrote for the blog. Subjects included no-hitters in baseball, college conference realignment, Ithaca’s annual grudge match in football against SUNY Cortland and pretty much anything else I could manage to tie in as “sports.”
Women’s Volleyball
- Up and down season yields lessons for Blue and Gold volleyball-My final feature story for women’s volleyball and my last beat feature for The Ithacan.
- Squad fights for spot in Empire 8 conference tournament–A feature on the Bombers’ improbable run towards the Empire 8 conference tournament.
- South Hill squad swept on day two of Ithaca Invitational
- Bombers’ lone senior Weil takes charge-My favorite piece from this beat, a feature on one of the team’s co-captains, outside hitter Marissa Weil.
- Bombers’ underclassmen learn on the fly-A feature spotlighting the younger players on what was a relatively inexperienced Ithaca women’s volleyball team that year. This was also my first feature for the beat.
- Blue and Gold finish second at Bomber Invitational
- South Hill squad opens season with pair of victories-My first recap for the women’s volleyball beat.
Women’s Golf
- NCAA dreams motivate Blue and Gold during offseason workouts-My last feature for the women’s golf beat was a look at how the team practices and stays in shape in between its fall and spring seasons.
- Bombers’ upperclassmen golfers take freshmen under their wings-A feature on the mentorship the team’s older members provided to its younger golfers.
- Blue and Gold prepare for Empire 8 Championships-Like the headline says, a look at the team’s preparations for the conference championship meet.
- Baker and Li exceed expectations at Pure Silk Women’s Team Championships-My first regular feature for the women’s golf beat was a story on Kelsey Baker and Sharon Li competing at an offseason summer meet against a field which included NCAA Division I competition.
- On the Cusp-The Ithacan’s 2012 Fall Sports Preview included a piece I wrote previewing the women’s golf team.
Men’s indoor track and field
- Winter break training beefs up Blue and Gold-The only feature I wrote for the men’s indoor track and field beat, which I had to leave halfway through to spend a semester abroad in London.
- Bombers open season at Cornell relays-The only recap I wrote for the men’s indoor track and field beat.
Men’s cross-country
- Blue and Gold finish 10th at NCAA regionals to end season-My final men’s cross country recap
- Bombers win second straight Empire 8 Conference title
- Bombers finish fifth at state championships
- Squad finishes fifth in regular season finale
- Cross-country team paces itself for races-My final cross-country feature, which as the headline suggests, focuses in large part on how the Ithaca men’s team prepares differently for meets during the second half of the season.
- Squad finishes sixth at Hamilton Invitational
- Bombers finish 20th at Lehigh
- Bombers finish sixth at SUNY-Cortland
- Track and field standout improves in cross country-A profile of David Geary, who competed for both the track and field and cross-country teams at Ithaca
- Bombers finish fourth at Penn State
- Blue and Gold victorious in opening meet at Oswego-My first men’s cross-country recap
- Returning to build a legacy–My first cross-country feature for The Ithacan, about a preseason running event.
Men’s Outdoor track and field
- Mastrosimone named All-American at NCAA Championships-My last outdoor track recap highlighted a strong showing by Ithaca’s Chris Mastrosimone in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
- Bombers finish third at ECACs
- Bombers win four events at Oneonta
- Bombers record two top 10 finishes at state decathlon
- Bombers compete at Big Red Invitational
- Bombers finish strong at Penn Relays
- Bombers qualify for ECAC championships
- Devins breaks school record, Bombers finish second at Cornell
- Bombers win fifth straight Empire 8 Outdoor title
- Bombers come out strong in first home meet-Despite the headline, the meet was actually held in Cortland, N.Y., with Ithaca performing “hosting” duties.
- Bombers turn in championship times
- Key to success-My first sports section cover feature story for The Ithacan and one of the stories I’m most proud of was a profile of Matt Confer, who was simultaneously a hurdler for Ithaca’s men’s track and field team and a trombonist and trumpeter for multiple ensembles within the school’s conservatory school.
- Blue and Gold win five events at invitational
- Blue and Gold begin season with championship times-My first track and field recap for The Ithacan.
- Always in season-My first track and field feature for The Ithacan profiled two athletes who competed for both Ithaca’s soccer and track and field teams.
Men’s Swimming and diving
- Bombers’ season finishes with All-America honors-My final swimming/diving recap, covering Ithaca diver Derek Rand’s performance at the NCAA Division III National Championships.
- Pooling their talents–My final feature story for the swimming beat, focusing on the Ithaca Bombers’ preparations for a key postseason meet.
- Bombers close out season with victory-My final regular-season recap for Ithaca’s men’s swimming/diving team.
- Bombers close out home schedule-this was a home recap, which meant that unlike road recaps, it featured direct quotes (as was Ithacan policy at the time)
- South Hill Squad win sixth straight dual meet
- Prepared to make a splash-A feature profiling the divers on Ithaca’s men’s swimming and diving team
- South Hill squad turns in strong performances during break
- Blue and Gold finish first of six teams
- Squad fueled by nationally ranked relay teams-My first feature on the swimming/diving beat was a look at the Ithaca Bombers’ relay teams. Apologies for the poor formatting on the actual article.
- Blue and Gold win third straight meet
Men’s Soccer
- Bombers shutout in 3-0 loss
- Changing speeds
- Bombers shutout for first loss
- Blue and Gold lose in penalty kicks
- Bombers rally for draw in season opener
- South Hill squad finishes season with loss
- Senior settles into leadership role for Bombers-My last feature story on the men’s soccer beat and probably the best one I wrote that season.
- South Hill squad blanks RIT for win
- Blue and Gold win first conference game
- Blue and Gold post shutout for the win
- South Hill squad earn third draw of the season
- Bombers drop third straight match
- Blue and Gold post shutout in first win
- Blue and Gold shutout in first conference match
Men’s Crew
- “Blue and Gold place eighth at ECACs“-my last crew recap for the Spring 2010 season
- “Men’s crew looks to regain championship status“-My last crew feature
- “Blue and Gold’s varsity 8 takes third at states”
- “Squad sweeps final home meet of the season”-My last home crew meet recap for the Spring 2010 season.
- “Bombers take two of four against Rochester and RIT”
- “Men’s crew gets season underway in six team meet“-my first crew meet recap.
- “Female coxswains lead the way for men’s crew“-I’m fairly sure this was my first published piece in The Ithacan, certainly my first feature story.