Lauren Graduates; Whitney wins Dept. Honor

I think this is the rainiest Spring in VT history, or it sure feels like it has to be. About the best thing that can be said about the weather, however, is that somehow, it wasn't raining for Graduation, thank goodness! Lauren graduated, if not under a beautfiul blue sky, at least it wasn't under an umbrella.

During the week leading up to Graduation we gathered in Mead Chapel for our Athletic Department Awards ceremony. Lauren and I were there to recieve Whitney's award: the Hazeltine-Klevenow Award, honoring a senior for best combining ability in athletics and excellence in scholarship. Congratulations to both Whitney and Lauren for their four years of dedication to both Middlebury and our Volleyball Team. We will miss you both very much.

Whitney did come back for the graduation ceremony this weekend, but did not walk with the graduates. Connor's brother was among the graduates, as was Stud's sister, and Lacee Philips Patterson's brother-in-law. What a surprise to see Lacee! She's doing well in California, and made the very quick trip out for the festitivites before red-eyeing back to work today! It was great to see her, and a fun bonus.

Green Feats--what is that?!

Anyone recognize these sneaks?

Here is what was on the MIDD site about Green Feats:

"It's as easy as tying your shoes. Make a promise to the planet. Then show your support by lacing up with green. Here's ten athletes that did it. They are green athlete liaisons, and they and others--representing every Middlebury sports team--will be working during Earth Day weekend, starting April 22, to promote a sustainable culture in athletics. Along with Nordic Sking Head Coach Andrew Gardner, they'll be collecting people's pledges to the environment and handing out green laces to remind them of their promises. The idea is inspired by GreenLaces.org founder and professional soccer player Natalie Spilger who says, 'It's time we stop only representing our sponsors and start representing our values.'

These athletes are doing it. Are you?"

Here is the link so you can see all the athletes' shoes: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/middmag/2011/04/21/green-feats/?pid=26

Click the link, and you'll get to find out who's shoes these are, and what her promise was! We're proud of you, #11! :)

Elissa Blogs from New Zealand!

I've heard from both Jane and Elissa a couple of times, and know they're enjoying themselves, but have yet to get a good, comprehensive update on what they've been doing down there. However, Elissa did start a blog to share her experiences, so thanks Elissa! Here is the link: http://www.egkiwi.blogspot.com/ Also, Caroline is in Italy, but I haven't heard much from her recently, so I'll take that to mean that she's having a fabulous time! :)

Alum Updates

OK, I've been in touch with several people over the course of the Fall/Winter, so I'll see if I can summarize what's going on with people from whom I've heard.

Amy Lowell ('01) was out west this past summer for her brothers wedding and had a reunion of sorts with a fellow teammate Anne McDonough ('99), who is friends with the bride. After spending the summer under the Western sun, Amy decided she liked it enough to make the move! She up and moved to Boulder, CO and is getting settled out West after living in New England her whole life! She's excited about the change, and is settling into a new job in occupational therapy and is loving all the fun outdoor activities her new environment has to offer. Before she left the East, however, she got to visit with her old pal, Leslie Edwards ('01) in Manhattan. She reports that Les is doing great and is happily married and enjoying life there. Once in CO, Amy hopes to catch up with Dawn Trowbridge Marsh ('00) who lives in nearby Fort Collins and works in a bank and enjoys spending time with her two kids, Tanner and Cadence. I'm actually hoping to catch up with Dawn when I go recruiting in the Denver area for the CO Crossroads tournament. 

Blair Sly ('01) is still in California running his own business and coaching volleyball on the side. He's now coaching only the boys varsity at The College Prep School in Oakland, after a few years coaching both boys and girls. His varsity team has won League 3 or 4 years in a row now, which is a testament to his coaching abilities as he took over a young program. He said this about coaching his team: "It's so fun to show up at tournaments with [our] dorky name ("The College Prep School") and take out huge public schools." He said he hasn't kept in touch all that well with many alums, but did say that he was sad to have missed old pal Leslie Edwards' wedding. His girlfriend may bring him East, and if so, we hope we get to see him again one of these days.

Katie Kenney Enslin ('03) had a lot of news in her Holiday card. She's happy living in MN with native hubby, and dog Cash. However, the family will soon grow as baby Enslin is due in May! She keeps in close touch with pal Evan Kanaly Herberts ('03), who had a new baby this past Fall. Congrats to both of you with your expanding families! Katie was in her first triathlon this summer too, so a lot going on for "Kato," as my young daughter used to call Katie! Since living in MN, Katie has been known to fish for Bass, make Sauerkraut, and other "Midwestern" pasttimes. It warms my heart to think of her making her life in the good ole' Midwest, although we miss seeing her out here. We did, however, get to see her parents this Fall. They were our loyal fans from the past! It was great to see them at (I think) all three of our NESCAC Tournament matches! At least the semi-finals and finals. Thank you so much, Kenney's!! We love the support! :)

Luz Brito Pena ('04) had a little baby boy last summer and they made a trip to VT to visit and to show her husband around Midd! Little Kevin is adorable, and they're all doing great. Luz is teaching at her HS Alma mater and enjoys the challenges of working with HS age students.

Danielle Boniello Gannett('04) has a new job that could be her dream job working in marketing for a Hotel & Resort company.

She doesn't have to commute into the city anymore, which is great for her! She's still working toward a business degree in her "spare time," so she's keeping herself very busy. Danielle keeps tabs on us through her mother-in-law, whose daughter is playing volleyball, so she's up on who's doing what in Northeast Volleyball.

Lindsay Patterson ('08.5) is living in San Fransisco with Reisa Bloch (09.5). Reisa is working for the Gap still--yes, the job she got when she missed our final NESCAC game a couple years ago (reinforcement of a wise decision!) Lindsay is taking classes in preparation for PT school, and will apply next Fall. She's loving life in San Fran, but she enjoyed visiting Lexie Fisher ('08) in NYC not long ago. She said it was great to visit friends, and catch up with their lives, but after she returned she commented that she was "reminded that I love NYC, but I could never live there."

Sister Lacee Patterson Phillips(06.5) also lives in San Fran now with new hubby and Cooper (the dog), and is teaching 5th grade at a KIPP school. She's involved with Starlings Volleyball Club, which helps provide opportunities for girls to get involved with volleyball regardless of thier socioeconomic background, which is fantastic. Lacee commented that she and fellow alums in San Fran Georgia Jolink ('06), and Jamie Wong ('06) were anxiously following our progress through the season last year. Along with raising a puppy, Lacee is also "hooked" on doing triathlons, which is actually no surprise to any of us that know Lacee--good for you, Lacee, and enjoy those excruciating training workouts! :)
 
Mallory White ('10) moved back to CO after graduation and is working for the El Pomar Foundation in Colorado Springs. She's enjoying being back in CO, but keeps tabs on her pals still here in MIDD and was very excited about our season. She was recently back on campus for Whit's Feb Graduation, as was Natalie DuPre ('10), who's currently working in Boston.

Molly Elmer-Dewitt ('10) had a lot to report on her life in Chicago. She's living with sister Kitty in a "lovely apartment in [a] Ukrainian village." She's interning in the prevention department of a non-profit before heading into Med School. To help pay the rent, she's also a waitress at a "snazzy new sushi restaurant." Of course, Molly had great stories to share about her current experiences in the prevention department, and for anyone that read her blog while she was in Africa, you know she's got a gift there! Molly is still running (of course), and trained this Fall for a marathon. I'm not sure I heard from her afterwards?! I do believe that Molly still holds the VB team record for the preseason mile?....

OK, thanks to all of you for the updates, and please keep us posted!! Enjoy!

Whitney Graduates on Snowshoes!

Well, it's sad to say good-bye, as always, but Whit is moving on to a very exciting time of life. She's headed to the city (NYC) and we'll try to keep tabs on her next moves. Before leaving MIDD, however, we had a chance to hang out a little, and also catch up with her family too. We'll miss all of them (and Connor too!) Hopefully, we'll get Tom to come to MIDD, and then we'll still get to see the rest of the family, including Whitney, who of course will come back to visit her "little" brother!

I think the college put on a very nice Feb Graduation Weekend, from the sounds of it. There were small parties almost all week leading up to Graduation, and it sounded like Convocation was very nice. The weather cooperated on Saturday for a wonderful "ski down the mountain!" I should qualify what I mean by the weather "cooperating." I think Julia might differ with that opinion. It was snowing lightly, and was a little chilly, but overall, it wasn't nearly as cold as it has been in previous years.

Congratulations, Whitney! Well done. We'll certainly miss you, but will look forward to keeping in touch about your next stage of life! Enjoy, and best wishes.

Caitlin's Blog about J-Term in Africa

Here is a link to Caitlin's Blog about her experiences in Africa. I'm sorry to be getting this up a little late, but check it out to read all about her J-term abroad. Can't wait to have you back, Caitlin, but so happy that you're enjoying the experience!

middofmalawi.blogspot.com

End of Season Banquet at Waybury Inn

We changed our venue this year for our end of season banquet. Instead of Fire and Ice, or Brian's picturesque Vermont house, we decided to go to the nearby Waybury Inn. We had our own private dining room, and we ate in style. Thanks to our parents generous donations of food this year, we were able to actually pay for the banquet from our budget, so that was a nice switch! Both Rachel and Steve were able to join us, too, which was great. We were missing Brian, which was too bad. However, since he was at Disney World with his kids, we didn't feel all that bad for him though. :)

It was great to reconnect as a whole team, and to celebrate just being together again. Our reason for the banquet, however, is to honor each member of the team for their contributions to the team, and for being such great ambassadors to Middlebury College. Thus, everyone received the Middlebury "M" and a Certificate of Participation from the Middlebury College Department of Athletics (in addition to one PE credit toward graduation!) It's the old fashioned type of letter that can be sewn on a jacket or a sweater, as it was in the "old days." I believe that this letter has been handed out to Midd Athletes forever, which is a fun tradition.

The TEAM Awards that were voted on by the team this year were the "Tough as Nails" award, the "Glue" award, the "Spirit" award, and the "Most Improved". And, here are the results:

The "Tough as Nails" award went to both Lauren and Caitlin, and recognized them for being tough throughout the season, in practice and in games, and just in general! (Maybe it's in the genes?)

The "Glue" award went to Julia, who helped bring the team together, and kept the team together in many ways!

The "Spirit" award went to Elissa, who's energy and enthusiasm were contagious!

The "Most Improved" went to both Maddie and Stud, for really working hard to improve their respective games in the off-season, and also from the beginning of the season to the end!

It's also a time to recognize our captains and the important job that they do during the season, and also to thank our seniors for all they've given the Program over their years here.

As for the captains, they did a fantastic job this year. They were a good pair, and their different leadership styles worked well together. Lauren was our floor general. She ran the offense, and kept everyone involved, and really distributed the ball well. She lead by example, and although she can certainly speak up when need be, she was rarely long on words. Jane was more of our sentimental and emotional leader both through her actions, and her words and enthusiasm. The work they do all season long, and also during the off-season is a main reason for our success.

For the seniors, I was delinquent in ordering their traditional navy blue fleece blankets embroidered with Middlebury and their # on it, so I had nothing to give them but my sincere thanks. The two seniors have given so much of themselves to this team over the years. I think beating Williams for the first time in their careers, (and TWICE) had to be a great moment for those two seniors. However, winning the NESCAC Tournament had to clearly be the career highlight.

I would describe Whit as an "old soul" because in my mind she had a mature nature about her since the day she arrived in MIDD. When out for any reason, she would just go about her business, and get back out there as soon as possible without any drama--EVER. That presence of mind and spirit was a calming force for us, and had a very large impact on the team morale and focus. I think Whit was a wonderful mentor and role model, and we'll all miss her very much.

Despite Lauren's outward quietness at first, there was never a doubt about her control on the court. Lauren's ability as a setter, and her competitive, nerves of steel nature made her an instant leader on the team. Being named a junior captain really demonstrated the impact she had on the team, and the team rallied around her to reach greater heights each year. She broke most of the setting records for both a single season, and for a career, which is impressive. I think it's Lauren's unique and dynamic personality, her wit, and her dry sense of humor that I'll miss the most.

Getting to know people like Lauren and Whitney, not just as volleyball players, but as people is the true perk of my job. The changes that players go through from a recruit, to a rookie, to an upperclassman, to a senior, and then on to an alum are just really fun to witness, and share. I will miss these two seniors both as players and as people, but I'll always look forward to their return to campus, or seeing them in the stands on the road, or getting an email about a new job, a wedding, or a baby!

NICE JOB, everyone! Fun times! Thank you for all the great memories!