Varsity Winter – The Oberlin Review

Yo, You Trying to Hoop?

September 13, 2019

Oberlin can be suffocating at times. Downtown, there is only a handful of restaurants and spaces where you can actually feel that you’re off campus. You could be standing on Main Street but still see King Building or Bibbins Hall, or you could be chilling in The Feve and see a professor — they definitely don’t want to see you, either — and then be reminded of the paper you have due at the end of the week. Suffocating. That’s been the case for me during my time at Oberlin. The College ha...

Canada On The Rise

September 13, 2019

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA championship on June 13, 2019. This was the first time in history that the number-one team in the league was not based in America. Nearly four months later, on Sept. 7, 2019, Bianca Andreescu defeated Serena Williams in the final of the 2019 U.S. Open, becoming the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title. Both of these momentous occasions shocked the world, but a closer look revealed that they are evidence of a larger s...

Leo Ross and Bethany Gen, Queer Varsity Athletes

September 13, 2019

Varsity basketball player Leo Ross and varsity soccer player Bethany Gen, both College third-years, have been dating for the past ten months. The two athletes met while working as Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct trainers, a program designed to educate students on combating gender-based discrimination and sexual violence. Throughout their relationship, they have navigated their position as queer Oberlin students, with the added layer of being queer varsity athletes. Their relationsh...

All Good Things Must Come to an End: Jenkins Steps Down After 11 Seasons Leading Women’s Basketball

April 12, 2019

As his players arrived at the gym for practice one Monday afternoon in March 2018, Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kerry Jenkins devised a plan. The 2017–18 team was the first in program history to win the North Coast Athletic Conference title and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament, but Jenkins knew that the Yeowomen’s most daunting challenge of the season would be facing the Messiah College Falcons that Friday, March 2. Messiah, which was ranked No. 15 in Division III at the time, is...

Women’s Track and Field Wins Third Straight NCAC Title

March 8, 2019

For the past few years, Oberlin track and field stars like Lilah Drafts-Johnson, Ana Richardson, and Monique Newton — all OC ’18 — have been household names in the Oberlin athletic community. After two consecutive years of Indoor Track and Field North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, with individual accolades and accomplishments to match, it may seem unclear to outsiders whether or not the track and field team could continue this streak of success without their stars. Non...

New Year, New Record for Men’s Basketball

February 15, 2019

With 2.3 seconds left on the clock and the basketball in his hands, College junior and point guard Josh Friedkin didn’t miss a beat, swishing an off-balance jumper to secure a triple-overtime victory over the Allegheny College Gators last Wednesday. Three days later, Friedkin posted his first career double-double — 15 points and 10 assists — against the Hiram College Terriers, helping the Yeomen set a new program record for the most North Coast Athletic Conference wins in a season. Fri...

Inexperience Not a Concern for Women’s Basketball

Julie Schreiber, Senior Staff Writer

November 16, 2018

When College senior and women’s basketball co-captain Olivia Canning watched her teammate, College junior and point guard Cheyenne Arthur, nail a few three-pointers in last Saturday’s game against Alma College, she got the feeling that the young team was headed toward another successful season. The Yeowomen, who opened their 2018–2019 season Nov. 10 with a 59–45 win, are approaching the season with both steady optimism and caution. The team is aiming to repeat last year’s NCAC championship, which it took home for the first time in program history, but must confront the challenging experience disparity faced by this year’s younger squad. Teams thrive on consistency; between the 2016–2017 and 2...

Senior Student-Athletes Must Balance Athletics, Academics, Impending Graduation

Alexis Dill, Sports Editor

November 9, 2018

At the conclusion of her junior year, College senior and softball player Emma Downing was unsure if she should apply to the Honors Program in History. She didn’t think she would get in — only seven students were accepted this year — and even if she did, she didn’t know if her schedule would allow for it. Nevertheless, she decided to take the plunge. “There weren’t any other classes I wanted to take, and I wanted to push myself academically and see what I could accomplish,” Downing said. “I knew that coming up with a question and researching it all year to write a 60-page paper would be the hardest thing I’ve ever done academically.” The History and Russian & East European Studies double-major ...

The Jewish Development in the NBA and Oberlin

Julie Schreiber, Senior Staff Writer

October 12, 2018

There are numerous professions in which Jewish people have achieved notable success, but the world of professional sports has not historically been one of them. As a result, many American Jews have long been intrigued when Jewish athletes emerge in a professional sport, especially when they do well — consider Sandy Koufax. This fascination — yes, there are many websites devoted to this issue — is even apparent in fans who are not Jewish. A lot of jokes grow out of this preoccupation, which brings us to the Oberlin men’s basketball team. At a school with a 23 percent Jewish population, 12 of the 20 players on this year’s squad — 60 percent — identify as Jewish. “This [dynamic] has defini...

From Fresh Water, Comes New Beginnings with Carr Pool

October 5, 2018

The new Patricia ’63 and Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center has given Oberlin students access to a new fitness center, state-of-the-art cardio machines, and several multi-purpose rooms. But perhaps the most impressive renovation is the swimming pool. Although Carr Pool is open to all students, those who have most directly benefited from its renovation are the athletes on Oberlin’s swim teams. Pools constructed for competitive swimming all tend to look the same: the water is...

Swimming and Diving to the Beat of a New Pool

September 21, 2018

After nearly two years of construction, the newly-renovated Carr Pool opened Wednesday, Sept. 19. The new space covers 15,315 square feet and offers 10 swimming lanes, a pair of one-meter and three-meter springboards, a giant television screen/scoreboard, a wet classroom, a meet-management area, and a hot tub. The Oberlin College swimming and diving team — which practiced at the Splash Zone Aquatic Center during the 2017-2018 season — is relieved to have the familiarity and convenienc...

Good Recruiting Leads to Great Success for Cross Country, Track and Field

September 14, 2018

It was four months ago that Lilah Drafts-Johnson, OC ’18, clutched her first-place trophy while being mobbed by teammates and coaches. She had just run the 10th fastest 400-meter hurdle time in the event’s history at the NCAA Division III Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and could finally call herself a national champion — a promise she made to herself three years earlier. Two days later, it was her Oberlin College diploma that she held with pride. After four year...