Natalie Winkelfoos – The Oberlin Review

Football Welcomes New Head Coach

February 28, 2020

When newly hired Head Football Coach Steve Opgenorth enters the room, his energy and approachability jump out. On his desk is a copy of The Football Coaching Bible by the American Football Coaches Association, and various accolades hang from his wall. “Trust the process,” is one of the many catchphrases Opgenorth employs when discussing his love of the game. Before Oberlin, Opgenorth spent five seasons at Baldwin Wallace University, serving as associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and...

The Oberlin College varsity football team.

Current and Former Football Players Express Concern About Team Culture

February 21, 2020

Founded in 1891, Oberlin’s football team has provided a community to both athletes and spectators, alike, for generations. Despite this history, the team has seen significant turnover over the past few years; this past season alone, seven players left the team. This upcoming season, the team will have seven rising fourth-years on a 29-person roster. In previous seasons, this number was higher; in 2017, the roster included 16 fourth-years. At the end of the past season, Head Football Coach Jay Anderson announced that he was st...

College Announces VP for Advancement

November 22, 2019

Last Friday, the Office of Communications announced via email Michael Grzesiak’s appointment to the vice president for advancement position. The position is currently held in an interim capacity by Rachel Smith Silver, who stepped in following Bill Barlow’s retirement in June. The search committee — led by President Carmen Twillie Ambar and consisting of faculty, staff, and a student senator — conducted a nationwide search for the position. “We are excited about Mike because of the experience ...

President Carmen Twillie Ambar on the field at halftime of the Homecoming football game.

Oberlin Celebrates Homecoming Weekend

October 11, 2019

The campus seemed to be abuzz with energy from students and non-students alike when Homecoming Weekend approached. Homecoming Weekend is always a time for members of the Oberlin College and community to come together. Whether it is families coming to Oberlin to watch their student-athlete perform on the field or alumni visiting old friends, there is always something that draws people to Oberlin’s campus. The festivities began Friday with the Heisman Club’s annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony...

Exploring the Money Behind OC Athletics

Nathan Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief

October 11, 2019

In the midst of significant institutional change due to Oberlin’s mounting structural budget deficit, investments in spaces like the Shanks Health and Wellness Center and the Knowlton Athletics Complex have left some community members wondering where the money for such projects comes from. The answer, according to Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo and Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos, is complicated, and has to do with the specifics of fundraising strategies and logistics. “Athletics fundraising at a Division III school is like breathing — you need to do it and it’s always happening,” Winkelfoos wrote in an email to the Review. “I have regula...

Search for Next Vice President for Advancement Ongoing

Katie Lucey, News Editor

September 27, 2019

A search is underway for Oberlin’s next vice president for advancement, a position previously titled vice president for development and alumni affairs. Candidates will be expected to build upon previous institutional fundraising campaigns, such as Oberlin Illuminate, as well as articulate a strategy for Oberlin’s financial future as shaped by Academic and Administrative Program Review recommendations. Rachel Smith Silver assumed the position on an interim basis following the retirement of Bill Barlow last June. Upper-level administrators, including President Carmen Twillie Ambar, Acting Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences David Kamitsuka, Acting Dean of the Conservatory Bill Quillen, other administrative s...

Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kerry Jenkins and his players share a laugh at the December ring ceremony celebrating their NCAC championship. Jenkins, who announced his plans to step away from the program a month ago, departs Oberlin as the winningest coach in program history.

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...

The Patricia ’63 & Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center opened Aug. 28 after two years of construction. Inside, students can find a lounge, a fitness center full of new cardio equipment, and several multipurpose rooms that will be used for spinning, yoga, and other YeoFit classes.

New Building Promises Better Access to Wellness in Academic Year

September 7, 2018

Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos beamed with pride last Tuesday as students and coaches gathered to celebrate the opening of the Pat ’63 & Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center. Perhaps she could hear the turning of wheels and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco’s music blasting through the speakers in the new spinning room, or maybe it was the thought of Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving Lisa Thuer recitin...

College Goes All In For Oberlin

April 27, 2018

President Carmen Ambar and Associate Vice President for Athletics Advancement and Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos pose on a golf cart for yesterday’s All In For Oberlin fundraiser. Ambar and Winkelfoos cruised around campus yesterday asking students and community members to go “All In” for Oberlin and donate toward the fundraising challenge. Organizers sought 1,500 donors, and every dollar donated up to that point was matched with a $100 contribu...

Philanthropy Lifts Athletics to Next Level

Alexis Dill, Sports Editor

April 6, 2018

The men’s and women’s tennis teams and softball team were welcomed to Amway Center two weeks ago to catch an Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers game and meet fellow Obie Jeff Weltman, OC ’87, president of basketball operations for Orlando. As the former Oberlin basketball player reminisced about sitting in Wilder Bowl with his buddies in the springtime, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunities our athletics department continuously provides its student-athletes. Just two days before the game, Eastern Michigan University announced it will cut four sports at the conclusion of the semester: men’s swimming and diving, wrestling, women’s tennis, and softball. The reduction will affect 58 ma...

Natalie Winkelfoos, Delta Lodge Athletics Director

In The Locker Room with Delta Lodge Athletics Director Natalie Winkelfoos

September 29, 2017

This week, the Review sat down with Delta Lodge Athletics Director Natalie Winkelfoos. A former Division III basketball player at Baldwin Wallace University, the Ohio native is entering her sixth year as Oberlin’s Athletic Director. She discussed her journey to Oberlin, her views on the Oberlin Athletics Department, and the role sports plays in social justice and reform. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did you end up working here at Oberlin? I was a college athlete. I got t...

The swimming and diving team eagerly awaits the renovation of Carr Pool, as Philips gym construction continues into the 2017 fall semester. The $13 million project is set for completion in August 2018.

Philips Gym Renovation Continues Throughout School Year

September 1, 2017

As Philips gym renovations continue, members of the Athletics Department are confident that the project’s disruptions will ultimately be a worthwhile investment for the campus. The $13 million project, according to Delta Lodge Director of Athletics Natalie Winkelfoos, will benefit both sports teams and non-athletes. “[It’s going to be a space] where people can start to build more community,” Winkelfoos said. “There’s going to be a lounge where people can [convene] in really cool ways a...