The Club Team Beat Box

Author: Nick Ferrer and Kate Nerenberg

Rugby

Both the men's and women's rugby teams walked away victorious from their respective games this past weekend. The men demolished Keene State 60-8 while the women snuck past Green Mountain College in the second half, 32-24.
Caleb Consenstein '06, who scored twice in only the second game of his career, anchored a strong showing by the Panthers. The strong Middlebury defense only allowed three points in the first half, going into the break with a 21-3 lead. The Panthers used an exceptionally strong second half to secure the win, scoring almost 40 points and only allowing one try. Raiden Tsuboi '04 converted almost all of his extra-point attempts to lead the Panthers to a convincing win.
At Middlebury, the women battled back from a 24-10 halftime deficit, also using a commanding second half to their advantage. Behind Johanna Riesel's '05 two tries, the Panthers held Green Mountain scoreless in the last 40 minutes to steadily come back. Katie Hoeschler '03 scored the winning try with under 10 minutes to play.

Crew

The men's and women's crew teams traveled to Ottawa last weekend to compete in the Head of the Rideau Regatta. In their first real test since setting the boats in Lake Dunmore, the teams faced stiff international competition from both Queens University and Trent University. The men's lightweight 4+ boat, captained by Mike Reis '03, finished third in a race so tight that just six seconds seperated the first and third place boats. On the women's side, Harmony Button '03 and her lightweight 4+ boat took home second, while the open women's 4+ placed third.
This Saturday, the teams will head back to Lake Dunmore for the annual Parents Weekend festivities. Students, faculty and parents are all invited to partake in the event, which begins at 11 a.m. Brunch will be provided and fans will get their first look at the brand new Resolute boats, before the "courageous few" take to water and learn to row.
The following weeekend, both teams will head to the Stonehurst Invitational, in Rochester, N.Y., where they will face off against some of the top Division I rowing programs in the country.

Water Polo

The men's water polo team won three of its four games last weekend at Amherst College, continuing to assert itself as one of the most dangerous squads in New England. The Panthers collected easy wins over both Amherst and Tufts and succeeded in drowning Williams in overtime, marking the first time in Middlebury water polo history the team has defeated the Ephs. The Panthers suffered their only loss, by one goal, at the hands of perennial league champion Dartmouth. Charlie Evans '04 was spectacular in goal for the Panthers, and Andrew Boyce '03.5 provided the team with an exceptionally strong showing.
Though somewhat dissapointed with the team's performance, Captain Dan Whitmore '03.5 was encouraged by the weekend's final results. "We didn't play as well as we should have, but we still beat three of four good teams, and we barely lost to Dartmouth. I think we proved that we can compete with any team in the league." The Panthers should receive more encouragement when one of the squad's top offensive weapons, Shon Hedges '04, returns to the water sometime next week. The squad will then host a tournament on Oct. 12-13.