Justin McCombs

BUFFALO, NY -- The AU men’s tennis team shut out D’Youville College, 9-0, last Saturday.

HOBOKEN, NJ -- The Saxon women’s lacrosse team fell short to the Stevens Institute of Technology team, 19-7, in their first Empire 8 match up of the season.

Alfred (3-2, 0-1 Empire 8) was behind 16-6 at half after being outshot 28-9. The Saxons would step it up in the second, allowing just three goals after being outshot 8-3.

The AU Equestrian Team competed in the Regional Championships at Cazenovia College on March 17. Alicia Pickett-Hale and Brittney Biegel both qualified for the Semi-Final Championships, which will also be held at Cazenovia College on March 27 and 28. The results from the Regional Championships are as follows:

Reining:
3rd Kristen Kovatch
4th Lauren Pfeifer

Open:
3rd Kristen Kovatch

Advanced:
2nd Alicia Pickett-Hale

Novice:
4th Kristin Eklin
5th Hannah Certis
6th Michelle Applebaum

Intermediate:
1st Brittney Biegel
7th Charity Chaffee
8th Katie LeSuer

Beginner:

The 2010 Winter Olympics featured many different emotional experiences: glory, heartbreak and sadly death as well. The games officially opened on Feb. 12 in Vancouver when Governor General Michaelle Jean declared the beginning of 17 days of international competition. The opening ceremony consisted of performers such as Nelly Furtado and more than 300 Inuit dancers, but as these performances were going on, people had something heavy on their minds.

The AU women’s swimming and diving team placed 13th with a score of 195 points at the New York State championship meet that ended last Saturday in Syracuse. Alfred was in the meet with 17 other teams for the three day event, which took place at Nottingham High School. Ithaca won the championship with a score of 1,403 points followed by Stevens in a close second place with 1,228 points.

The Alfred University Equestrian Team was at Lehman Farms in Pittsford, NY for their last regular season double-header. The team was very successful, with many riders placing in first and second place. For the first show, Kristen Kovatch and Lauren Pfeifer finished first and second respectively in the Reining category. Kovatch also placed first in the Open category and was the champion high point rider. Kristen Eklin finished first in the Novice category, followed by Kaitlyn Bentley who placed second in the Intermediate category and Peter Metz, second in the Beginner category.

The Alfred University men’s swimming and diving team beat Hartwick with a 175-125 victory last Saturday. The AU women lost, 161-109.

The Saxons finished the regular season with a 7-2 record in dual meets (4-1 Empire 8). Senior Andrew Brisson (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) carried the men'ss team with three wins coming from the 100-yard backstroke (54.16 seconds), 50-yard freestyle (21.86) and 200-yard back (2:01.66). The women (2-8, 1-4 Empire 8) were carried by freshman Kylie Smith (Abington, PA/Abington). Smith won 1-meter diving (182.30 points) and 3-meter diving (179.15).

The Saints came back from a 10-0 deficit to claim the 44th Superbowl. Many people favored the Colts due to their genius of a quarterback Peyton Manning, but when the final score read 31-17 Saints at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, everybody knew that the game wasn’t just about how fast, strong or football-smart a team is; it was about heart as well.

Quarterback and MVP Drew Brees or Breesus, as he’s known in New Orleans, is an icon to the team and to the city. He has been a firm believer ever since he came to the team just after Katrina that the city and the team can come back from anything.

Super Bowl XLIV brings out two of the best quarterbacks that the NFL has to offer. Peyton Manning, the leader of the Indianapolis Colts potent offense, looks to win his second Super Bowl in just 4 years. Drew Brees is looking to get his first as he carries the New Orleans Saints into the Super Bowl for the first time in team history.

Barbecue, horses, mechanical bulls and line dancing… in Alfred? That’s right. Equestfest 2010 was put on by the AU Equestrian team in conjunction with the Powell Dining Hall staff.

As I walked into the Equestrian Center in Alfred where the event was held, I felt a flashback into old western times. I could hear the music playing, and through the windows, I could see a group of people showing off their best line dancing moves.