Last Saturday afternoon, Washington College and Dickinson split a Centennial Conference baseball doubleheader. The Shoremen won game one by a 6-5 score, while the Red Devils rallied for a 19-9 victory in game two.

WC senior shortstop Ryan Normoyle became the fifth player in Centennial Conference history to record 200 hits in his career.

Normoyle said, “After my freshman season, I knew that it was possible to get to 200 hits, but I also knew that it would be a lot of hard work. So I made it a long-term goal of mine, and I was fortunate enough to get enough at bats to achieve it.”

He recorded his milestone hit in the bottom of the eighth inning in game two on an RBI single through the right side of the infield. Normoyle, the Shoremen’s all-time leader in hits, is the first player from a school other than Johns Hopkins to reach the 200-hit milestone.

In game one, the Shoremen took a 2-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the third and fifth innings. Normoyle batted in sophomore Ian Remington on a sacrifice fly to left field in the third and Mahaffey scored on a throwing error by Dickinson in the bottom of the fifth. The Red Devils answered by scoring five times to take a 5-2 lead. WC answered right back by scoring four times in the bottom of the eighth to recapture the lead at 6-5. The Shoremen loaded the bases and a single to centerfield by sophomore Nick Marinelli plated Normoyle to trim the lead to 5-3. Senior John Rolewicz scored on a wild pitch cutting the lead to 5-4. Sophomore Jon Mahaffey delivered the game winning hit with a two-run single to left-center that scored junior Tyler Cotterell and Marinelli.

WC had seven hits in game one. Connole went 2-for-2 and Mahaffey drove in two runs. On the mound, sophomore pitcher AJ Schmalfuhs earned the win and improved to 1-1. He went two innings and did not allow a run while striking out two in relief of senior pitcher Shane Mattingly, who struck out eight hitters in seven innings, while allowing nine hits.

In game two, Dickinson scored four times to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the first.

The Shoremen scored twice in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 4-2 as Rolewicz and Cotterell scored on RBI groundouts by senior Dwight Wilcox and Mahaffey. The Red Devils took a 6-2 lead in the top of the third on a two-run homerun.

The Shoremen got one back in the bottom of the third when Normoyle singled to right-center to knock in Connole to make it 6-3. Dickinson scored five times in the top of the fifth to take an 11-3 lead. The Shoremen got two back in the bottom of the fifth when Normoyle scored on a single up the middle by Cotterell. Rolewicz scored on a groundout by Wilcox to cut the lead to 11-5. Dickinson scored twice in the top of the sixth, four times in the top of the seventh, and two in the top of the eighth, while WC scored once in the bottom of the sixth, twice in the bottom of the seventh, and once in the bottom of the eighth to end the game at 19-9.

Washington had 17 hits in game two. Normoyle went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI and Cotterell went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Connole went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, while Wilcox drove in two runs. On the mound, junior Joe Kearney-Argow took the loss and dropped to 3-2.

On Tuesday, the Shoremen were defeated by Wesley 8-3. WC now has a 24-10 overall and 9-7 record in conference play for the season.

Washington scored twice in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Connole scored on a sacrifice fly by Rolewicz for the game’s first run and freshman Scott Matthews scored on an RBI groundout by Cotterell. After the Wolverines pulled ahead with a 5-2 lead, WC cut the score to 5-3 in the top of the eighth. Mahaffey stole third base and scored on a throwing error.

The Wolverines answered in the bottom of the eighth by scoring three times to end the game.
WC had seven hits in the game. Matthews went 2-for-4 with a run scored. On the mound, sophomore Tim Perrotta took the loss and dropped to 1-1.

When asked about the rest of the season, Normoyle said, “We feel that we are in a good spot right now. If we take care of business on Saturday and play our style of baseball, we should be in the tournament. From that point, anything can happen.”

WC closes out its regular season schedule on Saturday with two Centennial Conference games at Muhlenburg starting at 12:30 p.m.

The men and women of the Washington College sailing team were split up this past weekend as the women traveled to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, to compete in the MAISA Women’s Spring Championships and the men went up to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, to compete at the Admiral’s Cup. Both teams had equally exciting weekends, as the results proved to be highly in their favor.

The women were met with beautiful weather down in Norfolk, with a breeze that built up to 15 knots during the day. In Division A, they sailed 10 races with senior Mildred Conroy as the skipper with junior Maggie Smith and freshman Blair Towers as the crew. Smith sailed the first four races while Towers sailed the remaining six of the day, coming in second in the eighth race.

In Division B, freshman Mackenzie Needham was skipper while sophomore Erin McAuliffe and freshman Eleanor Conroy were crew. McAuliffe sailed the initial six races, winning the sixth race before switching over to Conroy who won the seventh and eighth races of the day, earning a second place finish in the final race.

Sunday’s weather was not so kind as it was both chilly and rainy with winds ranging from 7-15 knots. In the A Division, only two more races were held, and in the B Division, only four.

Towers continued to be crew for the A Division boat with Conroy, and the two managed to win the final race of the day. McAuliffe returned as crew for the B Division boat with Needham for the final four races of the day.

Overall, the women came in seventh out of 12, narrowly behind Old Dominion with a total score of 137. In probably the most exciting news yet, they qualified for the first round of the ICSA Women’s National Championships for the first time in WC Sailing history.

Of course, not to let the women outshine them, the men also have something to brag about with their performance at the Merchant Marine Academy. They too had a much better Saturday weather-wise, and like the women, the men had the majority of their races then.

In the A Division, senior Mike Whitford was skipper while freshman Dale Strong was crew. Together they sailed 14 races in one day, and had five top four finishes. In the B Division, sophomore Sam Fitzgerald served as skipper with freshman TJ Heist and junior Sam Bedinger alternating as crew for 14 races. Freshman Ryan Bailey was the skipper for C Division, racing in 13 races on the first day.

Sunday, they were met with bad weather, and, as a result, the Admiral’s Cup was finished by 12:45 p.m. Whitford and Strong wound up finishing sixth overall while Fitzgerald, Heist, and Bedinger finished fifteenth, and Bailey finished in sixth. The men were able to finish ninth out of 19, beating some of the nationally ranked teams including Dartmouth, Yale, Navy, Wisconsin, Roger Williams, Hobart/William Smith, Boston University, and Connecticut College.

All-in-all, despite the less than pleasant weather on Sunday, this weekend was quite successful for the sailing team.

The team returns to action two weekends from now, on May 12 and 13, to compete at the ICSA Co-Ed National Championships at Navy followed by the ICSA Women’s National Championship First Round in Austin, TX, at the end of May.

NFL Draft
Last night, the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft occurred and the rest of the draft takes place today and Saturday. The second and third rounds will be on Friday, while the rest of the draft, rounds four to seven will be on Saturday.
The top picks get the notoriety right away, but many tremendous players have been drafted after the first round. Two of these were New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, a sixth round pick in 2000, and recently retired Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, a third round pick in 1998. Both have won the Super Bowl MVP and multiple Super Bowls. The draft is on the ESPN Family of Networks and NFL Network.

Stanley Cup Playoffs
As of Wednesday morning, there were still six teams fighting for the remaining three spots in the Eastern Conference Semifinals as just the Philadelphia Flyers have advanced as they dispatched the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. The other three series went to Game Seven, the Washington Captials-Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers, and New Jersey Devils-Florida Panthers as Boston, New York and Florida hosted the decisive game sevens.
Out West, the Western Conference Semifinals are all set as the Los Angeles Kings will play the St. Louis Blues with the Blues having home ice throughout the next two rounds and the Nashville Predators playing the Phoenix Coyotes with the Coyotes earning home ice for their matchup with the Predators. The Coyotes won their first playoff series in 1987 when they were the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night with a 4-0 win in game six over the Chicago Blackhawks. NBC Sports Network, CNBC, NBC and NHL Network will have the games.

NBA Playoffs
The 16 teams are all set for the 2012 NBA Playoffs, but the matchups are not all set. The NBA Playoffs will begin on Saturday as all the teams are hoping to win 16 games to win the NBA Finals, but just one team will get to 16 victories. In the East, the Chicago Bulls have the top seed, while the Miami Heat will be the two seed. In the East, the only matchup set is the Atlanta Hawks against the Boston Celtics, but home court is still in the air as Atlanta is one game ahead of Boston (39-26 to 38-27), but the Celtics own the breaker. The other teams in the East are the third seeded Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia 76ers. The six, seven, and eight seeds are still up for grabs.
Out West, the San Antonio Spurs are the top seed, while the Oklahoma City Thunder are the two seed. They are the only two seeds locked up out West. The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers are fighting for the Pacific Division crown, while the Memphis Grizzlies are looking for home court in round one. The Lakers are 41-24, while the Clippers and Grizzlies are 40-25. The six through eight seeds are between the Denver Nuggets (36-28), Dallas Mavericks (36-29), and the Utah Jazz (36-30). he Mavericks own the breaker on both the Nuggets and Jazz, while the Jazz own the breaker on the Nuggets. The NBA Playoffs will be on ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV.

Manchester United at Manchester City
The Premier League’s two top sides will meet on Monday at Ethiad Stadium, the home of Man City on Monday. This is a rematch of the shocking 6-1 Man City win over Man U at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. With three matches left for both sides, this is an absolute must win for Manchester City as they trail Manchester United by three points for the top spot in the Premier League, 83-80. A win by Manchester United will all but lockup the championship. The match will be on ESPN 2 at 3 p.m. on Monday.

MLB Baseball
The Major League Baseball season is underway and this week will have some interesting series. Friday through Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays will play the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers have ended the Rays season the past two years in the American League Division Series.
Also Friday through Sunday is the Detroit Tigers-New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx in a rematch of last year’s other ALDS series which the Tigers won in five games. In the National League, a rematch of the National League Championship series takes play in St. Louis as the Cardinals host the Milwaukee Brewers. Also, the Philadelphia Phillies travel to Atlanta to play the Braves Tuesday-Thursday. Last year, the Phillies swept the Braves in the final week of the season to keep the Braves out of the playoffs. As of the games on Tuesday night, the Rangers have the best record in baseball at 14-4, while the Washington Nationals have the top record in the NL at 13-4, just a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are 13-5.

This past Saturday, Washington College and Salisbury University went head-to-head in a non-conference match known as “War on the Shore.” For the first time in years, both teams were ranked nationally, fighting for the Charles B. Clark Cup at Salisbury, Maryland.

The Sea Gulls jumped out with fire against the Shoremen, taking control of the game with a 5-0 lead. With only 1:56 remaining in the first quarter, sophomore midfielder Hunter Nowicki found junior attackman Bennett Cord for Washington`s first goal of the game.

Beginning the second-quarter, sophomore midfielder Kodie Englehart assisted sophomore attackman JD Campbell to cut the Sea Gulls` lead to 5-2. Taking advantage of the penalties conceded by the Shoremen, the Sea Gulls ended the half with a four goal lead.

After Salisbury scored a quick four goals in the third, Nowicki broke their four goal run with an unassisted goal with 2:34 left. Cord also helped cut the lead at 9-4 with a goal with only one second left in the period. In the fourth quarter, the Shoremen could not find the net and ended the game with a loss to Salisbury at a final score of 15-7. In the loss for the Shoremen, Cord scored two goals, while Nowicki had one goal and one assist.

Even though Salisbury came out with a 15-7 win, the Shoremen still maintain the top seed and have hosting rights for the four-team Centennial Conference Tournament.

Washington returns back to action on April 28 at a 1 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Ursinus.

• On April 27, 2002, Kevin Weekes shut out the New Jersey Devils in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at the Continental Airlines Arena as the Carolina Hurricanes clinched the franchise’s first playoff series win since 1986 with a 1-0 victory. This was the first best-of-seven series win in team history.
• On April 29, 1986, Roger Clemens broke the major league record for strikeouts in a nine inning game when he shot down 20 Seattle Mariners. Seventy percent of his pitches for the night were strikes, and many topped the radar gun at 95 mph or higher. Red Sox manager, John McNamara, said, “it was the most awesome display of pitching he had ever seen.”
• On May 1, 1975, the Buffalo Sabers recorded their first shutout game in team history. Two days later on May 3, Don Luce of the Sabers scored a short- handed goal which was the first in team history. He scored this goal six minutes and 42 seconds into the first period against Montreal.
• On May 2, 2006, Cory Stillman of the Carolina Hurricanes scored 1minute and 19 seconds into overtime of Game Six at Montreal for Carolina’s fourth straight win against the Canadiens after falling behind 2-0 in the teams’ Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series.
• On May 5, 2006, Cam Ward recorded his first NHL shutout as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-0 in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Hurricanes went on to win the series 4-1.

In spite of the rain the shoot ran smoothly, and the competitors had a great time. Everyone enjoyed raffles and awards at the end of the day. George Mason University took first place for highest scoring team, followed by Navy and then University of Maryland. All teams in attendance spoke positively of their experience, and the shoot was a great success.

The next “Battle of the Bay” will be hosted in the fall semester of this coming school year.
Needless to say, members of the WC Trap and Skeet Club are excited to be stepping out into the world of competitive collegiate shooting. They hope to gain recognition from their peers as another major sports team in the WC community, and they highly encourage students to come out and experience the sport as well. Special thanks are in order to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, because without their generous grant funding, this shoot would not have been possible.

Thanks are also in order to the following WC Trap and Skeet club officers and members that made “Battle of the Bay” possible: Tyler Brice (President), Kelly Kunsch (Vice President), Amanda Kloetzli (Secretary), Jess O’Brien (Treasurer), Devin Hayward (Sgt. at Arms), Doug Pfaff (Alumni Advisor), Chris Brown, Erika Dueñas, Rebecca Fenzel, Lindsey Gagnon, Taylor Goss, Chris Grimm, Megan Homme, John Quirolo, Frankie Rauh, Ryan Smuz, Ross Sorci, and Caitlin Wolfe.

This past Saturday, seven other students and I went on a trip to Harlem. When I first heard about the trip I was reluctant to go. Not very many people from my class were going, so I knew I would be going with people I didn’t know. The trip fell right in the middle of a sea of work and my busy schedule. I was also scheduled to work that weekend. Basically, I had thought of every possible excuse to not go. And for what reason? Why was I blocking this opportunity from happening?

My homework load lightened and I found someone to cover for me, so by Wednesday, I had no real excuse not to go.

When my alarm went off at 7 a.m. Saturday morning, I was met with an excitement similar to the type I had as a kid on field trip day. I hurried to the shuttle that was waiting in front of the CAC and hopped aboard with the other students, English professor Dr. Alisha Knight, and Mrs. Siudzinski. As the shuttle pulled away, I turned my iPod on and allowed myself to catch a few hours of missed sleep.

When my eyes opened up again, the shuttle was traveling through the graffiti-covered boulders that line the mouth of the city. It took just minutes for us to arrive at our first destination: The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

As the day unfolded, we went on a walking tour of Harlem described by Dr. Knight, and ventured around Harlem for lunch. Two other students and I decided to risk the streets of Harlem on our own for lunch instead of eating with Dr. Knight. After wandering around we found this Island Salad’s place, which was amazing–I got a wrap that was the size of a puppy! After lunch, we went to the Studio Museum of Harlem and before I knew it, we were boarding the shuttle Washington College bound once more. I was really happy I went. I got a cool mug from the museum, but I also felt so satisfied in having given myself the little push I needed to attend the trip.

Traveling to a city for a class trip isn’t really a new experience for me, but the reluctance I had got me thinking about the initial reluctance we all can have when faced with trying new things. With summer within our grasps, I’ll leave you all with a little piece of advice: you only live once. When opportunity knocks, it more than likely will knock again, but why make it have to–or risk it?

So this summer, try and enjoy it. Ignore the reluctance if it should arise and just get out there and have fun. Don’t be afraid to do something you normally wouldn’t, you never know what new found appreciation you can obtain. Or even what sort of new people you can meet. The summer is such an awesome time for picking up a new hobby or checking some things off your bucket list.

Whether you’re returning to WC in the fall or not, I hope everyone has a fun and safe summer. Stay strong during these last final stretches of classes. Thank you for reading!

As a self-proclaimed film snob, I often view the late spring and summer cinema marquees with something usually associated with the reaction to being diagnosed with a terminal disease. This exaggeration is largely because I have never been diagnosed with a terminal disease. Nevertheless, when I finally have time to view so many films that my eyeballs fall into my popcorn bowl, I would like to have surrendered my eyes to something of a higher quality than boy meets girl and girl falls in love because boy sparkles.

Don’t misunderstand me; this summer I look forward to the return of Batman in “The Dark Knight Rises” and I will definitely see “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” But the voice inside my head, which sounds eerily similar to the stuffy speak of Dame Maggie Smith, laments the abysmal lack of dramatic biopics and period pieces.

Is it too much to want an intellectually stimulating film while I enjoy my summer vacation?
“Yes,” my overworked, sleep-deprived mind cries. This voice decidedly does not belong to Dame Maggie Smith. In fact, my end of semester psyche sounds a lot like raging Nic Cage.

Perhaps it is a necessary evil that we must sacrifice intellectualism for entertainment in the warm summer months. Maybe it isn’t even an evil. What is a misfortune, however, is when films compromise art for cheap entertainment.

Forgive me while I attempt, and fail, to silence my bias.

Film, as I have expressed before and will continue to believe, is an art. As I reactivate my Netflix account and readjust my queue, I certainly hope so. Art can be entertainment. Entertainment can be art. And if any man can reassure my worried, cinema-bound soul of film as both art and entertainment, he is that singular visionary Tim Burton.

Burton-bashers need read no further, because I harbor nothing but excitement at the May 11 release of Burton’s “Dark Shadows.” Based loosely on the soap opera of the same name that aired from 1966-1971, “Dark Shadows” follows vampire Barnabas Collins as he returns from the coffin to his manor, Collinwood. However, Barnabas’s time in the coffin has seen the ruin of his gothic and grand home. His family has also left a legacy that is as quirky as it is creepy.

I need hardly tell you that Johnny Depp plays the pale and bloodthirsty Barnabas, but I do so anyway with girlish giggles of delight. If I seem overeager to see Depp as a ravenous vampire, then I am absolutely dying to see Helena Bonham Carter as the aging alcoholic live-in psychiatrist of Collinwood, Dr. Julia Hoffman. Joining Burton’s muses, Michelle Pfeiffer stars as the matriarch of Collinwood and Eva Green as the witch who tries to bring down the manor.

The trailer promised a super fly array of disco music in addition Danny Elfman’s work as the film’s composer. Moreover, costumes by Colleen Atwood feature patterns so psychedelic lava lamps are jealous. But it is Burton’s talent for creating visual wonders, worlds of unusual escape, which will ultimately draw cinemas into “Dark Shadows.”

Yes, it will be campy. Nevertheless, if at the end of “Dark Shadows” my eyeballs are in the popcorn, Burton and I will both be pleased.

To steal a line from every other senior at Washington College (or any senior at any school, for that matter) I can’t believe it’s almost over. Four years: what can I say? It just goes quick. In terms of clichés, that one is as true as they come, and the fact that I can say that from experience now is just… really freaking weird.

Something else that’s weird? The sentimentality that comes with all of it. Therefore, I give you the one and only moment of poignancy in my personal Elm history:

At the end of this brick road known otherwise as my collegiate career, before I turn down the next diverging path, I can look back at where I was when I first started down this road and how far I have come. I’ve ultimately found that the best moments were the ones that required struggle. The best victories weren’t those that were handed to me, or acquired with dumb luck. The best victories were the ones that I had to fight every moment of every day of my life for–the ones that I faced with nothing more and nothing less than passion, patience, and unadulterated bravery. Unfortunately for me, something else I’ve ultimately found is that I haven’t had that kind of victory yet.

Sure, there’s that whole “graduating” thing. I’ll be proud of myself when I get that diploma, don’t get me wrong. There will be parties. Yes, that’s a plural. But I don’t feel like at any point in the road toward my diploma did I struggle endlessly with unprecedented fervor.

There is a level of relief and excitement that goes along with graduation. There are also concerns and, well, the crippling fears that go with entering the real world. Especially when the realization hits that the greatest struggles are yet to come.

As far as the relief and excitement part of post-graduation goes, I was recently accepted into Teach for America. For those who don’t know what that is, TFA is basically a program dedicated to eliminating education inequality in America. In exchange for my two year commitment to teaching in a low-income, high-needs school in this country, I will receive both an accelerated teaching certification and the satisfaction that comes with doing a little bit of good for the world.

The acceptance rate is a little more than 10 percent. Not the hardest program to get into, but hard enough to establish some well-deserved pride within any individual who obtains the honor to be able to say that he or she is a TFA corps member.

So, there’s the pride and there’s the glory. But then there’s also the reality of the situation: I’m going to get thrown into a classroom with a bunch of impressionable kids staring at me with dependent faces, their futures hanging in the balance and ultimately in my hands. It’s going to be incredibly rewarding, but it’s also going to be the hardest thing I have ever done.

In short, I’m terrified. But the fact that I have that fire within myself for achievement is what gives me that small bit of a crazy little thing called hope.

And hey, I have a job after graduation. A pride booster within itself, it’s got to stand for something.

To once again steal a line, this time from one of my staff writers (I’m borrowing your trademark, Alex), cheers. Cheers to The Elm. Cheers to WC. Cheers to Chestertown. Cheers to the pre-life existence known as the undergraduate experience. Cheers to all. It’s been real.