Campus News: November 20th, 2008

From Recreational Sports: October 24, Recreational Sports held its 4th Annual Pumpkin 5K Fun Run/Walk for the campus community. Of the 204 registered participants, 34 were faculty and staff. While a few of the faculty and staff who registered couldn’t participate, those who did had a great day to run or walk the 3.1-mile course through the athletic fields and campus and finishing just inside the Main Street Archway. We hope those who participated had a great time and encourage other faculty and staff to be sure to sign up next year.

Courtesy Photo: Business Office runners/walkers Karen House, John Halter, Sue Freitas, Liane Wiley, Matthew Kimber, and Renee Harlow (Jim Draper also walked but snuck away before the picture was taken).

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• Tuesday, November 25: Facility hours, 6 a.m.–11 p.m.; pool hours, 12:30–1:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 26: Recreation Center will close at 5 p.m.; noon swim will not be held.
• Thursday, November 27–Saturday, November 29: Recreation Center will be closed.
• Sunday, November 30: Facility hours, noon–11 p.m.; pool hours, 5–8 p.m. (tentative).

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From Stuart Kaufman, Sports Information: Keene State field hockey and women’s volleyball teams hit the road this week for their opening-round NCAA Division III tournament games.

The Owls captured their fifth-straight Little East Conference field hockey championship on November 1 with a 4-0 win over rival Plymouth State. KSC also won LEC titles in 1998 and 1999. Junior midfielder Erin Dallas, who was named the tournament’s MVP, had a pair of goals and an assist in the finals.“We were fired up to play in the championship game,” said KSC Coach Amy Watson, who earned her 250th career victory. “This team came a long way this season.” (The Owls lost 1-0 to Springfield College yesterday in the NCAA first round.)

The Keene State women’s volleyball team won a five-game cliffhanger over UMass-Boston 3-2 (30-28, 21-25, 25-22, 17-25, and 17-15) to win their first-ever LEC championship on November 2. Facing a 7-1 deficit in the fifth and deciding game, the Owls rallied to pull off the dramatic victory.

“We were down 7-1, but I didn’t see us going down like that,” said KSC Coach Bob Weiner. In his fourth year on the Keene State bench, Weiner felt the key play in the final game came when Sarah Peterson sacrificed life and limb, diving to make a match-saving dig. “We popped the ball up and we turned around and scored on it,” he said. “That was the turning point. We weren’t going to lose after that.”

“It was a perfect ending to a perfect season,” said junior setter Jordan Pokryfki, whose parents made the trip from Alaska to take in the tournament. “We were down in the fifth game and nobody gave up. I thank every single member of the team for that. We’ve been dreaming about this tournament the whole year and, even though we were behind, we weren’t going to let it slip away from our fingers. We wanted it so badly.”

Courtesy photos: KSC field hockey and women’s volleyball teams

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From Stuart Kaufman, Sports Information: A capacity crowd of Madness neophytes and veteran night owls packed the gym for a night of hoopla and hoops at the 12th annual Midnight Madness celebration last Friday at Spaulding Gym.

From the opening national anthem (where the students sang along with the Chock Full O Notes group), through the contests and exuberance, to the confetti-blasting finale, Madness 2008 ushered in the basketball season in grand style.

There was something for everybody: A sumo-race, a motorized-toilet race through an obstacle course, a near miss on a $10,000 half-court shot, stellar displays of basketball skill, and performances by the KSC cheerleading squad and dance team.

The large cheerleading squad — consisting of 22 members, including 14 freshmen — kicked off the festivities and brought the house down with their fabulous routine.

At the stroke of midnight, the Owl basketball teams entered the gym and the players treated the fans to hot-shot and dunk competitions. Cody Snow, a flying freshman from Leyden, Mass., won the contest. Not to be outdone, several members of the women’s team hoisted Michele Boudreau up on their shoulders so the senior guard could attempt a slam.

The dance team brought the Madness to a close with a nifty number that concluded with a cannon blasting red and white confetti all over the court. “It’s our biggest event of the year,” said Amanda Currao, a senior from Salem and one of 24 dance team performers. ”We like being on last and finishing Madness with a bang.”

Photo: Mike Phillips; KSC Midnight Madness

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From Recreational Sports: Enter the Pumpkin 5K Fun Run/Walk on Friday, October 24! T-shirts will be given to the first 100 sign ups (once they have completed the run). The race begins at 2:30 p.m. and the entry deadline is Wednesday, October 22 (entries will be taken up until the day of the race, but later entries cannot be guaranteed a T-shirt). Register at the Rec Center. The event is free and open to all KSC students, faculty, and staff.

Recreational Sports is sponsoring a canned food drive for the Keene Community Kitchen in conjunction with the race. Please bring a can of food on the day of the race. For more information contact Lynne Andrews at landrews@keene.edu.

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From Recreational Sports: Enter the Pumpkin 5K Fun Run/Walk on Friday, October 24! T-shirts will be given to the first 100 sign-ups (once they have completed the run). The race begins at 2:30 p.m. The entry deadline is Wednesday, October 22 (entries will be taken up until the day of the race, but later entries cannot be guaranteed a T-shirt). Register at the Rec Center. The event is free and open to all KSC students, faculty, and staff.

Recreational Sports is sponsoring a canned food drive for the Keene Community Kitchen in conjunction with the race. Please bring a canned food item on the day of the race. For more information contact Lynne Andrews at landrews@keene.edu.

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From Recreational Sports: Faculty and staff (and their spouse or domestic partner) can still purchase memberships to use the facilities and programs in the Recreation Center. There are several different membership options available.

If you are a benefits-eligible employee and have your health insurance through the College with Harvard Pilgrim, you can use the Wellness Connection program, which will cover the cost of your membership as long as you work out a minimum of eight times per month. If you do not have health benefits through the College, then the cost of the Recreation Center membership is $480 from now until the end of August. This entitles you to use all the facilities and programs we offer.

We do offer faculty and staff the option of purchasing this membership by the semester, $180 or academic year, $360. The other memberships available are the Walking Track/Aerobics membership for $100 per semester, which allows access to the walking track and group fitness program, and the Spaulding Gym membership, which allows use of the swimming pool during Rec Sports swim time and the racquetball court at no charge. Faculty and staff can sign up for a membership at the front desk of the Recreation Center.

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From Recreational Sports: All KSC faculty and staff are cordially invited to use the facilities and programs in the Recreation Center for one week … FREE! Come to the Recreation Center front desk during Open House Week, September 22 – 30, and sign up for a special pass to use the weight room or cardio equipment. Jump in the water during Rec Sports pool time, or take a group fitness class.

The BodyWorks fitness center staff will offer equipment use instruction to help start your workout program. For more information and group fitness class schedules, please contact the Recreational Sports office at 8-2814.

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From Recreational Sports: All KSC faculty and staff are cordially invited to use the facilities and programs in the Recreation Center for one week … FREE! Come to the Recreation Center front desk during Open House Week, September 22-30, and sign up for a special pass to use the weight room, cardio equipment, swim during Rec Sports pool time, or take a group fitness class.

The BodyWorks fitness center staff will offer equipment use instruction to help start your workout program. For more information and group fitness class schedules, please contact the Recreational Sports office at 8-2814.

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From Ben Mecklenberg, Intramural Sports/Club Sports: Recreational Sports will host the First Two-Person Golf Scramble at Pine Grove Springs Country Club in Spofford on either September 27 or October 4. All faculty/staff are welcomed to play, but the deadline for the tournament sign-up is Friday, September 12.

Each player will receive one 18-hole round of golf, golf cart, and a barbecue dinner after the tournament. The cost is $80 per twosome. You can sign up at the Recreation Center Front Desk. For more information: http://www.kscintramurals.org.

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From Lynne Andrews, Recreation Center: Just a friendly reminder that all facility memberships (those issued for 2007-08) end on Sunday, August 31. Memberships can be renewed for 2008-09 by stopping by the front desk with completed membership application and Par-Q forms that were sent to you by mail. If you did not receive these forms or would like to join the Recreation Center as a new member, please stop by the front desk to complete the paperwork and receive your membership card.

The membership period runs from September 1 to August 31, so you will want to process your renewal or first-time membership by the end of August or the first week of September.

A membership fee of $480 for KSC faculty, staff, and their spouses/partners includes use of the entire Recreation Center from September 1, 2008, to August 31, 2009. Benefits-eligible faculty and staff can use the Wellness Connection benefit of your Harvard Pilgrim health insurance to cover the cost of membership. For more information about this program and the other membership options available, please stop by the front desk of the Recreation Center or contact the Recreational Sports office at 8-2814.

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From Patrick Hearn, Recreational Sports: The last Rec. Swim for the summer will be the noon swim on Fri., July 25. Pool renovations will begin on July 28. The pool is scheduled to reopen on Thurs., Aug. 24, in time for opening weekend. Thank you in advance for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

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