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TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2009
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THE JUSTICE
Judges’ Year in Review THE JUSTICE
Sports
2008-2009
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Angela Chui ’12
Fall, winter and spring seasons in photos
An overview of Brandeis sports and highlights from each of the three seasons SPORTS PHOTO OF THE YEAR
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/ Justice File Photo
■ The swimmer broke 11 school records this season, including six individual records and five relay records. If rookie Angela Chui ’12 continues to break Brandeis swimming and diving records at her current pace, she will have rewritten the entire record book by the end of her junior year. Chui capped a historic rookie season by setting 11 school records, six individual and five relay records, surpassing Hannah Johnson ’02 as the program’s alltime record holder. Johnson set 10 records in her career at Brandeis. “Honestly, if we trained [Chui] for other events, I believe she could break those school records as well,” Coach Jim Zotz said. Zotz offered high praise for the rookie sensation. “She’s extremely coachable [and] humble; her teammates all just really love her because she’s very unassuming. She doesn’t necessarily call any attention to herself, and she’s extremely versatile,” he said. Chui was recruited from the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., a boarding school with a nationally acclaimed swimming program. Around the team, Chui is known as a hard worker who excels in the pool and the classroom. Despite her personal success as an athlete, Chui’s focus has always been on the team. “I’m actually really happy overall with my achievements [and] the team’s achievements. Everyone did so well [considering that] we had to swim off campus and everything,” she said. [see Swim story p. 23]. Chui set individual records in the 50-yard backstroke (28.83 seconds), 100-yard backstroke (59.92 seconds), 200-yard backstroke (2:8.05 ), 200 –yard individual medley (2:09.38) and the 400-yard individual medley (4:33.24). Captain Rachel Nadas ’09 attributed Chui’s succes to her natural ability as well as her hard
work in practices. “She definitely has the natural talent, which helps her out, but I think more than that is just her work ethic, and she really pushes herself to be the best she can.” In the relay events, Chui teamed up with Hollis Viray ’10, Siobhan Lyons ’10 and Julia Derk ’12 to shatter all five Brandeis relay race records this season. The four swimmers combined to set records in the 200-yard medley relay (1:52.25), 400-yard medley relay (4:02.25), 200-yard freestyle relay (1:41.60), 400-yard freestyle relay (3:41.28) and 800-yard freestyle relay (8:07.35). Chui is the leadoff swimmer in all of the relay races, and the squad often relies on her to get off to a fast start to give her teammates momentum. “[She] sets the tone for the us,” Viray said. “When she would dive in there and we’d be out in front, it gives you a sense of adrenaline and an extra excitement because you want to keep the lead for your team and you’re already ahead.” Chui was a two-time University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week winner; she received awards on Nov. 17, 2008, and March 2 of this year. “I never thought I’d get [the award] twice. … When I got it the first time, I was very excited, but then when I got it the second time, I was in shock,” Chui said. According to Zotz, Chui will also be eligible to become an Honorable Mention Academic AllAmerican if she maintains her current grade point average. When asked where Chui ranks among all of the swimmers Zotz has coached at Brandeis over his 31-year tenure, he answered without any hesitation, “Without a doubt, she’s in the top three. There’s no question about that.”
DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo
SEASONAL PHOTOS: Above, men’s soccer midfielder Kyle Gross ’10, right, looks to gain possession of the ball against Carnegie Mellon University in a 2-1 loss Nov. 2. Below left, pitcher Emily Vaillette ’10 throws a no-hitter at home against Framingham State College April 2 in the Judges’ 6-0 victory. Below right, guard Jessica Chapin ’10 glides to the basket in the women’s basketball team’s 62-49 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament over Western Connecticut State University.
DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/ Justice File Photo
Monster Rebound Men’s basketball forward Terrell Hollins ’10 is pulled away from a loose ball in the Judges’ 69-57 win over then-No. 14 Carnegie Mellon University Jan. 11.
Judging numbers
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—Adam Rosen HSIAO CHI PANG/Justice File Photo
DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo
career points for men’s soccer forward Ben Premo ’09, placing him fifth all-time on the Brandeis scorers list. Premo finished his career with 38 goals and 22 assists despite a leg injury limiting his play his junior year.
1,595
career points for men’s basketball forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD). DeLuca finishes his career as the Judges’ fifth alltime leading scorer.
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TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2009
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ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Sean O’Hare ’12 ■ The first-year athlete was a two-sport star at two key positions for both the men’s soccer team and the baseball team this season. O’Hare will play only baseball next year. It takes a special kind of athlete to start on a varsity team as a rookie. To start and contribute is even more impressive. But Sean O’Hare ’12 has exceeded both those accomplishments. O’Hare came onto the Brandeis Athletics scene as a two-sport star, starting in net for the men’s soccer team in the fall and as shortstop and center fielder for the baseball team in the spring. “In my 36 years of coaching [I’ve seen] some very good athletes here. Sean O’Hare is already one of the top four or five that I’ve ever seen,” men’s soccer coach Mike Coven said. In the fall, O’Hare started the soccer season, splitting time with Taylor Bracken ’10 as the team’s primary goalkeeper, but earned the starting job in the fourth game of the season against Babson College. By season’s end, he logged over 1,000 minutes in goal and started in 10 games, leading the team with 52 saves. O’Hare has had even more success this spring. Playing two of the most athletically demanding positions, shortstop and center field, O’Hare started all but two games and finished the season with an even .300 batting average while finishing second on the team with 26 RBIs and third on the team with 42 hits. Aside from his ability to excel at two positions, O’Hare led the team with 28 runs scored and nine stolen bases with a perfect stolen base percentage. “He was a big get for us; we thought of him as a shortstop and outfielder, and he’s a tremendous athlete,” assistant baseball coach Brian Lambert ’97 said. “Especially in the mental aspect of the game, he only needs to see or hear something once, and he figures it out.” O’Hare, a native of Southampton, Mass., was initially recruited by Coven to play soccer, but word of his two-sport potential got out fast. “I still know a lot of people in the area, and when I mentioned O’Hare’s name, people would tell me what a great baseball player he was,” Coven said. Coven informed Lambert and baseball head coach Pete Varney, who also had their eye on O’Hare. “We had definitely seen him [before Coven told us about him], and we knew he was a two-sport athlete and a great student, so Brandeis seemed like a great fit for him,” Lambert said. O’Hare said the attention he received from both coaching staffs and the academic standards at Brandeis drew him to the school. “The chance to play two sports was important, but Brandeis also
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice
has such an outstanding academic reputation,” O’Hare said. O’Hare has not yet picked a major but said that he intends to study Computer Science, which did not surprise his teammates. “Besides being obviously a very good athlete, he’s definitely focused and has his head screwed on straight,” baseball team captain and outfielder Mike Alfego ’09 said. Both sports benefit from O’Hare’s athletic skill set, as his hand-eye coordination and combination of quickness and agility allow him to alternate acrobatic saves between the pipes with diving catches out on the diamond. Coven explained how these skills crossed over in both sports. “Particularly as a shortstop, [playing goalie requires] the same kind of lateral mobility and hands that work together, and [O’Hare] has hands like glue,” Coven said. Although playing two sports is not a new challenge for him, O’Hare said he feels he has to give up one of them to achieve his full potential. O’Hare will play only baseball next year; playing both sports forced him to be at an uncomfortable playing weight, he
said. Still, O’Hare stressed that the 20 hours of practice per week that both teams require during their respective seasons was never a problem. “I’ve never played baseball in the fall before—it’s always been that I played soccer in the fall and winter and baseball during the spring and summer—so that was actually pretty normal for me,” he said. Despite his success, O’Hare remains humble, saying the opportunity to spend time with teammates on both teams was the most worthwhile experience of his rookie year. “Being able to spend time with two great groups of guys [has been the most rewarding]. It was great to be welcomed in and put on the same level with everyone else, especially to have the older guys on both teams as leaders and to see how those guys go about their business,” O’Hare said. “I can’t imagine college life without being on a team, and I’ve been lucky enough to play for two special ones.”
—Eli Harrington
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consecutive Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships for the women’s soccer team after the Judges beat the University of New England 3-1 in the final match of the tournament Nov. 16, 2008.
appearance in the Sectional Finals of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament for the women’s basketball team in program history, an accomplishment achieved this season after the Judges after also hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
school records broken by swimmer Angela Chui ’12. Chui broke six individual marks this season and was a part of the relay team that broke all five of Brandeis’ relay records.
three-point fieldgoal percentage for men’s basketball guard Kevin Olson ’09 this season. Olson had the best success rate in all of college basketball, including players from Division I and Division II schools.
appearances for jumper Anat Ben Nun ’09 in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track National Championships in her four seasons at Brandeis. Ben Nun competed in the triple jump at the NCAAs in her rookie, sophomore and senior seasons.
home wins for the volleyball team compared to only three home losses over the last three seasons. The Judges were 12-2 at Red Auerbach Arena this season.