Yeowomen Look to Build on Successeses in Semfinals of NCAC

SPORTS

February 25, 2022 Established 1874

Yeowomen Look to Build on Successes in Semifinals of NCAC

The women’s basketball team poses for a team picture in Philips gym. Courtesy of GoYeo

River Schiff

Senior Staff Writer

This past Tuesday’s win against Kenyon College marks the Oberlin women’s basketball team’s 21st win, solidifying its impressive record of 21–3 in the 2021–22 season, and matching a school record. The Yeowomen, who are currently ranked second in the conference and seventh in the region, take on Ohio Wesleyan University, ranked third in the conference, in the semifinals of the NCAC tournament this Friday.

Second-year Gina Lombard, who was an NCAC Player of the Week this past November, cited the coaches as a big part of the team’s success.

“It’s so exciting to learn from coaches who have accomplished what we want to do,” she said. “I chose Oberlin because I loved that they were trying to turn the program around, which is a cool thing to be a part of. The idea of building a program up is really appealing.”

Head Coach Stephany Dunmyer came to Oberlin from Virginia Wesleyan University, where she earned Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honor three times and led the Marlins to the NCAA tournament in 2015. She also assisted Division I Indiana State University in earning the regular season conference title.

Dunmyer, an accomplished coach, reflected on the impact that her own coaches had on her and her desire to instill that same leadership and trust in her own team.

“I knew I wanted to coach from my sophomore year of college,” Dunmyer said. “I had an amazing opportunity to be head coach at Virginia Wesleyan, but after their leadership had changed I looked elsewhere. When the job at Oberlin opened up, Natalie [Winkelfoos] and mine’s philosophies for the program at Oberlin connected.”

Despite confidence in the culture that the Athletic Director Natalie Winklefoos desires to create, there were still some uncertainties as to how the team would approach the season. However, those fears were soon put to rest when the new athletes showed up for the program.

“Not having a competitive season due to the pandemic was hard, but it allowed us to focus on recruiting and the culture we wanted to create,” Dunmyer said. “We have 11 kids who have never played collegiate basketball, so there were definitely some unknowns. But I go back to our first game, which was at home against Alma [College], where Gina led with 29 points. The successes from that game truly made us believe.”

The team’s strong emphasis on trust and collaboration has contributed to its successes just as much as individual talents, and the team members’ shared goals are top of mind.

“We know what we’re capable of, and though we are not as experienced, we proved we can compete with everyone,” Lombard said. “Being 12 and 1 at home and going into the playoffs with a home court advantage, we are confident in our ability to win a championship. We’re so focused on continuing to build the history. We are never satisfied.”

First-year Camille Zinaich, who earned January NCAC Player of the Week and DIII Hoops Team of the Week accolades, wrote in an email to the Review that her expectations were not formulated by past successes, or by a motivation to prove herself in the face of a changing program.

“I didn’t know how much I would play, or what my role would be on the team, but whatever it was going to be I was gonna give it my all,” she wrote. “We have so much talent and so many players that are willing to give it their all. This team is a family and we want to make history at Oberlin. This team wants a lot of things, whether it’s our team goals or individual goals, and we are gonna achieve all of them.”

As a member of a team making history, Zinaich looks to the semifinals with a new fire, ready to face a conference that didn’t acknowledge the team’s full potential.

“In past years, Oberlin wasn’t a top team and people didn’t take us seriously, but ever since our new culture, people know who we are now,” Zinaich wrote.

Tip-off is tonight at 7:30 p.m. at DePauw University, where the Yeowomen aim to best the third-seeded OWU Bishops.

Volume 151, Number 12

Men’s Lacrosse Defeats Chatham in First Game of Season

Men’s lacrosse player Aidan Johnson on Bailey Field. Courtesy of GoYeo

John Elrod

Contributing Sports Editor

The Oberlin men’s lacrosse team defeated Chatham University 10–7 in Pittsburgh last in their first fame of the season last Saturday. The Yeomen led the whole game, fighting off numerous Chatham comeback attempts, ending the game with a win for Coach Ryan Polak to kick off his first full season as the team’s head coach.

“Starting off with a win is always nice; we feel that it allows the team to see that we are doing the right things and trending in a positive direction,” Polak said. “It also gives the team some confidence going into our next game.”

Polak feels that the older players, who had limited opportunities to compete in recent years due to canceled and shortened seasons, returned to competition smoothly.

“With some of our experienced players having not played for two years, it was nice to see them take the field and be able to compete,” Polak said. “Being away from the game for so long, it’s important to get in-game experience to knock off some rust.”

Third-year Max Cha, who had not gotten a chance to play in a game since 2020, readjusted well, scoring two goals.

“It felt pretty good to get back into the swing of things,” Cha said. “I feel like it has been a very long offseason to improve my game, and coming back to play after two years has been long awaited.”

Polak also feels the younger players who had not yet had a chance to compete at the collegiate level gained much needed experience that will help the team find success as the season progresses.

Fourth-year Tom Decker, who had two goals and two assists in the game, was impressed with the team’s ability to make smart plays and hold off Chatham’s comeback attempts. He also believes the team’s ability to take advantage of its opponent’s defensive strategies helped them find success.

“Chatham was quick to slide during our dodges, so when we were able to move the ball around the outside quickly and take advantage of poor approaches from their defense, we were able to capitalize,” Decker said. “We were also able to convert on important man-up situations.”

Decker felt the team’s early goals played an important role in setting the tone for victory.

“Senior defenseman Kiernan Stone started things