Women’s Tennis Prepares for Conference Matches Through Division II Competition

The women’s tennis team has been preparing for the upcoming conference season by competing against Division II schools. Courtesy of GoYeo

River Schiff

Senior Staff Writer

Tomorrow, the women’s tennis team will play DePauw University in their first North Coast Athletic Conference matchup of the season. The team has been preparing for conference play in an unusual way: instead of competing against Oberlin’s peers at Division III schools, Head Coach Constantine Ananiadis purposefully scheduled Division II matches.

“If you want to beat the best, you gotta play the best,” Ananiadis wrote in an email to the Review.

The team currently has a 3–6 record, but Ananiadis said this is due to playing Division II matches.

“We have a good team this year with lots of potential and we could easily be 9–0 if I had scheduled easy non-conference teams,” Ananiadis wrote. “But how does that prepare us for DePauw, Kenyon, and Denison? They’d look like three-headed monsters if we didn’t play these tough matches in February and early March to prepare us.”

Third-year women’s tennis player Dina Nouaime believes that playing schools at the Division II level has helped her teammates prepare to face any challenges.

“A lot of the teams in Division II are more vigorous in terms of competition, play, and mindset,” Nouaime said. “In Division II, there’s different rules, too — competition being seven points as opposed to nine, and doubles only counting as one point ... We have to come out more explosive to secure that initial point.”

After the shock of Division II competition, the desire to win will fuel the team in future competitions.

“We’re all feeling motivated against the teams we have these sort of rivalries with,” Nouaime said. “What we faced so far has really prepared us and hardened our mentality.”

Fourth-year women’s tennis captain Francesca Kern says she believes there isn’t that big of a gap in between Division II and Division III team abilities.

“Oberlin is a lot better than a fair number of Division II teams,” Kern said. “We chose to play a lot of competitive teams, which was really good because we have a high level of ability on our team all around. We competed really well, which only prepares us for our season ahead.”

Kern is eager to prove what the Yeowomen can do.

“I’m really excited for the season because I believe we have the best team that I’ve experienced during my time at Oberlin,” she said. “Especially considering our inability to compete in previous years due to COVID, I’m just grateful for the opportunity to play and compete with a high likelihood of success for me, personally, and for the team as a whole. I’m really looking forward to spending the rest of the season bonding with my teammates before I have to graduate.”

Brittney Griner Arrested in Russia, WNBA Needs to Protect its Players

Continued from page 16 considered to be college basketball’s player of the year. After her impressive college career, she went on to the WNBA and had huge success.

“She then won a WNBA championship in 2014 and was selected as one of the best 25 players in league history in 2021,” NYMag wrote. “She has two Olympic gold medals to her name. In the gold-medal game against Japan in Tokyo last summer, she dominated, scoring 30 points to clinch an easy victory.”

Griner isn’t the only WNBA player who has traveled to Russia to augment her salary. In 2015, WNBA player Diana Taurasi was paid $1.5 million by UMMC Ekaterinburg so that she could sit out the WNBA season and be well-rested for the Russian season. Taurasi says that it felt “backwards” having to “go to a ‘communist’ country to get paid like capitalists.” This is Griner’s seventh season in Russia, which is probably the only leverage she has in the country right now. The billionaire owner of UMMC Ekaterinburg, Iskander Makhmudov, is reportedly close to Putin, which could help her case. In addition, throughout her remarkable career with the Ekaterinburg team — which she has played for since 2014 — Griner has helped the club win four EuroLeague Women’s championships. However, if she can be classified as a ‘hostage,’ Griner will join more than 50 American citizens who are currently held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas. Although her arrest is believed to have happened in February, news of Griner’s predicament didn’t arrive in the U.S. until March 5, when Russia revealed that they were holding her. Soon after, Griner’s wife posted about the situation on Instagram. “There are no words to express this pain,” she wrote. “I’m hurting, we’re hurting.” Since then, campaigners have been working to free Griner. Given that she is a WNBA legend, it’s shocking that Griner’s team and the league have only issued brief statements about her arrest. As one of the most powerful sports leagues in the country which has prided itself in being involved in numerous social justice campaigns, the WNBA should be doing so much more. Leagues have the responsibility to protect their athletes, and it’s extremely disappointing to see the WNBA take such a small role in trying to help one of their most prominent athletes. One reason the case may have been swept under the rug by the WNBA is the sensitivity between Russian and American officials since the invasion of Ukraine. In addition, Griner’s wife specifically asked for privacy on Instagram. However, another likely motive for the league’s silence is that they are directly to blame for Griner being in Russia in the first place. If the league paid its stars the way other sports leagues do, Griner likely would have just stayed in the U.S. This tragedy sheds light on how female athletes are undervalued in the United States. If women’s sports were more respected in the U.S., then these athletes wouldn’t have to travel around the world to get paid the amount of money they deserve. Now more than ever, there is a demand to pay female athletes a proper salary. The American sports community need to wake up and demand changes from the WNBA. There is absolutely no reason a country with such homophobic laws like Russia should treat an LGBTQ+ basketball player better than the WNBA does.

Andrea Nguyen

Staff Writer

The OC Manatees swim club, a new group established with the goal of providing a non-competitive space for swimmers of all levels to practice together, is preparing for its first practice. The club’s opening will mark the first time in Oberlin’s history that the College will have a club swim team with an open membership.

Founded by College second-years Arya Menon and Sophia Cartsonis, the OC Manatees team is the middle ground for people who don’t want to swim at a varsity level but would prefer to swim with others during open pool hours.

“Going to Phillips [gym] and going to the pool alone can be scary for some people,” Menon said. “So this is kind of to create a space that’s more accessible. If you want to swim, here’s the place to do it.”

Similar to the rugby and frisbee clubs on campus, the OC Manatees strive to create an environment where College and Conservatory students can share their love of swimming with each other. Menon and Cartsonis created the club with the goal of cultivating an open and positive community that doesn’t rely on improving times, how often you come to the pool or the gym, or what your body looks like.

Last year, Menon had thought about creating a club team but wasn’t sure where to start. During the fall semester, she mentioned the idea to Cartsonis in conversation. Cartsonis, who also thought of creating a swim club this year and swam on the varsity team during her first year, quickly signed onto Menon’s plan.

Cartsonis sees this new club as an opportunity to create an inclusive space and offer the chance for people

Robert Carr Pool is now home to the OC Manatees swim club. Courtesy of Oberlin Athletics

to improve their swimming abilities in whatever way they want.

“We are looking at potentially having some fun game days, competitions at other schools, and maybe offering adult swim lessons to those who are interested in water safety,” she said. “Most people that are joining are interested in building a community and improving their mental and physical health. Most importantly, this is meant to be a good time.”

Eventually, Cartsonis and Menon hope to run the club as a cooperative system where everyone is involved in the organization’s operations.

As of right now, the OC Manatees plan to attend some swim meets with nearby schools, but they are open to anybody who is interested in participating. So far, 50 people have signed up.

OHS Boys Basketball Finishes Successful Season Behind Coach Russell

The Oberlin High School boys’ basketball team finished another successful season. Courtesy of Oberlin High School

John Elrod

Contributing Sports Editor

The Oberlin High School boys’ basketball team finished another successful season earlier this month going 12–2 in conference play and 14–9 overall. The team’s season ended with a heartbreaking overtime loss to Fairview High School in the district semifinals, but there was much to be proud of, including a share of the Lorain County 8 championship.

This successful basketball season helped continue a streak of personal accomplishments for Head Coach Kurt Russell this year, after he was named LC8 Coach of the Year in February. The recognition also came within the same academic year that he was named Ohio Teacher of the Year and a National Teacher of the Year finalist for his work as a social studies teacher at OHS. While teaching and coaching, Russell is never focused on personal awards. Still, he recognizes the importance of team successes like winning the conference.

“It gives them a lot of confidence,” Russell said. “It can build up high self-esteem as well. It’s not about winning or losing for me, but it makes me happy for these young men.”

Senior guard and Second-Team AllLC8 honoree Marius Harrell believes the team’s close-knit nature led them to success.

“We started off not playing as a team as much, but we came together and started winning, sharing the ball more, and we got the conference championship,” Harrell said.

Senior guard Andre Yarber, also named to the All-LC8 Second Team, was disappointed with how the season ended, but he’s excited about what the team accomplished.

“I was most proud of how we came together towards the end,” Yarber said. “Even though we came up short in the district semis, we still worked together, and at the end of the day we’re still brothers. We’re still glad we got to put a banner on our wall for the conference [championship].”

The Phoenix, who have now secured three straight winning seasons, including a share of two conference championships during that span, look to continue their success despite losing seniors like Yarber, Harrell, and FirstTeam All-LC8 honoree Ty Locklear.

“We have some great young men — Marius, Andre, Ty, and Dayvion Witherspoon — who are all leaving,” Russell said. “We need to develop some younger guys, [which] we have not done a particularly great job at yet. This summer is going to be key for us to develop these younger kids.”

Next year’s team will rely heavily on junior forward Isaac Thompson, who was named to the All-LC8 First-Team this year and dropped double-doubles in both of the team’s playoff games.

Harrell, who plans to continue playing basketball after graduating, has high hopes for future OHS boys’ basketball teams — including a trip to the state championship.

“We want to see them go farther than we did,” Harrell said. “We want to see them go all the way to Columbus.”

Yarber — who is headed to Muskingum University next fall to play football after an accomplished career on the gridiron for the Phoenix — believes some members of the basketball team have to mature in order to continue the squad’s tradition of success.

“What I hope to see is them become more mature,” Yarber said. “They’re a little younger than us so they aren’t as mature. I’m sure this summer [the coaches] will fix that.”