1-9-17

The Pitt News

The independent student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | january 9, 2017 | Volume 107 | Issue 98

GIORDANO SETS RECORD, PANTHERS TOP MOUNTAINEERS Bayard Miller

Assistant Sports Editor Dominic Giordano has already enjoyed incredible success as a diver for the Pitt Panthers, winning the NCAA Championship in the 3-meter last year. Saturday afternoon, the senior from Wexford, Pennsylvania added to his already impressive legacy with a historic performance.

Giordano, the reigning NCAA champion in the three-meter dive, broke the school record in the one-meter dive against the West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday morning at Trees Pool. Giordano posted a six-dive score of 434.63, shattering Pitt’s 9-year-old record of 408.40 set by Alex Volovetski in 2008.

“Dominic Giordano is most certainly the best diver the University of Pittsburgh has ever had,” Pitt diving coach Julian Krug said in a press release. “The record he set today was a very legitimate onemeter school record. He is a much better diver this year than he was last year when he won a national title. I am so happy that he has continued to improve.”

The Panthers may not play their historic archrival West Virginia on the gridiron or the basketball court on a regular basis any longer, but the Backyard Brawl is still active in the natatorium, where Pitt has See Swimming on page 9

Sorority rushees wait outside the William Pitt Union ballroom during the recruitment process. John Hamilton

VISUAL

EDITOR

SISTER, SISTER: RECRUITS RUSH FOR SPRING 2017

Amanda Reed and Ashwini Sivaganesh

two-weekend process when women on campus decide which sorority they want to join by rushing and hoping for a bid.

News Editors It’s a contrast to the fraternities’ informal Heeled boots clacked on the tile of the process, where men typically only pick a William Pitt Union lobby as women scurried couple of organizations to focus on. Instead, from one room to the next visiting potential Pitt’s sororities spend two long and tiresome sororities and meeting their future sisters for weekends making sure every woman has the the first time. opportunity to connect with every sorority.

Pitt’s Panhellenic Association started But for both, the process is unpredictable their formal spring recruitment Jan. 6 — a — after a week and half of meeting new peo-

ple and being around your potential brothers and sisters, the final outcome is only revealed on the last day, and not everyone is awarded with their first choice.

Emily Johnson, president of recruitment for Pitt’s Panhellenic Association, said that about 460 girls are rushing this semester — which is comparable to last spring. Before last year, the largest recruitment period would be in the fall. That changed before the See Recruitment on page 3

News

SGB ROUNDUP: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR 2017

Alexa Bakalarski and Leo Dornan Pitt News Staff

Last semester, one bill made SGB’s governing code more inclusive and the other prohibits Allocations Committee members from presenting

This year’s Student Government Board has passed fewer bills and resolutions than in past years, focusing its efforts instead on planning events and reversing a waning interest in student government.

Although SGB — made up of eight board members, plus a President — is meant to function as a governing body, its only direct power at Pitt is to decide on how Pitt’s student activity allocation funds — which full-time students pay $80 for each semester — are spent. Student interest in the board has been low. At meetings, the only attendees other than the board members themselves tend to be members of student groups looking for allocation money. Elections have not generated much involvement either — not a single board candidate has run unopposed since 2014. In SGB’s 2016 election, 2,665 students voted to elect President Natalie Dall and her running mates, a drop from the 2015 election, in which 4,127 students voted.

With a new communications department and First-Year Council, SGB members say they’re trying to broaden their reach and get students interested in student government before elections on Feb. 21.

“This will help just get our name out there and make people aware of what SGB does,” Max Kneis, vice president and chief of finance, said. “This will be especially important with elections coming up.”

So what exactly does SGB do?

SGB holds meetings on Tuesday nights in Nordy’s Place on the basement floor of the William Pitt Union. Members chat and snack on popcorn before getting settled to take care of business.

The Board only began passing formal bills in the spring of 2014, and has passed 40 since then, but it can also hold events and pass resolutions urging the University to take a certain action. SGB can also support or oppose a piece of state or local legislation as it did this semester when it passed a resolution in support of a Pennsylvania House of Representatives bill improving on hate crime legislation.

The bills passed in SGB meetings only affect the internal workings of the Board, adapting and reforming the code and ethics of the student body budgets. Another bill that the Board will vote on as the years go on. this month proposes changes to the student elec-

pittnews.com

of passed bills in the fall. tions code.

Jankowitz said the Board is working to its greatThis semester’s Board was composed mostly of SGB newcomers, including junior Joseph Kan- est capability, taking into account the full-time student status of the Board members.

“I wish we could do more, but we are restrained by time and schedules,” Jankowitz said in an email.

“Whenever we are not in class we are in the office working on initiatives, so I hope that shows.”

Despite not ending the semester with many concrete resolutions, Kannarkat said he was surprised at how busy the Board has been.

“This semester was really eventful,” Kannarkat said. “Coming in I hadn’t really been exposed to how much SGB did.”

Dall said the Board has tried to host events that correlate with the topics students are most interested in, including Mental Health Awareness Week and the Financial Literacy Conference — both of which were based on feedback from students after previous events.

SGB will also produce Pitt Voices this spring, a photojournalism project that will culminate in a published magazine at the end of the semester. The Pitt News is part of that initiative.

“We have a lot planned for the next few months,” Dall said in an email. “And we hope to engage students as much as possible in our events and in our initiatives to ensure that our work is representative of what concerns our students.”

Dall, a senior biochemistry major, ran for president based on a platform that promised to address sexual assault by creating a more cohesive manual, improving reporting on campus and improving Pitt’s sexual assault education. Dall’s platform also included getting more students involved with SGB. The Board added the First Year Council and the communications department with the hopes of increasing student involvement last semester, and continued Pitt’s It’s On Us campaign with a T-shirt initiative aimed at encouraging students to talk about the issue. Most of her first semester initiatives were about awareness — she hasn’t yet created a new sexual assault manual or unveiled any suggestions for improving education or reporting standards.

“We laid a lot of foundational work for different events that will take place this semester and encournarkat and senior Samantha Jankowitz — which aged groups to collaborate with us [this semester,” could account for the fewer than average number See SGB on page 4

January 9, 2017

2

Recruitment, pg. 1 fall semester in 2015, when the University enforced a policy stating that all students who decided to join Greek life had to complete 12 credits as a student at the University and have a minimum 2.5 GPA. Johnson, a senior industrial engineering student, said that Pitt’s recruitment process works best for the students at Pitt and their academic schedules.

“Years ago, recruitment took place during the week, but then the council realized it was conflicting with class schedules,” Johnson said. “When I was rushing, we held recruitment over one weekend. The following year we switched to the two weekends, and I think that’s been working for us.”

The sorority recruitment works in rounds. The first two days are called 10 rounds, during which the rushees spend time with each sorority. At the conclusion of 10 rounds, the rushees will rate the sororities and the sororities will invite a select number of women back to visit throughout seven separate rounds.

On Friday and Saturday, students rushing had an opportunity to meet all 10 Panhellenic sororities on campus. Sigma Delta Tau, a sorority that was suspended last semester, was the only group missing over the weekend.

From about 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, women took turns walking in groups from one room to the next in the WPU and O’Hara Student Center to chat with members of each sorority. They stand for hours chatting with women already pledged to one of the Greek groups. By the day’s end, women — who were dressed up at the beginning of the event — left the Union with a few curls falling out of place and started replacing their heels for ballet flats.

After two days of roaming around rooms

pittnews.com

and trying to make lasting first impressions in 15 minutes, the women revisited a maximum of seven sororities on Sunday for 20 minutes each — marking the first day where sororities and rushees begin to narrow down their choices. Next weekend, they can visit a maximum of five before preference night — where the women will have to pick their top choices from two sorority options. On bid day next Sunday the women will learn which sororities picked them back.

Pitt’s fraternities boast a more casual recruitment process.

This semester’s fraternity recruitment process will start Jan. 10, and go until Jan.

20, according to sophomore Adam Pile, recruitment chair for the fraternity Delta Chi, .

Students on campus who are looking to join a fraternity will go to “Meet the Greeks,” an event sponsored by Pitt’s Interfraternity Council, during which rushees can talk to

members of the 19 IFC fraternities on campus.

After that event, each fraternity will host a mixture of open and closed events, and students have the choice on which ones they want to attend. Pile said that some events will be at the University-owned fraternity houses, while others might be at a restaurant on Forbes.

“We usually see who is dedicated and wants to join — that’s how we determine bids,” Pile said. “But since everything is informal, there are sometimes guys who don’t get into the fraternity, or any fraternity, that they want to.”

Despite all their effort, higher ups on the women’s side of Greek life keep potential bids guessing.

The Panhellenic Association was not willing to comment on

whether women who complete the recruitment process are guaranteed a bid.

While each session over the weekend lasted only 15 minutes, and women only met with five sororities a day, the 10 to 15 minute waiting period in between each visit doubles the time students spend in a given day and made some potential bids antsy.

“While I know and understand that [each sorority has] to reset everything for each group, it would be nice to get everything done in a couple hours each day,” Gianna Coscia, a sophomore rushee said.

Maddy Ostrom, a junior communications science and disorders major, went through the two-weekend process during the fall 2015. This year she is a counselor to about 30 women — providing them with advice on being confident and choosing appropriate outfits and offering a friendly face and calming presence for times when the process is overwhelming.

“By this point in the process, I was really tired,” Ostrom said. “It’s tiring to just wait around and then have the same small talk conversations all day long.”

Besides the long days, Cosica said that she didn’t stress too much about recruitment.

“It doesn’t take me long to plan out my outfit for the day, but some of the other girls in my dorm spent hours trying on clothes to figure out what they wanted to wear,” Cosica said.

Jess Phillips, a junior marketing See Recruitment on page 4

Sisterly Advice: “Be yourself. Don’t try to impress anyone, don’t listen to stereotypes

January 9, 2017

- Sierra Putnam

3

SGB, pg. 2

Since the Board spent most of last semester planning, Dall said the members will be able to write some of their work in the official governing code with bills this semester.

“We plan to pass more bills towards the end of the year,” Dall said. “If the First-Year Council and the communications department work out, then we will write those into the structure.”

Resolutions Besides passing bills, SGB formally expresses the collective view of the Board through resolutions taking symbolic stances on issues such as sexual assault awareness on campus and the creation of Pitt’s thrift store, Thriftsburgh.

SGB passed five resolutions each year during 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, but broke the trend by passing only two resolutions in 2013. SGB passed its highest amount of resolutions — eight, with a ninth withdrawn — in 2014. SGB did not pass any resolutions in 2015, but passed two resolutions in 2016 — including the one passed last semester.

SGB plans on presenting a couple more resolutions this semester, Dall said. The students is currently waiting to see if anything comes up that warrants a resolution.

“If there’s something that we feel compelled to speak on we may do a resolution,” Dall said. “We’re looking at some issues right now and thinking over them.”

Recruitment, pg. 3 major, said she was only invited back to meet with two sororities on Sunday afternoon during seven rounds, but she isn’t worried about the outcome.

“I’ve thought about what would happen if I didn’t get into either sorority, but I’m not sure if that’s a thing,” Phillips said.

Women must pay $15 to rush, but they are allowed to drop out of the recruitment process at any point if they change their mind.

Ostrom said that besides knowing a few girls who decided not to join a sorority by choice, she’s never heard of anyone who went through the process and didn’t make it into at least one.

Although Ostrom quickly found a group that she connected with in the sisters of Sigma Sigma Sigma, a friend of hers decided not to join a sorority after she didn’t receive the bid she had been hoping for. And, in the end, she said it’s worth all the waiting, small talk and anticipation.

“The first few days can be awkward because everyone is putting up a front on both sides,” Ostrom said. “But in the end, a couple tired weekends was nothing compared to what [sorority life] has given me.”

The Pitt news crossword 1/9/17

Dall said in an email. “I look forward to seeing how the relationships our Board members and committees built last semester continue on as we close out the year.”

Bills, Bills, Bills While SGB’s current structure has been in existence since 1971, the Board only began formally writing bills in the spring of 2014, under former president Michael Nites and his Board.

Prior to this, the structure of the Board was written out, but no documents actually detailed how it should function.

Before SGB began writing formalized bills, the Board voted on bylaw changes — the original governing code — in public meetings, Dall said.

Bills only pertain to the internal workings of SGB and aim to amend the governing code and introduce any new parts of the government. With the governing structure set up under Nites and his Board, subsequent Boards have generally just refined existing documents to adapt to changes at Pitt or improve SGB. According to its website, SGB has passed 40 bills since 2014. Without including the outlier of the 20 bills passed in the spring of 2014, the number of bills passed by SGB per semester averages out to 3.6 bills — the fall semester, which only pro-

duced two bills, is slightly behind that average.

SGB passed its highest number of bills in a semester — 20 bills — during the spring of 2014. The then-SGB passed its first nine bills on Jan. 14, 2014, when bills such as the creation of the SGB governing code passed.

In the fall of 2014, SGB passed five bills, two of which established the Office of Sustainability and modified the SGB elections code. SGB passed six bills in the spring of 2015 and passed one bill –– which created an alternative Allocations Committee member selection process –– during the fall of 2015. By comparison, SGB passed four bills in the spring of 2016, with one of the passed bills introduced in December 2015.

Last semester, SGB passed BB 39 to correct several grammatical errors and change the language of the Board’s governing code to make it more inclusive. Specifically, SGB changed from referring to pronouns to using the title of the office instead. The original documents used all male pronouns.

BB 40 , which took effect last semester, provides some accountability for SGB. SGB members and Allocations Committee members are no longer allowed to submit or defend allocations requests.

Previously, there was no rule barring members from presenting allocations requests that would benefit themselves or their colleagues.

pittnews.com

January 9, 2017

4

pittnews.com

January 9, 2017

5

Opinions from the editorial board

column

Pitt must embrace more interdisplinary studies The goal for any student after graduation is to get a job in his or her field and build a career.

But for today’s students, expectations have risen and the labor force demands graduates who are able to easily adapt to our changing world.

Many colleges and universities, including Carnegie Mellon, are responding to this with new major and degree programs that emphasize interdisciplinary studies. CMU is instituting a new undergraduate program in behavioral economics, policy and organizations this semester — the first program of its kind in the nation. A release from CMU’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the program’s home school, cited the growing need for graduates who are trained in “apply[ing] psychological insights to human behavior to explain and predict economic decision-making” as the catalyst for the introduction of the major.

Other Pennsylvania schools are also starting to offer interdisciplinary major programs: Drexel University has degrees in arts-engineering and joint international relations and modern languages and the University of Pennsylvania offers four different interdisciplinary programs for undergraduates.

Globalization, the internet and technology are constantly reshaping the modern workforce, and it’s imperative for students all over the country, and at Pitt, to have options for diversifying their degrees. While graduates in the past generally used their degree to accept a job and stick with a company for an extended period of time, graduates today are often expected to be flexible and ready to utilize a variety of skills, including coding, communication and an understanding of global — as opposed to national or local — trends. Upgrading higher ed programs to include interdisciplinary work across many fields is the way to create workers who can adapt to our ever-changing society.

Interdisciplinary approaches provide students with a wider depth and breadth of knowledge as well as stimulate the critical thinking

pittnews.com

we need to be able to creatively solve world problems. In our increasingly global world, a graduate who is fluent in multiple fields and comfortable working within and between them will offer much more to the table than one who spent their college career in only one area of study.

Pitt currently offers a few programs that cover multiple fields, such as the mathematicsstatistics or politics-philosophy programs or the Bachelor of Philosophy add-on option within the University Honors College.

The College of General Studies offers a self-designed major for students in its school, who make up less than 3 percent of Pitt’s total undergrad enrollment. The program is the kind we should open to all students — as it allows for students to pick their own coursework and major through the approval of an adviser — but according to Pitt’s website, the program isn’t even currently accepting CGS students, let alone students from other schools.

Even though we have a few good examples of interdisciplinary programs at Pitt, but few students know they exist. It can be tricky to find reliable information about crafting a specialized major from department websites, administrators or advisers.

Introducing new majors that cross departmental lines, like CMU’s behavioral economics program, is a step in the right direction to encourage more dynamic plans of study. But a program like the CGS’s self-designed major — open to all students in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences — is the premiere way to get students to explore new interdisciplinary approaches and stimulate innovation across varying fields of study.

If Pitt wants to compete with the top universities in the nation and the world, and wants to churn out students capable of competing in a diverse job market, we need to offer students the specialized training that will make them marketable and impactful members of society.

STATES CONTROL FUTURE OF COLLEGE TUITION

Photo by Michael Bryant, TNS

Kirsten Wong

Senior Columnist In the midst of ever-increasing tuition and student debt at universities, New York has offered a bold solution.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, D-N.Y., announced his proposal on Jan. 3 on Jan. 3 to make state and city universities tuition-free for middle-class and low-income families making $125,000 or less a year. Under the program — the Excelsior Scholarship — instate students who have been accepted into two- or four-year programs at the State University of New York and the City University of New York are qualified to attend tuitionfree through state supplementation of an existing aid program called the Tuition Assistance Program and federal grants.

The program will allow eligible students to receive TAP grants and federal aid, and the remaining tuition costs will be paid by the Excelsior Scholarship, which would come from additional state funds. The administration estimated the cost of the program to be about $163 million by 2019 once it’s fully phased in, in addition to the $1 billion the state spends

January 9, 2017

on TAP grants for students already. Once a student is accepted into a SUNY or CUNY program, the student may qualify for the scholarship based on need and income that could cover their entire education.

The initiative is the first tuition-free program in the nation to ensure that every student has the opportunity to obtain an education regardless of their income. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., stood alongside Cuomo, praising the proposal as revolutionary — a sentiment reminiscent of his presidential campaign, when he vowed to make all public universities tuition-free.

The new policy is not only a major step to address the issue of rising college costs in a nation where student loan debt has surpassed $1.4 trillion, it is also an example of how state representatives can create their own progressive agendas during a Donald Trump-led administration that doesn’t offer much hope for progressive college debt reform.

In Pennsylvania, we may not have the state funds or resources to implement a similar program, but we do need to increase our See Wong on page 7

6

Wong, pg. 6 funding for education immensely. Over the years, the steady decline in education funding has caused lower enrollment numbers, faculty strikes and skyrocketing tuition prices.

Pitt is one of the most expensive public universities in the nation with tuition rates falling between $17,688 to $22,270 depending on the school. According to College Portraits, a website that provides comparable information from over 260 colleges, 63 percent of Pitt main campus graduates from 2014 to 2015 took out loans at some point during their undergraduate studies, and the average amount borrowed was $38,045.

Since the 2008 economic recession, states have been cutting back on funding universities which has driven tuition costs up along with cuts to student services and programs — including Pennsylvania. According to the Center on Budget Policy Priorities, Pennsylvania’s per-student funding has decreased by more than 33.3 percent from 2008 to 2016.

As a result, low-income students are disproportionately affected by the funding cuts and tuition increases, with a vast number of low-income students opting out of college altogether. Pennsylvania is among the five states experiencing the largest decline in enrollment, having lost more than 18,000 students since fall of 2015, which dropped for the fifth consecutive year.

The significant decline in enrollment doesn’t just harm low-income students, it makes it harder for universities to run and provide quality education. With fewer students attending colleges, universities are making less money through tuition and fees.

This can cause universities to reduce student services and programs, seek funds elsewhere or raise tuition prices.

As the Pennsylvanian budget for 20172018 is in its planning stages, the Republican-controlled legislature may look to cut education in order to make up for the state’s projected $608.3 million deficit. Pitt is already contemplating a state cut and what it means for students remains unclear.

Cuomo recognizes the financial burden millions of students are dealing with when coming up with the funds to go to college and get a degree, something that He understands that in order to compete in today’s economy, a college degree is the most important path to professional success. When college degree holders earn almost twice as

pittnews.com

much as high school graduates, a college degree is the key to economic mobility and a good-paying job.

During the campaign season, Presidentelect Trump seldom spoke about the issue of college costs and student debt. The only proposal he offers on his website is to “work with Congress on reforms to ensure universities are making a good faith effort to reduce the cost of college and student debt in exchange for the federal tax breaks and tax dollars.”

Given Trump’s lack of policy details and priority in reducing costs, the future of higher education is uncertain and it is unlikely the federal government will take the lead in addressing college costs — meaning it’s up to the states to step up and challenge the administration by increasing funding in education and working to make sure college is accessible and equitable to everyone.

When I first came to Pitt, I was amazed at all the opportunities it had to offer. But if it weren’t for financial aid and scholarships, I would not be here. I was more than fortunate to be able to come here despite my family’s lower financial status — something I am thankful for every day.

But not everyone gets the same chance to go to a university as prestigious as Pitt.

When socioeconomic status overshadows a student’s potential to attend college, we are selling millions of students short of their greatest achievements. When lawmakers make these cuts, students and professors are the ones who should be fighting back and demanding proper funding for our schools and universities.

This is an issue that young people in Pennsylvania need to push to the forefront, by writing to our representatives, telling personal stories about how student debt affects us, creating petitions, voting and raising awareness of the issue with a sense of urgency.

A college degree is a gateway to equal opportunity, success and economic justice.

Nobody should be denied the opportunity to get a good education because they cannot afford it.

Trump may not do anything about our student loans, but we can.

The Pitt News

Editor-in-Chief ELIZABETH LEPRO

Managing Editor LAUREN ROSENBLATT

editor@pittnews.com

manager@pittnews.com

News Editor ASHWINI SIVAGANESH

Opinions Editor AMBER MONTGOMERY

newsdesk.tpn@gmail.com

tpnopinions@pittnews.com

Sports Editor STEVE ROTSTEIN

Culture Editor EMILY BRINDLEY

tpnsports@gmail.com

aeeditors@gmail.com

Visual Editor JOHN HAMILTON

Layout Editor JORDAN MONDELL

pittnewsphoto@gmail.com

tpnlayout@gmail.com

Online Editor MATT CHOI

Copy Chief SIERRA SMITH

tpnonline@gmail.com

tpncopydesk@gmail.com

Amanda Reed | Assistant News Editor Alexa Bakalarski | Assistant News Editor Henry Glitz | Assistant Opinions Editor Bayard Miller | Assistant Sports Editor Meghan Sunners | Assistant Visual Editor Emily Hower | Assistant Layout Editor Matt Moret | Online Engagement Editor

Alexandria Stryker | Assistant Copy Copy Staff Amanda Sobczak Bridget Montgomery Corey Foreman Matthew Maelli

Mia DiFelice Michelle Reagle Rielly Galvin Sarah Choflet Sydney Mengel

Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each.

Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration.

Opinions expressed in columns, cartoons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any.

Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com.

The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left.

The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and

Kirsten is a Senior Columnist for The Pitt News. She primarily writes on social justice issues and education.

Write to her at kew101@pitt.edu.

January 9, 2017

student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer.

Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

Business Manager CALVIN REIF

advertising@pittnews.com

Sales Manager SEAN HENNESSY

Inside Sales Manager MARISSA ALTEMUS

Marketing Manager LARA PETORAK

Digital Manager ISAAC PROCH

Graphic Designers Matt Hyre Maya Puskaric

Production Manager MAYA PUSKARIC Account Executives

Robert Capone Matty Houck David Barone Jill Baldauf

Marty Waters Julianne Rohac Chad Boronky Isabel Scrabis

Inside Sales Executive Sarah Moore Arianna Taddei Izzy Krempa

7

Sports

CARDINALS CRUSH PANTHERS, 73-52

The Cardinals then closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a one-point lead and completely change the tone of the game.

Louisville’s run continued into the second quarter, as the Cardinals turned a five-point deficit into a 10-point advantage Steve Rotstein The Panthers held Louisville’s leading with 3:58 left in the half by way of a 17-2 Sports Editor scorer Asia Durr to just three points on run. The teams then traded two buckets Graduate transfer center Brandi Harvey- 1-of-9 shooting, but four other Cardinals apiece and Louisville took a 34-25 lead into Carr continues to excel with the Pitt wom- scored in double figures, led by 18 points the break. en’s basketball team, but it wasn’t enough to from junior forward Mariya Moore. MeanThe Panthers fell behind by 11 to start avoid a lopsided defeat Sunday against the while, Harvey-Carr was Pitt’s only player to the second half, but refused to quit against reach double digits on the afternoon.

No. 8 Louisville Cardinals. their highly favored opponent.

Early on, it looked like a massive upset Despite a career-high 25 points from Junior point guard Aysia Bugg followed the 6-foot-4 Harvey-Carr, the Panthers could be in the making. a Harvey-Carr layup with one of her own Louisville scored first and jumped out for Pitt, then true freshman guard Alayna (10-6 overall, 1-2 ACC) suffered a 73-52 loss against the Cardinals (15-3 overall, 3-1 to a 5-2 lead, but the Panthers then put to- Gribble nailed a 3-pointer. Sophomore ACC) at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, gether a 10-2 run to take a 12-7 lead a little forward Brenna Wise added a jumper, and Kentucky. The final score wasn’t close, but more than three minutes into the game. Harvey-Carr contributed another layup to Pitt did manage to give Louisville a scare Harvey-Carr added two more layups to give cap an 11-2 run. early on and nearly pulled off a second-half her 10 points in the first quarter, and graduThe Cardinals’ double-digit lead had comeback before the Cardinals handily dis- ate transfer forward Destinie Gibbs drained See Basketball on page 10 a jumper to make it 18-13 Pitt. patched the Panthers late.

Pitt center Brandi Harvey-Carr scored a career-high 25 points in Pitt’s 73-52 loss vs. Louisville. John Hamilton VISUAL EDITOR

TIGERS SET TO TANGLE WITH TIDE

Ryan Zimba saw Alabama overcome a historic performance by

Staff Writer

Left: Alabama Quarterback Jalen Hurts Curtis Compton TNS Right: Clemson Quarterback Deshaun Watson Stephen M. Dowell TNS

pittnews.com

After a long season filled with upsets and close calls, this year’s college football playoff has given many viewers exactly what they wanted — a rematch of last year’s championship game between the No. 2 Clemson Tigers and the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide.

T h e matchup became an instant classic last season that

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson to win its record 13th national championship, 45-40.

It was a back-and-forth affair in which neither defense had much success. The teams’ 85 combined points made for the highest-scoring national championship game since the creation of the Bowl Championship Series in 1998.

The records have flipped, but there are still many similarities between the teams. Last year, the one-loss Crimson Tide knocked off the undefeated Tigers to claim their fourth national title in seven seasons. This year, Clemson enters the matchup with a 13-1 record while Alabama searches for its second perfect season under head coach Nick Saban.

Clemson is looking to avoid a repeat of last year and claim its first title since 1981. To do so, it will have to stop a dynasty, as Saban attempts to win his sixth title as a head coach and fifth in 10 years at Alabama.

The key to Alabama’s success over the years has mostly been a suffocating defense stacked with mammoth defensive linemen and heat-seeking linebackers and safeties.

This year, the Tide’s top-ranked defense is backed by a high-powered offense averaging 40 points per game, the 11th-best in the nation.

January 9, 2017

The Tigers’ offense ranks just below the Tide’s, coming in at No. 16 in points per game. But Alabama’s defense is once again the best in the country, giving up an average of only 12.1 points per game.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said his team is looking forward to the difficult task ahead.

“O bv i ously, I’ve got a lot of respect for Alabama.

They are who they are because they’ve been the best — they’ve b e en the standard,” Swinney said Tuesday during the national championship teleconference. “We all know the challenge that we have.

We’re excited. Eventually if you’re ever going to be the best, you have to beat them.”

Alabama may be grabbing most of the See Tangle on page 10

8

Swimming, pg. 1 dominated the Mountaineers over the past couple decades. The Panthers entered the 23rd matchup holding an 18-4 edge in the all-time series.

This Saturday marked the Panthers’ first time hosting a meet at Trees in over two months. But any fears the team would come out flat in their first competition since the holidays were quickly dispelled as both the men’s and women’s teams combined to win 27 of 32 events during the meet.

By the time the water stilled in the mid-afternoon, both teams emerged victorious over their former Big East foes in dominating fashion. Pitt’s men’s team (34, 1-4 ACC) racked up 214 points to West Virginia’s 86, while the women’s squad won with almost as convincing a margin, with the final tally being 205.5-94.5.

The performances of two international newcomers — Boris Kulizhnikov, a Russian swimmer who transferred from UNLV and Eben Vorster, a first-year Dominic Giordano sets new school mid-season addition from Bloemfontein, and pool 1m record Jordan Mondell South Africa — aided the men’s team in their winning effort.

Both swimmers won all the events they participated in Saturday. Kulizhnikov finished first in both the 100- and 200-meter events in breaststroke, with the respective times of 57.02 and 2:03.60. He also helped lead the Panthers to victory in the 200 medley relay, swimming the breast leg of the race in 25.90.

Vorster showed off his all-around ability in the pool with victories in the 100 and 200 butterfly with times of 50.22 and 1:49.78 respectively, the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:51.94, and with his contribution to the 400 freestyle relay with a 3:03.36.

Pitt head coach John Hargis displayed his confidence in the new swimmer’s abilities by making him the anchor of the relay team. Vorster did not disappoint, posting a 45.65 split to close out the event win.

While Vorster, Kulizhnikov and Giordano dominated the meet for the men’s team, a variety of victories spurred the women’s win.

Junior Amanda Richey won the 200 free with a 1:52.83, the 500 with a 4:57.52 and the 1,000 with a 10:03.48, displaying her ability to excel in both the mid- and long-distance freestyle races.

Freshman Valerie Daigneault from

Mont-Royal, Quebec, showed that she will be a valuable swimmer for the Panthers for years to come as she finished in first place in both the 100 and 200 back, with times of 56.40 and 1:59.92 Alongside other multiple event winners such as juniors Emily Murphy and Meme Sharp and senior Kinga Cichowska, the women powered past the Mountaineers, racking up more than twice as many points as their adversaries.

“I thought our team raced really well today,” Hargis said in the release. “Coming into this meet, we wanted to continue to improve upon what we’ve been doing all year, and I think we did that.”

But the victory does not seem to have distracted from the head coach’s long term goals for the season.

“Going forward, we have to continue to polish some things,” Hargis said in the release. “We’re a few details away from being a very, very good team on both sides — men’s and women’s. We have to figure out ways to get our hands to the wall faster.

That’s our aim as we get closer to the ACC Championships.”

Next up for Pitt is a tri-meet vs. Denison and ACC rival Florida State at Trees Pool Saturday, Jan. 14, at 11 a.m.

BUCKEYES STICK IT TO PITT GYMNASTICS Steve Rotstein Sports Editor

On a frigid Saturday night in Pittsburgh, the Pitt gymnastics team’s season opener got off to a cold start against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Although Pitt participated in an exhibition last month against the Kent State Golden Flashes, Saturday’s competition was the squad’s first official action since winning the East Atlantic Gymnastics League title last year, a first in program history. The Panthers’ title defense didn’t start as planned, as they dropped a close match by a score of 194.375-192.800.

Only one of 15 Pitt gymnasts was able to finish in first place during the meet.

On the balance beam, senior Kelly Burak posted an excellent score of 9.775, which was good for second place behind Ohio State junior Stefanie Merkle, whose performance earned a 9.850. But Pitt head coach Debbie Yohman was let down by the rest of the gymnasts on the beam Sunday night

pittnews.com

An uncharacteristically poor performance by junior Taylor Laymon of 8.300 allowed the Buckeyes to take the event.

“I’m really disappointed in [our performance on the] beam, because we’re better than that,” Yohman said in a press release.

Laymon found her stride elsewhere, and her brilliance on the bars marked the sole individual victory of the night for the Panthers. Her routine merited a 9.850 score from the judges — good enough to best Ohio State junior Alexis Mattern, who won second place with a 9.800.

“Taylor was gorgeous,” Yohman said in the release. “That was probably the best bar routine that I’ve ever seen her do. The handstands were so precise, and she just nailed it. I’m so proud of what she did there.”

Another standout performance from the Panthers belonged to first-year Alecia Petrikis, who hails from nearby Grove City, Pennsylvania. She tied Pitt senior

Tracey Pearson for second place on the floor exercise in her first collegiate event with a score of 9.825.

“Wasn’t that pretty?” Yohman said about Petrikis’ debut. “What’s great about her is she’s a local kid. [The floor] is her best event, and she just shone.”

Pitt only had one all-around performer Saturday night — Pearson — to Ohio State’s two, but Pearson showed herself capable of the difficult task of competing in all four events by recording a score of 38.900, good for second place.

Although the loss puts a damper on team expectations, Yohman seemed excited for the rest of the season after the meet.

“I can’t wait to get back in the gym, because the things that we’ve been doing have been giving us results,” Yohman said in the release.

The Panthers’ next matchup will be at the Fitzgerald Field House against rivaling West Virginia Mountaineers at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13.

January 9, 2017

Alecia Petrikis placed second on floor exercise in her first collegiate meet. Courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Pitt Athletics

9

Tangle, pg. 8 headlines for its defensive play, but Clemson has proven itself capable of shutting down some of the most potent offenses in college football. Although Ohio State came into New Year’s Eve averaging over 42 points per game, the Tigers were able to hand the Buckeyes their first shutout loss of the season in a 31-0 Clemson victory.

“They have really good guys up front,” Saban said during the teleconference.

“Their linebackers are athletic and very instinctive and can run, and they play really well in the back end.”

Defensive linemen Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence and linebacker Ben Boulware combined with running back Wayne Gallman and wide receiver Mike Williams, mean the Tigers are stacked on offense and defense.

But none of those players have shined as bright as Watson, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist who has accounted for 4,759 total yards of offense and 46 touchdowns.

Watson’s dual-threat ability as a quarterback has caused problems for nearly every defense he has faced. Currently, he

is the Tigers’ second leading rusher — behind Gallman — with 586 yards on the year.

He had one of the best games of his career in last year’s title game, throwing for 405 yards and four touchdowns and running for 73 more. The Tide still pulled out the win, but if they want to repeat they will have to do a better job of slowing Watson down.

Watson has had one big problem this season — turnovers. He’s thrown 17 interceptions this season, and if Alabama can pressure him into making mistakes, it could be a long game for the Tigers’ offense.

For Alabama, true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts will need to be at his best to knock off Clemson. The signal caller has been a sensation, throwing for 2,649 yards and 22 touchdowns along with nine interceptions.

He too is a dual-threat quarterback, having rushed for 891 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year. Swinney said Hurts would provide a big challenge for his defense, adding that the Tigers wouldn’t be going up against a typical freshman quarterback.

“He’s not a freshman anymore,” Swinney said during the teleconference. “He’s got a ton of experience. He’s been there, done that. He’s played. He’s handled adversities.”

The two best teams in the country will square-off in New Orleans Monday night for the toughest challenge of the season.

While it remains unclear whether this game will be an offensive shootout or a defensive battle, the contest is poised to be a memorable one as two teams of tremendous talent will fight for the right to call themselves undisputed national champions.

PREDICTION: Clemson has been on a tear since its 43-42 loss vs. Pitt Nov. 12.

The Tigers have played their best football of the season since then, outscoring their last four opponents by a combined 164-55.

Meanwhile, Hurts and the Alabama offense have been mired in a slump, including an uninspired performance against Washington in which Hurts went 7-for-14 for only 57 yards. Hurts should bounce back in this contest, but it won’t be enough as the Tigers escape and win a close, hotly contested game.

Clemson 34, Alabama 31

Basketball, pg. 8 dwindled to two at 38-36 midway through the third quarter.

Louisville responded with a 9-0 run of its own to make it 47-36 with 2:30 left in the quarter, but a jumper from sophomore forward Kauai Bradley along with two free throws and another layup from HarveyCarr cut the Panthers’ deficit to five.

Moore then closed the third quarter with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Cardinals a 52-43 lead and all of the momentum entering the final quarter.

Louisville capitalized on that momentum, as Moore hit another three to open the fourth quarter followed by a free throw and a jumper. Cardinals forward Kylee Shook then added a jumper to finish off an 11-0 run, giving Louisville a commanding 60-43 lead.

The gap proved insurmountable for Pitt, as the Cardinals controlled the game the rest of the way for a 73-52 win.

The Panthers will make another attempt at an improbable upset next time out when they travel to South Bend, Indiana, to take on the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Thursday, Jan. 12. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

The Pitt News SuDoku 1/9/17 courtesy of dailysudoku.com

pittnews.com

January 9, 2017

10