A Titan Season Like No Other

The pandemic’s effect on Westminster athletics

BY NATHAN LARICCIA | SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to publication deadlines, the following story was written in early April, prior to the completion of the spring sports season. In the end, Westminster Titans collected six Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship trophies in 2020-2021: men's basketball, volleyball, football, women's outdoor track, men’s golf and women’s golf.

Stop whatever you are doing, leave and come back to New Wilmington. Westminster College All-American pole vault hopefuls Morgan Gossard and Emma Rudolph—who were in North Carolina preparing to compete at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships—packed up their poles, leaving behind the opportunity to compete for their first-ever All-American honor and not knowing if they would ever have this chance again. The Titan baseball and softball teams, both competing in Florida, left the fields immediately with a surplus of questions that not many people in the world even knew how to answer. Other spring sports received the same gut-wrenching news. Seasons were canceled. Playing careers ended. Dreams were crushed. Unknowns awaited. The day was Friday, March 13, 2020—the day people, especially student-athletes, will remember where they were when they heard the news. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic changed the world, sports and Titan Athletics as everyone knew it.

There was a period of time when no one knew if playing sports was going to be possible amidst the pandemic. Teams held practices and workouts— either in pods or socially distanced settings—with the uncertainty of what the season would hold. About half the Westminster student population is made up of student-athletes, so half the student body wanted to know when they would be able to don their navy and white colors again.

September came and went and Memorial Field inside Harold Burry Stadium still sat vacant. The Westminster football team had just come off a season winning its third Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Bowl Championship. The biggest roster on campus had to stay safe, while keeping everyone together with a positive attitude that there would be a season. Even while learning that other conferences and schools cancelled or postponed their respective seasons, the Titans remained hopeful that there would be a season.

“Having older guys, having some leaders in this program that have been here for more than a couple of years, has really helped,” seventh-year Head Football Coach Scott Benzel said when asked how the Titans were able to remain focused during the pandemic. “They have done a nice job in motivating and reassuring the younger players, telling them to just keep with the program and make sure that we are doing the little things that we need to do.”

Little things. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Avoid large group gatherings. Be socially distanced. Everyone had to hold themselves accountable if there was even a chance to play again.

Those 300-plus days with no intercollegiate competition were not wasted just waiting around to see how everything was going to pan out. Working groups were established. Zoom meetings were scheduled. Remote learning and working from home were being practiced. If Westminster, the NCAA and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) were going to get back to playing and competing, safety was first priority for all involved. Challenges, however, were inevitable.

“Making and continually revising plans to be in compliance Adelman with the CDC, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, NCAA, PAC and Westminster health, safety, COVID testing and return-toplay mandates and recommendations has been the most challenging,” said Director of Athletics Jim Dafler.

“The most challenging part of this season was getting my schedule to work out,” said junior volleyball player Becky Adelman. “With volleyball usually being in the fall, I already had my classes planned around practice

Opposite page: Senior Isaac Stamatiades embraces sophomore Austin O’Hara after clinching the PAC Men’s Basketball Championship title. // Below, volleyball players, from left, juniors Samantha Kelly, Becky Adelman, Maya Steward and senior Megan Steele display the PAC Volleyball Championship trophy.

Men’s lacrosse teammates, above, gather on the new field. // At left, softball players sophomore Alexis Yates, left, and senior Victoria Pezzuolo toss a high five.

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times, so that was something I had to readjust to.”

Following 320 long awaited days, Westminster played its first intercollegiate varsity game on Jan. 27, 2021, with the men’s basketball team winning their highly anticipated season-opener, 99-77, over Franciscan University. Though fan cut-outs replaced real parents, family and friends cheering on the Titans and the team benches were socially distanced, the scene was welcomed and an encouraging sign that sports had returned to Westminster—a small taste of normalcy.

While the traditional winter sports were finally back in season, other Westminster sports were practicing and gearing up with for their respective seasons. Practice never felt so good.

“Excited probably is not the word,” said the reigning PAC Volleyball Coach of the Year Tammy Swearingen when asked how excited the team was to finally play after the delayed start due to the pandemic.

“They were ready to go. They wanted to play. We took advantage of every time, every opportunity we had to get on the court and to practice together. We really looked forward to those opportunities to compete. Excited to let the athletes come together and play again. Let them do their thing and be the athletes that they are and see the excitement that they have on the court,” she said.

Sports are not the end all be all. Sports are not bigger or more important than a pandemic. Lives were changed. Lives were lost. However, sports do provide an escape, an outlet. Sports allow togetherness and teamwork to thrive and

www.westminster.edu/athletics

Above from left: Sophomore Stephanie Cimini (women’s lacrosse). // Senior Nick Iregui (men’s soccer). // Junior Camille Holzschuh (women’s soccer). // Below, the baseball team lines up for the national anthem.

flourish—different people with different backgrounds coming together for one goal. Be safe and play.

“Long time waiting,” said senior basketball guard Isaac Stamatiades while proudly wearing his PAC Championship T-shirt after leading the Titans to their first conference title in 17 years.

“Just relief,” Stamatiades said when asked how it felt when cutting down the nets with his teammates inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium in front of their home crowd.

“The hard work we put in, night in and night out, not even knowing if we were going to have a season this year, this feeling was just amazing. Everybody just came together and we just got it done,” he said.

The scene may be different. Masks covered the smiles of jubilation from friends and family watching excitedly and proudly as our teams hoisted their PAC Championship trophies (six of them this season). But the moments are just as special. Sure, the players might remember being tested several days a week or that their parents had to watch their games through the livestream. But for our Titan athletes, the memory of the joy of competing despite the challenges will remain. And for Stamatiades and his teammates, cutting down the nets while Queen’s ‘We Are the Champions” plays will be a memory they won’t forget.

We are the champions. The athletic trainers, the professors, the administrators, the support staff, the students, the coaches, the parents, the community, the fans, the student-athletes. We came together and we got it done. S Stamatiades