SPORTS
APRIL 4, 2014
11
Record breakers, team players: Lily Colley & E’l^ma Garcia
BY ABE KENMORE
Staff Writer
Seniors and lacrosse players E'leyna Garda and Lily
Colley rank first and second in career points in the Guilford
College record books. This season, the duo have led the team
to a 4-0 record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Colley has also earned the ODAC Women's Lacrosse
Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks. All-
American, Garda has won the award three times.
Both players agreed to join The Guilfordian for an
interview about lacrosse, playing for the Quakers and what
they have learned from their time at Guilford.
How did you start playing lacrosse?
Colley: It's always been really popular in my family. My
dad's a big lacrosse guy, so basicdly from the time I could
walk. I had a lacrosse stick under the Christmas tree when
I was seven years old. So, there was always that pressure to
play.
Garcia: When I was in middle school, they introduced it
to my private school, and I just picked it up from there and
started playing ever since.
What's your favorite thing about the game? Why
do you keep playing?
C: I love that it's a running sport — I just like being active,
so that's what attracted me to it originally.
G: I love how much it brings a team together, how much
you have to rely on everyone and how much of a team sport
it is.
Senior Lily Colley plays against Wittenberg University March 9.
You both had had record-setting careers ... (you
are the) first and second of all time -r- so, what are
some of your shining moments from your time here
at Guilford?
G: I mean, honestly, for shining moments, I would say last
year when we beat Roanoke and Washington and Lee. All
these teams we'd never beaten before, especially coming off
my first year here when we were not very good.
C: I can't really think of a specific time in my career. I think
what she brings up, those really big wins. I think we both
played relatively well in those big wins individually, but also
as a team.
G: Yeah — it's cool that Lily and I have broken a bunch
of records, but we don't even know about that stuff imtil a
week later when someone else mentions it to us.
C: Those accolades are flattering, but they are honestly
superficial. Winning a ring and winning as a team would be
so much more valuable because, at the end of the day, that's
the overall goal.
So, how do you each prepare for a game? I mean,
I assume there are warm-ups, but is there particular
music you listen to or a particular routine you have
before a game?
G: Well, actually, our team has a nice little dance party in
the locker room before each game. We bring speakers into
the locker room and we have a little playlist... and we have
a crazy, everyone gets hyped up and jumps around type of
thing.
C: This is kind of nerdy, but recently I've been finding
that if I go do homework or something. I've been playing
better ... if I write a paper or accomplish something I'm like
woo-hoo! I'm off to a great start... And what E'leyna talked
about, I mean, you haven't seen my dance moves, but they're
phenomenal, and they get the team ready to play.
G: Yeah, definitely. Her dance irtoves are what get me
going.
What piece of advice would each of you give to an
incoming lacrosse player or an incoming first-year?
C: I think the biggest thing is — it's cheesy — but have
fun. I think one of the biggest things I have been really trying
to work is just stop putting so much pressure on myself. In
game, sometimes, I used be like, "This is supposed to be fun,
and if you're not having fun and enjoying yourself, why are
you doing it?" I think the other piece of advice would be ...
t:
Senior
E’leyna Garcia plays attack against Sweet Briar College.
know what you're getting into and be willing to work hard.
G: I would say, ask for help when you need it. The help is
always there, just ask for it... I would also say for any first-
year athlete that comes in, you have your friends on your
lacrosse team and your support group but get involved in
other things.
C: Yeah, I think that's perfect ... There's very unique
people at this school, and I think you can learn a lot from
them. So I think what she said was great — you have your
teammates, who are your family, but also branch out ...
make that extra effort to make those friends, because they
will be your rock when you need a break from everything.
Final Four preview
NCAA TOURNAMENT
CONTINUES
BY ROBERT PACHECO
Staff Writer
What do Austin State
University, Dayton University,
Stanford University, Harvard
University, Mercer University
and North Dakota State
University have in common?
They all were double-digit
seeds that pulled off second
round upset victories in the
2014 NCAA Men's Basketball
Tournament.
"You knew that this year's
tournament was going to be
insane when that final horn
sounded in the Duke versus
Mercer game," said senior soccer
player Michael MacVane. "It
was at that point that my bracket
went boom."
The excitement of filling
out tournament brackets was
heightened when wealthy
fanatic Warren Buffett offered
a prize of one billion dollars
to any fan who could fill out a
perfect bracket.
After the opening weekend of
the tournament, only one person
had a perfect bracket and that
person had not signed up to
be eligible for the billion dollar
giveaway.
The second round also
exposed the flaws in each of the
Tobacco Road basketball teams
that made the tournament.
Duke lost a thriller to Mercer
due to a lackluster game by first-
year phenomenon Jabari Parker.
"I feel like my career is
incomplete," said Parker to
ESPN, leading to speculation
that he may return for a
sophomore season.
N.C. State blew a 16 point
lead in the final four minutes
against The Saint Louis Billikens
in the second round after getting
past Xavier University in the
First Four round.
The North Carolina Tar Heels,
one of the hottest teams entering
the tournament, prevailed in
their second round match up
against Providence College.
But Iowa State and their Big-
12 Conference Player of the Year,
senior Melvin Ejim, were too
tough for the young Tar Heels
and they narrowly advanced to
the Sweet 16.
"Not having a Tobacco Road
team in the Sweet 16 is always
disappointing," said Pat Miller,
owner of Cooper's Ale House.
"But, the fact that there is so
much parody in the field should
make the Final Four exciting
enough that local fans will come
out to our sports bar to watch it."
Kentucky state rivals, the
Louisville Cardinals and the
Kentucky Wildcats, met in the
premier game of the Sweet 16.
First-year twins Anthony and
Aaron Harrison outpaced the
defending champions, while 6
feet 10 inches big man, Julius
Randle, cleared the boards.
"Being a Kentucky fan this
year has been interesting," said
Wildcat fan Greg Gampfer,
a Navy Aviation Electronics
Technician Petty Officer Second
Class. "We've been used to
excellence.
"This year has been full of ups
and downs."
To read the rest of this article, visit
WWW.GU ILFORDI AN.CO
%
Looking into black male athlete graduation rates
BY C.J. GREEN
Staff Writer
An epidemic has been sweeping
college athletics everywhere, and I
will give you a hint: it is not school
spirit.
If you guessed graduation and
retention rates, than you would be
only half right. The other half of the
problem deals with a more specific
group of athletes.
"Look at the numbers," said
Director of Diversity Training and
Education Jorge Zeballos.
"It's very clear that the group
that struggles the most to stay and
graduate are black males. Within
those numbers are black male
athletes, which are a large percent
of black men on campus," he
continued.
In 2011, a study conducted by
the National Center for .Education
Statistics found that approximately
37.1 percent of college-enrolled
students were black. Out of that
percent, there was a higher rate
of women enrolled than men by a
considerable margin. -
Black men who play collegiate
sports widen that margin. A
study conducted by the Center fon
the Study of. Race and Equity in
Education foimd that 50 percent^
of black male athletes graduate in
six years compared to 67 percent of
other male ethnicities in Division I
athletics.
Also, the study showed that
black males are underrepresented
in college, yet they make up nearly
60 percent of D-I student-athletes..
After looking at the statistics
from institutes larger than Guilford,
one question comes to mind: is
Guilford any better?
Onpaper, Guilfordis considerably
better than the national average,
due to an assortment of specific
factors.
"I can tell you for sure that we are
okay," said President and Professor
of Political Science Kent Chabotar.
"We have a critical mass of African-
Americans and are one of the more
diverse schools in the state, second
only to UNC-Greensboro."
On top of that, student-athletes
at the D-III level are not granted
athletic scholarships, and D-III
athletic departments do not have
the amount of revenue that D-I
athletic programs receive.
At Guilford, black students make
up 14 percent of the population, a 6
percent jump from 2007.
From that increase, 57 percent
were black women — nearly a 10
percent growth.
Now with that information,
think about how many black male
student-athletes you know who
play or have played a varsity sport
at Guilford.
Exactly.
According to data compiled by
the Retention Group on campus,
55 percent of black students depart
Guilford, with a high percentage
of those students being black m.^e
athletes.
Although all athletic teams on
campus have-dealt with this issue>
one of the hardest hit is the football
, program, with 66 percent departing.
Why is this happenirig? ];
■ '.Senior football captain Faris EL
Ali said the majority of students
of color that Guilford admits are
athletes.
"Many (athletes) are from
marginalized high schools that did
not prepare them for Guilford,"
smd El-Ali.
"After we admit themi, they
are not prepared for the rigors of
academics, and we do not catch
them up properly."
This lack of a good match
between high school achievement
and college expectation is one cog
in the machine of failure for men of
color on campus.
"Under (Dean of Admission and
Financial Aid) Andy Strickler, we
have made a valiant effort to make
sure that students who are admitted
to Guilford are ready academically
for the courses we offer," said
Assistant Academic Dean of
Advising and Academic Support
Barbara Boyette.
Although this is helpful, there
are still deeper problems at work.
"I think a black student-athlete
would leave because of money
issues, getting bored on campus,
not fitting in or maybe family
issues back home," said sophomore
football player Marcus Hicis.
Hicks' reasoning presents issues
much larger than athletics, an issue
senior Tony Marsh understands
well.
"Black athletes may feel like the
numbers of opportunities that are
presented to them are not equal
to the number that is presented to
someone who is not a minority,"
-said Marsh.
"Out of place" could be the
phrase used to describe the black
m^e student-athlete experience at
Guilford.
Attending a college this
expensive, coupled with the low
representation of people of color on
campus, can create an atmosphere
that can scare students away.
Assistant track and field coach
Pierre Cadore '03 knows the out-of-
place feeling.
Cadore transferred from Guilford
for a year only to transfer back and
complete his degree as a Quaker.
"It was a cultural shock to me,"
said Cadore. "But I transferred back
because I realized that the education
and what I learned at Guilford put
me above my peers.
"In time, I came to appreciate
what Guilford offered me."
The appreciation Cadore
mentioned goes beyond the
educational sense. He offered
advice to every black student.
"At times you may feel out of your
comfort level, and at times, it feels
like a culture shock," said Cadore.
"Yet, in order as a person to grow, you
need to feel a bit of imcomfortable." ^