DeafSports Trivia

Q. Who enrolled at Gallaudet as a new student, very
athletic but not knowing any signs, during the early
sixties? He was immediately cut from the football team,
not because of his football skills but because of his
lack of knowledge of signs. He joined the wrestling
team and became an overnight sensation. He then tried
out for the football team following fall, his wrestling
reputation preceding him – and became one of the key
players throughout his football career.

A. Arlen Finke, the hard running ball carrier who had
several 100-yard games throughout his career. He retired
few years ago from a long career as teacher at Kentucky
School for the Deaf.

GU women’s swim team caps terrific weekend with home CAC win over Hood

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The past three days have been busy ones for the
Gallaudet University women’s swim team as the Bison earned two
victories and celebrated the program’s 50th anniversary. On Sunday,
Gallaudet closed out its home regular-season schedule with a 92-82
victory against Capital Athletic Conference foe Hood College before a
large and supportive crowd on Senior Day at the Field House pool.

Junior Carlisle Robinson (Carmel, Ind.) stole the show with three
first-place finishes as she accounted for 30 percent of the Bison
team point total. Robinson started her day with the 200-yard IM where
she touched the wall first with a time of 2:26.75. Two events later,
she was first in the 100-yard freestyle (1:00.60), three seconds
ahead of Hood’s swimmer Aleece Groom. Robinson’s final event was the
500-yard freestyle where she crushed the field with a time of
6:07.18.

Senior Rachel Steingieser (New Market, Md.) had an impressive
performance as she finished second in the 200-yard freestyle
(2:25.38), third in the 100-yard freestyle (1:07.71) and fifth in the
100-yard breaststroke (1:25.58). Gallaudet coach Bill Snape paid
tribute to the Bison senior swimmers on the day including women’s
swimmer Katie Day (St. Elmo, Ill.) for their dedicated service to the
program.

Junior Misella Tomita (Kahului, Hawaii) was the other Bison with a
first-place showing as she was first to finish in the 100-yard
backstroke as she edged Hood’s Taryn Scafide by two seconds with a
time of 1:16.44. Tomita also had two second-place finishes in the
50-yard freestyle (28.70 seconds) and the 100-yard butterfly
(1:23.58).

Freshman Sara Moore (Charleston, WVa.) finished second in the
100-yard freestyle (14:47.86) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:18.98)
and was third in the 200-yard IM (2:51.07) behind Robinson. Fellow
freshman Tong Song (Beijing, China) had three third-place finishes in
the 200-yard free (2:28.20), 500-yard freestyle (6:39.79) and the
100-yard breaststroke (1:19.13).

The Bison moved one step closer to ending a long drought in program
history with today’s win. Gallaudet needs one more victory to finish
the regular-season with a .500 record which hasn’t been accomplished
in 19 seasons. The last time Gallaudet finished with a .500 or better
record came during the 1990-91 season when most of the current roster
wasn’t even born. GU will have a strong chance to earn win number six
on Wednesday, January 27, as the Bison travel to Baltimore to face
the College of Notre Dame in a non-conference meet that begins at 6
p.m.

Gallaudet men’s swim team sinks Hood on Senior Day, Bennett wins three events

WASHINGTON, D.C. – There was a lot to celebrate Sunday afternoon for
the Gallaudet University men’s swim team as the Bison defeated Hood
College, 108-89, before a great crowd at the Field House pool on
Senior Day. The victory is the first for Gallaudet in nearly two
seasons as the Bison finish the regular-season with a 1-8 record and
1-5 mark in the Capital Athletic Conference. This was the second and
final home meet of the season for Gallaudet as the program celebrated
its 50th anniversary the night before with alumni, supporters and
current swimmers.

Sophomore Brian Bennett (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the way as he
won three individual events and set a new team record in the process.
Bennett touched the wall first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time
of 1:51.36 to better the program record that was previously set by
Ray Clark (1:52) in 2005. The sophomore swimmer also took home
first-place honors in the 200-yard IM (2:13.65) and the 100-yard
freestyle (51.74 seconds). In total Bennett accumulated 27 team
points for the Buff and Blue.

Gallaudet swept the two relays against Hood (1-6, 0-5 CAC) as the
Bison won the 200-yard medley (2:00.97) and the 200-yard freestyle
(1:44.00) relays. Freshman Dan Burton (Waukesha, Wis.) was the only
Bison swimmer to compete in both relays. He also took home
second-place in the 50-yard free (24.85 seconds). Sophomore Grady
Gallagher (Las Vegas, Nev.) was the other Bison swimmer with two
first-place finishes and one third-place finish. Gallagher was a
member of the 200-yard free relay and won the 500-yard free (5:43.26)
as he beat the field by over 27 seconds. He finished third in the
200-yard free (2:04.22).

Junior Daniel DiDonna (Parsippany, N.J.) was part of 17 team points
for GU as he was a member of the 200-yard medley relay that brought
in 11 points. DiDonna also finished second in the 100-yard
breaststroke (1:09.87) and third in the 50-yard free (25.06 seconds),
just behind Burton. The final member of the 200-yard medley relay was
Kris Lauderbaugh who had two third-place finishes in the 100-yard
butterfly (1:14.31) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:10.95).

Two members of the first-place relay teams for GU included junior
Sean Ryant (Cleveland, Ohio) in the 200-yard freestyle relay and
freshman Daniel Katz-Hernandez (Montgomery Village, Md.) in the
200-yard medley relay, who also took third in the 1,000-yard
freestyle (14:01.88).

Sophomore Kyle Sexton (Peoria, Ill.) had a strong day as he finished
first, second and third in three different events. Sexton was the
fourth and final member of the first-place 200-yard freestyle relay,
second in the 1,000-yard freestyle (12:21.70) and third in the
100-yard freestyle (58.42).

The meet was a special day for Gallaudet senior Joseph Lopez
(Riverside, Calif.) who swam in his last meet at home for the Bison.
In the second to last event of the day, Lopez finished third in the
100-yard breaststroke (1:21.40) just behind DiDonna.

The last win for the Bison came on January 19, 2008, when Gallaudet
won at home against Hood, 94-88. Last year, the Blazers beat the
Bison, 93-63.

Gallaudet will now have three weeks to train and prepare for the 2010
CAC Championships that will be held at St. Mary’s (Md.) College in
St. Mary’s City, Md., on February 12-14.

Gallaudet updates - Bison win streak extends to four before women’s swim team falls to CAC foe

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Gallaudet University women’s swim team split a
double dual meet on Friday night on the campus of Marymount (Va.)
University in Arlington, Va. The Bison defeated Frostburg State
University 52-43 to increase their winning streak to four straight
matches but the streak was stopped by the host Saints as the Capital
Athletic Conference rival won 64-30.

Gallaudet (4-6, 0-5 CAC) started off the blocks with a strong showing
in the first three women’s events. The Bison 200-yard medley relay
team of senior Rachel Steingieser (New Market, Md.), juniors Carlisle
Robinson (Carmel, Ind.), Misella Tomita (Kahului, Hawaii) and
freshman Sara Moore (Charleston, WVa.) finished second behind the
Saints with a time of 2:08.90. Robinson followed with Gallaudet’s
only first-place finish as she won the 1,000-yard freestyle with a
time of 12:35.97. Robinson was more than 31 seconds faster than the
second-place swimmer from Frostburg. GU teammate Kimberly Lin (San
Jose, Calif.) took third-place.

Steingieser earned some points for the Buff and Blue as she placed
third in the 200-yard free with a time of 2:30.10. Later in the meet,
Gallaudet secured some key points in the 100-yard breaststroke as
freshman Tong Song (Beijing, China) finished second with a time of
1:20.11, just seven seconds back of first-place. The final event was
the 200-yard free relay and the Bison didn’t disappoint as they
finished strong with a second-place showing as they touched the wall
at 2:38.61. The relay consisted of sophomore Raven Slevin (Green
Valley, Ill.) freshmen Cassandra Jones-Bell (Tucson, Ariz.), Randi
Medugno (Bay Area, Calif.) and Lin.

Gallaudet will host Hood College on Sunday, January 24, in the final
regular-season home meet for the Bison seniors. The CAC meet begins
at 1 p.m. in the Field House pool.

DeafSports Trivia

Q. Who was the Canadian speedskater that barely missed
making it to the Winter Olympics in the past decade?

A. Chantel Sevigny. She was an oral woman, did use ASL

No. 11 Marymount presses Gallaudet women basketball at home

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Gallaudet women’s basketball team began the
second half of the Capital Athletic Conference season on Saturday
afternoon and faced a tough challenge as the Bison hosted No. 11
Marymount (Va.) University in a Capital Athletic Conference game. A
very tenacious defensive performance by the Saints kept the Bison
in-check for much of the first half and Gallaudet was not able to
recover as it dropped the contest, 68-45, at the Field House in front
of a crowd of 225.

Despite the loss, the Bison (9-7, 4-5 CAC) remain in fourth place in
the CAC and in the hunt to host a first-round conference playoff
game. Gallaudet has not hosted a home CAC playoff game since the
1999-2000 season. GU has not reached the postseason since the
conference expanded to nine teams in 2007. Gallaudet faced Marymount
(17-1, 8-1 CAC) in the second game of season back on November 17 and
lost a hard fought match, 68-59.

Marymount opened the game on a 14-0 run, in an eight-minute span,
thanks to a very aggressive man-to-man full-court pressure defense
that led to five Bison turnovers. Gallaudet got on the board with a
free throw by freshman Shaquana McDonough (Pembroke, Mass.) but was
not able to muster much offense for the remainder of the half as
Marymount took a 39-16 lead into the break.

Marymount continued its man-to-man full-court pressure defense well
into the second half, however the Bison were able to find cracks in
the defense and managed to play even with the Saints as each team
posted 29 points over the final 20 minutes of play.

Freshman Maddie Morgan (Wilmington, Del.) earned the start out of the
break after a nice performance in the first-half off the bench as she
knocked down a three-pointer, added an assist and played sound
defense in 12 minutes of action. Morgan continued her hot hand from
behind the three-point line in the second half as she drained two
more attempts and finished with a season-high 13 points, three steals
and two assists.

McDonough also played well in the loss. She finished with a team-high
14 points (5-for-10 from the field), pulled down six rebounds,
collected three steals and dished out two assists. Junior Easter
Faafiti (Pittsburg, Calif.), who led the CAC in points per game
before today’s contest and scored 19 points in the first game against
Marymount, was shut down by the Saints defense. Faafiti saw numerous
double teams and terrific help defense all game as Marymount was
determined to not let her score. Faafiti finished with just two
points and nine rebounds.

Marymount junior Amanda Billy was on fire early as she hit the first
three shots for the Saints, two three-pointers and a jumper. She
finished the game with a team-high 14 points. Senior Kathleen Brown
was the only other Saint to reach double figures as she recorded 13
points and seven rebounds. All 13 Saints saw playing time in the win.

GU will look to end its recent three-game losing skid on the road
next Wednesday, January 27, as they travel to Stevenson University
for a 5 p.m. game. The Bison defeated the Mustangs back on December
2, 57-51.

Gallaudet men’s basketball drops close game with Marymount after being down 21

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two minutes stood between the Gallaudet University
men’s basketball team and its first Capital Athletic Conference
victory for the 2009-10 season. The Bison battled back from a
13-point deficit at halftime against visiting Marymount (Va.)
University and led the Saints for over 11 minutes before Gallaudet
lost the lead and eventually the game, 77-69, before 425 at the Field
House.

Gallaudet (4-11, 0-9 CAC) held a 67-65 lead with 2:34 left in
regulation before the Saints turned the tide on back-to-back lay-ups
by forward Sam Sentz (16 points). The latter of which gave Marymount
(11-7, 6-3 CAC) a 69-67 lead at the 1:48 mark. The lead was the first
for the Saints since early in the second half when they were up one,
44-43, just five minutes in.

GU tied the game a final time on a tip-in from freshman forward Danny
Kelly (Strongsville, Ohio) with 1:18 to play. Kelly finished the game
with a game-high 17 points, 13 rebounds and a team-high five assists.
The double-double is his second in a row out of six games played this
season.

The game changed 18 seconds later when Gallaudet senior guard Johnny
Jackson (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) was whistled for his fourth foul, away
from the ball, to send the Saints to the line. Kelly missed a jumper
on the next possession, which led to a three-point play from Patrick
Prewitt (14 points), who made a lay-up and was fouled, with 40
seconds left. Marymount iced the game with three more foul shots in
the waning seconds, as the Saints made 6-of-7 free-throw attempts in
the last minute of play.

The Bison trailed 37-24 at halftime but came out in the second half
on fire as Gallaudet busted out with a 14-2 run in the first three
minutes. Gallaudet took its first lead, since the opening minutes, on
a lay-up by junior Bobby Siebert (St. Paul, Minn.) with 14:49 left in
the game. Jackson added a lay-up seconds later to give him two of his
13 points and Siebert followed with another lay-up, as he finished
with seven points, to give Gallaudet a 49-44 lead. Marymount, who led
by as much as 21 points in the first half, ended Gallaudet’s 25-7 run
with five straight points only to tie the game and watch the Bison
break off another scoring run, this time an 8-2 run. GU led 64-56
with five minutes left in the game, which featured six ties and four
lead changes.

Gallaudet shot 51.9 percent from the field, the best team percentage
in nearly two months, as the Bison made 27-of-52 shots. GU was a
stellar 56.3 percent (18-for-32) in the second half. Marymount shot
49.2 percent for the game as the Saints made 30-of-61 shots. GU also
led Marymount in three-point percentage (40 to 33.3 percent) and
free-throw percentage (63.6 to 61.5 percent).

The Bison outrebounded the Saints by two, 32-30, and moved the ball
well as a team as the Bison finished with 17 team assists. Sophomore
guard Brandon McMillan (Frederick, Md.) poured in 16 points and
grabbed five rebounds for the Bison in the loss. Gallaudet had 23
turnovers, 14 in the first half, while Marymount only committed 11
turnovers and made 16 steals. Marymount’s Tarek Ammoury scored 11 of
his 15 points in the second half to help the Saints complete the
comeback.

Gallaudet will look to end its six-game losing streak on Wednesday,
January 27, when the Bison head north to face Stevenson University at
7 p.m. Stevenson narrowly escaped the Field House with a 64-62 win
back on December 2.