Ben Raphel

Softball splits pair at Haverford, preps for playoffs

The Swarthmore softball team split its regular season finale with Haverford on Saturday and is now preparing for the Centennial Conference playoffs. The Garnet secured its third straight berth to the …

Women split swim meets, look ahead to F&M Invite

The women’s swim team lost a rough home opener at Ware Pool on Nov. 19 to NYU, 135-70. The Garnet could not match up to the Violets, who are currently ranked third in the nation. Yet the women came …

Men's swimming falls to no. 1 Violets, downs Bears

The Swarthmore men’s swim team knew it would have a tough home opener against NYU, the number one Division III team in the nation. In the end, the Tide lost to the Violets 117-80 on Nov. 19, but cam…

Tide swim teams drop meets to Diplomats

The Swarthmore men’s and women’s swim teams knew they would have their hands full last weekend in their meet against Franklin & Marshall. After all, the Diplomats had won the last two Centennial Confe…

Women's Swimming

With a solid crew of returning swimmers and many promising newcomers, Swarthmore’s women’s swim team should once again have a strong season. Like the men, they finished third in the conference last ye…

Men's Swimming

The Swarthmore men’s swim team comes into the 2005-06 season fresh off a third-place finish at last year’s Centennial Conference meet. With six first-years joining the team, the Garnet is hoping to im…

Men's swimming splits first meets

After a tough loss against Widener last Wednesday by the score of 127.5-77.5, the Swarthmore men’s swim team came back to defeat McDaniel 54-36 on Saturday. In its first conference meet, the Garnet me…

Women's swim team opens at 2-0

The Swarthmore women’s swim team opened its season with two impressive victories in the last week. Last Wednesday, the team took its first meet of the season against Widener, 133-67, and on Saturday, …

X-C squads place third in conference

It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the men’s cross country team. The women have been plagued by injuries all season. Yet both Swarthmore squads solidified their places among the top programs …

Women's rubgy held scoreless by Millersville

The conditions were disgustingly rainy and muddy. Players didn’t even know if the game would be cancelled. Yet the weather would not prevent the women’s rugby team from playing Millersville last Satur…

Evil Buzzards go down in dirt

“This was how rugby should be played,” Alex Ginsberg ‘08 said. And if playing on a muddy field in the pouring rain is the right way to play rugby, then Swarthmore’s Evil Buzzards certainly did that la…

Chaplin paces Garnet harriers to victory

For two straight weeks, the Swarthmore men’s cross country team has faced difficult courses and nasty weather during practice. Yet in both of their recent races, the team overcame rough conditions and…

Tide women score top finishes

Swarthmore’s women’s cross country team ran strong at two races over fall break, as the squad continued to make strides toward the championship races which will begin later this month. Emma Stanley ‘0…

Islamic Studies program receives new grant

Swarthmore has recently received another grant that will contribute towards the long-term funding of a new academic program in Islamic Studies. Philadelphia resident and Swarthmore alum Bruce Jay Goul…

Swat harriers run strong at Dickinson

With three top-ten finishers at the Dickinson Long/Short Course Invitational, the Swarthmore cross-country teams furthered their cause to be recognized among the top in the region. The Garnet women fi…

Cross country squads open on a fast note

After the Swarthmore Alumni Meet two weekends ago, cross country coach Pete Carroll predicted his teams would be “a force to be reckoned with” this season. Both teams proved his prediction was correct…

Women's tennis takes on regionals

The Swarthmore women’s tennis team traveled to Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, Va., last weekend to compete in the ITA Southeast Regionals. Eight players competed in singles for the Ga…

Recruiting: a year-round game

Amidst much fanfare last June, Greg Oden, a high-school basketball standout from Indiana, committed to Ohio State University, ending a recruiting battle between the country’s top basketball programs. …

Old teammates, friends face off at Swat Alumni Meet

The annual cross country Alumni Meet, which pits Swarthmore alumni against the current men’s and women’s teams, was held last weekend, with both current teams defeating the alums in the friendly compe…

War News Radio continues expansion, prepares to kick off semester

Fresh off a summer filled with broadcasts, War News Radio is beginning its fall season of shows this week.

The radio program, which began at Swarthmore last semester, is “a weekly, half-hour-long prog…

Homecoming for WSRN

After broadcasting from a temporary studio last year, WSRN is going home again.

Swarthmore’s only radio station is returning to its regular location on the fifth floor of Parrish for the upcoming scho…

It's a Philly thing

It’s a Philly thing.

At least that’s what a huge sign advertising the Philadelphia 76ers on the Schuylkill Expressway says. But what exactly does a “Philly thing” mean for Philadelphia sports fans? …

Mullarkey, Corbett lead track

The indoor track team kicked off its season at the Jack Pyrah Invitational last weekend. Hosted by Villanova University at Haverford College’s track, the meet consisted of regional teams from Division…

All-Americans and Ford crushing: the fall top 10

This fall has been a banner season for Swarthmore’s teams and individual athletes. The following are 10 moments and achievements of the fall season that are worth mentioning again.

10. Rugby continu…

Swarthmore hires new baseball coach

Next spring, Swarthmore will have a new head coach for its baseball team for the first time in 10 years. Stan Exeter, who previously coached at Arcadia University for nine years, will assume coaching …

Athletics gets new press box, lockers

While at a Swarthmore athletic event this fall, you may have noticed a large, red structure resembling a train car behind the Clothier Field bench. This is the new press box, one of many renovations t…

Scarlet Fever

On Election Day, New Jersey was a blue state, as its residents elected Democrat Bob Menendez to be their Senator. Two days later, however, the state was scarlet red, celebrating the success of its top…

Men's soccer ends season on PKs

Last Saturday, Swarthmore men’s soccer had a chance to avenge its loss to Franklin and Marshall earlier in the season at the Centennial Conference semifinals at Johns Hopkins University. Unfortunately…

Midseason report

One of the most hilarious moments from the NFL season thus far came from Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green at a post-game press conference two weeks ago. Green’s team had just blown a 20-point lead…

Garnet defeats Haverford, heads to playoffs

Swarthmore College has no official homecoming, but Saturday certainly felt like one at Clothier Field. Immediately after its female counterpart had defeated Haverford in its afternoon game, the Garnet…

Faunes, Kushner power Garnet over McDaniel in 2-0 win

In recent years, McDaniel has been a tough opponent for the men’s soccer team. On Saturday, however, the Garnet overcame these previous losses to the Green Terror by defeating them 2-0 in front of an …

Cursed by Madden

I have just one thing to say about the Eagles’ triumphant victory last Sunday: I bet T.O. now wishes he had swallowed a few more pills. Or at least had a decent quarterback on his team.

But let’s sw…

Tibbetts, Bonesteel lead Swarthmore past Muhlenberg

If there were ever a time when the men’s soccer team needed a victory, it would have been last Saturday. Coming off a loss to Franklin and Marshall and a tie to Widener in the past week, the Garnet kn…

Garnet men lose tight battle to F&M, tie Widener

One bad break in the final minute cost Swarthmore in what otherwise was a very competitive game against Centennial conference rival Franklin & Marshall last Saturday night. F&M forward Brandon Corday …

Men's soccer falls to Bullets

The Swarthmore men’s soccer team has never had an easy time facing Centennial Conference rival Gettysburg. Last year proved to be a change in direction, though, when the Garnet pulled off a 2-0 victor…

Designate the NL

I went to see the Phillies play the Marlins last week with a few friends at the gorgeous new ballpark in Philadelphia. It was fun night since the Phillies, in a crucial race for the National League pl…

Men's soccer wins first conference game

It didn’t take penalty kicks this time, but the Swarthmore men’s soccer team pulled off another impressive victory over Dickinson last Saturday, shutting out the Red Devils 2-0. This game was the Garn…

Swat strikes Vassar in OT

With the challenge of Centennial Conference opponents quickly approaching, the Swarthmore men’s soccer team has not been taking it easy this past week. Instead, it has been competing against some of t…

Setting the stage

Finally, football season has returned. And it couldn’t have come soon enough for a Philadelphia Eagles fan like myself. Fresh off a very disappointing 6-10 season, the Birds cruised to an easy victory…

Men's soccer gets two early wins

The Swarthmore men’s soccer team began its season on a strong note this past weekend, defeating two local rivals to win the Garnet Alumni Classic. The team is hoping that these two victories are a sig…

Garnet runners ready for new season

Swarthmore’s cross country teams are gearing up for exciting seasons. Both squads finished third in the Centennial Conference last year and are hoping to improve on these results this season.

On the…

Time to trade A.I.

Allen Iverson is the face of the Philadelphia 76ers. Over 10 seasons in Philly, The Answer has helped to transform a team once left for dead into a perennial playoff contender. He led the Sixers to th…

Nasty weather fails to slow track team

The men’s and women’s track teams had an impressive showing last weekend at the Widener Invitational despite torrid conditions. When asked about the wet weather, Keefe Keeley ’06 said, “No comment.”…

Gettysburg too much for Garnet sluggers

Like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Swarthmore baseball was wondering this past weekend, “Who’ll stop the rain?” Heavy downpours on Saturday washed out the Tide’s home doubleheader against Gettysburg, …

Baseball hoping for strong end to disappointing season

Swarthmore’s sluggers had another trying week against tough Centennial Conference opponents. With playoffs clearly out of reach at this point, the baseball team (6-18, 1-12 CC) hopes to finish the sea…

Track teams finish sixth at Ursinus

The Swarthmore track teams had a stellar afternoon last Friday, competing in unusually stellar conditions. Both teams placed sixth overall at the Grizzly Invitational, held at Ursinus College. Three i…

It's Barry's world … we're just living in it

With April comes another great month for sports. First, there is the NCAA Championship game, which unfortunately was a dud this year. Then comes The Masters, or the only golf tournament I can stand to…

Baseball breaks losing streak

After a string of weekend losses, the Swarthmore baseball team (6-14, 1-8 CC) snapped their eight-game losing streak in style on Tuesday by defeating Washington College, 9-8. As coach Frank Agovino sa…

Baseball searching for a victory

Swarthmore’s baseball team has definitely had better weeks than this.

Last Friday, the Tide traveled to Allentown, hoping to avenge their previous loss against Muhlenberg. However, the Mules dominat…

By George!

I was going to write about something other than college basketball this week. But after last Sunday, I knew this wouldn’t be possible, because history was made when 11th-seeded George Mason did the un…

Baseball continues roller coaster season

After a tough loss to Philadelphia Bible last Thursday, Swarthmore baseball (5-7, 0-1 CC) came roaring back to shut out Lincoln University the next day, 15-0. The victory over the Lions gave the Garne…

Men's tennis posts first victory

The Swarthmore men’s tennis team, ranked 16th nationally, won their first match of the season last Friday against Johns Hopkins University, 6-1.

“We lost to some tougher teams earlier, but now we’re…

Baseball getting ready to face conference opponents

Swarthmore’s baseball team got off to a shaky start after returning from Florida last week., yet the Garnet were able to pull off an important victory in game two of their doubleheader against Eastern…

Baseball wins three straight in Fla.

Swarthmore’s baseball team got off to a fast start in Fort Pierce, Fla. over spring break, going 3-3 in their six games over four days. This included a run of three straight victories that started wit…

Mad about Madness

If I were President of this elite liberal arts college, my first move in office (after I bring back Coke and football, of course) would be to cancel classes on the Thursday and Friday during the third…

Men's tennis has eyes on national championships

The men’s tennis team started its season with two challenging matches against Division I teams. On Feb. 11, the men lost 5-2 at home to Colgate University. Eight days later, St. Joseph’s topped the Ga…

Women's tennis starts strong

The Swarthmore women’s tennis team opened its season with a strong 8-1 victory over non-conference foe NYU. Playing at the Mullan Tennis Center, the Violets proved to be no match for the Garnet, who…

No winner crowned in championships

Imagine if the Super Bowl was moved to another stadium, and at the end of the game, no champion was crowned.

Swarthmore got a taste of this scenario last weekend, when it ended up hosting the last day…

Olympic soaps

So what should I write about in the time between the Super Bowl and March Madness?

The NBA? Who cares? No one can beat the Pistons, and my Sixers are going nowhere.

The Daytona 500? Could be interesti…

Swimming sinks Bullets

Both of Swarthmore’s swim teams sent a strong message to their Centennial Conference foes last Wednesday when the Garnet swimmers traveled to Washington College and dominated the Shoremen. The men’s t…

Tide men and women surge past Red Devils

For both the men’s and women’s swim teams, this Saturday’s final race, the 400-yard freestyle relay, was the deciding race of the match.

Going into the final race, the Garnet women led by three …

A super XL diary

For my column this week, inspired partly by the recent Paces column of Adam Dalva ’08, I kept a running diary of Super Bowl XL while watching in Mephistos. Here is the result of the experiment:

6:09…

Garnet swimmers unable to dodge Bullets

Gettysburg continued its streak of dominance over both the Garnet men’s and women’s swim teams on Saturday, defeating the Tide women 141-64, and the Garnet men 123-82.

Despite the losses, neither …

Super Bowl not-so-XL

I’m disappointed that the Super Bowl is now played on the first weekend in February instead of the last weekend in January. For one, I will never get to watch the game on my birthday again (it’s Jan. …

Zhang, Lewis lead the women's swim past Washington and Lee

After a tough loss to Rowan College last Wednesday, the Swarthmore women’s swim team posted a solid victory over a strong Washington and Lee squad at Ware Pool on Saturday. Franny Zhang ’08 and Jennie…

Men's swimming suffers tough home losses

The old saying “there is no rest for the weary” certainly applies to Swarthmore’s swim teams right now.

The Garnet men came back to Ware Pool from Puerto Rico to find themselves matched up again…

Swimmers hit the beach for training and tanning

If you see someone around campus looking tanner than usual, it’s probably a Swarthmore swimmer.

Both the men’s and women’s swim teams spent Jan. 5-13 in Puerto Rico, taking in the sun while training…

Baseball ends season with tough losses

After struggling through a tough season, the Swarthmore baseball team finished its season on Sunday in a doubleheader with two losses to Dickinson College by the counts of 6-3 and 13-3. The team also …

Dalane's home run helps Garnet defeat Haverford

After a disappointing 5-1 loss to rival Haverford College at Clothier Field on April 18, Swarthmore baseball came back to defeat the Fords last Friday with a score of 14-8. In the victory, centerfield…

Coming attractions

Next semester I’ll be studying abroad. It will be a nice change of pace from the usual Swarthmore way of life: I’ll no longer feel guilty about doing things other than homework on weekends. And I’ll b…

Baseball gets first conference win

Last weekend, the Swarthmore baseball team left its hitting troubles behind and won its first conference game of the season. After a tough loss to Muhlenberg College on Friday, the Garnet (3-20, 1-12 …

Garnet sluggers struggle

A struggling offense and inconsistent pitching continue to hound the Swarthmore baseball team (2-17, 0-9 CC), who lost another string of important Centennial Conference games.

On Tuesday, the team tra…

Baseball road trip: rating the stadiums on the East Coast

For most professional sports, tickets have become extremely hard to purchase, as well as far above the average fan’s price range.

But while it’s virtually impossible to get Eagles tickets for any gi…

Baseball suffers four losses to tough teams

The Swarthmore baseball team hit a rough stretch this week, losing both parts of a doubleheader to Johns Hopkins University on Saturday, along with a tough road loss to Washington College on Friday. M…

Baseball scores first two wins of season

On Tuesday, the Swarthmore baseball team opened conference play by hosting Washington College. Unfortunately, the Shoremen took an early lead, and despite an inspired comeback bid, the Garnet (2-9, 0-…

A fantastic four

The first two rounds of this year’s NCAA Tournament were tough for me, as someone who loves upsets and Cinderella stories. While many games were close and came down to the wire, the upsets were just…

Garnet sluggers start season with six games in Florida

With a core of new and returning players, along with a new coach, the Swarthmore baseball team traveled to Fort Pierce, Fla. over spring break to play six games last week. Though each result was a los…

Tips for winning your March Madness pool

March arrives every year with the promise of warmer weather, spring break and — most importantly — the NCAA Tournament, or what is more commonly known as March Madness. In my opinion, it’s the sin…

Highlights from an exciting winter season

Now that the weather is finally getting warmer, it’s time to look back at what Swarthmore athletes have accomplished in the past few months. The following are 10 of the top moments from an exciting wi…

Gambling on Vegas

Last weekend, while LaSS was hosting its “Viva Las Vegas” party in Paces, the NBA was holding its annual All-Star Game in Sin City. It’s no secret that all-star games in any sport have lost their …

Hood Trophy part of Swat-Haverford lore

Rivalries can play a huge role in a college’s athletics programs. To add to their importance, some have accompanying trophies that go to the winner. Swarthmore also has a trophy of its own for which i…

Badminton getting ready for upcoming tournaments

The Swarthmore badminton team continues to win close matches while preparing for its larger tournaments later in the season. Despite the graduation of star player Jessica Larson ’06 last season, the t…

Does a championship make a player great?

There isn’t much more to say now about Super Bowl XLI. After two weeks of hype, 93 million viewers watched an unfulfilling game that the Colts ultimately won because they made fewer mistakes. (As a …

Badminton strikes against Bryn Athyn

Though not as well-known as other varsity teams, the Swarthmore badminton team is quietly winning matches and gaining notice. On Monday night, the team (1-0) traveled to Bryn Athyn College for its fir…

Revising history

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 5, 2007 – The Philadelphia Eagles were greeted with thunderous applause by over 20,000 fans at Philadelphia International Airport today, when they returned home after defeating th…

Softball has sensational week, goes 5-1

In four days, the Garnet softball team (19-9, 8-2 CC) competed against three Centennial Conference opponents, playing six games and winning five of them. The 5-1 record that the team has compiled sinc…

Softball plays busy stretch

The Garnet softball team (11-8, 1-1 CC) has been busy and very successful in the past two weeks. The team played its first conference games and a nationally ranked opponent. Kathryn Riley ’10 continue…

No-hitter highlights softball's sweet spring break trip

The Swarthmore softball team had a busy spring break, playing ten games in five days and traveling to North Carolina and Maryland.

After struggling to a 2-4 start, the team won three of their last fou…

Garnet crushes hapless Cavaliers

Fresh off their training trip to Puerto Rico, the Swarthmore men’s and women’s swimming teams scored significant victories on Saturday against Cabrini College, in their first home meet of the semester…