Chicago Maroon

Stories and content by Joe Katz

Even though they’re desperate, conservatives can do better than Romney

By Joe Katz / May 22, 2007

I was out for a beer with some friends a few weeks back when the conversation turned to a mutual acquaintance of ours. Few of us had many positive things to say about her, but “Dave” steadfastly defended her character. With the combined weight of the majority against him, his arguments grew feebler and feebler:...

State of our athletics: Trouble brewing in NCAA

By Joe Katz / May 22, 2007

In the first two parts of the Maroon’s “State of our Athletics” series, we examined the ups and downs of U of C sports on the field and on campus. But to get a full picture of where the athletic department is and where it’s going, we have to go beyond the South Side. Chicago...

State of our athletics: Phanatix and fixtures

By Joe Katz / May 18, 2007

In Part One of “State of Our Athletics,” we examined the considerable progress the Maroons have made over the last year. But the program has fallen flat in some other areas. Coaching turnover has been a constant on the South Side in recent years. While it has worked out for the better in some instances,...

Court’s production of Arcadia predestined for success

By Joe Katz / May 15, 2007

The moment the lights came up for intermission, my friend and I began to gush. As soon as we hit a pause in our effusive praise, she shook her head in wonder: “I never liked Stoppard until tonight.” It couldn’t be an uncommon reaction to Arcadia. The script takes the high-concept, intellectual content Tom Stoppard...

When it counted most, Hague refueled men’s XC

By Joe Katz / May 15, 2007

He wasn’t a captain. He wasn’t a model of consistency. Year after year, he entered the season behind where he could have been in his training. Yet year after year, when men’s cross country needed him most, nobody was more reliable than fourth-year Brian Hague. “From a front-running standpoint, Brian has always been able to...

With democracy, you can’t have it all

By Joe Katz / May 8, 2007

The next great battle for the future of the Middle East is taking place in the halls of a legislative body. This should be good news. It’s not. This Sunday, the Turkish parliament failed to elect a president for the second time in as many weeks—despite the fact that the governing “Justice and Development,” Adalet...

No mistake by the lake: surprising third for men’s tennis

By Joe Katz / May 1, 2007

A miracle on the Cuyahoga was not in the cards for men’s tennis. But after an inconsistent spring, they proved they’re here to stay in the UAA. With a 6–3 drubbing of 11th-ranked Carnegie Mellon (18–7) at the league championships Sunday, the Maroons (10–8) wrapped up their season by securing their second top-three showing in...

Late start no problem for record-setting Seastedt

By Joe Katz / April 27, 2007

For some athletes, the road to success is an interstate highway, fast and straight, without detours or potholes. In those special cases, record-setting performances seem preordained, championships are expected. Pat Seastedt is not one of those athletes. Few of those athletes find their specialties so late in their sports careers. Fewer still end up as...

The solution to extremism: Ignore it

By Joe Katz / April 24, 2007

On every level imaginable, the last week was a horrible and disturbing one. When you consider the tragic deaths of 33 people at Virginia Tech, a Supreme Court decision that seems primed to tear us asunder over abortion once again, the denial of history in the Nigerian elections, and ever-worsening violence in Iraq, it is...

Women’s tennis pillages Vikings in UAA sendoff

By Joe Katz / April 17, 2007

For women’s tennis, the U of C campus has been anything but “home sweet home” this season. Their first three matches this year took place at such varied locales as Bally’s, Homewood-Flossmoor, and Evergreen Courts. Finally given a chance to take on the competition in front of a friendly audience, the Maroons had no intention...

Alumnus Vonnegut dead at 84

By Joe Katz / April 13, 2007

The literary king of dark moral comedy is gone. So it goes. Kurt Vonnegut (A.M. ’71), satirist, social critic, humanist, counterculture hero, and great American novelist, died in Manhattan on Wednesday of brain trauma, according to the New York Times. He was 84. Vonnegut had suffered serious head injuries in a fall several weeks ago,...

WEA debate will end abortion controversy once and for all

By Joe Katz / April 10, 2007

It’s beginning to look a lot like 1972 again in Washington. We’re embroiled in a seemingly unwinnable war, the White House has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar in an increasingly ugly scandal, and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is back on the table. It’s almost enough to make you want to...

In the Red: Women’s tennis sees NCAA chances slip

By Joe Katz / April 9, 2007

With an agonizingly close loss to open the Midwest Invite, women’s tennis lost the opportunity to get some statement victories, but the squad managed to follow one step back with two steps forward. Against a tough field at Madison, the 24th-ranked Maroons (8–6) were knocked around in the lower singles matches and ended up falling...

Mexico’s Cárdenas talks politics

By Joe Katz / April 6, 2007

[img id=”80189″ align=”alignleft”] After recent defeats in several critical electoral contests, Latin American leftists from Ciudad Juárez to Caracas to Concepción have been reexamining their priorities and their place in politics. Speaking on “Rising Challenges to the Left in Latin America,” prominent Mexican politician Cuáuhtemoc Cárdenas argued that the answers they’re searching for lie not...

Opponents, fences can’t contain softball in bounce-back weekend

By Joe Katz / April 3, 2007

Of all the Bull Durham clichés that float around the diamond every spring, “it’s a long season” may well be the most repeated. Every time a team endures some disheartening defeat, that particular aphorism pops out like line drives from the mitt of a careless outfielder. Yet it seems that softball has particularly taken this...

Judicial branch shouldn’t be political

By Joe Katz / March 30, 2007

There’s nothing like a good scandal to bring out the bloodlust in politicians. As soon as some bit of misbehavior hits the front pages, congressmen from both sides of the aisle go after the alleged offenders like hyenas pouncing on a wounded gazelle. No matter who is in power, Democrats and Republicans alike trip over...

Men’s tennis takes its lumps in Florida

By Joe Katz / March 30, 2007

Men’s tennis team’s spring break trip to Florida was filled with strong individual performances throughout the middle of the lineup. But with the UAAs less than a month away, the squad would have liked to come home with a few more team-wide victories. After enduring a stretch of four matches in five days, the 28th-ranked...

Russia’s threat to U.S. supremacy

By Joe Katz / March 6, 2007

After the fall of the Soviet Union, government policy makers and armchair academics became obsessed with predicting who would be the next great challenger to American preeminence. Virtually no one thought that our uncontested supremacy would last, but there was little agreement about who would play Muhammad Ali to our Sonny Liston. Strangely, in the...

Women’s track nipped at finish; Cheng lead men to fourth

By Joe Katz / March 6, 2007

To win in track and field takes talent, hard work, and a little bit of luck. Both the men’s and women’s sides had plenty of the first two elements this weekend. Unfortunately, it took the last one to complete the job. Though both teams entered the weekend primed to take a shot at the league...

Neoconservative foresees Iran showdown in CFI talk

By Joe Katz / March 2, 2007

Controversial foreign policy expert Richard Perle opened with a grim prediction in his lecture, “Middle East Peace: Illusion or Reality?” on Wednesday at Swift Hall. “Peace in the Middle East is not a reality now, nor will it be any time soon,” Perle said. “We’ve seen a lot of violence, and we’re going to see...

Inches from upset, bubble pops for women’s hoops

By Joe Katz / February 27, 2007

The last time women’s basketball won at St. Louis, Ronald Reagan was president and Saddam Hussein was one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East. Going into Saturday’s game, the Duke of Division III women’s basketball had taken 18 meetings in a row on their home court against Chicago. The South Siders climbed on...

American troops deserve better than Veterans Affairs has to offer

By Joe Katz / February 20, 2007

Drawing conclusions from a historical episode while it is still in progress is usually a foolish proposition. The moral of the Iraq War, however, is already alarmingly clear: We have not learned the lessons of Vietnam. We still don’t know how to fight an insurgency, we still don’t know how win hearts and minds, and...

Men’s hoops clinch share of UAA

By Joe Katz / February 20, 2007

Three months ago, those outside the program did not have that much faith in men’s basketball. The team was picked to finish in the bottom half of the UAA, hampered by its lack of true big men in a league dominated by post players. Unfazed by the low ranking, Mike McGrath was candid in his...

Senior day super sweet for men’s hoops

By Joe Katz / February 13, 2007

It was a bittersweet weekend for the five seniors on the roster of the men’s basketball team. In all likelihood, the last two games marked the final home appearances of their illustrious careers. But after the way they played those careers might be a little bit longer than they planned. Though there were a few...

Suicide is not a laughing matter

By Joe Katz / February 6, 2007

And so we come to the holiest day of the U of C’s winter calendar: Suicide Prevention Day. Sure, it’s technically called Undergraduate Break Day, but no student has ever said that phrase without a wink. The idea that we get one day off in the dead of February to avoid the bad publicity of...

Men make statement with split

By Joe Katz / February 6, 2007

After a stellar showing in the first half of conference play, men’s basketball had solidified its reputation as one of the best shooting teams in DIII, consistently held off bigger and stronger opponents, and weathered more than their fair share of injury trouble. Most of that damage, though, had been done in the cozy confines...

Dems, stop the death penalty in U.S.

By Joe Katz / February 2, 2007

The Democrats have put their new majority in Congress to good use, making extensive progress on the minimum wage, national security, and student loan relief. It’s not apparent how much of their work will eventually become law, but the new kings and queens of the Hill have not shrunk from their commitment to setting the...

No ‘Deis: Judges super-fan Allen staying home

By Joe Katz / January 26, 2007

When men’s basketball takes on Brandeis at Ratner this Sunday, the squad will have to face one of the top point guard tandems in the league and yet another of the UAA’s killer big men in third-year Steve DeLuca. When the women battle the Judges later that afternoon, they’ll be challenged by a squad whose...

America needs real race policy, not rhetoric

By Joe Katz / January 23, 2007

In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman to appear on the presidential ballot for a major party. In 2000, Joseph Lieberman became the first Jew on a major party ticket. Neither of them made any discernable difference in American history. There are already some ominous signs that history is repeating itself. With Bill Richardson...

NAACP chairman speaks out on King’s past and present

By Joe Katz / January 19, 2007

[img id=”80129″ align=”alignleft”] A lifetime dedicated to pursuing civil rights has not given Julian Bond a rosy view of race relations in America. He sees a nation in grave need of improvements in education, employment opportunities, and health care for blacks in particular and all citizens in general. Yet the National Association for the Advancement...

With shots falling, men’s hoops returns to form

By Joe Katz / January 19, 2007

After losing their conference opener, a two-game road trip against two squads not expected to be in the UAA title mix offered both danger and opportunity for men’s basketball. At one end of the spectrum, they could fall victim to the trap games and let one bad shooting night snowball into a season-killing, three-game losing...

Eastwood shows the bad and the ugly sides of war

By Joe Katz / January 19, 2007

In one of a number of haunting scenes in director Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima, the odds finally seem to have caught up with the young baker-turned-soldier Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya). Long set apart from his compatriots by his desire to live, he has snuck away to evade an order to commit suicide only to...

The world needs to realize that terrorism achieves its ends

By Joe Katz / January 19, 2007

It’s very rare to see much said in praise of terrorism. “Terrorist” is a title that even those who clearly deserve it decry, preferring to dub themselves “freedom fighters.” Across much of the world, terrorism is considered to be a senseless and inherent evil that must be wiped out. Those who are not openly at...

What justification is left for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”?

By Joe Katz / January 9, 2007

The generals huddled in headquarters are almost always the last to know when the battle is over. Long after the soldiers in the field have given up hope, their commanders are still plotting and planning, refusing to acknowledge that they simply do not have the weapons left to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat....

Women’s hoops traps Bears in opener

By Joe Katz / January 9, 2007

It wasn’t a blowout, and it wasn’t a coronation. But in a big-time game against their biggest rival, the women’s basketball team made it clear that this time around, they would be just as dangerous in the second half of the season as they were in the first. Almost one year to the day after...

Embracing negativity at the U of C is a choice; reject it.

By Joe Katz / November 28, 2006

Outside the world of sitcoms, people rarely take the time to act in “the true spirit of the holidays.” Thanksgiving is about football and parades and gorging ourselves on turkey and stuffing, and not so much about giving thanks. Don’t get me wrong; those things are worthy of a nation-wide celebration. But as long as...

Will Dems be able to handle primetime?

By Joe Katz / November 21, 2006

Politicians are not a thin-skinned bunch. To survive in a Darwinian environment, they quickly learn how to duck just about any insult you can throw at them. “I’m not a corrupt corporate stooge; I’m actively working with business leaders to help to stimulate the economy.” “I’m not inconsistent to the point of schizophrenia, I’m thoughtful...

Stellar backcourt set to lead men’s basketball

By Joe Katz / November 17, 2006

In the UAA, the big man is king. Last winter, not a single guard made first team all-conference. But when men’s basketball tips off their season tomorrow night, they’ll be hoping to turn the league on its head with stellar backcourt play. Having lost two of their most powerful low post players to graduation, the...

Talented women’s hoops seeks UAA turnaround

By Joe Katz / November 17, 2006

Two years ago, women’s basketball shocked the experts by ripping their way to a 16–9 mark after three straight losing seasons. With their nucleus returning, they entered last November shooting for the stars—and everyone knew it. With the target on their backs, the women went 17–8 but only won six games in league play, falling...

Politics of division fails during midterms

By Joe Katz / November 14, 2006

All right, everyone listen up. Those on my left, if you could stub out your victory cigars for a second? Folks on my right, please put down the Kool-Aid and pay attention. It’s now been a full week since the 2006 midterm elections, and maybe—just maybe—enough time has passed that we can engage in some...

Campus activism returns

By Joe Katz / October 31, 2006

Think campus activism can’t accomplish anything? Jane Fernandes would beg to differ. After almost seven months of student uproar, the Gallaudet University board of trustees finally ran up the white flag Sunday and revoked the contract of its incoming president. The nation’s only liberal arts university for the deaf will be forced to begin the...

Darkhorse cantidate for ’08: Jimmy Carter

By Joe Katz / October 17, 2006

Last week’s announcement by former Virginia governor Mark Warner that he would not seek the presidency in 2008 has greatly altered traffic patterns on the road to the White House. More than a year away from New Hampshire, Warner had already begun to look like the standard-bearer for the anti-Hillary contingent in the Democratic Party....

The fallout of North Korea’s nuclear test

By Joe Katz / October 13, 2006

On Monday morning, all of us woke up in a different world. The reverberations of the North Korean nuclear test will go far beyond what can be measured on a seismograph, and the full extent of its effects is still unimaginable. The next few months could see anything from the peaceful opening of the Democratic...

Cup at stake for football

By Joe Katz / October 13, 2006

It’s safe to say that football will be up for this one. There will be no shortage of drama and plenty on the line as the Maroons (2–2) play host to archrival Wash U (3–3) at Stagg on Saturday afternoon. After a spotty September showing, Chicago is facing a make-or-break game on multiple fronts. A...

Young but able Maroons seek quality road win

By Joe Katz / October 6, 2006

As the conference season swings into full gear, women’s soccer will look to show it can compete at a high level away from its lucky home turf. With many players on the young team getting their first taste of room service against a conference opponent this weekend, the 14th-ranked Maroons (8–1–1, 1–0–0 UAA) pay call...

Why so much financial aid for the wealthy?

By Joe Katz / October 3, 2006

It would be an easily made mistake to dismiss the Commission on the Future of Higher Education’s September 19th report as irrelevant to the U of C. For the most part, the high standards of the U of C and other schools in our peer group are not representative of the “equal parts meritocracy and...

New cast, same old story for women’s soccer

By Joe Katz / October 2, 2006

When women’s soccer fell in an overtime heartbreaker in last year’s Final Four, they lost more than a shot at the national title. They lost a vaunted class of 13 seniors who had led the team on and off the field to the most successful four-year run in program history. But eight games into the...

New cast, same old story for women’s soccer

By Joe Katz / October 1, 2006

Read it, write it, love it: Sports embodies campus: The Cheap Seats

By Joe Katz / June 2, 2006

So why write sports? After three years with this section, you’d think I’d have a solid, defensible answer to that question. But a response isn’t always on the tip of my tongue. It’s sometimes tough to remember at the end of yet another very, very late night at the newspaper office. It’s even tougher when...

Fun-loving women’s lacrosse finds home on Midway

By Joe Katz / May 26, 2006

We may well be living in the golden age of lacrosse. Tomorrow night, Chicago’s very own Major League Lacrosse (MLL) club, the Machine, will play its league debut against the defending champion Baltimore Bayhawks. The Machine is part of the first wave of league expansion as the MLL makes a bid for major sport status....

Through thick and thin, Yang left mark in pool

By Joe Katz / May 26, 2006

Being number one isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Leadership requires hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. It’s about the expectations from the squad and the consequences if you fail—not just the accolades. This winter, Katherine Yang learned how lonely it can be at the top. With the women’s swimming program denuded of juniors...

Brown assistant to replace O’Connor

By Joe Katz / May 23, 2006

While the athletic department is still seeing to fill three vacancies, the men’s soccer team can now rest easy. In less than six weeks, their new era will begin under the command of an Ivy Leaguer. Bringing to an end a three-month long, nationwide search, athletic director Tom Weingartner announced Monday afternoon that Brown University...

To sink or swim: Test must stay

By Joe Katz / May 19, 2006

Over the last decade, the University of Chicago has made serious efforts to broaden its appeal among its target applicant base. The administration has been trying to shed some of the more negative images associated with life on campus, even at the cost of some of our offbeat nature. Wholesale change has been slow in...

Cool Yeksigian pitches way into record books

By Joe Katz / May 16, 2006

The day after a dramatic comeback from five runs down at last ups and a brilliant pitching performance, all things seemed possible at J. Kyle Field. Concordia was a quality squad, but the visitors couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities with fourth-year ace Dan Yeksigian on the mound. While the righty had walked three and...

Bortz takes tennis odyssey to final stop

By Joe Katz / May 12, 2006

In less than a week, Ward Bortz will be serving up aces at the Division III national singles tournament. If he can triumph in his first round match, he’ll bring home an All-American certificate for the second year in a row. The pressure will be intense, but this fourth-year has what it takes to compete...

Three named to softball all-region team: Sports Shorts 5/12/06

By Joe Katz / May 12, 2006

The season might not quite be finished yet for softball, but the National Fastpitch Coaches Association has clearly seen enough. Three Maroons were named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III All–Great Lakes Region team, the organization announced Tuesday. Third-year ace Petra Wade and fourth-year designated hitter Kate Rhodes were picked for the second team, while...

Baseball stays on course with squeakers at home

By Joe Katz / May 9, 2006

As baseball tries to send its fourth-years out on the right note, one of the team’s young guns provided a hint of just how bright the future is for this program. After lacing a walk-off double to right to complete a six-run comeback in the first game, first-year righty Kyle Schmitt (1–2, 3.05) went the...

Baseball rides Yeksigian gem, close shave to sweep

By Joe Katz / May 5, 2006

One month ago none of this seemed possible. Riding a late-season surge, baseball’s dreams of a winning season look like they might just become reality. After nearly coughing up the second game in the seventh, the Maroons (14–15) pulled off a sweep of the Milwaukee School of Engineering (13–21) 5–0, 5–4 in a Wednesday afternoon...

Sloppy play, weather can’t stop baseball at Invite

By Joe Katz / May 2, 2006

There’s an old saying in baseball: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. For Chicago in the springtime, the third option is more than an occasional outcome. With steady rain turning J. Kyle into a marsh, the Maroons (12–15) managed to just get in an 11–5 triumph over Case (10–21–1) Saturday before the...

Plate discipline produces big results for softball

By Joe Katz / April 28, 2006

At this time of spring, most teams are just trying to get their foot in the postseason door. After a season that’s been disappointing at times, softball suddenly looks ready to break it down. In one of their best performances of the season, regionally sixth-ranked Chicago (18–10) butchered regionally third-ranked Aurora (now 30–8) in a...

Women’s tennis fourth at league

By Joe Katz / April 25, 2006

With half of their young lineup gracing the league’s biggest stage for their first time, women’s tennis didn’t see all its dreams come true at conferences. Even so, they still had one heck of a ride. With the young gun first-year Vindya Dayananda leading the way with a 2–1 mark at first singles, the 15th-ranked...

Men’s tennis ready for biggest test of season at league tourney

By Joe Katz / April 21, 2006

It’s one of the toughest conference tournaments in Division III men’s tennis. But this time around, the Maroons know they’re up to the challenge. After escaping the league cellar for the first time since 1998 last year and battling through a tough schedule all spring, 19th-ranked Chicago (10–9) is set to take on the best...

Fireworks launch baseball past Titans

By Joe Katz / April 18, 2006

It was a simple gesture. But for the Maroons, it may have been the key to winning back the favor of the baseball gods. “During the Wheaton game last year, Dan was pitching in relief, and managed to pitch his way out of a jam,” head coach Brian Baldea recalled, regarding fourth-year righty Dan Yeksigian....

Just sports: Duke does right thing amidst scandal: The Cheap Seats

By Joe Katz / April 14, 2006

At long last, we’ve seen the light. Everyone understands that what happened on March 13 at 610 North Buchanan Boulevard in Durham is not a sports story. It could have been, of course. We’ve seen it happen too many times. It happened when allegations of rape, sexual assault, and widespread recruiting misdeeds threatened to tear...

Men’s tennis burned at Stagg

By Joe Katz / April 11, 2006

This weekend, men’s tennis had a golden opportunity to make their presence felt among the best in the region. Instead, they’ll enter their last two regular season meets looking to rebound. In showdowns with two of the Central region’s best teams, the 19th-ranked Maroons (9–8) couldn’t capitalize as they dropped Saturday’s match against regionally 12th-ranked...

Crew paddles to notable showing in spring season debuts: Sports Shorts 4/11/06

By Joe Katz / April 10, 2006

They’ve been reduced to driving 40 minutes just to get “home.” But even the challenges of a vagabond existence haven’t stopped crew. Despite having to contend with the loss of their practice facility, the Maroons club team has battled through to earn respectable finishes in their first two regattas of the spring season. The men’s...

Villarreal’s exit sets change in motion

By Joe Katz / April 7, 2006

After steadily improving over each of the last three seasons, men’s swimming has never been stronger in the modern era. Next year, they’ll have to try to continue their development without the man who helped take them to that level. The athletic department officially announced in a March 7 press release that men’s swimming head...

Men’s tennis stays hot, takes down Wheaton

By Joe Katz / April 7, 2006

Once men’s tennis gets rolling, they’re usually tremendously difficult to stop. Wheaton just became the latest opponent to get flattened. In their final road showdown of the regular season, the 19th-ranked Maroons (9–6) put down the Thunder (10–7) in a 5–2 victory Tuesday. Fourth-year Ward Bortz (12–6) won his fourth straight at first singles 6–2,...

Baseball safe at home with pair of wins

By Joe Katz / April 4, 2006

They may not be in midseason form. But with a solid defense, moments of ace pitching, and flashes of hitting power in their first homestand, baseball proved itself capable of pulling out a few victories. Powered bursts of timely hitting, the Maroons (4–9) got the win in two of their first three showdowns at J....

Hobbled men’s tennis struggles on road against mighty Tigers

By Joe Katz / March 7, 2006

Playing without their top two singles players, men’s tennis gave some fresh faces a trial by fire against one of the nation’s top teams. Unfortunately, the new additions couldn’t break the losing streak. The 25th-ranked Maroons (5–4) couldn’t pull off the upset at 13th-ranked DePauw (4–4), falling 6–1 Saturday at Greencastle. With both fourth-year first...

With three precincts in, Rats debate MVP votes: 505050

By Joe Katz / March 3, 2006

The award-winning Rats are back with their final arguments for the basketball teams’ best individuals. As always, chime in on the blog online. • With the basketball seasons over, who were your top two men’s and women’s MVPs? Sean: Both teams showed some depth this year, and when they were at their best, it was...

Six hoopsters named to All-UAA squads: Sports Shorts 3/3/06

By Joe Katz / March 3, 2006

While neither team is going to the playoffs, men’s and women’s basketball seem to have gotten the attention of the conference. Both starting guards for the men’s team and three starters and a substitute on the women’s squad were picked for the All-UAA squad, the league announced Tuesday. Second-year guard Nofi Mojidi was the sole...

UAA taps Hirve as Athlete of the Week: Sports Shorts 3/3/06

By Joe Katz / March 3, 2006

There’s something special going on in the jumping pits at Henry Crown. Second-year jumper Appie Hirve was named UAA Athlete of the Week for women’s track and field, conference officials announced Tuesday. She became the fifth member of the team to be so recognized this season, along with fourth-year distance runner Jessica Winter and her...

Performance of the Week: Sports Shorts 3/3/06

By Joe Katz / March 3, 2006

Jesse Meyer (men’s basketball): Game-high 18 points in season finale victory over Wash U; went two-for-six from beyond the arc to tie program record for most treys in a season (68) Nofi Mojidi (women’s basketball): Scored 26 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field, 12-for-15 free throw performance in ten-point loss to Bears Alex Leach...

Men’s hoops crushes rival Bears in finale

By Joe Katz / February 28, 2006

Every team wants to send its seniors out on a good note. Every team wants to defend its own house when its rival comes to town. Given the opportunity to do both, men’s basketball did not disappoint. The Maroons (15–10, 8–6) earned sweet revenge in their season finale, playing shutdown defense on the perimeter to...

Brandeis loss eliminates men’s hoops from UAA race

By Joe Katz / February 21, 2006

It’s nearly impossible to win a basketball game when both the post and the perimeter players aren’t making shots. In a make-or-break game, men’s hoops couldn’t beat the odds. The Maroons (14–10, 7–6) started off ice cold and never fully recovered in a 68–51 loss at Brandeis (13–11, 6–7) Sunday. The defeat eliminated Chicago from...

Rats raving about swim teams’ big leaps forward: 50-50-50

By Joe Katz / February 17, 2006

Men’s swimming finished sixth at UAAs. Women’s swimming finished seventh. There are eight teams in this league. What are you all so excited about? Sean: It’s hard for people to grasp how big of a deal sixth and seventh place out of eight is in UAA swimming, but we’re talking about a men’s and women’s...

Winter wins 13th career league award: Sports Shorts 2/17/06

By Joe Katz / February 17, 2006

There probably won’t be a whole lot of controversy over this pick. Fourth-year Jessica Winter was recognized as the UAA Athlete of the Week for women’s track and field, the league announced Wednesday. She was the only Maroon selected. She certainly earned the honor, crossing the line in 4:56.95 to earn second place in the...

Performances of the Week: Sports Shorts 2/17/06

By Joe Katz / February 17, 2006

Shane Carlson (men’s swimming): Set three individual program marks and swam leadoff leg for all-time 800-yard free relay squad at UAA Championships. Jason Hicks (men’s basketball): Scored go-ahead bucket with 25 seconds left to help clinch Sunday’s 52–49 victory over Case. Jessica Winter (women’s track and field): Recorded 4:56.95 mark in mile at Wisconsin–Whitewater Invite...

Breyer tackles judicial activism in Law School talk

By Joe Katz / February 14, 2006

As an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, Stephen Breyer has never shied away from addressing the big issues. The justice addressed the great legal debate over modern constitutional interpretation in his talk “Judicial Activism: Power without Responsibility?” in the 2006 Schwartz Lecture at the Law School last Tuesday afternoon. “I picked the...

Carlson, men swim into the record books in Atlanta: Touching the wall, swimmers set marks at UAA meet

By Joe Katz / February 14, 2006

Men’s swimming took advantage of their last major opportunity of the year to leave a lasting impression on the record books. They didn’t do too badly in the standings, either. With personal records falling left and right to make almost 20 new entries in the program’s top-10 all-time performance lists, the Maroons finished sixth overall...

Kenyon too much for men’s tennis: Sports Shorts 2/14/06

By Joe Katz / February 14, 2006

It wasn’t all it could have been, but it was still a fine showing for men’s tennis. The 25th-ranked Maroons (5–1) went 2–1 in weekend action, splitting their Saturday showdowns by beating 22nd-ranked league rival Carnegie Mellon (1–3) 4–2 and falling to 28th-ranked host Kenyon (4–0) 4–2 before rebounding with a 4–1 win over Denison...

Momentum clangs off rim as men drop two on road

By Joe Katz / February 7, 2006

This time last week, men’s basketball was riding high off of the adrenaline of a scintillating overtime win over a ranked squad and the annihilation of a hot league rival. What a difference seven days makes. Filling out the road half of a home-and-home with Rochester and 18th-ranked Carnegie, Chicago (11–9, 4–5) fell victim to...

Ratner Rats sort mail, respond to reader’s cool critique

By Joe Katz / February 3, 2006

Already riling up readers, the Ratner Rats dip into the mailbag this week. Don’t forget that you can contribute your own comments on the Maroon Sports Report at maroon.uchicago.edu/wordpress: • Reading the recent diagnosis of what is ailing Maroons women’s basketball brought a smirk to my rounded face. On one hand, there was a honed...

Performances of the Week 2/3/06

By Joe Katz / February 3, 2006

Brandon Woodhead (men’s basketball): Averaged 15.5 points over weekend sweep; hit game-winning trey with 2.7 seconds left in overtime against Carnegie Mellon Nate Hainje/Jason Vismantas (men’s basketball): Quarterbacked defense in pair of big wins over Carnegie Mellon and Rochester Phil Kruzel (wrestling): Earned 10–4 win against Case to earn spot on All-UAA team at Saturday...

Men’s tennis on track to start spring season

By Joe Katz / January 31, 2006

The Prairie Stars made men’s tennis sweat. But as comeback followed comeback, it became more and more clear how far this team has come since the beginning of preseason. Despite falling behind early in five singles matches, the 25th-ranked Maroons (1–0) grabbed a 6–1 win over NAIA Illinois–Springfield (0–1) at home Saturday. Chicago swept the...

Men’s swimming falls to DePauw: Sports Shorts 1/31/06

By Joe Katz / January 31, 2006

Now, the countdown begins for men’s swimming. In their final test of the regular season, the Maroons (5–4–1) fell just shy of 18th-ranked DePauw 151–140 at Greencastle Saturday. First-year sensation Shane Carlson won a pair of individual events, and classmate Charles Byrd notched first and second-place performances. But a disqualification in the 200-yard medley relay...

Mexico must come to terms with its past

By Joe Katz / January 30, 2006

On October 2, 1968, thousands of students involved in a mass movement against government brutality gathered in the ancient Aztec plaza known as Tlatelolco Square, located in the heart of Mexico City. Once the rally began, escape routes were cut off by military forces, and members of a ‘special’ paramilitary unit opened fire on them....

Men’s hoops in must-win after sweep

By Joe Katz / January 27, 2006

Two games took men’s basketball from the driver’s seat to being driven. But with the season still young and parity looking even more like the rule than before, the next four matches will give them the chance to get back in control of the road. After Brandeis (8–7, 1–4) and 24th-ranked NYU (14–2, 3–2) took...

50-50-50: Rats debate recent b-ball inconsistency

By Joe Katz / January 27, 2006

Today we debut the first installment of a weekly roundtable to be featured on the Chicago Maroon Sports Report blog, whih can be found online at maroon.uchicago.edu/wordpress. You can chime in with your own comments on this week’s topics or suggest your own questions for next time. • How did the women’s basketball team get...

Bojanov, Kruzel win league honors: Sports Shorts 1/27/06

By Joe Katz / January 27, 2006

In December, an Athlete of the Week award was a once-in-a-career achievement for third-year distance runner Emil Bojanov. Now, it’s becoming routine. A pair of event wins, one of which may extend his season well into mid-March, earned Bojanov the UAA weekly honor for men’s track and field for the third straight week. Classmate 174-pounder...

Performances of the Week: Sports Shorts 1/27/06

By Joe Katz / January 27, 2006

Emil Bojanov (men’s track and field): Won two events, met NCAA provisional qualifying standard with 4:14.61 mile mark at Saturday’s Chicago Invitational Phil Kruzel (wrestling): Went 4–0 to win 174-pound title at Spartan Mat Classic Saturday Shane Carlson (men’s swimming): Hit the wall in 9:44.43 to obliterate program record in 1,000-yard freestyle at Wheaton Triangular...

Records keep falling for young men’s swimmers

By Joe Katz / January 24, 2006

It was a league rivalry weekend for the opposition, and men’s swimming was just caught in the crossfire. At the very least, it looks like first-year Shane Carlson has learned to laugh while the bullets fly over his head. The overall meet scores weren’t uplifting, as the Maroons (5–3–1 in dual meet action) couldn’t keep...

No joy for women’s tennis at D-I Valpo

By Joe Katz / January 24, 2006

If you really do learn more from losing than from winning, women’s tennis may have just been taken to school. The Maroons (0–1) kicked off their season with a 7–0 loss on the home courts of Valparaiso (1–0) Saturday. Though the squad recorded several respectable performances against the Division I squad, only the third-doubles pairing...