Since softball is a spring sport, they do not participate in games in the fall — except for Fall Ball, one day when the team can play up to three games. On Oct. 7, the team hosted Ursuline College, an NCAA Division II school, and lost 6–4. 

“We played a DII [team], but we were definitely able to hold our own, which was great,” Brito said. “We lost a few players from last year, so it’s taken us a while to see where all the pieces are going to be for this year. Especially after play day, we have a much clearer idea of how our defense is going to shape up, and it’s looking really good.” 

Throughout the fall the team is allotted a set number of practices, which start in early September. After these, the team then transitions to captains’ practices for the rest of the fall, led by Austin, Brito, and Di Dio. In addition, they lift two to three times a week. 

The three housemates have all played softball for many years. Austin has been playing since elementary school. 

“It was the first sport I ever played and I just stuck with it because I like pitching so much,” Austin said. “[I] essentially [have] control on the mound and we just get to be outside with our friends. It’s a good environment and it teaches you a lot. I’ve learned so much about dedication and teamwork from travel ball and then playing in college, and it builds a really strong community.”

Brito has been playing softball since she was four years old. She hasn’t stopped playing because her mom never got the opportunity to continue playing after high school. 

“I really like it, but I mostly play because my mom didn’t get to,” Brito said. “She had my brother when she was 17, [so] she had to quit. So, I keep playing for her.”

Di Dio credits softball as her break from school, which motivated her to keep playing at Oberlin. 

“In high school and now, it’s a time to get away from academics and responsibilities,” Di Dio said. “It’s like structured hanging-out time with your friends; it’s your favorite people and you get to see them every day. Our team is so close-knit.”

In their house, the fourth-years have a cherished cone, a softball tradition. Each year, the softball fourth-years pass on a giant megaphone cone to the next group of fourth-years, with each graduating class signing the interior. Maria Roussos, OC ’18, came back during homecoming and noticed the megaphone cone sitting in their living room.

“She goes, ‘I cannot believe you guys still have this cone,’” Di Dio said. “And we’re like, ‘What?’ She’s like, ‘I started this when I was in school, when I was a [first-year].’ One of her [fourth-years] gave it to her. When you’re a [fourth-year], you sign the cone — under the cone, there’s a list of names from all these years past. She came and saw it in our house and she’s like, ‘I am so glad someone still has it. I thought it’d be thrown away right now. But I like that you guys are keeping the tradition forward. You have to give it to the next house.’”

Outside of softball, the three are constantly busy with other extracurricular activities, which the team is incredibly supportive of. Over the summer, Brito had the opportunity to study in Japan through the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment Grant as an East Asian Studies minor. When she did her LIASE presentation at the beginning of the school year, the team came and watched her present. When Di Dio presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium last year, she received similar support from her teammates and coaches who came to her presentation.

Since her second year at Oberlin, Brito has worked at the Multicultural Resource Center and as a manager at the Dionysus Disco. Over the last year and a half, she has been working with 15 different minority student groups on an archive for minority student groups on campus. She has gotten the school to approve a digital database, which will be uploaded to the Oberlin College Library server, and a physical archive, which will be in Wilder Hall. After Oberlin, she plans to take a gap year on campus to continue working on this project. Later, she plans to go into information science and archiving with a focus on social justice, library science, and information access. 

“There’s not many schools that are doing that,” Brito said. “I’m very excited.”

Di Dio is a peer tutor for Psychology and Statistics classes as well as a PRSM trainer on campus. She has been in multiple labs and assisted Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics Adam J. Howat in formulating a study investigating political identity and affective polarization. She currently does research at the Michigan State University Twin Registry, where she’s mainly focused on studying the etiology and development of externalizing behavior, specifically antisocial behavior. She presented her research in Spain at the annual meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association. She’s currently applying to Ph.D. programs in clinical science and psychology, where she hopes to continue her work or go into the field of behavioral genetics. 

Austin does research in the Ryno Lab in the Biochemistry department, looking at changes in the transcriptome of arabinose-treated E. coli. This summer, she participated in a nuclear and radiochemistry summer school program at San Jose State University, where she learned about the basics of nuclear chemistry and visited the Livermore National Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Now, she’s looking at graduate schools for radiochemistry or biochemistry.

When asked about advice she would give to her first-year self, Austin was nostalgic about her time here. 

“Just enjoy the things that Oberlin has to offer, because it’s going by so quickly,” Austin said. “It’s over already, and we have to cherish these last moments, like going to Long Island Night.”

Di Dio believes that one’s first-year and fourth-year selves are very different. 

“A lot changes between first year and fourth year,” Di Dio said. “You think you might have it figured out, but you don’t — roll with the changes.”

Track and Field

On day one of the NCAC semi-finals Feb. 24 in Greencastle, IN, the women’s track and field team placed first of seven teams, while the men’s team placed sixth of eight overall. Also present at this championship was the women’s basketball team. All three teams cheered one another on throughout the events.

“If I’m being a little selfish, I will tell you Wittenberg’s track team was there too at the track meet but wasn’t at the basketball game,” Track and Field and Cross Country Coach Ray Appenheimer told the Review. “I really think [it] speaks to this place and this community. … We understand that the more supportive your community, the better your performance is going to be. … So much of what we do around here is ‘I see you … and I want to be here for you, and if there’s anything I can do to help support you, help challenge you, help build you up, I’m gonna do that for you.’ That’s not only a basketball or track thing, and it’s not only a department of Athletics thing — it’s an Oberlin thing. It is part of the fabric of this place, and it’s why we all choose to come here every single day.” (“Track and Field, Women’s Basketball Cheer Each Other On During NCAC Championships in Indiana,” The Oberlin Review, March 3, 2023)

Basketball

At the same NCAC tournament, the women’s basketball team defeated Wittenberg University 63–57 to advance to the finals, promoting them to the fourth seed in the conference. In the finals Feb. 25, Oberlin lost 79–71 to Ohio Wesleyan University’s Battling Bishops after a valiant effort. With just over 12 and a half minutes left in the game, the Yeowomen led by 11 points, but the third-seeded Battling Bishops ultimately upped their defense to win their sixth NCAC championship.

Lacrosse

Playing in poor weather conditions April 5, the women’s lacrosse team won its final non-conference game 15–5 before it entered a string of NCAC games.

“It was very sporadic, and in the moments of torrential rain, the game became very back-and-forth,” College third-year Audrey Koren told the Review. “Both teams had difficulty holding onto the ball because it was hard to see and everything was slippery. Once the rain would stop for a while, we did a good job regaining control and maintaining possession.” (“Women’s Lacrosse Defeats Baldwin Wallace,” The Oberlin Review, April 7, 2023)

Softball

The softball team ended its season April 26 with a 4–3 win in game two of a doubleheader against The College of Wooster. The game lasted nine innings. At the end of the seventh inning, the College of Wooster Fighting Scots and the Yeowomen were tied 1–1, but the Yeowomen pulled ahead in the bottom of the ninth with three additional runs. College first-year Hailey Alspach intercepted a steal during the game. Earlier this semester, Alspach spoke to the Review about her hopes for the team. “We have become an aggressive offensive team with a greater knowledge of how to handle certain defensive situations,” Alspach said. “Moving forward in the season, the team is really excited to see what we will be able to accomplish with everything we have learned. Hopefully, we’ll be able to show that this team is better at competing than last year and come out with more wins than before.” (“Despite Early Losses, Softball Optimistic for Season,” The Oberlin Review, March 10, 2023)

Baseball

Over spring break, the baseball team made a trip to Arizona for the Tucson Invitational, where the team won four games and lost three. During the team’s first matchup against Carleton College on the fifth day of the invitational, which Oberlin won 11–1, College third-year pitcher Vince Dolcemaschio won an NCAC award for his work on the mound. “[The trip] was awesome,” Dolcemaschio told the Review. “For me personally, baseball is my passion and number-one priority. Being able to only focus on baseball without the burden of school or homework was a pleasure. I wish every week could be like that.” (“Baseball, Softball Find Success During Spring Break Trips,” The Oberlin Review, March 31, 2023)

Tennis

The men’s tennis team won its final match before entering the NCAC tournament. This final win was an away game at Ohio Wesleyan University, and the final score was 8–1. Both the women’s and the men’s teams lost in the first round of the NCAC tournament — the men saw a 5–4 loss to Wabash College while the women lost with the same score to The College of Wooster.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Walk me through the process of stealing a base. When do you decide it’s the right time to steal?

Basically, we have signs, and our coach gives us a sign to steal. The way that it works in softball is that when you’re on a base and you get the sign to steal — the pitcher doing her motion, which is when she picks up her back foot — is when you leave that base to steal.

How does your ability as a baserunner affect how you look at softball when fielding?

Whenever you get a ball in the field, you try to think about what the runners are doing and how they’re going to be running. Then you can think about where you want to throw the ball. You can also think about your next play after you get the ball, just anticipating what they are doing.

What’s your favorite memory of stealing a base this season?

I would say there’s two. One of them would be when I stole third base, and then our coach was like, “You just broke the record.” That was pretty cool. And then the other one was a moment in our game against Capital University where we were actually down by one run in the last inning, and I had gotten on base. We had two outs and I had gotten on base, and the catcher bobbled the ball. So I took off to go to second after she bobbled it and I almost got out, but I ran into the shortstop really hard, so she didn’t get me out and the ball got away from her. Then I was able to get a hit in because of that. If I had gotten out there, then we wouldn’t have won the game and had that walk off.

Has base-stealing always been an asset of your game, or did the Oberlin coaches help make it a strength of yours?

It’s definitely not been an asset of my game in the past. Our coach this year, Coach Julie Pratt, is super aggressive. That’s one of the main aspects of the game she focuses on — being really aggressive with stealing bases. Nine out of ten times, if you get on, she’s gonna send you. That’s definitely not been something in the past where I have been like, “Oh, I have so many stolen bases.” That’s been implemented this year because of our coach.

You’ve already set the record of stolen bases as a first-year with eight games left in the season. What are your personal goals, both at bat and on the bases, for the rest of the season? Do you think you can best your record in the next three years?

I definitely think that’s a good challenge to set, because I’ll be growing as a player throughout the next three years, so hopefully I can try to beat my record. I would say that for the rest of the season, my goal as a hitter is to stay consistent. One of the goals I always have is to try to go .500 each game. Normally when I bat in the lineup, I get up four times a game, so usually I’ll try to get a hit two out of those four times. I think this program is going in the right direction. We’ve obviously had a little bit of a rough past few seasons, in terms of our record and stuff like that, but our new coach, she knows so much about the game, and I think she’s really changing this program for the better.

As previously reported in the Review, (“Oberlin Softball Players Face Racism from Rose-Hulman,” The Oberlin Review, May 20, 2022), Rose-Hulman players yelled racial taunts at V Dagnino, OC ’22, and third-year Mia Brito during a double-header in Terre Haute, IN. Since the article’s publication, Rose-Hulman confirmed the attacks to the Tribune-Star in an article published June 8 and suspended two players indefinitely from the team. Additionally, it stated that the entire team participated in educational workshops from Rose-Hulman’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion.

“This type of hurtful behavior is unacceptable and does not represent the institute’s values or commitment to treat others with respect, inclusiveness, and sensitivity,” Rose-Hulman’s statement read in the article published by the Tribune-Star. “We have contacted Oberlin College to convey our apologies and continue to stay in close communication with their athletic department.”

Coaching Changes Within Softball

With end-of-year evaluations resuming on Oberlin’s softball team for the first time since the pandemic restrictions shut the Athletics department down entirely for two years, players voiced their concerns at the end of the season about former Head Coach Sara Schoenhoft’s response to the Rose-Hulman incident. Fourth-year Lalli Lopez, who was indirectly affected, said they did not feel comfortable going to Schoenhoft about concerns that they had.

“[It was] just a general feeling of not being treated like an individual and more like a softball player or just like an athlete,” Lopez said. “So it just felt like a really odd relationship where I couldn’t go to her for any problems that I had.”

Brito stated that if there weren’t major changes, she was sure that many of the softball players from that year would not have continued. She also noted that other teams, such as swimming and diving and track and field, stood up for softball in their evaluations.

“We just kind of all had a general understanding that if we had our same coaching staff as we did last year, this year we were going to quit — I would’ve quit,” Brito said. “A couple others would’ve quit and it kind of would’ve been like that chain reaction. … We would’ve all quit — every single one of us. There would not have been a team.”

However, both Brito and Lopez emphasized that they still had respect for their old head coach and understood that Schoenhoft was in a difficult position.

“It was a tough situation,” Brito said. “It doesn’t take away from the fact that we were affected and that it needed to change.”

After receiving the evaluations, Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos hired Head Coach Julie Pratt, who came from Case Western Reserve University. Pratt started in the role July 2022.

“We are always looking for someone that can be a fit for Oberlin that has a competitive drive, experience with recruiting in a highly academic environment, and can work well within our department and campus community,” Winkelfoos wrote in an email to the Review. “Coach Pratt came to us with an outstanding coaching resume and high-quality referrals from people that are well respected within our industry.”

In addition to Schoenhoft’s departure, former Assistant Coach Lindsay Mapes, who worked at Oberlin since summer 2021 and who Lopez cited as a supportive figure after the Rose-Hulman game, left for a new job and was replaced by Lauren Dockrill. Dockrill worked as a volunteer in the fall and was later promoted to a full-time position in January 2023. Brito said that while the team dynamic was weakened after the Rose-Hulman incident, Pratt has acted as the “glue” of the team and sees the members as people first and softball players second. Lopez also added that the Rose-Hulman game is not what defines their relationship and that Pratt focuses on looking toward the future.

“With our new head coach, I definitely feel so loved and supported,” Lopez said. “We just haven’t talked about it because we just [want to] leave it in the past and just focus on being a new team. … That’s not at the center of what she talks about with us. I am 100 percent certain that she has our backs no matter what.”

In an email to the Review, Pratt expressed her gratitude to the Oberlin community for allowing her to coach and reaffirmed her commitment to the softball program both on and off the field.

“We have a great group of student- athletes who have welcomed me with open arms,” Pratt wrote. “I cannot express how excited I am for this opportunity to be on the field with this team every day. … With our coaching staff ’s leadership, structure and support, we work to prepare our student-athletes for gamedays, academic [perseverance], and the grit required for life after college.”

Schoenhoft now works as the associate director of campus recreation at Oberlin and maintains that she did her best to support her players after the incident, especially after navigating two seasons heavily restricted by the pandemic.

“I have always cared deeply about my players both as humans and student-athletes,” Schoenhoft wrote in an email to the Review. “There have been multiple instances over the course of my career where I provided support far beyond support [what] would be expected of a coach. I am sorry that some players didn’t feel that support last year. I poured every ounce of myself into the softball program and was able to transition into my new position knowing that I gave my absolute best effort to leave the program better than I found it and make a positive impact on the lives of my student- athletes.”

Finding Improved Support On Campus

While the three athletes initially had difficulty finding support on campus immediately after the Rose-Hulman game, Brito utilized the MRC, which had a full staff for the first time since 2020. This fall, she reached out to Assistant Dean and Director of the MRC Scott Hwang to take action if a similar incident happened again, and now works as a program assistant. In this job, she is working to archive stories of marginalized students at Oberlin and working on outreach programs with Assistant Dean for Inclusion and Belonging Chris Donaldson, OC ’97.

“The communication between [Student Athlete Advisory Committee] and the MRC is a lot more than it’s been in the past,” Brito said. “Chris Donaldson especially works with Black men and Latinx men which are minority populations in the athletic community, so just having those open spaces for specifically those people is really valuable. Events that we are working on to push out in the future or more open lines of communication is something that we haven’t had in the past, which has been really helpful.”

Along with the MRC’s work in providing support for non-white student-athletes, Winkelfoos has worked closely in making sure to offer a more effective response if a similar event were to happen, and says that she remains in contact with Rose-Hulman’s head coach.

“Nothing can prepare a person for the unpredictable experience our students and staff had that day at Rose Hulman,” Winkelfoos wrote. “It was an ugly incident that impacted two campuses and many people. Everyone navigated the situation the best they knew how at that moment. Unfortunately, we can’t ensure this won’t happen again but we can promise to do our absolute best to protect and support our student- athletes. We worked with our Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee Liaison to the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Ana Richardson, OC ’18, to create a process if something like this would, unfortunately, happen again.”

In addition to administrative changes, both Brito and Lopez have credited their teammates for supporting them and respecting their boundaries when it comes to discussing the game, even if they can’t directly relate to what happened.

“A lot of my teammates are white, so they obviously have not experienced racism in the way that Mia or [I] have experienced it,” Lopez said. “But this [was a] really eye-opening experience for them too because they saw firsthand. Afterwards [they were] like, ‘Hey, I’ve got your back now. I’m here for you. I know what to look for now in order to prevent it ever happening to you again. God forbid it does happen again, I’m going to be there for you.’”

Ultimately, one year later, both players are encouraged by the steps taken by the Athletics department, their teammates, their coaching staff, and the MRC in healing and moving on from the game. Brito is appreciative of Winkelfoos’ actions and is hopeful that Oberlin is one step closer in better supporting non-white athletes.

“The general Oberlin community [still has] a lot to go, and I don’t know if we’ll ever be completely there in terms of what we could be doing or should be doing for people of color,” Brito said. “But I think we have made very huge strides since where we were last year, which is awesome. The athletic community has completely turned itself around.”

Baseball Shines in the Desert

The Yeomen played seven games in Arizona, going 4–3 over the week. They started off with a high-scoring win over the California Institute of Technology before dropping both games of a double-header against Saint John’s University. The team bounced back with a rematch win against Caltech and finished the week with a win over Wesleyan University and a two-game split against Carleton College.

Fourth-year Jacob Thompson came through big on offense for Oberlin as he went 8–15 overall, with two triples in the second matchup against Caltech that ended in the seventh by mercy rule. Second-year Max Cairo went 6–18 and collected eight RBIs over the week with his biggest moment being a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning of the first Caltech game.

On the other side of the ball, Oberlin struggled with pitching and defense during the week, but it did have one dominant pitching performance from third-year Vince Dolcemaschio. The righthander tossed a complete game in the seven-inning contest against Caltech, allowing four hits, no walks, and just one unearned run to help lead the Yeomen to victory. The performance earned him a North Coast Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week Award. Dolcemaschio believes he played well while working with fourth-year catcher John Schooner.

“We had a good game plan going into the game in terms of sequencing and what kind of pitches we wanted to throw,” Dolcemaschio said. “It just came down to executing.”

Dolcemaschio, a California native, said it was not as warm in Tucson as the team anticipated, but that the week was still a highlight of the season.

“[The trip] was awesome,” he said. “For me personally, baseball is my passion and number-one priority. Being able to only focus on baseball without the burden of school or homework was a pleasure. I wish every week could be like that.”

The Yeomen picked up four wins, but Dolcemaschio feels the team could have posted an even better record in Arizona.

“We definitely let a couple games get away from us but we won’t dwell on it,” he said. “We’ll learn from the mistakes we made and move forward confidently. We have the right group of guys to make some noise this year in our conference.”

Oberlin is certainly poised to have a better season than last year when it went 7–29. After a win over Muskingum University on Tuesday after returning to Ohio, this year’s squad now sits at 6–6 overall. The Yeomen look to keep momentum going as they start conference play tomorrow with a home double-header against The College of Wooster.

Softball Battles in the Swamp

Oberlin’s softball team played eight games in central Florida — going 3–5 over that span. The team started off with losses to Grinnell College and Lawrence University but defeated Keuka College twice in the first half of the week. The Yeowomen then lost to the University of Wisconsin-Plattville, Colby College, and Middlebury College but picked up a close win against Washington and Jefferson College in the second portion of the week. The wins were the Yeowomen’s first of the season under Head Coach Julie Pratt.

The Yeowomen had trouble pitching during the week, which led to some tough losses. Still, third-year Katie Austin had a nice week on the mound, tossing complete games while allowing three runs or less in two of her four appearances.

On offense, Oberlin had several standouts. Third-year Alaina Di Dio went 15–25 with nine RBIs to lead her team. Di Dio’s scorching hot week earned her the NCAC Athlete of the Week Award. First-year catcher Kailey Dunham had a nice week going 10–23 while first-year Maria Chutko went 15–28 over the week. Chutko has embraced learning from coaches this season, but also values putting in work on her own to stay in good form.

“If I think there is something I could work on a little extra, I’ll take some time outside of practice to get reps in off a tee,” Chutko said.

Chutko carries an optimistic attitude on the field, which has allowed her to adjust well to the college game as a first-year player.

“I think that just playing to have fun has helped me,” she said. “It helps take extra pressure off during game time and reminds me that I am playing a sport that I have grown up loving, even if it is now at a higher level. Our upperclassmen do a good job of making us feel comfortable on the field as well.”

Like Dolcemaschio, Chutko values the intensive sport-focused environment of the trip and believes they still have work to do.

“I think the amount of softball we played allowed us to get lots of reps in a short amount of time to help us in preparation for the season,” she said. “The weather in Florida was amazing and we were able to play against some teams that we have never seen before. I have faith that we will see more wins as conference games come along, but our games in Florida have made us aware of our strengths and weaknesses for our future play. Coach Pratt has a lot of experience with the game of softball, and I think that she will take what she examined from our play in Florida and plan out what she wants us to work on.”

First-year pitcher Hailey Alspach was a definite highlight of the weekend. Alspach was electric in her collegiate debut against Greensboro. With a total of 62 strikes on 106 pitches, she ended striking out an impressive five at bats and only walking two in the entire game. Alpasch was also clutch later on in the weekend, holding the William Peace Racers to only two runs in their Sunday matchup. 

“Even though we didn’t get the results that we were hoping for last weekend, we have already seen a ton of improvement compared to last year,” she said. “We have become an aggressive offensive team with a greater knowledge of how to handle certain defensive situations. Moving forward in the season, the team is really excited to see what we will be able to accomplish with everything we have learned. Hopefully, we’ll be able to show that this team is better at competing than last year and come out with more wins than before.”

Although the results were far from what the Yeowomen were hoping for, young players like Alspach have the team hopeful for the future. Third-year pitcher and first baseman Alaina Di Dio is extremely optimistic about the rest of softball’s season. 

“Although the outcome wasn’t what we had hoped for, we did a lot of really good things as a team,” Di Dio said. “We are coming out of the weekend knowing what we need to work on to win these close games and are ready to get back to work before our upcoming spring break trip to Florida. It is a long season, and the games this weekend were only the beginning. Overall, our team is feeling determined and excited for a new era of Oberlin College softball.”

The new era of Oberlin College softball shows a lot of promise. Newly appointed Head Softball Coach Julie Pratt joined Oberlin after two years as assistant coach at Case Western Reserve University, and her veteran knowledge of the game and 26 years of experience coaching at the collegiate level may steer the Yeowomen in the right direction. She believes the team gained valuable experience in North Carolina. 

“I saw a lot of great moments in each game,” Pratt said. “We have returned to campus having a list of things to work on to prepare us for our next competition. We are learning a new style of play and our thought and game knowledge showed in each game.” 

Clearly, the Yeowomen have a lot of potential going forward this season. Hopefully, they can harness it and turn the year around in their favor. The team hopes to find success in its next game at home this Monday, March 13 against Albion College. 

College second-year on the lacrosse and soccer teams Maya Blevins explained that team activities had to be adjusted in accordance with ObieSafe regulations. Specifically, the women’s lacrosse team had to forfeit this past week due to an abnormally low number of field players, as many players are in isolation for COVID-19 exposure and miscellaneous injuries. 

“We had to cancel a game this past Saturday against DePauw,” Blevins wrote in an email to the Review. “We also had to miss two days of practice and made lift optional. Usually, we do film all together in the gym classroom, but instead, we were sent times to watch individually. Of course it has been very disappointing to lose time to be together, especially so close to the end of our season, but fortunately, throughout the majority of our season, we were mostly unaffected by COVID-19.”

Fourth-year lacrosse player Kiernan Stone believes that his team hasn’t been extremely affected by the rise in COVID cases on campus, but have had a couple players on the roster test positive.

“COVID’s affected our season a little bit this semester, but we’ve been pretty lucky so far,” he said. “We’ve only had a couple cases recently, so we missed a couple guys here and there, but we’ve been fortunate enough to not have widespread numbers throughout our team.”

In December 2021, when cases were rising on campus due to the Omicron variant, the team was worried that they wouldn’t be able to start their pre-season practices. Fortunately for them, by the time the squad returned to campus in January the numbers had dissipated.

In response to the rise in cases, Oberlin Athletics will continue to uphold the ObieSafe regulations implemented on April 21, keeping athletic facilities open with social distancing. The mask requirement was put back in place, with student-athletes required to wear masks during indoor meetings and in the weight room. However, in continuation with previous regulations, student-athletes are exempt from wearing masks during practice and competition. 

Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos added that Oberlin Athletics will not be adding additional testing and will try to reschedule games that are canceled as a result of weather or COVID-19. 

“We will not be doing any additional testing, … staying the course with the guidelines that are in place today,” she wrote in an email to the Review. “Whether games are postponed/canceled due to weather or COVID-19, we always do our best to reschedule games.”

At this point, the women’s lacrosse team is used to being flexible regarding changes due to the pandemic. After experiencing a season cancellation and shortened season, the team is grateful for any day they get to play the game that they love. 

“Our team knows best the sharp adjustments that come with the pandemic,” Blevins wrote. “In 2020, the lacrosse season was cut short when Oberlin students got sent home. In 2021, we only got to play four games and wore masks while playing. I think this has made my team even more grateful for the times we do get to be together. Before every game, we remind ourselves that we never know what could happen tomorrow, so we have to give everything we have today.” 

Similarly, Stone knows what it’s like to have to navigate the pandemic with sports and emphasizes the importance of valuing your time with your teammates. In his, Stone was sent home in March of 2020 like the rest of campus, resulting in his season being cut short, and only got to play half of a regular season in 2021 when the College reinstated athletic competition. 

“We know things can change at any given moment, so we gotta play every moment as if it were our last,” he said. “All we can do is hope for the best, knowing that things could change right away. Cherishing the time that we have together is what keeps us going.”

In an article to the Players Tribune in 2018 about battling his depression and anxiety, Cleveland Cavaliers player Kevin Love wrote, “It’s not some magical process. It’s terrifying and awkward and hard, at least in my experience so far. I know you don’t just get rid of problems by talking about them, but I’ve learned that over time maybe you can better understand them and make them more manageable.”

There’s no denying that mental health is overlooked in athletics, especially at the rate it affects collegiate student-athletes. In a 2019 NCAA student-athlete survey report, 38.9 percent of incoming first-years felt frequently overwhelmed by the pressures of the past year, and slightly over a quarter of student-athletes felt difficulties piling up so high that they couldn’t overcome them in the month prior to taking the survey. Since the start of the pandemic, these numbers have likely soared. 

Like Love, other professional athletes have increasingly started to open up about their mental health and prioritize it over their sport: Simone Biles dropped out of events this past Summer Olympics, Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon in 2021, and Brandon Marshall shared his story of living with borderline personality disorder. On the collegiate end, former offensive lineman Harry Miller for The Ohio State University retired from the sport this year due to mental health issues. Although the world is shifting toward destigmatizing mental health, the lack of resources and preventative interventions in athletics have led to suicides of student-athletes. 

When fourth-year Stanford women’s soccer goalkeeper Katie Meyer took her own life in early March, it was an immediate shock to the college athletics world. Just one month later, Robert Martin, a fifth-year student and goalkeeper for Binghamton men’s lacrosse, also took his own life. These losses, among others, demonstrate the high toll of pressure on athletes’ mental health, and the lack of necessary resources to support them.

The Oberlin student body has an ongoing mental health crisis. Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the school’s campus in March 2020, fourth-year College soccer player George Gworek was working to revive a mental health alliance geared toward student-athletes that disbanded years ago. Gworek participated in a similar club throughout high school. When he planned the alliance’s revival with a former professor, they envisioned it would be similar to the support groups Oberlin provides during high-stress periods, except student-led with a liaison and more free-functioning. 

However, with remote learning and the professor’s relocation, it became difficult for Gworek to advocate for mental health resources that would be accessible to student-athletes. Although Oberlin has improved on these resources during his four years here, Gworek sees that there’s more to be done.

“Specifically with athletes, there’s a lot of people that really care and are really passionate about [discussing mental health],” he said. “They just need to make that known, and I think there’s a stigma around trying to improve that. Spreading awareness and making it known that you care about this in trying to formulate whatever structure would be necessary for this.”

Many student-athletes struggle with performance-based anxiety, which Gworek believes can compound other mental health struggles outside of sports; and influence a person’s overall health and career. 

“I think that for some people, it’s a huge problem, [and] for other[s], it’s just sort of a mindfulness issue,” he said. “It’s consumed me in the past and I know it certainly consumes other people. I think it can definitely have serious broader implications for an individual’s mental health. It’s honestly swept aside especially since we’re a Division III school — it’s not like we’re going pro.”

For College second-year softball pitcher Alaina Di Dio, check-ins have been essential to maintaining her mental health. One system the team has in place is for the pitchers to do a group checkup before each practice; the group goes around in a circle to discuss how each player’s mental health is that day, and depending on that, the coach can adjust the workout. Off the field, she says team members make sure to check up on each other as well. 

“Sometimes I’ll ask the team ‘How are you?’” Di Dio said. “And they’re like, ‘oh yeah, I rolled out of bed this morning and I just did not want to get up at all; my depression is really bad today,’ and it’s like, okay, well we know during practice then to keep that in mind and to pick them up more.” 

Di Dio highlighted that at Oberlin, conversations regarding mental health within the athletics department occur more than people would think, at least compared to other schools. However, physical health is still regarded as the number one priority. Her hope is for students and coaches to destigmatize mental health and make it as important as an athlete’s physical health.

“We’re expected to put so much into the sport, and a lot of times there’s a lot of consideration for our physical health … but mental health isn’t really talked about as much,” said Di Dio. “It’s just not as emphasized as physical health. When you’re hurting, you go to your coach and they’re always like, ‘Oh, go see a trainer.’ You don’t go to a coach and say ‘Oh, I’m having a really bad day with my depression.’ That’s just not as accepted as a physical injury is.”

Post, a College third-year field hockey goalie, also cites their team as a major support system for their mental health. The team has had conversations about emotional well-being, how teammates’ capacity to give to the team any given day can be affected by mental health, and how to support each other. During the beginning of the season, field hockey players expressed to their teammates what type of support they needed on and off the field. This could look like being comforted, no physical touch, words of encouragement, or other outlets.

Next year, the team plans to put up a whiteboard detailing what support is best for each team member, and Post believes that this will better aid their teammates. 

“I want our team to continue to work on supporting all kinds of [ways] to move through mental health issues, not just the ones that are most palatable to our society,” they said. “I think recognizing how mental health can influence someone’s life and how coping with that can be a healthy or unhealthy thing is really important.”

Additionally, they mentioned the stigma surrounding conversation about student-athletes abusing substances as a way to deal with their mental health. At Oberlin, a lot of teams abide by the 24–48 rule during their season. The rule entails not consuming drugs or alcohol 24 hours before practice or 48 hours before a game. 

“In the larger athletics community, something that I’ve really been thinking about is issues with addiction and health, and how a lot of college students in general will use alcohol and drugs as a way of coping,” said Post. “For student-athletes, it’s particularly challenging to talk about because of NCAA compliance issues. A lot of the time, students don’t reach out for the help that they need because they’re afraid of getting in trouble. I think that’s something I really want to work on.”

These three student-athletes can all agree that the world of collegiate sports has a long way to go in implementing measures to protect students’ mental health. How will Oberlin step up to the plate?

Fall Sports

Volleyball: Each year, the volleyball team throws a fall formal called Volley Ball. Teammates bring a date, dress up, and take pictures just as if it were a school ball. In addition to this major team event, third-year Lucy Myers described a smaller-scale tradition: whenever the team goes to away games, each athlete is paired with a “psych buddy” during the trip. Before getting onto the bus they give each other a gift such as a note or a snack, or as Myers puts it, “something to hype them up.”

Cross country: Third-year Chase Sortor described an  event where teammates anonymously submit a crazy story from their life, to be read while roasting marshmallows over the fire for s’mores. While one person reads a story aloud, the rest of the group must try to match the story to the teammate. “It’s confusing, and you learn insane stuff about people, such as riding their bike naked,” Sortor said. “It’s a fun one.”

Football: Big Brother/Little Brother is a tradition that second-year Jack Diskin adores. At the beginning of the season, each teammate is assigned a big or little brother. “When one guy gets knocked down, we are there to help them up, and it teaches us to appreciate the relationships we have within our team,” Diskin said. “It allows us to be vulnerable with someone else, which is hard for football players to do, and that alone helps strengthen our bond, making it easier to trust one another on and off the field.”

Field hockey: Second-year Ruby Schreiber’s favorite field hockey tradition is Teamsgiving, which takes place right before fall break at the end of the field hockey season. Teamsgiving is a potluck where teammates and coaches bring a dish they enjoy cooking and hand out paper plate awards to the team based on inside jokes they’ve formed over the season. “The food is really good. I know we have some good chefs on our team,” Schreiber said. More importantly, it’s her favorite tradition because it’s the last time all her teammates and coaches are together as a team for the season. 

Soccer: The women’s and men’s soccer teams have a tight bond — in the past, they’ve thrown a wedding, a prom, and a dress-up-as-decades night together. Fourth-year Belle Smith’s favorite tradition is prom, which happens in the spring. Athletes on the men’s and women’s teams put on their favorite formal attire or go thrifting to find an outfit. To Smith, it reaffirms athletes’ love of soccer during the offseason. “It’s like getting back together and bonding over soccer again,” she said. “Everyone who quit is still invited to come.”

Winter Sports

Basketball: One of the first tasks second-year Jaedyn O’Reilly was assigned during her first season on the team was to read The Hard Hat: 21 Ways to be a Great Teammate by Jon Gordon. Each week during the season, one teammate is awarded the hard hat, which is a white hard hat that acts as a canvas for students to write on.“Whoever gets the hard hat [that week] adds a word or phrase that explains why the next person deserves it,” said O’Reilly. “By the end of the season, the hard hat is covered with different ways our team have been good teammates to each other.”

The men’s basketball team, on the other hand, sticks with traditions on game day. Ten minutes before tipoff, the team huddles together to discuss and finalize their game plan. All day before going on the court, they wear their team tracksuits. “We all love game day,” said second-year Adel Dibael. “Wearing our sacred track suits on game day makes us feel very special and a part of something bigger.” 

Swim and dive: This year’s swim and dive Friendsgiving was done before conferences instead of over fall break. Friendsgiving, similar to field hockey’s Teamsgiving, is a team-wide potluck dinner that happens each year at Swim House. Second-year Anika Kennedy explained that each teammate must bring either an appetizer, an entrée, or a dessert to the event. 

Spring Sports

Tennis:

Each year, the men’s and women’s tennis teams celebrate Halloween together. “One of the most memorable years was when half of us dressed up as Average Joe’s and the other half as Globo Gym, the two rival teams in the movie Dodgeball,” recalled fourth-year James Dill. A smaller tradition Dill mentioned was the memorable quotes written throughout the years on the locker room chalkboard. “One of my favorite items is a drawing of a wizard, who is described as being ‘ashamed of his squib (non-magical) son.’”

Lacrosse: As explained by second-years Maya Blevins, Kaela Wilson, and Aidan Loh, each year the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams come together for a country-themed wedding. Everyone dresses up for the occasion, and teammates are assigned to characters — a bride and groom, ring bearers, bridesmaids, a maid of honor, a best man, the congregation, and, of course, an officiator. There is even a wedding cake at the end to celebrate the marriage.

Baseball: One nickname the baseball team calls itself is “The Mules.” Why mules? Because mules can’t breed. “Our team is known to have been very bad in the past,” said second-year Jay Aghanya. Apparently, many years ago, a coach from a school in the NCAC conference said that Oberlin’s baseball team was “so bad that they shouldn’t be able to reproduce.” The team now makes a joke of it. “We would say we’re the mules so we don’t have any bad generations in the future,” said Aghanya.

Softball: Before each game, the team huddles in a circle around some members in the middle to do the Yeo Baby cheer: “Can I get a yeo? Can I get a yeo baby? Can I get a yeo baby yeo baby yeo!” “It’s the thing that gets us hyped up for the game, gets us into a good headspace, and hopefully intimidates the opponent a little bit,” said third-year Kathyrn Beeman.

Track and field: Similar to softball, the track and field team also does the Yeo Baby cheer during their meets. “Every other [competing] team hates us for it,” second-year Jon Dromlewicz said. With a large team, the cheer can become extremely loud when there are groups of Obies scattered around the track. Dromlewicz clarified that Yeo Baby is usually done during relays and finals toward the end of the race as a final encouragement to those competing. 

Club Sports

Rugby: “We have a special naming process for the rookies each semester… we always have to call each other by our nicknames or you have to do a push-up,” said second-year Gillian Shin. For the Rhinos, the women and trans rugby team on campus, each teammate is given a nickname when they first join. How they come up with the names is very secretive, but nicknames are unanimously agreed upon by the team. 

Frisbee: A yearly tradition between the Preying Manti and the Flying Horsecows is Flat Crawl. Second-year Alea Strasser explained that in Flat Crawl, two people are tied to each other to compete in two- or three-legged races from one house to the next, and the first group that gets to the last house wins the game. “It helps form friendships between the teams,” Strasser said. At this year’s Flat Crawl, Strasser and her friend won second place.