The Pulteney St. Survey

Athletics

SPORTS UPDATES

Block H
The Statesmen Athletic Association and Hobart Athletics recognized its top student-athletes of the year at the annual Block H Dinner. Football’s Steven Webb ’14 was presented the Francis L. “Babe” Kraus ’24 Memorial Award as Hobart’s most outstanding senior athlete. The William C. Stiles ’43 Award for leadership, determination, and character was given to basketball’s Richie Bonney ’14, and the inaugural Hanna Award for Excellence in Citizenship, Scholarship, Leadership, and Teamwork was presented to football’s Michael Green ’14.

Heron Awards
The William Smith Athletic Department honored its outstanding student-athletes of the academic year at the annual Heron Awards Banquet. Soccer’s Olivia Zitoli ’14 received the Winn-Seeley Award for her achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics while rowing’s Libby Hughes ’14 was presented with the Marion Harrison Greene ’20 Award for her impact on her team.

Hobart oarsmen undefeated heading into IRA National Championships
The Statesmen varsity eight is undefeated and ranked 20th in the nation heading into the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. Hobart captured its 10th consecutive Liberty League gold medal, its second straight New York State gold, and, for the first time, won gold at the ECAC NIRC. With the Statesmen also collecting an ECAC silver medal in the third varsity eight and a bronze in the second varsity eight, Head Coach Paul Bugenhagen was elected the ECAC NIRC Men’s Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Hobart will take its top three eights to the IRA Championships in West Windsor Township, N.J. It’s the Statesmen’s ninth appearance at nationals since 2001 and the first with the 1V since 2003. IRA Championship results were not available at press time.

Heron rowers return to NCAAs
The Heron Rowing Class of 2014 graduated with four consecutive Liberty League Championships, a first for any team in the conference. William Smith swept the league titles, capturing gold medals in the varsity eight, second varsity eight, novice eight and varsity four. The following week, the Herons secured gold medals in the 1V and 2V at the New York State Championships while taking silver in the 1N and varsity four. The varsity four also won a bronze medal at the ECAC NIRC. Ranked seventh in the nation, the 1V will close out the season as an at-large eight at the NCAA Championship in Indianapolis, Ind. The Herons have finished third in the grand final in each of the past two seasons. NCAA Championship results were not available at press time.

Heron sailors headed to Nationals
The William Smith sailing team qualified for the ICSA Women’s National Semifinals with a fifth place finish in the MAISA Women’s Championship. It’s the 13th time since 1999 that the Herons have qualified for nationals. Three Herons were honored by the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association. Arielle deLisser ’14 was named to the All-MAISA Women’s Skippers first team while Julia Oak ’14 and Jane Rew ’14 earned spots on the All- MAISA Crew Team.

Hughes renews All- Empire Region accolades
William Smith lacrosse defender Rachel Hughes ’15 was voted an IWLCA third team All-American, first team All-Empire Region and the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year after a record-breaking 2014 season. She broke the game and season marks for caused turnovers, notching seven in a win over Clarkson and finishing the year with 50. Hughes also recorded team-highs with 56 ground balls and 32 draws this year.

Stone tabbed finalist for Unsung Hero Award
Hobart lacrosse attackman Cam Stone ’14 is a finalist for the 2014 Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award, presented by the One Love Foundation, a leading non-profit dedicated to ending relationship violence. The prestigious award is given annually to a Division I men’s and women’s lacrosse player who shares the qualities Yeardley Love displayed. Stone is a fouryear starter and a two-time team captain. He produced 49 career goals and 85 career assists for 134 points. Among Division I Statesmen, Stone is first in career assists and tied for fourth in career points. All-time, Stone is eighth in career assists. He was named second team All-NEC this season, as was defenseman Connor Eustace ’14.

Sass named All-Region
Dillon Sass ’14 became the first Hobart golfer to be named to the PING All-Northeast Region Team by the Golf Coaches Association of America. He led Hobart in scoring average in each of the past three seasons, averaging 76.8 this year, the best by a Statesman in more than a decade. Sass shot a season’s low one-over 73 in the second round of the Palamountain Invitational.

A Winning Frame of Mind

by Steven Bodnar

Crowning a history-making career with Hobart basketball, senior forward Richie Bonney ’14 took home two of the most prestigious national honors awarded in NCAA Division III men’s basketball.

Bonney not only is the winner of the 2014 Jostens Trophy, distinguishing him as the nation’s most outstanding DIII men’s basketball player and student-athlete, he’s also the 2013-2014 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for his sport, an honor given each year to those who are the best and brightest student-athletes in the country. He is the first Hobart student to receive either award.

“To be recognized on a national level is quite an honor, and I am glad to be able to bring positive attention to Hobart basketball and the greater HWS community,” says Bonney. “The hard work really paid off and it epitomizes what I hoped to accomplish at HWS: to be a contributing basketball player, student, and member of the community.”

The pair of national honors adds to Bonney’s already impressive resume. The Hobart career record holder for points (1,738), field goals made (680), field goal percentage (.583), and games played (114), Bonney led the Statesmen to an 87- 27 record (.763) over the past four seasons, including a 22-7 mark this season. He helped Hobart win four Liberty League regular season titles and the 2013 and 2014 Liberty League Tournament Championships.

Bonney and the Statesmen captured the 2011 ECAC Upstate Tournament Championship and then made three consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, advancing to the second round in 2012 and 2014.

Hobart Basketball Head Coach Mike Neer says Bonney’s impressive trajectory has much to do with his personal motivation. “There is great value in self-discipline and Richie has recognized that,” Neer says. A two-time Capital One first team Academic All-American, Bonney earned Dean’s List honors six times. With a double-major in public policy studies and environmental studies, he is a Druid, Hobart’s senior class honor society, and was previously inducted into the Orange Key Society and the Chimera Society. In May, he graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Under the guidance of Professor of Public Policy Studies and Political Science Craig Rimmerman, Bonney authored an Honors project titled, “Hydraulic Fracturing: Environmental Concerns and Policy Responses.”

“Richie’s significant achievements as a student, athlete and member of the HWS community are a reminder of what our students can accomplish if they aspire to do so,” says Rimmerman. “Our doors are always open to students who demonstrate dedication and seriousness of purpose in everything they touch, as Richie has done during his four years on our campus.”

Bonney’s other academic adviser, Assistant Professor of Philosophy Karen Frost-Arnold, says she first met Bonney during the first-year seminar “Trust and Betrayal.” She says: “Richie has made the most of being here. He has a double major, he’s doing an Honors project, he played guitar in a Reader’s College, he did the HWS Leads Program, he works in Admissions, and he devoted a lot of time to athletics. Richie is a great example of all the different kinds of opportunities that students can grab hold of if they are willing to work hard.”

Bonney also volunteered at Habitat for Humanity and helped with basketball clinics in the local school district and with the Ontario County ARC. Bonney explains that his family – including grandparents York Mayo ’63, GP’14 and Buffy Mayo ’63, GP’14 who traveled more than 200 miles to attend every one of Bonney’s home games – helped him learn to balance priorities and make good choices.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be around a lot of great people: my coaches, my teammates, my professors and my family,” he says. “I want people to think of me as a person of high character – a good guy. HWS is the kind of close-knit campus with an amazing community where you can form the kinds of relationships that bring out the best in a person. This is a time I’ll look back on and cherish.”

Lacrosse Legacies

by Ellen Mitchell

Amanda “Mandy” Ellis Washburne ’80, P’16 and Cassandra “Candy” Kappel Bolte ’81, P’14 loved playing lacrosse and field hockey for former Coach Pat Genovese P’01, P’03, P’05, P’08 at William Smith. They are especially gratified that the lessons they learned on the athletic fields and the bond they continue to feel with the Colleges are reflected today in their sons, Sam Washburne ’16 and Peter Bolte ’14, who play together on the Hobart lacrosse team.

Genovese, now associate athletic director, was the first coach of William Smith lacrosse when it began in 1972. She says they played a challenging roster of Division I, II and III teams. “It was competitive, even back in the ’70s and ’80s, but we had a great time,” Genovese says. “Mandy and Candy were very committed team members and accomplished athletes.”

“It was fun playing,” recalls Mandy Washburne. “The women’s game was beautiful to watch – short, quick passes, flying down the field. Good athletes picked up lacrosse quickly even if they hadn’t played before. We weren’t expected to be a super-star team because we were brand new.”

Candy Bolte, a Heron Society board member, adds: “William Smith athletics was in the pioneering years back then, but the ingredients for success were there: the values of teamwork, personal effort and performance, the sense of representing the Colleges and having a collective vision for victory, strategy and purpose. Pat’s influence on my life has extended well beyond the field.”

Thirty years later, the two enjoy seeing each other on the sidelines and tailgating at their sons’ Hobart lacrosse games. “It’s like no time has passed,” Candy Bolte says. “What a perfect way to experience this fantastic chapter – as an alumna, a mother, and former teammate. It all gives me an overwhelming feeling of pride and gratitude.”

Mandy Washburne’s husband, Stephen ’76, played on Hobart’s nationalchampionship- winning lacrosse team his senior year. Candy Bolte’s husband, Benjamin Bolte P’14, played lacrosse for Oberlin College. After becoming parents, all four coached their sons in youth lacrosse leagues in their respective towns. Their sons met on competing Massachusetts high school teams.

Sam Washburne, an economics major, wears No. 20 on his lacrosse jersey just like his dad. “Lacrosse is such a storied tradition here. Hobart was on my list from Day 1,” he says. He adds it has been helpful to have parents who played college lacrosse. “They’ve both given me guidance about time management and they are a big help in keeping me motivated.”

Mandy Washburne and Candy Bolte cite former Hobart Lacrosse Head Coach T.W. Johnson, current Hobart Head Coach Greg Raymond, administrators and faculty as highly positive influences on their sons.

“There’s no question,” says Candy Bolte, “that in athletics and academics, Peter has been inspired to excel. He’s become a better student because of the people he has encountered at Hobart.”

“Coach Raymond’s positive influence on and off the field has been very effective,” says Mandy Washburne.

Raymond, in turn, cites the “wonderful job” the parents have done raising Sam and Peter. “It takes discipline to be successful in the classroom and on the field,” says Raymond. “These are parents who have communicated to their children that with hard work and dedication, you can be a successful student-athlete.”

Peter Bolte double majors in psychology and Asian studies and minors in religious studies. He says he will miss both lacrosse and academics after graduating in May. “I love how much the faculty encourages interdisciplinary work. I tell younger students that they should be grateful for the opportunities. It’s just amazing to me how much my perspective has changed because of the people here. My athletic performance is intimately tied to my academic performance, which influences my social life,” he says.

“I think it’s really special that I am playing lacrosse here and my mother played here,” Peter Bolte says. “Her experience has strengthened my relationship with the Colleges and my experience has strengthened her relationship with the Colleges. We’re lucky that we share this place. Mom and I will be coming back together in the future to watch both Hobart and William Smith teams play.”

Genovese adds that alumnae like Candy Bolte and Mandy Washburne are “the best catalysts and recruiters. They are great people sending their great children to the Colleges, and we’re so lucky to have them.”