They are working out in the weight room, commandeering the gyms and taking up lanes at the indoor track. No, a B-rate horror movie did not attack the gym. Oberlin athletic teams are preparing for the upcoming spring season. The Review staff now gets up-close and personal with the coaches to find out what to expect from Oberlin sports teams.

Women’s Lacrosse

According to Head Coach Deb Ranieri, all the players should bring something to the field. She said that the newcomers will bring a new quality to the game and will challenge the returning players to make themselves better.

The team is planning on taking one game at a time, led by senior captains Kaitlin Barrer and Beth Gula. Goals include playing to win and giving 100 percent at every practice and game.

–Reporting by Alicia Smith

Men’s Tennis

The player to watch this season is senior Chris Pray, who made first team all-conference the past two years and is Oberlin’s number one player this season. However, Head Coach Adam Shoemaker points out that he expects all the active players to contribute.

The team’s biggest games of the season will be Carleton, a regionally-ranked team that Oberlin does not usually face, along with Allegheny and Wooster.

The latter two teams were polled to finish above Oberlin in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Shoemaker said that Oberlin “could and should have won our matches against them last season, and I certainly believe we can win this time around.”

New players expected to add depth to the team include first-years Peter Meckel and Leo Sprinzen, along with sophomore Ben Godlove, who was injured last year.

According to Shoemaker, the team’s primary goal is to “compete in every match, and to do so in a classy way as we look to really personify what the game of tennis is and has always been about.” 

–Reporting by Asishana Osho

Women’s Tennis

Led by senior Kimiko (Kimi) Glynn, the top singles player this year, the team is “all improving, and it’ll be interesting to see who steps it up the most and has the biggest improvement from September to April,” said Head Coach Constantine Ananiadis. She also noted that the team relies “on both our seniors (Glynn and Jackie Golden) for leadership, day-in and day-out.” The team foresees their regular season finale, a home match against Kenyon on Tuesday, April 22, to be a big game. The two teams harbor a rivalry and always have close matches. Kenyon is also picked to finish one spot ahead of Oberlin in the conference according to polls.

The rookie to watch is first-year Marta Robertson, who has a good chance of starting in both singles and doubles this season. The team’s other first-year, Rebecca Goldman, is out for the year with a torn ACL.

–Reporting by Asishana Osho

Track and Field

Senior pole-vaulter Deysi Villarreal; senior sprinter Anna Chernin; senior hurdler, sprinter and long-jumper Chisara Nwabara; senior sprinter and long-jumper Lily Krichels; first-year distance runner Joanna Johnson and sophomore middle distance runner Clara Shaw will be the women to watch this track season.

On the men’s team, keep your eye on senior long-jumper Cassius Harris, senior long-jumper Anthony Osei, sprinter Seth Wimberly, junior distance runner Conor Doss and senior pole-vaulter Cory Myers. First-year athletes to watch include Josh Gallagher, a school record-holder indoors and Johnson, who participated in the women’s cross country conference championship. Appenheimer said, “These two are part of a group that is going to steward the Oberlin track for years to come. From the early looks of things, we are in great hands and have a very bright future ahead of us.”

This year’s captains are juniors Cody Hartley, Kyle Taljan and Ryan King for the men’s team, while the women’s captains are seniors Kate Cook, Andrea Canini and Alexandra Petek. “Their work ethic, their attitude and the respect they engender from the rest of the team made this an easy choice. It’s as though we have six additional coaches out there with us each day,” said Appenheimer. “These six people are winners, and their winning attitude has become the collective character of the team.”

–Reporting by Asishana Osho

Baseball

Key players include sophomore Jack Dunn and juniors Jeremy Simon and PJ Carter. Dunn was a first team all-conference pitcher last year, while Simon was named an all-conference honorable mention for first-base. Head Coach Eric Lahetta said that PJ Carter is “due to ‘break out’ this year. He has worked extremely hard in the summer and off-season and is going to have a super year.”

The Yeomen, ranked eighth out of ten teams in the pre-season North Coast Athletic Conference Poll, find Kenyon to be their prospective “chief rivalry,” according to Lahetta. They will face them in the Kenyon series on April 12 and 13 this season.

Team goals include keeping up a winning mentality, beginning with the first game. Lahetta emphasized the team’s youth by stating that “with an inexperienced team like this, I am sure we will win some games we aren’t supposed to win and lose some games we aren’t supposed to lose.”

–Reporting by Jordan Jancosek

Men’s Lacrosse

Players to look out for include sophomore attack Alex Jacobs, sophomore attack and midfielder Erik Strand, junior midfielder Jesse Kane and senior goalkeeper Drew Zambelli.

Wittenberg College is the team to beat, but the Yeomen will also face tough matches against Ohio Wesleyan University and Denison University.

The team’s captains are Kane, Zambelli and senior Matt Markman. Oberlin lacrosse’s goals are to keep improving and have a winning season by defeating opponents in close games. It also looks to achieve a conference win.

–Reporting by Sergio Sanchez

Softball

Watch sophomores Julia Chauvin, Sophie Schacht and Lauren Luther, and junior Michelle Zanni. According to Head Coach Adrienne Davis, the teams for OC to beat are Wilmington College and Franciscan University; they also look forward to a spring break trip to play Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Davis said that everyone has stepped up their leadership skills, especially junior Ruth Allenbrook and Zanni. Goals for the season are to work hard, keep things simple and stay positive. A rookie to look out for is first-year Scarlet Woodrick.

–Reporting by Alyssa Clark