What's
Inside?

Cover Story
A tale of two Oberlins.

In View
Pie-in-the-sky possibilities or difficult life-and-death decisions? The Human Genome Project may ultimately mean both.

Obies
The Oberlin Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies placed its first intern last summer. Read this firsthand account of his experiences in Moscow.

Center Piece
A new organ takes shape in Finney Chapel. Profile 6 Economist Gregory Hess and his student research assistant ponder the relationship between war, economics, and the election cycle.

Arts
Filmmaking at Oberlin? Most definitely. A three-hour marathon of student film shorts last May was just the tip of the growing celluloid iceberg.

Yeosports
Player-turned-coach Ann Marie Gilbert inspires teamwork on and off the basketball court.

The Big Picture
The Oberlin Orchestra performed at the Getty Center, L.A. under the direction of guest conductor John Williams.


Side Lines
Little facts you might be interested in.


 


Lasting Impressions
on the Basketball Court

Former Player and Current Coach Leaves Indelible Mark on Women's Basketball Program
by Zachary Pretzer '03


A person who leaves a lasting impression on an institution is rare. Ann Marie Gilbert '91, head coach of the women's basketball team, has been leaving lasting impressions throughout her basketball career.

Gilbert -- also the associate director of athletics and physical education and assistant track coach -- began catching people's attention during her high-school career in nearby Elyria, where she earned just about every award possible in her four years at Elyria High School. She received a scholarship to play basketball at Ohio University, but ended up returning to her Lorain County roots.

"I visited Oberlin during the spring semester while I was at Ohio University, and I had a great visit. I believed in the focus on academics that Oberlin offers," Gilbert said.

Gilbert decided to transfer to Oberlin. Little did she -- or Oberlin -- know the impact she would have on the College during the remainder of her career here.

She went on to shatter 21 school records, all of which she still holds. After pouring in 61 points against Allegheny College in 1991, she broke the Division III scoring record for points in a game, a record that still remains unmatched.

Gilbert graduated with a degree in sociology in 1991, but came back in 1994 to coach the women's basketball program, which hadn't won a game in two years --no small task even for the most experienced of coaches.

Gilbert, however, has risen to the challenge and has done more than turn the program into a yearly contender. Along the way, she has broken yet another Oberlin record -- with 42 wins in six seasons, she is the winningest women's basketball coach in the College's history.

It is not just the knowledge gained from personal experience that makes her a great coach, though. Gilbert's interpersonal skills, her ability to relate to her players on and off the court, are integral to her success, according to Don Hunsinger, an Oberlin coaching veteran who is entering his third season as an assistant with Gilbert.

"She is very open to suggestions and brings in a great team concept. Ann is supportive of her players as athletes, as students, and as people," Hunsinger said.

Team co-captain Rachael Barbee '01 agreed. "Since my freshman year, we [the team] and Coach Gilbert have gradually learned from each other," she said.

Gilbert credits her success to the help of her friends and family. "I am really close to my family, and they have been very supportive in everything I have done," she said.

Anticipating her seventh season at Oberlin, Gilbert was optimistic about the team's prospects and said she hopes the team will make a big impact in the conference.

"I'm pleasantly surprised with the team so far," she said. "We are young this year, but we have several experienced, returning lettermen, plus a great freshman class, which makes the team deeper than before. I think we'll be able to put some real pressure on opponents. We have solid guard play, and we are going to be more of an up-tempo team than last year. Three of the conference's top point guards graduated last year, and one opted not to play, so we should be difficult to guard at that position."

Gilbert, who in a very short time has gone from a star student-athlete to a leader and role model for players, acknowledges that everything has gone by in a flash.

"It seems like it was only yesterday when I was here playing," she said.