Welcome to the show, boys and girls! I’m Kunal Gupta, and I’m joined by my partner in crime, Zach Glubiak.
The first word for today’s show is… play ball.
Zach: Well, kind of. The Columbia baseball team already started its season a couple weeks ago in Florida, but most fans and observers view the nonconference schedule as an elongated spring training for Ancient Eight play. This weekend, the Lions kick off their real season, Ivy play, with twinbills against defending Ivy champion Dartmouth and Harvard. Kunal, the Lions have gone 9-9 so far this spring—what’s your outlook for the baseball team this season?
Kunal: To tell you the truth, I’m not someone who puts a lot of stock in nonconference or spring training games, whatever you want to call them. The team could go 4-14 or 14-4 and it really doesn’t make that much of a difference to me. Keep in mind, they’ve only played five games in the Northeast—the rest have all been on the road in the deep South. That being said, I have some legitimate concerns about this team. They have two freshmen behind the plate, and the two horses that the Lions are going to count on, Geoff Whitaker and Pat Lowery, have really struggled this spring, both with ERAs north of five. But I still think this team has the raw talent to make it to another Ivy Championship. Winning is contagious, and this team has the bug.
Zach: The bug, and enough bats to make up for an off-day of pitching here and there. Last season, Columbia had six guys bat .300 or better, and a seventh who hit .299. Six of those return. This year they have only four, but I don’t expect that to last. Take designated hitter Alex Aurrichio. Last year he hit 13 homers, a team high and a big part of the reason he was named first team all-Ivy. This year he’s only gone yard once. But have you seen the guy? You go watch the 6-foot-6 man-child bat and tell me he won’t hit a couple more out of the park before the season is out. What’s most promising to me is the fact that the Lions are playing .500 ball despite a slow start from several contributors. You have to expect them to turn it around as the spring goes on. Despite Lowery’s struggles, he is still the reigning Ivy League pitcher of the year. Teammate Dan Bracey won Ivy League pitcher of the week twice last year. These guys have the stuff you need to compete in conference play, and, quite frankly, that’s all that matters. If they can find their groove again on the mound, you better bet the Light Blue will be in the thick of things come May.
We turn now to basketball, specifically the Final Four. On Saturday, No. 11 seed VCU will face No. 8 seed Butler for the right to get to the NCAA finals. Kunal, VCU’s story has become a national headline, but it means something for Ivy League basketball as well. How does a team like VCU making the Final Four change the expectations for Ivy League teams?
Kunal: I’ll be the first to admit, I’m no college basketball or even Ivy basketball expert like you are, Zach, but I do know this: Having VCU make the Final Four can only raise the expectations for an Ivy League team in the tourney. Look at the exposure this spring. There was the classic between Harvard and Princeton, and then Princeton took Kentucky, who’s now in the Final Four, right down to the wire. When VCU got in, ESPN’s Jay Bilas said that a number of teams should have been put in before them—including Boston College, Colorado, and Harvard. Harvard beat both of those teams this season. I’m not saying an Ivy will make the Final Four anytime soon, but I think we should start expecting more than just a first-round loss.
Zach: I couldn’t agree more. Having Harvard in the Big Dance would’ve been huge for the Ivy League’s profile, but you can’t argue against the trend. Ivy League basketball is getting better and better, and the gap between the big boys from the big conferences, like the ACC and the Big East, and the rest of the pack is shrinking, and fast. Butler is the first team from the state of Indiana to make back-to-back Final Fours, and that’s a state that includes traditional powerhouses like Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame. A little luck in the last seconds of last year’s final and they could be entering this weekend as the defending national champions. Any way you slice it, the little guys are making more noise on a consistent basis, and that’s good news for the Ivy League and Columbia.
Kunal: With Ivy play starting soon or having started already in all spring sports, people are once again talking about the topic of student attendance. Spring sports, as you know, Zach, are different than any other season’s. There’s no basketball or football. So now it’s your turn—which sport should Columbia students go to watch this spring, and why?
Zach: I think my answer here should be obvious from my first answer: baseball. These guys are coming off a near-miss last year in the Ivy League Championships, dropping a best-of-three series to Dartmouth. Yes, that’s the same Big Green that comes to town this weekend. What’s more, they call the newly renovated Satow Stadium home, so head up there to check out the new digs as the Lions search for some revenge for last spring. That said, if you’re not into the nation’s pastime, check out the men’s golf team. All they’ve done the last few years is quietly win three straight Ivy League titles.
Kunal: Well, I’ve been very adamant about this for as long as I can remember, but I believe that men’s tennis is the best team here at Columbia. Even in a down year this spring at 6-10, they are undoubtedly the sport to watch. Their matches feature singles and doubles, all different styles of play, feisty personalities, and arguments over line calls—but more than anything, this team fights like crazy. I’ve never seen a team or player in any sport that fights like these guys do, particularly during Ivy play. If you like watching sports to see two athletes leaving everything they have on the court, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed watching them.
Zach: Finally, we turn to an age-old topic in college athletics—major versus minor sports. Columbia’s fencing team finished seventh in the NCAA over the weekend, and senior swimmer Adam Powell placed No. 16 in the nation in the 50 free at NCAAs and is looking to make the 2012 Olympic squad. How big of a deal are these accomplishments?
Kunal: Well, I think they are two very different events and need to be viewed that way. Any school finishing seventh in the nation in anything is an incredible accomplishment, but there are only slightly more than 40 schools that compete in NCAA fencing, so I think we need to understand seventh place in context. Seventh place is great, but how many kids do you know that fence competitively? Adam’s accomplishment, to me, is off the charts. The NCAA is one of the fastest swimming meets in the world, and the fact that he came in 16th place is proof that Columbians can compete on the world’s biggest stages. I know small sports will never get the coverage of big-time ones like basketball and football, but to me they deserve to be celebrated equally.
Zach: Kunal, I couldn’t agree more about Powell. And let’s not forget Katie Meili on the girls’ side, who qualified for the Olympic trials along with Powell. For me, that’s as good as it gets—not only are these two competitive on the national collegiate level, they’re also going to be sharing the pool with some of the best in the country—and the world—as they vie for a spot on the U.S. team in London for 2012. The fencing bit, though, I can’t endorse. Do you know who won the tournament? Notre Dame. The same Notre Dame that has its own television contract with NBC to air football games. You know where Nationals were held? Ohio State, another collegiate Goliath. Any time we’re competing with those guys, I’m all for it. This is no longer an elitist sport reserved for the Ivy League—fencing has made its way onto campuses known for powerhouse athletics all over the country.
That’s all for now, folks. I apologize for the lopsided affair there. Hopefully next time Kunal will fare a little better. As I said, I’m all for parity, in college basketball and Spectator PTI. Goodnight, Canada.
Zach Glubiak is a Columbia College junior majoring in history. He is a member of the varsity men’s soccer team and president of SAAC.
Kunal Gupta is a senior in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences majoring in operations research.
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