Dear Friends and Family of Hope College Athletics, At our opening athletics coach/staff meeting this fall, new President Matthew A. Scogin ’02 spoke these words from Isaiah over our entire department: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19 Those words, and President Scogin’s subsequent …
Category Archives: Orange and Blue Illustrated
The Bigger Picture
Masterminds Beyond the Net Seniors Amanda Bandrowski (right) and Claire Hallock (left) have been a formidable force for the Hope women’s tennis team since they set foot in the Etheridge Tennis Complex as freshmen. Each plays at one of the top-two singles spots and together they play No. 1 doubles. Their Hope résumés speak volumes …
We Do the Math
Every sport, every single one, has one thing in common — doing math. The simple act of keeping score is simple math, and in every sporting event, there is a score. Of course, many other mathematical equations make up sports calculations beyond scoring. Percentages. Averages. Totals. Comparisons. Statistical collection is the very backbone of all …
Lessons from the Leveling Field
“Put me in coach, I’m ready to play — clap clapclapclap — today. Put me in coach, I’m ready to play today.” John Fogerty’s rock-and-roll anthem about America’s national pastime blared from the sound system one quintessential fall day at a unique field last September. Without a second thought to the background music, children with …
Water for Learning and Life
In 2018, Hope student-athletes Megan Bigelow and Joey Dawson were demonstrating to communities in Ghana how a simple filter could turn filthy mop water into crystal-clear, drinkable water. One year later, they were assembling the filters themselves — just a small part of their internships at Sawyer Products, a company that makes water filtration systems …
Full-Time, Year-Round, Hyphened-Identity Balancing Acts
Student-athletes Mitchel Achien’g (pronounced Me-Shell Aah-Ching) and Mason Opple embarked on much different paths to Hope College four years ago, but they’ve shared a lot in common since they arrived. Both are great students, award-winning athletes, and even better people who have excelled on multiple teams over multiple seasons during their Hope careers. They perform …
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It’s Cool to be a Nurse, Bro!
A profound brotherhood has formed amongst five senior men graduating from the Hope nursing program this May. Not only have they supported each other in mastering the balance of being student-athletes on five different athletic teams, they’ve also embraced a future in a female-dominated field. Nick Bazany, Austin Kane, Blair McCormick, Trace Slancik and Logan …
New-ish Coaches on the Block, Part 1
Part One One is well into his collegiate coaching career, the other is just starting out, but both have recently entered the Hope College head coaching ranks. No matter their age difference, head women’s lacrosse coach Keagan Pontious and head swimming and diving coach Jake Taber ’04 have a passion for leading and mentoring student-athletes …
New-ish Coaches on the Block, Part 2
Part Two One is well into his collegiate coaching career, the other is just starting out, but both have recently entered the Hope College head coaching ranks. No matter their age difference, head women’s lacrosse coach Keagan Pontious and head swimming and diving coach Jake Taber ’04 have a passion for leading and mentoring student-athletes that …
Playing Catch Up: Duy Dang ’91
Earning even one berth on Hope’s all-time single-season football leaderboards isn’t easy, much less three spots, but Duy Dang ’91 did it, and he’s the only one who crawled through barbed wire in a jailbreak to get there. (And that isn’t the half of it.) Back in 1987, Dang was a five-foot-eight, 130-pound freshman who …