Author Archives: Clayton Crooks

At yesterday’s men’s hockey game, fans in the students’ section mugged for the ESPNU camera with the sign “vEteran Savvy Propels #Nine bUrns.” For the first time all season, it really seemed as if the whole team was propelled by this “vEteran Savvy”. On an afternoon when the team celebrated the careers of six seniors, »

Going into the weekend’s games against the Rensselaer Engineers and the Union Dutchmen, Yale sat in eighth place in the ECACHL, three points ahead of both of its opponents and within striking distance of upper-echelon teams, Cornell and Colgate. This was the Bulldogs’ chance to prove they belonged in the top half of the league. »

For some members of the men’s swimming team (8-4, 4-4 EISL), this weekend’s ECAC Championships was a last chance to capture all the effort of a season between two clicks of a stopwatch — precious seconds of vindication for hundreds of hours and thousands of laps more in preparation. And when the timer clicked on »

With the game tied at four late in the third period and Yale short-handed, Joe Zappala ’06 found himself with a golden opportunity in front of Dartmouth goalie Mike Devine. As the crowd at a packed Ingalls Rink rose to its feet, Zappala set himself and picked a corner. But instead of firing the puck, »

The story of Alec Richards ’09 began in Robbinsdale, Minn., a state with a proud ice hockey tradition that has produced many collegiate champions and NHL stars. As a goaltender from the tender age of 9, Richards dreamed of being part of the tradition. In five years at Breck high school, Richards flourished as he »

In the literal sense, Kiphuth Pool is no bigger than any pool Fairfield swimmers are accustomed to, but in Friday’s dual meet with the Yale men’s swimming and diving team, it must have seemed that way. And on Saturday in Hanover against Dartmouth and Penn, Yale once again proved themselves to be the bigger fish. »

Despite a dubious beginning to the men’s swimming and diving team’s season, freshman achievements and a standout individual performance leave the Elis plenty to build on. After coming out of the gate slowly against Columbia (1-0, 1-0 EISL), Yale (2-1, 0-1) recovered to dominate both the University of Maine (0-3) and Southern Connecticut State University »

As 6’5, 235-pound Alex MacDonell of Waterloo exited the game late in the third period for a major penalty, it appeared he left the ice with more penalty minutes than he had teeth. Battered and bruised, MacDonell represented a Waterloo team that could not match the discipline, physicality or precision of a more talented Yale »

During his playing days, former professional golfer Greg Norman was known as “the shark.” The courses Norman has designed are as ruthless as his nickname. One course reviewer at caddy-shack.com opined: “The risk-reward ratio is highly correlated and those who spend strokes on safe shots may wind up feeling like shark chum.” The Prestige at »

By Clayton Crooks contributing reporter A year ago, the combination of quarterback Alvin Cowan ’05, wide receivers Ralph Plumb ’05 and Chandler Henley ’06 accounted for nearly half of the Bulldogs’ offense. Add in the yards on the ground from Robert Carr ’05, and the quartet produced 85 percent of the Eli’s positive yardage. Surely, »

Yale’s women golfers posted a 650 as a team last year at the Yale Women’s Fall Intercollegiate Tournament and won a dramatic playoff with Richmond to take the title. After a season and summer of fine tuning, the Elis showed clear improvement this weekend, posting a 614 — 36 strokes better than the 2004 edition. »

When Princeton’s Sharla Cloutier’s tee shot on Springfield Golf Club’s par three 13th hole kicked off a mound on the green and proceeded to roll toward the cup, Yale women’s golf head coach Chawadee Rompothong ’00 watched in disbelief. As the ball dropped into the hole on Sunday afternoon, Yale’s outside chance at winning the »