Author Archives: Smita Gopisetty

Twin distance runners Kate O’Neill ’03 and Laura O’Neill ’03 gave their mother Peggy O’Neill a rare birthday gift in Fayettesville, Ark., March 14. The pair finished second and fifth respectively in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship meet. “It was great to have [our mom] there,” Laura O’Neill said. »

Second-place finishes seemed the motif for the women’s track team over spring break. On March 14 in Fayetteville, Ark., twin sisters Kate O’Neill ’03 and Laura O’Neill ’03 logged another set of sterling performances, finishing second and fifth respectively in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. It took a meet »

Spectacular individual Eli performances made this weekend’s second-place finish to Cornell at the Heptagonal Games Indoor Championships palatable for the women’s track and field team. “There were some individuals who had a truly superlative weekend, but by and large, it was a tremendous team effort,” head coach Mark Young said. “This is sort of the »

In his free time, Robert Burk ’05 can be found playing chukkers at the Bulldog Armory. Burk, a nationally-ranked member of the Yale polo club with an A-level handicap, has been riding horses for over 15 years and brings a decade of competitive polo experience to the team. “Robert [Burk] treats each game as if »

Rebecca Dickens ’04 and Joslyn Woodard ’06 are two of the fastest women on campus. Dickens, a veteran middle-distance runner, and Woodard, a rookie sprinter, have posted impressive times for the women’s indoor track team this winter. Both expect to excel at this weekend’s Heptagonal Championship, the biggest Ivy League meet of the season. “I »

It has been 12 years since the Yale wrestling team lost its varsity status. But recent Washington, D.C. stirrings have revived a Yale campaign to reinstate wrestling as a varsity sport. In 1991, the 91-year-old Yale varsity wrestling program became a club sport. The Athletics Department’s decision was because of budget cuts and compliance with »

For the 2003 football season, Yale has two quarterbacks roaring to start: Alvin Cowan ’04 and Jeff Mroz ’05. On Sept. 28, in Ithaca, N.Y., a season-ending injury forced starting quarterback Cowan to turn the reins over to Mroz. Now that Cowan is recovered and Mroz has a year of experience under his belt, head »

Than Merrill ’01 was one of 10 free agents signed to a future/reserve agreement by the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jan. 31. “It’s exciting, of course,” said Merrill, a former standout safety on the Yale football team. “You just have to make your career last as long as you can.” The future/reserve contracts, »

On Jan. 30 in Washington D.C., the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics recommended loosening some standards for satisfying Title IX, a landmark gender equality law. Title IX prohibits gender discrimination in public and private schools that receive federal funding. The law prohibits gender inequality in admissions, recruitment, course offerings, counseling, financial aid, student health and »

The New Haven Ravens, who play at legendary Yale Field, could become the fourth minor league sports team to leave the New Haven area in the last decade. Earlier this week, Ravens principal owner Edward Massey handed over the reins of the team for a reported $8.5 million to a group headed by Drew Weber, »

Boston almost feels like home for the indoor track teams. This weekend, for the second time this winter, the indoor track squads competed in Boston — this time at the Terrier Classic, where several of Yale’s elite runners set personal records. The Elis have three remaining Boston meets this season. A select number of Elis »

The deaths of four Yale students on Jan. 17 reverberated through the sports community, from fellow Yale athletes to ESPN producers. Shortly after Kyle Burnat’s ’05 death was confirmed on Friday, Paul Pabst, a producer of ESPN’s “The Dan Patrick Show,” wrote a tribute to Burnat on the ESPN Web site. “I’m not too sure »