AKRON, OHIO 44306 JANUARY 23, 2007 Singer Lily Allen

Sports News & Opinion
Caltech ends losing streak, but Cavs atop the East is misleading
Students of the California Institute of
Technology now have more to
celebrate than a breakthrough in
their NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Their men’s basketball program has ended
a 207-game losing streak against Division
III opponents.
For a team that hasn’t won a division
game since 1996, the Caltech Beavers
defeated New York’s Bard College in
convincing fashion 81-52. Ending the
losing streak was big enough; now they
must end a streak dating back 21 years in
the Southern California Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference. The losing streak tallies
at 249 and counting. Good luck, Beavers!
Switching gears to the NBA, I worry
about the Cavaliers this season, even if they
are sitting atop the Eastern Conference.
I worry because the top two teams in
the East would be fighting for the last few
playoff spots if they were members of the
BY JOSEPHINE LANDENBERGER
After starting the season
well, the girls swim
team continues to improve.
In the Christmas Invitational
Dec. 16, the relay team, consisting
of sophomores Kathy Toth
10
by
Pat Justice
and Jessica Stewart and freshmen
Lindsay Mayors and
Katherine O’Donnell, took 27th
in the 200-meter medley. They
also broke the two-minute mark,
a team goal.
O’Donnell swims the backstroke
portion of the medley re-
Freshman Katherine O’Donnell practices conditioning laps in the
Akron Jewish Center pool.
Western Conference. On the recent West
Coast road trip, the Cavaliers came out
with a 3-4 record. The problem was that
these wins came against teams with losing
records.
I’ve been a longtime Mike Brown backer,
but have recently had doubts. I respect the
fact that he has coached on a title-winning
team under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio.
It is known that Brown is a defensiveminded
coach and is trying to engrain the
theory into his young Cavaliers.
I know that, but he’s missing a big piece
of the puzzle with his coaching schemes.
Swimmers concentrate on improving their personal times
Photo by Debbie Stwart
lay. Swimming since she was
4, she previously swam at the
Portage Country Club.
O’Donnell has placed first in the
100-meter backstroke several
times. She has also set some
goals for the season.
“I’d like to get my time for
the 100-meter down to 1:04,”
O’Donnell said. “And I’m hoping
to get to state.”
Although this is the first
year of swimming for many of
the girls, coach Amy Hovan is
impressed with the strides the
girls have made.
“I have noticed a tremendous
amount of improvement
with each swimmer,” Hovan
said. “The girls are learning
what the sport of swimming is
all about and learning the four
different strokes.”
Coach Chris Lugo agrees
with Hovan.
“The team is growing stronger
each week,” Lugo said. “But
we like to focus on improved
times rather than team wins.”
Cleveland is in desperate need of an
offensive identity. The Cavs cannot simply
rely on LeBron in isolation, waiting for a
screen from Anderson Varejao. If the
success of an NBA team is based on winning
championships, I worry about the Cavaliers’
chances if they continue as they are now.
Everyone has seen what LeBron can
do in the open court. He’s electrifying.
James is by far the hardest player in the
NBA to stop in transition.
So why aren’t the Cavaliers utilizing
this ability?
I agree with Brown’s philosophy about
how defense wins championships, but
they must score and score often if they
want a fighting chance in the playoffs.
Mike Brown, you have roughly four
months to transform the Cavaliers into a
team that Western Conference opponents
would fear to face in the finals, and your
time starts now. We are all witnesses.
Toth is one of the first-year
swimmers. She swims the
freestyle portion of the medley
relay. She also personally placed
first in the 50-meter freestyle in
the Cuyahoga Heights meet.
“Both of our relay teams
won in the Cuyahoga Heights
meet,” Toth said. “And we
qualified for the Canton Invitational,
a big step for us.”
That is not the only big step
for the team. Friendships have
also been formed through joining
with Our Lady of the Elms.
“They all seem like one big
team, which is awesome,”
Hovan said. “They all cheer for
each other at the meets, they
practice with each other in the
same lanes and they help one
another.”
Aside from personal goals
set by the individual swimmers,
the team also has a few goals.
“We hope to get a couple of
our relay teams out of our sectional
tournament and into districts,”
Lugo said. !
THE VISOR JANUARY 23, 2007