Michael Sharps: Staff Writer

An oldy but good:

I pride myself in being a science/math guy. But for a brief period in college, I moonlighted as a sports reporter. See, my roommate Chris was in need of some staff writers for the sports section for the university newspaper (‘The Retriever Weekly’) of which, he was the editor. So, for $20, I figured why not? Poor Chris, if he only knew what he got himself into. Probably the first bad sign for him was when I triumphantly handed him a story that exactly matched the minimum word count he required. After a few minor tweaks, he was able to turn it into something worth printing. Chris, I still want my $20.


Scan: http://www.mrsharps.com/pics/RetrieverWeekly/

Full text:

Swimming Splits Dual Meet With George Washington
MICHAEL SHARPS
Retriever Weekly Staff Writer

This
past weekend yielded mixed results for the UMBC swimming and diving teams.
On Friday, Jan. 28, the Retrievers split a dual meet with George
Washington. The men emerged victorious 157-112 while the women stumbled,
losing 144-132. Playing host to Navy on Saturday, the UMBC men’s swimming
and diving team followed its impressive win with a tough loss by the score of
132-109.

The loss to Navy dropped the Retriever men to
8-4. Despite the set back, several of the team’s top swimmers put on an
impressive performance in the pool. Junior Kevin Goh continued to dominate
the competition, winning the 200-meter Individual Medley, 500-meter freestyle
and the 200-meter backstroke. Ron Park took first place in the 200-meter
butterfly, finishing in 1:59.41. Sophomore sensation Medhi Addadi
contributed with a win in the 100-meter freestyle, while Matt Rausch took the
200-meter freestyle. The two joined by Rob Giggey and Evan Patrick to win
the 400-meter medley relay.

At the end of the day, UMBC captured
first place in seven of the day’s thirteen events. However, Navy’s depth
proved to be the deciding factor. In nine separate events, the Midshipmen
were responsible for two out of the three finishing times, which secured their
victory.

The loss to Navy came on the heels of a powerful
showing at George Washington University. The Retriever men beat the
Colonials 157-112 at Friday’s meet in Washington DC.

Things did not
fair so well for the women’s swimming and diving team. In a close battle,
the Retrievers lost 144-132, dropping their record to 4-8.

In the
final days of the month the swimming and diving teams have been on a hectic
schedule. On Jan. 21, Rutgers dealt both the men’s and womens’s squads a
loss in Newark, New Jersey (101-130 and 86-148 respectively). One day
later, at the University of Massachusetts, the Retriever men were able to
regroup and defeat the Minutemen 121-116, while the women came up short,
106-137. Gaining momentum, both teams were able to beat Central
Connecticut on Jan 23. The men destroyed the Blue Devils 157-76 while the
women, competing against their toughest opponents in the NEC, came through with
a 129-106 victory. The lone home meet in the stretch against Johns Hopkins
University was cancelled due to the recent snowstorm.

Nearing the end of the season, both Retriever teams are looking to
get back on track this Friday in Williamsburg, Virginia, where they will square
off against William and Mary.