Autumn 2017

There’s no place like…

Colgate athletics kicked off Homecoming 2017 events September 9 with the official dedication of three new spaces within Reid Athletic Center: Fred’s Place (the football locker room, pictured above), the RCA Meeting Room, and the Victoria M. Chun ’91, MA’94 and Susan Chun Academic Services Center.

Fred’s Place was dedicated in honor of Fred Dunlap ’50, the football coach and athletics director who served the university from 1976–98. The custom renovation of the football locker room was completed this summer and added 91 state-of-the-art lockers, a new audiovisual system, and team-logo displays.

Adjacent to the locker room is the RCA Meeting Room, named for Ruth Cline Applegate (mother of former football player Brion Applegate ’76) and all Colgate football mothers. This new space provides flexibility to meet as a full team or divide into smaller rooms for position meetings.

“It makes us much more efficient as coaches and a team,” head coach Dan Hunt said. “[Also,] it’s better than our [competition’s] and puts us in the forefront on many levels.”

Lastly, Colgate unveiled the Victoria M. Chun ’91, MA’94 and Susan Chun Academic Services Center, named in honor of Victoria Chun, the vice president and director of athletics, and her mother. Before Chun’s administrative career, she was a Patriot League Player and Coach of the Year for the volleyball team. Housed at the location of the former bowling alley in the heart of Reid, the new academic center is three times larger than the old center and provides student-athletes with a state-of-the-art study space. Images and artifacts from each of Colgate’s 25 Division I sports are incorporated into the design.

“We are going to be the premier academic institution that is going to compete at the highest level athletically,” President Brian W. Casey said. “That is what Colgate represents for this nation.”


Major League victory

Peter Baum ’13 and the Ohio Machine are the 2017 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) champions.

Baum scored twice and dished out three assists in Ohio’s 17–12 title victory over the Denver Outlaws held August 19 in Frisco, Texas. He scored his two goals late in the third quarter to keep the Machine close. Ohio trailed 12–10 just inside the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter before scoring the game’s final seven goals to win.

“The feeling is even better than I hoped it would be,” Baum said. “When that clock ticks down and you see tears in guys’ eyes, it shows you how special it is and how much it means to us.”

Baum finished the 2017 regular season tied for the league lead in scoring with 52 points. He posted 31 goals (including a pair of 2-point goals) and 19 assists. It was a career-high point total for the fourth-year pro and his third season with at least 30 goals.

He completed his Colgate career as the most decorated student-athlete in the university’s lacrosse history. He won the prestigious 2012 Tewaaraton Award and the Lt. Raymond Enners Award as the nation’s top player, in addition to USILA All-American First Team and LaxPower All-American Team honors.

The Portland, Ore., native finished as the Patriot League’s career leader in goals scored with 164. He was the nation’s active goal-scoring leader at the time of his graduation and left Colgate as the all-time leader in both goals and career points (225).

When Baum was selected in the 2013 MLL Collegiate Draft by the Machine, he was the number-one overall pick.


Leo Stouros ’16 swarms in to win

In Game 2 of the National Lacrosse League’s (NLL) Champion’s Cup indoor series, Leo Stouros ’16 and his Georgia Swarm teammates faced 15,000 fans all rooting against them.

But Stouros called on his experience in crunch-time situations to calm his nerves and help his team prevail 15–14 against the Saskatchewan Rush on their home turf in overtime.

“It’s tough to go into a championship game and not be nervous,” he said. “But having played for championships before kept me calm and in the moment. I knew how to handle the situation.”

In 2014, Stouros helped the Six Nations Arrows take home the Minto Cup indoor lacrosse championship in his native Canada. Winning seems to be a habit for this defenseman from Kitchener, Ontario.

Stouros credits his Colgate and Six Nations experiences for his professional success. “Colgate and Six Nations got me to where I am today,” he said. “The character I built at Colgate as a team captain and the success we had under Coach [Mike] Murphy — I wouldn’t be here if not for that experience.”

Having just signed a two-year contract with Georgia, he’ll be back in the Atlanta area for training camp starting in December.

“Being a rookie this year and playing with big names from all over NCAA and Major League Lacrosse has been both a privilege and an honor,” Stouros said.


Poland ’17 goes to Ireland

Steph Poland with Irish youth holding hurling equipment

Victory Scholar Steph Poland ’17 (far right) learns the art of hurling from a few Dubliners.

Women’s basketball player Steph Poland ’17 was nominated by the Patriot League and chosen by the Sport Changes Life foundation for the Victory Scholar program. The program’s scholarships allow U.S. student-athletes to continue their athletic and academic careers by both playing on a collegiate team and studying in a graduate program at an Irish or Northern Irish university.

Poland is attending Maynooth University near Dublin, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in international peace building, security, and development practice. In addition, she is working with community programs that help disadvantaged youth.

“I’m excited to use basketball as a tool to connect with kids of all ages,” Poland said. “I want to show how being involved in a sport can put your life on a positive path.”

At Colgate, Poland majored in political science and earned the Thomas M. Wilson ’67 Memorial Endowed Leadership Award in addition to being admitted to the Konosioni Senior Honor Society.


Recognized for Special Olympics service

Aidan Gaertner ’20 and his family were honored with the 2017 Outstanding Family Award at the Special Olympics of Minnesota’s annual Distinguished Service Awards ceremony on September 8.

Gaertner got involved with the Special Olympics when his aunt, the head coach of the Roseville Flames Special Olympics team in Minnesota, asked him to help coach a new flag football team. Flag football is a “unified” sport, which is an inclusive program that unites Special Olympics athletes and individuals without intellectual disabilities on the same team.

“I had such a great time with the flag football team that I invited several of my friends to join in to help,” Gaertner said. “The emotion the athletes show when they complete a pass in football or connect the bat to the ball in softball is unmistakable joy.”

Gaertner competed in high school sports and is now a football player at Colgate. He organized a Special Olympics basketball tournament at St. Thomas Academy High School (Mendota Heights, Minn.) that has since become an annual Special Olympics Day at the school.

“I now realize how fortunate I am to have always had a team as part of my life,” he said. “Many of the Special Olympics athletes did not have these opportunities in their youth or in high school. They have shared in my high school sports experience, and I am honored to know that many now follow Colgate football.”

The Gaertner family was selected from nearly 8,000 families within Special Olympics Minnesota to be recognized for their work with the organization. Aidan has been participating as a unified partner — both playing and coaching — in track and field, golf, flag football, and basketball for the past seven years.

“He has been a role model for our athletes, and as a result, has enabled them to build a strong self-image,” said Patsy Eull, head of delegation of the Flames Special Olympics Team.

— Emily Daniel ’18


2017 Athletics Hall of Honor

These inductees — representing eight teams that combined to win 11 conference championships — took center stage September 9 in the Hall of Presidents. They were also recognized at the homecoming football game’s halftime.

Brion Applegate ’76 (football) has been heavily involved in supporting all of Colgate’s athletic programs since his graduation. As a receiver, he led the team in receiving yards as a senior and his 20.4 yards per catch that season ranks second in program history. Applegate is an emeritus Board of Trustees member and recipient of the Maroon Citation and Wm. Brian Little ’64 Award for Distinguished Service to Colgate. “For me, it’s simple,” Applegate said. “There’s something very special about this place. I love it dearly, and I’m so proud to be a part of this community.”

Kate (Barrett) Lukabu ’04 (soccer) was the 2003 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year after reaching the NCAA season top 10 in points per game. She finished her senior campaign with 18 goals and 45 points — both Colgate season records to this date — and added nine assists to lead the team in that category as well.

Dorothy Donaldson ’05 (softball) is considered one of the most dominant softball players in Patriot League history. Donaldson earned 2004 Patriot League Player of the Year honors to go with four All-Patriot League First Team selections. She remains Colgate’s career leader in home runs with 39 and stands in the top five in nearly every offensive category.

Nate Eachus ’12 (football) was Colgate’s 2010–11 Male Student-Athlete of the Year after compiling 4,485 career rushing yards and 53 touchdowns. He was a Consensus All-America First Team selection in 2010 after leading the nation in both rushing with 170.1 yards per game and points with 12 per game. After graduation, Eachus played the 2012 season with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. “The thing I’m now most proud of,” Eachus said, “even greater than the NFL, is having that Colgate degree.”

Rebecca Galves ’94 (volleyball) earned a spot on the Patriot League’s All-Decade Team for 1990–99. The league’s Rookie of the Year in 1990, she followed that up with three-straight All-Patriot League First Team selections, highlighted by her 1992 pick as conference Player of the Year. Galves was the first in program history to reach both 1,000 career digs (1,316) and kills (1,061) and still ranks among the program’s top 10 in those two categories.

Joel Gardner ’90 (hockey) helped propel Colgate to the 1990 ECAC Hockey championship, setting off a postseason trek that carried all the way to the NCAA championship game. He was an All-America selection that season and remains solidly inside Colgate’s career top 10 in points (seventh with 184) and assists (fifth with 113) to go with 71 goals. “He was electric,” assistant hockey coach Mike Harder said.

Matt Lalli ’08 (lacrosse) remains Colgate’s career assist leader with 95. He added 89 goals and is tied for fifth in career points (184). Lalli earned All-America Third Team as a senior and twice garnered All-Patriot League First Team honors. He helped the Raiders tie for the 2006 Patriot League regular season title and then matched a conference tournament record for assists with seven as Colgate captured the 2008 title and advanced to the NCAAs.

Courtney Miller ’12 (lacrosse) became the third player in Patriot League women’s lacrosse history to be named All-Patriot League First Team four consecutive seasons. In 2012, she was the Patriot League Midfielder of the Year and Colgate’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Miller was named to the Patriot League’s Silver Anniversary Team in 2016. She still stands as the Colgate leader in draw controls with 201 and is third in career points (241), third in goals (168), and fourth in assists (73). Miller has played for the New York Athletic Club women’s lacrosse team since 2012 and for the Israeli National Team since 2015.

Lauren Schmetterling ’12 (rowing) was part of the U.S. Women’s Eight crew that won the Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Schmetterling became the first Colgate athlete and first Patriot League athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. The Rio games marked her Olympic debut after she had helped the U.S. team to world championships in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Schmetterling holds Colgate’s 2K and 6K erg records and was an All-America Second Team selection as a senior. “She was proud to bring the gold to Colgate,” Schmetterling’s parents, Eric and Lorie, said.