Magazine - summer 03 - St. John's College

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42 {Croquet} Cruising to Another Croquet Victory Santa Fe Seniors Join the Party by Rosemary Harty With The College’s veteran croquet correspondent Sus3an Borden (A87) taking on new duties in the Advancement office this year, this editor planned to capture the action at the 22nd annual croquet match against the Naval Academy, held on the customary date of the last Saturday of April. But I was recruited for champagnepouring duty in the Alumni tent, where in an attempt to weed out impostors, would-be imbibers were quizzed on senior essay topics. (“Um, something about…Homer,” was a typical response.) The sound of cheering reached the alumni tent, but we had a hard time following the action, like most of the estimated 1,200 spectators who crowded onto the campus for a great party on a spectacularly sunny April day. Good thing the press was there. The match brought out the local papers, the Associated Press correspondent, and a shamefully biased correspondent from The Trident, the Naval Academy’s newspaper, who again blamed the loss on the allegedly rigorous Naval Academy schedule. The most interesting development this year was the participation of 28 Santa Fe students who came to Annapolis on their own dime to see for themselves what croquet fever is all about. Most caught a red-eye flight from Santa Fe after seminar Thursday night, but a couple of determined Johnnies of the West drove all the way to Annapolis and back. “Most of us had never been to Annapolis, so we wanted to see the campus,” explained Chris Coucheron-Ammot (SF04), who organized the outing. Being an honest fellow, Coucheron-Aamot readily acknowledged that the contingent came first “for a fabulous party” and second for a show of solidarity. “The senior class in Santa Fe really believed in the ‘one college-two campuses’ ideal of St. John’s,” he said. “We don’t feel like there’s a big difference between Johnnies in Santa Fe and Johnnies in Annapolis.” The visitors understood “parts of the game,” and were particularly taken by the contrast in traditions between the rivals, he said. “We liked the way the Mids had Plebes in white jackets carrying around water bottles for them, and Johnnies had their girlfriends carrying around bottles of Colt 45.” Johnnies put their Western classmates up on couches and floors in their apartments around town. Sarah Stickney (A04) and John Okrent (A04) organized barbecues to feed them. The campus community out West would welcome an Annapolis contingent out for one of its best parties, Oktoberfest. “We usually bring snow down from the mountains because it hasn’t snowed on the campus yet, and we have a snowball fight,” he explained. Why not include a croquet match in Oktoberfest festivities? “Have you seen our soccer field?” Coucheron-Aamot asked in reply. x Imperial Wicket Sam Spalding lines up a shot. { The College • St. John’s College • Fall 2004 }
{Croquet} 43 Clockwise: Johnnies adopted an Army look to intimidate Navy this year. A group of Santa Fe Johnnies enjoy the party; Ronald Fielding (A70) strikes the first ball. photos by david trozzo Highlights: Score: Johnnies 4, Mids 1. Record: 18-4. Team: Sam Spalding (A04), imperial wicket; Nicholas Whittier (A05), vice wicket; Ian Morochnick (A04); Kabe Erkenbrack (A04); Justin Berrier (A04); Aurora Cassells (A04); Jackson O’Brien (A04); Nick Garklavs (A04); Riley Ossorgin (A05); John Gerard (A05); Shunji Matsuzawa (A06); and Matt Mangold (A06). Dramatic moment: Dressed in camouflage outfits, faces smeared with grease paint, Johnnies emerge from Woodward Hall to the Top Gun theme. Ceremonial first ball: Struck by Ron Fielding (A70), a member of the college’s Board of Visitors and Governors. Press highlights: The Capital: “Tim Kile, a St. John’s junior, wore a straw hat, a sleeveless orange T-shirt and suspenders and held an acoustic guitar—the ‘wandering cowboy minstrel look.’ ‘I don’t know anything about croquet, but my roommate made ice cream—that’s the best part so far,’ he said.” The Baltimore Sun: “Before the 1 p.m. start of the 22nd Annapolis Cup, Naval Academy player Brock Zimmerman got in some last-minute practice shots. The first-year mid hoped to make a dent in St. John’s series advantage of 17 victories to the academy’s 4. ‘I think we have the best chance to bring one back to Navy in a long time,’ he said.” The Associated Press: “Special attire— much of it harkening back to the days when croquet was played on grandma’s lawn while everyone sipped lemonade on sultry days—is popular at the annual croquet game. “Elizabeth Durham, a St. John’s junior, was a little more inventive, wearing shimmering gossamer wings and a saarilike cloth draped over her long white dress. ‘Honestly, I just threw it together in 10 minutes,’ she said.” x { The College • St. John’s College • Fall 2004 }
Page 1 and 2: College The F a l l 2 0 0 4 St. Joh
Page 3 and 4: College The Fall 2004 Volume 30, Is
Page 5 and 6: {From the Bell Towers} 3 Gilliam Ha
Page 7 and 8: {From the Bell Towers} 5 Satisfied
Page 9 and 10: {Letters} 7 Free Thought and Reason
Page 11 and 12: {Eastern Classics} 9 and people int
Page 13 and 14: “The city—and a lot of the coun
Page 15 and 16: {Johnnies Abroad} 13 understood her
Page 17 and 18: {Johnnies Abroad} 15 “The guerill
Page 19 and 20: {Johnnies Abroad} 17 bellows invita
Page 21 and 22: {Culture and Context} 19 From the c
Page 23 and 24: {Culture and Context} 21 “The Naz
Page 25 and 26: {Commencement} 23 david trozzo but
Page 27 and 28: {Commencement} 25 david trozzo No c
Page 29 and 30: {Homecoming} 27 Opposite top: Futur
Page 31 and 32: {Bibliofile} 29 The Man in the Moon
Page 33 and 34: {Alumni Profile} 31 This painstakin
Page 35 and 36: {Alumni Notes} 33 practitioner, an
Page 37 and 38: {Alumni Notes} 35 more efficiency,
Page 39 and 40: {Alumni Notes} 37 2004 and will be
Page 41 and 42: {Alumni Notes} 39 After graduating
Page 43: {Obituaries} 41 tion of the heart.
Page 47 and 48: {Alumni Voices} 45 method less fuel
Page 49 and 50: {Alumni Association News} 47 Passio
Page 51 and 52: {Alumni Events Calendar} Clockwise

Magazine - summer 03 - St. John's College

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