It seems like such a long time ago that I was removing my make-up and packing my wig and fake breasts away for next year. On that first day of the month, November looked so promising. After years of waiting, we celebrated the end of the John Silber era. Even better, our beloved Board of Trustees spent $1.8 million to give us a long weekend. Looming at the end of the month was a mammoth five-day break that we were all thankful for.
To top it all off, the men’s and women’s basketball teams would be making their debut, the fall sports were gearing up for tournament play and after two tough games, the Icedogs looked to sail through the rest of the month and to the top of the national and league rankings. It should have been a great month for Boston University athletics.
Could have … should have … would have … Let’s just forget the whole thing. November was a terrible month, at least for the Terriers.
Can you believe how unbearably bad of a month November was for Terrier athletics? Maybe the combined record of 7-25-5 gives you some indication. That’s a winning percentage of .189 percent. .189? How Rhett has managed to keep his snout smiling is beyond me.
The lone bright spot of November was the women’s soccer team. Led by future BU hall of famer Jessica Clinton, the Terriers posted a 3-1-1 record, advancing to the NCAA Tournament after a shootout. Unfortunately that was the last time these Terriers would celebrate, as they dropped a 1-0 decision to the University of Connecticut in the first round of the tournament, ending Clinton and her classmates’ careers.
The women’s soccer team was one of five teams that saw their season come to an end in November. The mediocre field hockey team saw its hopes of a conference championship slip away in a 3-1 loss to Northeastern in the first round of the America East Tournament.
The Huskies ended more Terrier careers, this time with a 3-0 upset win over the men’s soccer team on a rain-soaked Nickerson Field.
And then came the men’s and women’s cross country teams. Unlike other sports, cross country doesn’t have to deal with the abrupt, season-ending loss. Instead, the cross country season lingers around like a bad smell, slowly fading away with time.
The conclusion of this season smelled particularly bad for the Terriers. On the women’s side, the Terriers finished fourth in America East, snapping its string of seven straight league championships. The men had a little more to be happy about, as senior Jochen Dieckfoss won his fourth America East individual title and qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the fourth consecutive season. Unfortunately, Dieckfoss finished a disappointing 72nd after coming in 44th at the event last year.
While November brought sad endings to a number of seasons, it brought disappointing beginnings to others. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams were winless in November, although that included only three games for each, all against quality teams. Even so, 0-3 is a tough way to begin a season that carries high expectations.
And then there’s the roller coaster that is Boston University Hockey. The Terriers began the month with games at Maine and at home against New Hampshire. These games gave BU its first real test of the season as well as an opportunity to propel itself to the top of the national rankings before breezing through games against Merrimack College, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and three Ivy League teams.
I guess you could say that things didn’t exactly work out like they were supposed to.
Instead of breezing through the month the Terriers were blown over, posting a 2-4-3 record and barely remaining ranked in the national polls while being tied for sixth in Hockey East with Providence College.
So what’s the problem? Are Terrier athletics on the decline? Did a wave of bad luck hit each team? Personally, I think it’s all about the ketchup. How can we expect our teams to do well when the dining halls refuse to offer quality condiments? The Terrier athletic teams were doing much better when we were still a Heinz campus. Enough with this Hunt’s crap. Bring back the 57!
Thankfully, the calendar has changed and we can finally wave goodbye to November. At the very least, December can’t possibly be any worse. Already things are looking up as the men’s basketball team began the month by trouncing Youngstown State for its first victory of the season. The women will be looking for their first victory tonight at home against Fordham University.
And those Icedogs? Well, they closed out November in a big way, demolishing Yale 7-2. As junior defenseman Ryan Whitney said, once the puck starts finding the back of the net, the Terriers will be a dangerous team. With the Terriers playing Boston College and Massachusetts this weekend, they need to put a sub-par November behind them and become that dangerous team.
With BU currently undefeated in December, it has all the makings to be the month that November wasn’t. But even if it isn’t, at least we’ll have three weeks off to forget about it.
Joe Rouse, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a weekly sports columnist for The Daily Free Press.
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