Tennis Hopes to Return to MAAC Tournament

An obstacle the women’s tennis team has had to overcome is their roster size.

Manhattan has a total of six girls on its roster. Due to injury, it plays five. It’s eligible to play this season, although a full roster is supposed to have eight players.

“We’ve been a bit unlucky with injuries and a small lineup,” coach Amanda McEntire said, “but they’re going out there and playing hard against tough teams. That gets us ready for conference play.”

A tennis match consists of three doubles teams and six singles. Manhattan goes into every match having to forfeit its three doubles and six singles matches, losing out on a point because of their small roster. To remain competitive, it has to win two doubles and four singles to garner a point.

“You go into every match having an uphill climb,” McEntire said, “but they’ve embraced the challenge. We look forward to competing with everyone.”

“Tennis isn’t like basketball or baseball where you can see that it was a close game,” senior Alyssa Rosello said.

The top six teams in the MAAC go to the tournament. For Manhattan (0-3 MAAC, 1-5), it has to beat Monmouth (1-1 MAAC, 1-6), Saint Peter’s (3-2 MAAC, 4-5) and Rider (0-4 MAAC, 1-9) to earn a playoff spot.

Manhattan was the sixth seed last season.

“We’ve been playing really well as a team,” Bricketto said. “Even though we only have five players, all of us have stepped up. We’re practicing really hard and I think we’re in a good place.”

“No matter if we’re winning or losing, always cheer for the person next to you.”

Women’s Lacrosse Drops Second MAAC Game

Coming off a tough loss to Sacred Heart on Wednesday March 25, the Jaspers prepared for a visit from MAAC opponent Canisius at Gaelic Park on Saturday.

In Wednesday’s matchup, the Jaspers were leading most of the game. However, Sacred Heart went on a 5-0 run in the last six minutes to take the win from Manhattan with a 9-8 final.

“On the attacking side, communication is key to getting us to come together,” senior Carly Cappello said. “It showed in our game versus Sacred Heart. We communicated and we scored those goals.”

After losing that game, the Jaspers realized that they can’t just be satisfied with the score. It is always hard trying to maintain a lead and Manhattan knows that they want to finish every game knowing that they gave it their all.

“Having a lead, our problem is being complacent,” junior co-captain Megan Yarusso said. “The other team will realize that and capitalize on it. It’s all about composure. We have to focus on the overall result of the game.”

Canisius has been on a streak, winning four of their last five games, going into Saturday’s matchup. Senior Tori Quinn has been leading all season both offensively and defensively, with 20 goals, 11 assists and 18 caused turnovers on the defensive end. She added to her numbers and was a tough obstacle for the Jaspers in their matchup, scoring two goals and three assists in the 10-1 Canisius victory.

“It comes down to execution,” Cappello said, who scored Manhattan’s lone goal against Canisius. “Everyone is excited to be in conference now and it’s about us playing our game. We have to count on each other on the field.”

One of the themes for the Jaspers this season has been questionable refereeing. While it can be tough to deal with, Manhattan has used it to motivate them in each game and their season altogether. They focus on putting it away on the attacking end.

“If you’re not happy with the referees’ calls,” head coach Elizabeth Weber said, “you use it as momentum going forward. It’s about having a great defensive stopper and putting it away in the back of the cage.”

Taking some positives out of the loss, Coach Weber said that the team’s transition game has evolved greatly. It was one of their struggles at the beginning of the season but now they have it figured out. Another aspect of their game that has been improving is their defense, and it showed in their game against Canisius. Goalkeeper Christina Fiorinelli had 13 saves on the 23 shots she faced. Manhattan led with 18 ground balls and only had 16 fouls, compared to the Golden Griffins’ 31.

“At the end of the day, it’s about finishing our shots and being right in the game,” Coach Weber continued. “We’re getting over that hump and we’re right there.”

Having a new assistant coach this season, the team’s focus has been their defense. They have been working since the fall with assistant coach Amanda Trendell, who has brought some great experience to Manhattan. A Rutgers graduate, Trendell received the Midfielder of the Year Award in 2013 and her team ranked sixth nationally defensively.

“It’s a learning experience,” Yarusso said. “We’re still trying to figure each other out. Communication is the number one thing and we are learning that together.”

Not letting this loss get to them, the Jaspers are ready for their next game, against MAAC opponent Siena next week. They are taking the positives from this matchup and going to use that as momentum in preparation of getting their first conference win. In addition to Siena, they play Quinnipiac next week as well.

“When we stick to our game plan, we can beat any team,” Yarusso said. “It’s just about us executing it.”

Swimming and Diving Teams Combine for 18 Broken Records at MAACs

Manhattan started off on a high note at the 2015 MAAC Championships last week.

Its strong performance continued for the duration of the championships. By the end of the fourth and final day, both teams combined to set 18 new school records.

“It’s really outstanding for our women’s team,” Sara Buckley, freestyle swimmer, said. “I feel like each year we are improving drastically and each year we see records going down at MAACs. The fact that we were able to shatter 18 this year is great for our program.”

Along with breaking 11 of the 18 records, the women’s team set new times in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle including the 200 and 400 medley relay races in the same competition. This was the first team in program history that achieved this accomplishment.

“It was important because my freshman year I was only on one relay team,” Buckley said. “This year I was on four and we were able to break records in each of them. Comparing last year to this year, it was so self-motivating to be on four relay teams that were able to beat four records. For the team and myself, I thought that was really great for us.”

On the first night of the championships, Madison Brown; Alexandra Hutzler; Kerry Schuermann and Patricia Colton raced in the 200 medley relay to a finish that was three seconds better than the previous school record. In the 800 freestyle, Michaela Schatz; Buckley; Audrey Corcoran and Eileen Blood broke the school mark by almost five seconds.

On night two, Brown, Hutzler, Buckley and Colton set a new record in the 200-freestyle with a 1:39.98. The previous record was a time of 1:40.91 set in 2012.

Then on the third night, Schuermann; Brown; Buckley and Hutzler set a new school best in the 400 medley relay.

To finish up the championships, Buckley; Brown; Colton and Hutzler set a new record in the 400 freestyle.

The championships were a great showing all around, with multiple members of the team contributing to the successful nights.

“Compared to previous years, we are gaining a lot of depth and variety,” Buckley said. “We had a lot of great incoming freshmen as well as our current performers from all different grades.  I think we are just going to continue to improve.”

“Last year it was only a few people who contributed,” Brown, butterfly swimmer, said. “This year it was a lot more. That shows that our recruitment has gotten better and hopefully it will continue.”

As the team finished up this impressive season, they look toward next season and the future of the program. They hope to break more milestones and find talented recruits to help their program get even better.

Buckley noted how the men’s team started out with nothing and have worked their way up.

“I think that we will definitely be able to do the same and improve in the coming years,” Buckley said. “Hopefully we will be able to gain more talented swimmers in the future and our program will continue to get better. We’re in that in between stage where we’re getting there but hopefully one day we’ll be in the top three at MAACs.”

Women’s Winter Break Recap

While most college students stayed home over the winter break, many athletes remained on campus for practices and games.

Draddy Gymnasium continued to be filled with Jaspers, whether they were members of the basketball, swimming or track and field teams.

The women’s basketball team was in the midst of an eight-game home stand. The swim team competed in Hawaii. And the track and field team concluded the semester with the Brother Jasper Invitational before competing at the Gotham Cup to start the New Year.

On Dec. 13, at the invitational, the women’s track and field team competed strongly. The team only appeared in five events but came up big with two first-place and two second-place finishes.

Marisa Robbins won first in the pole vault for the second time with her best performance at 3.60 m. Paige Chapman had a solid time of 7.82 seconds winning her the 60.

Lydia Wehrli and Katharina Klien also had strong showings for the Jaspers. Wehrli finished second in the weight throw with her 16.66 m toss and Klien earned second in the shot put at 12.28 m.

The track and field team returns to action on Jan. 23 for the Metro Team Challenge.

On Jan. 9, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the women’s swim team lost a tough meet to Colorado College despite a strong showing. Madison Brown, Sarah Buckley and Alexandra Hutzler were named Manhattan Performers of the Meet. All three earned first-place in their respective events.

Brown had a time of 30.50 in the 50 back, which earned her first place by 1.28 seconds. Buckley posted a 27.19 in the 50 free, taking the lead by .09 seconds. Hutzler earned a top finish in the 100 individual medley with 1:05.97.

The Jaspers return home for Senior Night against Baruch on Jan. 19 and host Hunter on Jan. 23.

The women’s basketball team (2-13, 1-5 MAAC) was busy with its longest home stand in team history. It concluded an eight game stretch at Draddy with a matchup against the Monmouth Hawks (6-9, 2-4 MAAC) on Jan. 16.

The home stand was a tough one for the Jaspers, who finished with a 1-7 record. Their only victory came against the Rider Broncs on Jan. 4.

The team overcame a 12-point deficit to tally a 55-52 win that marked its first win at home over Rider in three years and snapped a 10-game losing streak against it. It was also Manhattan’s first home win since Feb. 4, 2014.

The Jaspers’ next game was against the defending MAAC Champion Marist Red Foxes. The Jaspers had solid individual performances, but it was not enough as they were defeated 67-45.

Shayna Ericksen led the Jaspers with 10 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass. Kayla Grimme had nine points and a career-high five blocks. Taylor Williams tallied six rebounds and Manhattan shot 83.3 percent at the free throw line.

There to witness the game were 850 students from five elementary schools in the area. It was the fifth consecutive year the Jaspers hosted Kid’s Day Out.

In the final game of its home stand, Manhattan was not able to contain the Monmouth Hawks

The Jaspers put up a strong fight by coming back from a 47-33 deficit at the half to get to within two points with just under two minutes left in the game. However, Monmouth converted on its opportunities and staved off the Jaspers for a 73-69 victory.

Next on Manhattan’s schedule is a trip to Albany where it will face the Siena Saints.

Women’s Basketball to Start Season on Friday

The 2014-2015 season is approaching for the Manhattan College women’s basketball team. After a tough loss in the exhibition game against Adelphi on Nov. 7, the team will start its season at home on Nov. 14 when they host Fairleigh Dickinson.

Preparations for the Season

As Manhattan prepares for the season, one thing that is important to them is their young players. They have nine underclassmen, including five freshmen. They increased the depth of the team and have been looking strong early on.

“The team is working very hard,” head coach John Olenowski said. “We have a lot of young players that are learning the college game. I’m happy with their work ethic at this point, and we’re excited to kick off the season.”

“Going into the season, we’re looking to get a lot of people playing,” junior Jacqui Thompson said. “We have a ton of players who can contribute so I think getting people in and out is what we’re looking to do.”

Another aspect of the game that has been helpful to the team is communication. Key things such as getting the younger players used to the game and players stepping up as leaders have improved the team and helped them get ready for the season.

“We have great team chemistry,” junior Shayna Ericksen said, “which is good especially because we are a young team. 

Look for Improvements

The team is ready for the new season and knows what they need and want to improve on from last year. After winning their first game of the season last year, they went on to a tough eight-game losing streak before winning back-to-back games again.

“We need to get off to a better start than we did last season,” Coach Olenowski said. “We need to be more consistent on the defensive end and improve on depth from last year, which I think is going to be one of our strengths.”

Things such as defense, rebounds and team communication are what they are working on to develop better. Ericksen emphasized rebounding and that the team had some flaws with them last year.

“Our transition game could be a lot better this year,” Thompson said. “We’re very athletic. We have a lot of young and athletic players, so looking to get the ball out and push it up the floor will definitely be better than it was last year.”

Key Aspects 

Important things that will help the team this season are their home games and young players.

“We have a good comfort level and it’s a big advantage for us,” Olenowski said of the team’s eight-game home stand.

Fifteen out of their 29 games are at Draddy Gymnasium. This includes the home stand for about a month in December.

“That’s going to be big for us,” Thompson said. “We’re a young team so playing on the court that we do everyday will really help us out a lot.”

The five freshmen have been making a strong impression on the team early on. Three of them started in the exhibition game. Nyasha Irizarry and freshman redshirt Kayla Grimme helped with a 15 and 10-point contribution respectively.

“Hopefully they’re just going to get better and better,” Olenowski said, “and that will help our program continue to get better. It’s nice knowing we will have them for the next four years.”

“I think its good,” Ericksen said. “We’ve got a lot of time to play together. People will get experience. We have a deep team so we can play multiple players.”

Overall Season Goals

Like every team before a new season, the Jaspers are setting goals within the MAAC conference and general goals of winning games and proving themselves to other teams.           

“Our goal is to finish in the top four of the conference,” Olenowski said. “We’ve been able to do this in 3 of 5 years, so that is our initial goal. That takes us into the conference tournament and, at that point, we want to be prepared to win that MAAC conference.”

Both Ericksen and Thompson agreed that proving other teams wrong is an important thing to the team this season. The team has great of talent and they are ready to win.

“A lot of teams aren’t expecting us to be anything special,” Thompson said. “I think we are something special so my goal is to upset a ton of teams that aren’t expecting much from us.”

Jaspers Finish Season on a High Note

Fun. Exciting. Inconsistent.

Members of the Manhattan College women’s soccer team (3-5-2 MAAC, 8-8-2) described their 2014 season as it was coming to an end. They finished the season with a strong 4-2 win against MAAC opponent Saint Peter’s. It was a bittersweet moment for the team as it was their final game playing together.

“We just wanted to play for each other,” senior Daniella Morgante said about her final game. “As seniors, we wanted to take the last four years and put it into one game.”

Their win against Saint Peter’s was their 17th straight over the Peacocks. Sophomore Tara Teal found the back of the net first for the Jaspers off a pass from senior Aislinn McIlvenny. Sophomore Lizzy Carlson scored with an assist by Teal to give Manhattan a 2-0 lead.

“We had the best record since I’ve been here,” senior Shannon Garrity said. “Everyone has contributed so much this year, on and off the field.”

Saint Peter’s responded quickly before McIlvenny scored on a penalty kick about 20 minutes into the second half, her 10th of the season. Freshman Dylan Burns recorded her first career goal and sealed Manhattan’s 4-2 victory. As the season came to a close, the team had positive thoughts on what they accomplished this year.

“Something to be proud of is getting through the season with limited players,” assistant coach Sarah Brady said. “We were hit terribly with injuries. The positive is that is younger players stepped up and kept us within the running. I couldn’t be prouder of the players who stepped in.”

Freshman Carly Perry also looked on the plus side when it came to overcoming injuries.

“I feel like we did really well despite the injuries. We only had two subs for a good chunk of the season,” Perry said. “So it’s really cool that we were able to pull off some wins.”

The team was happy to finish on a high note after a tough loss against Canisius to eliminate them from playoff contention. Their chances were left up to that game, and it did not go in their favor. However, the team stayed positive that the loss would help them in the future.

“Any high-pressure situation like that is hard,” Morgante said. “There’s so much on the line. The only thing you can do is be there for each other and support each other no matter what happens, and that’s what we did.”

In their final week of the season, members of the team looked back at their impressive season and how to improve for next year. Injuries were one factor that the team hopes won’t affect them so much in the future. The team also tended to sit back on defense more and being more offensive is something they want to change.

“We gave up some soft goals, ones that we could have definitely avoided,” Assistant Coach Sarah Brady said. “That’s probably the most disappointing thing. There was nothing that absolutely ripped us apart, but we kept making the same errors.”

“Going forward, we’ve got to work on defense,” Garrity said, “and clearing balls out of the box and the air. On the attacking side, we need to work on finishing our opportunities.”

Women’s Soccer Suffers Loss, Eliminated from Playoff Contention

A 3-0 loss to Canisius on the afternoon of Oct. 25 ended the playoff hopes of the Manhattan women’s soccer team. The Jaspers fell to 7-8-2 on the season and 2-5-2 with eight points in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Canisius improved to 5-5 and 15 points against MAAC opponents, clinching the sixth spot for the playoffs.

Manhattan was coming off of a 1-0 win over Quinnipiac on Oct. 22 when the Jaspers honored their four seniors in their last game at Gaelic Park. The lone goal of the game was early in the second half from Manhattan senior Aislinn McIlvenny. She leads the league with her fifth game-winning goal of the season.

After an even first half, the Jaspers came out strong with McIlvenny’s goal and then outshot the Bobcats 9-2. Junior goalkeeper Kristen Skonieczny recorded her fourth shutout of the season and had two saves in the game. The Jaspers’ offense was strong with six shots on goal and a 4-0 lead in corners.

Saturday afternoon was a different story, however. Canisius scored with 28 minutes left in the first half. Their second goal came just about five minutes later. They went on to score their third and final goal of the game in a total scoring span that lasted just under 10 minutes.

The second half of the game was mostly silent for both teams until Manhattan sophomore Lizzy Carlson notched a pair of shots on goal. McIlvenny had her second shot of the game with just about eight minutes left. Manhattan fell slightly behind the Golden Griffins in shots with a 7-5 deficit on goal and 13-11 total.

McIlvenny has had a standout season in her final year as a Jasper. She has been nominated for the Senior CLASS Award, one of 10 finalists in NCAA women’s soccer. These 10 finalists were chosen from a total of 30 student athletes. This award stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. It encourages student athletes to use their athletics to make a positive impact and help lead their communities. It recognizes student athletes’ success in four categories: classroom, character, competition and community.

McIlvenny has helped lead the Jaspers this season with her team-high nine goals. In 2013, she was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team and has been a member of the MAAC All-Academic team twice.

The Jaspers were in the midst of a downfall on the season. Before their win on senior night, they suffered a five game losing streak. Two of these matches needed overtime. They were able to come out of one game earning a tie against Siena on Oct. 11. Two more losses would come for Manhattan, despite their strong efforts, before their seventh win of the season against Quinnipiac. The team looks to finish the season on a positive note on Oct. 29 in their final game versus Saint Peter’s.

Women’s Soccer Ties Against Siena

After a tough overtime loss to the Monmouth Hawks on Wednesday Oct. 8, the Manhattan women’s soccer team (1-2-2 MAAC, 6-5-2) was able to fight back and earn a tie against Siena (2-1-3 MAAC, 5-5-5) on Saturday afternoon.

The Jaspers played in their second straight overtime game and fourth in the last six games.

Manhattan’s game against the Hawks ended in heartbreak as Monmouth’s Erica Murphy scored the game-winner with 24 seconds left in the first overtime period. The defending MAAC champions had their third-straight victory with a 2-1 win over Manhattan. Senior Aislinn McIlvenny assisted on Manhattan’s goal as she gave the ball to junior Sam Washuk, who was wide open and got it in the net. Manhattan went into halftime with the 1-0 lead, even though they were outshot 18-3. The Hawks got their goal about 15 minutes into the second half.

Junior Kristen Skonieczny finished the game with an outstanding performance. The goalkeeper had a season-high 12 saves in the game. McIlvenny had her second assist on the season and has been involved in 10 of the team’s 13 goals this season. Washuk scored her third goal of the season.

The Jaspers’ game against Siena had a different storyline. About two minutes into the game, the Saints found the net and took a 1-0 lead. Siena continued strong offensively with 10 shots in the first half, compared to Manhattan’s three. Manhattan took over in the second half with nine shots and a goal to tie the game by junior Emily Ude with about nine minutes left in regulation. Ude earned her first goal of the season. McIlvenny assisted and tallied her third of the season, a team high. Manhattan had two major chances to take the lead by freshman Emily Center and sophomore Lauren Barton. However, both were stopped by Siena goaltender Taylor Booth, who finished the game with six saves. Skonieczny had three saves before getting injured in the second half. Freshman Becca Vitale came in relief of Skonieczny and had two saves.

Siena led the overtime periods with six shots over Manhattan’s two, despite both teams having good chances to score. They also finished with a 20-15 advantage in shots over the Jaspers. In the end, neither team found the net again and it finished in a 1-1 draw. Siena has a 2-1-3 record in the MAAC and Manhattan is now 1-2-2. The Jaspers return home in a 7pm matchup with the Fairfield Stags on October 15. Fairfield is 4-0 in the MAAC.

Jaspers Fall Short Against Gaels

Coming off of their first MAAC win of the season against Marist, the Manhattan women’s soccer team saw the other side quickly.

Competing against the Iona Gaels gave the Jaspers their first MAAC loss of the season. They fell 1-0 to the Gaels at Mazzella Field. Iona is 5-6-2 so far and 1-1-1 in the MAAC. Manhattan now stands at 6-4-1 and 1-1-1 against MAAC opponents.

The first half remained pretty even until Iona scored just before the game went into halftime. They earned a corner kick in the last minute. Junior Kristen Skonieczny saved the first shot, however, Iona’s Erika Flowers got one past her in the last second before the halftime whistle.

Manhattan started off strong in the second half with some good chances early on. Then, their defense stepped up and came up big later in the half. Iona’s Marisa Bentley shot about 25 minutes into the half but it was cleared off the goal line. Shortly after, junior Colleen Kavanagh had a couple strong shots but Iona goalkeeper Morgan McBrier was able to come up with the saves. Kavanagh struck once again in the last minutes of the game. However, McBrier had the save again.

Skonieczny had seven saves for the Jaspers and they tallied five shots on goal against McBrier. The Gaels, however, led Manhattan in shots total, 22-9. They outshot the Jaspers 8-6 in the second half but the Jasper defense was able to keep it a one-goal game.

Manhattan returns to action on October 8th when they host the defending MAAC champions Monmouth Hawks. The Hawks are 8-4 on the season and 3-1 in the MAAC. They are going into the game with a two-game winning streak against Saint Peter’s and Niagara.

Women’s Soccer Gets First MAAC Win of the Season

For the first time in six years, the Manhattan College women’s soccer team earned a victory over Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponent Marist. It proved to be a strong game offensively for the Jaspers, with 17 shots total. Eleven of them were from senior Aislinn McIlvenny and junior Sam Washuk combined.

With this win, Manhattan improves to 6-3-1. Two weeks into conference play, this is their first MAAC win of the season after a tie against Niagara. “It’s always a good feeling,” junior Kristen Skoniecnzy said, “especially playing a team that you haven’t beat in six seasons. It shows the progress we have made over the years.”

It was the Red Foxes who scored first in the game. However, the Jaspers were able to answer back soon after. Washuk got her second goal of the season on a deflection from McIlvenny.

“We didn’t think that we couldn’t come back from it,” Skoniecnzy. “We kept positive and kept pushing. We knew it would come if we kept working. Coming back from being down 1-0 to win the game shows that we all believed in that.”

“Our team is very resilient,” junior Emily Ude said. “We’ve been going up against challenges this season since day one. Even after we are down one goal, there’s a lot in us to come back and score.”

With five minutes to go in the first half, senior Daniella Morgante passed the ball to McIlvenny who blasted it into the far corner of the goal and gave Manhattan the lead. The difference-maker of the game was McIlvenny’s eighth goal of the season.

Going into the second half, Manhattan was left with the task of maintaining their lead. They had great defensive pressure and were able to hold Marist from tying the game. “It’s always nerve-wracking,” Skoniecnzy said, “but everyone kept a good mindset and worked as a team.”

“Playing with the lead is definitely hard,” senior Shannon Garrity said, “but I think that we’re getting better at it. It’s hard to relax when you’re winning but I think we do a good job of it.”

“A lot of the way we play comes from our defensive shape,” Ude said. “Now that we are pretty confident in defense, we are able to attack. Once we are able to get the lead, we can keep the ball under control.”

Their strong defensive play led to some key offensive chances in attempts to make it a two-goal lead. However, Marist goalkeeper Andrea Wicks kept control and tallied 10 saves in the game. Skoniecnzy finished with four saves.

Not letting Marist’s offensive pressure get to them, the Jaspers were able to maintain control of the game. “We can’t let their energy get to us and we just have to play our game,” Garrity said.

A team already affected by injuries, the Jaspers suffered another loss when senior Kaelyn Angelo was taken down in the second. They looked on the positive side and had more motivation to win for Kaelyn.

“Kaelyn is a very tough player,” Ude said. “I’m sure we’ll see her back on the field. Seeing any of our teammates go down and get hurt like that actually pushes us a little more and motivates us to win.”

“It’s hard,” Garrity said. “You just have to put it aside and keep playing hard, especially for the player that got hurt.”

This past week, Skoniecnzy was recognized for her play and was honored with two awards. First, she was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Later in the week, she was also named Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Defensive Player. She was the first Manhattan player to get this honor since soccer player Alicia DeFino in 2007. These awards came after Manhattan’s 1-1 tie against Niagara where Skoniecnzy had eight saves.

“It was awesome,” Skoniecnzy said. “I’ve never gotten something like this before. It’s nice to be recognized. I owe it all to my defense and the team, I couldn’t have done it without them.”