David Thompson

Florida Tech frisbee eyes national competition

April 23, 2019 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

Alex Martin steps and throws a wide open backhand. Photo by Duncan Graham.

Florida Tech’s ultimate frisbee team will be competing in the Division III southeast regional tournament on April 27 and 28.

They need to place first in the tournament to move onto the national competition.

The Panthers went 4-3 in the Sunshine State conference game, good enough to move on to regional play.

Reed Antonich is a senior studying aerospace engineering and team member. He stated in a text message that they have been plagued by injuries this season.

Antonich said that after the first day of the conference games, they clinched a spot in regionals and took it easy through the rest of their games to avoid any more injuries.

“Health and injuries have definitely hurt our season immensely,” Antonich said. “At one of our biggest tournaments of the year, we were missing four of our top seven players due to injuries. Luckily, them taking a few weeks here and there off have put them in shape to help us perform optimally at regionals.”

Antonich said a lot of their motivation this year has come from a late-season loss last year.

“We lost in semifinals last year at regionals by one point to the national champs, and only lost two upperclassmen,” Antonich stated.

The team had a “rocky start” to begin this season, according to Antonich, but he said this may be causing other teams to overlook them now late in the season.

“The teams from our conferences learned last week that we finally got our mojo back,” Antonich stated. “We aren’t going in with the mindset that we have regionals in the bag, but we really have a good shot at winning.”

Fellow teammate Alex Martin, a junior studying aeronautical science with flight, stated in a text message that he also thinks they have a lot to prove at the regional competition.

Reed Antonich leaps for the catch between two defenders. Photo by Michelle Krenger.

“We’re trying to go into regionals and prove to all the teams there that they should be worried about playing us,” Martin said. “With all our players healthy, we’re going to have a really good showing at regionals.”

Martin also stated that this season has been a learning experience because of the injuries, loss of players and early struggles.

Hunter Davis, a junior studying computer engineering, also plays for Florid Tech’s ultimate frisbee team.

Davis stated in a text message that they have had more injuries this year than the past two years.

According to Davis, the Panthers usually have 18 to 20 healthy players for a tournament weekend, but they only had 11 players available for their last tournament.

“It puts guys who haven’t played as much and don’t have as much experience on the starting lines,” Davis stated. “Freshman have been able to step up more this year because of the number of injured players.”

Davis stated that he has “made some really good friends” that he definitely wouldn’t have made if it wasn’t for the ultimate frisbee team.

“I love this team,” Davis stated. “I came in as a freshman three years ago. I have had a history of playing team sports in high school, and coming here to a team that is really willing to teach new players was wonderful.”

Joshua Newman, a senior studying astronomy and astrophysics and member of the ultimate frisbee team, stated in a text message that he thinks his team’s full potential is not only making it to the national competition but competing in them .

“There is no one in the southeast [division] I don’t think we can’t beat,” Newman said. “I honestly believe our potential is only what we limit ourselves to.”

The teams that Florida Tech will playing against in the regional competition are University of North Georgia, Berry College, Stetson University, Embry Riddle, Samford University, Union University and Belmont University.

The Panthers haven’t beaten Berry College yet this season, according to Davis.

The schedule for the Division III regional competition hasn’t been released yet, despite the tournament being scheduled for April 27 and 28.

Crawford elevators continue to break down

April 9, 2019 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

Students often have to wait several minutes for the one working elevator to arrive with any available space. Picture by David Thompson.

Both elevators in the Crawford building have recently been out of service, with the one on the left being out of order for more than a week and the one on the right periodically breaking.

The elevators are “completely worn out,” according to an emailed response from Dewey Yeatts, the director of facilities management.

Despite the expiration date being Aug. 8, 2018 on the Florida Certificate of Operation inside the elevator on the right, Yeatts stated, “There is no safety issue. All elevators are inspected by a third party inspection service. All are up to date.”

Kyle Owens, a freshman aerospace engineering major, said he sees an elevator broken down “almost every day,” and he didn’t expect that when he came to Florida Tech.

“When touring, I was never brought into the building,” Owens said. “But if I was, and I was told that the elevators break easily, then it would’ve allowed me to question the safety of the building.”

Pauline Cosson, a junior studying sports management, said she usually ends up taking the stairs because “it takes a lot of time for the elevator to come” and that there is always a crowd waiting for it.

“I usually try to get to Crawford a bit early so I am not late [to class] if the elevator takes a long time to come,” Cosson said.

Yeatts stated that he is not aware of any current issues regarding students and faculty that cannot physically go up the stairs but will “appropriately address any issue.”

Owens said he doesn’t “feel the safest” when using the elevators because they break “all the time.”

He mentioned once when he had to take the stairs because one of the elevators was not working.

“I was running late to class, and I wanted to use the elevator to get to the sixth floor as quick as I could,” Owens said. “The only elevator working was already filled with students, so I had to run up the stairs.”

Yeatts stated the new elevators that are set to replace the “worn out” pair in service right now have been in “design and fabrication for months” and should be delivered sometime in April.

Owens said he thinks it is great that the Crawford elevators are being replaced.

“It allows us to have new elevators in place to allow the building to be much safer when traveling in them,” Owens said. “I just don’t know why this wasn’t happening earlier when they first knew it was a problem.”

According to Yeatts, the new ThyssenKrupp elevators will cost Florida Tech at least $336,000.

Yeatts did not give an exact date for when the elevators will be installed.

Prospective player: the cat’s meow

April 1, 2019 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

After not making the playoffs this past season, the Florida Tech basketball is looking for potentially the most radical and ferocious change in program history.

Percy the Panther has been tearing through the blacktops of Florida, dominating the court with his physical style of play and lightning-quick reflexes.

Streetballer and former opponent of Percy, Bobby Smitty, said he’s never seen anything quite like him.

Percy stands on a hardwood court for the first time, taking in the beauty. Photo by Pete the Panther.

“That cat is the quickest thing I have ever seen,” Smitty said. “And he can even make jump shots, it’s incredible to watch.”

Percy has no known owner or caretaker and got his name from the book “Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief” because of his uncanny ability to strike like lightning, according to Smitty.

Florida Tech first heard about him from our resident mascot, Pete the Panther.

In an exclusive interview being published on April 31, Pete disclosed that Percy has always dreamed of playing on a hardwood court, having his own jersey and hearing the crowd cheer his name.

Pete recently used his connections with the basketball program to set up a formal meeting and workout.

“They really need to see him in person to find out if he’s a legitimate baller or not,” Pete said.

Percy will be greeted like any other recruit when he comes to display his fourlegged dexterity on May 32.

Smitty said he thinks Florida Tech would be foolish not to offer Percy a scholarship.

“He may be just a large cat, but he’s got more skills than any human player I have ever seen,” Smitty said.

Men’s lacrosse overcomes hot start by Rollins

March 26, 2019 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

In the largest comeback in program history, Florida Tech men’s lacrosse fought back from an 8-0 deficit to hand the Rollins College Tars a 17-16 defeat.

This was the Panthers’ first game of the season against a fellow Sunshine State Conference opponent.

They improved to a 5-1 score on the season and 1-0 in the conference play.

Midfielder Reid Chaconas led the way for Florida Tech with four goals and an assist.

Three other midfielders, Brett Pohlmeyer, Logan Sweeney and Justin Williams, each added two goals and an assist.

Midfielder Tommy Bowser added a goal and two assists of his own, as Attacker Brad Schillinger tacked on another two goals.

Rollins started the scoring early, giving the Tars a 1-0 lead just 49 seconds into the game.

They continued their scoring barrage with seven more unanswered goals, giving them an eight-goal cushion with 9:35 to go in the second quarter.

The Panthers finally responded with 8:52 left in the second quarter, as Schillinger scored his ninth goal of the season.

The Tars reacted quickly, though, making the score 9-1 and pushing the lead back to eight.

After back-to-back goals by Chaconas, the Panthers narrowed the Tars lead to six.

Before halftime, the Panthers scored three straight goals by Pohlmeyer, midfielder Bryce Johnson and defensive midfielder Tyler Oblong.

Rollins responded with a goal, making the score 10-7 heading into halftime.

Schillinger started the scoring in the second half, followed by another goal by Pohlmeyer, making the score 10-9.

After the Tars and Panthers traded goals for most of the second half, Florida Tech was able to build a three-point lead.

This was soon reduced to just a one-point difference after the Tars scored consecutive goals.

The score now stood at 16-15 in the Panthers’ favor with 5:42 to go.

Chaconas then scored his fourth goal of the game, but a little over two minutes later, Rollins was able to counter attack.

It ultimately proved to be too little too late for the Tars, as Florida Tech retained their lead for the last 1:32 of the game, securing their fifth victory of the season.

The Panthers take on another SSC opponent Wednesday, March 27, against the University of Tampa Spartans.

Start time is set for 8 p.m. at the Naimoli Family Athletic Complex in Tampa, Florida.

New Director of Security hired

March 26, 2019 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

Frank Iannone was hired as the newest director of security on Feb. 28, but will not begin working until April 1.

Iannone was the director of college safety and security at Ocean Community College in Toms River, New Jersey.

The former director of security, Kevin Graham, retired on March 1 of this year.

Due to Iannone accepting the offer the day before Graham officially retired, Iannone gave his current employer a 30-day notice before coming to Florida Tech.

During the month of March, Security Lieutenant Barry Cobb has taken over most of the director responsibilities.

Cobb said he has accepted the responsibility of running the security department until the new chief comes in.

He said the biggest difference between his new responsibilities and those of his normal position is “the day-to-day decision making.”

“Before, I was kind of the behind-the-scenes guy,” Cobb said. “I would help Kevin [Graham] make decisions on what we should or shouldn’t do, where now it falls solely on me.”

Cobb said he had no input in who would be hired as the next director but said he wouldn’t have wanted any and is excited for the new director.

“New blood’s always good,” Cobb said. “Come in with some new ideas and hopefully they’ll all be positive for everybody in the university.”

After Graham announced his retirement earlier this year, Chad Shoultz, vice president for facilities operations, headed the search for finding his replacement.

After Human Resources filtered through all of the applicants, a list of about 60 prospective replacements was given to Shoultz.

This initial process by HR was intended to eliminate all applicants that didn’t reach their minimum requirements, according to Shoultz.

From there, Shoultz created a panel that included himself, the dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs, Robert Bowers, and assistant vice president of business and retail operations, Greg Graham, to help narrow down the candidates.

Shoultz said the reason he chose Bowers and Graham was because they have both had a lot of experience with the security department and it was important for both of them to be represented on the panel.

Bowers said in hiring processes like this “they usually select a panel based on people’s involvement directly with that particular position.”

The panel was able to narrow the list down to 10 candidates that stood out based on their resumes and how they fit the open position job description.

According to Shoultz, the panel was able to narrow the candidates down to five that separated themselves through their work history and experience.

After interviews with the five candidates, the panel decided on three finalists that would each have a full-day interview at Florida Tech that Shoultz called more thorough and in-depth.

After the in-person interviews, on Feb. 28, Iannone was hired as the newest director of security.

According to Schoultz, the thing that separated Iannone from the other finalists, who Shoultz said all “could have done the job and done the job well,” was his excitement for the position.

Shoultz said the job opening was posted on Dec. 1, 2018, but it took longer than expected for the hiring process to be finalized.

“My timeline was a bit of an aggressive timeline,” Schoultz said. “When you’re factoring in the holidays and coordinating the panels.”

Iannone is set to begin at Florida Tech at the beginning of next month.

Graham had been the director of security for the past 15 years.

Women’s lacrosse cruises past Fighting Scots

March 12, 2019 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

Florida Tech’s Women Lacrosse team easily defeated Edinboro University, 19-6 on March 8.

The Panthers outscored the Fighting Scots 11-2 in the second half, vaulting them to the victory.

Senior attacker, Leah Dunn, led Florida Tech’s offense with three goals and four assists.

Junior midfielder, Mollie Kaplan, tallied a team-high five goals.

She contributed an assist for the game.

Senior defender, Brittney Embree, finished the game with a new program single game record.

Embree caused seven caused turnovers against Edinboro, the previous record held at six.

Senior Sam Schiano tacked on four of her own goals, along with two goals each from freshman Kailee O’Brien and freshman Lexi Woviotis.

At the start of the game Edinboro scored the first goal, just 42 seconds into the match.

Florida Tech rallied back with two straight goals, taking a 2-1 lead with 25:34 left in the first half.

The Fighting Scots tied the game at two a piece just a little over a minute later.

The Panthers had a strong retaliation though, scoring four consecutive goals, making the score 6-2.

Edinboro did added two more goals before halftime, but Dunn and Woviotis also found the back of the net, making the score 8-4 after the first half.

O’Brien got the second half going for the Panthers with her first goal of the match. 28 seconds later the Fighting Scots answered with a goal to make it 9-5.

Quickly, O’Brien scored her second goal less than a minute later.

Kaplan shortly after made her third goal to make it a six point game, 11-5 with less then 22 minutes remaining.

This offensive momentum continued from there for the Panthers, outscoring Edinboro 8-1 for the remainder of the game.

This explosive second have solidified Florida Tech’s second straight win and makes their season record 4-3.

They played Slippery Rock University March 11 and will visit Florida Southern University to take on the Mocs on Saturday, March 16.

Director of Security set to retire

February 19, 2019 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

After 15 years as the Director of Security for Florida Tech, Kevin Graham is retiring at the beginning of March.

Kevin Graham has served as the Director of Security at Florida Tech for the past 15 years. Photo by David Thompson.

Graham said his reason for retiring is because he thinks it is time for “new blood.”

“If you want to grow, it’s time to have someone else come in with new ideas, new experiences, to make sure that it continues to make this a safer university,” Graham said.

Graham said when he first got hired at Florida Tech, security had antiquated equipment and non-trained officers.

He said that he takes pride in how far the security staff has come since he took over.

“The officers do a tremendous job,” Graham said. “Everybody knows security, we’re involved in most things that happen here now. The security officers have been accepted as professionals.”

Florida Tech’s Dean of Students, Rodney Bowers, said he has worked with security regularly since he began working at Florida Tech in 1990.

“[Graham is] a great person, very passionate, concerned about the students, concerned about the safety of the campus and a very good person to work with,” Bowers said.

Bowers said when someone has reached that milestone in their life when it is time to retire, it is “well deserved.”

“I’m very proud of him,” Bowers said. “I’m proud of what he has done and what he’s accomplished.”

Florida Tech Alumnus and current Clemente Center employee, Thomas Rochester, said he’s noticed that security has become more personable and friendly since he started at Florida Tech in 2010.

Rochester interacts and works with security regularly as a Clemente Center employee.

“The officers are all laid back in demeanor while still maintaining professionalism when a situation arises,” Rochester said. Rochester also called Graham “one of the funniest guys on campus.”

“He is dry witted and prefers cracking a few jokes to ease the tension that comes from his imposing demeanor,” Rochester said.

Graham also attributes a lot of security’s improvements around campus to the beginning of carrying firearms on campus.

“Since the day we were armed, the issues we’ve had with people have diminished greatly,” Graham said.

In order to carry firearms on campus, Florida Tech’s security needed to become both D and G certified, according to Graham.

D certification is working as a security employee unarmed and G is certification to be armed as a security member.

After 43 years of being in law enforcement, Graham said his next venture is “to be determined.”

He did say that he is open to suggestions and has been teaching part-time for 30 years now.

“Being here at the university is a big responsibility,” Graham said. “I am truly proud to say I worked at Florida Tech.”

Cheer and dance teams take home awards and experience

February 17, 2019 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

Florida Tech’s cheer and dance teams competed at the 2019 Universal Cheer Association and Dance Team National Championship Jan. 18 through Jan. 20.

The dance team competed in the “open palm” competition, while the cheer team participated in the “D2 small co-ed” competition.

Cheer made it to finals for the first round and then were ranked sixth in the nation.

Head coach Alexa Flutie-Sumner said this was the cheer team’s second year competing.

“They got presented a trophy,” Flutie-Sumner said. “We are now nationally ranked, so we’re very excited about that.”

Flutie-Sumner said the dance team did well but had a lot more competition than the cheer team.

“My dance team is still new, too,” Flutie-Sumner said. “We’re still developing it. But they scored a 93 in their score sheets, which is very exceptional. However, we did not make it to finals and we did not get ranked.”

The dance team’s score went up by 15 points from last year, according to Flutie-Sumner.

“We had a lot of technical style of dance this year,” Flutie-Sumner said, “which we haven’t in the past, which really increased our score.”

Flutie-Sumner said cheer competed against about 13 other teams and dance competed against 16.

Amber Palmer, a graduated psychology major and cheerleader, said it was “one of the best feelings” when it was announced they made it to the finals and then were ranked sixth in the nation.

“Our entire team went crazy, and I even cried because we had come so far and worked so hard,” Palmer said. “There’s really no better feeling than your hard work paying off and accomplishing so many goals as a team.”

Juliana Burgos, a senior studying chemical engineering and an original member of Florida Tech’s dance team, said they put on their best dance performance to date at the competition.

“When the dance team started it was more about figuring out how to integrate ourselves into the school and create the foundation for future years,” Burgos said. “Now we have amazing opportunities like competing at UDA College Nationals.”

The practices leading up to the UDA and UCA College Nationals were difficult, according to Palmer.

“We had practice almost every day for the entire two weeks before competition, and each would last anywhere from three to six hours,” Palmer said.

The dance team’s practices leading up to the competition were focused on performance and energy, according to Burgos.

Palmer said her time on the cheer team wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it.

“Overall, my experience has been great,” Palmer said. “I’ve learned so much from my coach and made some lifelong friends.”