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Florida Tech Sports Recap for Nov. 24, 2019

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Football: Overall record: 5-6

The Panthers finish their season strong with a blowout win on their home turf.
Photo // Florida Tech Athletics

Nov. 16 42-3 Win vs Shorter

Volleyball: Overall record: 4-27

The volleyball team ended their season on a 12-game losing streak and placed last in their conference. Photo // Florida Tech Athletics

Nov. 15 0-3 Loss at Saint Leo University
Nov. 16 0-3 Loss at University of Tampa
Nov. 22 0-3 Loss vs Lynn University
Nov. 23 0-3 Loss vs Nova Southeastern University

Men’s Soccer: Overall record: 12-3-1

After losing the second round of the conference playoffs, the Panthers still solidified a spot in the NCAA playoffs and secured a victory in the first round. Photo // Florida Tech Athletics

Nov. 14 1-3 Loss vs Palm Beach Atlantic
Nov. 23 2-1 Win vs University of West Florida

Men’s Basketball: Overall record: 2-3

The Panthers are off to a below-average start early on in their lengthy season. 

Nov. 8 75-92 Loss vs Benedict College
Nov. 9 84-88 Loss at Auburn-Montgomery
Nov. 14 111-71 Win vs Johnson
Nov. 16 81-63 Win vs Puerto Rico-Bayamon 
Nov. 23 70-75 Loss at Saint Leo University

Women’s Basketball: Overall record: 3-3

A .500 start six games into the Panthers season.

Nov. 8 67-75 Loss vs University of West Georgia
Nov. 9 75-73 Win vs Spring Hill College
Nov. 15 80-56 Win vs University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon
Nov. 16 53-75 Loss vs Clayton State University
Nov. 19 71-57 Win at Flagler College
Nov. 23 67-82 Loss at Saint Leo University

NCAA student-athletes can now profit off their fame nationwide

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After the NCAA board of governors passed a law to allow college athletes to profit off their fame in several states such as California, Florida and Colorado, they voted unan- imously on a similar agree- ment nationwide on Oct. 29.

The board has asked the three divisions of the NCAA to create the necessary rules immediately in order to have them in place no later than January of 2021.

Bill Jurgens, Florida Tech’s athletic director, stat- ed that he does not have an opinion at this time, due to this information just being released, and the fact that the NCAA is still looking into this matter.

According to TIME, the NCAA needs to determine how athletes can profit off of their name, likeness and

image, while also maintaining rules regarding amateurism.

Jake Hahn, a junior on the lacrosse team, said he thinks that for these rules to be effec- tive, the NCAA would have to redefine the term of amateur- ism in college sports.

“I think the main thing that categorizes an athlete as a professional is that they get paid to play their sport,” Hahn said.

Hahn then explained that an athlete can’t be both a professional and an amateur at the same time.

He elaborated that the hard thing about allowing student athletes to make money off their name is the fact that once that student starts making money, it’s hard to say if they can still be considered an amateur.

Johnny Poret, a sopho- more on the football team, said he believes that players

should be paid based on the amount of money they bring into the school.

“Big time players bring in big time money for schools because people want to come watch them play,” Poret said. “The more money a player brings in, the more money that player should receive.”

How universities will assist students in profiting off of their name and likeness has not been decided.

Both Hahn and Poret brought up the suggestion of personal jersey sales, or team equipment inside the univer- sity’s bookstore or on their website.

As far as recruiting is concerned, Hahn said he believes that this new rule will potentially have no impact on the smaller Division II and Division III schools, but could have an effect on Division I schools.

Hahn went on to explain that the high quality athletes, such as those who are considered four or five star recruits, won’t have an interest in coming to Florida Tech, as they have the opportunity to

pursue Division I schools. With just a little over a year until this rule will be put in play, much more informa- tion regarding rules and regu- lations from the NCAA itself

are still to come.

Washington Nationals fans flood capital streets

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Fans color the streets red as they gather for the parade.
Crimson // Jesse Villaverde

The Washington Nationals won the World Series for the first time in their franchise’s history on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

In the following days, a parade and rally were held in Washington, D.C., to honor and celebrate their World Series win.

The city was packed with fans waiting for the celebration of the team’s World Series title to occur. Streets were closed to escort the parade and lead them to the Capitol.

A young Nationals fan gets a front-row seat to the celebration.
Crimson // Jesse Villaverde

Fans flooded the sidewalks, cheering for their team. Young children were climbing up trees to get a better view of the parade.

David Milan grew up in Washington and has been a fan since 2005, the same year the Nationals were established.

“I grew up watching the Nationals,” Milan said. “They have not had a lot of luck in their time being in the league. Seeing them win it all was one of the best moments in my life.”

Milan’s girlfriend, Carly O’Neill, has recently become a Nationals fan since they started dating.

“He was on the floor and just so happy after they won,” O’Neill said. “It was a moment he will not forget and it was amazing to see him happy.”

This was the team’s first ever World Series appearance, playing inside Minute Maid Park, where they beat the Houston Astros in a best of seven game series.

The Washington natives were the underdogs in the playoffs, being the last seed in the National League bracket.

According to CBS Sports, the Nationals began their season with a record of 19 wins and 31 losses.

“It was a tough time for me as a fan,” Milan said. “However, I still stood by the Nationals and hoped they could find a way to play better.”

The Nationals, who used to train in Viera, Florida during the spring, would go on to have a record of 74 wins and 39 losses for the rest of the year.

This earned them a spot in the one game elimination wild card game round.

The Nationals now share their current complex with the Houston Astros—the team they beat in the World Series.

“It was shocking, but I believed they would finish strong,” Milan said. “They were fun to watch. Without them, I would not be here. I am excited to be in this environment and celebrate their championship.”

Jumbotrons displayed the Nationals team throughout the capital streets.
Crimson // Kevin Boodoosingh

O’Neill also discussed her first experience watching the Nationals.

“It was really exciting,” O’Neill said. “They reminded me of the team from the movie ‘Moneyball,’ when no one expected the team to win.”

The crowds cheered the loudest when the first-ever draft pick in 2005, Ryan Zimmerman, held up the World Series trophy from the bus.

Zimmerman, a longtime third baseman and first baseman, has been with the Nationals for 15 years.

“Seeing Ryan hold up the trophy was my favorite part because he has played for so long for the Nationals, and now he has his moment,” Joanne Lowry said. Lowry, a fan of the team, is from Harrisburg, Virginia, where the Nationals minor league team is located.

She has seen Zimmerman play since he was first drafted in 2005.

“To see him play for as long as he has, I am happy for him to finally win,” Lowry said. “He has been my favorite player since the Nationals became a team.”

Lowry spoke about what this parade meant to Washington.

“It is exciting, and memorable,” Lowry said. “I am happy to see people come together and be happy to celebrate a moment like this. The city binds together, it means so much to D.C.”

Record participation in homecoming 5k

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People gather, waiting for the 5k to begin. Crimson // Joe Gundzik

Hundreds of runners gathered outside Meg O’Mally’s Irish pub in Downtown Melbourne on Oct. 24, setting a record for the number of participants in Florida Tech’s homecoming 5k.

“We’ve been doing this area, Downtown Melbourne, since 2012,” said Stephanie Bacon, the race director. “I am proud to say that we are going to have probably over 600 runners, which represents the largest race we’ve ever had.”

The route of the race ran through Downtown Melbourne with several turnarounds to minimize the blocked off area.

Bacon said the route has stayed the same through the years, with runners beginning at Waverly Place, moving down Melbourne Avenue, Bignonia Avenue, and them coming back to Waverly.

While a look at Florida Tech’s admission data shows that undergraduate admissions have steadily increased year by year, this does not necessarily mean that student participation has increased overall as the race remains open to the public.

Many non-students and faculty members also participated in the race. Ryan Schwieterman, a non-student participant, said he ran for his team, and that he expected to be exhausted afterward.

Team competitions, although informal, account for some of the increase in participation.

Yet, much of the 5k’s participation comes from members of Brevard County.

“I came here to win,” said Grant Poirier, a Florida Tech student and experienced runner. “I am going to win first 100 place.”

Poirier said he has been running since he could walk.

“Most of it was not of my own free will, but I learned to love it eventually,” Poirier said. “I’ve loved it and hated it for most of my life. Mostly hated it, but still loved it a little bit.”

Poirier went on to say that he ran for three years in middle school and one year in high school.

“After that one year in high school, I realized that running distance in high school was a terrible life decision,” Poirier said. “So I re-evaluated my life and played golf.”

While Poirier has an “unusual” liking for running, others were spotted crossing the finish line with smiles due to personal bests, or looks of fatigue, celebratory highfives with friends, teammates, professors and more.

If anything, Florida Tech’s homecoming 5k showcased all levels of runners, various types of participants, but all united for one fun event.

SOSA hosts first Fall Earth Day

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ASCE and SOSA created a sculpture out of campus waste.
FITV // Quang Dinh

This homecoming, Florida Tech saw dogs on Crawford Green, celebration of the environment, and awareness brought to some of the problems impacting the planet.

The reason: the Student Organization for Sustainability Action held its first Fall Earth Day celebration.

The event was a collaboration between SOSA, the American Society of Civil Engineers, Squamish and RLSC.

Fall Earth Day was held on Wednesday, October 23, on the Crawford Green.

Ken Lindeman, the advisor for SOSA and an ocean engineering and marine sciences professor, has worked with SOSA every year to help them create an engaging week-long celebration of Earth Day in April.

“We have wanted to also do a Fall Earth Day, and there have been some efforts to do that in the past,” Lindeman said. “This year, SOSA, ASCE and other student organizations followed through with a substantive event.”

Allyson McCarron, the vice president of SOSA, discussed the initial idea of collaborating with another organization, ASCE.

“We have a diverse group of people in SOSA in terms of majors and could have done it as a group, but more organizations are getting interested in sustainability and we thought that ASCE would do a great job to help bring our vision to life,” McCarron said.

McCarron said the original idea of Fall Earth Day was born last fall.

“We wanted to increase the importance of Earth Day on campus with the idea that we shouldn’t just have one day in the spring that we celebrate it,” McCarron said.

Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22, and both SOSA and ASCE recognize the importance of that day and the message that it presents to people.

For Fall Earth Day, a number of organizations were invited.

McCarron said these organizations included Keep Brevard Beautiful, Facilities, Alumni Affairs, and the CLEO Institute.

The Brevard Zoo has a program known as “Restore Our Shores,” which is a project that focuses on conservation, especially on the shorelines.

The project aims to protect locations such as the Indian River Lagoon and other bodies of water with shorelines.

Oysters and mangroves are examples of some organisms that the Brevard Zoo team helps protect.

The sculpture that was designed from collected trash and waste as a result of campus clean-ups attracted a lot of attention.

McCarron said, “I am very proud of what all of us accomplished and hope that it opened some of the eyes of students on campus.”

Athletics stay busy during homecoming week

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To begin the week, the volleyball team fell to the Embry-Riddle Eagles on Tuesday night.

The Panthers lost in straight sets but kept each set close. Each set was lost by only five points or fewer.

They finished the match with 33 kills, 33 assists, five service aces, four blocks, 64 digs and 63 total points. Soccer continued the week on Wednesday night, both taking on Rollins College.

The No. 6 ranked men’s team was undefeated entering the game with a 9-0-1 record.

Their game against the Tars was the Panthers second of the season to go into overtime but this time they came up short, losing 2-1.

Guillermo Segovia scored Florida Tech’s only goal of the evening, tallying his goal total for the season to a team-high seven goals.

The women’s team had similar results at home against the Tars, losing 3-0.

Maria Munoz, Brittany Etrick and Alexis Sheely each challenged the Rollins goalkeeper, putting a shot on goal.

The football team wrapped up homecoming week Saturday afternoon as they took on the West Florida Argonauts.

This game was not only the homecoming game but the fourth annual Coastal Classic rivalry game between Florida Tech and West Florida.

The winner gets to keep the Coastal Classic Trophy for the full year until they face off the next season.

In last season’s game, the Panthers overcame an 18-point deficit and beat the Argonauts 30-28.

This year, Florida Tech fell to West Florida 38-14, making their overall record 1-3 in the rivalry game.

The 24-point difference was the greatest so far of the four-year rivalry.

Similar to last year, the Panthers found themselves down early, trailing 17-7 at halftime.

After falling down 31-7 in the third quarter, it was too great of a deficit for them to overcome this year.

Freshman quarterback Mike Diliello was featured in both of Florida Tech’s touchdowns.

The first was a 91-yard run by Diliello that at the time brought them within three points of the Argonauts.

The second and final touchdown scored by the Panthers was a seven-yard pass from Diliello to tight end Kenny Hiteman late in the third quarter.

The trophy is now back with West Florida but the Panthers will have their chance to reclaim it next season.

Florida Tech began their season 3-1 but have now dropped four straight games, leaving their record at a 3-5 with three more games remaining in the regular season.

They next take on West Alabama at Panther Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Pay to play for Bahamas relief

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Florida Tech volleyball representatives posing with their prizes from the volleyball game. A participant in the event caught a shark. Picture // Ashley Letendre

With Hurricane Dorian devastating the Bahamas and leaving the country in need of funding for repairs, Florida Tech’s Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society hosted a Bahamas relief fundraiser.

According to Ashley Letendre, the president of Phi Eta Sigma, the honor society has previously hosted activities and events to help benefit the community and the school.

“We have done community service events before,” Letendre said. “We help bring emotional support dogs to campus during finals week. We hope to find ways to help students every day.”

This time around, Phi Eta Sigma sought to get the student body involved and raise money for the Bahamas.

“We wanted to do a fundraiser that we knew a lot of students would come to,” Letendre said. “Volleyball was our choice for an activity because most people can play that sport.”

Ashley Faubion, the advisor for the event, said teams paid ten dollars to play while individuals paid five.

The tournament was held at Southgate, with pizza being donated by the Civil Engagement office.

The volleyball tournament had first place, second place and third place winners, with prizes being awarded to podium winners.

Representatives of the Florida Tech Volleyball Club took first place, while Gabe Quinn and Spencer Somes from Residence Life placed second.

Third place went to representatives of SGA. Eric Hu, representative of the volleyball club, took home a pair of wireless bluetooth speakers as his winning prize.

“It felt nice to play for a good cause,” Hu said. Letendre said the fundraiser was able to raise 120 dollars.

Phi Eta Sigma plans to donate the money to the Salvation Army, which has a direct link to the Bahamas relief effort.

Letendre said the event was a lot of fun, and it was great to see people come out and support a good cause.

Fishing Club hosts second annual shark fishing event

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  • A participant in the event caught a shark. Picture // Christian Martinez and Xingman Jiang

Rather than spending a calm Saturday afternoon leisurely waiting for fish to take a bite on the line, Florida Tech’s fishing club choose a more thrilling pastime while baiting sharks.

Spending the whole afternoon at Bonsteel Park on Oct. 5, the fishing club held their second annual shark-fishing event.

Two, three-to-four foot sharks were reeled in, while another was hooked but snapped the line.

Based on the sharks’ appearances, the club said they believe they were spinner sharks.

The event was held not only for fun, but also to tag sharks for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Once we reel them in, we take measurements, find out the breed and tag the sharks,” said Nicholas Tolentino, the fishing club’s president. “We release them after, and then NOAA takes the data to keep an eye on the sharks.”

Since the sharks at the beach aren’t large, Tolentino said, “They aren’t likely to attack anyone. Sharks are everywhere, you just don’t see them.”

Both spinners were reeled in by fishing club member James Hinson, who has had experience catching sharks.

“I joined the fishing club as a way to make friends on campus and to get me out of my room,” Hinson said. “The fishing club has remained a place to just gather friends who all enjoy the same hobby of fishing, and spend a day at the beach to get away when you’re stressed.”

Anyone is allowed to go shark fishing as long as they complete a free online course by the Florida Fishing and Wildlife Conservation Commission to get a permit.

The FWC’s website, which the event’s CORQ page linked to, also includes a list of harvestable and prohibited sharks with limits based on species and size.

Breeds allowed to be caught include finetooth, blacknose, bull, nurse, spinners and other small breeds.

Prohibited breeds include the likes of lemon, Galapagos, tiger, whale and white sharks.

Armed with this knowledge, their permits, fishing rods, spare lines and enough bait to last the day, the fishing club was glad to have anyone join the event.

“This is the first time that this event was as open to the public as it was,” Tolentino said.

He also said that the only things to worry about were hooking other people and handling the sharks.

Fishing club meetings are held every other week from seven p.m. at Olin Life Science room 130.

“I hope more people come out to our events and club meetings,” Tolentino said. “It’s chill with no dues or anything. We’re all just out here having a good time fishing.”

Men’s soccer undefeated despite injury

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The men’s soccer team is now 6-0 on the season and 2-0 against conference opponents.

Most recently, the Panthers took on defending NCAA Division II national champions, Barry University.

After taking a 1-0 lead, scored by Guillermo Segovia, Florida Tech struggled to further the lead and allowed Barry to tie up the game 1-1.

Senior midfielder Luca Campanini had a penalty kick opportunity to give the Panthers a one-goal advantage but it was blocked by Barry’s goalkeeper.

Campanini said after the game, “I need to make up for this and we need to win.”

With less than two minutes remaining in the match, Guillermo was fouled inside the box and was able to put his penalty kick in the back of the net.

“When the final whistle blew it was a sigh of relief,” Campanini said. “We should have really beat this team more easily than we did but they made it hard for us.”

This gave the Panthers their sixth win of the season, but along with their great success, there has also come heartbreak.

Graduate Student Solomon Wheatley was lost for the season as he suffered a torn ACL during their match against Limestone.

Wheatley had an assist on the game before the injury but he said he thinks he was getting tired because it was the last 10 minutes of the game.

“I tried to turn as players ran by me and my left foot was stuck in the grass as I turned,” Wheatley said. “I then heard a loud pop noise as if I had broken something and fell the floor.”

He said that normally when he gets injured he knows he can recover fast but this injury was different.

“I had to be carried off the field by my trainer so I knew it was more serious than other injuries but had no clue on what was to come.” Wheatley said if he’s being honest he’s in a difficult place right now.

“It’s been very hard for me to accept my injury and it’s going to get harder after I have my surgery,” he said. “I stayed back in the UK during last spring and trained myself to get in good shape for this fall, so for me to start off as well as I did, it’s been extremely upsetting.”

Senior midfielder Craig McCall said the loss of Wheatley has been massive and that the team was “gutted” when the news broke he’d be out for the season.

“The boys are going to have to fill a big void on and off the field with his absence, but we believe Sol will still have a big role in the team’s dynamic off the field with his character and leadership,” McCall said.

Graduate Student midfielder Morgan Gauthier said that the early season injuries have affected their play.

“It might be one reason why we are not playing our best football in the first few games as we aren’t able to rotate players as we would like to and get tired,” Gauthier said.

Regardless of maybe not playing to their full potential, the Panthers are undefeated and Wheatley said they show a lot of promise.

“My advice for the team is to just give everything into every opportunity whether that be in practice or games,” Wheatley said. “If we work harder than all of the teams there’s no doubt the soccer will take care of the rest. We have a lot of talent in our squad we just need to believe it.”

The Panthers next head on the road on Saturday, Oct. 5 to take on Nova Southeastern and try to remain undefeated.

California sets precedent for NCAA

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Playing under the NCAA is a privilege to earn that lasts once in a lifetime.

A dedicated athlete puts in hard work for their dream to pay off in their future.

Any athlete that wants to be great, fantasizes themselves being the next great player of their generation.

They dream of winning, making money signing big endorsements to companies such as Nike and Adidas.

In California, those dreams can now occur sooner to an athlete.

A new bill, known as the Fair Pay to Play Act, has been passed unanimously., in which college athletes in California are now able to get paid through endorsements and sponsorships, without any punishment.

The main limit to the bill is that an athlete that attends a school sponsored by Nike cannot sign an endorsement deal with any other brand, such as Under Armour.

The new bill was covered all over sports networks, creating some heated debates from constantly getting.

One of the most notable responses came from former University of Florida quarterback, Tim Tebow, where Tebow stated “It changes what’s special about college football,” Tebow said. “We turn it into the NFL, where who has the most money.”

The bill has been approved and is expected to be signed by the governor very shortly.

It will become official in 2023.

Florida Tech’s athletic director, Bill Jurgens, associates with the NCAA frequently due to his job as the A.D. Mr. Jurgens was well aware of the new law that was passed, and he said he is not surprised by the law.

He believes the NCAA “does a great job governing athletics and prepares athletes for professional sports. No one works harder than the NCAA with physical safety and mental safety.”

With the new bill being passed, Jurgens’ remark of preparing athletes for professional sports comes into play, as athletes are now making big decisions for themselves with endorsement contracts.

There is one concern the school’s athletic director has; “The safety of the college athletes are very important, and they must be smart with their decisions and life skills.”

College athletes in California must now make life-changing decisions.

Less than two percent of college athletes in all of college sports combined become professional athletes.

California college athletes are given a responsibility and an opportunity of a lifetime at a very young age, and must make their choices carefully.

Jurgens added a fact that the bill has been discussed with Florida, bringing all the terms passed in California, as a possible new bill coming to Florida as well.

If the new law moves to have an impact on Florida college athletics, this may expand on a big change coming to the NCAA.

Perspectives from college athletes are debatable, depending on what the athletes claim as their top priorities and what they focus on. Senior baseball player Blaise Maris is an athlete not in favor of the new bill.

“Not every college athlete has professional qualities. Getting paid makes it a job. College is stressful enough with classes, practices, and workouts. If you are not performing, then that ‘job’ weighs on your mind more, adding more stress.”

Athletes who are not qualified for business deals will have trouble managing their priorities with school and their sport.

If they are unable to keep their grades up to the appropriate GPA, the athlete will not be qualified to play, resulting in the athlete to lose out on their endorsement deal.

Maris also adds onto the thought of an increase of athletes going to play in California because of the Fair Pay to Play Act.

“I think that there are a lot of athletes that believe they should be getting paid right out of high school, so those people will probably go to California to start their journey. You will start to see better talent levels across the board in California.” Florida Tech football player Daniel Welch added his opinion towards the Fair Pay to Play Act.

He was able to view it as a benefit and as a possible concern.

“I think it could create an opportunity for athletes to be rewarded for being successful. However, I do agree with what Tim Tebow said earlier in the week, that it takes away what college football is about. It takes away some of the team aspect and makes it more individual.”

If athletes become selfish, and have problems as a team, the school’s team will not perform as well, which will lead to problems for the selfish athletes.

If the athletes struggle, they will not be awarded with endorsements, and possibly lose their deals and scholarships.

The college athletes must remain humble and focus on the main goal of winning and competing.

The Fair Pay to Play Act is the start of a new chapter in NCAA sports.

College athletes in California are now gaining the chance to get paid through endorsement deals.

If the bill is spread to other states, it will spread across the country, completely changing college sports, starting a new era that will continue to be debatable.