Snow Stops Games, Not Diplomats

Feb 6, 2010

After a week of hype that at times seemed to overpower the media blitz originating from South Florida, the heavily anticipated Snowpocalypse 2010 did not disappoint. The storm brought most of the region and the City of Lancaster to a grinding halt. WGAL TV reported that several PennDOT trucks became stuck in the snow overnight. None of it was enough to stop Franklin & Marshall's athletic teams.

Coaches battled knee high snow and waist high drifts to walk their way in, except for those who crashed in their offices. Trainers were present to tape and treat athletes.

All of the contests on Saturday's slate were wiped clean and campus events were cancelled, but that stopped neither the teams on a collision course with the crescendo of their season, nor those patiently waiting for winter to release its grip in order to get their season started. On campus, the Facilities and Operations team battled against steady snow, wind and its resulting drift to make walkways passable, but the lack of vehicular traffic made most of the barely passable streets the best walkways. Around 11:00 a.m., snow still falling, baseball players made their way down unusually quiet streets towards the Alumni Sports Fitness Center. The swarm of activity inside more than made up for the dearth of activity outside.

Swimmers, unbeaten in the Centennial so far this season, were banded and pulled by rubber cords around their waists, enjoying an upbeat practice in hopes of a Super Bowl Sunday showdown with their archrivals in Gettysburg. Just outside of the doors of McGinness pool, the steady arrival of snow painted baseball players served notice to winter, groundhogs, and any other non-believers that spring is just around the corner -- despite the forecast of another midweek storm. They stretched and waited while the defending national champions in women's lacrosse walked through plays on the floor of Schnader Field House. Their practice followed an early morning session of men's lacrosse.

A few hundred uneasily trekked yards away, the walks were cleared into Mayser Center, where the basketball teams have to run through a few more practices before getting to tilts with Muhlenberg. The postponed men's game holds Centennial playoff implications.

Only squash escaped Old Man Winter's wrath, heading for the comparatively tropical climate of Upstate New York. While Friday's match with #3 Rochester did not work out in F&M's favor, the Diplomats' number one, Gabriel de Melo, handed a 3-2 setback to Rochester's three-time All-American, Jim Bristow. They'll head onto Cornell and Hobart to round out the weekend, and pull a rare feat for a Lancasterian - returning from Ithaca to mountains of snow. As is often the case for collegiate athletes, their return on Sunday afternoon will not garner any more notice in the outside world than say, a routine Saturday practice. On this anything but routine Saturday afternoon, let's appreciate the dedication of the Diplomats.