As the men's basketball season approached in the fall of 2015, there were high expectations for senior guard Jackson Clough, who was predicted to play a vital role in the success of the team's season....

Every night, like clockwork, Matt Mounier, a junior guard on the men's basketball team, plans out his schedule for the next day – down to the hour – and records it in a notebook. The reason for this rigid schedule? According to Mounier, he constantly strives for success.

Revitalized team hopes to continue their momentum after upsetting University of Puget Sound in five sets at the Whitman Invitational.

With spring at last sprung and the end of the school year looming on the horizon, next year's fall varsity sports season may seem a long way ahead. But for varsity athletes, the fall is already quickly approaching. “Next year" is about to become “now"—and it is at this time that preparation becomes critical. And in the next few months, summer vacation will provide an important training period for fall sport student athletes. On top of any other plans for working or internships, they will dedicate time to keeping in shape nearly every day of every week. Some work by themselves, others with teammates; they train here in Walla Walla and in hometowns across the country. But wherever they will be, student athletes recognize the significance of their efforts in the next few months—not to mention the personal initiative required without a coach to motivate them.

When a batter walks up to the plate, all eyes are on him, and the pressure can be debilitating. As baseball players progress, however, they learn how to cope with these situations. “Ideally the pressure of the situation doesn't even factor into the equation because you practice over and over again the same motions, the same repetitive motions," said sophomore player Erik Korsmo. “Guys have their little quirks. I like to clean [the batter's box], scrape it off, make sure it's nice and flat...I do that before every pitch. That just gets your mind ready." Whitman baseball coach Casey Powell expressed similar sentiments.

In most sports, college and otherwise, the rules are pretty straightforward. Out of bounds in soccer leads to a throw in; facemask in football leads to a penalty. To rugby fans or occasional rugby goers, however, the rules seem invisible or infrequent. And what are the rules? What is a scrum or a ruck? Why do players get tossed in the air at odd intervals? While rugby appears to be a completely chaotic game, that is not the case, according to sophomore and women's rugby captain Emily Lorente. “There are actually a lot of rules to rugby," said Lorente. “There are a lot of things you can and cannot do. For example, you cannot throw the ball forward, and you can't kick a ball with a part of the body above the knee. And if you are tackled, you must release the ball or a penalty is called." Rugby, according to Lorente, is a unique sport but takes on elements of other popular contact sports.

Although high school tennis players tend to focus more on their singles game, the emphasis on doubles tennis grows dramatically in college.   Doubles mixes both the traditional self-reliance of a singles...

When a pitcher winds up and throws: his jaw hard-set, his eyes bearing down on the opponent, his instant burst from stillness to rearing back and firing: it brings to mind the image of a gunslinger from...

Whether it occurs on the court, field, water or ice, a truly celebratory sports moment can be defined by one element—the reaction of the crowd. Beyond the cheering that reverberates through dreaming minds worldwide, crowd dynamics play a significant role in the character of sporting events. This is especially true in a small environment like Whitman College where strong attendance at sporting events can make a palpable difference for spectators and players alike.