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Read the original article on The Minaret, with photos.
Two weeks before graduation, teammates dressed five out of the six University of Tampa women’s soccer freshmen in bright, colorful clothes and covered them in make-up, fingernail polish and marker.
Pictures from the party in an off-campus apartment showed the five freshmen women in Halloween-style makeup with fingernail polish around their eyes. At least two had hair painted on their chests and arms, and Haley LeMond wore a shirt that read “Property of Stack,” an older teammate.
The women remained in their new attire when the team went to The Hut, a local 18-and-up nightclub that is popular with UT students.
The event, known as “Freshmen Fun Night,” reportedly has been going on for years. As the pictures depict the senior members of the team dressed normally, questions about hazing arose.
UT’s regulations state, “Hazing includes, but is not limited to … forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance, or other forced physical activity that could adversely affect the physical health or safety of the student and also includes any activity that would subject the student to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct that could result in extreme embarrassment, or other forced activity that could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the student.”
The NCAA has a slightly more detailed definition, including, “any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate. This does not include activities such as rookies carrying the balls, team parties with community games, or going out with your teammates, unless an atmosphere of humiliation, degradation, abuse or danger arises.”
Taking the players out to The Hut while still dressed up in such a fashion could appear to violate NCAA policy, but one freshman denied that the behavior was insulting or derogatory.
“I don’t see that [the activities of Freshmen Fun Night] as demeaning to my character at all,” she said, wishing to remain anonymous. “I would do it again, and I want to do it again.”
Athletic Director Larry Marfise said the department investigated the event.
“We looked into it, and found nothing wrong,” he said. “It was not an initiation. It was only freshmen because only the freshmen chose to participate.”
Marfise went on to say that the athletic department follows their own set of hazing regulations, which are different that UT’s general campus policy. He was unwilling to give The Minaret a copy of these rules, however, claiming that only those inside the athletic department, including student-athletes, have access to them.
Team captain Alicia Wyman thought the event was harmless.
“No one is any higher or lower than anyone else,” said Wyman, one of the veterans participating in the event. “Everyone was in there together, and everyone was watching out for each other.”
Freshman Amy Triano recalled a story last semester when she and a teammate had dressed up similarly to Saturday’s outfit for fun.
“I do it all the time, but no one is there to do it with me,” Triano said.
However, even if the activities were not fully forced, according to Tampa’s Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, “Apathy or acquiescence in the presence of hazing is not a neutral act; it is a violation of this article.”
Even if all the girls consented to the events of freshmen fun night, the act could still be considered hazing at UT.
The Rights and Responsibilities also state, “Any activity . . . upon which the initiation or admission into or affiliation with a university organization is directly or indirectly conditioned shall be presumed to be ‘forced’ activity, the willingness of an individual to participate in such activity notwithstanding.”
Head coach Gerry Lucey said he heard about some of the night.
“It was not a team event,” he said. “There is nothing to suggest that anything wrong took place.”
His players agreed.
“It was definitely not a team event,” said one of the players. “Our entire team was not there. Anyone who wanted to go went. It was not mandatory.”
Facebook pictures showed empty beer bottles on tables along with what appeared to be a bottle of Malibu Coconut Rum. All of the players vehemently denied that any alcohol was consumed at the event, however.
While at least a dozen women’s soccer players were involved, pictures show that some of those involved Saturday were women athletes from other sports. Some were not affiliated with any Tampa sports at all. Thus, the night was not affiliated specifically with women’s soccer, players said.
Though freshmen Megan Tobin was sick with food poisoning, all of the other freshmen were dressed up for the event. It also appears that only freshmen wore the outfits, but team members say the event wasn’t a hazing ritual.
“There’s no initiation if you’re already in the group,” Wyman said.
Admission to the team follows the same standard. Christy O’Connor was on the team as a freshman and left the squad at the start of spring semester.
“I knew that there was a night we all got together and dressed up silly,” O’Connor said. “It wasn’t a scare tactic at all.”
She said the idea of such a night had no influence in her decision to leave the team. If O’Connor were to rejoin in the fall, she would need only to meet the physical requirements and not undergo any tasks performed on Freshmen Fun Night, she said.
The Facebook pictures have been taken down since they were first posted.
- Bobby Winsler
This university needs to schoolhouse bully Division I schools. Challenge Miami to a baseball game, or extend open arms to the Gators basketball program. The Tampa teams aren’t drawing any crowds, and it is not for lack of our talent.
Let us challenge schools that will bring the fans and then prove that we can beat them. Like the welterweight challenging the heavyweight, nobody holds the underdog responsible for losing while at the same time cheering for the upset.
This spirit is exactly what Tampa is missing and if it requires incessantly emailing, calling or carrier pigeon messaging large D-I schools that are the real allure then so be it.
The logical opposition to this would be not to hope a higher Division school condescends to our tier but rather to raise our level to theirs. While not a bad idea from the competition aspect, financially this decision is irrational.
Right now our athletic department is already under- funded in scholarships. Men’s soccer head coach Adrian Bush commented during his season that Lynn University budgets around three times as much as Tampa in his sport. Yet even with this discrepancy, UT won the Sunshine State Conference tournament and handed Lynn their only three losses of the season.
Tampa held the Fighting Knights, who averaged 3.2 goals a game, to two or fewer in every contest. Unbelievable play that surpasses what the statistics show is not uncommon at Tampa, made largely possible by the school’s location and small size.
Moving into the Division I realm would make us more appealing to incoming freshmen and transfers, causing undergraduate numbers to soar past the small school attraction of athletes. To compensate for the loss of one subtle recruiting tool, the athletic department would be forced to charge admission into games to boost the scholarship fund to keep us competitive.
The last event UT charged entry was the men’s and women’s basketball postseason in March. Five dollars was enough for admission to a full day of basketball and access to the Fan Fest presented by the athletic marketing program and Wendy’s seeking another advertising edge.
Unfortunately for Tampa, five dollars is also the cover amount The Hut charges on Saturdays for nickel beer night and I would be willing to bet a beer (or a nickel) that there were more UT kids at The Hut than supporting their home team.
Ruling out the D-I promotion, I noted the Bumstead article suggests that we lose participation to the local sports teams. It also accuses Tampa’s lack in the football department. The latter I have no doubt hurts us but of the first claim I am still skeptical.
After soccer season next year, when the field is no longer spitting sulfur water on kids walking to Straz, Tampa should make more of an effort to draw that outside action here. Bringing the WNBA teams to play in Martinez is a step in the right direction but the improper execution of this plan is self-evident: it’s the WNBA.
The once successful (now has-been) Tampa Bay Storm hosting practices on the intramural field is close, but if the squad played a real inter-team skirmish in the spring when the soccer field isn’t being used, then the Spartan stands may be filled for the first time in a while. A show such as this may even allow the school to charge a five dollar entry fee, making these tickets exactly five dollars more than those currently provided by the university.
Higher ambitions such as that may be further down the road if it lies in the distance at all. Instead UT should not move to Division I sports, but rather test the waters.
Pestering bigger name schools to challenge our 12 national championships will either arouse suspicion that they are afraid of us or bring them to our campus with free admission to the games.
Fan participation, even for the wrong reason, still fills the stands. Since the natural skill of our athletes and the success of our teams as a whole clearly isn’t enough, this may be one of the few remaining options.
Worst that happens is students learn how talented our teams are.
- Bobby Winsler
TAMPA — There won’t be any more significant news coming out of the University of Tampa athletic department by the year end, so here’s part I of the recap of Spartan sports from The Minaret.
Baseball
The baseball team repeated its 2006 glory with an equally impressive National Championship in June 2007. Just a year after having five players drafted by MLB teams, Tampa posted a 53-10 record and knocked off Columbus State University by a score of 7-2.
But the back-to-back championships weren’t enough for this record-setting club. A total of seven players signed with MLB teams, with six being drafted and C Chris Rosenbaum signing a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It’s a long road for a young MLB player to make it to the “show,” but it’s not out of the question. Jonathan Holt has serious professional talent, and is a stand-up young man as well. He was the Most Outstanding Player at the championships, and should rise quickly through the ranks of the Cleveland Indians program.
In a blast from the Spartan past, C Mike Rabelo was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Florida Marlins in the Dontrelle Willis deal. Rabelo played three season from 1999-2001. In 2006, he became the first Spartan to advance to the majors since Tino Martinez. Rabelo was drafted in the 14th round of the 2001 MLB draft.
Volleyball
Despite the return of key players Katelen Dixon, Margeaux Sinibaldi and Danielle Macdonald, the Spartan volleyball team fell short in its title defense. Ranked in the top five for a majority of the season, Tampa lost to Washburn University 3-2 after building a 2-0 lead. The Spartans finished 31-3 on the season.
Four Spartans were named to the AVCA All-America team, a record for the program. Erin Clark and Alisha Green joined Dixon and Sinibaldi on the list. Sinibaldi also set the SSC record for career digs this season, and the All-American award was her second.
Women’s Soccer
It looked like it would be a difficult year after losing a number of key members of the 2006 Final Four team, but Tampa bounced back and showed some real heart late in the season to take the Division II national title. Jocelyn Charette (transfer), Malana Winskas (graduation) and Samantha Robinson (graduation) were all main components of the 2006 success, with Charette scoring 21 goals, Robinson adding 28 assists, and Winskas winning her record fourth-consecutive SSC Defensive Player of the Year award.
Oh yeah, and South Region Coach of the Year Bobby Johnston left the school to take an assistant position at his alma mater, James Madison University in Virginia. The coaching spot wasn’t vacant long, as former assistant Gerry Lucey returned to Tampa after a Final Four appearance with West Chester University.
The team scored 20 fewer goals than 2006 (a 28% decline) and gave up two more this season, but they scored when they counted most: the NCAA tournament.
It helped to have Division II Player of the Year Shannon Aitken on the club. Aitken recorded 14 shutouts and saved nearly 80% of all shots that came her way. Not to mention she did the unthinkable in stopping four penalty kicks in two overtime games in the championship tournament. It’s rare for a men’s team to stop PKs, and even more rare for a woman to do it, statistically.
Aitken, Ashley Flateland, Shelby Kuni, Emily Stack and Courtney Evans all made the All-America team. Flateland left the program after the season to attend JMU.
And in the end….
The championships brought the Tampa total to a total of four over the past two years: 2 baseball, 1 volleyball, 1 women’s soccer. Before the 2006 baseball trophy, Tampa had a total of nine National Championships in its 75 year history.
Check back soon for the rest of the wrap-ups, including the women’s basketball team’s run to the conference championship, the men’s soccer team return to success, and some really strange stories from other Spartan sports.
- Peter Arrabal
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, the University of Tampa women’s soccer team captured the program’s first National Championship with 3-1 victory in penalty kicks.
Ashley Flateland knocked home the game-winning penalty kick to give the Spartans a 3-1 decision in the third overtime. Shannon Aitken saved two PK attempts while the Ravens missed another to give Tampa the victory.
Neither team could find rhythm in regulation or overtime, with Tampa outshooting the Ravens 11 to 7.
Three Spartans were issued yellow cards during regulation, with one each going to Nicole Murphy, Ashley Flateland and Marissa Mohammed.
Shelby Kuni made the first penalty kick and Aitken saved Franklin Pierce’s first attempt. After another Ravens miss, Courtney Evans’s shot hit off the crossbar and into the keeper’s arms.
Aitken saved an attempt from Gabrielo Demo, which set up Megan Tobin’s first shot of the game. Tobin, a freshman with a game-winning PK on her record this season, nailed the attempt.
With the score at 2-1 after three attempts, a Ravens’ miss or a Spartans goal would have ended the game. Laura Stockdale kept the Ravens alive, but Ashley Flateland nailed the game-winner.
- wire story
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