Dr. Jason Hoppe and Cadet Writing Fellows Alanna Appel '20 and Helen Schroeder '20 met with several cadets to discuss public speaking and speeches for special occasions. After first defining 'public speaking,' and cadet relationships to it, the group outlined scripted process for both preparing and executing public speaking in a range of contexts. They also exchanged key tips, rooted in experience and scholarship, on conquering stage fright, speaking effectively, and making moments memorable through words that last. Finally, the group concluded with exercises in which cadets worked with Cadet Writing Fellows to prepare speeches, on the spot, in response to a variety of prompts.

The Army Martial Arts team travelled to Boston for Karate Nationals and absolutely crushed the competition. Cadets Andrew Buelow, An Vu, Travis Phelan, Richard Sung, Madison Curry, Josiah Park, and Christopher Dao all medaled with six out of the seven cadets becoming national champions. It was an all West Point final in the men's beginner division with Buelow, Phelan and Vu winning the match to become national champions. The tournament committee loved their fighting spirit so much that they offered to move them up to the intermediate division for a chance to win that division as well. Curry, Park, Sung, and Vu accepted this invitation and proceeded to win the national championship fight. The team produced an astonishing performance at this year's karate national championships. The team hopes to fight and dominate at more karate tournaments next semester after their strong showing this year. Honorable mention to CDT Travis Phelan for finishing his Firstie year by winning the national championships in both Taekwondo and Karate.

The Army West Point women's rugby team concluded their weekend slate at the USA Rugby College National Championships 2-3 overall, after dropping a 36-14 decision against Penn State on Sunday afternoon, followed by a close 21-22 loss to Lindenwood.

Head coach Joe Alberici and the Army West Point lacrosse program celebrated the season and the Class of 2018 at its annual team banquet at West Point's Kimsey Athletic Center. The coaching staff distributed 10 team awards during the afternoon, while Alberici honored the firstie class with talks about outstanding character and servant leadership on and off the field. The coaching staff then announced the 2018-19 team captains. Players and support staff gathered as Major "A" letters were presented to each athlete by position. Following the presentation of the letters, Alberici continued with the official distribution of the team's Player of the Game certificates, along with the mention of the All-Patriot League players and Patriot League All-Academic Team selections. The program then turned to celebrating the firstie class as Alberici recounted anecdotes and highlights of all 17 firstie member's career. The afternoon continued with the presentation of 10 team awards. Charles H. Coates Top Graduating Student-Athlete Award - Awarded for excellence in the classroom - Matt Isnardi. Read More

Plebe Courtney Springman received Third Team All-Northeast Region honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). It was the seventh straight season that the Black Knights placed a Cadet on an all-region squad. Springman was solid inside the circle during her rookie campaign, compiling 16 wins with a team-best 2.01 ERA. She appeared in 39 games and logged 188.1 innings with 152 strikeouts. She held the opposition to a .211 average at the plate and pitched 20 complete games. The Norco, Calif., native was the lone Patriot League pitcher to not allow a single home run during the 2018 season. She capped her first season on the Banks of the Hudson by earning All-Patriot League First Team recognition. Throughout the year, she was a two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week and received pitcher of the week honors once.

Serica Hallstead of the Army West Point women's swimming and diving team was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) All-District First Team. The All-District team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the playing field and in the classroom. First-team honorees advance to the All-America ballot which will be announced in June. Hallstead, who earned Academic All-Patriot League honors, has excelled both on the boards and in the classroom. As a Life Science major, the yearling compiled a 4.013 grade-point average. She was additionally recognized as an All-Patriot League Second Team performer after placing second on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards at the league championships.

The Army West Point baseball team defeated rival Navy here Sunday afternoon, 8-5, in the Patriot League Championship Series Opener. The victory handed the Black Knights an important one game lead in the best-of-three series. The two teams will play the second game of the series on Monday with an additional game three being played immediately following that if needed. First pitch for Monday is slated for noon at Navy's Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Cadets never trailed in the game but Navy didn't go down without a fight. The Black Knights had built an 8-2 advantage heading into the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately, they saw their host notch three big runs and had the game-tying run up at the plate with two outs but yearling Logan Smith forced the Mids to fly out to end the rally and secure Army the victory. It was a 0-0 ballgame until the Cadets broke the deadlock in the third with two runs on two hits. Jon Rosoff earned a one-out walk before Josh White and Anthony Giachin tallied back-to-back singles to bring home the game's first run. Trey Martin then converted on a sacrifice bunt to score Army's second run of the frame. Read More

Army West Point Assistant Women's Tennis Coach Martha Rowley was named the Northeast Region's assistant coach of the year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Monday. Rowley spent her seventh season with the Black Knights in 2017-18 and helped guide the team to its 14th Patriot League title. Army also competed in the NCAA tournament at No. 11 Texas Tech. "It is an honor to be chosen for this award when there are so many qualified assistant coaches in our region," Rowley said. "It has been an amazing season because of the players, coaching staff and the overwhelming support we are so fortunate to have here at West Point. This group of young women have been an honor and pleasure to work with. They are an amazing group who love coming to work each and every day." The Black Knights posted a 21-7 record on the season, including a 6-1 mark in Patriot League play and a 19-1 record at West Point. Rookies Hannah Boubel (25), Ana Joyner (23) and Sasha Inchauste (20) won 20 or more matches in singles, while the tandem of Joyner and Melanie Allen was the only pairing to win 20 doubles matches. Read More

LTC James Bluman '99 from the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering published an article, Control of a Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle: Sliding-Mode Approach, in the Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (JGDC)on a method to control robotic micro-air vehicles in hover, a nonlinear and time-varying dynamics problem. The paper describes an unconventional method of maintaining control even in the face of large wind gusts and wing damage - a condition common for insects. Read More: https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/1.G003160.

The Army West Point baseball team took down service-academy rival Navy 5-3 here Monday afternoon to sweep the Patriot League Championship Series and claim its league-leading eighth conference crown. With the win, the Black Knights advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. They will learn their regional placement during the NCAA selection show on Monday, May 28, at 12 p.m. on ESPNU. After the Mids had taken their first lead of the game and of the series in the sixth inning, the Cadets rallied for three big runs in the seventh to ultimately register the win. Army got on the board first with a run on two hits in the opening frame. Jacob Hurtubise started the game singling to right field before stealing second base to get himself into scoring position. Following a groundout that shifted him to third, Josh White stepped up to the plate and singled through the left side to score the game's opening run. Read More

Head Coach Kevin Ward and the Army West Point wrestling team's incoming recruiting class was ranked in the top 25 by InterMat, FloWrestling and The Open Mat. Ward and his staff have brought in a class that was ranked across all three platforms for the second straight season. The Black Knights are the 21st-best incoming class according to InterMat, 18th in the eyes of The Open Mat, and earned an honorable mention in FloWrestling's top-20. "This is an impressive class of young men who will continue to do great things during their time at West Point," Ward said. "Every one of these guys has strong character and a proven record of success in all that they do. I look forward to working with them to help them achieve their goals of being NCAA Champions. They have an incredible opportunity to leave a lasting legacy on this program, and we can't wait to have these young men on campus." Read More

Nine Cadets from the Army West Point track and field teams qualified for the NCAA Regional meet in Tampa, Fla. The eight qualifiers from the men's team include Keagan Smith in the 1500-meter run, Jeff Giannettino in the high jump, Lee Bares in the pole vault, Kedrin Jefferson in the 200-meter dash, Michael Renard and Geoff Kirk in the discus, and Grayson Hill and August Cook in the javelin. Briyah Brown is the lone representative from the women's team and will be competing in the shot put. "The eight men and one woman that have qualified to the NCAA East prelims is the largest group that we have qualified since I have been here," head coach Mike Smith said. "This is Briyah Brown's third trip to the meet. She has been the star of our program for all four of her years at the academy and it will be a great capstone to her career for her to take a shot at improving her position this weekend. We have arranged to get her back for graduation, so I am happy for her that she will get to represent Army West Point one final time in her athletic uniform and her cadet uniform on the same weekend." Read More

COL Nick Gist, Master of the Sword, presided over Mr. Paul Gannon's Retirement Ceremony. Mr. Gannon, Department of Physical Education (DPE) instructor, provided outstanding instruction in a variety of courses to thousands of cadets over a career spanning 35 years at USMA and DPE.

In attendance were DPE staff and faculty, USCC leadership and family and friends.

Mr. Gannon received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, a Department of the Army Certificate of Retirement, a retirement flag that was flown over West Point and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Superintendent.

Thank you, Paul, for your outstanding service!!!

Firstie co-captain Conor Glancy of the Army West Point men's lacrosse team was selected to the Division I-II USILA/Nike North-South Senior All-Star team. He and the others selected will play at Anderson Stadium on the campus of Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island on Friday, May 25. The game time for the Division I-II game is 7:30 p.m. Admission is Free. "The USILA North-South Senior All-Star Game is the most prestigious in the sport of Lacrosse," said head coach Joe Alberici. "I could not be more proud that Conor will be representing the Army Family at the event. He joins a long list of Army greats to have been selected to play in the historic contest. "Conor has been a four-year contributor in our program and this season emerged as our leader of the offensive end. His toughness, work ethic and dedication to his teammates helped set the standard for our team this year." The West Chester, Pa., native joins the North squad as an attackman. This past season, Glancy posted 29 points for the Black Knights off 18 goals and 11 assists. He was the fourth-best on the team in groundballs with 31 – the best for all players in the offensive zone. Glancy caused three turnovers and had a .561 shot on goal percentage. Read More

The Army Athletic Association held the 2018 Black Knight Awards ceremony on Wednesday morning at Robinson Auditorium in Thayer Hall. The department's premiere year-end event honored teams and individuals for their successes throughout the 2017-18 season. Click here to watch the event. After finishing the season with a 10-3 record, winning the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl and capturing the Commander in Chief's Trophy for the first time since 1996, the football program took home the Team of the Year award for the second straight year. In its 11th year of existence, the Black Knight Awards honored the best that Army West Point's 30 athletic teams had to offer in 2017-18 in an award-show format similar to the ESPY Awards. Rich DeMarco, assistant athletic director for multimedia and broadcasting, emceed the event and guided an audience that included West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, Commandant of Cadets Brig. Gen. Steve Gilland, Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Cindy Jebb and Army West Point Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan just to name a few. Read More

As the Corps of Cadets prepares for the last week of classes, term end exams and graduation, those cadets in charge of various summer details conducted a rehearsal of concept (ROC) drill to the Commandant, Brig. Gen. Steven Gilland. The purpose of this rehearsal is to synchronize scheduled events for this upcoming summer's multi-layered training and certification events. There are a few variations of training models used to develop and manage individual and unit level training. This particular rehearsal is one of the steps of the Eight Step Training Model, a training methodology used to ensure training is planned, resourced and effective.

The ROC drill, part of the "rehearse" step, was utilized to synchronize the various details and the support required to execute the details to the highest standard possible. The Eight Step Training Model enables lead trainers (cadets, staff and faculty of DMI) to build plan, train the trainers, recon the training sites, issue orders, rehearse, execute the training, evaluate the training and retrain the tasks to standard. Cadet Summer Training leadership roles immerse cadets into the realm of training younger cadets and developing themselves as junior officers. Each cadet in charge is paired with an officer in charge to provide oversight and mentorship during the tenure of their summer detail.

Capt. Ashley Leach, the S4 for Cadet Field Training this summer, described the cadet summer training ROC drill as "another great example of our cadets taking charge and preparing to execute world-class training." More than 40 cadet leaders participated in the ROC drill. Leach was impressed by the cadets' abilities to dive headlong into complex problems they have not faced before, and provide resolution through resourcefulness. Seamless execution of CST demands attention to detail, resilience, patience and risk mitigation. During his opening remarks, Gilland stressed to summer cadet leadership the importance of "(maintaining) accountability of our actions (and) the accountability of other's actions," as it pertains to remaining safe and vigilant throughout a demanding summer. Read More

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National and Conference Champion Fencing Cadets Dan Kurtzahn and Cody West completed another component of social outreach for the team by meeting with Troop 23 on Post to spend time with the Boy Scouts. Cadets Kurtzahn and West demonstrated weapon technique and tactics with some strategies for winning in the sport. They also explained the different weapons, their military applications and origins, and how fencing has driven their athletic experiences at West Point physically, mentally, and into a national championship environment. West, an Eagle Scout on the Fencing Team, discussed his history with scouting and how important it was in leading him to West Point, while Kurtzahn talked about the application of positive experiences in his youth that impacted his development as a cadet. The 30-minute session with the Scout Troop which both cadets enjoyed immensely, left the scouts with a lot of good ideas about Cadet life, Fencing, West Point, and how life experiences affect your development in a good way as you mature.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Sullivan visited with cadets in the Advanced Constitutional Law class. President Trump has appointed judge Sullivan to sit as a Judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and his nomination is pending action at the Senate. Prior to that, he served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, where he was Chief of Narcotics and Director of an Organized Crime Task Force. Judge Sullivan discussed non-capital sentencing, including the federal sentencing guidelines, mandatory minimum sentences and sentencing enhancements for recidivists. He explored with the cadets how to assess when incarceration terms run afoul of the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause.

The Army West Point baseball team, who recently won the Patriot League title, have added a single game against the Ivy League Champions in Columbia. The two teams will square off on Sunday at May 27, 1 p.m. at Doubleday Field. Live stats will be available for the game. This contest will help both teams stayed primed for their upcoming NCAA Regional games, which are set to kick off June 1-4. The Black Knights and Lions will both find out their regional placement during the NCAA selection show on Monday, May 28, at 12 p.m. on ESPNU.