DCA Update - Extracurricular Clubs

Competitive Clubs

Fencing:

• On 8 Feb., the West Point Fencing Team traveled to the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, to compete in the MAC Conference Varsity Matches
• CDT Marvin Hargrave, with a record of 15-0, took first place in the individual rankings as the only undefeated epee fencer competing at the MAC Conference’s Varsity Matches
• CDT Blake Gordon also finished first as the highest ranking sabre fencer standing at 14-1 (only one loss on the day)
• The Sabre team finished with a record of 4-1 against the other squads with CDT Noah Kambili having his most impressive outing at 10-5
• Both the epee and foil squads were tied at 3-2 a piece and in the weapon of foil, CDT Josh Qualls went 9-3 (the highest for Army Foil in three years)
• Overall the Men’s Fencing Team only dropped one loss to host Stevens Tech by a score of 10-17, but then went on to defeat New Jersey Institute of Technology (14-2), Hunter College (18-9), Yeshiva University (20-7) and the College of New Jersey (19-8)
• The match against NJIT was a split decision at 13-13 until CDT Matt Swartz nailed the final win and put the men over the top

Water Polo:

• On 6-8 Feb., the Army Water Polo team traveled to Rochester, NY, to participate in the Rochester Invitational
• The team played three games; the first game was played against one of the two Kitchner teams that entered the tournament
• Kitchner jumped to an early lead against Army, putting up two quick goals; Army ad-justed their defense to better handle the strong set players and was able to shut Kitchner down for most of the game and went on to win 13-9
• CDT Shelby Lee (‘18) gained several offensive opportunities in hole-set; CDTs Matthew Fox (‘16) and David Bennett (‘16) showed exceptional leadership and ability to control the flow of game
• The second game of the day for Army was against an outmatched Rochester Team
• Army dominated the game from the beginning, scoring at will and shutting Rochester out in the first quarter
• CDT Shelby Lee put up three quick goals in the first quarter and the Army team won the game 18-5
• The final game of the tournament featured Army taking on the second of the two Kitchner teams, which proved to be a bit of a challenge; Army ended up falling short on scoring and lost 9-6

Volleyball (Men’s):

• On 7 Feb., the Men’s Army Volleyball team hosted a divisional tournament of the EIVA East Division
• The West Point Men’s Volleyball Team, as well as six other teams, competed in a round robin tournament
• The round robin tournament determines points for qualifying for the EIVA Championship
• Men’s Army Volleyball struggled to incorporate new players for the spring season into the line up, and was only able to win one match
• The experience of playing against top competition in the region will assist the team long term and help them to play better

Hobby Clubs

Soccer:

• On 8 Feb., the West Point Soccer Club participated in the 2015 Philadelphia Flames SC 17th Annual Indoor Soccer Tournament in Warminster, PA
• The team was able to practice at the USMAPS indoor training facility with the help of volunteer Coach Robert Partridge
• This was the first indoor tournament of the year
• The team finished 3rd in the competition out of 10 teams, after playing 5 matches with 16 goals for 8 goals against
• The club soccer team had the opportunity to play the US Naval Academy Club team, winning with a score of 6 to 2
• CDT Macauley Hoyt (‘18) was the leading scorer with eight goals including three for a hat-trick against the Naval Academy; other top scorers were CDT Samuel Dowd (‘16) with four goals, and CDT Kyle Morris (‘16) with two goals
• The club is now aiming to enter the National Indoor Soccer Championships, which will be held in Chicago in late March

Skeet & Trap:

• On 1 Feb., the West Point Skeet and Trap Team enjoyed a day of shooting with the Mount Pleasant Shooting Club at their range near Pleasantville, NY
• After an in-route exercise and in-mounted land navigation, the team arrived to a warm welcome by the club’s members, including Veterans from the Korean War era, and Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom
• The competition included 100 rounds of American and handicap traps; at the end of the day, the Cadets came out on top by 2 targets, narrowly defeating the home club
• On 8 Feb., the West Point Skeet and Trap Team enjoyed an unforgettable pheasant hunt at the Mashomack Preserve Club, one of the finest shooting and hunting clubs in the Eastern United States
• The team was accompanied by the Superintendent, who joined the cadets and the Mashomack club members in a highly successful hunt with many birds bagged
• Following the hunt, the team was treated to a gourmet lunch and a brief program with presentations by the Superintendent, the team OIC, and the Mashomack leader-ship

Alpine Skiing:

• On 7-8 Feb., the Army Ski Team competed in the 4th League race of the Mideast Intercollegiate Conference at Gore Mountain, NY
• The team placed 3rd in Giant Slalom and unofficially placed top 5 in Slalom
• CDT Sawyer Harkins (‘18) competed very well, finishing second in Giant Slalom (GS) and fifth in Slalom (SL) of 45 racers
• CDT Josh Ische (‘16) had a top 15 finish, and a top 20 in GS, while CDT Chris Emerson (‘15) had top 20 finishes in both SL and GS
• CDTs Ayrne Riley (‘17) and Logan Trust (‘18) also raced at the varsity level and both continue to demonstrate great improvement
• The Cadets have raced well enough, that we anticipate the Army Alpines will make Regionals held at Bristol Mountain, NY 21-22 Feb.
• Army’s next and last regular season conference race will be at Toggenburg Mountain, NY 14-15 Feb., and then will host the NAVY and Cornell alpine race teams Monday, 16 Feb. at Victor Constant Ski Slope for the annual Army Navy Invitational

Academic Clubs

Corbin Forum:

• On 7 Feb., six cadets from the Corbin Forum traveled to New York City to experience the fifth annual Athena Film Festival that took place at Barnard College
• The Athena Film Festival is a celebration of films highlighting women’s leadership in real life and the fictional world
• Dr. Mary Anne Myers of the Department of English and Philosophy accompanied the group, who had been invited by the Barnard's Athena Center for Leadership
• After a luncheon where they met students from Barrand and other colleges, cadets attended screenings of Dear White People, Justin Simien’s 2014 film about complex race relations at a fictitious Ivy League College, and Rosie O’Donnell: A Heartfelt Stand-up, a new HBO film intended to raise awareness of heart disease, the leading cause of death among American women

Diversity Clubs

Spectrum:

• On 6-8 Feb., Cadets from the United States Military Academy’s Gay-Straight Alliance, “Spectrum”, attended the Harvard University LGBTQ Student conference
• This year marks only the second year that Harvard has held the conference, and West Point Cadets have been in attendance at both annual events
• This year’s conference was planned and executed by a team of Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School students, many of whom are West Point Graduates
• Of note are the two conference chairmen, Dan Lennox (Class of 2007) and Larry Choate III (Class of 2009), who were the first same-sex couple to wed in the Cadet Chapel here at West Point
• The conference theme this year was “Connect and Catalyze”, and held an inspirational line up of notable leaders across a variety of industries in the U.S.
• The conference opened with the 12th Dean of Harvard Law School, Martha Minnow, specifically welcoming the cadets from the United States Military Academy
• Key and notable conference speakers were: Francisco Polo (founder of change.org in Spain), Ms. Paula Boggs (Starbucks’ company General Counsel and appointee to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities), Dr. Catherine Marrone (Prof. of Medical Sociology at SUNY Stonybrook), Richard Socarides (New York Times columnist and head of public affairs for Gerson Lehman Group), Reverend Allyson Robinson (West Point graduate and now the only openly transgender ordained Baptist Priest), and Jonathan Capehart (Pulitzer Prize winning journalist)
• Cadets were welcomed enthusiastically by all members of the conference committee and keynote speakers; they were also given the chance to socialize with students from all of the schools in attendance
• The cadets learned about the politics of social justice movements, and the importance of authentic leadership and courage in leading or participating in movements focused on aligning the nation’s laws with the nation’s views

DCA Happenings

On 7 Feb., the Class of 2017 celebrated Yearling Winter Weekend with a class reception, receiving lines, banquet and hop at Cullum Hall. The CEO of Mercedes Benz, Stephen Cannon, was the guest speaker; music was provided by The Benny Haven’s Band.