DCA Update - Extracurricular Clubs

Competitive Clubs

Men’s Volleyball:

• On 28 Feb., the Men’s Army Volleyball (MAV) team hosted the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for a service academy tournament at Arvin Gym
• MAV triumphed over VMI in the first best-of-five match, but fell to RMC in a spirited and competitive match
• The MAC OIC, MAJ Brett Lea, took the RMC players and coaches on a historical tour of Trophy Point and Fort Putnam on Friday, and MAV hosted a dinner Saturday night at the Stadium Restaurant in Garrison for the entire RMC team

Team Handball (Women):

• On 1 March, the West Point Women’s Team Handball hosted the lat-est Northeast League match day, bringing together five teams for a day packed with handball
• West Point Black went 2-0, almost guaranteeing an overall league title, defeating the Ocean and New York City team handball clubs
• Playing with a short bend, Black came out defensively strong, completely shutting down a New York City club known for its offensive capabilities
• Firstie Captain, CDT Ashton Wolf, dominated at center back, offensively making things happen during a low-scoring first game
• Yearling CDT Dana Robertson dominated at the wing position, cutting behind the opponents’ defenses multiple times
• West Point Gold also made a strong showing, losing to a tough Boston Club, but are continuing to show improvement with each game played
• Plebe CDT Lauren Muckey served as the team’s high scorer, scoring four goals, a personal high
• Both teams will be back in action at the end of this month for the 10th Annual Laura Walker Memorial Tournament

Climbing (Mountaineering):

• On 28 Feb., nineteen cadets from the West Point Climbing Team traveled to the Gravity Vault in Chatham, NJ, for the 3rd CCS local Climbing Com-petition
• The event drew many collegiate teams from around the Northeast to include: Columbia, Rutgers, Yale, RIT, Princeton, Colgate and Cornell
• CDT Julian Barker (‘16) took 3rd place in bouldering and routes; CDT Marcie Jhong (‘15) took 3rd place in bouldering; and CDT Zhaina Myrzak-honva (‘16) won the speed event

Women’s Boxing:

• On 27 Feb., the West Point Women’s Boxing Team competed in the Brigade Boxing Open at Eisenhower Hall
• CDT Yomanda Martin (‘15) and CDT Rita Wiley (‘15) fought against each other in the seventh bout of the evening; CDT Martin won the bout
• On 28 Feb., the team hosted the Annual West Point Women’s Boxing Invitational
• The afternoon was scheduled to contain four bouts; two bouts featured boxers from the University of Maryland, and two featured the debut of the USAFA Women’s Boxing Team
• In the first bout, CDT Gabriela Barrera-Gutierrez (‘17) fought USAFA CDT Hope Stremcha (‘15); CDT Barrera claimed victory by TKO in the second round
• In the second fight, CDT Rita Wiley (‘15) faced off against Shayne Zaplitny from the University of Mary-land; CDT Wiley lost by TKO in the second round
• In the third fight, CDT Kimberly Wolfe (‘18) fought against USAFA CDT Joy Fordyce (‘18); this was CDT Wolfe’s first fight, and she emerged victoriously
• In the fourth and final bout, CDT Melissa Box (‘15) fought against Lindsey Ferry from the University of Maryland; after three grueling rounds, CDT Box lost the decision

Equestrian:

• On 28 Feb., the West Point Equestrian Team traveled to Briarwood Farm in Ringoes, NJ, and had the privilege of participating in the team’s first English Riding Show of the semester
• The show was a success, and the West Point team did a wonderful job
• CDTs Caroline Harris and Katherine Iwanyk placed 1st in Class 1 (walk/trot); CDTs Madeline Arnold and Crystel Calderon placed 2nd in their classes of intermediate fences and walk/trot/canter; CDTs Laivan Greene, Vanda Niemi, Alexandra Vinson and Shawna Moore, placed third in their respective classes, Class 1 (walk/trot), walk/trot/canter and open flat
• The team competed against Centenary, Bard, Marist, Drew, William Paterson, SUNY New Paltz, Sarah Lawrence, Stevens Institute of Technology, Kutztown, and Vassar
• The team overall finished fourth out of ten schools

Academic Clubs

Opera Forum:

• On 28 Feb., Professor Marc Napolitano and MAJ Michael Kieser chaperoned a trip section to the Metropolitan Opera to experience a performance of Gioachino Rossini’s “La Donna del Lago,” a Romantic opera based on the poetry of Sir Walter Scott
• The cadets in the Opera Forum had the opportunity to watch world-renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato in the title role of “The Lady of the Lake”
• The cadets came away from the event with a deep appreciation for both the talents of the lead singers, and for the majesty and grandeur of the Metropolitan Opera House, one of the most beautiful and historically important performance spaces in New York City

Speech and Parliamentary Debate Forum:

• On 27 Feb. through 2 March, the West Point Speech and Parliamentary Debate Forum traveled to Berkeley, CA, to compete in the Berkeley Debate Tournament
• The West Point team won first place at the Tournament
• CDT Meyer Ungerman and CDT Nathan Hernadez won the varsity division
• In the final round they debated Stanford, proposing that a 4% surcharge tax be added to the income tax during times of war
• CDT Hernadez won the best speaker of the tournament award
• CDT George Ngoh and CDT D.S. Dalisay won the novice division for USMA as well
• This tournament featured teams from Stanford, University of Chicago, Brown, and others
• The team also won numerous best speaker awards at this tournament: CDT George Ngoh (5th Novice Speaker); CDT D.S. Dalisay (3rd Novice Speaker); CDT Robert Laval-Leyva (10th Varsity Speaker); CDT Meyer Ungerman (8th Varsity Speaker); CDT Dalton Combs (5th Varsity Speaker); CDT Nathan Hernadez (1st Varsity Speaker)

Cadet Community of Civil Military Operations:

• From 26 Feb. to 1 March, seven cadets from the Cadet Community for Civil-Military Operations (C3MO) traveled to Tufts University to attend a symposium on Russia
• The symposium covered topics from the Russian economy to the possibility of a nuclear Russian Military
• This event was hosted by the Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services, or ALLIES, which has a sister chapter at West Point under C3MO
• Cadets were able to make relationships, with not only students from various universities and academies, but also foreign dignitaries and experts; cadets learned many lessons about US relations with Russia and it’s people

Support Clubs

Pipes & Drums:

• On 28 Feb., Pipers from the United States Corps of Cadets Pipes & Drums team traveled to Albany, NY, to compete in the Scotia Glenville Indoor Competition in both Solo Performances and as a Quartet
• CDTs Kyle Williams, Liam Bradley, George Roden, and Michael Kenny all competed for the first time as soloists in the Grade 4 Senior Competition, where they each received valuable feedback from Judge Lezlie Webster
• CDT Kyle Williams received 5th place in Grade IV
• CDT Andrew Coulter competed in Grade 1 and won the Grade 1 Competition by placing 1st in both the March/Strathspey/Reel (MSR) and the Hornpipe/Jig; he also placed 2nd in the Piobaireachd
• The Quartet ended the day by placing 3rd in the Grade 5 Quartet Com-petition
• On 1 March, the West Point Pipes & Drums Team attended the Mid-Hudson St. Patrick’s season kick-off event
• The Pipes & Drums Team and the Dancers performed for over 500 members of the Greenwood Lake, NY, community in the Arthur Finnegan American Legion Post, and were very well received
• The afternoon was full of groups performing traditional Irish music, local Irish dance groups, and local bagpipe bands
• Greenwood Lake, NY, is a vibrant community of Irish decent (to include GEN Martin Dempsey, a local home-town hero in Greenwood)
• The band and dancers were also treated to a meal of traditional Irish fare: cornbeef and cabbage
• This event was a great opportunity to showcase the Cadets and celebrate Irish heritage and contributions to our American culture

Diversity Clubs

Society of Women Engineers:

• On 27 Feb. - 1 March, the West Point Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) went to Boston, MA, to attend the Region F SWE Conference
• This year’s conference theme was “SWE are the future”
• Cadets attended workshops and seminars focused on sustain-ability, creativity, and preparing oneself to be successful in the engineering profession
• The Cadets also presented a bid to host next year’s Region F Conference at West Point and won; next year’s Regional SWE Conference will be hosted at West Point with the theme: Leadership in Engineering
• The 2016 Conference will mark the 40th anniversary of the first class of women entering West Point

Spectrum:

• On 27 Feb., the Spectrum Club traveled to NYC, to see “Cabaret” at the Roundabout Theatre
• In order to enhance relations with the greater LBGTQ community, the club reached out to the star of the show, Mr. Alan Cumming (Tony Award Winner), to develop a relationship and provide insight into the Spectrum Club’s history here at West Point
• After the performance, Alan Cumming invited the group backstage to talk and discuss future club activities and Mr. Cumming’s LBGTQ outreach
• As a token of appreciation, the club presented Mr. Cumming a cadet Tar Bucket with plumage as a memento

Military Clubs

Pistol:

• On 27 Feb., the West Point Pistol Team traveled to Annapolis, MD, for the annual Army-Navy Pistol Match
• In the three Open Events (Air Pistol, Free Pistol, and Standard Pistol) the men and women competed equally
• West Point won with an aggregate score of 6351 to Navy’s 6317
• CDT Jeff Schanz shot the match high score of 564 (out of 600) in Air Pistol; CDTs Ames Evans and Minhee Pak followed closely, both shooting a 558; CDT Anthony Veith completed the four person scoring team and shot 551
• CDT Travis Moody had the team high score of 512 in Free Pistol; CDT Jeff Schanz shot a 503; CDT Anthony Veith shot 500; CDT Ames Evans completed the team, with a score of 498
• In Standard Pistol, CDT Schanz had the team high score of 537; CDT Veith shot 526; CDT Moody shot 524; CDT Pak completed the team and shot a 520
• In the two women’s only events (Women’s Air Pistol and Sport Pistol), West Point won with an aggregate score of 2710 to Navy’s 2612
• CDT Minhee Pak shot the match high scores for both events with a 372 out of a possible 400 in Air Pistol and a 546 in Sport Pistol; CDT Sarah Baermann rounded out the Air Pistol Scoring team with a 356; CDT Haana Yu rounded out the Sport team and shot a 519

Hobby Clubs

Skeet & Trap:

• On 1 Mar., the West Point Skeet and Trap Team braved the frigid temperatures and challenging winds to once again claim the Hudson Cup in a semi-annual match against rival Yale
• The match was hosted at Yale’s shooting fields in East Lyme, CT, and resulted in a strong performance by the Cadets who defeated the Yale shooters by 7 targets, with a score of 458-451
• The teams have competed as rivals against one another since 1940, and have developed a strong but competitive friendship over the years
• The next time the two teams will meet is in late March at the Collegiate National Championships in San Antonio, TX

Tae Kwon Do:

• On 1 March, The Army Taekwondo Team competed in their fourth tournament of the Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference season at Princeton
• The team scored 197 points, mathematically eliminating 2nd place Penn State and 3rd place Rutgers from winning the Division championship with one tournament left in the season
• The Men’s and Women’s beginner teams took home Gold, winning their brackets in a dominating fashion
• The Men’s team consisted of CDTs William Xu, Tom Le, and Christian Merrick and they took home gold, coming in 1st place out of 35 teams
• The Women’s team consisted of CDTs Alexandra Baker, Jennifer Lee, and Liana Blatnik, coming in 1st place out of 23 teams (for the third tournament in a row)
• Two Men’s Black Belt teams tied for 5th out of 36 teams, with strong performances from CDTs Ziwei Peng and Colin Hwang
• CDT Colin Hwang had the only knockout of the day with a jump spinning hook kick to the head, and CDT Ziwei Peng made a living kicking his opponents in the head to end matches quickly
• Next up for the team is Taekwondo Collegiate Nationals, with an amazing 40 cadets eligible to compete in the singles format tournament for a chance to become a National Champion

DCA Happenings

Upcoming Book Signings
13 March @ 1100 –1600: Roger Miller, author of An Inside Look of the Long Grey Line; and Elaine Lowry Brye, author of Be Safe, Love Mom
14 March @ 0900 - 1200: Roger Miller, author of An Inside Look of the Long Grey Line; and Elaine Lowry Brye, author of Be Safe, Love Mom