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Volume CXXXIII, Number 15 |
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Six-year olds trump students in 4-square
LESLIE BRIDGERS
STAFF WRITER
At 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, tables, couches, and Smith Union studiers were moved aside to make way for the display of a certain sort of athletic prowess that cannot be found at the fieldhouse or in the hockey rink.
Morrell Lounge, however, proved an appropriate venue, attracting competitors of various sizes and skills from all corners of the Brunswick community for Residential Life's first-ever Four Square Tournament.
Fierce competition was bused in from Brunswick High and Longfellow School, posing a daunting threat to Bowdoin students, who were determined to defend their home turf. Cries of "Interference!" and "I call Cherry Bombs!" drew in crowds of spectators who never expected their trip to the C-Store would bring more than string cheese and a Vanilla Coke-but it did.
Though spinning serves and bobbling balls made for intense play throughout the tourney, the night culminated in a thrilling match that pitted Bowdoin's own Pat Lyons '06 and Anna Nomura '06 against Isaac, 6, and Danny, 6, two of Longfellow's pavement dominators. Though the variation of playing surface might have posed a challenge to the visiting competitors, the two easily adjusted to the terrain.
After a few warm-up rounds, each player seemed confident, but no clear leader was immediately evident. When asked to size up the competition, Isaac was willing to admit that Lyons was "pretty good."
As soon as rules were declared (no slamming) and positions were set, the game commenced. While Lyons' look-away tap gave him an early edge, as play continued the true powerhouse took to form and dominated from the fourth square. As event coordinator Jim Weeks '04 noted, "Pat Lyons emerged as a dark horse but was quickly overpowered by phenom Isaac Graves."
Though Graves emerged victorious, favoritism was suspected. One line judge, who would like to remain anonymous, pled that she was "just trying to get into the Tower." However worthy such a cause may be, the incident was not tolerated and the event came to an early end.
Still, the night was a success, as was apparent in the parting words of Brunswick High junior, Andrew, who beamed, "I finally found something I'm good at; now I can get off drugs and start my life right." All proceeds went to Brunswick Youth Athletics, but clearly the benefits of the event went much further. Thanks, Res Life.
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