Obituary 3

62 year-old Albert Mancitole passed away Wednesday afternoon at his home in New Haven, KY from Prostate Cancer. His son Jazsper, a resident of Simpsonville, KY, and his two granddaughters survive him. Albert served two tours in Vietnam, earning three Medals of Honor in the United States Army. Visitation will be held Saturday from 9 AM - 8 PM at the Fogle Funeral Home located at 1123 High Street in New Haven, KY. There will be a memorial service Monday at 10 AM at the Fogle Christian Church, located at 17342 Oak Street in New Haven, KY. 

Obituary 2

                Jeffrey Jammissone Ruthledgemahon passed away Sunday, February 20, from natural causes at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife Deloriase, son Albert, whom lives in Texas, and daughter Deborrah McMakkone whom resides in Louisville. “He was a loving husband and father and devoted Christian.  We are sad to lose him but know that he's now spending eternity with Our Lord and Savior.  We look forward to seeing him again someday when we also get called home."  Ruthledgemahon was a professor at UofL for 42 years and a volunteer. There will be a visitation from 9 AM-8 PM on Thursday at the Fogle Funeral Home (1123 Broadway), and a memorial service held Friday at 10 AM at Fogle Christian Church (17342 Oak Street).

Obituary

Louisville native Jehaviane Alexandrer Mosfahit has passed away at the age of 88. There will be visitation hours from 1:00 PM until 8:00 PM this Saturday at the Fogle Funeral Home. There will also be a memorial service held next Monday at 10:00 AM at the Fogle Christian Church. Mr. Mosfahit is survived by his wife, Alatheonia, and two children, Kariessaonta, who resides in Los Angeles, CA, and Markuattoniala, who resides in Louisville. He also has seven grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren. Mosfahit was well known for his hard stance against teenage smoking and worked for years promoting his cause.

A UofL Morning

            Everybody just has to rush in the morning. As students walk briskly to their first class and bikers ride with a reckless abandon, the University of Louisville is a busy place come 9:20 AM on a weekday. Cars run red lights and the TARC drivers act as if they do not care who they hit as long as they keep on schedule.

             Coffee fills the hands of a large number of commuters, trying to beat the cold and arrive to their destinations on time. University buildings fill with the echoes of students as they slowly pour into their classrooms before an arduous day of learning. As the hallways empty, calmness takes over the building as classes begin. The line at Einstein Bagels magically disappears as soon as the clock strikes 9:30, and silence fills the halls. Campus is quiet, until 10:45 rolls around at least. 

The Balancing Act

            As winter sports rapidly approach their championship seasons and spring sports jump into gear, it begs the question of how do the athletes manage to get their schoolwork done and still manage to compete at a high level?

            Many freshmen struggle with just that. As they come to their own as athletes, it is often challenging to maintain good grades. Freshman lacrosse player Colleen O’Malley says that she struggles to stay motivated, and that television takes up a good amount of her free time, much to her grade’s dismay.           

Colleen claims that sometimes the heap of work and sports can be overwhelming. “I have to spend much more time [than high school] on it. Teachers give something every night.” For this reason, the athletics program institutes a six-hour, mandatory study hall every week for freshmen.

As students get older, many of them learn the balancing act that being a student-athlete entails. Though the name claims that these people are student-athletes, more often than not the names are reversed. When asked about her goals this year involving both athletics and academics, sophomore rower Morgan Baumgartle simply replied, “We want to be Big East champs. We have one team, one goal.”

Older athletes learn certain tricks that allow them to better manage their sports and athletics. Morgan makes sure she does not put off big assignments until right before they are due. She also utilizes the athletic study hall as much as possible, working on schoolwork in between classes and on the weekends.

With a constant supply of stress, student-athletes manage to balance their athletics and academics any way they can. Whether it be extra study hall time, or changing the way they manage their free time, athletes continue to perform at a high level while still graduating at high rates.

            

An Olympic Dream Come True

           With Rafael Nadal to his left, and Kobe Bryant to his right, Pedro Oliveira sat, enjoying his breakfast, an awestruck grin across his face as the Olympic village swarmed with high profile stars.

Pedro was the first Portuguese swimmer to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games, making his first cut in the 200 butterfly a full year before the games began. He claimed that qualifying so early was instrumental in his training. It gave him the ability to let the stress and pressure of the Olympics fade away long before the games, and set his mind solely on competing well. Pedro later qualified in the 200 backstroke and added an event to his Olympic program.

Pedro set a Portuguese national record in the 200 butterfly, beating the previous record by two seconds. Still, there was room for improvement. Pedro expected to swim a second faster, and when he was touched out in his heat and missed making the semifinals by just fractions of a second, he was disappointed. He ended up 24^th in the 200 butterfly, and 26^th in the 200 backstroke. Pedro plans on continuing his illustrious swimming career far into the future. He expects to make the Portuguese Olympic team for the 2012 London games, and claims he is very open to the idea of continuing his career through 2016, when the games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Pedro described the Olympic experience as an incredible, once (or thrice) in a lifetime opportunity. When asked how it felt to be included in the exclusive, elite club of Olympians, Pedro responded with, “It’s every athlete’s dream to go the Olympics. To be somebody who has the opportunity to go to the Olympics and gets the chance to compete there is a great honor.”

Pedro described life at the Olympics just as glamorously as we all imagine it to be. Celebrities carelessly stride through the village, and every athlete is royalty. An average day for Pedro consisted of waking up in his apartment that he shared with the rest of his swimming teammates, and a stroll down to breakfast, where he would usually encounter many of the world’s best swimmers. Pedro made a point to mention Ryan Lochte, an American swimming great, would eat McDonald’s every morning. After breakfast he would meander to the pool, enjoying the scenery and livelihood of a city brought to life by the Olympic spirit. Here he felt like true royalty, with interviews from news corporations worldwide while constantly signing autographs for fans trying just to be near the elite competitors. After a usually short, relaxed swim, they would have another meal before being set loose to do as they choose, often going into the game rooms or contacting their parents.

Pedro claims his first Olympic experience was a success and a learning opportunity. He now better understands what it takes to be the best and claims he will work as hard as possible to be one of the true elite come London. He calls 2008 a humbling experience and looks forward to the opportunity to present itself again in merely two more years.

Virginia Tech vs. Indiana vs. Louisville

The Indiana Hoosiers won as the Louisville Cardinals placed second and the Virginia Tech Hokies came in third Friday on Senior Night at the Ralph Wright Natatorium. The Cardinals saw three men graduate from the team alongside six girls. There was a ceremony at the beginning honoring the seniors and highlighting their careers here at UofL. The Cardinals had a strong showing in the breaststroke and sprint freestyle events, but struggled against the Hoosiers in relays and the distance events. Both Virginia Tech and Indiana brought a strong core of divers, many of which will likely qualify and possibly final at the NCAA Championships in March. The Cards held their own throughout the meet, and though the Hoosiers pulled out long before the end of the meet, it was still competitive between UofL and Virginia Tech, with the Cards pulling it out in the last relay.