Homecoming and Family Weekend recap

News

The Hideaway Tent in front of the TruMark Financial Center

On Saturday Nov. 13 Homecoming events were in full swing. The day began with a bus trip from La Salle’s campus to historic sights in Philly for visiting families to enjoy the gems the city has to offer. Next the Women’s Basketball team kicked off the double header with a win and more can be found on both the women’s and men’s basketball games in our sports section. The festival on the quad commenced at 12:30 p.m. Fellow alumni, faculty, staff, parents and students gathered on the Hansen Quad to enjoy food, drinks and music. Attendees of age were able to enjoy the beer garden on the quad. In addition, La Salle Ambassadors set up games like ring toss and skee ball with candy prizes. La Salle Ambassador Andrew Plunkett ‘23 said homecoming,“was a super fun time! Seeing the alumni come back to campus and enjoy playing our games was very exciting and I was happy to be a part of the festivities. Even though the weather wasn’t ideal, we made the best of it and I think everyone enjoyed some well-deserved fun.” Despite the rain, those coordinating the event moved the festivities inside and everyone enjoyed the afternoon.

On Saturday afternoon, The La Salle University Art Museum was also open for tours to present the “Beyond 2D: Surface Play with Paper” exhibit. The Hideaway Tent was also open for business before the Homecoming men’s basketball game. Opening at 2:30 p.m., The Hideaway Tent was open until tip-off as a gathering place for basketball fans just outside of TruMark Financial Center. The Hideaway was once a local bar where La salle students could enjoy a beverage with some friends off campus. This tent commemorates the tradition while creating a new one. Food and beverages including beer and wine were available for purchase. The Explorers Express food truck served sandwiches to those looking for a quick snack before the game. After the game, families headed over to Deke’s BBQ to enjoy a post-game happy hour with family, friends and alumni. Saturday’s festivities concluded with “Live from La Salle” Family Trivia and Improv 101 Performance which you can read more about in the features section.

On Sunday morning, families, students and those celebrating their 50th reunion gathered for mass at 11 a.m. in the De La Salle Chapel. Mass was celebrated by La Salle’s Father Frank. Following mass, two seniors: Eleanor Mancini and Jude Roche gave reflections about their families and the families they have found at La Salle. After mass and the reflections, the Alumni Association held a champagne luncheon to celebrate the Classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972 with a Golden Medallion presentation for their 50th Reunion. All those families at mass enjoyed a brunch at the Blue and Gold Dining Commons. Hundreds of people participated in this year’s La Salle Homecoming and Family Weekend — marking a major return to campus following the previous semesters which were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Men’s Basketball narrowly brings home the win at Homecoming game

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

The men’s basketball team had what is their most attended game of their season: Homecoming. Every year, the men’s basketball team plays in front of a nearly sold-out arena full of students, fans, and alumni cheering on their alma mater. In previous years, the men’s team fell to their opponents, and this year, it was almost the same scenario. The Explorers came into the game 0-1 in the season, after losing their out-of-conference season opener to Sacred Heart in overtime, after a buzzer-beater 3-pointer in the last seconds of regulation from Sacred Heart. The Explorers were looking to get their first win of the season, and their first Homecoming win in several years.

The Explorers led the Albany Danes 36-23 at halftime, and the energy in the arena was palpable. The Explorers completely shut down the Danes’ offense, keeping them to eight unanswered points for three minutes early on in the game. In addition to this, the Explorer’s defense came away with eight turnovers, which greatly helped increase their lead over the Danes. Yet, the Explorers seemed to have gained too much confidence going into halftime, as the Danes were able to cut their point deficit to only five points within the first seven minutes of the second half. This was a continuous trend during the second half of the game, where the Explorers were outscored 31 to 41. This led the Albany Danes to come within three points of a tie with the Explorers, but their poor performance from the three-point line kept them at bay. The Danes went 18 out of 46 in the three-point line, while the Explorers went 19-58. In addition to this, the Danes went 54-118 in the paint, while the Explorers went 53-126.

This win comes at a great time for the Explorers, who hope to have a better record this season than their previous one, when they faced a first-round exit against division rivals St. Joe’s. With the freshmen talent that coach Ashley Howard recruited, including 3-star recruit Khalil Brantley, and the returning upperclassmen, Howard hopes to lead his Explorers to victory. While this team definitely has a lot to accomplish, they have even more to prove to their loyal fan following. The Explorers face off against Delaware in their first away game of the season, then play Army at home during Military Appreciation Day.

Women’s Basketball comes away with win during homecoming

Sports

Alina Snopkowski, Editor

On Saturday, Nov. 13, the La Salle women’s basketball team defeated Rider 67 – 58 in overtime. This Homecoming-weekend win is the first win for the women’s team this season after their close loss last week to Coppin State in their first game of the season. This was the seventh time that the Explorers faced the Broncs at Tom Gola Arena. This is the first time that the Explorers have beaten the Broncs at home since 2010.

The first quarter started off strong for the Explorers as they scored twice as many points as the Broncs, ending the quarter with a score of 20 – 10. Unlike the men’s team last week, the women’s team managed to sink nearly all of their free throws which put them at a significant advantage over the Broncs. Although Rider tried to catch up in the second quarter and managed to score another 10 points, the halftime score was 38 – 20 in favor of La Salle. After the third quarter, however, Rider had begun to catch up, closing the gap to just four points — 42 – 38. Rider still wasn’t done putting up a fight, and at the end of the fourth quarter, both teams had scored 50 points, and overtime began.

The Explorers began overtime with three consecutive three-pointers scored by juniors Jordon Lewis and Amy Jacobs and sophomore Jaye Haynes. Rider scored eight points, but La Salle scored more than double that, and the final score was 67 – 58.

Haynes scored 19 points throughout the game and senior Kayla Spruill scored 16 and earned 17 rebounds, her career record.

The women’s game wasn’t as full as the men’s game later in the day, but the Explorers’ community still showed up in full force to support their team.

The women’s team will be playing their next game against the Drexel dragons tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. at Drexel.

Back 2 La Salle: Another successful explorers’ Homecoming — Editorial

Editorial

Jakob Eiseman, Editor-in-Chief

Header Image: La Salle University

“No matter how far Explorers travel they can always find their way back home.” “Explorers are never lost.” “Not all who wander are lost.” However you want to say it, it’s kind of our thing as La Salle Explorers, and never is there a time when that is more true than the annual Homecoming weekend. Every year, hundreds gather on La Salle’s campus to remember long-lasting memories from their time with the university and to celebrate the school’s culture. With the addition of Family Weekend to the mix, Homecoming weekend has become an overall great experience for our extended community.

Starting on Friday evening we had the Alumni Awards Dinner where the Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia received the Signum Fidei Medal. The award which means “Sign of Faith” in English is awarded annually to the group which has made the most noteworthy contributions to humanitarian involvement. Diego Calderin ‘83 also received the John J. Finley Award which is given out annually to a La Salle alum who provided a great service to the university that year. In addition to these awards, 30 students were inducted into the Alpha Epsilon Alumni Honors Society. These awards served as an excuse for many alumni to gather and catch up, as well as to celebrate La Salle culture. Many alumni, even those from as recent as the class of 2020 made appearances in the Union ballroom and made the event one to remember.

La Salle University

Then, the Masque of La Salle made their return to theater production on Friday night with their production of “Mavericks.” The Masque’s dedication to theater even in spite of losing several of their shows to the pandemic era is inspiring, and the quality of stories written and created independently through the artistic mind of the students is inspiring. For a full writeup of the stories included in the Mavericks, please consider reading our preview from last week’s issue.

Friday was already buzzing, but Saturday is when things really picked up with a double Explorer’s victory in the Tom Gola Arena. The women’s basketball team made a dramatic first impression at home, taking the game to overtime and coming out on top over the Rider Broncs. The team opened up the Family Weekend celebrations and the excitement never really stopped. The festival on the quad upped its game from previous years and provided a great place for families to meet up with La Salle students and celebrate. Then, the men’s basketball team had a great redemption from last Tuesday’s overtime loss, beating out UAlbany in a packed house filled with endearing Explorers fans. The energy in the crowd was electric, and streamers notwithstanding, it was a great reminder of what it’s like to be a Lasallian sports fan.

La Salle Alumni Association

The La Salle community has always been tight knit, and Homecoming is a great reason to reunite with alumni, old friends, family and everyone that we find important to us in this community. While this was the last Homecoming for many of us as students, the event has always been a major annual happening on campus, and we will be able to participate for years to come as alumni. Thank you to everyone who made Homecoming weekend special yet again.

Improv 101: La Salle’s funniest hidden gem

Features

Jakob Eiseman, Editor-in-Chief

Nov. 13 was packed with Homecoming events here on La Salle’s campus. Between the men’s and women’s basketball games, matinee of the Masque’s production of “Mavericks” or the festival on the quad, there was something for everyone. To close out the night, La Salle’s improv team Improv 101 put on a special show for all the family and alumni that stuck around through the day’s excitement. This wasn’t just a normal Improv 101 show, because the team brought some alumni of their own. Seven La Salle alumni who were once part of Improv 101 reprised their place on the stage of the Dan Rodden theater for a show to remember. Alex Crosby ‘17, Emily Ermer ‘18, Brian Gelbach ‘18, Mark Bisicchia ‘18, Mike Poggioli ‘19, Tom Harris ‘20 and Jack Rohr ‘20 fell right back into their Improv 101 roots and worked with the current cast to put on a wonderful show.

Improv 101 is an umbrella group of the Masque of La Salle that features a rotating cast of some of the most talented improv comedians at La Salle. They put on shows regularly during the semester and also offer improv workshops to the La Salle community where people can come join in on the fun. “Improv 101 is a lot of fun and helps my creative juices flow. It’s so much fun working with all of the improvers,” said Sanera Powell, a senior digital arts major and member of Improv 101. Powell is a relatively recent addition to Improv 101, but fit right in with the alumni cast and was able to get major laughs from the crowd.

A longtime member of Improv 101, senior computer science student Sam Da Silva said that “the alumni haven’t lost their style at all, they were still incredibly funny and I hope our current cast was able to live up to their shenanigans.” Da Silva, who joined the team during his freshman year said that “being able to go up there on stage and just have some fun with friends is always a great time and I’m so glad I was able to find the team when I did.”

Although the cast, current and past, were able to fill the stage entirely, Improv 101 currently only has seven cast members, five of whom are seniors who will graduate this year. “You know most of the games we play during shows call for three to four people, and some of the bigger ones need up to six,” said Martin Redanauer, a senior psychology student at La Salle. Redanauer, who also joined the team when he was a freshman, is always trying to get new faces to show up to the improv workshops and have a good time. “Improv can be whatever you want, it really can. It’s just you sharing your sense of humor with everyone and letting loose on stage,” said Redanauer.

“We’re honestly just a group of friends goofing off on stage,” said Kayla Stevens, a senior cast member, “We really enjoy being able to get up there and make people laugh and forget their problems for even just an hour.” Stevens, who improv acted as everything from a talking fish to a three-headed doctor during Saturday’s show, has a deep appreciation for the improv team, starting as a fan of the shows and eventually joining the team as a cast member.

Taking the improv stage for the first time at the alumni show was sophomore communication student Aidan Tyksinski who fit right in with the whole team despite never having met most of the alumni and tackling this talent-packed show as his first with the team. Tyksinski and junior Eila Nash, president of the Masque of La Salle, are recent additions to the team who will continue to carry on Improv 101 when all of the seniors graduate in the spring.

“At first, I liked doing improv because it was an opportunity for me to get on stage and make people laugh. But, as time went on, I got closer with the team and it became more about having fun with friends and now I can’t wait to get up there and joke around every show,” said Jon Colella, a senior communication student. “People should definitely consider joining the team because it’s provided me with countless memories and laughs that I will hold forever, more than any other club I’m a part of and I’m sure it would be the same for anyone who joins us up there,” said Colella.

“You don’t have to worry about anything, you just have fun with it and see what happens. You really never know where a scene is going to go. I just enjoy the ride and it always makes me happy,” said Da Silva when asked why those interested in improv should consider joining Improv 101 and attending workshops.

“The fact that we only have two members lined up for next year is a bit concerning,” said Redanauer when asked the same question, “but I’m sure we will be able to fill out the team because improv really is just something you can’t stop once you try it once.” Anyone interested in attending an Improv 101 workshop or learning more about the organization’s shows is encouraged to reach out to Redanauer at redanauerm1@lasalle.edu. You can also keep up with Improv 101 through the Masque’s social media pages: @themasqueoflasalle on Instagram and on Presence.

Preview: The Masque of La Salle presents “Mavericks”

Arts & Entertainment

Alina Snopkowski, Editor

On Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13 at 2:30 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., in the Dan Rodden theater, the Masque of La Salle will be presenting six Mavericks — student written and directed one-act plays. These plays have been in the works for the past couple of months, and tickets for the show are free for everyone. Actors will be performing an eclectic, entertaining mix of plays, including:

“Couples’ Therapy” — A controlling couples therapist is put to the test as she endures her most volatile couple yet.

Director Nolen Kelly, co-editor of the Arts and Entertainment section, said “I liked watching ‘Mavericks’ so much I wrote my own.”

“Death of a Cereal Lover” — This story can’t really be summarized, besides that it’s a wild ride with a ton of whiplash.

“‘Mavericks’ is such a fun time to be a part of,” says director Kayla Stevens, “we’re all just a bunch of friends that are having a blast putting something together that we can all be proud of.”

“Doomsday Foreplay” — A doomsday cult tries to save the world from evil spirits by sacrificing a virgin. However, the person they picked, Chad, is adamant he is not one and he tries to prove otherwise before he is sacrificed.

“I don’t know how mine got approved,” director Izzy Hill says, “as it involves a virgin, a dominatrix and a cat girl body pillow.”

“P.O.O.P” — A meeting full of political stereotypes tries to decide on what new structure shall be placed in the vacant lot.

Director Eila Nash would rather act than direct, explaining that “I directed Mavericks two years ago and said never again, so I submitted a play I wrote at 13-years-old and decided to act again.”

“Prohibiting Prohibition” — In 1920’s America, a bunch of losers with zero game decided to ban alcohol. But in humanity’s darkest hour, earth’s mightiest warriors rise up to bring back the brew.

Director Jon Colella says that “Mavericks are a really productive way to goof off with your friends. It’s definitely goofing off but somehow something still gets created.”

“Satan went down to Georgia” — A twist on The Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” this play provides insight into the question that has been left unanswered for decades: Why the hell was the devil in Georgia?

“I went through lengthy legal processes to be allowed to produce my show,” says director Audrey Walker, “please come see it.”

What’s better than funky, funny and free entertainment? Not much that I can think of, so be sure to stop by one of the three Mavericks performances this weekend or next Friday.

The La Salle Collegian

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