Stefany Wolfe, of Germantown, Maryland, was recently selected as the recipient of the Marilyn Demorest Love of Learning Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 22 University of Maryland-University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UM-UMBC).

Each spring, the UM-UMBC chapter 22 invites applications from its graduate student members to apply for a $500 award. The Marilyn Demorest Award is bestowed in recognition Dr. Demorest's contributions as a key founder and seminal leader of Chapter 22 UM-UMBC of Phi Kappa Phi. Her clear-eyed determination, detailed planning, and appreciation of both tradition and innovation infused the infant chapter with the carefully-built scaffolding needed for it to grow into the chapter it is today. Demorest's dedication to the Society and her own love of learning are the foundation for this award.

Wolfe was selected by the awards committee for her outstanding academic excellence and active participation within the university and the broader community. In particular, the committee was impressed by her perseverance to succeed and to live by the Phi Kappa Phi motto, Philosophia Krateito Photon, "Let the love of learning rule humanity." Wolfe is in the advanced standing Master of Social Work program.

Wolfe was presented with the award at a ceremony held on April 14, 2019.

Chartered at College Park in 1920, Phi Kappa Phi recognizes academic excellence across all disciplines. Chapter 22 invites the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors for membership in Phi Kappa Phi. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

More About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. The Society's mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist John Grisham and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards nearly $1 million to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.

Justine Cataneo, of Middletown, New Jersey, was recently selected as the recipient of the 2019 Shirley C. Sorensen Undergraduate Academic Excellence Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 22 University of Maryland-University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UM-UMBC).

Each spring, the UM-UMBC chapter invites applications from its undergraduate student members to apply for the $1,000 award. The Shirley C. Sorensen Undergraduate Academic Excellence Award is bestowed in recognition of the numerous contributions that Dr. Sorensen has made over many years to The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and especially to the former five-campus chapter, University of Maryland Chapter 22 UM-UMBC.

Cataneo was selected by the awards committee for her outstanding academic excellence and active participation within the university and the broader community. In particular, the committee was impressed by her perseverance to succeed and to serve others. Cataneo is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts - Acting.

Cataneo was presented with the award at a ceremony held on April 14, 2019.

Chartered at College Park in 1920, Phi Kappa Phi recognizes academic excellence across all disciplines. Chapter 22 invites the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors for membership in Phi Kappa Phi. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

More About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. The Society's mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist John Grisham and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards nearly $1 million to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.

Alexandra Morris, of Manchester, Maryland, was recently selected as the recipient of the 2019 Shirley C. Sorensen Undergraduate Academic Excellence Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 22 University of Maryland-University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UM-UMBC).

Each spring, the UM-UMBC chapter invites applications from its undergraduate student members to apply for the $1,000 award. The Shirley C. Sorensen Undergraduate Academic Excellence Award is bestowed in recognition of the numerous contributions that Dr. Sorensen has made over many years to The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and especially to the former five-campus chapter, University of Maryland Chapter 22 UM-UMBC.

Morris was selected by the awards committee for her outstanding academic excellence and active participation within the university and the broader community. In particular, the committee was impressed by her perseverance to succeed and to serve others. Morris is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she will pursue a doctor of pharmacy degree at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.

Morris was presented with the award at a ceremony held on April 14, 2019.

Chartered at College Park in 1920, Phi Kappa Phi recognizes academic excellence across all disciplines. Chapter 22 invites the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors for membership in Phi Kappa Phi. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

More About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. The Society's mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist John Grisham and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards nearly $1 million to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.

After dropping two consecutive games, the UMBC Retrievers baseball team hosted Towson at alumni field. These two teams play each other yearly and this game has become known as the “beltway battle”. The Retrievers have been fighting to keep a winning record this season, but with their recent losing streak, they were in danger of falling under the .500 mark. The Retrievers would look to get back on track against the Tigers, but Towson pitcher Dallas Repine had other plans.

Towson would start strong in the first inning scoring 2 runs on a Noah Cabrera RBI single and a Richard Miller RBI double.  The Tigers would add to their total in the second inning after a Trent Gast-Woodard leadoff home run and Zach Piazza RBI single to extend the score to 4-0.  Retriever bats would be quieted through the first 4 innings.

Towson would build on their lead in the fifth inning with a Javon Fields 2 RBI single and a Zach Piazza RBI fielder’s choice to extend the score further to 7-0.  In the sixth inning, UMBC got their lone chance on the evening to get back into the game as they got help from the Tigers defense with 2 errors, loading the bases with 0 outs.  A flyball to center field, and an unbelievable catch by Towson second basemen, Noah Cabrera, would start an incredible double play to get the Tigers out of the jam with no damage.

Tigers pitcher Repine would flirt with a no-hit bid through 7 innings until Andres Machado hit a single to the left side of the infield on the first pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning, ending Repine’s no-hitter.  Repine finished with a magnificent stat line of 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, and 7 K’s.  He would drop his season ERA from 12.05 to 8.44.

Joey Goodwin would spoil Towson’s shutout in the ninth inning on an RBI single scoring Christian Torres.  Joe Milkowski would hit into an RBI groundout to score the Retrievers second run.  The Retrievers finished the evening with 2 runs on 3 hits.

UMBC pitchers Greg Albert and Colton Bare were one of the few positives on the night as they pitched a combined 4.2 IP, 4 hits, and 0 runs, with Bare finishing with 5 K’s.

UMBC falls to 16-17 on the season.  The Retrievers will seek revenge next Tuesday as they take the short trip up I-695 to take on Towson as they aim to split the season series against the Tigers.

UMBC will have a quick turnaround as they play Wednesday against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) at 3 p.m. at Alumni Field.  The weekend series will be a matchup of the last 2 America East champions, as the Retrievers face off against the Hartford Hawks.  Hartford currently sits at 12-19 overall, and second place in the conference.  UMBC will look to improve on their 3-9 conference record.

Television and video games are successful in building and presenting the energetic atmosphere of basketball matches — the court echoes with the sounds of announcers commentating and fans cheering. For those who have never participated in a sports team performing on a national stage, it is difficult to imagine what this would be like. No one understands this atmosphere more than Retriever graduate-forward Joe Sherburne.

A few weeks ago, Sherburne was invited with three other America East players to participate in the Dos Equis 3x3U tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The tournament is in its second year and has already gained many supporters. The tournament gives players the chance to play under a different set of rules and possibly win 150,000 dollars. In order to qualify, you must be a graduating senior, considering NCAA does not allow players to play for money. Sherburne found the play style to be a bit exhausting. “The biggest difference was just how tiring it was. It is so fast-paced and you can’t sleep on defense because they can kick the ball out and shoot an easy three,” Sherburne explained.

The pace of a three-on-three game is certainly different from that of a five-on-five. It becomes increasingly difficult when you go from playing on a full court to playing on a half court with minimal room for error. The tournament was held in the Mall of America with fans posted on every level of the mall watching the festivities. In the three games, America East went 1-2 and was eliminated by the second day of contention. In their lone victory, Sherburne scored 4 points and added 10 rebounds. Sherburne relished in that victory as his family and former coaches came to see him play. “I had a nice little cheering section with my family and also my coaches so that was a really fun game for me,” Sherburne said with a smile.

Outside of the court, you would think there would be a million things to do. From shopping to enjoying the sights and going to all the other events Minneapolis has to offer, your time could be spent lavishing in the twin city. Sherburne, however, spent most of his time in the hotel watching Impractical Jokers with his roommate. He even attended the college 3-point contest as well as the dunk contest hosted the night before the tournament games. While he did not do much off the court, he still found ways to have fun and even form a potential friendship with his America East rivals.

“We didn’t get to play too much but I enjoyed playing with them,” Sherburne said. “We all knew each other pretty well from playing four years in the conference but it was a good time.” The amount of excitement from the crowd seemed to rile up the players which made for some very exciting basketball. Sherburne blocked out the fans considering they were not cheering for anyone in particular. Sherburne did emphasize that the atmosphere was fun outside of the lights blinding him.

By the end of the tournament, Sherburne was able to walk away with a pocket full of money and an experience he will never forget. From the city to the people, Sherburne had one big takeaway from the weekend: “It’s fun to hate who you’re playing against but if you like doing that, then it is upsetting to learn you don’t actually hate them when you meet them.” Well said, Mr. Sherburne.

Oh dear! How can you be so sweet and calm

When you are so lonely in this eternal blue sky

How can you be so pretty and perfect for psalm

When you are, in reality, beautifully sly

Will you let me be your star

Who will shine with you in the night

Although, I will disappear somewhere afar

With the dawn of the sunlight

I will love you will all my heart

Until the sunrise

And I will mesmerize you with all my heart

Until the moon dies

I promise to show you the light

When all your hopes are lost

And I promise to keep you bright

Until I become the stardust

~Oyashi

This is an installment in The Retriever’s new creative writing section.  If you would like to submit your creative writing or art for possible publication in The Retriever, please contact pawsforartsubmissions@gmail.com.