{"id":1671,"date":"2012-05-23T15:32:40","date_gmt":"2012-05-23T19:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/?p=1671"},"modified":"2013-05-15T09:31:34","modified_gmt":"2013-05-15T13:31:34","slug":"go-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/go-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Go Green!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Go<\/p>\n

If the rallying cry chanted by Hollins sports fans has a new energy and force, there\u2019s a good reason: the university\u2019s teams are building\u2014and then building on\u2014a record of success. Athletic Director David Zinn is moving the program forward without losing sight of the student-athlete ideal.<\/h2>\n

When Hollins basketball standout Jasmine Greene<\/strong> \u201913 is asked to name the player she most admires, Chauncey Billups of the NBA\u2019s Los Angeles Clippers is not the name you\u2019d expect her to say in an era dominated by superstars such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade. But after taking a closer look at Billups\u2019 career, you quickly understand why Greene, a Hollins guard who has earned All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) honors two seasons in a row, looks up to him. About the five-time All-Star, Tom Friend of ESPN The Magazine<\/em> observes, \u201cIn a league obsessed with LeBron, Kobe and D-Wade, Chauncey might actually be the one to emulate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same strong work ethic and resilience shown by Billups are apparent in Greene and also throughout the Hollins athletic program, where the string of recent successes is generating a lot of buzz. The 2011-12 academic year saw the volleyball team qualify for the ODAC tournament for just the second time in school history. The golf team completed its fall season ranked twenty-seventh in the nation, and the swim team earned its first winning record since 1999. Hollins riders continued to build upon their longstanding reputation for excellence, winning two Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competitions this year, finishing as reserve high point team in ODAC competition, and enjoying a score of individual victories. And the Hollins basketball team won ten games for the first time since the 2002-03 season, more wins than in the previous seven seasons combined.<\/p>\n

\"David

David Zinn came to Hollins as athletic director in fall 2011.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a great staff that has done fantastic work over the last couple of years on the recruiting trail and in teaching our players,\u201d says Athletic Director David Zinn, who came to Hollins last July after serving as director of athletics at Chatham University and head women\u2019s basketball coach at Meredith College. \u201c[Former Hollins Athletic Director] Aubrey Shinofield did a great job of getting the momentum going and we\u2019re just trying to keep that snowball moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zinn is understandably excited about what Hollins\u2019 athletic teams have accomplished lately, but he emphasizes his highest responsibility as athletic director is developing true student-athletes. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason our students can\u2019t find success in the classroom and at the same time have the opportunity to play high-quality athletics. That\u2019s my goal here, to have the best of both worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swimmer Maggie Dwyer<\/strong> \u201914, who is double majoring in English and theatre, says she appreciates the consideration coaches and professors alike have embraced to help her achieve in both arenas. \u201cOur coach [Jonathan Raines] is very supportive,\u201d she says. \u201cIf there\u2019s ever a time we feel overwhelmed, he\u2019ll figure out a way to help us balance practice and homework. For him, academics is the first priority.<\/p>\n

\"Go

A double major in English and theatre, Maggie Dwer '14 says her coach supports her dedication to academics.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAt the same time, professors are very understanding about us doing other things. As long as you give them enough notice, they\u2019ll tell you what you need to do and when to have it in. I was looking to attend a small college where the professors actually knew who I was, and I\u2019ve found that here.\u201d Dwyer has thrived at Hollins, becoming team captain her first year and setting ten school swimming records as a sophomore, while pursuing her goal of going on to graduate school and ultimately becoming a high school English teacher and swim coach.<\/p>\n

Golf team member and history major J.R. Woolwine<\/strong> \u201912 adds that faculty members hold athletes to the same high academic standards as other students. \u201cYou have teachers who are really going to think about your capability and push you to it. In the history department they do that in every single class. They will not hesitate to say to you, \u2018You can do better than that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Greene, who is majoring in business with a communication studies minor, believes the sense of community in the athletic department and on the campus in general is one of the best things about being an athlete at Hollins. Despite the demands of basketball and academic work, she has still found time this year to serve as president of the Black Student Alliance, as a member of the Hollins Activity Board and the university\u2019s Spirit Squad, and as an Early Transition Program mentor. \u201cI have friends who play Division I basketball [Hollins competes in Division III], and their only friends are people on the team or a couple of people in their classes. Here, I have friends who are on the team, friends who are on other teams, friends I am in clubs with.\u201d Woolwine agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s just nice. You feel like you\u2019re a family, you\u2019re part of something.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the teams continue to improve, Zinn says he hopes to see alumnae get more involved with the athletic community. The program in fact has begun communicating with local alumnae chapters when Hollins is competing in their area. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a school where the alumnae are so loyal to their institution, so we want to encourage them to be a part of us, whether it\u2019s coming to a game or supporting the Athletic Hall of Fame at reunion each year,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd we want to put a product out there our alumnae are going to be proud of. We\u2019re celebrating small victories now. And I\u2019m hoping we\u2019ll be celebrating larger victories down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo:<\/strong> The 2011-12 basketball season ended on a high note with a 74-66 win over the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets. Hollins just missing qualifying for the ODAC tournament. Jasmine Greene \u201913 had a huge night, with thirty-two points and seven assists.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo credit<\/strong>: Albana Moreyra \u201914<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hollins University’s teams are building \u2014 and then building on \u2014 a record of success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-1671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-spring-2012"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1671"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3738,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1671\/revisions\/3738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}