Posted by Meredith Cox …

Oct 16 2009
By Meredith Cox Misc

Inside Look: Male Cheerleader Gets It Done on the Sidelines

With the upcoming season of basketball only a few short weeks away, it only means one things ladies and gentlemen: Midnight Madness!

And who better to discuss the ins and outs of this magical night than the man who has been mixed in with all this chaos for his four years here at Georgetown — Eric Cusimano, a senior member of the cheerleading squad.

“Midnight Madness is the biggest pep rally of the year and the biggest event on campus during the year,” he said. “On this night the lights go out and it’s show time!”

Eric loves being a Georgetown University cheerleader and in fact, after he graduates in May, he hopes to continue his studies at Georgetown Law and he would love the opportunity to keep cheering.

“My favorite part about being a cheerleader has to be the games<” he said. “The excitement, the noise, the focus that everyone has on one thing is awesome. I am able to be the fan on the court.”

Coming in as a freshman, Eric was the only male on the cheerleading squad. He has had to deal with similar situations his entire college career, as he was one of three his sophomore year, one of two his junior year, and the lone male again for the beginning of this year (two males have luckily joined in the past few weeks!).

“It’s such a plus,” Cusimano said. “I love being around such a good group of people. Now that I have a few other guys on the team, it’s better because we can go to the gym together while the girls practice their dance routines.”

However, there are a few negative factors that come with being one of very few males on the team. Eric explained how there is a lot of pressure on the guys because if something goes wrong or if someone falls, it usually comes back to the boys.

“There is so much pressure to do well,” he said.

Eric said that even if he weren’t a cheerleader he would still be at all of the games. He loves the events and he loves the atmosphere.

“I would have to say that my favorite sport to cheer for is the fan favorite, men’s basketball,” he said. “It’s just something about waking up on a Saturday morning at 8 a.m. to go to the Verizon Center that gets me so excited.”

Excited would be a very understated word to use to describe Eric Cusimano before a basketball game. Many of you have seen him trying to jump as high as the men’s basketball team and yell louder than Coach Thompson. And if you arrive early to either the men’s or women’s basketball games, you can see Eric getting himself mentally prepared just like the team: iPod in, tunes cranked and mind focused. Here is his playlist:

  1. Voo Doo Child-Jimmy Hendrix
  2. Dream On-Aerosmith
  3. The Way I Am-Eminem
  4. Stuntin’ Like My Daddy-Lil’ Wayne
  5. We Ready-Archie Eversole

And no matter how much time is left he always finishes with Heart of a Champion by Nelly.

Cusimano and the rest of the cheerleading squad have been amazing at all of the sports events. They cheer all of our sports teams on but are a huge factor as the men’s and women’s basketball teams play in their out of conference games, Big East conference, and post season. They cheer on the sideline as the teams face and get knocked around by many of the Big East powerhouses. As the team gets bumps and bruises from UConn and Syracuse, Eric’s megaphone gets beat to death each and every game.

“I actually go through more than five megaphones a year,” Cusimano said.

Meredith Cox is a senior on the women’s basketball team and a contributor to Hoya Insider.

Sep 16 2009
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By Meredith Cox Men's Basketball

Inside Look: Jeff Green Finishing What He Started

If any of you were here this summer taking classes, you might have seen a very familiar face walking around campus.

Jeff Green, a starting forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder and former star of the 2007 Georgetown Final Four team, could be found Mondays through Thursdays walking to and from classes. Green has decided to finish his degree and is expected to graduate in 2012.

“It felt really weird to be on campus again as a student just for the fact that I have been out of school for 2 years,” Green said.

Green is an English major and this summer he completed 12 credits. He said that his favorite class this summer was his art class, more formally known as Intro to Print Making. I asked him about his favorite part of being back on campus.

“I would have to say that it was seeing familiar faces, especially professors and students that were here when I was here before.”

Besides taking classes, Green was on a very tight schedule. When asked to describe his summer in one word he quickly replied, “Exhausting!”

Below is a typical day for Jeff Green during the summer of 2009:

7 a.m. – Wake up

7:15 a.m. – Walk his new dog, Rumble (some of you would be happy to know he is a Bull Dog!)

7:30 a.m. – Breakfast & shower

8:30 a.m. – workout (this was usually weight training and agility)

10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Class

Lunch

1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Class

4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. – Workout (this was usually basketball-related)

8 p.m. – Dinner

I would have to agree that “exhausting” is a good word to describe Green’s summer. Green did make some room for a little vacation. At the beginning of the summer he went to Costa Rica for 10 days and for the Fourth of July he spent a weekend at Ocean City, Maryland. Other than that, he relaxed with is family in Virginia spending quality time with the loved ones that he doesn’t get to see during the season.

At the end of July, Green experienced something that many basketball players never do: he was asked to try out for the USA team. He flew to Vegas and for three days and played against the best players in the NBA in hopes of making the USA team for the next Olympics.

“This was really exciting for me to know that I might have the chance to represent our country, and I was even more excited because I was asked to try out after only my second year in the NBA,” Green said.

Green has now returned to Oklahoma City to get ready for the upcoming season. Individually, he said he wants to improve every facet of his game, but specifically he wants to work on being consistent. As for the team, Green said that he hopes the team is better than last year and makes a run at making the playoffs.

Jeff Green did so many great things while he was a student here at Georgetown, and I can say that many people are very proud of him for coming back and getting his degree. Green had a very intense summer, but I believe that it will only make him better and will allow him to achieve the many goals that he has set. We are proud of you Jeff! Hoya Saxa!

Meredith Cox is a senior on the women’s basketball team and is also a consistent contributor to Hoya Insider.

Nov 24 2008
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By Meredith Cox Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball

Meredith Cox Reports: An Update From Jonathan Wallace

Georgetown women’s basketball player Meredith Cox caught up with former Hoya Jonathan Wallace. Here is her report.

Some of our former Georgetown men’s basketball players have continued their dream of playing ball after the Hilltop. Many of you are able to catch Jeff Green in his new Oklahoma City Thunder jersey watching Kevin Durant shoot the ball, and others are able to see Roy Hibbert moving faster than he did in the blue and gray as an Indiana Pacer. Another key member of the Final Four Hoyas was point guard Jon Wallace. What is he doing now? Didn’t he get into law school? Didn’t he go overseas? I recently had the opportunity of “skyping” with Jon and getting the latest inside scoop on what he has been up to while we were all busy during our first semester of school. Continue reading →

Nov 05 2008
By Meredith Cox Women's Basketball

From the Sidelines: Meredith Cox on the First Scrimmage

The Georgetown Women’s Basketball team had their first road trip of the year this past Saturday, Nov. 1. With an early departure of 8 a.m., we traveled four hours to the home of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. After the long trek there, we had a quick meal at a nearby Golden Coral and then were off to the scrimmage. This was our first chance to play somebody else besides our own teammates.

The setup of the scrimmage was to play three 20-minute halves and then do situational “end-of-the-game” scenarios. Over the three 20-minute halves, we won by about 20 points. All 15 members of the Hoyas saw the floor, each contributing in some way over the two hours. Freshman forward Adria Crawford and sophomore guard Monica McNutt both had a very good day and stood out amongst the many playing.

Last year, Liberty was a team that went to the NCAA tournament so this scrimmage allowed our coaches to see how our progress perhaps sized-up to those teams that did make it to postseason play, somewhere we want to go. Because we have seven freshmen, mistakes were made throughout the scrimmage. However, the effort that was expended by most of the team compensated for these mistakes and allowed us to come away with a victory. The scrimmage as a whole was a great learning experience for both our coaching staff and our players (especially the newcomers).

After the scrimmage both teams circled up around midcourt and held hands. The head coach of Liberty said a prayer of thanks and blessed the food that we were about to eat. I had never done this with an opponent after a game, but it did seem fitting since Liberty is a very Christian school. We came together in a huddle after the prayer and all yelled, “To God be the glory!” showered, ate, and road back home for another four hour journey.

Besides the long trip, Liberty was a good first-look opponent for us to go up against. This Saturday, we have our second scrimmage against Delaware St. Again, this will be another test and learning experience for our entire team which will only prepare us for the following week’s first game at Jacksonville St.

Oct 29 2008
By Meredith Cox Women's Basketball

From the Sidelines: Meredith Cox

Big East Media Day

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 —

As Coach Flournoy and I arrived at the ESPN Zone in New York City Thursday morning, there was a sense of revenge in the air, at least on my part. I flew solo this trip, as Georgetown was one of few teams in the Big East to only send one member of its team to Big East Media Day. All 16 teams had representatives and to be honest, I really didn’t recognize many of the other players because everyone was dressed up. I did however, recognize the Syracuse players and in an instant was brought back to last year’s one-point loss that was the make or break part of the season, in terms of whether we would reach postseason play. This started my feelings of revenge.

We sat down at our designated “Georgetown” table and the festivities began. Our team was picked to finish 11th of 16 teams (a lot better than last year’s 16th pick), finishing right behind Villanova. This is directly where we finished last year (in a three-way tie) and being at this event made me think that many of the Big East teams have no idea what we are about this year. Our seven freshmen and eight returners have come together and are in the process of creating a very big powerhouse in the Big East. We have our first scrimmage this Saturday against Liberty and are excited for real games to begin on Nov. 16. This year is going to be an interesting and exciting one!

After opening remarks were announced, the print reporters spread across the floor. Instantly 95% of the media went to UCONN’s table in order to talk to Maya Moore and Coach Geno Auriemma about their No. 1 preseason ranking. We got a few reporters at our table, mostly media dealt with Syracuse. This got me even more excited because Syracuse is our first Big East game this season on Jan. 3 at McDonough. Our rivalry with Syracuse is a growing one and this year we will be able to get the revenge we need from last season. After the print media digressed away from the tables we went upstairs to the broadcast media where many different stations wanted to interview each member from a different angle (ask about life after basketball, what our interests are, etc.). To make it a little different, I even interviewed Coach Flournoy for BigEast.tv in order for them to get even more of a different spin on things.

Big East Media Day was a success. The predicted 11th-place finish was not a terrible thing for us. It was a lot better than last year and it’s a good rank considering the fact that we do have seven freshmen and lost some key players from last year. With this rank we have the motivation to climb up the ladder and become part of the dominating force in the Big East.

Oct 22 2008
By Meredith Cox Field Hockey

From the Sidelines: Meredith Cox

Field Hockey Needs a Field

Most of you probably have never seen this complex, but it’s where our current field hockey team plays their home games, at the University of Maryland. With their current record of 0-14, maybe there is something more than just lack of skill or better competition. Maybe our field hockey team never has the so-called “home field advantage”. Our Lady Hoyas have been playing their home games the past two years at Maryland. I spoke with senior Dee Crovo, who has experienced this lack of a home field for both these years.

“We used to play on top of Yates, but Yates’ turf started to get holes in it and became very dangerous. The administrators at Yates didn’t want to be liable for the injuries of other schools’ players so therefore they decided to deem the Yates turf unsafe,” Dee told me.

Dee was here when the field hockey team played on top of Yates. I asked her is there was a difference in playing at the two different locations and if this might be the cause of their unfortunate season.

“I definitely feel that if we had a field there would be better team morale in general,” she said. “Also, it’s like every game is an away game even if it really is a ‘home’ game. Even on a good day it’s a 45 minute commute. On the other hand, at least we have somewhere to play. Some teams don’t even have any field to play on. When I was able to play on campus my freshman and sophomore years there were definitely more people at the games besides just our parents and an occasional boyfriend. We definitely can feel a difference because we really don’t have many fans.”

The field hockey team needs turf to play on, but this is very hard to come up with in such a compact campus as Georgetown. What are some of the plans for the future? Dee told me that to be able to have a turf field on campus the university would have to build a whole new Yates and re-turf the top. There have been hypothetical plans to buy land close by in Virginia and build a field there. Also, the university was thinking about sharing turf with Georgetown Visitation. Dee also said that for next year there has been talk as to playing the home games at American University so that the commute was much shorter.

If anyone is interested in taking a short trek to Maryland in order to support our field hockey team, their final home game and also their senior day is this Sunday, Oct. 26 beginning at 12 p.m. Any takers?

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