Quotes of the Week (Week of Jan. 17)

In 'Quotes of the Week,' The Back Page will look each weekend at the five best quotes of the week, providing context for the five most important moments from the past seven days in Crimson sports.

“You know you can’t just walk away from this one. Those are points that we need right now.” — Freshman forward Sean Malone, men’s hockey

After starting the break with a three-game unbeaten streak, including a 7-4 victory over Boston University, the men’s hockey team (5-9-3, 2-7-3 ECAC) has struggled in recent losses to rivals Yale and Cornell. The team dropped to 2-7-3 in conference after the Cornell loss, leaving the Crimson 12 points out of first place.

“It makes logical sense to me that we are always trying to judge ourselves on controllable factors and though I care very, very deeply about the outcome in golf, namely the outcome of ‘the score,’ unfortunately it is a couple of steps removed from what we can actually control.” — Kevin Rhoads, men’s and women’s golf coach

In a Crimson feature in which Rhoads discussed the way that he instructs his golfers to approach the game, the golf coach illustrated a philosophy that focuses on the process and not the outcome. In a mentally strenuous game like golf, Rhoads keeps his players grounded by focusing on the lead-up to every shot, not the result.

“Our goal has been to try and get better as a team each game. No game is perfect and it doesn’t need to be, but there’s always something that can be worked upon. We come out of this game and say that we need to put two rebounding halves together.” – Kathy Delaney-Smith, women’s basketball coach

Delaney-Smith’s mantra of early improvement has proved effective for the women’s basketball team (11-4, 1-0 Ivy League) in the early parts of the season. With junior Temi Fagbenle leading the way (13.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg), the team has rattled off 11 wins in 14 contests since a 24-point defeat to DePaul in the season opener. The team has won five of its past six as it begins its home slate of conference play with a Jan. 25 matchup against Dartmouth.

“We have to work a lot harder… and not look past any teams and not assume anything about any teams based on their records. We’ve done a good job of that this year just taking it day by day. We let them get away with one yesterday and we are certainly not going to let anyone else do that.” – Maura Crowell, women’s hockey coach

Fuming after a rare loss by the women’s hockey team (13-2-2-, 9-2-1 ECAC), Crowell pointed to defensive lapses as the reason for the team’s 2-0 stumble against Yale on Saturday. However, the main culprit in the loss was the Crimson’s lackluster offense; the loss was just the third time all year Harvard did not score at least two goals and the first time it had been shut out.

“[This win] is a testament to how strong Harvard swimming is. We really built up a legacy and a tradition. It is something that we are really proud of, especially being a senior. We realize how lucky we are to be a part of such a successful team.” – senior Sara Li, women’s swimming and diving

In its only home dual meet of the season, the women’s swimming and diving team cruised to a 202-98 victory over Brown on Saturday. The Crimson has won three of four against Ivy League opponents, dispatching Dartmouth and Cornell and losing to Columbia, and placed 2nd at the MIT Invitational in December.