Posts tagged CU
Buff cross-countryers ranked nationally pre-season
Aug 27th
XC Men Start Season at No. 3; Women Ranked 14th
NEW ORLEANS – The 2013 cross country season is just about to begin, and once again the University of Colorado men’s and women’s programs are starting off the season on a familiar note as both teams are ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 30 Preseason Poll.
The men’s team is ranked third overall and the women are 14th in the poll. They are both ranked quite high in the regional rankings as well, which came out on Monday afternoon. The women are the top rated team in the Mountain Region and the men are ranked second behind Northern Arizona.
CU’s men are the top Pac-12 program in the national poll, recording 337 points for third-place. Oklahoma State recorded the top place in the poll with 358 points and received 10 of the 12 first-place votes. NAU is second with 349 points and the two remaining first-place votes. The Buffs recorded 30 more points than the fourth-place vote getter, BYU (307).
On the women’s side, Providence is the preseason favorite with 359 points (11 first-place votes). Florida State is second (343) and Oregon is third with 334 points, accompanied by the final first-place vote.
The Buffs will start their season on Saturday, August 31, with the Alumni/Open/Time Trial on CU’s South Campus at the Buffalo Ranch Cross Country Course. The men’s 8-kilometer race is at 8:30 a.m. and the women’s 5.8k will follow at 9 a.m. Parking and admission are free.
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CU study: Conservation efforts might encourage some to hunt lions
Aug 26th
Further, some conservation initiatives including those designed to save lions from being hunted have either failed to work or in some cases appear to have incited Maasai to hunt more lions as a form of political protest, the researchers report.
Such nuances are important, because it’s harder to control the hunting of lions unless society knows precisely why lions are hunted, the researchers contend.
Many populations of Panthera leo—African lions—are falling, and the species is classified as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List.
Lion hunting is outlawed in Kenya and in Tanzania is limited to mostly tourists hunting with permits, unless the hunt is to eliminate a lion in defense of life or livestock. Still, lion hunting regularly occurs in both countries, usually without the hunters’ following the law.
“We saw an inaccurate representation of the exact reasons for why Maasai hunt lions, and we had a lot of ethnographic background to correct that,” said Mara J. Goldman, the assistant professor of geography at CU-Boulder who led the study.
Goldman collaborated with Joana Roque de Pinho, a postdoctoral researcher at the Instituto Superior de Ciencias Sociais e Politicas (Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal), and Jennifer Perry, a CU-Boulder geography alumna now studying law at the university.
Goldman and her fellow researchers conducted 246 in-depth interviews of Tanzanian and Kenyan Maasai between 2004 and 2008. They found that Maasai hunt lions for multiple overlapping reasons, some relating to predation on livestock and some not.
In some cases, Maasai said they hunted lions to prevent the potential killing of livestock, especially by lions that had killed livestock before, rather than just as retaliation.
And while Maasai still celebrate successful lion hunts and the prowess of the warriors who hunt, that cultural tradition can be less of a motivation to hunt than political discontent.
In Kenya, for instance, conservation programs aim to curb Maasai lion hunting by financially compensating Maasai for livestock killed by lions. In Tanzania, suggestions have been made by some to start such ‘compensation’ programs, but the Maasai themselves explain why this strategy has limitations:
“We cannot agree (to compensation) because we do not have cattle to be killed every day,” an elder Maasai told the researchers. “If they pay money today, then tomorrow, they will pay every day because the lion will keep coming back to eat cattle until all the cattle are gone. And then what will we do with the money?”
These sentiments were expressed in a village bordering the Manyara Ranch, a Tanzanian conservation trust on which hunting is prohibited but over which Maasai from neighboring villages are meant to share governance. In the beginning, the elders kept the warriors from hunting lions, the researchers found.
But after Maasai representation in ranch governance was diminished, the Maasai felt disenfranchised. Lion hunting increased in frequency and severity and was no longer discouraged by elders, the researchers said.
“We have no reason to follow the rules,” one elder told the researchers.
Goldman researches human-environment relations with the Tanzanian and Kenyan Maasai, one of the most recognizable ethnic groups in Africa, known for their distinctive, colorful dress and social customs, and most recently for their lion-hunting practices.
Although the primary motivations for lion hunting differed somewhat between Tanzania and Kenya, the researchers emphasize that Maasai have multiple, overlapping reasons to hunt lions: to reaffirm the protective role of young warriors, to help select brave leaders among warrior groups, to allow individual warriors to gain prestige, to eliminate lions that prey on livestock and to prevent lions from becoming habituated to eating livestock and sometimes harming people.
The multiple reasons illustrate the limitations of explaining Maasai lion hunting “as either a cultural manhood ritual or a retaliatory act,” the researchers write.
“Participatory conservation interventions that respect Maasai knowledge and promote full engagement with management processes are likely to have far better success in persuading Maasai to change or moderate such behaviors themselves,” the research team states, adding that “lion conservation projects rarely address such complex politics.”
Goldman, also a faculty research associate at CU-Boulder’s Institute of Behavioral Science, is the first author on the study that was recently published online in the journal Oryx and is scheduled to appear in the journal’s October print edition. The study is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0030605312000907.
For more on this story, see Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine at http://artsandsciences.colorado.edu/magazine.
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CU Shuts Out Colorado College 1-0 In Final Game of Colorado Cup
Aug 25th
Through six games in the three years of the Cup, CU has remained undefeated. For the third year running, CU defeated Northern Colorado 3-0, and this season marked the Buffaloes’ third straight shutout of the CC Tigers in as many Cups. The Buffs have not lost to the Tigers since 1997.
In the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader at Prentup Field, Denver defeated UNC 3-0. Denver beat CC 2-1 on Friday, making the Pioneers and Buffs tied in the weekend win column. Since both teams won two games, and had an equal goal differential (five goals forced and one allowed for Denver, four goals scored and zero allowed for Colorado), goals scored worked as the tiebreaker, giving the Pioneers their first Cup trophy.
“We’ll take the win any day of the week,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said. “I’m really pleased with how the players battled today. They got the result at the end of the day, so it was a good win for us for sure.”
Freshman Brie Hooks continued her stellar debut weekend, scoring off an Anne Stuller assist in the 53rd minute to lead the Buffs to victory. In the Buffs’ first two games of the season, Hooks has already scored three goals.
“It’s exciting,” Hooks said. “It’s not really something I expected, I guess, but to go out there and get three goals in the first two games is a good way to show that I can do what I can out there on the field. It was a good feeling.”
The Buffs dominated the offense from the opening minutes, outshooting the Tigers 21-5, though only sending five more on goal (8-3).
Colorado got a shot off early, with Darcy Jerman getting blocked in the fifth minute. Less than four minutes later, Anne Stuller, who led the Buffs with six shots, sent one wide. It took until the 10th minute for CC to take their first shot, sending one right at Annie Brunner.
The Buffs looked set to score in the 12th minute when Brooke Rice got the ball to Hayley Hughes who found Olivia Pappalardo at the net to drive one in, but the goal was called off due to an offsides ruling.
In just over a minute span, Stuller took two more shots, first forcing CC keeper Kate Scheele to come up with her first of seven saves, and then being stopped short by a block. Hayley Hughes kept the momentum going, sending one high in the 18th minute. Five minutes later, she came up big defensively, forcing a turnover, then taking it to the other side where she slammed one towards the net before being blocked.
From the 24th minute to the 34th, CU took five more shots, coming from Madison Krauser, Brie Hooks, Jerman and Bianca Jones. The Buffs were strong on the attack, but CC remained strong on defense, keeping the game scoreless at the half.
It took just two minutes into the second half for the Tigers to shoot, but the ball went high. Colorado responded by quickly taking over on an offensive drive. At the 52:50 mark, Hooks was hungry for more, sending one to the back of the net off a Stuller assist.
“Well we were going out, and the ball got wide, and honestly I wasn’t trying to shoot at all,” Hooks said. “I was trying to keep it in. I got my hips around it and it happened to go in. It worked out in my favor I guess … Everyone has the goals that they’re not trying to score, but in tight games like that it’s good to get an early one. It felt good.”
The Buffs continued to make Scheele work at the net. In the 58th minute, Emily Paxton sent one towards the goal. CU didn’t get its first corner kick until the 62nd minute, with Carly Bolyard shooting it towards the net. After several touches by the Buffs, Pappalardo made Scheele dive for the save. Less than a minute later, Paxton was at it again, making Scheele grab her third save in just five minutes.
Sarah Scheweiss was a force for the Tigers, leading the squad with three shots. In the 69th minute, she went on the run from the midfield, and approached the net with only a few defenders in her way, but Brunner was ready to claim the save.
In the final twenty minutes, Colorado remained strong at both ends of the ball. Krauser took two more of her three total shots, sending one wide, then high. Stuller kept the pressure, sending one at the keeper with under 10 remaining.
Colorado had a close call with just over six minutes remaining, with CC taking a free kick that got the ball to the net. After a few quick touches, Jessie Ayers got the ball, but fumbled and couldn’t get the shot. The Buffs reclaimed possession, playing tough until the closing seconds, with Stuller leading a drive in the 88th minute.
After 90 minutes, Hooks’ “dangerous,” but “fortunate” ball and the Buffs’ experienced backline were the determining factors in the win.
“Our defense – led by Lizzy (Herzl) and Heather (Ward) and Bianca (Jones), and Hayley (Hughes) also – all four of them were rock solid all day,” Sanchez said. “I’m pleased with that. We need to be better on the attack; we talked about that on Friday as well, but at the end of it, a good result for us.”
The Buffs continue their home-stand with more in-state competition, hosting Air Force on Friday.
“Air Force went out to a tournament this weekend and had a draw and then lost to a Big 12 team 2-1, so they’re much improved,” Sanchez said. “We know that when teams come to Prentup, they’re going to bring their ‘A’ game. Last year we won 2-0, but it didn’t feel like a 2-0 game. It was a bit scrappy. We need better quality. And obviously, St. Mary’s out of the West Coast Conference is a very good team. It’s a big weekend for us, but we’re glad to be home.”
Make a healthy and environmentally friendly trip to Prentup Field on Friday, Aug. 30 to watch CU soccer take on Air Force at 5 p.m. The first 200 fans who bike to Prentup will receive a free CU T-shirt. Admission is free, though fans can make a $5 donation to the Buff Club to show their support for the team, so grab your family and friends for a bike ride to Prentup Field.
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Marlee Horn Graduate Assistant SID University of Colorado
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