The faithful fans at Caltech’s Braun Gymnasium really had something to cheer about in January as both the men’s and women’s basketball teams finally broke long losing streaks. In the top two photos, the men’s team shows its mettle during its rout of Bard College. Above, women’s team coach Sandra Marbut lets loose after a historic win over Pomona–Pitzer.

They Shoot Hoops, Don’t They?

First the Caltech men’s hapless basketball team won a game. Then the women’s team snapped a long losing streak. Can Caltech’s squad of basketball-playing Drosophila be far behind?

On January 6, the Caltech men’s team swamped New York’s Bard College by the score of 81-52, ending a losing streak that had caught national attention. This was the first win for the men in the last 59 games. It was also the first victory against an NCAA Division III opponent in 207 games, stretching back to the 1995–96 season. Exactly one week later, the women’s team—which was battling a 50-game losing streak and had never defeated a team in its conference—beat Pomona-Pitzer by a score of 55–53. The women’s win capped what may have been the greatest week in Caltech’s (non-prank-related) athletics history.

Judging by the eruption of media attention, one would have thought that the Institute had won another Nobel Prize. The men’s win was reported by print, radio, TV, and Web outlets around the country—including Sports Illustrated, National Public Radio, NBC, and ABC—who seem to have found it inspiring and newsworthy that a bunch of science geeks could turn off their brains long enough to pull off an athletic feat. Head coach Roy Dow said that the win was so unexpected that no one from Caltech was around with a still camera to capture the celebration following the game. Although someone had recorded the game on a video camera, he turned it off just as the game ended.

“For me, it’s just a win, but it’s very well deserved for the kids,” said Dow, who has coached the team for five years. Dow said that the team has steadily improved and came close to a victory several times last year. “For the kids, it was huge. The media thinks they’re lovable losers, but that’s not what the kids think.” They compete to win, he said.

Dow is clearly impressed by his players, who put in long hours on their schoolwork and still manage to work hard at practices and in games.
Occasionally, he has had to send a student back to the dorm when it was clear that he hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before because of his studies. Dow said he never considered resigning during the losing streak.

“It’s a kick in the pants to be surrounded by Nobel Prize winners. They’re passionate about their stuff, and I’m passionate about what I do.” Dow said that he and the team were especially energized by the presence at the Bard game of Caltech president Jean-Lou Chameau and his wife, Carol Carmichael.

“Jean-Lou and Carol are simply huge in my eyes and the eyes of our team,” said Dow. “They had just arrived from a 16-hour flight from Singapore, landing perhaps a couple of hours prior to tip-off.”

The top scorer for the Beavers was sophomore Travis Haussler, who connected for 29 points and was named athlete of the week for his performance by the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Teammate Matt Dellatorre was close behind with 24.

The euphoria was short lived, however, as Occidental College trounced Caltech four days later by a score of 103–40, likely beginning another Caltech losing streak. Dow, who had predicted that the game would be a rout, sounded professorial about the loss to Occidental, which is one of the top teams in Division III. “Occidental is the reality,” he said. “There’s more truth to the Occidental result than the Bard result. But this helps us get better and gives us feedback on what we need to do to improve.”

Despite the Occidental loss, basketball fever returned to the campus on January 13, when the women held on in Braun Gymnasium to defeat Pomona-Pitzer. It was a first for the women’s team, which only formed in 1995, and had never before defeated a Division III opponent. The leading scorer for the Caltech team was junior Rene Davis, with 18 points.

Head coach Sandra Marbut dedicated the win to Caltech’s female alumni basketball players who “bravely stood up to the losses with heads held high.” And she praised her current players—who, like their male counterparts, must also overcome daunting problem sets before they can even think about sports—for “always showing up believing they have a chance.” After 50 straight losses, she added, “if that’s not optimism and strength of character, I don’t know what is.”