Washington College Magazine
Faces In the Crowd
Kyle Stem '06
Men's Basketball
Senior Guard Kyle Stem's unbelievable heroics, late in the second half, helped the men's basketball team overcome a 14-point deficit, carrying the team to an 83-81 Centennial Conference men's basketball victory over Haverford on December 6.
Stem scored 23 of his career-high 34 points in the final 5:06 of the game and hit the game-winning lay-up with one second remaining. In the final 5:06, Stem shot a remarkable 7-for-7 from the field, including 4-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
Not since January 30, 2003, had Washington overcome a double-digit deficit. WC went on a 30-11 run, overcoming a 19 point deficit in the final 3:11 of regulation to defeat Wesley 125-124 in two overtime periods. In that game, Washington scored 65 of its 125 points in the final 13:11 of the contest.
Kim Proctor '08
Softball
Kim Proctor '08 had a very good reason for not participating in fall softball practice. Proctor, an All-Centennial Conference honorable mention in 2005, spent the fall semester serving as a member of the Air National Guard in Biloxi, MS.
Airman First Class Proctor, who works at the Warfield Air National Guard base in Essex, MD, is an honor graduate from basic military training and is currently in training to be an Airfield Manager.
Her future duties will include inspecting runways and taxiways, inputting flight plans and maintaining basic safety for aircraft operations. Proctor mainly works with C-130s and A-10s.
Proctor is the starting catcher for Washington's softball team again this spring. She hit .309 with a school-record, 10 doubles, 15 RBIs, and 18 runs scored for the Shorewomen last spring, helping lead them to their first-ever berth in the Centennial Conference Playoffs. She also set a single-season school record with 123 at bats.
Proctor will be spending part of the upcoming summer in Arizona receiving more training.
Scott Polyniak '05, Graduate Student
Men's Basketball
Scott Polyniak '05 is nothing if not persistent. He never played varsity basketball in high school—a decision he regretted.
"My first year at WC was [head coach Rob] Nugent's first year, and he scared the heck out of me the first few days and I decided to quit," Polyniak reflected.
Polyniak played intramural ball instead, then came out for the varsity team in his sophomore year. "I stuck with it this time, but it took me a long while to adapt to the system and, due to my lack of progress, I sat out most games except for blowouts," remembers Polyniak.
"He struggled to pick up our offensive and defensive concepts; we just couldn't put him on the floor very much," notes Coach Nugent.
Polyniak went to Australia for his junior year. By the time his senior year came around, Polyniak worked himself into two or three minutes a game. After the season ended, he realized he would have an extra year of eligibility as a graduate student.
Polyniak now is pursuing a master's degree in psychology—and demonstrating the power of perseverance on the court. He is averaging nearly 16 minutes a game along with 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest this season. He scored a career-high 20 points in the third game of the season. "I am really proud of Scott. He has come a long way," says Nugent.
Polyniak is grateful for the extra opportunity to prove himself. "I will look back and see these days as the highlights of my life," Polyniak promises.
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