Eliot House Brings Home Straus Cup

Eliot House Intramural (IM) Co-Secretary Stephen J. Robbins ’05 was rewarded for spending the year “running around trying to get people to participate,” as Eliot was awarded the Straus Cup—the crowning achievement of its IM success—at a luncheon held at the Murr Center on Monday.

The first annual Intramural Athlete of the Year Award was also presented to Paul F. Gilligan ’05, the other Eliot IM co-secretary, at the luncheon.

Eliot finished the 2003-2004 intramural season with 1,512.75 points—nearly 200 more than second-place finisher Cabot House, which failed to win the Straus Cup for only the second time in the past 10 years.

The last time that Eliot won the Straus Cup was in 1983, according to Eliot House Master Lino Pertile.

“I’m incredibly proud of what they’ve accomplished. It’s the greatest thing to happen to my House since I’ve been a Master,” said Pertile, who was appointed Eliot Master in 2000. “This shows the power of hard work and dedication.”

Eliot House did not clinch its victory until it won the men’s “A” division crew race in the spring—worth 100 points and viewed by those involved in IM sports as one of the most important events of the year.

Pertile said he even bicycled alongside the river, keeping pace with his House’s four crew teams as a show of support.

But while Robbins said the support was important, he added that a more general concern was simply getting people to show up.

“Trying to get 10 girls to go to a swim meet is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do,” Robbins said.

Gilligan said he and Robbins were aided by those students particularly committed to winning the Straus Cup.

“Even if they said they had a paper to write, if we asked them three times, we’d get them to go out,” Gilligan said.

Director of Intramural Sports Geoffrey N. Spies said Eliot’s participation rate was exceptional.

“Eliot forfeited one event all year—a fall tennis match,” Spies said. “That’s pretty amazing and something to commend in and of itself.”

Gilligan, who in addition to rounding up players said he played in “almost every sport,” was awarded the first annual Intramural Athlete of the Year Award by Spies.

Spies said the award—which will be commemorated on a plaque to be displayed in the lobby of the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC)—was given based on Gilligan’s athletic excellence and success in generating enthusiasm and participation in the intramural program.

“I feel like it’s the award for me because I spent the whole year poured into IMs, above everything else,” Gilligan said. “It’s also nice to get recognition for people that aren’t varsity athletes, but are serious athletes.”

In addition to recognizing Gilligan, Spies also praised Dunster House Assistant to the Senior Tutor and IM Co-Secretary Carlos R. Diaz for motivating Dunster to a third-place finish.

“Dunster House finished 11th last year and was only 20 points behind Cabot for second place this year,” Spies said. “That is solely due to Carlos.”

Robbins said his House similarly ascended from an 11th-place finish two years ago to a third-place showing last year.

“We want to tip our hats to Dunster House,” Robbins said. “They essentially did what we did last year—bringing our House up from nothing.”

In addition to winning the Straus Cup and the Intramural Athlete of the Year Award, Eliot won the men’s crew award, while Adams House took home the women’s crew trophy for the second time in three years.

About 30 students and administrators attended the luncheon, which was held in the Murr Center for the first time. In years past, the Straus Cup was presented on the steps of the MAC to a representative of the winning House.

Spies said the newly formatted luncheon—modeled after those held for varsity athletes at season’s end—was symbolic of the athletic department’s goal of reaching out to non-varsity athletes.

The otherwise-festive mood of the luncheon was dampened when Spies revealed that he will step down at the end of the year to attend the Boston College School of Business in the fall. Spies’ announcement prompted a standing ovation.

BreeAnna D. Gibson ’04, one of two referees, said this was the best of her four years in the intramural program because of Spies’ involvement.

“This year has been far and away my best year here and it’s all because of Geoff,” Gibson said. “He’s really listened to people in the program, and it’s made a huge difference.”

—Staff writer Alan J. Tabak can be reached at tabak@fas.harvard.edu.