Webster University community members welcomed the top-ranked and newly crowned collegiate champion chess team back to campus Monday after their weekend President’s Cup victory in Rockville, Md.
The team members, who won what is known as the Final Four of collegiate chess, were treated to a celebration in Marletto’s.
Webster University President Beth Stroble and Provost Julian Schuster spoke about what the victory means to Webster, while head coach Susan Polgar thanked the Webster community for its warm support of her and the students over the past year.
Schuster, an avid chess player himself, emphasized that point: that this win was due not only to the dedication and resiliency of the team, but also to a welcoming environment that the team members – some freshmen, some transfers – have experienced on campus.
Stroble said the victory serves as a great model for the Webster global community, since the team’s effort required individual team member being fully accountable to himself and to the team’s overall performance. She presented each team member with a medallion that displays the Webster values of students, learning, diversity and global citizenship.
Still beaming over the performance of her team during an intense weekend, Polgar called her players “warriors … They put hundreds and hundreds of hours into preparing for this weekend. I believe such hard work always pays off.”
