This article appears in the 2007 edition of The Sun’s annual Freshman Issue.
Baseball – The baseball team had a disappointing year, finishing with a 15-23 (8-12 Ivy) record. Despite the poor season, the future is bright, as sophomore Justin Milo was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team after hitting .426. Jimmy Hyland ’07 proved to be the Red’s best pitcher with a 3.81 ERA.
Crew – The lightweight crew won the IRA National championship, topping Harvard. It ended its season with a second-place finish at the Temple Challenge Cup. For the heavyweights, the second varsity eight placed third at the IRA National championship.
Field Hockey – After winning four straight games to open the season, the field hockey team slumped through the middle of its 2006 campaign. Cornell rebounded, though, and finished the season 7-9 (4-3 Ivy). Junior Katlyn Donoghue led the squad with 12 points and classmate Brenna Gulotta notched 11. Lizzie Goldblatt ’07 and junior Shannon Prescott split time between the pipes.
Football – The football team capped off a solid campaign with a 5-5 record, including a 3-4 mark in the Ancient Eight. Cornell was 5-1 at home, the first five-win season at Schoellkopf since 1971. Senior Luke Siwula ran for 885 yards and four touchdowns and junior Nathan Ford threw for eight touchdowns to lead the Red. Siwula was named second-team All-Ivy for his efforts.
Men’s Basketball – The talent for gifted recruiting was proven again this year as Rookie of the Year Ryan Wittman and classmate Louis Dale helped fuel the Red to a third-place finish in the Ivy standings. Despite losing junior standout Adam Gore to a torn ACL after the season’s first game, the Red finished with a 16-12 (9-5 Ivy) record. Former tri-captains Graham Dow ’07 and Andrew Naeve ’07 turned in consistent efforts, as Naeve turned in double-doubles and Dow continued to climb the all-time steal rankings.
Men’s Hockey – The men’s hockey season ended in disappointment when the team was swept by Clarkson in the quarterfinals of the ECACHL tournament, failing to capture an NCAA tournament berth. The two loses finished off a stretch of four straight loses to end the season. Nonetheless, the squad had an overall record of 14-11-4, 10-8-4 in conference play — good for fourth.
Men’s Lacrosse – What didn’t the men’s lacrosse team do this year? It was ranked first for most of the season, finished the regular season undefeated at 13-0 for the first time since 1987, reached its first Final Four matchup since that same ’87 season, it had the Ivy League Player of the Year and USILA Goalie of the Year in Matt McMonagle ’07, and the USILA Defenseman of the Year in Mitch Belisle ’07. The only thing the Red did not do was win the National championship, falling to Duke 12-11 in the semis.
Men’s and Women’s Polo – The men’s polo team established itself as a perennial championship contender, making its sixth straight national tournament this past season. Unfortunately, the team fell to Westmont 11-10. Not to be outdone, the women’s squad finshed a goal short of taking down UConn in the national semifinals game.
Men’s and Women’s Tennis – The men’s tennis squad experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows this past year. After winning 12-of-13 matches, the team ended the season dropping 7-of-8 contests, giving it a 13-9 record overall. While the women’s 10-6 overall record was not perfect, the Red recorded a landmark victory over Harvard, the first in program history.
Softball – For the third year in a row, the softball team finished second in the Ancient Eight, falling short of an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The team finished with a 35-14 (13-7 Ivy) record. Impressive performances came from senior Jenna Campagnolo and sophomore Alyson Intihar, who unanimously earned first team All-Ivy honors.
Sprint Football – The sprint football team finished undefeated for the first time since 1982 and won the CSFL crown for the first time since 1986. Senior Jason Remillard won the CSFL MVP as a force on both sides of the ball. Jason Zittel ’07 notched 25 tackles and also served as the team’s punter. Both players were named first team All-CSFL.
Swimming and Diving – The men’s swimming team made history this past season when it completed its first unbeaten dual meet season in 60 years. In the postseason, the Red placed fifth at the EISL championships, and had three swimmers invited to the NCAA national championships. The women’s team did not achieve similar success, placing eighth at the Ivy championships.
Track – The men’s and women’s track teams had stellar indoor and outdoor campaigns. Most notable was Rayon Taylor’s ’07 championship performance in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Nationals — the first Cornelian to win a national championship since Charlie Moore ’51 in 1951. Other top performances came from senior Muhammad Halim, who placed second in the triple jump at the Indoor Nationals, Morgan Uceny ’07 and Sarah Wilfred ’07. Men’s track head coach Nathan Taylor was named the Northeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year.
Volleyball – The volleyball team won its third consecutive Ivy League title by topping Princeton, 3-0. The Red then won its first two NCAA tournament games in league history but ultimately fell to Hofstra, 3-2. Liz Bishop ’07 won Ivy League Player of the Year for the second straight season and was named honorable mention All-American.
Women’s Basketball – The Red finished one win short of capturing an NIT bid — given to the second place finisher in each collegiate conference. Still, its eight (against 6 losses) Ivy wins was the most in team history. The team’s 12 overall wins was a personal best for head coach Dayna Smith and the fourth most since the program’s inception.
Wrestling – The wrestling team finished its campaign with a No. 12 national ranking. Despite fighting many injuries throughout the course of the season, the Red qualified eight members for the National championship held at the Palace at Auburn Hills. Junior Troy Nickerson had the most impressive finish at third place.
Correction appended: “A Year in Sports” incorrectly stated that the men’s hockey team lost to Clarkson in the quarterfinals of the ECACHL tournament. The men’s hockey team actually lost to Quinnipiac. The Sun regrets this error.