Quinn, Nat’l Team Capture Silver in Poland

When you’re competing for the title of “World Champions,” second place is pretty darn good.
Facing incredible talent and competition, the U.S. lightweight-8 boat glided into a second-place finish yesterday during the grand finals at the World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland. Aboard the boat representing the U.S. was current Cornell coxswain Kerry Quinn ’10 along with recent Cornell graduates Andrew Diebold ’06 and Matt Kochem ’08. The three were selected for the national team following an intense qualifying and training period this past summer in Princeton, N.J.
The U.S. and Italy were the favored boats coming into the championship race after winning their individual qualifying heats the previous Sunday.

Coxswain Quinn Competes Abroad

The US lightweight-8 boat established an[img_assist|nid=37678|title=All together now|desc=Senior coxswain Kerry Quinn was selected to the USA National rowing team for the World Championships in Ponzan, Poland.|link=node|align=left|width=336|height=224] early lead Sunday morning before crossing the finish line for its first win at the World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland. Overpowering the Netherlands, Japan and Turkey in the qualifying heat for the championship regatta, the win grants a direct spot in the grand final on Sunday, Aug. 30.
The championship regatta represents the best in rowing, so it was only fitting senior Cornellian Kerry Quinn sat at the back of the boat as coxswain.

Annual Concert Highlights Campus Dance Groups

I love attending dance events that support charity — not because they’re necessarily the best performances I’ve been to, but because they put dance into context. A casual audience member isn’t going to consider the history behind each dance discipline or step, but they can recognize that they’re supporting a great cause. Such an opportunity for dance appreciate occured this past Saturday, when Cornell’s Shadows Dance Troupe presented their annual fall benefit concert in Bailey Hall. All proceeds from the show went to On Site Volunteer Services, a student-run group that promotes community service.
[img_assist|nid=33690|title=Shadow Dancers|desc=Shadows Dance Troupe performs at the Fall Step 2008 concert in Bailey Hall on Saturday.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]

Mount Eerie: Lost Wisdom

As someone who doesn’t really care for quiet, slow music, my first inclination was to hate (and then delete) Lost Wisdom, the emotionally-charged latest album by Phil Elverum under the band name Mount Eerie (previously The Microphones). The album is a collaboration between Elverum and Canadian singer-songwriter Julie Doiron, who make a unique pair as they alternate singing vocals on each track set against the soft acoustics of guitarist Fred Squire.
The first and longest track, “Lost Wisdom,” sets the tone of the album: slow, somber and quiet. The brightest — if any of the tracks can be described as such — is “You Swan, Go On.” The album is brief, with a total playtime of less than 25 minutes and ten tracks, but its impact is still strong.

State Theatre Enthralled by Dynamo Sharon Jones

Frustrated with the half-hour delay, and already having chatted up the plaid-wearing I.C. boys next to me, I probably would have left my back-row seat in the State Theatre before the show even started Saturday night had I not been waiting to witness a true musical talent in the flesh.
When opening act for the night took stage, only a handful of people seemed really excited. (I found myself snickering when a middle-aged man jumped out of his seat to dance, for example.) It was a different story later on, however, when Sharon Jones pranced into the spotlight. Then, I was one of the only people left sitting down, because how can you sit down when a woman like that is onstage?

Ithaca Ballet Opens Season With Flair

While Ithaca lacks most of the defining characteristics of a larger city — good shopping, vibrant nightlife, etc. — you don’t have to travel far from campus to find excellent performance arts. This past weekend, the Ithaca Ballet opened its 2008-2009 season with a set of matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday, downtown at the State Theatre.
[img_assist|nid=33052|title=Sooooo Pretty|desc=The Ithaca Ballet’s dancers, who opened their ’08-’09 season last weekend, wowed audiences at the State Theatre with their precision and grace.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]

Equestrian Team Finishes Second; Brown Ivy Champ

The equestrian team’s season ended this weekend with the completion of the Ivy League Championships on Saturday at Oxley Equestrian Center in Ithaca.
Starting off the day slow, the Red came back to finish the day with strong performances, and ended up tying Dartmouth for the title of reserve champion with a score of 32 points. Brown walked away with the outright Ivy title with 37 overall points. Cornell had four of the eight individual champions and two reserve champions.

Cornell Advances One Rider to Nationals

Five riders from the equestrian team traveled back to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. on Saturday to compete at the Zone championship meet. For most of them, it marked the end of the championship season. However, while only one rider from the Red will move on to the national meet next month, all riders performed and placed well within one of the most competitive Zones in the country.[img_assist|nid=29867|title=Picture perfect profile|desc=Despite strong perfromances in the Zone championship meet this weekend, only of the five Cornell riders entered, sophomore Zoe Samuels, will advance on to the Nationals meet next month.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]

Cornell Set to Compete in National Zones Championships

They’re one of the best teams in their region, and this weekend the equestrian team will get a chance to see it compares against the top riders from other regions. Five riders from Cornell who qualified last weekend at the Regional Championship will be traveling back to Saratoga Springs this Saturday to compete at the IHSA Zone Championships where many talented riders will be competing to qualify for the National meet.
Women on the team competing this weekend include senior Lauren Wu, juniors Dana Kendrick, Alyse Mizis and Marie Ceranowicz and sophomore Zoe Samuel. To qualify for Zones, riders had to place within the top-3 in their event last weekend. The top-2 riders in each event at Zones qualify for the National meet in May.

Red Finishes Team Regionals Reserve Champions

The equestrian team has a strong season record and a high level of talent riding on their backs. This past Saturday, members of the team traveled to Skidmore to compete at the IHSA Regional Show Saturday afternoon. As the first of the most competitive string of championship meets of the season, the Red has a lot to be excited about.