While the women’s basketball team essentially needs to win out to have a chance of grabbing the Ivy crown, the Red are looking past simple placement as its goals for this weekend’s showdowns with Yale and Brown.
The men’s squash team will head out to New Haven, Conn., today to face Franklin and Marshall in the opening round of the NISRA National championships. The Red is coming off victories in its last four matches, including wins over No. 9 Navy and Ivy League opponent Brown.
Coming off of a strong performance at the Junior Olympic National championships this past weekend, the Red will face off in the second round of the Ivy championships against Yale, Brown and Princeton on Sunday. The Red struggled in the first round of the Ivy championships two weeks ago, losing to both Harvard and Columbia, 21-6, and narrowly falling to Penn, 14-13. Senior Elise Pasoreck concedes that better results are expected this time around.
It is hard to believe, but it’s been over a year now since Chris “The Birdman” Andersen last graced us and the National Basketball Association with his presence. It was on Jan. 27 of last year that the 6-10, 220-pound center was dismissed from the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets after failing the league’s stern (no pun intended) but fair, “drugs of abuse” test.
When sophomore co-captain No. 2 Troy Nickerson was six-years-old, the aspiring wrestler’s parents made the hour-long drive from their home in Chenango Forks, N.Y., up to East Hill, just so their son could catch his first glimpse of the Cornell wrestling program. The experience must have made quite a first impression, as 14 years later, the former five-time New York State high school champion is leading the Red towards another run at a top-5 finish in this year’s NCAA tournament.
One challenge remains for the men’s swimming and diving team. The EISL championships, which will be held today through Saturday in Princeton, N.J., are the culmination of a spectacular season and potentially, the stepping stone towards an NCAA berth.
“The team is prepared and ready for the meet,” said head coach Joe Lucia. “I believe we’re going to race tough and swim fast, while our divers could do some very good things. It’s a long three-day meet with lots of swimming, and it’s vital that the team keeps focused and poised.”
Although a 2-0 win over Quinnipiac on Friday night ensured that the seven seniors on the men’s hockey team will play a few more home games in the ECACHL playoffs before their time in a Cornell sweater is done, the Senior Night celebration the following evening still resonated with senior captain Byron Bitz.
With free agency nine days away and the draft just around the corner, it’s never too early to start thinking about the 2007 NFL season. Despite a relatively lean free agent class, there are several standout players that should hit the market after Thursday’s franchise tag deadline. With over 20 million dollars in cap room and three picks in the first two rounds in April’s draft, the Jets should be in excellent position to add to their young core of talent.
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