Men's lacrosse: 8, Hobart: 7

Men's lacrosse holds on to defeat Hobart despite not scoring in the second half; team will play Hofstra in NCAA tournament

The Statesman defense and junior goalie Max Silberlicht shut down the No. 2 offense in the country for an entire half on Saturday, but Cornell's eight first-half goals were enough of a cushion for the Red to get the 8-7 win in its last regular-season game of 2009. The 15 seniors on the Red's roster were treated to a win in their regular-season finale at Schoellkopf Field, pushing Cornell's record to 10-3, the fifth straight season with 10 wins. Hobart fell to 7-7.

Athletes and teams of every sport all around the world adopt slogans and perform pre-game rituals to get fired up for competitions. The Cornell softball team is no different. This weekend, the Red will be in “Beast Mode” as it gears up to compete in a best-of-three series for the Ivy League title on its home diamond against Dartmouth.

Junior first baseman Ashley Garvey borrowed the term “Beast Mode” from NFL football player Marshawn Lynch of the Buffalo Bills, who coined the phrase to describe his athletic ability to the press. After sharing it with her teammates, the saying quickly became one of the squad’s most frequented expressions and is now fully embraced by the Red.

With the South Division title already wrapped up, the Red showed no signs of complacency in its victory lap — a four-game home-and-home series with Princeton. Playing to secure home field advantage for the Ivy League Championships, the softball team swept the Tigers at Princeton on Friday and in Ithaca on Sunday and will now play in Ithaca against Dartmouth for the Ivy title.

After having to wait a year to avenge heartbreaking defeat last April, the softball team will finally step up to the plate against Princeton today at 12:30 p.m. for the Tigers’ final home games of the season. The Ivy League South Division Champs (34-10, 13-3 Ivy) will then return to Ithaca, with Princeton (14-18, 8-8) trailing behind them, to celebrate their own Senior Day doubleheader on Niemand-Robison Field this Sunday.

Because Cornell and Princeton are travel partners, the four-game series is divided between the two venues.

Fresh off a 3-1 showing against Columbia over the weekend to clinch the Ivy League South Division title, the softball team stays home tomorrow for a 3:30 p.m. twin bill vs. local rival Ithaca College. The Bombers (22-10) are coming off of a 10-2, 9-0 doubleheader sweep of Oneonta yesterday afternoon to run their winning streak to nine. Sophomore catcher Kerry Barger went 5-for-7 on the day, while junior first baseman Caitlin Ryan also recorded five hits, including a 3-for-3 performance in Game 2 with two RBIs. Classmate Brittany Lillie notched three extra-base hits in six at-bats, including a home run in both games –– good for a team-high seven RBIs between the two ends of the doubleheader.

With three wins over Columbia this weekend, the softball team has already wrapped up the Ivy League South Division crown. Cornell still has two doubleheaders with second-place Princeton (8-8) next weekend, but at 13-3, Cornell has a five-game lead and the divisional crown for the first time since the Ivy League switched to a two-division format in 2007.

“It’s amazing,” said sophomore pitcher Elizabeth Dalrymple. “When we found out today [that we won the division] it was just an incredible feeling. We’re so happy for the seniors who’ve been working for four years.”

Whenever the softball team has faltered this season, whether in one game or back-to-back contests, it has rebounded in commanding fashion. The Red will hope to do the same this weekend when it travels to New York City to take on Columbia at Baker Athletics Complex in a four-game series.

“Our goal is always to win all four games,” said junior second baseman Devon March. “We know we’re a very capable team, and we just have to make sure that we play every inning as hard as we can and make sure we leave everything on the field.”

Cornell (31-9, 10-2 Ivy) is coming off being swept by Syracuse in twin bill action on Wednesday, a night in which the Red’s bats went ice-cold. The team totaled just nine hits and was shut out in both games, 3-0 and 8-0.

After sweeping Penn in back-to-back doubleheaders over the weekend, the softball team’s blinders are set on its next games down the road in Syracuse. The Red will face the Orange (19-10, 8-4 Big East) in a doubleheader scheduled for today at 3:30 p.m., at SU Softball Stadium.

Syracuse has won its last three games, the most recent of which came against Canisius on Monday in a doubleheader sweep. In the first contest, sophomore Angie Sagnelli pitched a complete game to improve to 5-1 on the season; the Orange outhit the Golden Griffins, 11-5, and notched seven RBIs –– good for a 9-2 win.

The softball team made sitting in the cold, blustery weather worth it to the Red crowd who bundled up to avoid wind chill in this weekend’s doubleheaders against Penn. The Red came away with victories in all four games of the series to annihilate the visiting Quakers.

After sweeping Penn over the weekend, Cornell (31-7, 10-2 Ivy) tops the Ivy South Division standings and boasts better overall and league records than North Division leader Dartmouth (18-14, 9-3 Ivy).

“The weekend put us in a really good position in the Ivy League,” said junior shortstop Alyson Intihar. “The team grew over the last couple of days, and the wins have created momentum to carry us into future contests.”

The softball team hopes to remain perfect at home when it takes on Ivy League South Division rival Penn in back-to-back doubleheaders this weekend. After inclement weather forced the postponement of the Red’s (27-7, 6-2 Ivy) twin bill against St. Bonaventure University on Wednesday, Cornell has had a weeklong respite from competition. With that in mind, the team looks to head into play against the 9-20-1 (4-4 Ivy) Quakers feeling refreshed.

Penn, on the other hand, last saw action on Wednesday afternoon, dropping both ends of a doubleheader against non-conference foe Temple; the Owls outscored the Quakers by a combined 14-3 in a one-sided slugfest. Penn’s offense was led by sophomore Alisha Prystowsky and junior Susan Miller, each of whom homered to drive in the Quaker runs.