By ryan May 6, 2001
It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Tomorrow’s game for the men’s lacrosse team against Ohio State is not where it was expected to end. The season began with high hopes that even in the absence of Sean Steinwald ’00, this could be the year the squad ended Princeton’s tenure as the top dogs in the Ivy League. But it was not meant to be. As the Red prepare to do battle with the Buckeyes, all that will be on the line is pride. “Regardless of whether we are or not where we want to be this season, we still have one game left,” head coach Jeff Tambroni said, adding that a win in this game is an important step in the direction of the future of the program. After a rocky start to the season, the Red seemed prime to make a run at a NCAA bid. It had dismantled Harvard, knocked off Hobart for the first time in five years and engaged Syracuse in a mightily contested battle. Then it surrendered a three-goal halftime lead to fall to Princeton and the hopes of an Ivy League Championship were gone. The laxers followed the defeat with a heartbreaking lose to upstart Brown and all hopes of a ticket to the NCAA’s were dashed. Nonetheless, the team’s work ethic has not faded despite the rocky season. “As disappointing as the playoff picture may be, this is an extremely resilient group,” Tambroni lauded. The squad looks to give its seniors the opportunity to end their career on a winning note tomorrow against Ohio State (7-6, 2-3 Great Western Lacrosse League). The Buckeyes are coming off a 15-6 pummeling at the hands of No. 12 Virginia, which sent them out of the Top 25 for the first time in five weeks. Cornell returns to action after a 9-8 overtime setback to Brown. That was the third occasion on which the Red dropped a decision by a single marker. The series between the two programs began only last year, with the Red being on the right end of 11-5 decision on East Hill. Senior David Key will look to conclude what has been a breakout season. He notched his 100th career point last weekend in Providence, RI. The team’s leading scorer this season he has taking just 49 shots, but 59-percent of those have found the back of the net. Another constant has been junior goaltender Justin Cynar. The standout has turned away 141 of the 228 shots he has seen this year and sports a 7.23 goals against average, good for eighth best in the nation. As his been the case all season long, one of the most crucial matchups will come at the face-off . Gritty junior Addison Sollog will square off with young but talented Anthony Kelly. Kelly is one of only two sophomores ranked nationally in faceoff percentage.Archived article by Gary Schueller
By ryan May 6, 2001
Picture this: A place where the bright summer sun shines on people who are happy to go nowhere and take their time getting there. A place where knowledge and myths are passed down from generation to generation, with each age group adding to the stock of both. A place where 20-some-odd kids can go tramping through various households, and every child can call each house home. A place where those same 20-some-odd kids don’t really make a distinctions between “family” and “friend.” A place where the young and the old stop whatever they are doing to spend time with each other as the evening sun cools down and the kitchen grill warms up. A place where the water is so clear you can see the sandy bottom 20 feet beneath you. A place where the nights are so quiet and the stars so bright, that it is difficult to imagine that anyone beyond the group of people you are talking with exists. These places exist. On the porch of a small red and white cottage on Crystal Lake I learned to laugh, to love and to live. On the porch of a home on Walloon Lake I learned to think, to work and to live. My life has been shaped to a significant part by conversations I have had with family and friends on those two porches. My values and beliefs were formed on those porches. Five is the ideal number of people I would like to converse with on those porches. On one, a grandfather now gone, three uncles and me. On the other, two grandparents I never really knew, a sister, a father and me. Just once, I’d like to hear what they all had to say. This column was written with them in mind. I just hoped they would have enjoyed it. ****** You the reader were also a big part of this column. I hope I gave you something to talk about, maybe even while sitting on your own porch in Collegetown with your friends. If nothing else, I hope you found it a worthwhile use of five minutes. Beyond that, there is little I could hope to achieve. Thanks for reading. ****** As a graduating senior, I have a lot of people to thank. After all, I certainly haven’t made it through 21+ years, including four at Cornell, on my own. I thank Scottie, Josh, Ben, the Stropes and the Hansens for helping me to think of life outside of Grand Ledge. And I thank Jeff, Arlene, Emily, Big Chris G., CF and the rest of the fine people at JAM Music for treating me like family every time I go home. To Professor Sturgeon, who changed my life with a freshman writing seminar, and was always willing to talk with me for a few minutes when I was on campus. And to Professor Irwin, who in the past two semesters has challenged my abilities, in addition to being a great guide through 2500 years of thought. To the coaches and athletes I have covered over the four years. Special thanks go to Pete Mangurian, Ricky Rahne, Joe Splendorio, Dan Weyandt, Mike Schafer ’86, Matt Underhill, Stephen B