By wpengine March 25, 2002
Defensive errors characterized the softball team’s Florida trip, as it fell to 12-8 on the season. During its fourteen game stretch, the team won six of its ten match-ups at the Rebel Games and went 0-4 in its reaming Florida contests. During the week, the team recorded victories against Vermont, 6-2, Central Florida, 8-1, Dartmouth, 11-6, Colgate, 4-1, Wisconsin Green Bay, 5-1, and Bethune Cookman, 4-1. The Red fell to Stetson in a doubleheader, 10-7 and 4-0, Lipscomb, 5-3, in its first meeting with Wisconsin Green Bay, 2-1, Columbia, 5-3, Army, 3-2, and in its twin bill against Bethune Cookman, 4-1 and 3-1. Despite the team’s losing record during the Florida getaway, the team played some extremely strong opponents. Currently, Stetson is on a 28 game winning streak, and the University of Central Florida had been on a 21 game roll before falling to the Red. Bethune Cookman finished last season with a 45-17 record. The weakness of the Red appeared to be its defense. “We struggled with the routine play several times in the week and that shot us in the foot,” explained head coach Dick Blood. “Offensively, there were many bright spots, but you can’t count on your offense to be consistent. Your defense has to be [consistent] and that’s where we struggled.” These defensive errors may have been deciding factors in several games during the week. Five Red errors helped Columbia earn its victory, and miscues were the cause of defeats in the Bethune Cookman doubleheader. However, despite some defensive problems, there were some bright spots in the field, specifically on the mound. Sophomore pitching sensations Sarah Sterman and Nicole LePera continued to play strongly and kept the Red in every game. “Our pitching was outstanding,” complimented Blood. “They gave up very few hits and very few walks. The pitchers did a really nice job.” Despite some defensive problems, the team was once again able to rely on its bats. Cornell was fueled by freshman hitting phenom, Lauren May, who recorded her tenth home run of the season during the trip. Adding to May’s offensive power was last year’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, sophomore Kate Varde. Play after play the tandem showed no mercy against opposing pitchers. “Lauren May and Kate Varde have both been pounding the ball,” praised Blood. “Both are hovering around .400 and they are in the middle of the order. If we get some contributions from other folks, we can start to get rolling.” However, the team offense was not always one hundred percent. Blood admitted, “We’ve stumbled a little bit offensively. If we can get our kids rolling again we’ll be on solid ground.” In the next two days before the home opener against Colgate, the team will be looking to work out this past week’s defensive weak spots. “We have some individual defensive work, moving of feet, following through, some technical stuff [to work on],” stated Blood. With those areas ironed out, the Red will be well on its way to a winning season beginning Wednesday on Niemand-Robinson Field. Having defeated the Raiders during the Rebel Games, 4-1, Cornell will look to repeat its success. Archived article by Kristen Haunss
By wpengine March 25, 2002
It was a record-breaking weekend for the gymnastics team as it scored a school-record 192.575, which was good enough for third place in the ECAC Championships. Cornell had never finished higher than sixth in the event before Saturday. The record score obliterated the previous school record of 190.800, which was set Mar. 10 against Vermont. “This was absolutely the best meet in the history of the school,” beamed head coach Paul Beckwith, who was named the ECAC Coach of the Year. Leading the way for the Red was freshman Meghan Miller, who tied for first in the uneven bars with a personal best score of 9.825. Overall, Cornell placed third on the apparatus, behind William and Mary and Yale. On the vault, sophomore Rachel Goldberg placed fifth with a personal-best score of 9.725, leading the Red to a school-record mark of 48.125. Junior Shannon Weiman also placed in the top-five in an event, scoring a 9.775 on the balance beam, which was good enough for fifth. That the tumblers were able to place so highly despite having only three top-five finishers in individual events speaks to the tremendous depth of the team. Cornell finished third as a team in the uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. The Red placed fourth in the vault, just half a point behind third-place Penn. The Red was also well-represented in the post-season awards. In addition to Beckwith’s award, Miller was named ECAC Rookie of the Year, Weiman nabbed Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, and assistant coach Melanie Dilliplane received the Assistant Coach of the Year nod. “It was unexpected,” remarked Beckwith on his Coach of the Year award. “I think it reflects on how well we’ve done this year. It’s a real honor.” Saturday’s meet allowed the Red to rebound from a disappointing loss last Sunday Mar. 17 at the hands of Temple. In that, the season’s final dual meet, Cornell fell to the Owls 190.250-190.075 after leading through the first three events. The final event of the day for Cornell was the balance beam, while host Temple finished on the floor exercise. Cornell, though, was victimized by tough judging on the beam. “I don’t like to blame the judges,” said Beckwith, “but the judging was horrible. Those were some of our best performances [on balance beam] but our worst scores.” Despite the stringent marks by judges, freshman Larissa Calka was able to post a 9.675 to place first. Miller’s 9.650 was good for second place. On the uneven bars, Miller came in first with a 9.825, just .025 short of a school record. Despite the last-event decline, the tumblers were still pleased with the meet at Temple. “It was a very good meet,” admitted Beckwith, “it probably made us a little hungrier to go out and prove something at ECACs.” On April 14, the Red will compete in the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals, an invitational tournament to which the top eight schools with fewer than six scholarships are invited. Last year, eight-seed Cornell placed fifth. This year, the Red will enter the meet seeded fifth. Said Beckwith: “We’re hoping to finish even higher.” A strong finish at Nationals would top an already stellar year for the gymnastics team. With a roster comprised primarily of freshmen and sophomores, it seems that more good things are yet to come. “Next year, we should have a team that will be able to compete with anyone in the country,” predicted Beckwith. Archived article by Owen Bochner