With the men’s basketball team off to its best start since the 60’s, the Red hoopsters are at the top of the Ivy League. This week’s around the ivies examines who’s nipping at Cornell’s heels, heated fencing action, and the Super Bowl.
Brown
It’s been four years since the Bears’ last football title, but on Sunday one of them was still able to blare Queen’s “We Are the Champions.” Chas Gessner, 2003 Brown graduate, hoisted the Lombardi trophy with his Patriot teammates after their Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Several other men of Brown also performed well this past weekend, as its basketball team handed reigning Ivy champ Penn its second league loss while its hockey team iced Harvard, 2-1, in overtime.
Columbia
Seventy-eight was Columbia’s magic number this weekend, as its men’s basketball team earned two Ivy wins with the same amount of points — 78.
The wins snapped Columbia’s 19-game conference losing streak.
Columbia burst out of the gates to nearly double Dartmouth, 78-42. Harvard provided more of a challenge.
The Lions’ Dragutin Kravic poured in 13 second-half points to lead a Columbia comeback against the Crimson. Freshman Dalen Cuff also provided a spark for the Light Blue, hitting all nine of his second-half free throws to finish with 16 points, and push his team to victory.
The Lions’ wrestling team had a mixed weekend, beating Princeton before falling to Penn. In other exciting Columbia sports action, the school’s fencing teams both improved to 2-0 in Ivy competition after wins over Princeton.
Dartmouth
The Green cleaned up in league awards this week, earning one each in men’s swimming and ice hockey, and women’s basketball.
Dartmouth’s women’s teams have also been cleaning up in the athletic arena.
The Green’s women’s ice hockey team made a strong case to keep its No. 1 standing after 7-0 and 11-0 shellackings of Union College. The Green’s women’s basketball team also had a strong weekend, earning a comeback victory over Columbia and an 81-76 win over Cornell. Additionally, the women’s tennis team topped Syracuse, and pole vaulter Kate Adams took first place at the Boston Terrier Classic.
Harvard
Besides losing on the hardwood, the Crimson men also took a beating on the ice, as Harvard gave up two goals in 12 minutes to No. 2 Boston College. Harvard was unable to recover from the early deficit, losing 4-1 to the Eagles.
Harvard’s lady icers saw some success this past weekend, rebounding from a loss to No. 10 Princeton by downing Yale, 5-1. After scoring five points on the weekend, senior co-captain Lauren McAuliffe was named the ECAC co-player of the week.
Yale
After nearly knocking off a nationally-ranked Connecticut team earlier this season, Yale’s men’s basketball team gave fans a even better treat: a win over last year’s Ivy champ Penn.
Yale’s Edwin Draughan led the Elis with 18 points, while senior Paul Vitelli hit two last-second free throws to edge the Quakers, 54-52. Penn’s Ibrahim Jaaber launched a shot as time expired, but his baseline jumper was off target, giving Yale the win.
Penn
With Cornell’s coaching search over, Ivy leaguers have had to look for a new league debacle. Luckily, Penn’s hoopsters have provided just the distraction.
The men Quakers recently saw their 23-game, league winning streak snapped by Yale. Worse still for the Red and Blue, it was the first time the Quakers had been swept on opening weekend since the 1981-82 season.
Yet Quakers everywhere can still rejoice in something: Penn’s women’s gymnastics team handily beat a visiting Wilson squad this weekend, improving to 3-0 on the season.
Princeton
The Tigers took a big step toward the Ivy League basketball crown this weekend, earning two road wins at Yale and Brown.
Princeton struggled to put the Bulldogs away, as both teams seemed engaged in a physical chess match. The win came from the last-minute heroics of Tiger guard Will Venable, who rebounded a missed free throw and hit his own layup. Venable was fouled on the play, and also made good from the charity stripe to give Princeton a 49-47 win.
Brown proved to be an easier matchup, as the Tigers took a commanding lead midway through the second half.
For all the positive hoopla the Tigers have been creating, the team also announced sad news for fans this weekend. Senior forward Konrad Wysocki is leaving the team for personal reasons.
Wysoki was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2001, and has been a Princeton role player ever since. He missed more than a month of playing time earlier this year when he was sidelined with a viral infection.
Archived article by Matt Janiga