By wpengine
February 13, 2004
With six league games remaining on its schedule and a tenuous hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the ECAC, the women’s hockey team is facing a stark reality: it is now or never. Through 12 conference contests, the Red has managed only one win en route to a 1-11-0 league record (4-15-1 overall) and is fending off winless Vermont (4-20-2, 0-10-0 ECAC) and Union (3-22-1, 0-10-0) for the right to play in the postseason. Despite showing flashes of brilliance, the Red has struggled with inconsistency throughout the season. The squad has found itself in a number of close, hotly-contested games that may have translated into wins for the Red had it not been for a fluke bounce or third-period collapse. Head coach Melody Davidson, fresh off a sojourn to Europe to help coach the Canadian U-22 women’s national team, is confident that simple execution of fundamentals will succeed in righting the ship. Princeton, N.J. and New Haven, Conn. will be the dueling grounds for the Red this weekend, as the team attempts to revitalize its season against Ivy League powers Princeton and Yale. The Tigers (7- 4- 0, 14-6-0) and the Bulldogs (4- 7- 0, 8-11- 3) currently rest in fifth and seventh place in the ECAC standings, respectively, and should provide a good indicator for the Red of the type of team it must beat if it hopes to advance in the playoffs. Last time the Red faced both of these teams on the same weekend, it was swept at home in two extremely close games. The Bulldogs shut out the Red, 3-0, with goals coming from Natalie Babony, Kristin Savard and Erin Duggan, yet the real story of the game belonged to Cornell’s freshman goaltender, Beth Baronick. Baronick gave the Red hope for a victory, giving up only one goal on 31 shots through the first two periods. Ultimately, however, Yale’s offensive onslaught proved two much for the beleaguered Red squad, who were outshot 41-21 in the Lynah showdown. The Princeton game similarly could have gone either way, with a series of unfortunate calls and bounces leading to yet another Cornell defeat. A missed open net, a waived off goal, and a couple of unconverted power-plays all contributed to the Redis downfall, flukes that have the potential to re-write the ending of any close matchup. Another freshman star began to shine in this Jan. 10 contest as well, as Toronto native Caroline Scott added a goal and an assist in the 4-2 loss. Since then, the Red has hotly anticipated the road rematch against the Tigers and Bulldogs, and this weekend the team will finally get the opportunity to give their opponents a taste of what it’s like to be on the losing end of a close game. The Tigers have turned up the heat after a slow start in the ECAC, winning seven of their last eight games after a few surprising early league losses. Princeton’s squad is also trying to extend its current seven game winning streak over the Red, and will look to players such as freshman Alison Ralph — who scored the game winner against the Red in January — to contribute again tonight. The Tigers are also led by senior Gretchen Anderson, who is second overall in the ECAC in scoring with 36 points (24 goals, 12 assists), and sophomore Heather Jackson (9 goals, 10 assists). Both forwards are also notoriously dangerous for their shorthanded scoring abilities, having notched two apiece thus far. Yale is treading water in the ECAC, trying desperately to stay out of the cellar in the standings despite having lost its last four league contests. The Bulldogs lack a star forward or highlight reel goal-scorer, instead relying on contributions from every player and a highly positional game plan. Freshman Jenna Spring leads the squad with 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) while sophomore goaltender Sarah Love ranks fourth in the league with a goals against average of .924. The Red, meanwhile, will need to tighten up its special teams if it hopes to keep pursuing the ECAC title. Cornell currently ranks last in league in penalty killing percentage, having killed only 72.8 percent of their opponents’ opportunities. The power play has been inconsistent, with a conversion percentage of 14.3. Sophomore Andrea Skinner leads the team with three power play goals.Archived article by Kyle Sheahen
By wpengine
February 13, 2004
“Spring is when you work as a team.” Those eight words from junior Akane Kokubo basically sum up what the spring means for the squad. Although spring seems far away for many, it is right around the corner for the women’s tennis team, which will play host to Colgate tomorrow at the Reis Tennis Center. After a fall season of invitationals, where players are focused on winning their singles matches or their doubles matches, spring is the beginning of the dual meet season, and an emphasis on team play. “We’re having really good team bonding,” noted Kokubo, “Instead of last year when we switched around partners, this year we are sticking to one person. The greater cohesiveness between partners was evident in the Cornell Winter Invitational held two weekends ago. The duo of senior Laura Leigh Tallent and sophomore Liying Wang defeated a mixed team consisting of Miriam Rahali of Columbia and freshman Nisha Suda of the Red to win the Flight B doubles title. Junior Melissa Tu and her partner, sophomore Mollie Edinson, took the Flight A consolation title, defeating a team of sophomore Molly Condit and senior Lucia Aniello, 8-4. The Flight A doubles championship was won by the Army team of Marissa Limsiaco and Ali del Moral, which defeated Kokubo and junior Erika Takeuchi, 8-3, in the finals. Kokubo and Takeuchi defeated a pair from UMBC, 8-6, in a semifinal match-up to reach the finals. Individually, the Red had nobody in the running for the championship going into day three of the tournament. Yet, the Red took two consolation finals — one by freshman Kasia Preneta, who defeated Pan Chavez of Army in straight sets, and the other by Takeuchi in the Flight A consolation, by defeating freshman Dasha Leonyuk after dropping the first set. Takeuchi defeated Tia Kaasalainen in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3, to reach the consolation finals. Archived article by Chris Mascaro