The Cornell Daily Sun - Independent Since 1880

The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2005/02/17/retro-jazz-finds-it-boy/)

February 17, 2005

Uncategorized

Retro Jazz Finds It-Boy

By | February 17, 2005

For all of you Harry Connick Jr. fans out there looking for a fix before next December’s inevitable collection of jazzy Christmas standards, keep reading. Vancouver’s freshest export — 29-year-old crooner Michael Bubl

Cornell Tennis Continues Preparations for Ivy Play

By February 18, 2005

After contrasting performances by the men’s and women’s tennis teams last weekend, both squads are facing challenging competition this weekend. The men are currently on a three-game winning streak going into away matches against No. 46 Michigan State and No. 49 Michigan. Cornell is coming off a two 6-1 home wins over Binghamton and Rutgers last Saturday, after opening its spring season up with a 6-1 demolition of Colgate on Feb 8. A number of players on the Red are currently in strong form. Sophomore Dan Brous, who played No. 4 singles against Binghamton before moving up to the No. 2 spot against Rutgers, won both his matches in straight sets. Junior No. 1 Brett McKeon, who lost his opening encounter to Colgate’s Reed Hagmann in a tough, three-set encounter, bounced back to win both of his matches last weekend, while sophomore No. 2 Josh Raff and classmate Nick Brunner — the top-ranked doubles team in the ITA Northeast Regional Championships in the fall — remain undefeated. The Spartans will be a tough opponent for the Red on Saturday. With a 7-2 record thus far, Michigan State is coming off a 4-3 upset win over then-No. 19 Arkansas last Sunday. One hero in that match was freshman Brian Compton, who won his No. 6 singles match against his Arkansas opponent to help the Spartans to the victory that day. On Sunday, Michigan will provide a similarly difficult test, with the Wolverines coming off a 5-2 loss to No. 18 Vanderbilt last Sunday. Michigan, which is 3-2 on the season, also has a top 20 first doubles pairing in sophomores Brian Hung and Ryan Heller. The women’s team is coming off tougher results, as it dropped 7-0 and 4-3 matches to Boston College and Boston University, respectively. In its match against BU, the Red was able to sweep the No. 4 through No. 6 singles positions, with wins for Erika Takeuchi, Nisha Suda and Melissa Tu. “I think we were a little nervous still because it was the first dual matches of the season,” said head coach Laura Glitz. “But I think they’ve had a good week of practice and are ready to go this weekend.” This Saturday, the women will look for their first win in the early season when Cornell hosts Marist College, which has not played a dual match yet this spring. The Red Foxes match will be the first of a six-match home stand for Cornell. Playing at the Reis Tennis Center will benefit the Red according to Glitz, as the matches at BC and BU were being played in unfamiliar conditions. Glitz said that since it is early in the season, it is hard to say how good Marist is. However, she is also confident that her girls will pull through. “I think everybody has to find their confidence and groove right now, and I think they will,” Glitz said.Archived article by Brian TsaoSun Senior Editor
Gymnastics Faces West Virginia On Sunday

By February 18, 2005

Following a series of out-of-town jaunts to face top national competition, the gymnastics team returned home last Sunday for the Big Red Invitational in Ithaca. The Red’s season-high team score of 186.85 was enough for second place at the five-team meet and poised the gymnasts for the arrival of a talented West Virginia squad this Sunday. After a somewhat rocky start to the season, the Red is looking to build some momentum against the Mountaineers, especially with the Ivy League Classic approaching next weekend. “I think the season started a little rough,” said two-time All American sophomore Randi Bisbano. “But everyone is getting their scores up and working as a team.” Cornell (1-1) will look to Bisbano and senior Larissa Calka to turn in another strong performance against the Mountaineers. At the Big Red Invitational, Bisbano, Calka and sophomore Kari Kucera led the floor team to a 48.3 score, another season high. The young vaulting squad also hopes to build on last weekend’s success, having posted three individual scores of 9.4 or higher. Freshmen Megan Gilbert and Colleen Davis each recorded 9.5 scores, while fellow rookie Madison Kucker contributed with a mark of 9.4. “Last year, vaulting was by far our weakest event,” said head coach Paul Beckwith. “This year, the freshmen have made a huge difference. Each meet we can expect to have three or four gymnasts hitting in the 9.3 to 9.5 range.” The impact of the freshmen provides the Red with a renewed consistency in every event. “[The freshman] are doing really well getting used to the collegiate atmosphere,” said Bisbano. West Virginia (3-3) boasts a balanced all-around squad and returns 11 letter-winners from last season’s 20-6-1 team. Senior Kari Williams, the anchor of the Mountaineer’s No. 15 vault team, posted a 9.975 score on the vault in her last meet. The Mountaineers are coming off a victory over Ball State and a close loss to Penn State last weekend. “This is one of the biggest teams we have seen in the last few years,” Beckwith said. “We are going to show them that we are going to be really competitive and make them want to come back.” Despite the squad’s even record, West Virginia is averaging a team score of 193.37 this season. Cornell’s average team score thus far is 185.54, but the number may be somewhat misleading. The Red has been plagued this season by a rampant lowering of scores throughout the Northeast region, an effort by gymnastics judges to curtail recent scoring inflation. “The judges are judging a whole lot tougher in this part of the country,” Beckwith said. “Our scores do not really reflect how well we have been doing.” The Red will also face a daunting challenge on the bars from Mountaineer senior Jessica Bartgis, who has won four straight events. Against Ball State, Bartgis scored a 9.825 on the even bars. Sophomore Cheryl Goldenfield solidifies the West Virginia beams squad, having notched a 9.8 mark during her last competition. The Red will be in action again on Feb. 26 at the Ivy Classic in New Haven, Conn. “It would be really nice to do well this weekend going into Ivy’s next weekend,” Bisbano said. Last season, Cornell finished in fourth place at the Ivy Classic despite setting three team records and three individual records. Bisbano won her first Ivy Classic title at the meet. Archived article by Kyle SheahenSun Assistant Sports Editor