Each year, The Sun’s sports board names its top senior athletes. Below are the selections for the 2017-18 school year, listed in no particular order.
Alex Evdokimov — Swimming & Diving (Male Senior Athlete of the Year)
“I was extremely happy with this season and how my Cornell career turned out and I’m hoping my name stays on the wall for a couple years.”
Ida Farinholt — Women’s Lacrosse (Female Senior Athlete of the Year)
“My favorite Cornell memory I’d have to say was sophomore year beating Penn at Penn for the Ivy League tournament championship.”
Daniel Grunberger — Men’s Tennis
“I’ll miss most the team environment — having a group of guys that support you on and off the court who you can call your brothers; being out there playing matches and having them on the sideline or playing next to you supporting you and you putting all you can on the court.”
Sarah Knee — Women’s Hockey
“[My favorite memory is] playing Princeton in the first round of the playoffs, because I wasn’t sure if that would be my last game at Lynah and then it was a pretty decisive win, we won 4-0, and that took us to the ECAC tournament.”
Jordan Dowiak — Men’s Lacrosse
“Winning the Ivy championship against Yale this year was awesome, getting into the tournament and winning it all was [great].”
Ellen Shepard — Women’s Track and Field
“[My favorite memory is] probably Barton Heps my sophomore year. We hosted our championship meet here and I got my sash and I scored in our first championship of the season.”
Mike Graboyes — Golf
Alex Rauter — Men’s Hockey
“My favorite memory from Cornell has to be this year beating Harvard at home. It touched so many people in so many different ways. Just to be able to beat Harvard, but to do it at home is giving me goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Michèle Garceau — Women’s Squash
“My favorite Cornell memory is definitely coming in early in January when no one’s on campus yet because … that was really a time for us to bond as a team.”
Dale Wickham — Baseball
“Enjoying our final bus ride with teammates after a series win at Brown [was my favorite memory]. It was a true culmination of four years of hard work and true friendship.”
Taylor Reed — Women’s Lacrosse
“Honestly everything is about the people, and I made some incredible friends and teammates here.”
Jake Pulver — Men’s Lacrosse
“We went in not knowing what would happen if we [lost] to Yale and we just went out there and played hard, and I think we played loose and it was great to get that win together as a team.”
Joy Gage — Gymnastics
“[I’ll miss] having the structure and the built-in escape during my day to go get some exercise and hang out with friends while still being productive.”
Priyanka Shah — Women’s Tennis
“My favorite memory at Cornell is last year on the seniors’ Senior Day … we played Harvard and I was on the court for an extra hour because I was the lone point standing. Everyone was watching me, there [were] over 100 fans and it came down to me in a third set and it was absolutely exhilarating.”
Trevor Yates — Men’s Hockey
“The fan support is awesome here; best atmosphere in college hockey and probably the best in the world. And [I’ll miss] the group of guys. You get really close here working out in the mornings and spending all year together.”
Shannon Hugard — Women’s Track and Field
Ellis Bitar — Baseball
“My favorite memory from Cornell was the series at Penn [this season.] Our bats were on fire and we just put up a ton of runs — especially the first game. It was also probably my best game at Cornell ever. I was four for five with two home runs and two doubles.”
Kelly Johnson — Field Hockey
“[I’ll miss] the sense of pride that comes with wearing the university on your chest and walking on the field at any other school and knowing that you are Cornell.”
Dom Deluca — Men’s Track and Field
“My favorite memory at Cornell is my sophomore year when we broke the Ivy League meet record for most points scored for a team. We scored 211 points and we won the championship.”
Alice Rudolph-Shabinsky — Women’s Rowing