The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/author/christinabulkeley/page/2/)
When Jay Matthews, a rising junior midfielder on women’s soccer, founded WOCCA in March, the need for a space dedicated to Cornell’s female athletes of color was already obvious. Now, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and increased attention to police brutality nationwide, the group is increasingly vital for projecting the voices of Cornell’s black athletes.
The League’s decision quickly drew criticism for holding steadfast to its eligibility requirements during an unprecedented time — the Ivy League, founded in 1954, has never canceled an entire sports season.
“It was just kind of one of those things, an instant reaction. It’s not like I was mad at anyone,” Urbon said of the tweet. “It’s just more of a disappointment — I spent the last nine months to a year in the training room every day … [The tweet] was kind of just, throwing it out there, and I guess it gained traction a lot more than I thought it was going to.”
The award is bittersweet for a coach who was just recently looking to skipper one of the best Cornell teams in recent memory deep into the NCAA Tournament. But with the national tourney’s cancellation last Thursday, the top-ranked team’s promising season came to a screeching halt.
“We’re already gonna be strapped for trying to make bills and stuff because everybody’s afraid to go out,” said Spike Brooks, a bartender at The Chanticleer.
Cornell’s hockey teams were both ranked No. 1 in the country.
The No. 7 Bulldogs were slated to play at No. 3 Quinnipiac for the ECAC Quarterfinals this weekend. Cornell, which already had a bye for the first round of the playoffs, will get yet another weekend off.
In her first year as the everyday starting goaltender for Cornell women’s hockey, junior Lindsay Browning set a single-season program record with 12 shutouts, was named Ivy League Player of the Year and conceded only one loss on home ice all season. But in high school, she almost walked away from hockey altogether.
“Last year, we got to the Frozen Four, but we didn’t get that ECAC title. And I think that makes us hungrier this time around.”
It was the second of 22 penalties in the game. Yes, 22 — with Clarkson being hit with a total of 51 penalty minutes.