Sports

Men’s and Women’s Rowing Take Home Titles in Successful Weekend

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The weekend proved successful for Cornell rowing. The men’s heavyweight rowing team swept Penn and Dartmouth, and the women beat Dartmouth in three out of five races. With the win, the Red reclaimed the Madeira Cup and James Wray Memorial Trophy for the ninth straight season. The races also marked the­­­ last day of home racing for the team’s seniors. “It was a day of fun racing, and it was special for the seniors since it will be their last home race at Cornell,” said senior captain Creg Davis.

Columns

BROFSKY | The Price of Perfectionism in Sports

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Perfectionism is seeing the world in black and white, win or lose, jubilation or sorrow. There is no in between, no gradation. It is setting excessively high standards — maybe even impossible ones — with no room for stepping-stones or minor progress. At first glance, perfectionist athletes seem to be the ones with the strongest drive and best work ethic — but there is a darkness that looms potentially enshrouding such athletes in a self-defeatist pattern.

Track and Field

Cornell Runners Sweep 1500m Podium at Invitational

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Cornell men’s and women’s track and field teams had great success this weekend at Bucknell at the Bison Outdoor Classic, an invitational that is among the largest in the Northeast. The women’s team won four events and had almost 40 top 10 finishers in the meet. Additionally, the men’s team had six event wins. On the men’s team, Cornell’s runners swept the podium for the 1500-meter. The times were good enough to all place in the top 5 all time for the program.

Columns

BROFSKY | Nerves, an Athlete’s True Opponent

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Nerves are debilitating, they’re messy, and they cause regret. When I look back, what I regret the most as a competitive athlete is letting nerves get the best of me. Sports are of an uncertain nature; we don’t know how things will turn out. Questions pervade the course of a game or performance, and nothing is set in stone. This means risks.

Sports

Men’s and Women’s Polo Focus on Regionals

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This Friday marks the first day of the men’s and women’s USPA Northeastern Intercollegiate Regional Polo Tournament, held at Cornell’s Oxley Equestrian Center. This event and the USPA National Intercollegiate Championships on April 4 are the only two tournaments the men’s and women’s teams will compete in together. The women’s team plays first — on Saturday — against the winner of the Harvard-Skidmore game. Depending on the outcome, they will also possibly play on Sunday against the winner of the UConn-Alfred State game. “Going into the weekend, we will really be trying to keep up our communication to effectively execute team plays,” said senior captain Anna Winslow.

Columns

The Intersection of Yoga and Sports

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The benefits that drip from the cornucopia of yoga are abundant. The practice focuses on strength, flexibility, agility, endurance, core and stability. Although it does require supplementary cardio training and should not be practiced on its own for all exercise, it still reaps a concentration of really important skills and abilities. Because of the focus on stretching, yoga helps protect the body and prevent injuries. Conversely, it can also help athletes (or anyone) in their process of recovering from injuries.

mind games

BROFSKY | Finding the Zone

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In the foreword to George Mumford’s new book The Mindful Athlete, Phil Jackson says, “A lot of athletes think the trick to getting better is just to work harder. But there is great power in non-action and non-thinking. The hardest thing, after all the work and all the time spent on training and technique, is just being fully present in the moment.”

This is somewhat controversial and unexpected. Obviously, athletes need to practice and try to push themselves to their limits in order to learn and progress in their respective sports. They must acquire certain skills and learn the ropes of the game in order to understand it in ways spectators couldn’t even imagine.Mumford later says, “When Michelangelo was asked how he created his masterpieces, he replied that all he did was chip away to get to the masterpiece that was already inside.