The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/ivy_league/)
After graduating 33 players in 2009, including 11 starters, the Red football team knew it had some big holes to fill. Apparently, the media is also aware — Cornell was picked to finish sixth, tied with Columbia, in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll.
After an extremely successful trip to the west coast, men’s tennis begins its Ivy campaign in New York City against Columbia on Saturday. The Red (9-3) is on a seven game winning streak.
In their matchup last year, the Red lost in an extremely tight match, 4-3. However, the team has many more wins this year than it did going into its Ivy season, and their success on the road in Calif. during spring break will to be a big confidence booster against the Ancient Eight.
The women’s team has had the opposite result in both their California sojourn and their preaseason. The women (4-9) are struggling. The team took two straight losses in California after defeating Azusa Pacific University. The Red will host Columbia at home at Reis Tennis center.
Yesterday, Ivy League Executive Director Jeff Orleans announced a change in the Ivy League lacrosse season that will create a four-team tournament. Set to be implemented for the first time in the spring 2010 season, that will determine the Ivy League’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Championships. The winners of the Ivy League championships will continue, however, to be determined by the results of the league’s round-robin competitions.
The whirlwind season continues as the volleyball team, fresh off a tough four-set loss to Colgate Tuesday night, hits the road to take on Ivy rivals Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend. The Red will face off against the Crimson tonight at 7 p.m. at the Malkin Athletic Center in Cambridge, Mass., before making the drive to Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H., to tangle with the Green on Dartmouth’s Homecoming weekend.
In Cornell’s (4-10, 3-1 Ivy) last game action, the team fell despite a fast start and 1-0 advantage in sets over Colgate. Ultimately, the Raiders were better able to make adjustments, said Cornell head coach Deitre Collins-Parker.
With their first Ivy League match under their belts (or rather, spandex), it’s time for the Red volleyball players to take stock of their preseason and see what can be learned from the experience, as well as what needs to be fixed as the Ivy season starts up in earnest. Saturday’s 3-0 win against Columbia was a good start for the Red (2-7, 1-0 Ivy), but their record overall leaves something to be desired. Should the team be worried, or were its preseason growing pains a part of a normal process that will ultimately strengthen Cornell this season?
Far from the fluorescent lights of Shanghai and the history-laden streets of Beijing lies a starkly different China — a China where bicycles are more prevalent than cars and where private family homes with adjoining small farms are more common than sky-high apartment buildings.
Like a waving silk ribbon, the crowd flowed up and down, up and down with a rhythm of passion and consistency. There were infants, parents, students, grandparents, workers, vagabonds, sports teams, security guards, corporate sponsors, ambassadors and too many other attendees to count or describe.
While many students will be leaving Ithaca for fall break this weekend, the women’s soccer team will stay right at home for an Ivy League match versus Harvard. The Red will host the Crimson at Berman Field tomorrow at noon, as each team tries to bounce back from a loss in its first Ivy game. Cornell (4-6-0, 0-1-0 Ivy) fell in its opener at Penn 1-0 last weekend, whereas Harvard (6-3-1, 0-1-0) lost at Yale 2-1 in overtime.
Harvard, who is ranked No. 7 in the Northeast region according to Soccer Buzz magazine — and eighth in the nation — is coming off a 1-0 win over Fairfield.
In the two teams’ last six meetings, the football team has failed to beat the Crimson. Fortunately for the Red, the last win over its Ivy counterpart came at Schoellkopf in 2005, when Cornell won 27-13. The Red (2-1, 0-1 Ivy) will look to repeat that home performance this Saturday at 1 p.m.
Regardless of the Crimson’s (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) recent success, senior linebacker Ryan Blessing looks to the 2005 results for motivation.
“I really think we are confident going into this game,” Blessing said.
This Sunday at Berman Field, the Red closed the book on more than just its undefeated home record — the disappointing 3-0 loss to local rival Colgate marked the end of its non-conference slate this year. The team can now fully turn its attention to the heart of its season, the Ivy League schedule.
Cornell has already played one Ivy game this year, a disheartening 1-0 loss to Penn in which the Red burned itself with an own-goal in the ninth minute. Despite the loss, the team continues to aim for the league title this year.
“Right now, four teams have a win and four teams have a loss,” said freshman midfielder Laura Buerkle. “So the title is still there for the taking and we really feel like we can beat any team if we play our game.”