Cornell Classic Hits Newman Court

Looking for its first win of the season, the women's basketball team welcomes Bucknell, James Madison, and Winthrop to Newman Arena for the Cornell Classic, beginning tonight. The Red (0-4, 0-0 Ivy) will take on Bucknell (1-3) at 7 p.m., while James Madison (1-3) squares off against Winthrop (1-1) at 5 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be held tomorrow at 5 and 7 p.m. respectively.

The Red looks to continue its strong play from Tuesday's night game against Colgate. Cornell went on a 13-2 run in the second half, but could not close the gap, and the Raiders won 77-63.

"I think we played a lot better on Tuesday night, and I think it was a good stepping stone, and I really expect us to come out playing the same way, playing with the same level of intensity," said head coach Dayna Smith. "Bucknell is a good team, but I think if we come out and do the little things and play aggressive, we have a good chance of getting our first win game."

Four of the Red's five starters reached double figures, with senior Tanya Karcic leading all scorers with 19 points. Senior tri-captain Karen Force had her best game so far this season, racking up 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, and made each of her four free throws. Senior tri-captains Lauren Kilduff and Katie Romey scored 11 and 12 points, respectively. This was the first game that the Red had four players in double figures.

"Those four seniors need to do that on a consistent basis, and we need one or two other players to round it out for us. Our point production is increasing but it needs to go up even higher," said Smith. "We need a couple of people to come off the bench and make some easy shots, we need to finish some lay-ups, and we need to make our free throws. I think if everyone can do their little part, then things are going to come together."

Senior Dani Aretino dominated the glass, as she led all players with 12 rebounds. Force, who was hindered in the team's previous games by injury, shined on Tuesday night, and was a major presence for Cornell on the floor.

"It was what our team needed. She played a little bit like her old self, and it was huge. It gave us an emotional boost, and points-wise we need her production. She was just a good point guard on Tuesday night, and I think if she can duplicate that, then we're going to do pretty well," said Smith.

Bucknell comes into the Cornell Classic after dropping its last game to Bowling Green on Wednesday. The Bison handily defeated the Red in the teams' last meeting 2001 in Lewisburg, Penn. The Red notched its second win against Bucknell in the teams' 12 meetings in the 2000 Cornell Classic final.

The Red will need to key in on Bucknell co-captain Desire Almind, who racked up a career-high 33 points against Bowling Green, while shooting 88 percent from the floor. An All-Patriot Team selection last season, Almind is averaging a double-double with 20 points and 13.2 rebounds a game. Freshman guard Lindsey Hollobaugh is second on the team in scoring and rebounds, and was named Patriot League Freshman of the Week for her performances in the team's first two games.

"I think we have to respect Bucknell's go-to players, but we need to set the tone. I thought our preparation for the Colgate game was very good, we were focused. We had three very good practices prior to that game, so when we prepare for Bucknell, we need to come in ready to compete, be focused, and take that into the game," said Smith.

Winthrop and James Madison will meet for the first time since 1976. Both teams have a lot of youth, with Winthrop starting four freshman, and James Madison starting three. James Madison has never faced Cornell, while Winthrop dropped its only meeting with the Red during the 2000-01 season.

After being on the road for the first four games of the season, the Red is looking forward to its first home contests.

"Just being here this week, not having to travel, and sleeping in our own beds, it's been a huge advantage for us, and our players are very, very excited to have our home court advantage back in play," said Smith.

M. Soccer Season Full of Ups and Downs

The men's soccer team's 2003 season was a roller coaster ride from the very beginning. After putting together a five-game unbeaten streak in mid-October, the team dropped its next six games, then the season strongly with a tie against third-place Columbia. While the Red struggled to score in the latter half of the season, the team played with tremendous tenacity, finishing the season with a 5-9-2 record (2-3-2 Ivy League).

Of the team's 16 games, only three were decided by more than two goals, including the Red's 4-1 win in the season opener over St. Bonaventure.

"I think you can look at our season at three different stages. We got off to a good start against St. Bonaventure, dropped a few games after that as we were trying to find our lineup, and figure who would play in certain spots for us, and then we went on a five-game unbeaten streak, and confidence was high," said head coach Bryan Scales. "Then when we went into that middle stretch of the season in October, which is always a difficult time for anyone on the team with prelims and all sorts of distractions, and we just couldn't score goals and couldn't finish off our chances.

The Red placed three players on the All-Ivy team. Senior tri-captain Ian Pilarski became the first Cornell midfielder to be named to the first team since 1986, and finished the season with four assists. Pilarski's 15 career assists places him fourth on the all-time list. Junior Peter Lynch was named an All-Ivy honorable mention, and was one of the most solid performers on the team throughout the season. His goal in the opening minutes against Penn was all the offense the Red needed, as it shut out the Quakers.

Transferring from Brown at the beginning of the year, junior goalie David Mahoney was also named an All-Ivy honorable mention. He notched four shutouts on the year, including two in conference play, and registered a 1.54 goals against average, starting every game for the Red.

Of the team's wins this season, none was bigger than the Red's 1-0 defeat of the then-No. 15 Yale Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn. This was the first win at Yale for Cornell since 1978.

"It was a big win for us. Yale finished second in the league, we were their only loss. For us to win down there [for the first time] in 28 years, that's a big mental hurdle that the guys were able to get over," said Scales.

The team's five seniors -- Pilarski, Evan Wiener, Arturo Solis, Matt Blumenstyk, and Kaj Hackinen -- all provided veteran leadership during some of the difficult portions of the season.

"I thought that the seniors did a remarkable job, especially when things weren't going well. Those guys have all been four-year players for us, so they put so much into this program that they weren't going to just hang out and take the foot off the pedal when things weren't going will towards the end of the season," said Scales. "They drove the group, they pushed everybody in practice, they did all the things on the field and off the field that I expected of them, and they'll be missed."

While the team heads into the long offseason, the coaching staff and players are starting to prepare for next fall. In the past, Scales has visited European clubs to study and learn new training techniques.

"We watch a lot of professional games, we may go abroad at some point and spend some time with some clubs, we may go out to Chicago to spend time with Dave Sarachan ['76], to watch the Chicago Fire for a little bit, so it's to be determined. We're always on the lookout for new ideas and different points of view."

A Time-Honored Red Hockey Tradition

Two images stick out in my mind from last November's Harvard-Cornell game at Lynah: Noah Welch falling down at the Harvard blue line, giving up a 2-on-0 breakaway and a Cornell goal; and my friend sneaking a huge bell fish into the rink by taping it to his leg. The amount of discomfort he endured was quite high, but it was all worth it (maybe he'd argue otherwise) when he finally tossed the mammoth fish onto the ice.

Throwing fish before the Harvard game is a time-honored tradition and this year marks the 30th anniversary of the custom's creation. The whole thing began after Cornell upset top-ranked Harvard at Watson Rink in January 1973. During the game, a clever Harvard student tossed a dead chicken at Cornell goalie Doug Elenbas '73, mocking Cornell's Ag school. This didn't sit too well with the Lynah Faithful, who responded by hurling fish at the Crimson during the Cornell-Harvard contest the following month at Lynah Rink, making fun of Boston's fishing industry. A live chicken was also tied to the Harvard net, and while that tradition is gone, the fish-throwing lives on.

Last year, the University tried to kill this tradition. Mary Beth Grant, the Judicial Administrator, wrote in The Sun last November that fish throwing would no longer be allowed, after a Harvard player was struck in the face mask during the national anthem before the Red's 6-3 drubbing of the Crimson on Feb. 1, 2002. Grant asked everyone to leave the fish at home, and her request, of course, was not followed.

When the Harvard players skated onto the ice last November, they were greeted with the customary fanfare of fish. Clearly, the students were not intimidated by Grant's attempt to squash tradition, and I hope the administration has learned its lesson. What does it say about our school when it wants to put a damper on the biggest campus sporting event of the year?

Our annual tossing of fish was the second-ranked fan-thrown projectile in all of college sports in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated on Campus, and is something to be proud of. You can bet that Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni wishes that his team had half the support that the Red has.

While throwing fish at the beginning of the game is strongly encouraged, do not attempt to throw more fish before the start of the second and third periods. The refs will be all too happy to give Cornell a bench minor penalty, which happened two years ago after someone tossed a lobster among other seafood onto the ice before the second period. Of the past four Cornell-Harvard games, all but one has been decided by one goal, so you don't want to be the idiot that could cost the Red the game.

Of course, the fish throwing won't be the sole focus of the evening. The Red looks to gain some momentum going into the heart of its conference schedule, and what better way to start that string than by beating two of the top teams in the conference.

If you told me at the beginning of the season that the Red would still be winless at Lynah at this point of the year, I would have laughed. Hopefully, the team will take care of business against a very good Brown team on Friday night, and come into Saturday with the home-win monkey off its back. There's no understating the importance of Saturday's game. Last season, the only difference between the Crimson and the Red in the ECAC standings was Cornell's two wins over Harvard.

While Cornell has avenged its previous losses to Harvard with a big win at home, this time, it will be the Crimson out for revenge. Not a single Harvard player has forgotten the team's 0-3 showing against Cornell last year, including the overtime loss in the ECAC championship game. Noah Welch certainly hasn't forgotten his "defensive miscue." On a lighter note, I would like to personally thank Mr. Welch for one of the most amusing moments I have ever seen at a sporting event. Not only did his poor skating skills lead to the game-winning goal, but it also got the entire crowd back in the game.

If you want your choice of the best seafood in Ithaca for the game, you'd better head down to Wegman's as soon as possible before they sell out. Also, be sure to hide it effectively, as the ushers will be checking you before you enter the rink.