W. Lax Begins Season

Spring is right around the corner, and the women's lacrosse team is gearing up for its 2004 season. The Red hits the road this weekend for its first game of the year, as it heads down to Washington, D.C. to take on No. 6 Georgetown. Cornell is coming off an 11-5 campaign in 2003 and captured the ECAC title with a win over Massachusetts.

"My expectations are to work hard and go for it. I think that Georgetown and Cornell have an interesting history, and that the only time we ever played was in the semifinals of the NCAAs two years ago," said head coach Jenny Graap '86.

In their meeting two years ago, Cornell tied the game with 17 seconds left on a goal by Sarah Fischer '03, only to fall 12-10 in overtime to the Hoyas.

"The upperclassmen on the team remember that, and the freshmen and sophomores don't know Georgetown at all, so it'll be interesting to see how the emotion plays out in the game," Graap said.

The 2004 squad boasts nine letter winners and seven returning starters from a season ago. Junior Lindsay Steinberg, the team's second leading scorer in 2003, returns for the Red at attack, as does sophomore Allison Schindler.

Senior captains Jaime Quinn and Kate Hirschfield return at midfield along with junior Julia Hughey.

Junior Annie Berkery is the lone returning starter on defense, and senior Ashley Charron will begin her second year as the Red's starting goalie.

"We haven't really defined what we're all about yet. We're working hard, and I just want us to go out there and compete. I want us to play with intensity and heart," Graap said . "It's the first game for everybody, so everybody's just looking to get out there and get their first win."

The Red is currently ranked 15th in the IWLCA preseason poll and 11th in the Inside Lacrosse Power Poll. It will face eight teams currently ranked in the top 20 of the IWLCA, including Ivy League opponents, this year.

The Hoyas return two All-American selections from 2003 in seniors Michi Ellers and Gloria Lozano. The two were named Big East Defender and Midfielder of the Year respectively. Georgetown won its third Big East conference title and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.

After graduating six seniors, the Red is considerably younger this season, with 10 freshmen and eight sophomores on the roster. The team scrimmaged against Johns Hopkins on Sunday, which allowed some of the freshmen to get game experience.

"A lot of freshmen saw some significant time, which was exciting. I definitely think there's going to be a lot of young players in our lineup this year. I think it's crucial that the young players step in and play their hearts out," continued Graap.

Several new rules were implemented in the offseason, including one that will require players to wear eye protection in this year's NCAA tournament. Eye goggles will be mandatory for all college players at the start of next season, but the Red will be wearing them for the 2004 season as well.

"The goggles are highly recommended for regular season play, but mandated for the NCAA tournament, so I believe most coaches in Division I are wearing them all season in the hopes that if you get to the NCAA tournament, your team will be prepared," concluded Graap.

Women's Cagers Bow Out

For the six seniors of the women's basketball team, this weekend marks the final time they will don a Cornell uniform at Newman Arena, as the Red (8-15, 3-7 Ivy) welcomes Penn (14-8, 8-1 Ivy) and Princeton (6-16, 3-6 Ivy) for 7 p.m. contests on Friday and Saturday. Senior Night will take place on Saturday, and seniors Karen Force, Lauren Kilduff, Katie Romey, Dani Aretino, Tanya Karcic, and Meghan Fannon will be honored before the game.

"Our group is very good about going out and playing hard no matter what. I hope [the seniors] don't put pressure on themselves. I hope it's a fun night for them and a night we can make memorable and something they can look back on with fond memories," said head coach Dayna Smith.

With five seniors in the starting lineup, the group has been able to form a unique bond over the course of the season.

"I don't think I've ever been part of a team where the starting lineup has been one class. It's great because we've all grown together since we were freshmen," Force said. "We all have a lot of experience, we've grown into our positions and our roles, and it's been a lot fun. We can pick each other up, we can pump each other up, we can talk to each other and teach each other. It's a situation that's been fun and exciting to be in all season long."

These will be the team's first home games in three weeks, and the Red hopes to snap its four-game losing streak. Last weekend, the Red dropped two contests against Harvard and Dartmouth. The Crimson avenged its two-point overtime loss to the Red in January, while Dartmouth swept Cornell for the second straight year. With four games left, the team has high expectations for the last two weeks of the season.

"We need to turn it up a notch. Despite injuries and despite our record, we want to go out on a strong note. We have high expectations. I want to improve every single day, and that's been a goal of ours," Smith said. "We have great opportunities this weekend and next weekend to get some W's. It won't be easy, but we know the formula, and we just have to execute it."

After an 0-4 road trip, the Red looks to play spoiler and stop Penn's run towards the Ivy League title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Quakers are currently at the top of the table, but Dartmouth is only one game back of first place.

Penn comes into Newman Arena with two of the top players in the league in Jewel Clark and Jennifer Fleischer. Clark is second in the league in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game, while Fleischer is the league's leading rebounding, with 9.9 rebounds per game.


The Tigers are one of the youngest teams in the league, with five underclassmen in the starting lineup. Princeton has struggled on the road this season, going 1-12 in games away from its home gym. Sophomore Rebecca Brown gives Princeton a strong presence in the post, as she is shooting 50 percent from the floor this season, averaging a team-high 14.0 points per game.

Having faced Penn and Princeton two weeks ago on the road, the Red is very familiar with its opponents, but needs to focus on its own game to get two important league wins.

"We have an idea of how Penn and Princeton are going to defend us, we know how we want to defend them, but we need to take care of our own business this weekend," continued Smith.

Saturday's contest against Princeton caps off Cornell's celebration of National Women and Girls in Sports Day. There will be a women's sports exhibition with demonstrations and clinics from several Cornell women's teams in Bartels during the day and an autograph social following the game.

"We had a lot of fans [last year], it was something fun for the girls to go through the clinics of the other sports, and our players enjoyed it," concluded Smith. "Hopefully they'll see a fun game, and they'll send off six seniors that have worked real hard. We're looking forward to it, I think it's going to be a fun evening."

'Dream Job' Challenges Presidency

The road to the White House is underway, with the future of our nation hanging in the balance. These next several months will be trying times for the American people, as they must decide who will best represent their views and political philosophies. While voter turnout has been paltry of late, it is the duty of every patriotic American to cast their vote in sincerity.

But first, some clarification. When I say “White House,” I mean ESPN’s Bristol headquarters (The roof is white, close enough). “Nation” equals the sporting world, “views and political philosophies” means best catch phrases, and “patriotic American” should read devoted ESPN viewer.

Now that we’ve settled that, most of you probably now realize that I am referring to ESPN’s newest show, “Dream Job,” not the presidential election. Dream Job, which premiered on Sunday, is the newest reality show that pits 12 hopefuls against each other for a chance to be the next SportsCenter anchor. If you think about it, the results of Dream Job are far more important than any political election.

I mean, how much does the President actually personally affect your life? Not much. On the other hand, folks like Stuart Scott, Linda Cohn, and Dan Patrick have a much bigger impact on the daily life of the red-blooded, hard-working American sports fan. The only reason I see in keeping up with the presidential race is to be able to understand the jokes on SNL.

Still, many of you reading this probably did not watch Dream Job on Sunday, and I must ask you, why? It’s safe to say that a lot of people regularly watch American Idol, and this puzzles me. While I enjoy the first few episodes, which showcase the worst singers in America, the rest of the show is pretty much meaningless. The finalists of American Idol can only go on to annoy the hell out of everyone in the country (case in point: Justin Guarini, Clay Aiken), and the actual winners are merely a manufactured product.

The winner of Dream Job, however, will not only be responsible for delivering important news that affects all of us, but will have a direct impact on the English language. Where we would be as a country without such witticisms as “Boo-yah!” and “Hoooooooome Rrrrrrrrrrun”? In the gutter, that’s where.

With Donald Trump’s suck-up fest, The Apprentice, and now Dream Job, the traditional job interview as we know it is fading into oblivion. Soon there will be a network devoted to job-interview shows. One of the pilot shows for the network will feature Cornell juniors interviewing for summer jobs at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan (Watch as Cornell students are forced to do finance problems on the spot in front of jackass recruiters!).

As a sports commentator and expert TV watcher, I would be cheating you, the reader, if I didn’t pass on my reflections of the candidates. Unfortunately, only the first six finalists competed on Sunday, so I am forced to only review half of the field. The format of the show featured the “My SportsCenter” competition, where each contestant had to write, edit, and read his or her copy for two sports highlights. Let’s quickly review the first six candidates.

First up, Mike Hall. You all know him from the thousands of Dream Job commercials as the “They have won one game in the last few hours,” guy. Hall showed an uncanny ability to make bowling hilarious, and that earns points in my book.

I voted Chris Williams off, he was boring, and he reused his catchphrase. Also he mispronounced San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov’s name. Clearly, you have lost your way, for shame.

Michael Quigley, affectionately dubbed “Quiggs,” during the show, read highlights like a maniac who forgot to take his anti-maniacal drugs. Tony Kornheiser even compared him to Chris Farley.

Maggie Haskins is a student at that crazy liberal campus known as Brown, and counts playing Beirut as one of her hobbies. Despite getting no publicity in the promos, Haskins stole the show on Sunday with some great catch phrases

Aaron Levine, a student at Stanford, probably wrote the best copy out of all six, and had one of the funnier lines of the night (Brian Westbrook’s got the runs, hilarious!).

Nick Stevens, who first thrilled America with “Ramalamahamdam,” failed to impress in his segment. I guess the ramalamahype didn’t live up to the ramala—ok, I won’t subject you to that again.

Having written this column during the show, I would also like to claim credit for predicting that Chris Williams would be voted off. I guess I’m cool as the other side of the pillow.

With that said, I gleamed two things from Sunday’s show-- one, Tony Kornheiser is funny, and two, Stuart Scott is crazy. In the spirit of the upcoming presidential election, here is my official endorsement.

“I Never Kid” endorses Maggie Haskins as its candidate in ESPN’s Dream Job. Haskins showed a great knack for catch phrases, which is the essence of SportsCenter. Haskins has risen above the stereotype that all Brown students are hippies who don’t go to class, and embodies the qualities of the Worldwide Leader.

Cagers Adept at Providing Leadership, Laughs

There's six point three seconds left, and Cornell is down by two. Senior tri-captain Karen Force receives the ball and dribbles down the court. She spots a lane opening on the left side of the paint and drives towards the basket. With time winding down, Force moves in and throws up a shot. The ball bounces off the glass, off the front of the rim and in. 0.9 seconds remain on the clock, and Force has just tied the game against two-time defending league champ Harvard.

It's this kind of lightning-quick decision making that has come to characterize Force as a, well, force to be reckoned with.

"As far as that last lay-up and that last situation goes, it's something that you kind of have to recognize as it happens. It's nothing you can really draw up." said Force. "We have an idea what we want to do and where we want specific people to be, and within that, given what the defense gives you or what they take away, you kind of have to play with that. The lane looked like it opened up, so I took my chance, I guess."

The Red went on to win the game in overtime four weeks ago, handing the Crimson its first conference road loss since 2000. Force's quick decision making in the final seconds helped the Red avenge a double-overtime loss from two years earlier against Harvard, and she has been making big plays on the court during her four years at Cornell. While her playing days on the East Hill are almost over, basketball is something that will always be a part of Force's life.

Growing up, Force developed a passion for the game, going to great lengths to play year round.

"My mom would go to Target and get those little stretchy gloves with the sticky rubber pieces, and I'd shovel the driveway, and turn on the driveway lights, and play at night in the winter," Force said.

This year she has the added challenge of playing through a knee injury. While it has been an obstacle on the court, Force has become a tougher and stronger player because of the experience.

"She's just been gritty, tough, playing through pain -- pain, not only physical but probably emotional and mental because it's a tough thing to take. She just steps up at huge moments. She's probably one of the toughest people I've ever been around, and it's pretty amazing to see," said head coach Dayna Smith.

Even though her injury has limited her this season, Force has still made a great impact on the court. She averages the second-most minutes on the team, and leads the team in assists. While sometimes her contributions do not always show up in the box score, her teammates and coaches know that she plays with great passion and competitiveness anytime she is out on the floor.

"A lot of times you don't realize [point guards] have good games, because it doesn't show up on box scores. Her great games are when our team is clicking, and she's getting us in offenses, and she's breaking presses and getting us fired up," said Smith.

Force displays a humble attitude on and off the court, always putting the team first.

"She is very humble and I think as a point guard you need to be humble. Your first priority is to make the other players look better and to run the show a little bit, and I think she definitely has the qualities of a person that enable her to be a good point guard. She's very unselfish, she just cares about the team," Smith said.

As a senior, Force has had the opportunity to mentor the younger players, including freshman point guard Katherine Stritzl. It is a role that Force is happy to take on.

"The mentoring position is always one that is unique but fun to fulfill because to try to help someone out in your own position, and to see them click with things and start to understand things, it's really fun to see. Stritz's is a hard worker, she's a great kid, and I know she'll come into her own here," said Force.

Force has made her mark on Cornell basketball during her career, breaking several program records along the way. However, personal records are the last thing on her mind.

"I think that she's not only a good player, she's a good teammate, she's a good person. [A person like Force] just doesn't come around every day. She's very unselfish, and for someone as talented as her, it's just really refreshing to be around," commented Smith.

Lady Hoopsters Fall to Princeton, Penn on the Road

In its first road games in more than three weeks, the women's basketball team (8-13, 3-5 Ivy) dropped a pair of road contests to Princeton and Penn this weekend. The Red could not overcome a 19-point deficit against the Tigers (6-14, 3-4 Ivy) on Friday night, falling 74-67. The following night, the Quakers' foul-shooting proved to be the difference, as Penn (13-7, 7-0 Ivy) maintained its perfect record in conference play with a 72-62 win.

On Friday night, senior tri-captain Katie Romey and Princeton's Rebecca Brown dominated the scoring for their respective teams in the first half. With the Red holding a 20-17 lead with under seven minutes remaining, the Tigers went on a 13-1 run. Cornell responded with a 7-0 run, but Princeton answered back with a 7-0 run of its own to go into the break up, 37-28.

Brown got hot in the second half, scoring the Tigers' first nine points after the break. Princeton stretched its lead to 55-36 with a little over 10 minutes left in the game. However, the Red cut into the Tigers' lead with an 8-0 run followed by a 9-0 run in the closing minutes. With 34 seconds remaining, Cornell found itself down by 70-65, but the Tigers put the game away, hitting six of eight attempts from the free-throw line.

"[Princeton] was very active on the defensive end. On the offensive end, they keep you moving, they keep you on your toes," said head coach Dayna Smith. "For the most part this season, we've done a fair job of keeping the big forwards under control, but I thought we allowed too many easy baskets."

Brown led all scorers with 25 points, while Romey finished with a team-high 19 points and shot a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. The Tigers' bench put up 24 points as two of its starters played for 17 minutes combined.

The following night, the Red hoped to end Penn's perfect Ivy record. Cornell held a four-point lead with three minutes left in the first half, after putting together a 12-2 run. Penn answered back, closing out the half on an 8-2 run. Despite only shooting 25 percent from the floor, Cornell found itself down by two points at the break.

"I thought we played great defense. To be honest, we worked our butts off on the defensive end. We got to the foul line, we were aggressive in the offensive end. We really outrebounded them in the first half, and got a lot of second chances," Smith said.

Penn came out firing at the start of the second half, using a 13-2 run to increase its lead to 13 points, while holding Cornell to two points in the first seven minutes of the half. Faced with a big second half deficit again, the Red mounted a big comeback, cutting the Quakers' lead to three with five minutes left in the game. Five straight points by senior Tanya Karcic brought the Red within two, but that was as close as Cornell would get. In the end, Penn's clutch free-throw shooting in the final minutes sealed the victory for the Quakers.

"In the second half, we were battling right with them," Smith said. "We were down 18 at one point, and then we went on a great run to cut it to two with two minutes to go, and if we played that throughout the course of the game offensively, it would have been a different story."

The Red held Jewell Clark, the league's second-leading scorer to 10 points, but could not contain Jennifer Fleischer and Karen Habrukowich, who netted 18 and 23 points, respectively. For the Red, Karcic led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while senior tri-captain Karen Force chipped in 17. Her seven assists in the game brought her career total to 427, passing Patty Mills '86 to become the program's all-time assist leader.

"It's a great accomplishment for her and her teammates. Anytime you have a record for assists, it's more of a team effort. Karen really had a gutsy performance on Saturday," Smith said.

Lady Cagers Travel To Penn, Princeton

Looking for its first Ivy sweep of the year, the women's basketball team heads down to Princeton (5-13, 2-3 Ivy) and Penn (11-7, 5-0) for two 7 p.m. contests today and tomorrow. The Red (8-11, 3-3) split its two games last weekend, losing to Brown on Friday, then beating Yale on Saturday. With the win against the Bulldogs, Cornell is one win away from equaling its Ivy win total from last year.

After three straight weeks at home, this weekend's contests will be the first road Ivy games for the Red.

"We're actually anxious to get out on the road. Going down to Penn and Princeton, it's a good trip to go, and I think they're real excited for the games," said head coach Dayna Smith.

Last Friday against Brown, the Red rallied back in the second half with a 13-3 run to come within six points, but the Bears pulled away with a 69-56 win. Seniors Tanya Karcic and tri-captain Katie Romey each put up a double-double in the loss.

The following night, the Red mounted a 14-0 run to erase a six-point halftime deficit, and took control down the stretch to seal the 70-63 win. Senior tri-captain Lauren Kilduff led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 72 percent from the floor.

In Princeton, the Red faces a team with five underclassmen starters. Despite their inexperience, the Tigers have played in some close conference games. Two of Princeton's top three scorers are freshmen, and sophomore Rebecca Brown leads the team with in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game.

"Any team in this league can be anybody, and Princeton has taken some teams down to the wire. They beat Brown, which was a great win, a close game with Dartmouth, and they lost a tough one to Harvard, which was probably their only bad loss," said Smith. "They're a very good team, they're scrappy, they can shoot the three. They have some young freshmen that are really making an impact."

The Penn game will mark Smith's second return to the Palestra, after serving under Penn head coach Kelly Greenberg as an assistant for three seasons.

"I recruited most of those players, so I know them all, and I know their strengths and weaknesses, but they're very smart coaches, they have great game plans. Kelly is very unpredictable with the type of defensive scheme or offensive scheme she's going to use," commented Smith.

On the offensive end, senior Jewel Clark has been the team's leading scorer in all but four of Penn's games this season, and is currently second in the league in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game. Sophomore Jennifer Fleischer has been the dominant rebounder on the team, as she is second in the league in rebounding with 9.4 rebounds per game.

The Red will need to come out ready to play this weekend, as it fell behind early in both games last weekend, and this will be especially important as the team hits the road for the first time in nearly four weeks.

"We're going to travel, and that's not something we're used to, we've been home for so long, so I think we're going to have to be mentally tough to stay focused on our game, even though we have the long bus trips and everything," said Kilduff. "I think just once we get in the gym, we have to forget that we're away and just focus on ourselves, focus on the game, and take care of business."