 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Last Year In The Ivy League |
|
|
|
After a summer of cookouts, relaxation and a break from college sports, it’s time to say hello to a new year in the Ivy League. The upcoming school year brings big shoes to fill after a remarkable season for the eight Ivy institutions in 2002. In all, the Ivy League boasted nine national champions (four team, five individual) to go along with 38 athletes selected to the CoSida Academic All-District First Team.
Highlights included Brian Chaput and Sam Burley of Penn capping a stellar season by winning national titles in their events during the outdoor track championships. Chaput tossed the javelin 258-2 for a new Ivy League record, while Burley took home the title in the 800 meters by just one hundredth of a second. Cornell wrestler Travis Lee brought home a national title in the 125 pound class, going undefeated on the season, while Yasser El-Halaby of Princeton became a national squash champion. In addition to national champions, over 50 individual athletes placed in the top ten or reached the quarterfinals of the national championship in their sport. Here’s a season by season breakdown of 2002 in the Ivy League…
FALL
Princeton won yet another Ivy League field hockey championship in coach Beth Bozeman’s final season, as both the Tigers and the Harvard Crimson advanced to the NCAA tournament. Princeton and Ivy player of the year Ilvy Friebe made it to the second round where they were eliminated by Penn State.
The Dartmouth men and Columbia women took home Heptagonal Cross Country titles this year at Van Courtland Park. Yale senior Kate O’Neill began her stellar year with a second place run at the national championships.
In football, Harvard’s Cart Morris took home Ivy player of the year honors after catching 90 passes for 1,288 yards, including 21 catches in a single game. In the league race, the Penn Quakers managed to snap Harvard’s unbeaten streak and dethrone the Crimson for the Ivy title. Penn finished with a 7-0 league record, a No. 16 national ranking by the Sports Network and nine Ivy first-teamers. ESPN’s College Gameday made a stop at Franklin Field, marking the road show's first trip to an NCAA Division I-AA venue in history.
Penn men’s soccer went 5-1-1 in league play to win the Ivy championship, while advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Goalies swept the awards as Quaker junior keeper Matt Haefner was named Ivy Player of the Year and Dartmouth goalie Doug Carr took home Rookie of the Year honors as a senior playing his first year of soccer.
Women’s soccer sent three teams to the NCAA tournament. League champion Princeton made an appearance, along with Yale and Dartmouth. Scoring leader Katy Cross of Penn was awarded player of the year.
After winning in a playoff the year before, Penn achieved their second straight Ivy championship by handling Yale. Harvard’s Kaego Ogbechie was awarded player of the year. She was an All-Region selection as well along with Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan of Penn.
WINTER
Penn men’s basketball remembered last year’s three-way tie for first place and was sure to leave nothing in question this season. The Quakers went undefeated in league play on their way to a near upset of Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Two-time Ivy Player of the Year and AP All-American Ugonna Onyekwe had 30 points in that game. Brown made its first appearance in the NIT and its third post-season appearance ever, falling to Virginia.
With the help of Ivy Player of the Year Hana Peljto, Harvard was crowned champion in women’s basketball. Peljto, an Academic All-American, led the League in scoring at 21.5 points per game on her way to her second player of the year honor. The Crimson fell to Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
 2003 was a big year for Ice Hockey as three Ivy teams advanced to the men’s and women’s Frozen Fours. The Harvard and Dartmouth women took second and third place respectively. The Crimson blew away Minnesota 6-1 in the semis, but lost to Minnesota-Duluth in the finals. Harvard senior Jennifer Botterill became the first-ever repeat winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the nation’s best women’s hockey player. While Harvard bested Dartmouth in the NCAA Championships, the Big Green managed to take home the ECAC championship. The Cornell men’s hockey team, led by sophomore goalie and Player of the Year David LeNeveu, advanced to the semi-finals before bowing out to New Hampshire, 3-2, in a nationally televised game.
Princeton's Sarah Fraumann was the meet's Outstanding Swimmer at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. Fraumann won three events during the meet and helped the Tigers to their fourth title in a row.
The Harvard men won the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League Championships with the help of All-American 1650 meter freestyle specialist John Cole. Princeton established three meet records at the championships, while Harvard’s Ricky Roy was named the meet’s outstanding diver.
Columbia reigned supreme in men’s and women’s fencing, as the Lions placed 13 fencers on All-Ivy teams. The Lions men and women rolled to the Ivy title and placed fifth at the national tournament, led by Emma Baratta, who was fifth in the saber at nationals.
The Lions shared the Ivy title with Penn in men’s fencing. Cory Werk of Yale was the highest men’s finisher on the national stage, finishing third in the foil competition. Princeton University and Harvard University were also in the top 10 at the national tournament, finishing sixth and eighth respectively.
Women’s squash had seven All-Americans in a season that saw Harvard claim the Ivy League title for the third straight year. Yale, however, advanced to the final match of the national championship by defeating both Princeton and Harvard before falling to Trinity in the final. Penn’s Runo Reta was named player of the year after going 19-3 overall on the season.
Princeton won the Ivy men’s squash title behind the performance national champion Yasser El-Halaby. A freshman, El-Halaby was matched up against rival Bernardo Samper of Trinity and rallied from 8-5 down in the first game to take a 10-8 win. In all, seven men earned All-American honors. Six of the eight Ivy League institutions (Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Penn, and Dartmouth) finished in the top 10 nationally.
Indoor track and field saw the Cornell men and women sweep the Heptagonal titles. The women were led by sprinter Katy Jay, who was dethroned in the short sprints by Yale freshman Joslyn Woodard, but rebounded in the 400 meters for a key victory. Yale’s Kate and Laura O’Neill ran the 5,000 meters at the national meet. Both earned All-America honors, Kate finishing second and Laura fifth.
On the men’s side, Dartmouth junior Mustafa Abdur-Rahim accounted for an astounding 25 of the Big Green’s 60 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome champion Cornell, who edged Princeton for the title with a strong showing in the 4x400 meter relay. Sam Burley of Penn was the Ivy League story on the national stage, barely missing his first national 800 meter title and finishing second.
Cornell defeated Brown to capture the Ivy wrestling title. This year’s star was the Big Red’s Travis Lee, who claimed a national title in the 125 pound weight class. Lee became the Big Red's first national champion since David Hirsch won the 126-pound weight class in 1994. Princeton’s Greg Parker, a two-time All-American and a two-time EIWA champion, finished his career for the Tigers.
SPRING
Three way ties were in style on the lacrosse front this season. Princeton, Dartmouth and Yale all finished 6-1 within League play in women’s lacrosse. Princeton's Rachael Becker led her women’s lacrosse team to yet another national championship, while winning nearly every conceivable award. The Ivy League Player of the Year, Becker was named the national tournament MVP and was awarded with an All-America selection, the Tewaaraton Trophy and the Honda Sports Award.
On the men’s side, Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell each finished the year 6-1 in Ivy play. Dartmouth and Princeton advanced to the NCAA tournament, both losing to Syracuse. The Big Green fell in the first round, while the Tigers were knocked off in the quarterfinals. Cornell’s Ryan McClay took home Player of the Year honors for the Big Red.
 In baseball, Penn’s Andrew McCreery batted .408 and hit seven homers in League games, while Princeton won the Ivy League championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Seven players from the Ivy League were selected in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. One, Princeton's Thomas Pauly, went in the second round.
Melissa Finley earned Player of the Year honors in softball after leading Princeton to its second consecutive outright Ivy League Championship. The Tigers ended their season at 24-21-1 overall and 11-3 in the Ivy League. The Tigers made it to the NCAA regional for the fifth time in history.
Yale took home both the men’s and women’s Ivy golf titles this season. For the women, it was their second consecutive championship. In the NCAA tournament, the team shot a three-day score of 1,002.
The Yale men’s golf team won going away this year at the Ridgewood (N.J.) Country Club over second place Penn. Yale’s Neel Williams fell one stroke shy of being one of just six collegiate golfers to advance to the NCAA Championships as an at-large individual.
In tennis, Penn's Alice Pirsu advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's national tournament, while Columbia's Oscar Chow did the same on the men's side. Harvard took both Ivy titles, though, advancing to the NCAA team tournament. Brown also advanced to the team tournament on the men's side. The Harvard women upset number 16 Arizona before losing to top-ranked Stanford.
Men’s track & field yielded four All-Americans at the NCAA Championships. Penn athletes Brian Chaput and Sam Burley won national titles. Chaput tossed the javelin 258-2 for a new Ivy League record, while Burley took home the title in the 800 meters. Dartmouth’s Mustafa Abdur-Rahim moved up seven places from his 13th seed to finish sixth in the decathlon, while Harvard’s Chris Lambert finished fourth in the 200 meters. It was Cornell, however, who took the outdoor Heptagonal championship for the first time since 1985.
The Cornell women also won the outdoor title, as Katy Jay won both the 200 and 400 meter races. Yale’s Kate and Laura O’Neill became the first two women in Ivy history to break the 33-minute barrier in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championships.
Harvard women’s rowing took the national championship, beating out last year’s winner, Brown. Princeton picked up its fifth straight title in the women’s lightweight division. In all, Ivy League women’s rowing placed six boats in Grand Finals.
Harvard’s men's heavyweight and lightweight eights each went on to open water victories in their respective grand finals of the IRA National Championships.
Without a doubt, it was a great year for Ivy League athletics in 2002. The opening of the 2003 football season marks the beginning of what could another banner year for the Ancient Eight. The season begins September 20th, so get ready, stay tuned and enjoy the ride...
--Ben Samara
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
|
|
