Columbia fall sports power rankings

So it seems my preseason prediction of a 3-4 Ivy League record for the Lions football team was a bit overzealous.

Understandably, the Light Blue have been under intense scrutiny this week after a shocking 28-6 loss last weekend at Dartmouth, which saw them drop to 2-4 (1-2 Ivy).

Rather than beat a dead horse, I thought I would shift some attention toward the other fall athletic programs this week. This idea was born out of my desire to discuss the cross country program, which today will host the 2009 Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships in Van Cortlandt Park. But instead of devoting a whole column to a sport that I know little about, I decided to involve the rest of the too-rarely-talked-about fall programs. The result: my first power rankings of the year.

It should be noted before I start that these rankings take into account this season as well as the previous three years. It is thus a ranking of overall program success and stability, not just an evaluation of this season’s performances.

And away we go:

N/R. Men’s/Women’s Cross Country: The cross country teams can’t really be ranked because their Ivy League success is essentially dependent on one race. That race takes place, as I said earlier, today, in the Bronx. Both teams have fared well in the first three meets of the season, and the men in particular should be looking at today’s competition as a chance for hardware. This idea is not as absurd as it may seem—the men’s team won in 2004, and the women’s team won four straight championships from 2002-2005. If I did rank it, legendary coach Willy Wood’s program would likely be right near the top.

5. Volleyball: Considering that this team that did not win an Ivy League game in 2006 or 2007, the volleyball girls have shown some life this season. Despite the fact that they haven’t been able to translate an impressive 8-4 out of conference record into Ancient Eight success, they still sit above .500 for the year at 11-9 (2-5 Ivy). This turnaround is largely due an impressive freshman class, recruited by second-year head coach Jon Wilson, that has changed the momentum of the program. The newly-competitive Lions take on Harvard tonight in Boston.

4. Football: I know I said I wouldn’t beat a dead horse, but the football program is reeling after a disgraceful loss at Dartmouth this past weekend. It has certainly been an up-and-down year for the team, who earlier in the season captured a landmark shutout win over Princeton on the road and aggressively ripped the Liberty Cup back from Fordham in the opener. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t look any different at the moment. Tomorrow, the Lions face a 3-3 (1-2) Yale team that does not light up the scoreboard, and, as a result, Columbia will almost certainly have opportunities to win the game. Any kind of special team improvement and better play from Millicent Olawale should do the trick, but then again, that is exactly what we said going into last week’s game.

3. Men’s Soccer: The squad got major help in moving ahead of the football program this past weekend. While the football team dropped its contest at lowly Dartmouth on Saturday, the men’s soccer team beat a very good, nationally ranked Big Green team 2-0 on Sunday, after spending an extra night in New Hampshire due to rain. But the fact of the matter is that the men’s soccer squad has lower Ivy-League and home win percentages than the football team over the last three years. Most of this can be attributed to the recently ended Leo Chappell era, in which the Light Blue failed to win an Ivy League contest in 2006 and 2007. New head coach Kevin Anderson has the team playing with renewed vigor, as Columbia stands at 2-2 this season in a rapidly improving Ivy League.

2. Field Hockey: The field hockey team has been consistently talented and somewhat successful in recent years, but they have struggled to start the Ancient Eight campaign, and currently sit at 1-3 in the league. In 2006, the team finished second in the league, and looked to be on the brink of a championship. But two disappointing seasons culminated in an ugly five game Ivy losing streak during Ivy play last year, and ultimately lead to a coaching switch. This season, they have had the look of a team adjusting to new leadership.

1. Women’s Soccer: This is the number one fall athletic program by a mile. They have recently won an Ivy League championship (2006), they have won 66 percent of their games over the last three seasons, and they have possibly Columbia’s biggest star, Sophie Reiser. Unfortunately, this season has been a disappointment for the Light Blue, as they stand at 6-6-3 (2-2-1). It is actually a testament to the program, however, that this .500 record is considered disappointing in the first place. Columbia has two games remaining this season, both at home, beginning tonight at 7 p.m. vs. Yale.

Tom Di Benedetto is a Columbia College junior majoring in history.
sports@columbiaspectator.com