Matt Velazquez

On Friday afternoon, while most students were hauling away their things and leaving campus, members of the Columbia baseball team were hauling in some prestigious postseason accolades.

By virtue of hitting .507 against Ivy League opponents, senior outfielder Noah Cooper was awarded the Blair Bat, which is given to the batter who ends league play with the highest batting average and a minimum of 2.2 at-bats per game.

Craig Hormann is a typical SEAS senior with only a few weeks left in his college career—he’s got meetings to attend, final exams and projects, and he just finished getting his first out-of-college job settled.

Although Columbia (20-24, 15-5 Ivy) and Dartmouth (24-14, 15-5) clinched the Lou Gehrig and Red Rolfe Division—respectively—on Saturday, there was still plenty of excitement in the final weekend of Ivy League play.

According to ESPN.com, Columbia senior quarterback Craig Hormann has signed with the Cleveland Browns organization as an undrafted free agent.

On Saturday at the annual Blue and White spring football game, the story on defense was about what was not seen as much as it was about what was seen.

On April 10, it was announced that after spending the past five years with the Columbia men’s basketball team as an assistant coach, Jim Engles has taken his first head coaching job at the nearby New Jersey Institute of Technology.

I’m going to state something that seems totally obvious—springtime might be the most enjoyable time to be a Columbian.

The bad news is that the defense on the Columbia football team was one of the worst in the Ivy League last season, but the good news is that most of the strongest players on that defense are coming back for the 2008 campaign.

Fresh off a season in which it went 19-10 overall, 11-3 in the Ivy League, finished second in league standings behind Cornell, and earned its fourth-ever postseason berth, the Brown’s men’s basketball program is at a loss. Its head coach of two years, Craig Robinson, has stepped down from his position and accepted a job to coach at Oregon State next season.

The Athletics Department announced on Thursday, April 3 that the annual Blue and White football game will take place on April 19 at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium at 4 p.m.

This past weekend, all three of Columbia’s rowing teams were in action simultaneously for the first time since spring break. The men’s heavyweight team fared the best, defeating MIT and Holy Cross in all three of its races at the Alumni Cup at home, while the lightweight and women’s teams finished with mixed results in races on Lake Carnegie in Princeton.

Weeks ago, the field was set. There were a few twists and turns along the way—a few upsets, a Cinderella run, and a lot of excitement—but in the end, the number one overall seed came out on top.

When choosing their exercise of choice, some people elect to run, others to bike, and still others try swimming.

The Columbia men’s heavyweight rowing team and the women’s rowing team were in action this weekend as the men were in a close-to-home affair against Rutgers on the Harlem River Racecourse and the women took on Yale and Penn in the Connell Cup Regatta.

As the waning moments of the first half tick off the clock at games in Levien Gym, the basketball teams prepare to head into the locker rooms for halftime.

During spring break, the men’s and women’s golf teams will begin their 2008 season. The men will open up in Patterson, Calif. at the Diablo Grande Invitational, and the women will begin their defense of their 2007 Ivy League championship with the three-day Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Kane’ohe, Hawaii.

I love jerseys. Maybe it’s the pack-rat gene that’s been passed down to me that makes me want to collect them, or maybe it’s the sheer fact that my wardrobe is comprised of T-shirts and jeans, thus jerseys usually fit the bill pretty well.

When it snows here in the city, it is a momentous occasion.

Eight games into the Ivy League schedule, Yale already has as many league losses as it did through all of Ancient Eight play last season.

Just over two weeks ago, high school seniors across the country decided which colleges they will attend to play college football.

As Ivy League play reached its midpoint this past weekend, three teams came up with sweeps, all on the road.

Tonight, as the Columbia men’s basketball team takes on Dartmouth, it will need to take an added interest in post defense. Usually the Lions are strong in the post, but Dartmouth junior forward Alex Barnett will be looking to make a statement in the paint and on the boards.

This weekend, the best in Ivy League women’s basketball will be on display at Levien Gym—and that’s not just the visiting teams.

Last weekend, the top half of the Ivy League began to take better shape, as the current top four teams in the league all earned sweeps.

Not more than a week ago, the story around the Ivy League was that Princeton, a traditional contender for the league title, had started the season 3-11, with all 11 losses coming in sequential games over a stretch of two months.

So, the first week of the semester has come and gone, and it’s beginning to set in—the slothful, luscious, and amazing month of break is over.

It’s been two months since the end of the Ivy League football season, but players from the Ancient Eight are still being recognized for their play during the season.

For a moment, let’s take a step into the not-so-distant-past. Let’s set the Wayback Machine for circa September 23, 2007.

For 12 Columbia football players—12 players who stuck with the team through three head coaches and no winning seasons—this past weekend was bittersweet.

The 12 players stuck together from the very beginning, staying with the program all four years. Over their time, they have a combined record of 9-31 (3-25 Ivy). The record alone, however, is an unfair measure of their importance to the Lions.

The Columbia football team has a final chance at redemption in the form of an Ivy League win on Saturday as it takes on Brown and the league’s most potent offensive attack.

On Saturday morning, the Columbia wrestling team will take to the mat for the first time this season at the 41st annual East Stroudsburg Open.

Last season, the Columbia wrestling team was a nationally-ranked force to be reckoned with. They cracked into the top 25 of the national rankings for the first time in their history, placed second in the Ivy League, and one player earned All-American status.
However, that was last year. Those successes do not necessarily carry over to this year’s team, because despite having a top 25 ranked recruiting class coming in, the Lions lost some of their top seniors from last season. Three of last year’s seniors—Matt Palmer, Matt DeLorenzo, and Justin Barent—were nationally ranked, each breaking into the top 20. Another graduate, Devin Mesanko, was one of four Columbia players to reach the national tournament.

Against Cornell, the Columbia football team was put at a loss because of poor play on special teams. Not only did the Big Red score two touchdowns and block a kick, but for as well as Cornell did on special teams, the Lions did equally as poorly.

Change means things will be different, but that doesn’t imply anything positive or negative.

It is a well-known fact that the Columbia football team is last in the Ivy League in rushing offense.

I stayed on campus during this weekend’s break, and so I was able to do something that I always enjoy. I went up to Baker Field to watch a sport that I had never seen before. On Saturday at the Columbia Soccer Stadium, I watched the Columbia University Rugby Football Club take on the rugby club from SUNY-Brockport in the Northeast Rugby Union playoffs.

One thing’s for sure: things aren’t getting any easier for the Columbia football team.

After defeating 23rd-ranked Vassar last weekend, the Columbia University Rugby Football Club took on the 20th-ranked United States Merchant Marine Academy on Sunday. In its closest match since a five-point victory over Iona in September, Columbia defeated the Merchant Marine Academy, 31-22, to claim the Metropolitan New York Division I championship. The win improved the Old Blue’s record to 7-0, while giving the team the third seed for the Northeast Rugby Union playoffs, which begin next week.

This weekend, the Columbia football team will face what should be its toughest test of the season as it takes on Yale.

So now that we’re just past the midpoint of the Ivy League football season, it is about time that I unveil the first installment of what I plan to make a fixture: The X-Factor Awards.

The criterion to receive one of these illustrious distinctions is that the recipient must play Ivy League football and catch my attention. The nominees and recipients of each award have been selectively chosen by a triumvirate of judges comprised of me, myself, and I. So without further ado, the first-ever X-Factor Awards will begin.

Amidst rain and wind, the Columbia women’s soccer team traveled to Hanover on Saturday to face Dartmouth. The two teams were alike in record, and by the end of the day the two were alike in score—after 110 minutes of play, neither team was able to break away, and a 1-1 tie was the result.

The game literally slipped from the fingers of the Columbia football team on Saturday at Dartmouth, as it dropped its fourth straight contest, 37-28.

There were a couple bright spots in Columbia’s 59-28 loss to Penn on Saturday--senior quarterback and co-captain Craig Hormann and sophomore wide receiver Austin Knowlin both had career days.

I don’t know if you’re planning on going to homecoming, but I am.

Sometimes, just looking at the box score isn’t going to reveal the keys to a given football game. While the scoreboard does show that the Leopards dominated on both sides of the ball, it does not explain how Lafayette’s offense was able to pick apart the Columbia defense so well.

The Columbia cross-country team had a very successful day at the Spiked Shoe Invitational at Penn State on Saturday afternoon, earning its fourth win of the season.

Both the Columbia and Princeton football teams followed disappointing losses in week one with big wins in the second week. Now, the two face each other in their first Ivy League matchups of the season as the Lions try to make a statement and the Tigers hope to take their first step at defending their Ivy League crown.

Something has been happening on campus for the past couple of days. You would have to live under a rock, be afraid of checking the news for fear of seeing that the Mets lost again, or still have a hangover from Baker Blast to not have noticed.

The Liberty Cup changed hands on Saturday night, as Columbia fell to Fordham, 27-10, at Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx.

Even a surprise start by Columbia quarterback Craig Hormann—coming off of a knee injury—couldn't reverse the damage done by the Rams' rushing game, as the Liberty Cup traded hands Saturday night in the Bronx.

Coming off of its best season in a decade, the Columbia football team has a lot of momentum to build on going into 2007. The Lions have 15 starters and 57 letter-winners returning to the squad, and they will be joined by 39 recruits and one transfer for this year’s campaign.

Since the end of Ivy League play, the Columbia softball team's performance has been outstanding. After sweeping St. Peter's on Thursday, the Lions extended their win streak to four games, defeating Monmouth yesterday in both games of the doubleheader in New Jersey.

In its final home games of the season, the Columbia softball team put together solid pitching, sound fielding, and timely hitting to sweep St. Peter's yesterday, as the team now heads to New Jersey to face Monmouth.

Glancing at the statistics for the Columbia softball team in its series against Cornell this weekend, one number in particular jumps off the page. Out of a total 25 innings played, freshman pitcher Aimee Kemp stood atop the mound for 22 and two-thirds of them, starting all four games.

Going into Saturday's spring scrimmage, Columbia head coach Norries Wilson was looking for his team to be competitive. Just from a glance at the scoreboard, it was easy to see that the game was close-the Blue team won by a slim margin, 30-28-but the score alone did not adequately show the competition of players vying for starting positions in the fall.

In the final Ivy series of the season, the Columbia softball team (18-24, 8-12 Ivy) traveled to Cornell hoping to climb up the South Division standings, currently only one game behind Cornell and Princeton, who are tied for second place. The four-game series against the Big Red, however, ended with the Light Blue dropping three of four games, securing a last place finish in the South Division.

The Columbia football team will take the field tomorrow, despite the fact that its first game of the season is just under five months away.

The Columbia softball season has been dotted with close games, and this past four-game set against Princeton continued that trend. Each of the contests was decided by one run or extra innings, showcasing the team's experience this season playing under pressure and with games coming down to the wire.

Torrential downpours postponed the Columbia softball team's doubleheader with Princeton yesterday, but the Lions and Tigers split two intense games on Saturday.

Columbia (16-18, 6-8 Ivy) came from behind in the bottom of the seventh to steal game one, but Princeton (17-22, 7-3) returned the favor in game two, scoring two runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game and three runs in extra innings for the win.

The Columbia softball team (15-17, 5-7 Ivy) will look to return to its winning ways today when it takes on Manhattan College (2-26, 1-5 MAAC). The Lions have won six of their last seven games and coming off of a deflating 9-0 loss to Yale, the Light Blue will look to refocus before taking on perennial divisional contender Princeton.

This weekend, the Columbia softball team (12-16, 2-6 Ivy) will look to build on its current three-game win streak against Ivy League rivals Brown and Yale.

At the beginning of the season for the Columbia softball team, pitching was the team's biggest concern, because the pitching staff was comprised solely of freshman. After many solid performances during the season, pitchers Aimee Kemp and Amanda Snyder solidified themselves as the driving force behind Columbia's success this past weekend.

In search of its first Ivy League win of the season, the Columbia softball team (9-14, 0-4 Ivy) embarks on its longest league road trip of the year this weekend to Hanover and Cambridge as the Lions take on Dartmouth (4-13, 0-0) and Harvard (8-6, 0-0).

After numerous weather delays, the Columbia softball team (9-12, 0-2 Ivy) came up short in its doubleheader, losing twice to Penn (10-6, 2-0 Ivy), 11-6 and 3-1.

In the first game the Light Blue took a 1-0 lead but surrendered four runs in the fourth inning and four in the sixth, creating a deficit too large for the Lions to come back.

The Columbia softball team (9-10) will open Ivy League play this weekend as it takes on Penn (8-6) in a pair of doubleheaders. The Lions will play two games against the Quakers on March 24 in Philadelphia, and then both teams will come to New York for the Light Blue's home opener on March 25.

The Columbia softball team spent their spring break in Kissimmee, Fla. competing in the Rebel Games for the seventh straight year. The Lions played 14 games in an eight-day span, and finished the tournament 7-7, bringing their season record to 9-10.

To begin the Games, the Light Blue won a decisive victory against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, 10-2 in five innings.

After opening the season last weekend at the Florida Atlantic Miken Classic in Boca Raton, Fla., the Columbia softball team will head back to the Sunshine State for spring break to compete in the Rebel Games for the seventh consecutive season.
Last weekend was all about the young team finding an identity, but this coming week will test the Lions' endurance, as they play 14 games in eight days.

This weekend, the Columbia softball team will play five games in three days at the Florida Atlantic Miken Classic in Boca Raton, Fla. These games will be the first tests for a relatively young team, especially the pitching staff, which could potentially feature a sophomore and four freshmen.

The 2006 season was full of ups and downs for the Columbia softball team.

Its season started shakily at the Buzz Classic in Marietta, Georgia, where the team went 1-3 against tough competition in Gardener-Webb, North Carolina State, Miami of Ohio, and Georgia Southern.

The seconds were winding down on against Yale on Saturday, and the Columbia women's basketball team needed a big shot. As would be expected, senior Megan Griffith had the ball, but she would not be the one to take the shot. She drove the lane and dished to junior Brittney Carfora on the perimeter, who coolly hit what would be the game-winning three-pointer.

"We don't lose to Yale."

The words of senior forward Becky Hogue were echoed by the Columbia women's basketball team before and after Saturday night's game. Throughout the game, the seniors stepped up and made their last home game memorable in a nail biting 66-64 win.

This weekend, the Columbia women's basketball team will look to repeat history as well as continue its winning streak.

After a weekend of close road games against Yale and Brown, the Columbia women's basketball team's search for an Ivy League win is over. On Friday night, the Lions held off the Bulldogs to earn their first conference win of the season, 72-64. Looking for back-to-back Ivy road wins, Columbia moved on to play against Brown the next day but lost the close contest 57-54.

Two very different games played out with the same result this weekend, as the Columbia women's basketball team (4-16, 0-6 Ivy) played Harvard (6-12, 4-1 Ivy) and Dartmouth (9-10, 3-2 Ivy) on the road, losing by 29 on Friday against Harvard and by eight against Dartmouth on Saturday.

The Super Bowl is not just a game-it is an insight into American culture. It brings people together from all walks of life to eat fatty foods, drink heavily, and watch men beat the living hell out of each other for three hours. Sure, baseball is called the national pastime, but it no longer carries the weight it once did.

Last weekend, Cornell senior Andrew Naeve almost single-handedly defeated the Columbia men's basketball team. Coming into the game on Saturday, the Lions knew that they would have to limit his performance to have a chance to win. Known for his presence in the paint that kept Columbia's post players from scoring last weekend, Naeve was certain to be a threat again-and once again he made the difference for Cornell down the stretch.

It was a repeat disappointing performance for the Columbia women's basketball team against Cornell this weekend on the road, as the Lions fell to the Big Red 83-70.

"I felt like if I could have borrowed your tape recording device and tape-recorded last Saturday's post-game speech, I could have brought it in and used it tonight, because it was the exact same formula," Columbia head coach Paul Nixon said after the loss.

In their final non-conference game of the season, the Columbia women's basketball team (3-13, 0-3 Ivy) will travel to Easton, Penn. tonight to take on the Lafayette Leopards (4-16, 2-4 Patriot). The Lions are looking to reverse the downward spiral of their six-game losing streak, and for the struggling Columbia squad, a win could go a long way in turning the season around.

Without the inside presence of freshman Chelsea Frazier, the Columbia women's basketball team knew that they would have to set the pace of the game against the Cornell Big Red on Saturday. Their strategy of controlling the tempo using a full-court press backfired, as the Big Red used easy transition buckets to jump out to an early lead that they would keep for a 67-51 victory.

Looking to put their pre-conference season's woes behind them, the Columbia women's basketball team began its Ivy League season at Princeton and Penn. After three straight losses to Oklahoma State, San Francisco, and Central Connecticut State University, all by double digits, the Lions were in need of a strong performance in their opening Ivy weekend.

Women's basketball head coach Paul Nixon knew at the beginning of the season that rebounding was going to be a key area for improvement for the Lions. But so far this season, despite having a taller overall roster, the Lions have not been able to rebound well on a consistent basis and have struggled as a result.

Five-foot-tall Sara Yee took the opening tip-off for the Columbia women's basketball team Tuesday night because no one was going to out-jump St. Francis' 6-foot-8-inch center Katja Bavendam. Just as the Lions could not find an answer for Bavendam on the opening tip, they could not find an answer for her during the game as her double-double loomed large in St.

Two halves were not enough to determine a winner when the Columbia's women's basketball team hosted Sacred Heart last night. The Lions outscored the Pioneers 8-4 in the overtime period giving them their second win of the season by a margin of 61-57. Senior Megan Griffith broke out for the first time this season and scored 20 points, with 12 of her points coming from behind the arc, more than doubling her three-point output for the season.

There is a void in the Columbia women's basketball team this season that has yet to be filled. A preseason ACL injury to Michele Gage not only cost the junior her 2006 season, but it also robbed the Lions of their most consistent three-point scorer from last season.

The Columbia women's basketball team began its season playing against two teams that were one win shy of making the NCAA tournament. On Sunday, the Lions will face the Hartford Hawks, who are no strangers to the Big Dance, making the field of 64 for two years in a row, including an upset of Temple in the first round last season.

This past weekend, the Columbia women's basketball team was shut out of the win column in the St. Bonaventure Shootout. The Light Blue lost both its games by double-digits to St. Bonaventure and Manhattan, despite staying to close to both teams down the stretch.

The Columbia women's basketball team missed many opportunities in last night's 71-53 loss to Bucknell. Despite forcing more turnovers than the Bison, the Lions could not convert their turnovers into points as Bucknell pulled away in the final eight minutes.

At 1-1 so far this season, the women's basketball team hinted at future success in the second half of their opening win against Loyola (MD). The Lions were more consistent behind the arc, going 4-6 thanks to key shots made by senior co-captain Brooke Carey and junior Brittney Carfora.

Saturday's football game against Cornell saw a return to the hallmark of Columbia's defense this season-creating turnovers, making stops, and giving the offense good field position.

In the two weeks prior to Saturday's win, the Columbia defense had not forced a turnover, something which hurt it in back to back losses to Yale and Harvard.

After a long offseason spent working out the kinks and integrating new players, the Columbia women's basketball team will begin the 2006-2007 season with two consecutive days of tough competition. The Lions will be trying to show that this year will be much improved from last season's 6-21 (2-12 Ivy) effort as they tip off the season by hosting Loyola on Friday and traveling to play Delaware State on Saturday.

More than anything, the 2005-2006 campaign was one of rebuilding and growth for the Lions. With only one senior, the women's basketball team was inexperienced, and their 6-21 (2-12) record proved it.

First-year head coach Paul Nixon was trying to reassemble a team that had lost seven seniors the year before and mold them into a cohesive group.

For Columbia football, understaffed and lacking veterans, freshmen have been counted on more and more to make an impact this season.

The Lions used a number of freshmen on Saturday, some in their usual starting roles and others making their first appearances.

Despite being a unit without any star players, the Dartmouth defense has been the strong arm of the team this season. Although the Big Green graduated a top linebacker in Josh Dooley last year, current junior Joe Gibalski and sophomore Justin Cottrell have filled the gap left and have anchored a unit that would otherwise be vulnerable.

The Columbia defense has been the main story in each game of this season, and Saturday's game against Penn was no exception. But what made this week's defensive effort different was how the Lions confused Penn with movement and shifts, holding the Quakers to only sixteen points.

With just under three minutes left in the second quarter of Saturday's contest against Fordham, the Rams running back James Prydatko took a handoff deep in his own territory on fourth and inches. In a play that defined the tone of Columbia's defense, sophomore linebacker Drew Quinn sniffed out Prydatko, tackling him for a loss and proving that his newfound role as a starter is deserved.

The Columbia football team didn't keep the promises they made in the first two games of the 2005 season. Despite some sloppy play, however, they pulled together and picked up two wins. But in those back-to-back comeback wins against Fordham and Duquesne, the Lions performed poorly on third down and failed to establish their running game, something that would plague them through the next eight weeks of the season.