Sarah Sommer

A .500 conference record is not always notable, but this year, it was a
major accomplishment for the Columbia women's basketball team, whose 7-7
record was the best Ancient Eight performance in the program's history.

This past fall, a Columbia club team finished its season with only one blemish on its record: that club was the Columbia University Rugby Football Club.

After falling into an early 2-0 hole against Bucknell (6-8, 1-5 Patriot League), the Columbia lacrosse team (5-10, 0-7 Ivy) made sure it did not stay there as it pulled out a thrilling 8-7 win over the Bison on Wednesday night.

After notching its first win since March 14 on Monday, the Columbia lacrosse team (4-10, 0-7 Ivy) hopes for similar success against Bucknell (6-7, 1-5 Patriot League).

After suffering a devastating one-goal defeat at Fairfield on Wednesday, the Columbia lacrosse team (3-9, 0-6 Ivy) returns to New York with the hopes of garnering its first win since March 14.

Junior attacker Holly Glynn scored six goals, including one that tied the game at nine goals with fewer than eight minutes remaining, but she could not carry the Columbia lacrosse team (3-9, 0-6 Ivy) to victory.

Although the final score was closer than it has been for the Columbia lacrosse team’s (3-7, 0-5 Ivy) first four conference matchups, it was still not to the Lions’ liking, as they fell to Brown, 11-7, on Saturday at Baker Field. After a 3-2 start to the season, the Light Blue has lost its last five games.

After accruing its fourth conference loss of the year in as many attempts on Wednesday night, the Columbia lacrosse team (3-6, 0-4 Ivy) will face Brown (4-5, 1-1 Ivy) Saturday afternoon.

After losing its first three games of conference play, the Columbia lacrosse team (3-6, 0-4 Ivy) did not get a breather as it faced second-ranked Princeton (8-0, 2-0 Ivy) last night.

The Columbia lacrosse team (3-5, 0-3 Ivy) continued to struggle offensively against Ivy League opponents in a 13-2 loss at ninth-ranked Penn last Saturday.

When junior midfielder Rachael Ryan tore her ACL early in the 2008 season, it was a huge blow to the Columbia lacrosse team.

While neither Columbia basketball team went on to postseason play, some Lions have been in the news as of late.

The Columbia lacrosse team (3-4, 0-2 Ivy) played three games during spring vacation. The Light Blue first faced LaSalle (0-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at home, where the Lions overtook the Explorers with 21 goals to their 11. Columbia’s offensive onslaught was led by senior midfielder Marisa Marcellino and junior attacker Holly Glynn’s six tallies apiece, while five other players also scored for the Light Blue. Senior midfielder Emily Bonczek led the opposition with a four-goal effort.

In the final game of the Ivy League women’s basketball playoffs, Cornell dominated Dartmouth from the beginning of play and did not let up in an impressive 64-47 victory.

Last night, Columbia hosted the first of two Ivy League women’s basketball playoff games at Levien Gymnasium.

The lacrosse team (2-2, 0-1 Ivy) will play three games over next week’s spring break. The Lions are coming off a devastating 16-2 loss at Cornell, in which only sophomore attacker Frances Callaghan and freshman midfielder Lizzie Lee found the back of the net. Their games will not get any easier this week, as they face two ranked teams and several talented players.

This weekend, the Columbia women’s basketball team (10-18, 7-7 Ivy) faced two squads that it had beaten earlier this season, but came away with only one victory.

Not only did the Columbia lacrosse team handily beat Wagner yesterday, 14-3, but one member of the team inserted herself into the record books.

On the night of Feb. 15, the Columbia women’s basketball team was sitting on top of the world.

The Columbia women’s basketball team took itself out of the race for the Ivy League championship with a heartbreaking one-point loss at Harvard on Friday. After being mathematically eliminated from attaining a title, however, the Lions still had a game to play the next night. With the devastation of Friday’s loss hanging over their heads, the Light Blue came out flat against Dartmouth and fell by 18 points to the Big Green.

In its opening weekend, the Columbia women’s lacrosse team went 1-1. The Lions lost a hard-fought match at Monmouth on Friday, but regrouped to overtake Lafayette by 10 goals in their first home game of the year.

The Columbia women’s basketball team (9-15, 6-4 Ivy) will take its final road trip of the season this weekend, first to face Harvard (15-9, 8-2 Ivy) and then Dartmouth (10-14, 7-3 Ivy). The Lions, in fourth place in the league standings, will have to contend with two teams holding better conference records than themselves. Even though its chance of winning the Ivy League championship is slim, the Light Blue is hoping that with some wins and luck, it will rise to glory.

With a mix of veteran leaders and young talent, the Columbia lacrosse team hopes to improve upon last year’s 5-10-0 record (0-7-0 Ivy) with a strong 2008 campaign.

Still undefeated in Ivy play, Cornell continued its red-hot campaign last weekend with victories over Yale and Brown to begin a four-game home stand.

After starting its weekend off with a bang at Brown (2-22, 1-9 Ivy), the Columbia women’s basketball team (9-15, 6-4 Ivy) could not maintain its momentum and fell at Yale (7-16, 5-5 Ivy) on Saturday.

Being a student-athlete at Columbia was not in the cards for Sara Yee—at least, not initially.

Although it has only occurred three times, Barnard Night has become a proud tradition for the Columbia women’s basketball team.

The Light Blue gymnasium turned into a sea of pink Friday night as the Student Government Association and the College Activities Office teamed up with the women’s basketball players to raise school spirit and awareness about breast cancer.

In a weekend of incredible comebacks, the magic could not last two nights for the Columbia women’s basketball team (8-14, 5-3 Ivy). After overcoming a double-digit deficit to beat Dartmouth (8-14, 5-3 Ivy) on Friday, the Lions put forth a valiant effort, but were unable to replicate their success against Harvard (13-9, 6-2 Ivy) the next night.

The Columbia women’s basketball team is known for its youth—sophomores Danielle Browne and Chelsea Frazier were voted to the Ivy League All-Rookie Team last season, and freshman Lauren Dwyer has exceeded expectations as the Lions’ starting center this year.

After an inauspicious start to a season for which expectations were high, the Columbia men’s basketball team is looking strong following victories over Penn and Princeton.

For the first time in the history of Columbia women’s basketball, the Lions (7-13, 4-2 Ivy) completed a road sweep, overtaking Penn and Princeton this past weekend to rise to fourth in the conference standings.

This weekend, the Columbia women’s basketball team (5-13, 2-2 Ivy) will try to score a winning Ivy League record at Penn (3-15, 0-3 Ivy) and Princeton (4-15, 1-2 Ivy).

Just as the media predicted, Cornell has dominated the Ivy League.

This weekend, the women’s lacrosse team will prepare for its season with a scrimmage at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

In a weekend defined by inconsistency, the women’s basketball team lost by seven points to Yale on Friday night. However, they came back from a double-digit deficit against Brown on Saturday to beat the Bears in overtime.

Coming off a win against Cornell—picked to finish second in the Ivy Preseason Women’s Basketball Poll—the Lions (4-12, 1-1 Ivy) will face Yale (4-11, 2-0 Ivy) and Brown (1-15, 0-2 Ivy) at Levien Gymnasium in their first back-to-back league games of the season.

This weekend, the men’s tennis team opened its season by hosting the Columbia Classic at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center. After three days of play, Harvard took the “A” singles title, while Cornell won the “A” doubles championship.

Columbia’s offense started with a three-pointer from sophomore point guard Sara Yee and did not let up as the Lions (4-12, 1-1 Ivy) rolled to a 76-59 win over the visiting Cornell Big Red (9-6, 1-1 Ivy). Despite facing the only team in the Ancient Eight with a winning record, the Light Blue never looked like the underdog in its convincing victory.

The Columbia women’s basketball team (3-12, 0-1 Ivy) will try to even its league record and end a two-game skid tomorrow in its first home Ivy matchup of the season.

As a result of its erratic play, the women’s basketball team went 1-4 over winter break.

While most Columbia students were enjoying a relaxing weekend before the start of classes, several fencers were competing at the North American Cup in Atlanta, Georgia. The Lions had a strong showing at the three-day competition.

After enduring two defeats at the Florida Atlantic Invitational, perhaps all the Columbia women’s basketball team (2-6, 0-0 Ivy) needs to get back on track is some fresh air.

The women's basketball team did not have a chance to relax during its weekend in Boca Raton, Fla., as it faced Florida Atlantic Saturday and West Virginia (7-1, 0-0 Big Sunday at the Florida Atlantic Invitational.

The beginning of the women’s basketball season has produced more losses than wins for the Ivy League teams, as only Harvard (3-2) boasts a winning record. However, many squads should have positive outlooks based on individual players’ performances.

It was a weekend of ups and downs for the Columbia women’s basketball team (2-4), as it faced Mercer (2-4) on Saturday and Army (3-2) on Sunday. In the end, the Lions came away with a slim win and a big, fat loss.

It was a thriller from start to finish, and after 40 minutes of play, the Columbia women’s basketball team (1-3, 0-0 Ivy) walked out of Levien Gymnasium with its first victory of the season.

In a tournament featuring over 500 wrestlers, Columbia made sure it did not get lost in the crowd at the East Stroudsburg Open. Two Lions returned to New York City with victories under their belts, as senior Brandon Kinney took the 125-pound title and junior Derek Sickles was the 157-pound champion.

After an inauspicious opening weekend, the Columbia women’s basketball team (0-2, 0-0 Ivy) will look for its first victory tonight as it faces the University of Hartford (1-1, 0-0 America East) in Connecticut.

In its two games this weekend, the Columbia women’s basketball team (0-2, 0-0 Ivy) entered halftime on almost equal footing with its opponent; against Oakland (1-0, 0-0 Summit), the Lions led by two points, and versus Wagner (1-0, 0-0 NEC), the Light Blue was only down by five. In both cases, however, the Lions could not maintain this parity, as they lost by double-digits to both teams.

From first-year Danielle Browne to senior Megan Griffith, the Lions (8-20, 4-10 Ivy) were not lacking in talent during their 2006-2007 campaign.

After a frustrating stretch in which they went 0-3-2, the Columbia women’s soccer team (7-5-4, 2-3-1 Ivy) finally got the win they were looking for in a 2-1 victory over Harvard (10-5-1, 3-3 Ivy) on senior day at Columbia Soccer Stadium. It was their first two-goal effort since a draw against Marist on Oct. 8.

After a string of disappointing showings, the Columbia women’s soccer team (6-5-4, 1-3-1 Ivy) will try to regain its rhythm Saturday night against Harvard (10-4-1, 3-2 Ivy).

After a draw against Dartmouth, the Columbia women’s soccer team (6-5-4, 1-3-1 Ivy) was unable to build on its success, losing 2-1 to Yale (9-6-0, 3-2-0 Ivy) on Friday night at Columbia Soccer Stadium.

At a school whose sports teams have had limited success over the years, the Columbia’s women’s soccer program had hoped to be a source of pride for disgruntled Lions fans.

For a women’s soccer program loaded with talent and potential, even two conference losses are glaring.

The Lions (3-13, 0-5 Ivy) had a heartbreaking home-stand this weekend, losing to both Dartmouth (12-4, 5-1 Ivy) and Harvard (7-11, 2-4 Ivy) in three games.

After a heartbreaking loss to Penn and a draw against Marist, the Lions (6-3-3, 1-1-0 Ivy) hope to return to their winning ways at Princeton tomorrow.

This Saturday, the Columbia women’s soccer team (6-2-2, 1-0 Ivy) will go for its second league victory of the season when it faces Penn (7-2-1, 1-0 Ivy).

The Columbia volleyball team (3-9, 0-1 Ivy) looks to even its conference record today as it heads to New Jersey to face Princeton (9-3, 1-0 Ivy).

After notching its first win of the season at Manhattan College on Wednesday, the Columbia volleyball team looks to keep its wheels turning this weekend at the New Jersey Institute of Technology Tournament. The Lions will travel across the Hudson to Newark, N.J. where they will face NJIT, St. Francis (N.Y.), Quinnipiac, and Utah Valley State.

The Columbia field hockey team has momentum on its side. If the team can secure a victory over Monmouth University tonight, the Lions will notch their third consecutive win and even their record at 3-3 (0-1 Ivy).
Columbia head coach Katie Beach hopes that the “passion and intensity” the Light Blue showed in its victories over Fairfield and Lehigh will carry over into tonight’s game.

After a 0-3 start to the season, the Columbia volleyball team will try to bounce back this weekend at the American Volleyball Tournament.