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HELPING HAND Matt Underhill ’02 spearheaded a fund-raising effort that brought in more than $3,000 to help eight families who were burned out of their Florence, South Carolina, homes in January. Underhill, a goaltender for the Florence Pride in the East Coast Hockey League, pledged $1 for each save by Pride goalies and $5 for each goal scored by the team during a three-game span. His pledge was matched by 19 individuals and businesses. Underhill more than did his part between the pipes, making 37 saves in a 4-2 win over the South Carolina Stingrays and 42 saves against the Toledo Storm while posting his first professional shutout.

DRAFTED Ian Pilarski ’04 became the first Cornell soccer player to be drafted by Major League Soccer when the Chicago Fire selected him in the fifth round of the league’s SuperDraft on January 16. Pilarski was a three-time All-Ivy midfielder, finishing his career with 15 assists, fourth best in team history. He also earned first-team All-Region honors in 2003 and helped his club team, the Cape Cod Crushers, to back-to-back national championships. The Chicago Fire is coached by former Cornell coach Dave Sarachan ’76, who was named the MLS coach of the year after leading the Fire to the title game.

NEW LEADER In January, Donna Hornibrook was named head coach of the Big Red field hockey team, replacing Philip Sykes, who had served as interim coach for the 2003 season. Hornibrook comes to Cornell from Houghton College in Western New York, where she posted a 111-39-4 record in nine years, including a 16-2 mark in 2003. Hornibrook had previously spent five seasons as head coach at her alma mater, the University of New Brunswick, where her teams never lost a conference game. During her playing years, Hornibrook was a four-time All-Canada selection and was twice named Prince Edward Island Athlete of the Year. She also played for the Canadian national team from 1979 to 1983.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS Both of the Big Red lacrosse teams were nationally ranked as the 2004 season began.The men’s squad was picked ninth in the Lacrosse Magazine preseason poll after posting a 9-4 record last season and winning a share of the Ivy League title for the first time since 1987.The women’s team was named to the twelfth spot in the Lacrosse Magazine ranking.The Cornell women return five starters from last year’s squad, which went 11-5 and won its second ECAC title in four years.

BRAINS & BRAWN Kevin Rooney ’04 was named an Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America; he was the only Ivy League football player to earn firstteam honors in 2003.A co-captain, he led the team with four sacks and was second among defensive linemen with 29 tackles while earning a 3.86 GPA as a history major. Rooney, a member of the 2002 American Football Coaches Association’s Good Works team for his community service, plans to attend law school after graduation.

Big Game (January 17, 2004) The men’s basketball team started the Ivy League season with a bang, trouncing Columbia 90-66 in a Saturday afternoon contest at Newman Arena. Senior guard Ka’Ron Barnes (below) pumped in 19 points and handed out three assists. Cody Toppert ’05 had 17 points, and freshman Graham Dow tallied 13, matching his career high.The Big Red broke open the game early in the second half with a 15 to 5 run that propelled them to their fourth straight home-court victory.

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