Ice Time  LYNAH RINK REOPENS AFTER A $7.3 MILLION MAKEOVER

LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS after the final home game of the 2005–06 hockey season, Lynah Rink closed its doors to players and athletic personnel and welcomed a horde of construction workers. The $7.3 million renovation of the hockey haven created a buzz of anticipation among the Faithful: the project would add 20,000 square feet of new facilities and update the well-worn interior of the existing structure, which opened in 1957.

After six months of bulldozing and building, Lynah reopened in mid-October-- on Friday the 13th--for the annual Red and White game. In addition to enjoying the traditional intra-squad scrimmage that raises funds for the Cornell Hockey Association, fans were able to take in the improvements to the venerable rink.

A new wing on the south side of the arena boasts new men's and women's locker rooms, with drying rooms and coaches' lockers. The old locker rooms have been renovated and will continue to house visiting teams. The addition also has spacious coaches' offices, study lounges, and video rooms. The two varsity teams will share a new training room with a view of Campus Road, as well as a multipurpose room for mixers, team dinners, and alumni functions. Project manager Robert Blakeney says, "It was important to the Department of Athletics and the University to provide the same facilities for men and women athletes."

Other improvements were designed to enhance the fan experience while retaining the intimacy of the original building. A total of 431 new seats have been added, divided among three sections: three extra rows of student-seating benches that hug the south side of the old back wall; two rows of bright red luxury seats positioned behind the benches on the north side; and fifty-six seats placed behind the net on a new west-end platform--a mezzanine connecting the north and south sides of the rink on the second level. Additionally, the home-team locker rooms now lead to a tunnel that opens to a bench in the section below the press box, bringing players and fans closer as the team enters and exits between periods.

One major complaint about the old Lynah was its narrow walkways along the back walls, often clogged with fans. To address this problem, concourses were constructed on the north and south sides of the building. Aside from easing the crush of bodies, these concourses--eight feet wide on the north side and twelve on the south--add an aesthetic dimension, with freshly painted red-and-white walls that will be adorned with paintings, photos, and trophy cases.Wide doors opening onto Campus Road will also facilitate pedestrian traffic flow. "The quality of life is way improved," says Mike Schafer '86, head coach of the men's team. "Of the facilities used by the sixty college hockey teams in the U.S., we probably went from number fifty-seven to inside the top ten."

-- Ben Kopelman '07

WORLD BEATER Goalie Kyle Miller '05 helped Canada win its first world lacrosse championship in 28 years this summer, posting a 2-0 record with a 3.67 goals-against average in five games. Miller, who has made a remarkable recovery from bone cancer (see CAM July/August 2005), stopped the only shot he faced in the final moments of Canada's 15-10 title-game win over the United States. Miller also made nine saves in a 27-2 win over Finland and six saves while playing the second half of a 17-9 victory over England. Other former Big Red players at the championship tournament included goalie Joe Solomon '92, who made 11 saves in the Iroquois Nation's 14-6 win over Germany, and Kevin Henneberry '01, who netted a goal for the Irish National Team. Ireland was coached by former Cornell head coach Richie Moran, who guided the squad to a seventh-place finish.

GOLDEN AGAIN Lindsay Krasna '08 earned a gold medal for the second straight summer, leading the United States to the women's basketball title at the Maccabi Australia International Games in July. Krasna was the team's top scorer, averaging 18.6 points per game, and she had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game against Israel. Last summer, Krasna was a member of the first-place U.S. team at the Maccabi Games in Israel.

PUT ME IN, COACH Former Big Red quarterback Bill Lazor '94 is on the NFL sidelines this year as quarterbacks coach of the Washington Redskins. Lazor, who left the Hill with 26 school records to his name, spent two seasons as an offensive assistant to Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs and was promoted to his new position when Bill Musgrave left for the Atlanta Falcons. (At 34, Lazor is actually younger than two of the three quarterbacks on Washington's roster.) Before joining the Redskins, Lazor had been the quality control coach with the Falcons; he's also held coaching positions at Cornell and the University at Buffalo.

TOP TENNIS Nine former Cornell tennis players represented the Big Red once more as they competed in the Ivy Alumni Challenge, August 27–28 at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York. The Big Red finished fourth, beating Yale in the first round before losing to Princeton in the semifinals and Harvard in the third-place match. The doubles team of George Banta '96 and Dirk Dugan '72 posted a perfect 3-0 record while Bertrand Madsen '98 went 2-1 in the singles. The other doubles teams representing Cornell were Morgan Parker '96 and Bill Gauger '82, and Eric Cruz '87 and John Englander '80. Fila sponsored the event and donated $1,000 to the Cornell tennis program.

ENSHRINED The Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame will grow to 474 when 11 new members, including five former All-Americans, are inducted in November. The Class of '06 includes All-America honorees Yanaka Bernal '91, field hockey; Tim Daly '82, men's lacrosse; Guy Leach '88, baseball; Ria Tascoe '92, women's lacrosse; and Bill Rathbun '90, men's cross country and track and field. The other honorees are Paul Beuttenmuller '78, men's soccer; Joseph DeMeo '64, BSAg '66, MBA '67, wrestling; Olga Itskhoki '96, women's tennis; John McNiff '91, football; James Van Buren '55, MD '59, football; and Athletic Communications mainstay Ellen Harkness, special category. In addition, two Cornellians will join the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame this year. Daniel Mackesey '77 was a three-time All-American and the two-time national goaltender of the year while helping Cornell to national titles in 1976 and 1977. John Phillips '59 is being honored for his contributions to the game; he was longtime general manager of the Long Island Lacrosse Club, which won 18 national titles, and served as executive director of the International Lacrosse Federation from 1995 to 2002.

DEVELOPING SITUATION After earning first-team All-Ivy League honors and helping the 2006 Big Red women's lacrosse team to a share of its first Ivy title, Courtney Farrell '08 has earned a spot on the U.S National Development Team. Farrell was named to the team after a twoday tryout in August that included more than 130 players. The development team provides a way for players vying for a spot on the U.S. National Team to improve their skills while competing at the international level. The team will play in tournaments during the fall and winter, leaving Farrell plenty of time to help the Big Red prepare for its title defense. She led the team in scoring last year with 52 points on 33 goals and 19 assists.

Big Game September 30, 2006

After struggling through two season-opening losses in which they did not score a touchdown, the Big Red varsity football team put together a solid effort to defeat SUNYAlbany 23-21 in the first-ever contest between the two squads. Running back Luke Siwula '08 had an outstanding game, gaining 162 yards and scoring a TD, and quarterback Nathan Ford '09 passed for 112 yards. The key play in the contest was a fake punt by Cornell. Trailing the Great Danes 21-20 in the fourth quarter, head coach Jim Knowles '87 called for the trick play on fourth-and-five. It gained seven yards, and the Big Red then drove to the Albany 16 before Peter Zell '08 booted the game-winning field goal.