Big Game
September 30, 2011
In its Ivy League opener, the men's soccer team stunned Penn by scoring the game's only goal with just 1:37 left on the clock. Forward Daniel Haber '14 did the honors, with a shot fired from the far right side of the penalty box after a throw-in by team captain Jimmy Lannon '12. Goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer '13 made three saves to record his fourth shutout of the season. The 1-0 win pushed the Big Red's record to 5-1-3, with their only loss coming in the season opener against Niagara.
Sports Shorts
CHARGED UP In September, Bryan Walters '10 became the 42nd former Cornell player to play in the National Football League when he suited up for the San Diego Chargers and caught two passes in a 24-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Walters, who spent the 2010 season on the Chargers practice squad, gained national attention when he returned a kickoff 103 yards in a preseason game. At Cornell, Walters set Ivy League records for both career punt return and kickoff return yards. He is the first Big Red player to reach the NFL since offensive lineman Kevin Boothe '05, who played 16 games for the Oakland Raiders before being traded to his current team, the New York Giants.
BIG RED SOX After becoming the first Big Red baseball player to sign a professional contract since Rocky Collis '06, Jadd Schmeltzer '11 spent the summer with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in Fort Myers, Florida. A 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher, Schmeltzer appeared in 15 games for the Sox, picking up a team-high four saves and posting a 2.92 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .233 average.
TOP HONORS A pair of All-Americans are among 10 former Big Red athletes who will be inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame on November 11. Steve Baginski '80, MBA '84, was a two-time All-American in the hammer throw, and Pat Dutton '99 was an All-American midfielder for the men's lacrosse team. The other members of the Class of 2011 are Karen Chastain Hughes '01, women's track and field; Chris Mabley '65, lightweight rowing; Robin Moore '01, volleyball; Peter Orthwein '68, MBA '69, men's polo; Helen Barfield Prichett '95, women's swimming and diving; Joseph Splendorio '01, football; Dave Van Dyke '74, gymnastics; and Molly Kauffman West '97, field hockey.
PRESEASON PICK After back-to-back trips to the Frozen Four, expectations are once again high for the women's hockey team. Cornell was the unanimous choice atop the preseason ECAC coaches' poll and ranked third in the preseason USCHO national poll. Big Red players were also busy during the offseason, with seven participating in Canada's National Women's Team September camp. Cornell Head Coach Doug Derraugh '91 is one of the assistant coaches on the Canadian National Team staff.
TRIPPED UP A bid by Morgan Uceny '07 for a world championship in the 1,500 meters was thwarted when she was brought down by a runner who had fallen in front of her with 550 meters to go. Uceny picked herself up and finished 10th. Despite this disappointment, Uceny established herself as one of the fastest 1,500 meter runners in the world when she won the Diamond League series title, taking the series-ending race in Brussels, Belgium, by passing nine runners over the last 400 meters and posting a personal-best time of 4:00.06.
B-BALL REUNION Former Cornell teammates Jeff Foote '10 and Ryan Wittman '10 are together again on the basketball court. Two years after leading the Big Red to its third straight Ivy League title and first trip to the Sweet Sixteen, they have both signed to play with Zastal Zielona Góra in the Polish Basketball League. Foote spent most of last season playing with Melilla Baloncesto in the Spanish second division, and Wittman split his time between Fulgor Libertas Forlì in Italy and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA Development League. Their teammate Louis Dale '10, meanwhile, is back with BG Gottingen, in Germany's top league, Basketball Bundesliga.
TRIPLE PLAY A world championship would be enough to satisfy most runners, but for Max King '02 it was just the beginning of a busy month. On September 12, King won the World Mountain Running Championship, covering a hilly 12.7 kilometer (7.9 mile) course in Tirana, Albania, in 52 minutes and six seconds. Then, on September 23, he won the USA Track and Field 50 Kilometer Trail Championship in his home-town of Bend, Oregon, with a time of 3:27.54. One day later, King successfully defended his XTERRA trail run national title, covering the 21 kilometer (13 mile) course outside Ogden, Utah, with a winning time of 1:17.59.