A special section ofThe Ithacan

The women’s and men’s soccer teams are kicking off their seasons this week along with seven other varsity teams on South Hill.

The Ithacan has the coverage to keep you up-to-date.

Fall Sports Preview

From left, junior forward Rachael Palladino and senior back Matt Anthony battle for the ball Aug. 24 on Upper Terrace Field. Both soccer teams are hoping to win the conference title this season.Michelle BoUlé/The iThAcAn

Get the ball rolling

Fall Sports Preview2 The Ithacan Thursday, September 1, 2011

By Alex holt staff writer

Last season the men’s cross country team relied on graduate student William Way and senior John Davis to carry them to the conference title. But this year’s success depends on the younger Bombers using their budding talent to crush the competition.

Senior team captain Daniel Craighead said the less experienced runners will improve because Way and Davis had high expectations for them last season.

“They were leading the way by a lot in every race and were sort of carrying the team while a bunch of younger guys were just getting ex-perience,” Craighead said. “They’re both gone, but all the guys who were underclassmen last year now have experience and are ready to step it up.”

Keeping a team-first attitude, the Blue and Gold did not wait until the school year to begin team bonding and workouts.

Nine athletes spent part of the summer in Ithaca doing group work-outs. Senior team captain Daniel Craighead said the workouts were part of a concerted effort to get in shape for the season and improve their depth on the roster from when they depended on Way and Davis last season.

Head Coach Jim Nichols said he is eager to find out how the team’s workouts have paid off.

“This is probably one of the biggest groups that have stayed together over the summer and trained together,” Nichols said. “So it will be interesting to see how good of shape they’re in once we get going.”

In addition to Craighead, senior Jacob Brower and juniors Nate

Bickell, David Geary, Billy Savage and Mark Vorensky all return.

Geary finished second on the team last season in the 6,000-meter run with a time of 20:32.90 at the Cortland Jack Daniels Invitational. Savage completed the 5.2-mile run, the team’s longest event last season, in 28:42.6 at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational.

Vorensky arrived in Ithaca early to train with his classmates to work on his stamina and running form. He said the summer training was the key to a suc-cessful season for the team.

“You do the workouts during the year and fine-tune everything,” Vorensky said. “But the summer is where you really put in all your good mileage and the higher mileage really takes you all through the season.”

Vorensky finished ninth in the 8,000-meter run at last year’s Empire 8 champion-ships in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with a time of 26:31.

Ten of the 14 runners on the cross country team were also on the men’s track and field team that won the Empire 8 title in the spring. Nichols said he hopes the athletes from the track and field team who are also running cross country continue to show progress.

“We had a lot of guys in the 1,500-meter races that were four minutes or better, which shows good speed and good strength,” Nichols said. “And on top of that, the expe-rience that they have garnered over the last couple of years will be a big, big plus for us.”

While the Bombers’ goal for the season is to do well at the confer-ence and state championships and the NCAA regionals to qualify

the team for nationals, there are also regular season meets that will serve as important benchmarks for the team.

Many conference teams will be competing with the Bombers in the Oberlin Inter-regional Rumble on

Oct. 15 and the Bombers will have the chance to measure themselves against Division I schools at this year’s Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational.

Craighead said the Bombers need to be more consistent in their finishes than they were last season.

Vorensky said despite the chang-es to the roster, the team does not expect any type of drop-off.

“Even though we’re less in num-bers, we’re still looking to go to nationals,” Vorensky said. “We can handle a tough season.

men’s cross country

Senior captain Daniel Craighead leads the pack of runners during practice last Thursday on the Ithaca College Cross Country Course. Craighead held the Bombers’ third-best time in the 8,000-meter run last season.

mIChelle Boulé/The IThaCan

By kevin mccAll sports editor

After an impressive season finishing seventh of 33 teams in the NCAA Atlantic Regionals, the women’s cross country team is ready to take to the course with the largest group of freshmen since 2007.

The Bombers remain the only team to win the Empire 8 conference since its inception a decade ago. Senior captains Heidi Baumbach and Molly Quinn lead a team in transition, with eight freshmen joining this year’s squad.

Baumbach said she was surprised at the level of enthusiasm the freshmen had during the preseason.

“When Molly and I first joined the team we were two of only four freshmen,” she said. “Ev-ery one of them seems to have put a lot of work in over the summer and wants to contribute right away.”

Junior Carly Graham, a middle distance runner on the women’s track and field team, will also be a new addition.

The South Hill squad lost five seniors to graduation last season, including Alissa Kersey and Elizabeth Schloss, who finished second and third, respectively, in the Oberlin Inter-regional Rumble. Catherine Ortiz ’11, who led the Bombers with a fifth-place finish time at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference championships, is also no longer on the roster.

Head Coach Bill Ware, now in his 24th year

with the Blue and Gold, said he is excited about the new captains and knows that they will be effective leaders.

“We have a fresh new group at the top of our team and I’ve seen kids really come on during their last season because they know it’s their last go-around with the program,” Ware said.

Assistant Coach Erin Dinan, now in her sixth season with the team, said Baumbach and Quinn have a strong work ethic and lead by example.

“Everyone looks up to them be-cause they’re welcoming and they put a great amount of effort into ev-erything they do,” Dinan said.

Baumbach finished first overall in the 4,000-, 5,000- and 6,000-me-ter runs last season. She finished the 6,000-meter run in 22:31.6 at the NCAA championships Nov. 20 in Waverly, Iowa, to cap a season when she won all-conference, all-state and regional honors.

Quinn will be returning to the team after recovering from a broken arm last season. She ran a season-best 21:43.8 in the 5,000-meter run at the Oswego Invitational and 24:28.9 in the 6,000-meter run at the Oneonta Airfield Invitational prior to the injury.

Ware said it will take about three weeks for him to determine a solid lineup for na-

tional and regional meets in the later part of the schedule. The season begins with the Bombers’ Alumni Run on Ithaca College’s hilly course, then moves to a flatter course at the Oswego Invitational.

Ware said the program’s rich history gives the team incentive to do well.

“We’ve had pretty good teams in the past and that gives our team a legacy to live up to every year,” he said.

From left, senior captains heidi Baumbach and molly Quinn run during practice last Thursday on the Ithaca College Cross Country Course. The team is seeking its ninth straight conference title.

raChel orlow/The IThaCan

JUST THE FACTS

head coach: Jim Nichols

last year’s finish: 7th in NCaa atlantic regional championships

key losses: John davis ’11, tyler Gustafson ’11

key returners: senior daniel Craighead, juniors Billy savage and Mark Vorensky

captains: Craighead

home course: ithaca College Cross Country Course

head coach: Bill ware

last year’s finish: 7th in NCaa atlantic regional championships

key losses: alissa Kersey ’11 and Catherine ortiz ’11

key returners: seniors Heidi Baum-bach, Molly Quinn and Jen randall

captains: Baumbach and Quinn

home course: ithaca College Cross Country Course

JUST THE FACTS

Younger runners lead team charge

Blue and Gold look to unify runners in transitionwomen’s cross country

Thursday, September 1, 2011 The Ithacan 3

Fall Sports Preview

By Harlan Green-TauB AssistAnt sports editor

Despite going into the final conference game of last season with a chance to win the Empire 8 conference, the Bombers football team finished with a disappoint-ing 6—4 record and missed the NCAA playoffs for the second year in a row.

After starting with a promising 6—2 record, including a perfect 5—0 record at home, the Blue and Gold dropped their final two contests losing to Alfred University 31-17 and suffering a heart-breaking 20-17 loss to SUNY-Cortland in the annual Cortaca Jug game.

Head Coach Mike Welch, who is entering his 18th year at the helm, said while reaching the postseason is always an important goal, thinking about the playoffs is far off at this point.

“We just have to ap-proach each game one at a time and stay focused on that,” Welch said. “We’ve had a good preseason so far and we’ll know more as we progress towards our first game.”

While the offense lost key starters such as quarterback Rob Zappia ’11, tight end Dan Higgins ’11 and the school’s all-time leading receiver Thomas Vossler ’11, many key players are returning. Graduate stu-dent wide receiver Dan Ruffrage returns with a good chance to finish his career as the school’s all-time leader in receptions — he needs 41 to surpass Vossler.

Ruffrage said the accomplishment won’t be his main focus.

“The seniors went out in a tough way with the losses to end the season,” Ruffrage said. “Yes, having the record would be nice, but if it’s not helping us win games, then it means nothing to me.”

While the running game struggled to gain any traction last season, the running back duo of last year’s leading rusher junior Clay Ardoin and sophomore Jared Prugar should help the Bombers run the football better in 2011. The South Hill squad aver-aged 2.1 yards per carry and 60.8 yards per game last season.

The offensive line, which struggled to create holes for the running backs last sea-son, returns key starters.

Welch said having three returning starters on the offensive line would make it a more cohesive unit than last year.

“The running game as a whole was not where we needed it to be last season and we’ve worked hard this preseason to get ev-eryone on the same page,” he said.

Junior center Nathaniel Hemingway is entering his second year as the starter after

starting all 10 games last season and senior offensive guard Gregory Peck will start for the third consecutive year.

A big question mark for this year’s squad is who will take control of the quar-terback position. Junior Jason Hendel and sophomore Phil Neumann are battling for the starting spot along with junior Pat Griffin. Hendel made two appearances last season, completing his only pass attempt, while Neumann played extensively on the junior varsity team and received the Marty Higgins Award last season as the team’s top player.

Welch said the team would be closer to naming a starter after the team’s scrim-mage against St. Lawrence University, which took place Saturday.

“Right now it’s a three-way battle be-tween Griffin, Hendel, and Neumann,” Welch said. “We’ll know a lot more about our quarterback situation after that game.”

The Bombers will not name a starter until the opener against SUNY-Brockport on Saturday. Neumann said Saturday’s scrimmage against St. Lawrence allowed each quarterback to get necessary experi-ence against a quality team.

“It was good to get our feet wet against a good opponent,” Neumann said. “We executed well in the red zone and put to-gether some nice long sustained drives.”

Neumann said playing against a dif-ferent opponent forced the team to focus on timing.

“Our offense isn’t about going for the big play every down so it was good to see us convert some third downs and keep drives going,” he said.

Defense will almost certainly be a strength for the Bombers this season under new Defensive Coordinator Mark McDonough ’02. While the whole de-fensive line graduated, the linebacking core and secondary return almost all their starters. Senior cornerbacks Spence White and Mike Conti enter their third year as starters and together totaled eight interceptions last year.

The Bombers also return three of four starting linebackers. The senior line-backer trifecta of Eric Toporoff, Ryan Clarke and Joe Gilfedder combined for 174 tackles last year, including 33 tack-les for a loss. Junior Will Carter, who re-corded 12 tackles for a loss, also returns.

Toporoff said the experience of the defense, which returns seven starters, should ease the transition.

“We’re going to be pretty experienced throughout the secondary, and all the linebackers are returning,” Toporoff said. “We have some new guys along the defensive line, but our mentality is still the same. Always attacking, always vi-cious, and we’re going after the confer-ence championship.”

The Bombers, who were picked to fin-ish fifth in the conference this season in the preseason coaches’ poll, are not tak-ing the ranking as a sign of disrespect, but are using it as motivation.

Senior linebacker Will Clarke said the team is not used to f lying under the ra-dar, but has embraced its new position as an underdog.

“This is a very solid team on both sides of the ball,” Clarke said. “If peo-ple want to underestimate us, let them. We’re going to sneak up on some people this season.”

Bombers set sights on keeping winning tradition alive

Sophomore quarterback Phil Neumann takes a snap from center junior Nathaniel Hemingway and drops back at practice Aug. 24 on Lower Allen Field. Neumann is one of three players vying for the starting quarterback job, along with juniors Jason Hendel and Pat Griffin.

rAcHeL orLow/tHe itHAcAN

From left, junior offensive tackle rodger Quigley attempts to block senior linebacker Joe Gilfedder at practice Aug. 24 on Lower Allen Field. the team finished 6–4 last season.

micHeLLe bouLé/tHe itHAcAN

JUST THE FACTS

Head Coach: Mike Welch

last year’s finish: 6–4

Key losses: rob Zappia ‘11, thomas Vossler ‘11, Andrew Haim ‘11 and dan Higgins ‘11

Key returners: Graduate student dan ruffrage, seniors Mike Conti and ryan Clarke

Captains: ruffrage, seniors Gregory peck, Matthew Hannon Conti and Clarke

Home field: Butterfield stadium

Teams to watch the Bombers take on three new opponents this season as the empire 8 welcomes two new members to the conference.

FooTBall

the Bombers last played the Brockport Golden eagles in 2006 and defeated them 26-7. in their last four games against the eagles, the Blue and Gold are 3–1. the only loss came in 2004 when the Bombers missed a chance to take the lead in the final seconds of the game on a blocked field goal. Brockport finished 2–8 last season.

the Frostburg state Bobcats, one of two new members to the empire 8 conference, last played the Bombers in 2008, losing to them 20-10 in Maryland. in 2007 the Bombers defeated the Bobcats 51-24 at Butterfield stadium. Frostburg state finished 2–8 last season.

the salisbury seagulls, the other new addition to the conference, are coming off one of the best seasons in their history having made their seventh nCAA postseason appearance. picked in the preseason to finish second in the conference, the seagulls will provide the Bombers with a tough test the second week of the season.

Fall SportS preview4 the ithacan thursday, September 1, 2011

2010

men’s soccer

By andrew kristy staff writer

This year the men’s soccer team will look to improve after a disappointing season that garnered a final record of 4–8–4. The South Hill squad has put the past behind it and is enthusiastic about the prospects of the new season.

The Bombers graduated five seniors from last year’s team, including captain Jeff Geyer, a three-time all-conference midfielder who scored two game-winning goals, and senior goalie Justin Parlapiano, who was also recognized on the Empire 8 honorable mention squad.

Nevertheless, a core group of returners aims to keep the Blue and Gold in the win column. The team’s stability is on defense, as senior de-fender Matt Anthony will start for the fourth consecutive season. Anthony started all 16 games last season, raising his career streak of consecutive starts to 37.

Junior backers Gabe Saint Malo, who started eight games, and Ryan Norland, who had 14 starts, join Anthony in the backfield.

At the forward position, last year’s breakout sophomore Steve Kinslow returns along with junior forward Max Grigri, both of whom had two goals in eight games last season.

Head Coach Andy Byrne, who is entering his 28th year with the men’s soccer team, said it will be vital for the offense to find a constant way to convert on scoring chances.

“In most of our games we created a lot of chances to score, but we didn’t finish them last year,” Byrne said. “So we’re hoping we can score and take advantage of the instances that we create.”

Anthony said even though the win-loss col-umn may have been unfavorable for the South Hill squad last season, the team’s record was de-ceiving, given the results of each game.

“Last year we were in almost every game we lost,” Anthony said. “We had eight losses. Six of them were 1–0. We were never really blown out of any game.”

Last year the Bombers’ defense allowed an average of less than one goal per game, which

included five shutouts. But on the opposite end of the spectrum,

the Bombers managed to score only eight goals throughout 16 regular season games. Their op-ponents scored twice as many goals as in the first half, drew 15 more corner kicks and out-

shot the Bombers 241–180. Saint Malo said the incoming group of

freshmen and the returning players have looked impressive in preseason camp, and he hopes they have an immediate and profound

impact on offense.“Pretty much all our fresh-

men are attacking players and some of the [returning] attack-ing players in the offseason have put in that extra effort,” Saint Malo said. “It’s everyone going out and putting in the commitment over the summer — guys just working out when they didn’t have to.”

Saint Malo said this team is the most physically fit it has been in the two years he has been on South Hill.

Anthony attributed the players’ physical strength to

their willingness to work on conditioning and accuracy of their kicks in the offseason.

“People actually played over the summer because people’s touches are a lot better than what they were last year,” Anthony said.

The team is still in the transitional phase, and no captains have been named yet.

Coach Byrne said he expects every man to compete in practice every day and not to look far in advance.

“We’re just hoping that the kids can come and work hard every day and try to improve as the season rolls along and see what happens from there,” he said.

Anthony said making the Empire 8 tour-nament this season will be one of the team’s primary objectives.

“I expect us to be in the conference tourna-ment and once you get in there, anything can happen,” he said.

From left, junior back Gabe Saint Malo tries to kick the ball away from senior back Matt Anthony during practice Aug. 24 on Upper Terrace Field. Saint Malo played in 10 games last season.

rAchel orlow/The IThAcAn

Bombers take initiative in search for offensive power

JUST THE FACTS

Head coach: andy Byrne

Last year’s finish: 4–8–4

key losses: Jeff Geyer ’11

key returners: senior Matt anthony and juniors Gabe saint Malo and ryan Norland captains: to be determined

Home field: Carp wood field

Back

BackSoccer players shooting for success

Look for these players on the men’s and women’s soccer teams to have a deep impact on offense and defense this season

Midfielder/Back

Jack shirleyJunior12 Games played

matt anthonysenior16 Games started

gabriel saint maloJunior8 Games started

ryan norlandJunior14 Games started

Back

Thursday, September 1, 2011 The Ithacan 5

Fall SporTS prevIew

2010

men’s soccer

By kevin mccaLL sports editor

After last season’s playoff loss to the The College of New Jersey, the Bombers’ second in three years, the team was already thinking about the following season.

Sophomore Jackie Rodabaugh said the 3-0 playoff loss at the end of the 2010 season was frustrating, but motivating.

“It really hurt to lose to them again when we had so many chances to score,” she said. “But it only makes us want to bring home a championship even more.”

Rodabaugh said the Bombers have remained focused on smaller goals such as winning the conference before they think about competing in the NCAA playoffs.

Rodabaugh finished second on the team in assists and points last season with eight and 22, respectively. She joins junior forward Rachael Palladi-no, who earned all-region and all-con-ference honors and set school records of 20 goals and 45 points. The team outscored their opponents 48–12 last season and held a 140–40 advantage in corner kicks.

Palladino said scoring goals and generating corner kicks will be strengths for the team this year.

“If we can get enough pressure on the teams where they panic and kick the ball out of bounds, we can keep the ball in our own end and take some pressure off the defense,” she said.

The Bombers lost Andrea Janda, who played 14 games in the backfield last season, but senior Andi Roach will still be in the backfield.

The team has a void at goalie since Alyssa Sotomayor and Jessica Platt have graduated. Junior Becca Salant, who played just 38 min-utes last season, will be competing for the start-ing position along with freshman Becca Lewis.

Head Coach Mindy Quigg said she will exam-ine their ability to move laterally and to reach for low shots that go toward the corners of the net.

Junior midfielder Julie Winn and senior mid-fielder and forward Me-gan Trager, have not been participat-ing in practice because of injury. Both played in a combined 37 games for the Bombers last season.

Rodabaugh said she is confident sophomores Ellyn Grant-Keane and last season’s standout freshman Meredith Jones will be able to set up scoring plays in front of the net.

“They have great vision and really know how to run the field and direct players to where they have chances to score,” she said.

Nazareth College snapped the South Hill squad’s streak of 19 straight conference wins, which

dated back to Sept. 2009, with a scoreless tie in the final conference matchup of the season.

With four of the last five regular season games scheduled on the road, two of them within the conference, and a tough lineup of non-conference opponents that includes Marywood

University and SUNY-Farmingdale, the Blue and Gold will face teams they have not seen for a while.

The women’s soccer team will begin this season the same way their last season ended–with a game against the Lions. The team thinks they will win this time around.

Junior midfielder Caroline Jastremski said the team will not take any opponent lightly.

“We can’t play down to any other team no matter what the circumstanc-es,” she said. “We have to be aggressive on both ends and keep the pressure coming in from the back side.”

From left, sophomore midfielder and back Meredith Jones fights for the ball alongside sophomore forward Megan Palladino during practice Aug. 24 on Upper Terrace Field. Jones played in all 19 games for the Bombers last year.

MIchelle BoUlé/The IThAcAn

Team looks to fresh faces to regain conference title

JUST THE FACTSHead coach: Mindy Quigg

Last year’s finish: 13–5–1, NCaa Championship second round loss

key losses: Graduate student Liz Masucci, andrea Janda ’11 and Jessica platt ’11

key returners: Juniors rachael palladino, Caroline Jastremski and Julie winn

captains: No captains

Home field: Carp wood field

Forward

Forward

Midfielder

Midfielder

gabriel saint maloJunior8 Games started

caroline JastremskiJunior14 points

Julie winnJunior5 assists

rachael palladinoJunior20 Goals

Jackie rodabaughsophomore7 Goals

women’s soccer

Fall Sports Preview6 The Ithacan Thursday, september 1, 2011

By kevin mccall sports editor

Five freshmen will join four re-turning players this season to form the largest women’s golf roster in the program’s history.

In just its third season as a varsi-ty sport on South Hill, the Blue and Gold are looking to break school records and situate themselves with the nation’s best golf teams. The team begins a two-week journey to the Empire 8 championship Sept. 10-11 at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

Head Coach Dan Wood said he expects everyone to play to their fullest this season.

“We know if we play up to our po-tential we should have a good chance to move up and compete against teams that have had women’s golf far longer than we’ve had it,” he said.

The South Hill squad will play without junior Brooke Llobell in its quest for a second straight conference title. Llobell, who shot a season-best score of 82 at last year’s St. Lawrence Invitational, transferred to the Uni-versity of South Carolina.

But junior Jackie Young is com-ing off a year during which she shot 174 over 36 holes at the Nazareth Invitational that ended last year’s fall season.

Sophomore Amanda Failla is also returning to the Bombers and is looking to build on a successful first season when she shot a team-best 81 in three consecutive matches and

placed fourth overall at the Empire 8 championships at the Mill Creek Country Club in Churchville, N.Y.

Failla said the team will go into each tournament with a slow and steady mentality: If they can shoot par on each hole, they’ll be in good shape.

“If our short game is really good and we can sink holes with three putts during each outing, we could be one of the best golf teams in the state,” she said.

With conference competition permitting teams to have six players compete and drop the two lowest scores, Wood said, the team’s objec-tive will be for every player to shoot an 85 or less on the course for a total team score of no more than 340.

The Bombers won the Empire 8 tournament last season, with a finish-ing score 44 strokes ahead of second place team St. John Fisher College. From there, the Bombers went on to beat northeastern powerhouse schools SUNY-Cortland, Mount Holyoke College and St. Lawrence University at the ECAC champion-ships in Macedon, N.Y.

Junior Samantha Liberty said winning the conference title last year boosted the team’s confidence and encouraged players to break their own scoring records.

“We beat a lot of competitors last season that we couldn’t beat before, and we were amazed at how we could set team and individual scoring re-cords in the process,” she said.

Wood said out of all the new

freshmen on this year’s team, he is most excited about having Sharon Li on board. The student from Hong Kong has been competing since she was 6 years old and has finished in the top-five bracket of many tournaments in Southeast Asia.

“She’s by far the best golfer we’ve had at Ithaca Col-lege based on her background and experience,” Wood said. “She is certainly capable of shooting 80 and under on any given day.”

Li and the other freshmen will not have the chance to play on the team’s home course at the Country Club of Ithaca this fall, as all of this season’s tournaments are on the road.

Failla said returning players will have to work hard with new players to help understand courses they have never played on before. She said the freshmen will have to adapt to every part of the course.

“It’s going to be all about adjust-ing to see what kind of club should be used and where they should aim their shots,” she said.

With this year’s Empire 8 tour-nament at only two weeks away, Wood will have to quickly deter-mine the six players he will fea-ture. The process begins with the

team’s opening tournament, the St. Lawrence Invitational.

Wood said he believes the team will be more balanced this year than in the past two seasons.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if three upperclassmen and three freshmen made it to the Empire 8 team,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of competition with this year’s group.”

By kevin mccall sports editor

The field hockey team had its ninth consecutive losing season last year. But this year’s group of Bombers thinks it has matured from the string of losses they had last season.

After starting off by winning three of its first four games, the South Hill squad lost four consecutive games at the end of the sea-son to drop their overall record to 5–10. The team was 2–4 last season in games decided by one goal, including a 5-4 overtime loss to the University of Rochester after surrendering a 4-0 lead earlier in the game.

Sophomore midfielder Andrea Pace said the overtime loss was the worst of the season.

“We couldn’t sustain the high level we had been playing at and we collapsed under the pressure they were putting on us,” she said.

Head Coach Tracey Houk said she wanted to try and put players where they could be most successful, rather than changing the lineup to evaluate players during the season. She has installed a new scoring formation that puts more players in the front of the net at one time.

“We want to accommodate the strengths of everyone on our team so we can afford to open it up on offense,” she said.

The offense lost a quick passer and forward in junior Tracy Rivas, who chose to focus strictly on playing for the women’s lacrosse team in the spring. She led the team in goals last season with seven. Last year’s leader in shots on goal, forward Katherine Brown, also graduated after last season.

To compensate for losing Rivas and Brown, there will be eight midfielders who will also play the forward position or in the defensive backfield.

Houk said she plans to use sophomore back and midfielder Sam English to play offense and

defense rather than confining her to one side of the field.

Junior forward Julia Conroy, who was second on the team in points last season with nine, will also play outside of the scoring arc along with forward Heather Kozimor, who started all 15 games.

Kozimor said the goal of the formation was to have more ver-satile players and to strengthen the bench.

“It’s a lot easier for someone to play in a game knowing we won’t have to worry about where they can play on the field,” she said.

Houk said goaltending would be an important aspect of game play this sea-son. Juniors Samantha Grassi and Kelly Singleton are fighting for the starting job in the net. Singleton started 13 of the 15 games last season, but Grassi had a 1.62 goals against average, including a shutout of Empire 8 conference foe Elmira College on Oct. 16.

The Bombers were inconsistent last year, with a 4–3 record at home, but a mark of 1–7 on the road. The team will have ten home games this season, three more than last year, including a game at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 at Higgins Stadium against William Smith College.

Senior midfielder and back JulieAnne Butare said she hopes the change in schedule will result in a more consistent season.

“We’ve worked on a lot of late-game situ-ations and problem solving within the team on the field,” she said. “We’ve learned to make faster switches between offense and defense so we can play a 70-minute game.”

English said the team must learn from the past and not dwell on the gut-wrenching losses from last season.

“We try and take away some positive aspects of our play from those games, but we also remember we don’t want to lose those types of leads ever again,” she said.

The Bombers have circled their last game of the season against Hartwick College on Oct. 30 because they will be facing their former assistant

coach Lindsey Hendricks. English said she is excited to see what

formations and strategies Hartwick will use when the team plays.

“She taught us a lot about recognizing different coverages and knew our old system well, so I’m looking forward to it,” she said.

golf

field hockey

Junior forward Heather Kozimor winds back for a shot during practice Friday at Higgins Stadium. Kozimor started all but one game for the Bombers last season and had 11 shots on goal.

racHel orlow/THe ITHacan

Tough season losses motivate Bombers

Junior Jackie Young putts during practice Saturday at the country club of Ithaca. Young has played for the team since its inception in Fall 2009.

MIcHelle Boulé/THe ITHacan

Golf team seeks national honors

JUST THE FACTShead coach: tracey Houk

last year’s finish: 5–10

key losses: Katherine Brown ’11 and junior tracy rivas

key returners: senior Juliane Butare and junior Julia Conroy

captains: to be determined

home field: Higgins stadium

JUST THE FACTShead coach: dan Wood

last year’s finish: third place at eCAC championships

key losses: Junior Brooke Llobell

key returners: senior Jackie Young and sophomore Amanda Failla

captains: to be determined

home course: Country Club of ithaca

Thursday, September 1, 2011 The Ithacan 7

Fall Sports Preview

By Matt kelly staff writer

Even after six consecutive Empire 8 championships the women’s tennis team is looking to improve in and out of their conference schedule, this time with a fresh set of team leaders.

Head Coach Bill Austin will have a new pair of captains on the team this season after losing two players imprinted on the Bomber record books.

The Bombers ran the table in Empire 8 action last year and had a perfect 7–0 record in conference play. They followed up by defeat-ing Nazareth College 6–1 and Ste-vens Institute of Technology 5–1 in the tournament to win their sixth straight conference title and earn a spot in the NCAA championships.

Senior captains Melanie Cohen and Melissa Nunez led the Bombers to the regional quarterfinal last year where they lost to Wilkes University by a score of 5–3. Austin said losing the two players to graduation caused a loss in talent and leadership at the top of the club.

Fortunately for the South Hill squad, both players will be back on campus this year in assistant capacities to provide sound advice and coaching for the current crop of players.

Returning senior Kelsey Harness said she expects the team to wel-come their leadership this fall.

“I just hope to do half as good a job leading this team as Melanie and Melissa did last year,” Harness said. “They were like our mothers on the team with the way they took care of us and always gave us tips and prepared us for our matches.”

Cohen finished her career tied for most doubles victories for the Blue and Gold (49), fourth in overall victories (91) and tied for seventh in singles wins (42). Meanwhile, Nunez was a 2010 first team All-Empire 8 selection and had a career-high total of 31 combined victories last year. She finished her career with the fifth

most doubles victories in Bombers history (49).

Junior Cristina Nunez, who is studying abroad, will also be missing from this fall’s lineup. Melissa’s young-er sister had a strong year in 2009, and set the program’s single season records for a freshman in singles and dou-bles wins on her way to being named the Empire 8 Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. She was also honored as the conference tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Nunez backed those awards in her sophomore campaign by winning the conference’s Player of the Year award again while com-piling a 22–5 singles record and a 20–8 doubles mark playing mostly with her older sister.

Without those three dynamic players on the roster, Austin will turn to some of his other experi-enced members to take charge. While practices did not begin until yesterday and captains have not of-ficially been named, Austin said the question of who will lead his team comes down to his tradition.

“My leaders are always my se-niors,” Austin said. “They’re my captains who have been here the longest and know the program. With Cristina in Australia though, things at the top are a little more wide open.”

Austin said he will look to Harness and Becky Campbell for leadership, along with a few younger players such as junior Laurel Salladay and sophomore Becky Guzzo to step up and play more prominent roles.

Harness has won 22 singles matches as a player in the back of the rotation over the past two years. She also had a strong doubles partnership with Salladay.

Campbell was Cohen’s primary

doubles partner over the past two seasons. She said she has focused on improving her cardiovascular endur-ance over the summer so she can produce stronger finishes in singles and doubles matches.

She said she has been working on her ground strokes at hometown

courts to hit more accurate shots.Harness, Campbell and Austin

said Nazareth and Stevens were the toughest opponents on the conference schedule, along with Rochester Institute of Technology and University of Rochester on the non-conference portion.

Campbell said the keys to winning a seventh consecutive conference title will be more trust in her returns and more mental endurance.

“I think if I had a little more confi-dence in my shots some of my match-es could have gone differently last year,” she said.

WoMen’s tennis

Junior Allison Young strikes a tennis ball Friday at the Ithaca College Tennis Courts. Young is one of 11 returning players on the Bombers’ roster this season in addition to senior captains Becky Campbell and Kelsey Harness.

KevIn CAmpBell/THe ITHACAn

Blue and Gold take to court with new leadership

volleyBall

Squad remains optimistic By nate Bickell

staff writer

After a first-round exit at the NCAA championships last season, the volleyball team is determined to advance further in the playoffs.

The team returns four of six starters this season, and senior middle blocker Kate Thoene said the Bombers are focusing on consistency.

“Last season we roller-coastered,” she said. “We would go on streaks where we would win a lot and go on streaks where we lost a lot.”

Despite winning the Empire 8 regular sea-son and tournament titles last year and only graduating two seniors, the Bombers were ranked second behind Stevens Institute of Technology in the preseason coaches’ poll.

Head Coach Janet Donovan said the Blue and Gold are used to being underrated.

“Last year we were picked fifth and we won it, so this year is just par for the course,” she said. “It will just give us a little extra motivation.”

The Bombers return their team leaders in blocks, kills, sets and service aces from last year.

Senior outside hitter Chelsea Hayes, last year’s Empire 8 tournament Most Valuable Player, will lead the offense. Hayes posted a team-high 337 kills last year.

Adding junior transfer setter Missy Weil should strengthen the Blue and Gold at the front of the net. Weil joins the team after two years at Corning Community College. Weil said

practicing with the Bombers has been more intense.

“I feel like I’m pushed a lot harder here than I was at community college,” she said. “So I’m getting a lot better.”

Despite returning most of the team’s starters, junior setter Marissa Woodcome said, competition has been tight during preseason.

“There is really no telling to see who’s going to be a starter this year because we have so many great fresh-men coming in,” she said. “Everybody is kind of neck-and-neck right now as far as talent and drive.”

Donovan and her assistant coaches created workouts for the team over the summer — more running and drills in front of the net — that focused on strength, agility and endurance.

Donovan said she was impressed by the level of fitness the team had when they got to campus.

“We’re not as worried about getting them in shape as we are learning the offense and learning the defense,” she said.

The Blue and Gold are also focusing on the mental aspects of the game. Assistant Coach Katie Brody has been working with the team on keeping a positive facade even when they make a mistake on the court.

Woodcome said positive body language has been an effective method for getting over a

missed shot during a volley.“If you just smile, fake it and act like you’re

doing OK, you start to feel like you’re doing OK,” she said.

Woodcome said the Bombers are looking forward to a possible rematch with Lebanon

Valley College, which ended its season last year with a win in the regional quarterfinal of the NCAA championships.

“We put them on our schedule this year because we want revenge,” she said. “And we’re going to get it.”

Senior Kate Thoene goes down for a dig during practice Friday in Ben light Gymnasium. She led the Bombers in blocks and points last season with 153 and 436, respectively.

mICHelle Boulé/THe ITHACAn

JUST THE FACTS

Head coach: Bill austin

last year’s finish: first round loss in NCaa tournament

key losses: Melissa Nunez ’11 and Melanie Cohen ’11, junior Christina Nunez

key returners: seniors Becky Campbell and Kelsey Harness

captains: Campbell and Harness

Home courts: ithaca College tennis Courts

Head coach: Janet Donovan

last year’s finish: NCaa tourna-ment first round loss

key losses: taylor Horton ’11, tina Orlandini ’11

key returners: seniors Chelsea Hayes and Kate thoene, junior Marissa woodcome

captains: to be determined

Home court: Ben Light Gymnasium

JUST THE FACTS

8 The Ithacan Thursday, September 1, 2011

Fall Sports Preview

Home field advantageCatch all the action this fall

as the Ithaca Bombers begin their regular season

Date Time Opponent2 p.m.

3 p.m.

3 p.m.

4 p.m.

2 p.m.

Sept. 17

Sept. 25

Oct. 8

Oct. 11

Oct. 29

St. John Fisher College

St. Lawrence University

Utica College

Hamilton College

Elmira College

MEN’S SOCCERHome field: Carp Wood Field

Date Time1 p.m.

1 p.m.

1 p.m.

1 p.m.

Noon

Sept. 3

Oct. 8

Oct. 29

Nov. 4

Nov. 11

OpponentSUNY-BrockportSt. John Fisher College

Frostburg State University

Springfield College

SUNY-Cortland

FOOTBALLHome field: Butterfield Stadium

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY Home course: Ithaca College Cross Country Course

EventTime11:15 a.m.

4:30 p.m.

DateSept. 3

Oct. 21

Jannette Bonrouhi-ZakaimMemorial Alumni Run

Cornell Reif Memorial Run

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

EventTime11:15 a.m.

4:30 p.m.

DateSept. 3

Oct. 21

Jannette Bonrouhi-ZakaimMemorial Alumni Run

Cornell Reif Memorial Run

Home course: Ithaca College Cross Country Course

Above, sophomore wide receiver Alex Parenta snatches the ball before getting tackled by sophomore cornerback Mike Vulcano at practice last Thursday on Lower Allen Field.

MicheLLe bouLé/The iThAcAn

FIELD HOCKEYHome field: Higgins Stadium

Time4 p.m.

7 p.m.

4 p.m.

1 p.m.4 p.m.

1 p.m.

5 p.m.

OpponentSUNY-Cortland

William Smith College

SUNY-Oswego

Hartwick College

SUNY-Oneonta

Stevens Institute of Technology

University of Rochester

DateSept. 1

Sept. 14

Sept. 20

Sept. 24

Sept. 28

Oct. 1

Oct. 12

Oct. 26

Oct. 15

Oct. 29

1 p.m.

4 p.m.1 p.m.

St. John Fisher CollegeSUNY GeneseoElmira College

WOMEN’S TENNISHome court: Ithaca College Tennis Courts

Date Time Opponent4 p.m.

4 p.m.

4 p.m.

4 p.m.

Sept. 7

Sept. 15

Sept. 22

Sept. 28

Elmira College

Hartwick College

SUNY-Cortland

Utica College

Oct. 8 12 p.m. Nazareth College

WOMEN’S SOCCERHome field: Carp Wood Field

Date Time OpponentMarywood University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Utica College

Misericordia University

Alfred University

Stevens Institute of Technology

4 p.m.

4 p.m.

Noon

4 p.m.

Noon

Noon

Noon

Sept. 7

Sept. 13

Sept. 28

Oct. 4

Oct. 8

Oct. 9

Oct. 29 Rochester Institute of Technology

Home court: Ben Light GymnasiumVOLLEYBALL

Date Time

** Bomber Invitational** Ithaca Invitational

3 p.m.

5 p.m.

11 a.m.

3:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

4 p.m.7 p.m.

Sept. 9

Sept. 9

Sept. 10

Sept. 10

Oct. 5Oct. 14

Oct. 15Oct. 15Oct. 26

OpponentSUNY-Brockport*

Union College*

To be determined*

To be determined*

SUNY-CortlandKeane**

SUNY-Potsdam**

SUNY-Fredonia**SUNY-Geneseo