News and Notes: Around the Ivy League

Below, some news and notes from around the Ivy League. Above, Cornell's "Big 3"--Jeff Foote, Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale. Photo by Tina Chou.

• Here is the latest on Ivies on television as well as online/video information for Cornell's game Saturday at Alabama.

• A big shout out of applause to the Penn coaching staff for finally coming out of the closet and placing Malcolm Washington and Tommy Eggleston on the roster. And even better, Penn gave them jerseys too, complete with their own jersey numbers! So now it is official, the Quakers are at 17 players for 2009-2010 and will feature a 23-player roster next season. Seriously though, we hear great things about Washington and he may even play a big role for Penn this year.

• Yale Athletics released the Bulldogs' season preview and media guide.
  

• Columbia Athletics wants fans to send the team emails with words of encouragement.
  

• Penn Athletics issued another video preview of their season. Glen Miller is reporting good chemistry this season after four players quit the team a year ago.
  

• The Philadelphia Daily News previews Penn and notes, "the other seven teams are looking up at Cornell."

• MyCentralJersey.com previews Seton Hall and notes, "Biggest non-conference game: Believe it or not, the Nov. 20 trip to Cornell will be an acid test for the Pirates. The two-time Ivy League champions bring everybody back for a third run at the Big Dance, this is their Super Bowl, and a loss will put a serious dent into Seton Hall’s tourney resume."

• Columbia Athletics released the Lions' season preview.

• The Providence Journal gives a capsule preview and full preview of the Brown Bears.
  

• The Times Herald Record previews Army and its coach, former Cornell assistant, Zach Spiker. "He works extremely hard, he has a terrific work ethic and great attitude,'' said Cornell coach Steve Donahue. "He is sound technically. He knows what he wants on offense, knows what he wants on defense and he knows what is needed at this level to be successful at Army.''

• The Trenton Times previews Princeton and notes, "Last month, the Tigers were picked second in the league's pre-season poll behind Cornell, a talented, veteran team picked to win its third straight title. A winning season appears likely at Jadwin Gym as the Tigers return their top nine scorers from last season. They think they can exceed even the higher expectations... Princeton joins Cornell as the only Ivy League teams to return all five starters." The local Princeton newspaper, Town Topics also previews the Tigers.
  

• From the Philadelphia Daily News, 50 things to ponder about during the upcoming college basketball season, "41. Cornell is the unanimous choice to win its third consecutive Ivy League crown, with Princeton and Penn selected second and third, respectively."

• The Philly Sports Blog writes, "Penn is in a tough spot this year. They figure to be better than last year’s team which finished eight games under .500, but are not considered a serious threat to dethrone Cornell as Ivy League Champions. The team has a couple of nice players, but does not have that one guy who can put the team on his shoulders.... They will be a challenge to Cornell, who was a unanimous Ivy League No.1 in a preseason media poll."

• From the Bleacher Report, "UMass will open the season on the road at Central Florida before returning home to play Cornell on November 18th . Two early tests for the Minutemen may just give a peek into where this UMass team may be heading."

• Finally, lot of excitement from WVBR.com:

The Big Red Juggernaut

Cornell Basketball is shaping into a powerhouse this year. With the return of all five of last year's starters, including senior co-captain and defensive powerhouse Jeff Foote; senior Louis Dale who, despite being out with an injury for 8 games last season, still managed to rank among the league top in points, assists, and steals; and senior Ryan Whitman, 3-point king, All-Ivy first-team and all-district pick for two years in a row, sports viewers around the country are predicting a repeat of Cornell as Ivy Champions and to potentially go further in the NCAA ladder. The former two-time Ivy League champions are looking to three-peat, a feat that has only been accomplished 4 times in the Ivy League, and are looking to gain an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row. Sports writers are going even further and bracketing the Big Red as high as 13th seed in the upcoming tournament.

Supporting the core three of Foote, Dale, and Whitman, are veteran forward senior Alex Tyler and junior Adam Wire; as well as new addition Mark Coury, a transfer from Kentucky, and a 6 foot 9 defender.

While head coach Steve Donahue will try to be an “unselfish team” that will “achieve things daily, and then the score takes care of itself,” Donahue and Dale both spoke optimistically and expected to be able to win the Ivy League and hoped to advance past the first round in the NCAA. Foote, on the other hand, thinks Cornell has what it takes to be a “sweet 16 undefeated Ivy League” juggernaut.

Whatever happens, this is sure to be a thrilling season, in a challenging non-conference schedule that will kick off this Saturday, November 14th, with a game against the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide.