Cornell University was the place to be for the college basketball and hockey fanatics. Over at Newman Arena, Ivy Madness was held for the first time on East Hill. Right next door at Lynah Rink, a rivalry was renewed in the ECAC quarterfinals.
Men’s basketball falls in semifinals
The Ivy League season did not start off well for Cornell men’s basketball. The Big Red dropped its first three games in conference play, allowing over 100 points in each of those contests. But the Big Red recovered by winning eight of its final 11 Ancient Eight games to punch its ticket to Ivy Madness on its own home floor. Defense was clearly the biggest area they needed to improve upon if they wanted to make the tourney, and head coach Jon Jaques felt they did just that down the stretch.
“It took me a while to figure out what this team could be good at defensively,” Jaques said. “I think we found something and that it clicked, and it’s resonated with the guys: just being more aggressive. And I think because of that, we’ve changed a little bit offensively, too. We’re not playing as fast as we have the last few years. We’re taking a little more time but still playing with pace… I’m just really proud of the team and how they’ve kind of responded to a really tough start.”
The stands were packed to the brim on March 14 for the Ivy Madness semifinals against Yale. It was a rematch of last year’s championship game held at Brown University, where the Bulldogs came out on top. Yale once again had the last laugh, taking down Cornell 88-76 and knocking them out of the tournament for the fourth straight year.
Despite the defeat, there were plenty of positives to take away from that game and the season, as a whole. Jake Fiegen put up a team-high 23 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team. The senior guard also earned All-Ivy First Team honors and led the Ancient Eight in scoring during conference play at 18.5 points per game. While it wasn’t the outcome he hoped for, Fiegen enjoyed playing in his home gym for his final game with the Big Red.
“It was great,” Fiegen said. “Newman Nation really showed out. A lot of other sports teams came, as well. I thank the athletic department and those teams for their constant support throughout the year. It makes a big difference, and it’s a lot more fun to play in front of your home crowd.”
It was also the final Cornell game for Cooper Noard. The senior guard was named to the All-Ivy Second Team and was the top scorer on one of the best offensive teams in the nation at 18.2 points per game. He ends his Big Red career with over 1,000 points, but the perseverance he displayed throughout his time on East Hill will stick with him the most.
“I’m just so proud of the way that I and we continue to fight through any and all adversity,” Noard said. “I’m just super thankful for this group, super thankful for Coach Jaques and the rest of his staff. While we wanted to have an NCAA berth and I wanted it really bad for this community, I’m going to hang my head high. I’m proud of the way I grew as a person, as a player throughout my career. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches.”
The Big Red ends another successful season with a 15-13 record.
Men’s hockey heads to Lake Placid
On the ice, Cornell men’s hockey hosted Harvard for the best-of-three ECAC quarterfinal series. The fish went flying onto the ice during all three matchups, but it was the Crimson who had the first say with a 3-1 win in enemy territory. The Big Red responded in kind with a 4-0 blanking of the Crimson.
That set up the decider on March 15, where Cornell made it four straight trips to Lake Placid with a 5-2 victory inside a raucous Lynah Rink. Head coach Casey Jones felt that defeat in the first game helped spur them on to success the following two days.
“I think what we learned was we were probably nervous,” Jones said. “I thought we just lacked execution on our plays… I think we had our backs to the wall on Saturday, kind of exhaled and just said, ‘Hey, we got to play some hockey here.’”
The series-clinching victory over Harvard was the Big Red’s final game of the season inside Lynah Rink. It was an utterly dominant slate this year, going 15-3. Junior and captain Ryan Walsh was not surprised to hear what their record was at home.
“Our goal is always to go undefeated at home, but if we could be in that 15-win home range and split away weekends, we usually end up in a pretty good spot,” Walsh said. “We’re a really good home team this year, and it felt pretty good to win for our crowd.”
The Big Red will face Princeton in the ECAC semifinals on March 20.
