The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2004/03/09/baseball-battles-weather/)
Baseball Battles Weather
By wpengine | March 9, 2004
After a long Ithaca winter, the baseball team hoped that a trip to Philadelphia for its opening weekend would bring nicer weather.
However, this wasn't the case, as the team battled through inclement weather all weekend, rearranging its schedule in the process.
Instead of playing LaSalle on Friday and Sunday, and Villanova on Saturday as originally scheduled, the squad faced LaSalle on Friday and then played a doubleheader against Villanova on Sunday due to Saturday's rainout.
"It was actually better for us," said senior co-captain Dan Parant about the scheduling change. "We got a chance to play against in real tough Big East team, Villanova, and came away with a win against them on Sunday."
The Red wasn't as fortunate on Friday, as it dropped its season opener to LaSalle, 8-7, despite 10 hits. Sophomore Michael Weiss led the offensive charge, going 3-4 and scoring two runs. Parant chipped in with two runs batted in, as did sophomore Matt Goodson, who was 2-4 at the plate. Junior Matt Miller, who went 2-5 with a run scored, also drove in a run in the loss.
The Red split Sunday's doubleheader with the Wildcats, losing the first game by a 4-2 score and winning the second, 3-2.
Senior Ned VanAllan had a run-scoring double in the top of the first inning to get things going for the Red in the second game. Freshman Kaleb Hutchinson drove in the Red's second run in the fourth on an infield single, scoring VanAllan.
The hit that sealed the victory for the Red was senior co-captain Jon Finch's leadoff ninth inning home run to break a 2-2 tie. The hit was Finch's only of the game and just the Red's eighth.
Senior Luke Staskal gave up just three hits to Villanova in six innings of work, striking out six in his first start of the season.
Earning the victory for the Red was junior Conor Kelly, who pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings — giving up just one hit in the process — to earn the victory.
The pitching for Cornell was solid in the first game of the doubleheader, but it wasn't enough, as the Red managed just three hits in its 4-2 loss.
Sophomore Rocky Collis suffered the loss, giving up six hits and four runs in four innings.
Classmate Seth Gordon drove in both of the Red's runs with a two-run double in the seventh.
Unfortunately for the Red, Gordon's hit was its only extra-base knock of the game.
"We played really solid defense all weekend, and we expect the pitching to be there all year," Parant said of the loss. "It's just a matter of if the bats will come around for us."
The Red offense will try to come alive when the team journeys back to Philadelphia for a rematch with Villanova and a contest with St. Joseph's next weekend.
Archived article by Chris Mascaro
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Ceremony Recognizes Outstanding Women
By wpengine March 10, 2004
The International Students and Scholars Office and Cornell Women's Resource Center hosted International Women's Day yesterday at the A.D. White House with a celebration culminating in an award ceremony for outstanding women in the community. Kelly Connison, CWRC director, and Mary Schlarb, assistant director for programming at the ISSO, introduced each of the 23 women students, professors and local residents who were nominated for special recognition. The first woman announced was Florence Finch, who was awarded the Congressional Metal of Freedom, the highest award available to a civilian in America, for her actions in the Philippines during World War II. Other recipients included Lucy Thairu grad, a Ph.D. candidate whose research includes the perception of breastfeeding and HIV transmission in developing countries, and Dammi Herath, executive director of the Women's Opportunity Center, who was nominated "for her life-long contributions to women in transition." According to Connison, she and Schlarb sent out e-mails to various mailing lists to solicit nominations for the awards. Every woman who was nominated was recognized at the ceremony with a bouquet of flowers and a certificate, as well as a brief description of her achievements. The event began with a reception, followed by performances by the Tezia Belly Dance Troup, Sabor Latino Dance Ensemble and Tarana Hindi A Capella. Schlarb introduced the groups, each of which listed exploration and performance of their respective cultures as their purposes. The Tarana Hindi A Capella group performed a Hindi song which Schlarb said "encapsulates the energy and enthusiasm of young women in a progressive world." CWRC director Kelly Connison, who was one of the award recipients, estimated that about 125 people attended the event, which she said was more than expected. Only about half of the recipients responded to confirm that they would come, Connison said, but all but three, one of whom is currently abroad, ended up coming. One of the recipients, Prof. N'Dri Assie-Lumumba, Africana studies, said that she stayed in Ithaca for the event even though she had a conference in Salt Lake City. She said that this was her second time to receive the award, but that this time it was different because she was nominated by a student, whereas her last nomination came from a faculty member. "This time it is a student [who nominated me], so it gives it even more meaning," Assie-Lumumba said. "When young people in search of their own path say you give them inspiration, it gives meaning to what we do." According to Schlarb, who prefaced the award ceremony with a brief explanation of International Women's Day's history, the holiday "is celebrated by the United Nations, governments, women's groups and individuals all over the world." It was first recognized in the United States as National Women's Day in 1909 and was expanded to an international holiday in 1911. Schlarb said that countries celebrate the day in different ways. She compared its Russian version to Valentine's Day, with men giving women presents, and also said that in China and Mali, women are given the day off in recognition of the holiday. The day was first recognized at Cornell in 2001, when the ISSO and CWRC "came together to honor women in the local community who have contributed to the betterment of global society," Schlarb said. She added that Cornell has "a great community of deserving individuals" whose contributions extend past Cornell. Audience members seemed to be impressed by the women's achievements. "It's very inspiring to hear about women who make really enormous contributions to the community worldwide, not just at Cornell," said Sarah Reed '04. Connison said that she "thought [the event] went great," adding that this was the first year that they had performances and that she was very impressed by how they turned out. She and Schlarb also expressed amazement at the achievements of the women they honored. Schlarb encouraged people to "look out for the announcement for [nominations] next year." She added that men were eligible for the award as well. Archived article by Yuval Shavit
Geneticists Ferment With Facility
Representative Sherwood Boehlert announced the allotment of $2.7 million to the USDA-ARS Grape Genetics Research Center last December. Cornell researchers plan to work with United States Department of Agriculture scientists in a new federal research facility to establish a national grape program for grape research. The facility will be located at the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park at Geneva, a research park focused on food, agriculture, and bio-based technologies. Marc Smith, assistant director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, said that the 73-acre site will house both the proposed buildings and a number of others. "The idea is to bring private companies, government agencies, and agricultural and technology firms to locate in Geneva in close proximity to the foods scientists we have here," he said. Smith anticipates that the ground-breaking will take place sometime in May. The GGRC will broaden the work of scientists at the USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit as well. The PGRU, located at the Experiment Station, was formed in 1986, and assumes national responsibility for particular vegetable crops including the cold-hardy grape. Its website states a mention to "acquire, maintain, characterize, evaluate, document, and distribute the genetic resources of crops." The Experiment Station itself was founded in 1882 to advance a sustainable plant agriculture and food system through research and extension programs that address local and global needs. The grape is one of PGRU's largest collections. Researchers are presently evaluating it for suitability for cryogenic storage in liquid nitrogen, which would eliminate potential crop damage by weather, insects, bacteria, or viruses. Smith said that the funding will hopefully benefit local grape growers. There is, he said, "quite an ambitious plan for this center." "I'm proud of the efforts Cornell has put forward to improve the agriculture industry," said Boehlert. "This funding will go a long way toward energizing the grape industry here in New York which will reap immeasurable benefits for our local grape growers." The project could take up to 15 years to complete and participants anticipate as many as 1,000 new jobs created.Archived article by Maya Rao