After finishing ninth in the nation last season, the wrestling team is poised to continue its assault on some of the nation’s top teams. Cornell was fourth in the preseason rankings, behind a trio of Big Ten schools — Iowa, Ohio State and Iowa State. The Red returns six All-Americans, each with a realistic chance of capturing an individual National championship.

“Our team goal is to win the Ivy League title, win the [EIWA] title and win a national title,” said head coach Rob Koll.

On a roster that features only one other senior, Shannan Scarselletta will see an increased role this year not only because of her on-court play, but because of her reliable leadership for the young squad.

Last year, Scarselletta played in each of Cornell’s 29 games, averaging over 20 minutes per game.

“She was like a sixth starter last year,” said head coach Dayna Smith. “Shannan has definitely had some experience.”

Senior captain Jordan Leen has a long season ahead of him as he builds up to his last NCAA tournament, and the rare chance to repeat as the titleholder at 157 pounds. Leen is in good position on his personal road to a repeat. But despite his confident exterior, his experience at last year’s championships was far from easy, as the then-junior, ranked No. 8, upset the top-2 seeds en route to becoming only the second NCAA champion from his home state of Tennessee, and the lowest-ranking wrestler of the meet to capture a title.

3/20/2008

Def. Ryan Hluschak

4-3

Last season, Mack Lewnes had one of the most successful campaigns of any freshman in Cornell wrestling history. He went undefeated in the EIWA championships, advanced farther at Nationals than any other freshman and was named the National Freshman of the Year by Amateur Wrestling News. With a year of experience under his belt, Lewnes hopes to achieve even greater results this season.

Lewnes was a four-time Maryland State Champion while attending Mount Saint Joseph High School. He graduated in 2006, but did not immediately come to Cornell. “He went to Colorado Springs [Colo.] for a year to take a few courses to lighten his course load and train at the Olympic Training center,” said wrestling head coach Rob Koll.

After recording its seventh consecutive Outdoor Heptagonal Track and Field Championship a year ago, the women’s track team will have its sights on this year’s championship season, which include the Outdoor Heptagonal, Indoor Heptagonal, ECAC and NCAA championship meets. Head coach Lou Duesing will lead the Red for a 19th season and will look to a strong core of returning competitors.

Leading Cornell this year is senior Jeomi Maduka. Maduka, a champion in five events, is coming off a strong summer. She competed in this summer’s Olympic Trials as well as in the North America Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) meet, where she not only won a gold medal, but also posted a personal best by jumping nearly 22-0. The Red will rely heavily on Maduka’s versatility this year.

The men’s track and field team will again try to defend its spot at the Ivy League summit after claiming a sixth straight outdoor Heptagonals title and fourth indoor Heptagonals title in six years. The squad will need to compensate for the graduation of “possibly the best senior class in the history of the Ivy League,” according to head coach Nathan Taylor.

“Losing that group will be a huge hole to fill,” he said.

Last year saw an outstanding performance in the indoor Heps, track’s equivalent of the Ivy Championships, in which the Red set an all-time meet record for points (205) and margin of victory (56 over Princeton). However, Cornell is looking to reload rather than rebuild, and the Red has set its sights set on another indoor Heps title.

This year, the fencing team expects to be better than ever. With hardly any recently graduated seniors and several new freshmen, team captain Katherine Thompson said, “All three squads are getting better.”

“The climate and discipline of the team changed a lot [this year],” agreed head coach Iryna Dolgikh. “There is a lot more discipline.”

After strong individual showings by the women at the Temple Collegiate Open, the team will be tested in the upcoming months at the Brandeis and Wellesley Invitationals coming up in December and January.

The equestrian team is off to a strong start this season, building some momentum that it hopes to carry through to Regionals in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on March 28.

Much of this momentum was built when the Red finally got over the hump of beating Skidmore. The win reversed what had been a one-sided rivalry for over a year — a trend the team aims to continue over the course of the next several months.

“Our goal is, and always has been, to win Regions,” said head coach Chris Mitchell. “[Skidmore] has been the Regional champion for the last eight years, but it is time for a change.”

In comparing this year’s team to last year’s, Mitchell describes his current squad as being “way more cohesive ... the chemistry is probably one of the best teams I’ve had of recent.”

With five school records, an Ivy title, a runner-up finish at the National championship and an individual Regional qualifier for the first time in a decade, the 2008 season for the gymnastics team was one of unprecedented success.

With several key underclassmen to bolster the men’s and women’s squash teams, both squads are looking to vault into the nation’s top level of competition this year after solid performances last season.

The men’s squash team opened up its fall season on a high note, winning four of its first five matches — including three Ivy victories — exciting the squad about its chances for the season. Next week marks the Red’s first home match, where it will face Harvard, whom Cornell narrowly beat 5-4 on Nov. 8 — a win that marked the first time in team history that Cornell had defeated Harvard.