While the basketball team had its best season in over ten years, and the hockey team had its ups and downs in a "rebuilding year", there's promise developing just in time for the snow to melt on Schoellkopf field: In the USILA coaches poll, Cornell received 10 first-place votes and 236 points. Upstart Albany is slotted No. 2 with two first-place votes, followed by Johns Hopkins, Duke and Navy. In the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll, Cornell received six first-place votes to edge defending national champion Virginia, which received seven first-place votes. Johns Hopkins is third, with Navy fourth and Duke fifth.The Big Red (4-0), which dispatched ninth-ranked Army Saturday at West Point, 7-4, was last ranked No. 1 during the 1978 national runner-up season. This year, Jeff Tambroni's club owns convincing wins over Binghamton (19-4), Colgate (16-6) and former No. 8 Notre Dame (13-8). Cornell has a 10-day layoff until a date with No. 4 Duke on March 20 in Raleigh, N.C.
Bring on Dook.