Around the Water Cooler: Sophomore QBs Doin' It Big

As the news of Grammy-winning rapper Wyclef Jean accepting a job offer from the department of Africana Studies at Brown University reaches Ivy League ears, it’s fitting that this week’s edition of Around the Water Cooler is all about top-notch performance and uncharacteristic moves.  Though not literally taking the stage, Ivy League teams and individual athletes from each of the eight schools are holding their own on a national scale. In just a minute, we’ll look at a few Ivy Leaguers who have secured national rankings, some athletes who are bringing their A-game on and off the field, and a noteworthy event about to happen right in our backyard (and, no, I’m not talking about the free showing of The Social Network tomorrow night). We’re hanging out Around the Water Cooler, you know how it is.

Let’s start with a healthy dose of Ivy League football. Sophomore quarterback Sean Brackett of Columbia, one of the League’s Co-Offensive Players of the Week, tied the school record of five touchdowns in a single game this week (set in 1942 and tied in 1982) as the Lions dominated Princeton, 42-14.  Another sophomore QB, Penn’s Billy Ragone, earned Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors as well by securing his team’s 35-28 victory over Dartmouth with the winning touchdown in overtime. On a different note, Cornell sophomore QB Josh Vick is making an impact off the field, leading the Big Red community, alongside women’s basketball coach Dayna Smith, and helping the Be The Match Foundation raise money for bone marrow donation and awareness.

The Brown men’s soccer team recorded a victory against No. 22 St. John’s this week—its first ever against the Red Storm—and, in doing so, earned a No. 13 national ranking. An early strike from junior midfielder Evan Coleman gave the Bears a lead they held onto for almost 88 minutes on the way to a 1-0 win.

Evidently, it was a good week for Columbia in multiple sports, as the Lions’ women’s soccer team garnered national accolades of its own. Columbia claims the second-best save percentage in the nation with 0.915. The team also boasts a 0.47 goals-against average, which is eighth-best nationally.

Some more of this week’s top performances came in the woods of Wisconsin, as the men of Princeton cross-country dominated on the trail. The team earned a No. 12 national ranking, the highest ranking of any Ivy League team since 1997, after finishing third at the Wisconsin Invitational behind a blazing first place effort from junior Donn Cabral. Harvard senior Claire Richardson came up big for the Crimson at the Wisconsin Invitational as well, leading the women’s cross country team to a sixth place finish. Richardson secured ninth place overall in the field of 202 runners.

The Tigers’ field hockey team continues to be one of the best in the nation, earning a No. 3 ranking despite losing its first game of the season to No. 14 American on Sunday. The team has demolished its first three Ivy League opponents, defeating Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia by at least five goals each for an aggregate score of 22-2.

In the under-the-radar world of Ivy golf, Dartmouth freshman Sarah Knapp made some noise this weekend with a win at the ECAC Women’s Golf Championships. Battling tough weather and even tougher competition, Knapp responded to the rain to earn the overall victory by two strokes. While we’re on the topic of lesser-known college sports, two Yale sophomore sailors, Emily Billing and Claire Dennis, qualified for the Singlehanded National Championships with impressive performances this weekend for the No. 3 Bulldogs.

The Crimson men’s and women’s lacrosse teams are slated to host the U.S. men’s national team and the U.S. women’s senior national team, respectively, on Columbus Day weekend. The exhibition matches, which are a part of U.S. Lacrosse Stars and Stripes Weekend, kick off preseason action for Harvard this year with the toughest of competition.