Around the Water Cooler: Wherein We Strap on the Cleats Again

Never fear, Around the Water Cooler is back just in time for the start of class. If the thought of returning to problem sets and course packets doesn’t excite you, then maybe the return of Ivy League athletics will. It’s been three months since the Dartmouth baseball team bowed out of the NCAA tournament, marking the last time an Ancient Eight team competed in NCAA competition. The drought will end this weekend when teams from all eight members of the Ivy League suit up for the first time. With that in mind, let’s catch up on the latest news from around the conference.

The Princeton field hockey team, which kicks off its season this Sunday at home against Bucknell, is the highest ranked of any Ivy League team heading into the fall season. After reaching the NCAA semifinals last year, The Tigers received the No. 4 national ranking in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division One Preseason Poll released last week. The Crimson will play the role of underdog on Oct. 23 when Harvard visits Princeton. The Crimson would prefer to forget about its last contest against the Tigers, a 9-0 loss last October.

The only other representative from the Ivy League making it into the Top 25 for this fall is the No. 10 Harvard men’s soccer team. The winner of this week’s unofficial award for most anticipated Ivy League matchup is the Crimson’s first contest of the season, as Harvard will battle No. 13 Stanford—and potentially Hurricane Earl—on Saturday night at Ohiri Field.

In basketball news, even more Ivy League grads are extending their basketball careers. Judson Wallace, a 2005 graduate of Princeton, signed with C.B. Gran Canaria of Spain’s top basketball league in late August. Wallace’s team is located in the Canary Islands, which should make for a slightly better environment than if Wallace were still living in New Jersey.  Former Cornell sharpshooter Ryan Wittman has signed on with the Italian club Fulgor Libertas Forli, while former Harvard co-captain Doug Miller is also reportedly looking to play overseas.

Over at Columbia, fans of squash received some exciting news, as the Lions’ men’s and women’s squash teams were promoted to the varsity level. While the two teams will compete as varsity squads when play starts this November, they will not be a part of the Ivy Round Robin this season. Last season, Columbia was the lone Ivy League school without a varsity squash program.