[LAX] Cornell is 7 seed

[Tub(a)]

Cornell v. Hobart this Sunday (here at Cornell).

They are also in the Cornell Quarterfinal bracket.

Seems like a great draw for CU

[min]

will this game be televised at all?

[Chris \'03]

Grant,
Can you post the full bracket? Who would be the quarterfinal opponent?

It's nice that Cornell got to be a) at home and b) not on grass somewhere.

[kingpin248]

Going straight down off the bracket:

(1) Hopkins
Providence
        (winners meet @ UVa)
Ohio State
( UNC

(5) Georgetown
Towson
        (winners meet @ Cornell)
Albany
(4) Syracuse

(3) Maryland
Army
       (winners meet @ UVa)
Rutgers
(6) Princeton

(7) Cornell
Hobart
        (winners meet @ Cornell)
Penn
(2) Navy

in PDF form: http://images.sportsline.com/images/ncaasports/brackets/d1_mlax_bracket_2004.pdf

If Cornell advances Navy likely comes to Ithaca.

[JasonN95]

Details available here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=1798884

Bracket info cut-n-pasted:

First Round

Saturday, May 15
Providence (9-7) at (1) Johns Hopkins (11-1)
Ohio State (12-3) at ( North Carolina (9-4)
Army (10-4) at (3) Maryland (12-2)
Rutgers (8-5) at (6) Princeton (9-3)

Sunday, May 16
Towson (11-4) at (5) Georgetown (10-3)
Albany (10-5) at (4) Syracuse (11-2)
Hobart (9-6) at (7) Cornell (8-4)
Penn (7-6) at (2) Navy (12-2)


Quarterfinals

Saturday, May 22
At Charlottesville, Va.
Johns Hopkins-Providence winner vs. Ohio State-North Carolina winner
Maryland-Army winner vs. Rutgers-Princeton winner

Sunday, May 23
At Ithaca, N.Y.
Georgetown-Townson winner vs. Albany-Syracuse winner
Cornell-Hobart winner vs. Penn-Navy


Semifinals
Saturday, May 29
M&T Bank Stadium
At Baltimore

Game 1, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)


Championship
Saturday, May 29
M&T Bank Stadium
At Baltimore
ESPN, 2:30 p.m.

[Chris \'03]

Thank you both. They don't let me view "sports" at work. Luckily eLF is a "cultural institution" by web filtering standards...

[KeithK]

[q]It's nice that Cornell got to be a) at home and b) not on grass somewhere. [/q]Can someone briefly explain to the lacrosse ignorant (me) the difference that grass vs. turf makes?

[nyc94]

Anyone think the canceled Cornell-UNC game would have has an impact?

[JasonN95]

Not a lax expert by any stretch, but I believe it makes a big difference for bounce shots on net (both for your goalie's reactions and your shooter's accuracy) and scooping up ground balls.  I image players grow accustomed to (and better when on) their "native" surface.

[billhoward]

[Q]Tub(a) Wrote:

 Cornell v. Hobart this Sunday (here at Cornell).

They are also in the Cornell Quarterfinal bracket.

Seems like a great draw for CU [/q]

To me, the seeding committee said, "Cornell, you think the Hobart game could have gone either way, okay, here's the chance to prove it to the world. On your home turf. Now, you damn well better win and then pack the house next week when you host the quarterfinals."

[Jerseygirl]

Also, I believe that the game is much faster on turf than on grass....

[billhoward]

[Q]KeithK Wrote:

 [Q2]It's nice that Cornell got to be a) at home and b) not on grass somewhere. [/Q]
Can someone briefly explain to the lacrosse ignorant (me) the difference that grass vs. turf makes?[/q]

Balls bounce truer on shots off artificial turf, which is good because they go where you (shooter) want and bad because the goalie can track where they go (even if he can't get his stick there in time). No clump of dirt will make the bounce go at an off angle, which is a killer for the goalie the way a deflection shot is tough on a hockey goalie. I don't know if players try more bounce shots on artificial turf than on regular fields but I'd guess yes because it's still harder to handle a bounce shot than a straight-on shot.

(The first time Virginia (?) saw Cornell's field in the 1970s for a playoff game, the Cavaliers tried bounce passes in practice. I don't think it ever caught on in games.)

Ground balls travel faster. They don't get slowed down by the grass blades. A shot that goes past the cage and hits the ground may get out of bounds fractionally faster, meaning there's an advantage to a team with well-positioned man behind the cage, or faster runners.

Scooping up ground balls is easier if you're the first one to the ball.

Precision players can pivot faster including in the rain.

The field is hotter on a hot day.

There's better footing in the rain.

It hurts like hell getting exposed skin rubbed on artificial turf.

There's the potential for more knee injuries because when you're hit hard from the side, your foot is more likely to stay in contact with the surface. (Long term in the past, the people who played on artificial turf seemed to suffer more injuries. Newer fields are better cushioned and the surface is more grasslike.)

Artificial turf is good for Cornell and Syracuse and Princeton because you have a decent field to practice on earlier in the year. Artificial turf is good for land-locked colleges (who isn't?) becaue one field can be used for practice and play by several sports, men and women both, if they want. (Princeton's Class of 1952 field is the prime example.) I think natural grass fields may be the province of the pros and big time colleges. Artificial turf is cheaper on upkeep once it's installed.

There must be more reasons.

Funny thing about terminology. "Artificial turf" is often shortened now to "turf" or "turf field." You almost have to say "natural grass" or "natural grass turf" to distinguish. Thus you wind up with retronyms (you have to say corded drill because there now are cordless drills. William Safire in On Language once bitched about having to say English language radio to distinguish from the stuff he perhaps did not want to listen to on the radio.)

[Josh '99]

[Q]JasonN95 Wrote:
Semifinals
Saturday, May 29

Game 1, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)

Championship
Saturday, May 29
ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
[/q]Not a lotta rest for the winner of the second quarterfinal.   ::nut::

[Tom Pasniewski 98]

Perhaps he was projecting the schedule a Cornell senior lacrosse player might want for the playoffs - helping his team to a national title and not missing commencement.  Which begs several questions:

1.   If you were a player, would you rather win the NCAA title or attend your graduation?
2.   If you were a coach, if you could, would you let a student come back to Cornell on the Sunday for graduation to then go back to Baltimore?
3.  If you were a player and your coach let you come back, would you still stay with the team?

For Bill-

Thanks for the artificial turf vs. natural grass differences some of which are not that obvious.  In reading them, it would seem that in comparison to other sports played on both surfaces such as football, baseball, soccer, there are more factors that might come into play in lacrosse.  My experience with lacrosse fields is limited to several Ivy fields all with turf - how many teams still play on natural grass and given the differences, why might a program stick with natural grass?

[jy3]

what are the times for the games for the first round? too bad my graduation up in syracuse starts with waiting in line for an hour. anyone know what radio station the game will be on and if i will be able to listen to it in 'cuse?
i guess it is good that if cornell makes it to the second round they will play sunday = more parking for people coming to my wedding at sage saturday at least i assume the other schools wont draw as well as cornell would  ::nut::
let's go red!