A look back at Columbia athletics

The Columbia men’s tennis team recently captured the Ivy League Championship, the baseball team has a three-game lead in the Gehrig Division with two weekends to go, and there is new life surrounding the athletic program in search of a new basketball coach. It’s been an up and down year for Columbia athletics, but things seem brighter than ever at the moment.

Norries Wilson’s football team generated some buzz in the fall with athletic and dynamic seniors at quarterback, a wide receiver, and a talented defense. Yet inconsistent early results culminated in a humiliating and unacceptable loss at lowly Dartmouth— who had lost almost two consecutive seasons’ worth of games before the victory— and the Lions’ season crumbled. Coach Wilson survived the hot seat by winning his last two games, but has much work to do without Lou Miller and Austin Knowlin, the two best players on the team for the past two seasons, who will both graduate this year.

The football team sat at the bottom of the Ancient Eight along with both soccer teams, the volleyball club, and the field hockey squad. Alone at the top of the league was Willy Wood and his cross country squad, who repeated as Ivy Champs, undoubtedly making the sport Columbia’s top fall sports program.

This winter was similar, with few teams making a large impact and most finishing in the bottom half of the Ivy League. Men’s fencing was surprisingly bad, while the swim teams, wrestlers, and basketball men were all respectably mediocre. The women’s basketball team, on the other hand, was terrific. Led by Paul Nixon, the ladies enjoyed their best season ever, finishing third in the Ivy League and an impressive 18-10 overall. Junior forward Judie Lomax led the nation in rebounding and will be back to terrorize Ivy front courts next year. In the coaching world, Paul Nixon will be gearing up to make a run at the league.

The situation is similarly bright for the female fencers, who went 14-5 (5-1) this winter, finishing a close second to Princeton in the Ivy League. They have won two of the last four women’s league crowns and should compete at the top of the conference again next year.

Until this past weekend, there had only been one Ivy Championship for Columbia this year, but that changed with Haig Schneiderman’s baseline rip, which gave the men’s tennis program its ninth Ancient Eight crown and third in four years.

Now, the baseball team looks primed to return to the Ivy League Championship Series. The golf team, too, is certainly a contender for the Ivy League Championship this weekend at the spectacular Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, where they won last year.

What seemed like a rough year for Columbia athletics has turned into the emergence of dependable programs which are, at the moment, head and shoulders above the rest. The cross country, fencing, golf, tennis, and baseball teams form the new nucleus of Columbia sports, and each one will be competing at the top of the league for years to come.

For some programs that already had successful traditions in Morningside Heights, like fencing and men’s tennis, winning is nothing new. However, the emergence of golf, and especially baseball into this group of perennial Ivy challengers at Columbia is incredibly promising. Rich Mueller (golf) and Brett Boretti (baseball) are two immensely talented fifth-year coaches who have revamped their programs and should be retained at almost any cost. They have already joined Willy Wood and Bid Goswami (tennis) as the top coaches at Columbia and have positioned themselves to remain successful for years to come.

It’s strange to say it, but there is actually a strong core of successful programs developing here. They just don’t include football or basketball, and that reflects poorly on an athletic program in this age of revenue college sports, bowl games, and the NCAA tournament.

Columbia now has the chance to re-energize its basketball program. Early indications, however, suggest an unambitious approach to their coaching search. Particularly disheartening is the buzz surrounding NJIT head coach and former Columbia assistant, Jim Engles. I understand that Engles is a former Columbia coach, and I have nothing against the guy, but what does he know about winning a conference championship in Division 1 basketball? Engles has won 11 games in two years as the Highlanders coach, showing neither winning karma nor the amazing recruiting skill necessary to quickly turn a program around. Also, Engles has not had enough time to truly gain head coaching experience at NJIT to warrant a jump to the Ivy League.

In the long run, I’m actually confident Engles will be able to make NJIT respectable. But the Lions should be looking for an impact coach who can win now. They will have one of the league’s three best players next year, shooting guard Noruwa Agho, as well as the athleticism needed to compete at the top of the Ancient Eight.

I am adamant about this because of the potential importance of basketball to Columbia athletics. With several other programs on the rise, the emergence of a strong basketball team here in Manhattan could seriously change the perception of Columbia sports as a whole.

Columbia could make a good year in athletics a great one with the right basketball hire. But even if they don’t, Lions fans should be quietly pleased with the new winning core in Morningside Heights.

Tom Di Benedetto is a Columbia College junior majoring in history.