PRINCETON, N.J. -- All eight Ivies participate in season-opening tournaments this weekend, with each program competing in three matches. Following the graduation of a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year and a two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, a noteworthy sophomore class—which featured six All-Ivy performers as freshmen in 2016—will play an even larger role in shaping the Ancient Eight landscape this fall.
BROWN
2016 Record: 5-19 (3-11 Ivy)
Season Opener: vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, September 1, 2:30 p.m.
Brown has found success under head coach
Diane Short, who is entering her 25th year at the helm of the Bears program. Three of the Bears four Ivy championships have been won during Short’s tenure (1996, 1998, 2001)—but since the last title, Brown has finished among the top half of the League standings just three times in 15 years. Behind senior libero
Melissa Cairo, an All-Ivy Honorable Mention in 2016, Brown will attempt to reverse that trend. Cairo, who is the League’s top returner with 4.89 digs per set, is supported by junior setter
Elisa Merten and sophomore outside hitter
Makena Ehlert, who were 2-of-4 Bears to appear in all 92 sets last season. Merten is the Bears top returning setter with 311 assists, while Ehlert is the Bears top retuning kill producer with 192 kills.
COLUMBIA
2016 Record: 14-10 (9-5 Ivy)
Season Opener: vs. Air Force, September 1, 3 p.m.
Coming off its best Ivy League record in program history, Columbia will look to challenge for its first League crown since the program’s inception in 1984. The Lions have improved their League mark in each season under fourth-year head coach
Brie Katz, including a four-match upswing to 9-5 a year ago. Sophomore middle blocker
Chichi Ikwuazom—the 2016 Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year and a First Team All-Ivy honoree—played a significant role in that surge, boasting the nation’s fourth-best hitting percentage (.427). She is the League’s top returning blocker with 89 total blocks and 1.37 blocks per set. Columbia will feel the loss of two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year
Cassie Wes in the back row, but does return additional offensive firepower in Second Team All-Ivy senior right-side hitter
Anja Malesevic, its 2016 kill leader.
CORNELL
2016 Record: 12-12 (6-8 Ivy)
Season Opener: at James Madison, September 1, 7 p.m.
After posting its best mark since 2008, Cornell hopes to ascend to the top half of the Ivy League standings for just the second time in the past decade. The Big Red return their top four attackers from 2016—led by a pair of All-Ivy Honorable Mentions in senior right-side hitter
Kit McCarty and junior outside hitter
Carla Sganderlla. The tandem makes Cornell 1-of-2 programs to return a pair of top 10 Ivy League point-getters. Sganderlla has led Cornell in kills in each of her seasons in a Big Red uniform. She is the League’s top returning attacker, accounting for 325.0 points, 269 kills and 3.13 kills per set. Cornell also welcomes back senior outside hitter
Emily Wemhoff and sophomore middle blocker
Jenny Phelps—the younger sister of former Cornell setter
Alyssa Phelps, who ranks second in Big Red program history with 3,181 assists (2013-16).
DARTMOUTH
2016 Record: 9-16 (2-12 Ivy)
Season Opener: at Cal, September 1, 10 p.m.
New blood joins a Big Green program that finished in the cellar of the Ivy League in its first year under head coach
Gilad Doron in 2016. Dartmouth lost eight players to graduation, its largest graduating class in the program’s 23-year history, and will feature 12 underclassmen among its 15-player roster. Outside hitter
Sara Lindquist, the program’s lone senior, is the team’s top returning attacker, having registered 109 kills last season. Junior libero
Zoe Leonard led the Big Green with 394 assists in 2016 and 284 digs in 2015. Leonard returns to her natural libero position for her junior campaign following the arrival of sophomore setter
Tori Dozier—a transfer from North Carolina State. Dozier was a 2015 Under Armour High School All-American (Second Team).
HARVARD
2016 Record: 9-14 (7-7 Ivy)
Season Opener: vs. Stony Brook, September 1, 7 p.m.
The Crimson will feel the departure of four-time First Team All-Ivy setter
Corinne Bain, who is the Harvard career leader in triple-doubles (32) and double-doubles (66) and ranks fourth in program history with 2,276 assists. But Harvard returns the rest of its 2016 lineup, headlined by a pair of Second Team All-Ivy honorees in sophomore outside hitter
Grace Roberts Burbank and junior middle blocker
Christina Cornelius. The pair paced Harvard in kills (242, 195) and kills per set (2.95, 2.22) last season, while sophomore middle blocker
Maclaine Fields is one of four Ancient Eight returners who hit .300-or-better (.339) in 2016. Head coach
Jennifer Weiss, who is entering her 25th season at the helm of the Crimson, is one of three Ivy League coaches to reach the 300 career win plateau.
PENN
2016 Record: 10-16 (5-9 Ivy)
Season Opener: vs. Campbell, September 1, 12:30 p.m.
After not featuring a senior on its 2016 club, Penn is one of the most experienced teams in the Ivy League with six seniors on its 2017 roster. The Quakers did make one significant change during the offseason, hiring
Katie Schumacher-Cawley as head coach. Schumacher-Cawley was a national champion and a two-time All-American during her playing days at Penn State. Facilitated by senior setter
Sydney Morton—an All-Ivy Honorable Mention—Schumacher-Cawley’s Quaker offense is 1-of-2 to return a pair of top 10 Ivy League point-getters. Junior All-Ivy Honorable Mention outside hitter
Courtney Quinn (280.5) and sophomore outside hitter
Caroline Furrer (279.0) make up Penn’s top tandem and also led the Quakers in kills (260, 233) and kills per set (2.63, 2.53). Penn senior libero
Michelle Pereira is the League’s top returning dig producer (461).
PRINCETON
2016 Record: 19-5 (13-1 Ivy)
Season Opener: at Boston College, September 1, 11 a.m.
Coming off its second-straight Ivy title and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007, Princeton is the odds-on favorite to claim its League-best 17th Ivy crown. The Tigers are the lone program that will have to contend with the loss of two First Team All-Ivy performers, outside hitter
Cara Mattaliano—a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year—and middle blocker
Brittany Ptak. However, Princeton is also the only team to return a trio of All-Ivy performers in right-side hitter
Maggie O’Connell (First Team), outside hitter
Devon Peterkin (Second Team) and setter
Jessie Harris (Second Team). The sophomore trio were key cogs on the Tiger club that rattled off a 13-1 League mark in 2016. O’Connell is the reigning Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year, while Harris is the League’s top returner with 10.59 assists per set.
YALE
2016 Record: 19-5 (11-3 Ivy)
Season Opener: vs. Delaware, September 1, 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs spoiled Princeton’s attempt at a perfect Ivy season a year ago and seem poised to challenge for the League crown in 2017. Yale has won five of the last seven Ivy League titles and is just two years removed from a string of four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. A Second Team All-Ivy duo in sophomore outside hitter
Tristin Kott and junior libero
Kate Swanson return for the Bulldogs. Kott is Yale’s most efficient returning hitter with a .287 hitting percentage, while Swanson paced the team with 379 digs. Junior outside hitter
Kelley Wirth, an All-Ivy Honorable Mention, is the team’s top returning kill producer (197). Sophomore setter
Franny Arnautou spent her summer in Colorado Springs, Colo., with the U.S. Women’s Junior National Training Team—the first Bulldog and sole Ivy Leaguer to do so.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, September 1
1 - Princeton at Boston College, 11 a.m.
2 - Penn vs. Campbell, 12:30 p.m.
3 - Brown vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 2:30 p.m.
4 - Columbia vs. Air Force, 3 p.m.
1 - Princeton vs. North Texas, 5 p.m.
2 - Penn vs. Central Michigan, 5 p.m.
3 - Brown vs. Manhattan, 5 p.m.
5 - Delaware at Yale, 7 p.m. [
ILN]
6 - Stony Brook at Harvard, 7 p.m. [
ILN]
7 - Cornell at James Madison, 7 p.m.
8 - Dartmouth at Cal, 10 p.m. [
Cal Live Stream]
Saturday, September 2
5 - Rhode Island at Yale, 10 a.m. [
ILN]
7 - Cornell vs. Drake, 10 a.m.
4 - Columbia vs. Georgetown, 10:30 a.m.
3 - Brown at Holy Cross, 1 p.m. [
PLN]
6 - Sacred Heart at Harvard, 1 p.m. [
ILN]
1 - Princeton vs. Bryant, 2 p.m.
8 - Dartmouth vs. Texas Tech, 3:30 p.m.
4 - Columbia vs. The Citadel, 3:30 p.m.
2 - Penn vs. Houston, 4:30 p.m.
7 - Cornell vs. Hampton, 5 p.m.
6 - American at Harvard, 7 p.m. [
ILN]
5 - Clemson at Yale, 7 p.m. [
ESPN3] [
ILN]
8 - Dartmouth vs. Eastern Washington, 8 p.m.
KEY
ILN – Broadcast on the Ivy League Network, now available on Apple TV and Roku
Cal Live Stream – Broadcast on Pac-12 Network’s Cal Live Stream
PLN – Broadcast on the Patriot League Network
ESPN3 – Broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App
1 - Beantown Challenge (Chestnut Hill, Mass.)
2 – George Mason Invitational (Fairfax, Va.)
3 – Holy Cross Invitational (Worcester, Mass.)
4 – Service Academy Challenge (Arlington, Va.)
5 – Yale Invitational (New Haven, Conn.)
6 – Harvard Invitational (Cambridge, Mass.)
7 – Tropical Smoothie Invitational (Harrisonburg, Va.)
8 – Cal Classic (Berkeley, Calif.)