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Columbia’s and Penn’s women’s games slated for this weekend have been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns and safety protocols within the programs, the Ivy League and schools announced Thursday.
Columbia was slated to play Princeton Friday evening and Penn Saturday evening at Levien Gym, while Penn was scheduled to play at Cornell before making the vaunted Empire State trip south to take on the Lions.
The Columbia at Yale men’s game that was originally scheduled for Sun., Jan. 2 has been rescheduled for Tues., Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at John J. Lee Amphitheater, the Ivy League announced Wednesday.
The game was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns and protocols within Yale’s program. It will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Meghan Moore, Ivy League associate executive director of communications & championships, told Ivy Hoops Online that the league is committed to rescheduling all games that are postponed due to COVID-19.
Could there really be a season-defining game as early as Jan. 7?
It’s not only possible, it’s probable.
It’s Princeton-Columbia at Levien Gym Friday at 7 p.m.
March 7, 2020 was a really long time ago – 667 days to be exact.
That was the last time an Ivy game took place, but the long wait ended Sunday at 1 p.m., when the Yale and Columbia women tipped off at Levien Gym.
Sunday will mark the first Ivy League conference basketball since March 7, 2020, even if two of the eight games in the opening slate (the Princeton at Harvard and Columbia at Yale men’s matchups) have been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Here’s what to watch for:
New year, same scheduling challenges.
As the omicron variant has resulted in a large increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across the United States, many businesses and institutions, including several Ivy League athletic departments, have been revisiting their safety policies.
With the start of league play a few days away, Ivy Hoops Online is listing information regarding each team. To get the most detailed and up-to-date information, including what is an acceptable mask, it is recommended to check the links for each institution’s main COVID-19 page. If there are any questions, fans are encouraged to contact the individual universities or athletic departments.
Columbia’s Carly Rivera, held scoreless through regulation, hit three straight triples late in the second overtime to help the Lions break away from Georgetown and secure a hard-fought 66-56 victory Sunday.
With the win, the Light Blue move to 5-0 for the first time in program history.
Announcers and writers around the nation focused a lot of attention to the 600-plus days between games for the Ivy League. While many expected the teams to be a bit rusty out of the gates, the Ancient Eight acquitted itself quite well in the season’s first week.
Thirteen of the league’s 16 teams had at least one win, with the Princeton and Columbia women notching three victories each. The Brown men almost upset No. 19 UNC without their top player, and the Princeton men just missed out on winning the Asheville Championship.
Check out some of the highlights from a very successful and welcome week of Ivy hoops:
Fresh off a program-high third-place selection in the 2022 Ivy preseason poll, the Columbia women looked ready for even greater heights as they took down Hampton, 78-56, in the season opener at Levien Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
The Lions (1-0), as usual, were led by their dynamic All-Ivy duo of Abbey Hsu and Sienna Durr. Hsu led all scorers with 22 points on 50% shooting and five three-pointers. Durr finished with 14 points with 57% shooting and a pair of treys. Kaitlyn Davis and Duke transfer Jaida Patrick, added 14 and nine points, respectively.