Hurry up. It’s time for you to go.

That’s right senior Syracuse athletes, graduation is drawing nigh.

So, depart now Dwight Freeney. The Colts await your freakish play.

Be gone Billy Celuck. As the Dome fans’ darling for five years, you packed on what? Five pounds?

Not ready to leave yet? This place certainly does grow on you.

Some of you seniors had a better run than others. You for example, Alex Mummolo. You came here hoping to succeed Rob Mulligan as Syracuse men’s lacrosse goalie. Instead, you’re a 24-year-old career benchwarmer. Tough luck.

But you, Preston Shumpert. Though a leader’s role never fit you, you’ll leave as one of the most dangerous shooters in SU basketball history.

Plenty of you made this year, your last, truly special. Jaime James, you led the women’s basketball team to its first winning season in 12 years. And Kyle Johnson, ever the philosopher, you brought the football team from beleaguered to bowl-bound.

The 2001-02 sports year sure brought some fine moments. From Boeheim Court to Pasqualoni press conferences, SU fans cried and laughed the whole way. And they shook, too, during some of ’01-’02’s worst events. A bumbling basketball collapse and a mauling in Miami left the Orange faithful simply slack-jawed.

So here they are, seniors, the five ’01-’02 moments that ought to headline your yearbook and five more that won’t make the cut:

Yearbook headliners

No. 5 Field (hockey) of dreams

Michelle Aronowicz ended her first three years at Syracuse with losses to Connecticut in the Big East tournament. So, when the Orangewomen knocked the Huskies out of conference-tourney contention last fall, Aronowicz could’ve walked away satisfied. She didn’t.

Instead, in SU’s first-round NCAA tourney game against California on Nov. 10, Aronowicz fed her sister, Kristin, who scored 6:08 into overtime, giving the Orangewomen a 2-1 win. The next day, Syracuse lost to Maryland in the second round, the farthest the Orangewomen have ever advanced. Michelle Aronowicz, though, was happy enough to get that Husky off her back.

No. 4 Freeman vindicated

Two years ago, the Syracuse women’s basketball team organized a quasi-coup to oust its coach, Marianna Freeman. At the time, Freeman’s teams had never posted a winning record in her seven years at SU. This season, though, behind James’ efforts, SU went 18-13 and made the NCAAs for the first time since 1987-88. James, a fiery 5-foot-6 shooting guard, served as a catalyst on a team that rallied around the once-maligned Freeman.

No. 3 Pataki visits Dome

Call it SU’s contribution to America. Before the Sept. 22 football game against Auburn, the first since the Sept. 11 attacks, Gov. George Pataki delivered a rousing speech to the flag-waving crowd of 43,403. A moment of silence followed, as did a spellbinding rendition of the national anthem. Pass the goose bumps, please.

No. 2 Boeheim’s day

The architect finally had his day. No, Jim Boeheim didn’t want the glitz and celebration that came with the Feb. 24 dedication of Jim Boeheim Court, but he got it anyway. In quintessential Boeheim fashion, the 26-year head coach offered a quick “thank you” before his Orangemen went on to lose to Georgetown, 75-69.

No. 1 All Orange in Blacksburg

Syracuse football seniors like Freeney and James Mungro remember what it used to be like at Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium: a 62-0 loss in 1999. Johnson, a six-year vet, remembers even further back: a 31-3 drubbing in 1997.

But on Oct. 27, behind a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jamel Riddle, the Orangemen dropped the No. 4 Hokies for the first SU win at Lane in 14 years. SU went on to a 10-3 season and a victory in the Insight.com Bowl.

All season, Pasqualoni showed complete control over his team, even if he did spout off in a press conference about how a grad student ought to write a thesis on dropped passes. Let’s save that project for next year’s seniors.

On the cutting room floor

No. 5. Stopped at Schoellkopf

Granted, the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team is 10-2 and ranked second in the country. But a 15-11 loss at Cornell on April 9 stands out as SU’s most stunning defeat since, well, the last time the Orangemen trekked to Schoellkopf Field. Two years ago, SU fell at Cornell, 13-12, the only loss in a 15-1 national championship season. And they said Ithaca was gorges.

No. 4 Miami mashing

Now this one was just embarrassing. Yes, it was the SU football team’s 59-0 drubbing at the hands of Miami in the Orange Bowl. The loss halted an eight-game SU winning streak and surely brought questions like, ‘Man, what happened to the Orangemen?’ from your out-of-town friends. And to think, ESPN showed this entire debacle.

No. 3 Ref suffers heart attack

The press box went silent on Sept. 29, when official Gerry Bram collapsed on the Carrier Dome turf during a football game against East Carolina. Bram suffered a massive heart attack, and as paramedics scurried to revive him the two teams gathered in circles of prayer. Truly a sobering sight. Medics revived Bram, who returned to officiating earlier this month.

No. 2 Slowly crumbling

In its second game this season, the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team notched its first-ever victory over Virginia. Then the Orangewomen dropped three excusable games before their season came undone in a 10-9 loss at the hands of a pitiful Rutgers squad on April 6. With their NCAA tourney hopes on the line, the Orangewomen put on a disgraceful showing last Wednesday in a 13-6 drubbing at Cornell.

Before the season, Syracuse was predicted to contend nationally, and coach Lisa Miller pegged captain Carrie Soults for 60 goals. With 31 so far, Soults needs to average 15 over SU’s final two games to reach that plateau. Like SU’s NCAA hopes — not happening.

No. 1 As the ‘Cuse turns

The men’s basketball soap opera began before tip-off. Let’s take this train wreck scene by scene.

Billy Edelin, SU’s future point guard, is kicked out of school for a year. DeShaun Williams is suspended three games for DWAI. Freshman Mark Konecny transfers to Central Florida, is later kicked out there.

(Fab Five pared down to three). Boeheim undergoes prostate surgery, sits out three games. SU loses two of three under associate head coach Bernie Fine.

Temperamental center Jeremy McNeil leaves the team, later returns to Boeheim’s doghouse. Sharpshooter Shumpert reaggravates an eye injury, it hampers him for the next month. Dragged down by poor shooting performances from Shumpert and lackluster play from Williams, the Orangemen lose nine of their last 13 and miss the NCAAs for the first time since 1997. Point guard James Thues and little-used forward Greg Davis transfer.

Phew. Please, send some reinforcements. These seniors had their run. So, to incoming freshmen like basketball prodigy Carmelo Anthony: Hurry up, it’s time for you to arrive.

Darryl Slater’s columns appear Tuesdays in The Daily Orange. E-mail him at dpslater@syr.edu.

Published on April 22, 2002 at 12:00 pm