M. rugby wins Ivy League Champs

On Sunday the Princeton men's rugby team defeated Cornell in the championship game of the Ivy League Tournament for its fifth title and first since 1979, ending a 25-year drought. Princeton faced three different Ivy League rivals, beating Brown, Harvard and Cornell.

Following a fifth place finish in the 2003 Ivy championships, the Tigers entered the weekend seeded fifth and played No. 4 Brown in their first game on Saturday morning. Princeton had very little trouble with the Bears. While the Tigers only scored two tries, Princeton controlled the tempo of the match and played the entire game inside the Brown half, defeating the Bears, 17-0.

Princeton faced Harvard in the semifinal match, who, besides being the defending champions, also finished second in the nation in 2003. The Tigers began the game slightly apprehensive, and Harvard scored first, with a crash-ball try only five minutes into the game. But Princeton quickly regrouped and took control of the match. In a game well balanced between the forwards and the backs, Princeton beat Harvard on both sides of the game, disrupting Harvard's set-pieces in the forwards and stopping the Harvard backs behind the gain line.

The Tigers moved down the field with quick passes and precision running to score the go-ahead try at 21 minutes into the half. Leading 10-7 at the half, the Tigers remained aggressive and extended the lead early in the final period. But Harvard refused to give in, making for a nerve-racking back-and-forth game with four lead changes in the final 15 minutes. Princeton shut the door on Harvard in the final five minutes with a go-ahead penalty kick, making the score 19-17.

After winning the most exciting game of the tournament, Princeton carried momentum into the championship game against Cornell. In this game the Tigers focused much of their attack on the forwards, and Princeton's pack dominated the Cornell side. Scoring three pack tries, with two rolling mauls, and one pushover try from a scrum, the Tigers stuck to their game plan and controlled the game, winning 25-5 to take the title.