Led by the winningest coach in Princeton athletics history, Glenn Nelson, Princeton started the thrilling 2007 Ivy League season with a bang, crushing long-time rival Penn in its first conference match. After that first game, the Tigers proved to be unstoppable, sweeping the league schedule with 20-straight victories and earning a spot in the NCAA tournament against Delaware.
Unfortunately for fans of the Orange and Black, that’s where Princeton’s magical season came to a screeching halt. The Tigers fell 3-1 to the Blue Hens in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Though the memory of Princeton’s bitter season-ending defeat is still fresh in their memories, the Tigers are far from ready to step down from their position as top dog in the Ivy League.
“We definitely will have to take advantage of experienced seniors,” senior outside hitter and captain Parker Henritze said. “A lot of us have been together for three years, and I feel like we’ve seen it all. We do have a target on our back after last year’s season, and I think every match will be an uphill battle.”
This year’s team features a stacked roster, with veterans returning at every position except libero, where four-time All-Ivy selection Jenny McReynolds ’08 played before graduating.
Arguably the most important of Princeton’s returning starters is Henritze, who was the 2007 Ivy League Player of the Year and remains Princeton’s most dangerous offensive weapon. Last season, Henritze led the league in both kills, with 4.62 per game, and aces.
Not to be overlooked is senior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign, a two-time first-team All-Ivy selection who led the Ivy League and ranked in the top 10 nationwide in hitting percentage, with a .429 mark in 2007. Ensign is also one of the Tigers’ most stalwart defenders, leading the team last year with .85 blocks per game.
Returning to her position at setter is senior Bailey Robinson, a two-time All-Ivy setter and among the NCAA assists leaders each year of her career. Throughout the Tigers’ Ivy title run, Bailey averaged 14.47 assists per game — best in the nation — and set a career high with 82 assists in a five-game match against Dartmouth.
In spite of how well rounded Princeton is at its outside hitter, middle blocker and setter positions, the graduation of McReynolds makes the libero position a potential weak link on the Tigers’ otherwise indomitable line-up.
This position will feature two potential starters: sophomore Torri Patel, who played behind McReynolds last season, and freshman Hillary Ford, who was a defensive specialist and outside hitter in high school. Ford led Palo Alto to three league titles before coming to Princeton.
“Hillary is a very mature player,” Henritze said. “She has a quiet confidence and has made a very strong impression on the team in a very short amount of time.”
Ford, who earned three all-league honors and achieved league MVP honors her senior year, is one of three freshmen joining the Tigers’ roster. Freshmen middle blocker Cathryn Quinn and setter Michaela Venuti are the other new additions.
Princeton opens up the season at the Rose Hill Classic in the Bronx, N.Y., kicking off the competition with matches against Fordham (6-3), Stony Brook (3-4) and Manhattan (0-3). The Tigers will play their first 13 games of the season on the road, and eight of those games are non-conference matches.
Princeton’s truly difficult competition, however, doesn’t begin until October, when the Tigers face off against Ivy League rival Penn in the first of 14 consecutive conference matches.
“The Ivy League season is the most difficult aspect of the schedule; everyone feels like a major rival,” Henritze said. “Unfortunately, the fact that we have so many returning players means that our competition has had four years to see us play, and they know what to expect from us.”
The expectations for the Tigers are set dauntingly high, primarily by the players themselves. With a roster loaded with returning seniors hungry to secure that elusive NCAA win before hanging up their uniforms, even the freshmen understand the significance this season holds.
“I think we have the same goals of a perfect 14-0 season as the team had last year,” Ford said. “Everyone on the team is highly competitive this year, and we have a lot of seniors on the team that want us to finish strong for their final season.”
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