The softball team starts off its 2010 season with a tournament this weekend at Maryland. It is looking forward to a campaign that will improve on last year’s season and add to its record of winning the Ivy League championship five times in the past eight years. Princeton’s last Ivy championship was in 2008 — two years ago — and this year’s team shows a lot of potential.
“I am really excited about the upcoming season,” sophomore outfielder Nicole Ontiveros said. “Although we have had some obstacles to overcome in the offseason, we have a very talented freshman class and experienced returning players.”
This year’s team, while young, is still expected to be strong. It shows good promise with its large freshman class, which makes up seven of the team’s 14 players.
“I feel like a definite strength this year will be our pitching,” Ontiveros said. “We have acquired two new freshman pitchers — Alex Peyton and Liza Kuhn — who both bring different styles to the table. Coupling their efforts with our returning senior pitcher Jamie Lettire, I definitely think we have a great amount of variation to keep our opponents on their toes.”
The Tigers face their most difficult opponents this year in the other seven Ivy League teams.
They face their first Ivy opponent, Harvard, at home. In the past, Princeton has dominated Harvard with 38 wins to 17 losses. Last year, Harvard finished third in the Ivy League. It finished with a record of 27-17 overall, 12-8 Ivy League.
Its next Ivy opponent is Dartmouth. Princeton has dominated the series record 28-7 against Dartmouth.
The Big Green finished out last year’s season with a record of 23-23 overall, 13-7 Ivy League. It has nine returning starters — only having lost one — which will translate to a strong advantage in experience over Princeton and its large freshman class.
Then comes Brown. In past meetings with the Bears, Princeton clearly came out on top, 41-11-1.
Brown’s team has only three seniors and nine incoming freshman, which is similar to the makeup of Princeton’s team this year.
The next Ivy opponent is Yale. Princeton has a past record of 44-9 against the Bulldogs. Yale finished out last year with a split record of 22-22, 11-9 Ivy League.
After Yale, the Tigers play Columbia. Princeton has had the edge on Columbia, with 19 wins and five losses in the series.
Columbia finished out last season with a record of 16-34 overall, 4-16 Ivy League. It has seven returning starters for the 2010 season.
The next Ivy opponent is rival Penn. Princeton has dominated the series record against Penn, 51-8. Penn’s 2010 team is led by its two seniors and fortified by its eight freshman. The Quakers finished out last year’s season with a record of 15-28-1 overall, 7-11-1 Ivy League.
The last Ivy game is against Cornell. Princeton has a past record of 25-16 against the Big Red. Cornell finished last season with a record of 42-13 overall, 17-3 Ivy League.
Cornell is the defending champion for the Ivy League title and therefore is the team to beat this season.
“I cannot wait to get this season started this weekend and see what this year has in store for us,” Ontiveros said.
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