A midsummer sports round-up

The summer of 2010 has been a busy one for the professional sports world, full of dramatic, nail-biting victories (USA vs. Algeria, anyone?) as well as drawn-out stories that changed the landscape of sport (the LeBron-a-thon comes to mind). Similarly, the first half of the summer has been eventful for Princeton athletics, with coaching changes, schedule announcements and individual achievements by the Orange and Black. With just less than two months until classes start again, we bring you the first half of summer’s Princeton athletics highlights.

The coaching turnstile turns again

This summer has seen some coaches trade in their Princeton Tiger for other mascots: women’s golf head coach Amy Bond will take up residency at Florida State this fall, women’s swimming and diving assistant coach Phil Spiniello will become the head coach at Rutgers, and men’s swimming and diving assistant coach Jamie Holder will lead the program at Georgetown.

Joining Princeton will be new women’s golf head coach Nicki Cutler (formerly an assistant coach at Vanderbilt), softball assistant coach Sarah Losleben (who served as a student assistant coach at Texas Tech), women’s tennis assistant coach Luana Magnani (once a top-16 player at the University of Southern California) and women’s basketball’s director of basketball operations Megan Griffith (a former Columbia Lion and professional player in Europe). Additionally, Martin Bahar — who served this past season as the men’s basketball team’s director of basketball operations — has become an assistant coach for the team.

Tigers on the summertime prowl

The summer season has seen both athletes and coaches further their academic year accomplishments.

On the student side, rising sophomore Todd Harrity — who played in the top spot on the men’s squash team and was named the 2010 Ivy League Rookie of the Year — took third place in the individual competition at the 2010 World University Games in Melbourne, Australia. Harrity leads a five-man U.S. squad and will take part in team play later this month.

Rising junior Donn Cabral was chosen to be a member of Team USA for the 2010 North American, Central American, Caribbean Under-23 Track & Field Championships. Cabral earned the gold medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the event, which was held in Miramar, Fla.

On the coaching side, head wrestling coach Chris Ayres served as a volunteer assistant coach for USA Wrestling and helped the squad to a first-place finish at the 2010 Pan-American Junior Championships in Managua, Nicaragua.

In addition, men’s volleyball head coach Sam Shweisky was enlisted by USA Volleyball to serve as head coach for the girls’ youth continental team and to participate in three junior development camps.

Of course, Bob Bradley ’80 and Jesse Marsch ’96, the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s head and assistant coaches, must also be mentioned. After its pre-World Cup training camp in Princeton the team headed to South Africa with confidence, making it to the second round before dropping an overtime heart breaker to a surging Ghana side.

Schedules, schedules, schedules

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A lot of winter season schedules were announced in the last few weeks, but there is one story worth noting in particular. If you open the men’s basketball schedule and search for the entry dated November 14, 2010, you’ll find four simple letters that mean a lot in the college basketball world: Duke.

After its best season in recent history, the men’s basketball team will take on the defending national champions at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. — a game that could raise the level of excitement surrounding the program to new heights. While the Tigers will likely not be expecting to come out on top, the fact that Duke is even on the schedule is a testament to how far the basketball program has come in recent years.