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Weekly recap: men’s volleyball, women’s golf claim conference titles and track teams continue to set record

eiva champs 2022
Men's volleyball capped off a 10-game winning streak by winning three straight in the EIVA tournament to take home the championship.
Courtesy of GoPrincetonTigers.

Men’s volleyball at EIVA Championships 

Despite a less than ideal start to the season, the men’s volleyball team (15–12 overall, 10–6 EIVA) has found their rhythm. This past weekend, the fourth-seeded Tigers extended their winning streak to 10 en route to claiming the championship in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament. 

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The tournament began with a 3–0 win (25–21, 25–21, 25–23) against fifth-seeded Saint Francis. The most exciting game came on Thursday evening with a matchup against first-seeded Penn State (23–4, 16–0 Big Ten), ranked No. 2 in the nation. Although the Tigers came in as underdogs, they came out strong, winning the first two sets. Penn State won the next two sets, bringing the game into overtime, but Princeton held onto their momentum to claim victory over the ranked Nittany Lions. The third and final game of the tournament saw the same success for the Tigers. Princeton won 3–1 against third-seeded New Jersey Institute of Technology in a four-set match (23–25, 27–25, 27–25, 25–18). 

With this tournament win, the Tigers clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament. Princeton will play North Greenville in the first round of NCAAs on Sunday, May 1 at 8 p.m.

Women’s golf at Ivy League Championship

This past weekend, the Tigers traveled to The Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, N.J. to compete in the Ivy League Championship. They returned to Princeton with both team and individual Ivy League titles. First-year Victoria Liu earned first-team All-Ivy Honors and an individual title. She is only the second Tiger in history to earn medalist honors as a first-year. In the last four League tournaments, Princeton has claimed the team title in three (2017, 2018, 2022).  

With this impressive victory, the Tigers have earned their spot in the NCAA tournament from May 9–11. The location of the first round is to be announced. 

Women’s lacrosse vs. Penn, Harvard 

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On Wednesday evening, No. 12 Princeton (10–3 overall, 5–0 Ivy League) took on Penn (5–9, 2–4) for a league matchup on Sherrerd Field. In what turned out to be a close game, the Tigers secured a 15–13 win against the Quakers. Penn saw an early two-goal lead in the opening quarter, but a 5–0 run from Princeton proved Penn’s lead to be short-lived. Still, Penn managed to rally, and by halftime, they only trailed Princeton by one. The teams traded goals back and forth for the remainder of the game. With five minutes left in regulation, the Quakers were only down one goal. However, a last minute goal from sophomore attacker Grace Taukus secured the Quaker’s loss. Junior attacker Kate Mulham led the Tigers in the scoring with five goals. 

Saturday’s game against Harvard (6–7, 3–3) extended the Tigers’ winning streak to three games. Despite not having the home field advantage, Princeton pulled away with a 14–9 victory. While the score may suggest otherwise, the two teams were neck-and-neck for the first three quarters of the game. The lead switched back and forth with both teams staying within one of each other. Entering the fourth quarter, the Tigers were down by one goal. Undeterred, the Tigers took over the game with a five-goal lead sparked by senior attacker Kyla Sears’ goal at the beginning of the final quarter. Sears led with four goals and three assists to help earn the win. 

Next, the Tigers will be on the road against Columbia on Wednesday, April 27.

Men’s lacrosse vs. Harvard 

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Princeton (9–3 overall, 3–2 Ivy League) fell 19–16 to the Harvard Crimson (8–3, 3–2) on Saturday afternoon. There is only one weekend left of the regular season, and as a result of this outcome, five of the seven Ivy League teams are tied at 3–2 in the conference standings. During the second quarter, the Tigers had a five-goal lead, the biggest lead of the game for either team. Princeton held onto this lead for as long as they could until they faltered in the fourth and the Crimson managed to close the gap. With just seven minutes to go, the two teams were tied 15-all until the Crimson pulled away with the lead and eventually the win. Their win could be attributed to their dominant scoring in the fourth quarter with eight goals compared to the Tigers’ four. With this, the Tigers have dropped to No. 7, and the Crimson have moved to No. 12 in the national rankings.

Princeton’s last game of the regular season will be on Saturday, April 30 on Sherrerd Field against No. 14 Cornell. 

Track and field at Virginia Challenge 

Almost as though it is routine, the track and field team had another dominant weekend. The men’s team earned two new Ivy League records and two program records at the Virginia Invitational. In a 4x100 meter relay, a team composed of senior sprinters Simang’aliso Ndhlovu and Greg Sholars, junior sprinter Ibrahim Ayorinde, and sophomore sprinter Daniel Duncan, ran a League record of 39.36. Ayorinde didn’t stop there either. He also set an individual Ivy record in the 100 meters with a time of 10.22. In the 200 meters, he set a program record of 20.51. Senior distance runner Kevin Berry claimed the school record in the 5000 meters with a time of 13:37.21. In addition to this multitude of success, the Tigers set four other top-10 program records. With this performance, Princeton moved up in national rankings to No. 19. 

The team will be competing in the Penn Relays and the College of New Jersey Lions Outdoor Invitational this coming weekend, April 28–30. 

The women’s team also saw much success this past weekend with seven top-10 marks in school history to add to this season’s list of achievements. Sophomore sprinter and jumper Nia Mosby earned second all-time in the 200 meters with a time of 23.95. Senior distance runner Caroline Timm placed third and fifth in program history for the 1500 meters (4:17.52) and 800 meters (2:05.99) respectively. Junior middle distance runner Maggie Hock followed in sixth all-time in the 800 meters with 2:06.36. In the 100 meters, sophomore sprinter Brianna Mponzi ran 11.84 to put her in fifth all-time. First-year hurdler Lily Parris tied for fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.13. In the 200 meters, senior sprinter Grace Lanouette ran 24.14 to place her fifth all-time. 

Next, the women’s team will be competing in the Penn Relays, West Point Twilight, and the TCNJ Lions Outdoor Invitational this coming weekend, April 28–30. 

Julia Nguyen is a co-head editor for the Sports section at the ‘Prince’ and usually covers the weekend recaps. She can be reached at trucn@princeton.edu or on Instagram at @jt.nguyen.