This week, Princeton athletes climbed the rankings, had action in the major leagues, and made a splash in international sporting competitions. Coming off of a historic 2023 calendar year that saw many Princeton athletics programs find success in the postseason, The Daily Princetonian looked at how Tigers past and present have made their mark in the sporting world this week.
Tosan Evbuomwan ’23 plays first two games with the Grizzlies
After signing a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, former Ivy League Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan made good use of the minutes he was given during his first two games with the team.
Evbuomwan played his first career NBA game against the Golden State Warriors last Friday. Despite his team’s loss, Evbuomwan played 16 minutes, scoring three points, grabbing one rebound, and recording one assist. He had an increased role on Monday evening against the Boston Celtics. In 29 minutes of action, Evbuomwan grabbed a game-high 12 boards. Per Bluff City Media writer and podcaster Shawn Coleman on X, “Tosan Evbuomwan is only the 5th NBA reserve to grab 9 or [more] boards in the first quarter of a game since quarter stats began being tracked in the 96-97 season.”
Kaitlyn Chen ’24 earns weekly honors, AP Poll Update
On Monday morning, the Ivy League announced its weekly honors. Senior guard Kaitlyn Chen was named the Ivy League Women’s Basketball Player of the Week.
Furthermore, on Tuesday, the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) announced that Chen had earned Player of the Week Honors. This is her second time receiving the honor from the MBWA.
Across the two wins the Tigers notched at Jadwin Gymnasium last weekend against Yale and Brown, Chen averaged 22 points, five rebounds, and four and a half assists. Chen’s exceptional performance across her career has made such achievements a regular occurrence, as Tuesday’s announcement marks the fifth time in her career and the second time this season that she has earned the Player of the Week award.
After going 2–0 over the weekend, the Tigers remained at No. 25 in the weekly AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll. However, the Tigers beat No. 24 Oklahoma by double-digits at a neutral site earlier this season but are still ranked below them. In the latest Bracketology projections for the NCAA tournaments, ESPN analyst Charlie Creme has the Tigers at the nine seed. Princeton will return to the court this weekend when they head to The Palestra in Philadelphia to play the Penn Quakers.
Men’s volleyball ranked No. 10 in latest AVCA Coach’s Poll
On Monday, the American Volleyball Coaches Association released its weekly poll. Following their win over the then-No. 10 ranked Pepperdine Waves, the Tigers come in as the new No. 10 in the Feb. 5 poll. Junior pin Nyherowo Omene has been the player to watch for the Tigers. The Illinois native has 117 kills this season and has been key to the Tigers’ recent successes.
You can catch the nationally-ranked Tigers in action this weekend at Dillon Gymnasium when they host Lincoln Memorial and Sacred Heart.
Ashleigh Johnson ’17 and Jovana Sekulic ’26 representing the United States at 2024 World Aquatics World Championships
The USA Women’s Water Polo Team is currently in Doha, Qatar for the 2024 Aquatics World Championships. The reigning Olympic champions will have both familiar and fresh faces in the water in Doha.
Goalie Ashleigh Johnson ’17 — who is a two-time Olympic champion with the squad — is the first-choice goalie for the United States. In the team’s first match against the Netherlands, Johnson recorded six key saves against the Dutch to propel the United States to a crucial 10–8 victory.
On the other hand, sophomore Jovana Sekulic is playing in her first major tournament for the United States. After a stellar two years with the Tigers, Sekulic opted to take a gap year in hopes of making the 13-person Olympic roster for the Paris games. After not making the roster for the 2023 Pan American Games, Sekulic was selected for the World Championships roster. Despite not scoring in the first match against the Dutch, Sekulic found the back of the net three times against Brazil in the second pool game for the United States.
You can catch both Johnson and Sekulic in action Thursday morning against Kazakhstan at 9:30 a.m. EST.
Another Milestone for Theresa Sherry ’04
On Jan. 27, former Tiger women’s lacrosse standout Theresa Sherry ’04 was named to the Greater Baltimore Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame.
Sherry has written her name in the history books of Princeton lacrosse. She won four Ivy League titles with the Tigers and two national championships in 2002 and 2003. Furthermore, she earned four All-Ivy honors and also played varsity soccer, winning three Ivy League titles with them during her time as a Tiger.
Women’s Swim and Dive breaks school relay record at HYP meet
The Princeton women’s 400m freestyle relay team finished the iconic Harvard-Yale-Princeton (HYP) swim meet in stellar fashion. Sophomore Sabrina Johnston, junior Ela Noble, senior Ellie Marquardt, and sophomore Heidi Smithwick broke the 400m freestyle relay school record, touching the wall after 3:15.08.
Women’s swim and dive defeated both Harvard and Yale at Denunzio Pool at the conclusion of the two-day meet at which the Tigers honored their seniors.
Looking ahead
At home, No. 8 ranked women’s water polo will host Villanova on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. for their home opener. On Friday, wrestling will host powerhouse Cornell at 7 p.m. Men’s basketball will play rival Penn at Jadwin Gym on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a limited-edition magnet.
No. 12 ranked women’s ice hockey will host No. 3 Clarkson on Friday evening at 6 p.m. before hosting No. 6 St. Lawrence on Saturday afternoon. No. 2 ranked men’s squash will host No. 1 ranked Penn Saturday afternoon at noon. Following the conclusion of the event, the No. 4 ranked women’s squash team will play against No. 3 ranked Penn.
In championship competitions, men’s and women’s fencing will compete in the Ivy League Championships this weekend at Columbia University, while women’s tennis will compete in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Boston, Massachusetts over the weekend.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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