Five players to watch and five must-see games for the spring 2012 sports season.
The baseball team doesn’t look much different going into the 2012 season than it did at the beginning of 2011. The Tigers return 21 players from last year’s Ivy League champion squad, including the league’s Rookie of the Year. Other than two pitchers and a position player, the Tigers return every player who saw time on the field during the three-game Ivy League Championship Series against Dartmouth last May.
The men’s volleyball team had an impressive five-set victory over Rutgers-Newark this past Friday. The Tigers (3-3 overall, 2-1 EIVA) faced a 2-1 deficit, but they were able to come back to earn their third win of the season. Not only is the team’s record back at .500, but Princeton has already matched the total number of wins it had last season.
Last year, the men’s lacrosse team had its worst overall record since 1988, finishing at 4-8 after a string of unusual and frequent injuries sidelined 16 players at some point in the season. After the season, the program was struck by tragedy with the death of head coach Chris Bates’ wife, Ann Bates.Princeton opens the 2012 season in need of a fresh start. A symbol of that start has already come, as a FieldTurf surface was installed on the new Sherrerd Field in 1952 Stadium over the winter.
According to a common perception, Princeton students were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Four members of the baseball team might know a somewhat similar feeling — they were born with baseball mitts on their hands.
When senior Kelly Shannon won the final point of the men’s squash national title match on Sunday, clinching Princeton’s first championship since 1993, dozens of fans leapt onto the court with joy. Celebrating along with Shannon and the rest of the players were many Princeton squash alumni, who had lost several close matches throughout Trinity’s 13-year championship run, including a heartbreaking home defeat in the 2009 finals. The ‘Prince’ reached out to some former squash players and fans to get their thoughts on the championship.
A freshman from Amherst, N.H., long sprinter Cecilia Barowski has quickly established herself among the best in the Ivy League. She ran the fastest 500m in the league this season with a time of 1:13.76, and she ranks second in the 400m with a personal best of 55.43 seconds. She will be representing the Tigers at Heps this weekend, competing in the 400m and the 4x400m relay.
Hoping to build on the momentum it built at the end of the 2011 season, the women’s lacrosse team will take the field this Saturday for its season opener. Princeton impressed everyone in the postseason when it won the Ivy League Tournament as the No. 4 seed and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
The men’s and women’s tennis teams faced Ivy League foes for the first time this spring as both teams competed in the ECAC Championship tournament. The No. 43 women’s team advanced to the finals where it fell to No. 25 Yale 4-2, while the No. 70 men’s team lost 4-2 in the consolation finals to St. John’s.
Despite one individual’s near record-breaking performance against No. 8 Union and a victory at Rensselaer, the men’s hockey team is no longer mathemetically in the running for home-ice advantage in the first round of the ECAC Hockey tournament. Princeton can still face nearly any opponent in the opening series, but it will have to do so as the visiting squad.
The women’s ice hockey team concluded its regular-season campaign in spectacular fashion. The senior weekend schedule featured rematches against two conference foes vying for a spot in the ECAC tournament. Entering the first game on a three-game losing streak, the Tigers turned it around with two solid victories over Rensselaer and Union, and gained some much-needed momentum heading into the playoffs.
The undefeated No. 19 women’s water polo team headed down to Lewisburg, Pa., this weekend for the Bucknell Invitational and left with its head held high. Princeton defeated Marist 11-7 and Wagner 14-6 on Saturday and followed those performances with victories over Gannon 13-8 and Siena 14-5 on Sunday.
In its most dominant Ivy League performance this season, the men’s basketball team ripped through Cornell’s defense on Saturday night for a 75-57 win. With four straight wins, the Tigers have come alive in their quest for Ivy League stardom, although Harvard remains the runaway favorite for the crown. The Big Red slipped to .500 after the blowout loss. The dismantling of Cornell came a day after Princeton dropped Columbia in front of a national audience on ESPNU cameras.
As many expected, the wrestling team put up strong performances at 141, 157 and 174 pounds in both of their matches on Saturday but failed to come up with a team victory, falling to two strong opponents in its doubleheader. Princeton wrestled tough against Penn in a 24-10 loss at Dillon Gymnasium before traveling to Bethlehem, Pa. where they were ousted 38-4 by No. 15 Lehigh.
The men’s squash team won the national championship on Sunday afternoon. As straightforward as that statement may seem, it doesn’t begin to describe the magnitude of the victory the Tigers achieved.
The women’s basketball team improved to 19-4 overall and 9-0 in the Ivy League this weekend with wins over conference foes Columbia and Cornell. Princeton overwhelmed Columbia on Friday night, defeating the Lions 86-46 in New York City. The Tigers then went on to defeat a stiffer conference opponent in the same dominating way the following night, defeating Cornell by a score of 75-39.
The men's squash team broke Trinity's 13-year streak of national championships with a thrilling, come-from-behind 5-4 victory. Replay our live blog to see the action!
It has been three years since the men’s squash team made it to the finals of the national championship. In 2009 — the last time the national championship was held at Jadwin Gymnasium — this year’s current seniors were freshmen. After defeating Rochester in the semifinals, the Tigers ultimately fell 5-4 to Trinity in one of the most thrilling squash championships in history.
Entering the penultimate weekend of regular-season play, the men’s hockey team remains much in the hunt for a top-eight seed and resulting home-ice advantage in the first round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament.
The men's basketball team plays a second straight game in front of the ESPNU cameras tonight, trying to move back into the top half of the Ivy League standings against Columbia. Follow the action, starting at 7 p.m., with our live blog!
