PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The women’s basketball team has little experience with late-game drama — in the past two years, every one of its contests had been decided by at least nine points. That all changed Thursday night.
Coming off big road wins this weekend against Colgate and Cornell, the men’s hockey team looks to build upon the success from last weekend that propelled it to the top of the ECAC Hockey standings in a home stand against Harvard and Dartmouth. The Tigers (3-3 overall, 3-1 ECAC Hockey) take on the Crimson (2-2, 2-2) tonight at 7 p.m. and face off against the Big Green (3-2-1, 2-1-1) on Saturday at 4 p.m.
As the fans streamed onto the field as time expired Thursday night, the white jerseys fell to the field just as much in disbelief and confusion as in disappointment. In the men’s soccer team’s 2-1 loss to University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Tigers displayed much the same game plan that had led them to 12 straight wins, an Ivy League championship and the first 7-0 league season in the program’s history. The Tigers played their game, and the Retrievers did little to stop them. So as time expired in the second half, ending Princeton’s playoff hopes, the players realized the harsh reality that it simply did not work out for them this time.
The men's and women's squash teams have similar mentalities heading into the weekend: Every match matters. While the women's team will host an extra day of matches — playing Columbia tonight — both squads know they need to come out on top to start their seasons on positive notes.
In one of the great scenes in “Animal House,” a bruised, black-eyed Robert Hoover limps into the Delta living room moments after Dean Wormer has kicked the group off campus. The fraternity sits with heads down and shoulders slumped, no one uttering a word. With only one game left in the season, the football team would be forgiven if it shared some sentiments with National Lampoon’s fictitious fraternity stars. But as the great Otter once said, “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”
The women’s ice hockey team is looking to redeem itself against No. 2 Cornell after being blown out 5-1 by the Big Red in their first meeting of the year. In that Oct. 30 game at Baker Rink, Cornell (6-1 overall, 4-0 ECAC Hockey) put the pressure on Princeton (3-5-1, 3-3-1) right out of the gate, scoring a goal in the first two minutes.
After wrapping up its most successful season in 23 years and beginning a new season with one of its strongest recruiting classes ever, the wrestling team will compete in the Keystone Open in Philadelphia on Sunday with 11 other teams and more than 200 competitors.
Last weekend, the Dartmouth football team had an opportunity to nail down its first winning season in 13 years. The Big Green was up 11 points against Brown with three minutes left in the third quarter, but at the end of the game the scoreboard read 35-28 in the Bears’ favor.On Saturday, the Big Green will have one last chance to earn a winning record. Princeton (1-8 overall, 0-6 Ivy League) will host Dartmouth (5-4, 2-4) in both teams’ final contest of the year, as the Tigers look for their seventh straight victory over the New Hampshire team.Head coach Bob Surace ’90 commented on the influence of injuries on the Princeton squad.
The men’s soccer team ended its season in the cruelest of fashions last night at Roberts Stadium, losing to University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. No. 10 Princeton (13-4-1 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) was ultimately undone by dubious officiating and a physical, counter-attacking performance by the Retrievers (11-4-3). It is the second time in as many years that Princeton has failed to clear the first hurdle of the tournament: Last year, Princeton lost 1-0 to Bucknell at the same stage.
The men’s cross country roster looks like it belongs to a team in a “rebuilding year.” Sixteen runners are underclassmen and nine are juniors; only four are seniors. No matter how talented, a small eldest class can harm a team.
With 12 straight wins and an undefeated run through the Ivy League, the men’s soccer team is achieving things the program has never before accomplished. Princeton (13-3-1 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) will put its streak to the test when it matters most, in the first round of the NCAA tournament, as the Tigers host University of Maryland, Baltimore County, tonight at 7 p.m. at Roberts Stadium. The Tigers’ win streak and 7-1-1 record at home has the team feeling great about its chances.
There’s no position in sports quite like the placekicker in professional football: a player who comes on for 10, maybe 15, plays per game, and is asked to kick an oblong ellipsoid between two yellow posts or to the other team. Often, the entire game rests on whether or not that oddly shaped ball passes between those posts.
The women’s volleyball team bowed out to Penn yesterday evening on Senior Night in a hard-fought match that typified its Ivy League season this year. Against the Quakers (13-12 overall, 8-6 Ivy League), as throughout the race for the Ivy League championship, the Tigers (16-10, 12-2) showcased gritty comebacks and gutsy plays but ultimately came up just a little short.
Only a game into the 2010-11 season, the women’s basketball team will be challenged by Rutgers in one of its toughest games of the year. Rutgers (0-2) was one of only two teams to defeat Princeton (1-0) in the regular season last year.
At the age of 3, when many of us were still learning to run in a straight line, Sally Butler was already well on her way to becoming the standout hockey player that she is today. The freshman forward from Etobicoke, Ontario, has scored three game-winning goals for the Princeton women’s hockey team (3-5-1 overall, 3-3-1 ECAC Hockey) to give the Tigers the advantage over Colgate, Rensselaer and Union. Last Tuesday she was recognized for her impressive contributions by being awarded the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week. Butler is currently ranked fifth in the conference for goals scored.
During the 11th round of the World Boxing Council super welterweight (154 pounds) championship between Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2) and Antonio Margarito (38-7), Pacquiao slowed down his onslaught to look over to the referee in an attempt to get him to call the fight. Despite a large physical disadvantage, Pacquiao had dominated Margarito throughout the fight. Pacquiao — 5 feet, 6.5 inches and weighing in at 144.6 pounds pre-fight — had to overcome Margarito’s larger physique — 5 feet, 11 inches and weighing in at 150 pounds pre-fight. And overcome he did, defeating Margarito in a unanimous decision with the referees scoring the fight overwhelmingly in Pacquiao’s favor: 120-108, 118-110 and 119-109.
Famous for his alleged appearance on “Jersey Shore,” sophomore Bobby Grogan is a starting heavyweight on the wrestling team. While his friendship with Snooki is ambiguous, Grogan’s superior wrestling skills are unquestionable — he even represented Princeton last season at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships. Grogan started last year as a freshman in the 197-pound weight class before moving to the heavyweight division where he will continue his collegiate career this year.
“Depth” and “experience” are two words that members of the men’s squash team certainly will not forget this season in their attempt to regain and surpass last year’s third-place NCAA finish. Princeton is No. 3 in the country in preseason rankings.
We’re 10 weeks into the craziest NFL season in a while. Every team has played nine games, and the bye weeks are over. You know what that means? I think it’s time to construct an arbitrary mathematical system to project the playoff teams. Coincidentally, I did just that. What are the odds?
This time last year, the women’s squash team had high hopes of winning its fourth straight national championship. After a number of Princeton’s top players suffered injuries, however, the squad performed below its potential and ultimately fell short of the title.
