What do I have in common with the NFL’s leading rusher, besides 225 pounds of muscle and a tie for the Houston Texans’ team single-game rushing record? If you guessed “neither of you were drafted by an NFL team,” you’d be right.
A black jersey slips past several defenders before it is finally brought to the turf, safely clutching the ball as a whistle blows. He finds the referee and flips the ball, getting his bearings and quickly running to his spot at the line of scrimmage. Five linemen quickly march downfield and set up as junior quarterback Tommy Wornham barks out a play call. He looks over to the sideline, where backups senior Andrew Dixon and sophomore Tim Dondanville are side by side issuing identical signals, like a third-base coach standing by a mirror. Wornham reaches his position, flanked by a single running back. He gives one quick call and the ball is back in motion, mere seconds after the last play ended.
In the final tournament of its fall season, the men’s golf team finished eighth at the Northeast Invitational at Shelter Harbor, R.I. The par-71 course hosted all eight Ivy League teams and other stiff competition from schools such as Army, Navy and Boston College.
The women’s ice hockey team opened its season with an exhibition loss to McGill on Friday at Baker Rink. Despite three goals, the team was unable to overcome a strong McGill head start and ultimately fell 4-3.
The men’s rugby team lost 17-10 to Yale and 17-10 to Harvard on its road trip this weekend, but while the scores in the two matches were identical, the quality of Princeton’s play differed drastically.
Amid the buzz of Freshman Parents Weekend and other Princeton athletic events on campus, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams had a solid weekend of racing. The two teams sent their top groups to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Pre-Nationals meet, while the rest of the squads hosted the Princeton Invitational at West Windsor Fields.
There were obvious feelings of frustration and disappointment among players and coaches following the sprint football team’s 55-0 loss in their first away game of the season at Army on Friday night. Despite a long week dedicated to preparing for the game, the Tigers (0-5 overall, 0-3 Collegiate Sprint Football League) were unable to compete with the very athletic and talented Black Knights (3-1, 2-1).
The field hockey team faced its first back-to-back games this season, with matches against Brown and Connecticut on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. And while the Tigers (10-3 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) easily disposed of the Bears (2-10, 1-3) 7-1 at Class of 1952 Stadium, they fell 4-2 in Storrs, Conn., to the Huskies (12-3) after a valiant comeback attempt.
The men’s water polo team’s undefeated league streak was extended and then crushed over the spread of three games this weekend. The No. 17 Tigers (11-7 overall, 5-2 Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division) topped Johns Hopkins (10-10, 2-3) 9-6 in a Saturday afternoon game and then fell to No. 18 Navy (17-5, 5-1) in a 7-6 heartbreaker later that night. The Tigers also lost at Bucknell (8-9, 1-5) on Sunday afternoon, 9-4.
The women’s volleyball team protected its perfect Ivy League record with a pair of crucial wins over Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend. Playing in front of an animated crowd on Friday night at Dillon Gymnasium, the Tigers (10-6 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) squeaked out a thrilling 3-2 victory over Harvard (5-13, 2-4). The following day Princeton made quick work of Dartmouth (12-5, 3-3), winning in three uncontested sets.
Vikram Rao and Gabriel Debenedetti discuss this weekend's big games.
The football team played its best 30 minutes of the season on Saturday, taking a 13-0 lead into the locker room at Princeton Stadium. But the first half also took a major toll: The home team saw three key players leave the game due to injury. Over the final 30 minutes, Brown dominated a depleted Princeton offense and came back for a 17-13 victory.
The women’s soccer team was ranked No. 1 in the Ivy League as it headed to Columbia to face the second-place Lions on Saturday. But the Lions (8-2-3 overall, 3-0-1 Ivy League) handed the Tigers (8-5, 3-1) their first league loss of the season in a 2-0 decision and extended their own unbeaten streak to seven games. With the win, Columbia moved past Princeton into first place in the Ivy League.
If there were a theme for the season that the football team is currently slogging through, it could be summed up by a single word: injuries. From senior tri-captain and inside linebacker Steve Cody’s season-ending leg fracture in the first game of the year to the upper-body injury to junior quarterback Tommy Wornham that took him out of Saturday’s matchup against Brown, the Tigers have suffered setback after setback in their personnel department this season.
NEW YORK — As time expired on Saturday night and Columbia players fell to the turf in disappointment and disbelief, the men’s soccer team breathed a collective sigh of relief. The Tigers (3-0 Ivy League, 8-3-1 overall) had just pulled together a 3-2 victory over Columbia (0-3, 4-7-1) in a game in which they were, for the most part, outplayed by the home team.
This weekend, the last two undefeated Ivy League women’s soccer teams will battle it out on the field for control of the first place spot in the league. Princeton (8-4 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) will travel to Columbia (7-2-3, 2-0-1) on Saturday for the pivotal Ancient Eight matchup.
Coming off a weekend split against No. 3 Virginia and No. 10 Louisville, the field hockey team will once again square off against one of the nation’s best teams when it plays No. 5 Connecticut on Sunday afternoon. Princeton’s other opponent this weekend is Brown.
The men’s and women’s cross country teams will be very busy this weekend, as both squads are competing in the Pre-Nationals meet in Terre Haute, Ind., and the Princeton Invitational. The Pre-Nationals meet will be held on the same course as the NCAA championships so that teams can gain experience before competing for the national title.
With the loss of their first-team All-Ivy League senior quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero to a season-ending wrist injury two weeks ago, the Brown Bears may have less bite in store for the Princeton football team on Saturday.
