A dropped ball, an errant pass, a poor shot ? there are several ways to lose possession in a lacrosse game.
One team raced the defending champions. Another was able to jet past the leading boat of the race, which had caught a crab and came to a standstill.
When we last left the women's lacrosse team last season, things weren't exactly looking up for the Tiger program.
In Jamestown, Va., in 1612, John Rolfe produced the first Virginia tobacco crop, the taste of which the English actually enjoyed.
With a runner on second, no outs in the bottom of the eighth, and Princeton softball leading by one, a short sacrifice bunt made sophomore shortstop Kim Veenstra think the Tigers could nail the advancing runner at third ? hoping to destroy the game-threatening rally right at its heart.The resulting throw, however, traveled a bit too high ? allowing the runner to slide right under the tag ? capping an error-filled weekend.
Sometimes, seemingly insignificant events can be microcosms of the bigger picture. Two events at this weekend's Sam Howell Memorial Invitational at Weaver Stadium ? hosted by the men's and women's track teams ? encapsulate the seasons of both squads.On the men's side, in the first heat of the 100-meter dash, Princeton entered five of the six runners.
After three straight league losses, the baseball team's back was against the wall. Needing a victory in the last game of the weekend, the Tigers were bailed out by their bats.Saturday against Dartmouth, Princeton (6-12 overall, 1-3 Ivy League) lost the first game, 4-2 in extra innings, and the second, 13-4.
Think of it this way: If the men's lacrosse team had pulled its goalie at the opening face-off Saturday, and every shot by opponent Yale had been on the mark, the Elis would have topped the Tigers by just one goal.There would be no such luck for visiting Yale (3-3 overall, 1-2 Ivy League) at 1952 Stadium.
After Cristi Samaras '99 graduated, women's lacrosse had no established scorer who could take over a game by herself.Eight games into this season, the Tigers still have not found any one player who has taken over the role as the team's main scoring threat.Instead, Princeton has four or five who can step up to dominate a game at any moment.That balanced attack was at work this weekend at 1952 Stadium as the No.
CrewThe Princeton heavyweight men opened their season Saturday with a win in Annapolis, Md., against Navy.
Every match is crucial now for the tennis teams, whose Ivy League seasons include only seven contests.
Fresh off of an impressive showing at last weekend's Princeton Invitational, the softball team hoped to translate that momentum into a pair of wins against intrastate rival Rutgers yesterday afternoon at 1895 Field.But Princeton (9-15 overall), would lose a little bit of that steam, settling for a more modest result ? a split with the Scarlet Knights.The Tigers dropped the front end of the doubleheader, 6-3, in extra innings, before coming back to blank Rutgers, 5-0, in six innings before play gave way to darkness."Obviously, we did a nice job coming back in the second game," head coach Cindy Cohen said.
The bubble finally burst.The men's volleyball team, which needed to win all of its remaining matches following Tuesday night's loss at NJIT, dropped a 3-0 decision to Concordia last night at Dillon Gym.
Friday, March 31 Women's golf at William and Mary (through April 2 in Williamsburg, Va.) Women's lacrosse vs.
The time for lineup tune-ups and rotation roulette has passed. Now, the "preseason" is over."This is what we gear up for," head coach Scott Bradley said.
For the past four seasons, Princeton's men's lacrosse team has moved through the Ivy League season like a construction crew laying a section of interstate highway on a midwestern plain ? show up, flatten and move on to the next task.Tomorrow, the Tigers (3-1 overall) will try to keep pouring asphalt on the rest of the conference when they host Yale (3-2, 1-1 Ivy League) in their Ivy opener at 1952 Stadium.Under the guidance of head coach Bill Tierney, Princeton is poised for another run at the Ivy championship ? which would be the school's sixth consecutive crown.
The referee pushed through bodies, burrowing down through sweaty, kicking legs and linked arms, furiously trying to find the bottom of the human pile.
PISCATAWAY ? The baseball team knew its strength this season would be its pitching. The Tigers returned a cadre of starters and brought in a strong freshman class.
For most of the women's squash team, the beginning of the off-season means a chance to finally relax ? a chance to take some time away from squash after another grueling season.For junior Julia Beaver, however, the "off-season" has an entirely different significance.
So how about those folks over at Sports Illustrated? They just have such a sense of humor, don't they?By picking Boston to win the World Series, they managed to pile the SI cover jinx on top of the Curse of the Bambino, guaranteeing that the Red Sox have about as much chance of winning this year's Fall Classic as I do of marrying Marisa Tomei.Still, mocking New Englanders isn't the only thing this Washingtonian has to look forward to this year.
