Sports

Column: NBA has bright future in youngsters

In the Los Angeles Clippers’ game against the New York Knicks on Saturday, Blake Griffin hammered home two incredible dunks. His first dunk involved Griffin posterizing Timofey Mozgov by throwing the ball into the hoop with Mozgov still standing in front of the rim; the second was a fast-break slam off a spin over the Knicks’ Danilo Gallinari.

Wrestling: Frey takes 2nd, Kolodzik and Callahan 4th at Keystone Classic

Given that the wrestling team throws its underclassmen directly into tournaments instead of easing them into the season with dual meets, performances like this weekend's are impressive. The Tigers placed four wrestlers — including one freshman — at the Keystone Classic, alongside a number of top-ranked teams.

Swimming & Diving: Tigers sweep Cornell, Penn in Ivy Opener

As the first step in defending last year’s Ivy League championships, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had a successful opening weekend for their league seasons. Both the men and women took first place against Cornell and Penn when they traveled to Ithaca, N.Y., this weekend.

Men's Basketball: Cagers squander 13-point lead after first half in loss to JMU

It looks like the men's basketball team is not ready to dominate the Ivy League yet. The Tigers (1-2 overall) continued play in the College Basketball Experience Classic on Monday night, losing a heartbreaker to James Madison University (2-1) 65-64 in Harrisonburg, Va. It seemed as if Princeton would cruise to a blowout victory after jumping out to a 15-4 lead five minutes into the game. The Tigers were hitting shot after shot, and James Madison had no answer to their high-paced offense. Princeton led by as much as 20 in the first half and went into halftime leading 47-34 on 18-29 shooting from the field.

Cross Country: Men finish 12th at NCAAs

As collegiate competition goes, cross country has a long tradition at Princeton. The Tigers held their first meet on Nov. 16, 1906, more than a century ago. Entering 2010, Princeton had already seen some impressive runners, including six All-American men and four All-American women. So when the men’s cross-country team has its best season in history, it means something. And after the Tigers’ performance Monday at the NCAA championship in Terre Haute, Ind., nobody can doubt that 2010 has been that season.

Women's Basketball: Balanced attack ends Lehigh's streak

After a heartbreaking 54-53 buzzer-beater loss to Rutgers last Thursday, the women’s basketball team’s 69-52 victory over Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., could be summed up in one word: rebound. Princeton (2-1) became the first team to beat the Mountain Hawks (1-2) at home since the 2007-08 season, ending Lehigh’s home winning streak at 33 games.

On the Prowl: November 21, 2010

Executive Editor for Sports Vikram Rao '11 and Associate Editor for Sports Gabe Debenedetti '12 discuss the men's water polo team's performance in the Eastern Championships, the play of women's basketball, and the disappointing conclusions to the men's soccer and football seasons.

Football Analysis: 142-year-old team has first 1-9 campaign

The football team’s difficult season came to a historic, grinding halt Saturday as Dartmouth (6-4 overall, 3-4 Ivy League) blanked Princeton (1-9, 0-7) 31-0 at Princeton Stadium. The lopsided game, which was the Tigers’ worst loss to the Big Green since 1970, marked the first time since 1973 that Princeton failed to win any conference games in a single season — a remarkable happening that has now occurred only twice in the program’s 141-year history. With the weekend’s shutout, Dartmouth, long the punching bag of the Ivy League, completed its first winning season in 13 years and captured a fifth-place finish in the conference standings.

Women's Hockey: Tigers fail to score in weekend trip to New York vs. No. 2 Cornell, Colgate

It was a tough trip to New York for the women’s hockey team this weekend, as the Tigers were shut out in consecutive games for the first time in almost five years. Princeton (3-7-1 overall, 3-5-1 ECAC Hockey) fell 1-0 to No. 2 Cornell (8-1, 6-0) on Friday and was shut out again on Saturday 2-0 by Colgate (5-9, 2-4).

Squash: Both teams sweep opening weekend matches to kick off respective championship quests

The men’s and women’s squash teams opened their seasons with a couple of home victories this weekend. The No. 3 men (2-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) defeated Franklin & Marshall 8-1 on Saturday and followed that dominating win with a hard-fought 6-3 victory over Cornell on Sunday.

Football: Dartmouth ends 7-game skid vs. Old Nassau

The football team’s Saturday afternoon ended the same way most have this fall: with Princeton watching its opponent run out the clock. The Tigers (1-9 overall, 0-7 Ivy League) trudged off the field as Dartmouth (6-4, 3-4) celebrated a 31-0 victory on the opposite sideline. There would be no next week, no other opponent to prepare for, no more chances to turn it around. The final chapter had been written about 2010: the worst season in the history of Princeton football.

Men's Hockey: Squad splits weekend league homestand

A stifling defensive performance, led by sophomore goalie Mike Condon’s career-high 36 saves, gave the men’s hockey team a 1-0 victory over Harvard on Friday night for Princeton’s fourth straight win.

Men's Water Polo: Loss to Navy ends dreams of Final Four repeat

This weekend marked the end of the men’s water polo season as Princeton placed third at the Eastern Championship, falling short of a repeat NCAA Final Four bid. The No. 15 Tigers (19-8 overall, 6-3 Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division) registered a 10-4 win against Massachusetts Institute of Technology (13-12), fell to No. 18 Navy (24-7, 8-1) 5-8 and defeated No. 17 Bucknell (13-16, 2-7) 8-7.

Live Blog: Football vs. Dartmouth

Men's Water Polo: Princeton hits road aiming to repeat as Eastern champions

This weekend the men’s water polo team will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., for the Eastern Championship. The top four teams from the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern and Northern divisions will compete for a bid to the NCAA tournament and the chance to play in the Final Four. The No. 16 Tigers (17-7 overall, 6-2 CWPA Southern Division) won the top seed in the Southern Division by defeating No. 17 Bucknell (12-14, 2-6) at the Southern Championship. At Easterns this weekend, Princeton will face Massachusetts Institute of Technology (12-10), the No. 4 seed from the Northern Division.

Women's Basketball: Princeton loses in buzzer-beater against Rutgers

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.

Men's Hockey: Princeton looks to continue winning ways at Baker Rink

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.

Men's Soccer: Early lead, dominant offense not enough as loss ends team's record-setting season

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.

Squash: Teams aim to start quickly

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.

Column: This game could be historic, so make sure you're there

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?”