Sports

Column: It's LeBron's year

There comes a time in every man’s life when he has to face the cold, harsh realities of his existence and make a difficult decision with major consequences. There also comes a time in every man’s life when he writes an NBA playoff preview. This is that second time. Let’s break this year’s NBA playoff teams down into some groups in ascending order of their title chances.

Men's Lacrosse: Tigers fight off Rutgers

The rain that poured down just as halftime ended at Class of 1952 Stadium on Tuesday night was a good omen for the men’s lacrosse team, as the Tiger goals that poured in during a two-minute stretch of the third quarter irreversibly switched the momentum in Princeton’s favor. 

Column: Athletes must stop idolizing Vincent Chase

American males between the ages of 13 and 60 watch “Entourage” on HBO with their eyes wide open. We watch Vincent Chase strut around Hollywood with his entourage, as every beautiful girl seemingly begs to sleep with him. His life as a movie star is idealized and ornamented with fancy cars, extravagant estates and fun getaways with zero punishment.

Taekwondo team kicks it at Dillon

Believe it or not, Chuck Norris did not invent the roundhouse kick to the face. It was made famous by Korean taekwondo. Princeton’s own Chuck Norrises, members of the taekwondo team, spend much of their time in the Dillon Gymnasium Multipurpose Room.

Baseball: Monmouth lineup directs assault

Under gray clouds at Clarke Field on Tuesday afternoon, the baseball team fell to Monmouth 24-7. The Tigers (8-20 overall, 3-5 Ivy League) struggled early and were unable to get on track against a powerful Hawks offense. Princeton committed five errors and surrendered 15 hits before the game was called due to darkness at the end of the seventh inning.

Crew: Childs Cup returns to Princeton

Last weekend, the men’s heavyweight, women’s open and women’s lightweight crews competed away from Princeton’s home at Lake Carnegie. The men traveled to New York City, where they claimed the Childs Cup by defeating Penn and Columbia. The women’s open crew kept its hold on the Class of ’75 Cup by besting Cornell and Radcliffe (Harvard) in Ithaca, N.Y. Far off in Redwood Shores, Calif., the women’s lightweight crew suffered close losses to top-ranked Wisconsin and Stanford but beat Sonoma State by a wide margin. 

Golf: Solid showings continue as championship nears

The women’s golf team defeated Columbia in a dual match while the men’s team placed ninth in the Princeton Invitational over the weekend.

Men's Volleyball: Tigers will host playoff game

Seniors Carl Hamming and Jeff McCown, co-captains of the men’s volleyball team, have had an eventful week. Not only are the two dealing with the stresses of senior year, but with a postseason spot on the line, a struggling team looked to its seniors to deliver. 

Men's Rugby: Princeton dominates, stakes claim as best in New Jersey

On Saturday, the men’s rugby team beat The College of New Jersey, Montclair State University and William Patterson University to win the New Jersey State Tournament for the second consecutive year. 

Track & Field: Men take 7 of 18 events in home quad meet

As the track and field season grinds on, Princeton’s athletes seem to have hit their groove. The men’s team won seven of 10 events to lead the field when it hosted Penn, Villanova and Rutgers on Saturday. The runners were particularly dominant, winning the 400m, the 800m and the 4x400m relay.

Softball: Princeton breaks 11-game losing streak with win over Brown, drops three more games on road

After rain on Friday moved the softball team’s games back a day, the Tigers (7-25 overall, 1-7 Ivy League) earned their first Ivy League victory in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader against Brown (13-12, 1-5). Princeton split its series with Brown and dropped both games of a twin bill against Yale (8-17, 4-4).

Men's Lacrosse: Orange and Black and Blue

It was a result that shocked the college lacrosse world.Playing in front of a crowd that numbered in the thousands, the men’s lacrosse team fell to No. 3 Syracuse by a 13-4 margin at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic. The lopsided game closed out the first ever event at the New Meadowlands Stadium and left a shaken Princeton team (7-2 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) searching for answers as it looked toward the tail-end of its regular season.

Tennis: Women move closer to Ivy League title with pair of home victories

It was a wild weekend for both the women’s and men’s tennis teams as they faced off with Ivy League foes Harvard and Dartmouth. The No. 28 women’s team continued its domination in Ivy League play, defeating No. 53 Harvard (11-7 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) 5-2 at the Lenz Tennis Center on Friday. The Tigers (18-5, 5-0) followed with another strong performance at home on Saturday, beating No. 48 Dartmouth (16-3, 3-1) 6-1. Overall, Princeton has beaten 10 of its 13 ranked opponents.

Women's Water Polo: Weekend sweep helps title hopes

Sophomore goalie Kristen Ward jumped across the goal, treaded out of the water and met the opposing shot with two flexed arms, preventing the Bucknell goal late in the fourth. Ward played her best game of the year on Sunday afternoon in DeNunzio Pool to lead the women’s water polo team to a 4-3 victory over the Bison (12-5 overall, 4-1 Collegiate Water Polo Association).

Women's Lacrosse: 10-goal run fuels win over Bulldogs

Before Saturday, the women’s lacrosse team had yet to see a win on its own turf. But the No. 17 Tigers (5-6 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) were able to reverse the trend and pick up their first win at Princeton Stadium on Saturday in dominating style, topping Yale (5-7, 2-3) 11-2.

Baseball: Pitching falters on Ancient Eight trip

In its first four Ivy League games, the baseball team allowed its opponents to score just 12 runs.In its fifth, Brown needed only six innings to top that mark.Princeton (8-19 overall, 3-5 Ivy League) could not keep Brown (9-17, 6-2) off the base paths on Saturday, allowing 29 runs on 38 hits in a pair of contests in Providence, R.I. The Tigers lost the first game 17-4, and though their offense put on a show in the nightcap, it was not enough to avoid a 12-11 defeat. Princeton picked up an 8-7 win in its opener on Sunday at Yale (15-12-1, 3-5) but dropped the second 6-5.

Tennis: Both teams look to continue winning ways

Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams look to extend their perfect Ivy League records to 5-0 this weekend. The men’s squad (7-10 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) first squares off against No. 69 Harvard (9-10, 0-2) in Cambridge, Mass., on Friday. 

Live Coverage: No. 4 Men's Lacrosse versus No. 3 Syracuse

Baseball: Ivy slate continues against Yale, Brown

With spring weather having officially arrived, the baseball team heads north this weekend for four critical Ivy League games. On Saturday and Sunday, the Tigers (7-16 Overall, 2-3 Ivy League) will conclude the divisional crossover portion of their schedule with a pair of road doubleheaders against Rolfe Division foes Brown (5-17, 2-2) and Yale (12-11-1, 0-4).

Men's Lacrosse: Tigers face Orange at Meadowlands

On Saturday, when the No. 4 men’s lacrosse team takes on No. 3 Syracuse, Princeton fans are hoping that three will be the Tigers’ lucky number. Princeton (7-1 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) will play in the third game of the day in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic, which will christen the New Meadowlands Stadium.