It was the bottom of the second, the score was tied at one and the pouring rain threatened the future of the game.
Then the softball team takes the diamond at 1895 Field tomorrow it will face a dual threat from Harvard in sophomore hitting sensation Deborah Abeles and current Ivy League Pitcher of the Week Tasha Cupp.Princeton (18-2 overall, 2-2 Ivy) must shut down Abeles and find a way to solve Cupp in order to defeat Harvard (18-17, 4-0) and keep any hope of winning the Ivy championship alive."(Harvard is) definitely one of our top competitors in the league," senior pitcher Alyssa Smith said.A shortstop and the Ivy League Player of the Week for the second consecutive time, Abeles has batted 15 for 27 for the past six games, with a .556 average.
Christian Cook expected to face one of the toughest assignments of his lacrosse career last Saturday in the men's lacrosse team's game against Harvard.
The women's tennis team's spring record currently stands at 12-0. The last time Princeton started off with 12 straight wins was in 1973, when current head coach Louise Gengler '75 was only a sophomore.But the Tigers (14-2 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) still have a daunting task to overcome ? winning this weekend's matches against Dartmouth and Harvard.
Past glory and future hopes don't mean anything to a golf course.The bunkers don't care that Mary Moan '97 was the best eastern collegiate female golfer ever.The fairways don't even consider the prospects of a young team on the verge of greatness.The women's golf team will face its rivals at the second-ever Ivy Championships this weekend.
In the blink of an eye, senior attack Melissa Cully put women's lacrosse ahead of Delaware, 1-0, with a goal seven seconds into the game.
Two rounds, one season.These elements lay in the balance for the men's golf team this weekend as it heads into the 24th Ivy League Championships in Bethpage, N.Y.From 1992 to 1995, Princeton dominated the competition at Ivies.
There are certain events in the athletic world in which it seems only super-humans can compete ? the Ironman triathlon, for instance ? and there are other sports that are decried for not being demanding enough.
Senior midfielder Mark Whaling has already won four Ivy League championships in his career at Princeton and will win a fifth if the men's lacrosse team can sweep its remaining three league contests.And no, Whaling is not violating any NCAA rules.While most members of the lacrosse team play fall ball and develop team chemistry throughout the autumn months, Whaling is chasing quarterbacks and batting down passes.
Like typical freshmen, Andrew Hanson, Casey Hildreth and Max Krance entered college with anticipatory doubts about what they would find.
After the women's rugby football club's performance two weekends ago, many might have wondered why the team did not make it to the nationals this spring as it did for the last three years.
There's no place like home, at least for the men's tennis team.Entering yesterday's match with Army, Princeton's last home loss was March 7 against Penn State.By winning five of six singles matches, the Tigers (10-6 overall, 5-1 Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association) won their sixth consecutive match, downing the Black Knights yesterday, 6-1, at Lenz Tennis Center.
After allowing the game-winning home run in the softball team's loss to Cornell Friday, junior pitcher Lynn Miller was more than anxious to get back on the mound and back on track.When presented with the opportunity to redeem herself, Miller capitalized.
The women's tennis team moved from No. 61 to No. 43 in the Rolex Collegiate Rankings in the most recent poll.
Men's heavyweight crew dominated the competition the first two weeks of the young season. The first varsity boat defeated its opponents, Navy and Rutgers, by an average of 15 seconds.Saturday, Penn brought the Tigers back to reality.Competing in the nation's oldest intercollegiate cup race, the Childs Cup, on the Harlem River against Columbia and Penn, Princeton found itself eight seats behind Penn after the race's initial 500 meters.The Tigers (4-0 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) responded like the crew that went undefeated in the Ivy League last season, however, over the race's last 1500 meters, to claim their fifth consecutive cup.
At age 58, Jack Nicklaus was able to use his extensive knowledge of Augusta National to shoot a surprising 68 Sunday, and finish sixth at the Masters, outdistancing the likes of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie.For the men's golf team, the challenge also lay in conquering familiar terrain, as it faced off against Harvard and Yale at its home course, Springdale Golf Club, this weekend.Saturday, the Tigers called upon their wealth of experience to outpace the Elis by 11 strokes, 368-379.
A cursory glance at the final score reveals a blowout. But a closer look at Saturday's women's track and field tri-meet against Penn and Yale at Weaver Stadium shows encouraging results for Princeton in its first Ivy League competition of the spring season.Without senior Nicole Harrison, who was finishing her thesis, and unable to challenge the Quakers' bevy of field athletes, the Tigers placed second to Penn, 99-54.
High hopes and lofty goals are often difficult to live up to, but in the case of Princeton women's crew, all of its preseason expectations seem well within reach.Travelling to Ithaca, N.Y., Saturday for an important Ivy League regatta, both the lightweight and open teams performed exceptionally well, capturing important victories over Cornell and Radcliffe.The open crew entered the race with strong momentum from last week's victory over Rutgers on Lake Carnegie, and used it to its advantage against both the Big Red and the Crimson.The first varsity eight (2-1) bested both rival opponents, turning in a time of seven minutes, 6.5 seconds to 7:12.5 for Radcliffe and 7:27.0 for Cornell. Strong finishAfter jumping out to a slight lead in the first 500 meters of the course, Princeton began to pull away as the race wore on, finishing with a commanding six-second victory.Three out of the remaining four Tiger boats won with equal ease, as only the first novice eight stumbled, losing to Radcliffe 6:48.5 to 6:55.6.Despite the disappointment of not sweeping the regatta, the results reveal much about the steady improvement of all five boats."We have made great strides already this season," said open head coach Lori Dauphiny.
It all came down to eight guys, 1600 meters and a baton.As the Princeton and Penn men's mile relay teams stepped to the starting line, each knew that in approximately three minutes, the favorite for the Ivy League title would emerge.It was to be the Tigers' day.
Springfield finished the season ranked second in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll and often plays strong opponents close.Against Princeton, however, it does not seem to have much success.
