The women’s lacrosse team defeated Temple in its season opener, 17–4. First-year defender Mary Murphy’s strong performance earned her recognition as Ivy League Defender of the Week.
As the Ivy League women’s basketball season draws closer to its conclusion, much still remains to be decided for the Ancient Eight. Princeton remains firmly entrenched in the top five of the league, looking to clinch a spot in the top 4 this weekend. Elsewhere, teams jockey for tournament seeding as three teams currently sit tied for two spots. Finally, the league’s bottom teams look to use these last few weeks to make some noise and end their season on a positive note albeit with some upsets.
Last Saturday, the men’s lacrosse team played its first game of the season, and it was a very exciting start. No. 18 Princeton came out on top 9–8 in a double overtime win against Monmouth. This was the first time that these two teams have ever played, mainly because the Hawks’ men’s lacrosse program is only five years old.
Princeton men’s basketball (11–14 overall, 3–7 Ivy) extended its losing streak to six games this weekend, losing road matchups to Cornell (10–13 overall, 4–6 Ivy) 107–101 (3OT) and Columbia (7–16 overall, 4–6 Ivy) 85–60 on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively. Here are some themes that emerged over the course of the weekend.
The Tigers — leaders of the Ivy League — took care of business this weekend with consecutive road victories at Cornell and Columbia, the league’s current seventh and eighth place teams.
The women’s swimming team defied expectations, posting 1,301 points in the Ivy League Championships. The team made a strong push under first-year head coach Bret Lundgaard, improving markedly from their 1,024 points from last season.
This weekend, Princeton basketball will be racking up miles, with the men’s and women’s teams going on the road together. The men’s team will be going to Cornell and Columbia on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. The women will also be playing against the Big Red and the Lions on Friday and Saturday night respectively. This weekend will be pivotal for both teams as they make their final pushes for the Ivy League standings.
This weekend, from Feb. 16 to Feb. 18, the Princeton women’s water polo team (0–4) will be hosting the Princeton Invitational at DeNunzio Pool. The last time that the Tigers hosted this invitational was in the 2016 season. During this three-day invitational, Princeton will play host to a wide variety of teams.
On Feb. 6, ESPN broadcaster Rece Davis made one of his first trips to Princeton as a commentator, getting the chance to cover the Tigers and Penn Quakers' face-off on the basketball court. Later on this year, Rece will add to the many trips he has taken as a parent to watch the Tigers square off in their baseball home opener against the Harvard Crimson and to cheer on his son, sophomore outfielder Chris Davis.
In a matchup between two teams tied atop the Ivy League standings, the women’s basketball team made a strong statement Tuesday night with a 60–40 win against Penn in front of a home crowd at Jadwin Gymnasium. The Tigers dominated on both ends of the court throughout, taking an early lead and never allowing Penn back into the game. With the win, Princeton moves into sole control of first place in the Ivy League.
Women’s tennis improved to 6–0 on the season, the team’s best start since 1975.
Halfway through its Ivy League conference schedule, Princeton men’s basketball has found itself in a rut. The Tigers lost games against Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend, dropping to a three-way tie for No. 5 in the Ivy League standings.
“It’s a big three games coming up for us,” Head Coach Courtney Banghart said on Wednesday regarding the Harvard, Dartmouth and Penn games. “It is very helpful that all of those games are home,” she added. “It’s where you practice everyday, and it’s where you establish your routine . . . We draw the most [home fans] in the league and we know there will be a lot of people there.”
Despite its middling record, men’s hockey is optimistic about the last six games of its season. “Regardless of rankings or records, any team can beat anyone on any night. We proved that ourselves," senior forward David Hallisey said. “Regardless of wins and losses, we should be be able to win the next of our six games. We have a real shot at ECAC championships.”
This weekend will be a busy one for Princeton basketball. The men’s team (11–10, 3–3 Ivy) will be going on the road to Harvard (10–11, 5–1) and Dartmouth (4–15, 0–6) on Friday and Saturday night respectively. The women (14–4, 4–1 Ivy) are at home playing against the Crimson (13–6, 5–1) and the Big Green (12–7, 4–2) on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. Both teams are getting into the heart of their season and will reach or pass the halfway point of their seasons by the end of this weekend.
The men’s basketball team conceded its second game to the University of Pennsylvania this season after a tough 82–65 defeat. Penn’s victory puts them at the top of the Ivy League with a perfect 6–0 record. Princeton is now tied with Columbia with a 3–3 record. The top four teams in the Ivy League will qualify for the Ivy League tournament.
After sweeping Temple University 7–0, the women’s tennis team entered the weekend slated to face off against the University of Delaware and No. 12 Auburn University. The doubleheader began on an auspicious note as the Tigers swept Delaware 7–0, taking two of three in the doubles point and sweeping the singles. However, Princeton awaited nationally ranked Auburn fresh off a sweep of Cornell University. The Tigers would knock of Auburn 4–2, improving their dual-meet record to 3–0.
Over the weekend, men’s squash suffered tough defeats against Harvard and Dartmouth, while women’s squash rebounded back from a loss against Harvard to beat Dartmouth to improve to 11-1 on the season.
