May 15, 2002: Sports

On the verge of a national title
Ivy champion women’s lacrosse retains top ranking

Sport shorts
More Ivy titles for Princeton, Walters �67 stays in Tigertown, and more

Aquatic ascendance
Nationally ranked women’s water polo team building winning tradition

Scores

Sports Web Exclusives! The Varsity Typewriter column

On the verge of a national title

Photo: Theresa Sherry ’04 and her 37 goals are a major part of the Tigers’ success. (Beverly Schaefer)

In late April, Princeton’s women’s lacrosse team (14—1, 6—0 Ivy) was perched atop the national rankings and driving pell-mell into the postseason with a tank full of confidence. On the brink of the NCAA tournament, the Tigers won a second consecutive Ivy title with a 15—3 drubbing of Dartmouth on April 20, then came back from a five-goal deficit to beat defending national champ Maryland 13—9 on April 24 for their 14th straight win.

While Coach Chris Sailer and her team should be able to see the Final Four from here, the Tigers have maintained a deliberately myopic perspective. “This year we’ve taken a different tack,” says Sailer, who has a .739 winning percentage in 15 years at Princeton. “Rather than talking about specific goals such as an Ivy League title or a strong performance in the tournament, the team is focusing more on us and preparing to play our game.”

That’s not to say the Tigers don’t have goals. They reached the first one by winning the Ivy title. This season, the team’s chances of achieving its next goal – a national championship – look as good as they ever have. The Tigers boast a host of experienced players, and perennial winner Maryland, which has held the national title since Princeton won its only championship in 1994, appears vulnerable.

Reaching the May 19 title game will prove difficult, but it’s a measure of the team’s character that it has made the key to getting there very simple: No letdown. “For us to be successful, we think we just need to continue to play hard and play together,” says one of the Tigers’ defensive stars, Rachael Becker ’03. “Being number one is nice, but this season, there’s little difference in the top five teams. We were beaten by Georgetown, who’s number two, and they were beaten by Virginia, who’s just behind them.”

Offensive star Lauren Simone ’02 is less reserved. “It’s nice to feel like a number one after beating Maryland,” she admits. “They have ended our season for the last couple of years. In 2000, they beat us in the championship game, and last year, it was in the semifinals.” But like Becker, Simone is focused on an approach that goes back to basics: “We just work from game to game, making sure we work harder than the other team in the game we’re playing, and fixing what we could have done better the previous game.” Both Becker and Simone are candidates for the Tewaaraton Trophy, given to the top male and female lacrosse players in the nation.

Princeton’s style of play is as straightforward as its philosophy. On offense, the team seeks to control the tempo of the game, using passing and speed to set up shots from close range. The strategy has proven highly successful: For the first time ever the Tigers have scored in double digits every game. On defense, the team employs two schemes – a one-on-one, sagging defense to protect the arc in front of the net, and a high-pressure style that features double-teams to force turnovers. The combination has enabled Princeton to establish an amazing average margin of victory of 7.57 goals per game.

The Tigers’ win against Maryland after falling behind 5—0 proves they’re a title contender. But what makes the team particularly dangerous is its ability to stay focused on little things — the next defensive stop, the next goal —under adversity. “We really pulled together when we could have folded,” said Sailer after the Maryland game. “But we came through and showed a lot of poise. Down 0—5, we knew we just needed to get one goal. Then we’d beat it open and go get the next one.”

Paul Hagar ’91 writes frequently for PAW.

Photos by Beverly Schaefer

Princeton’s softball team won its first Ivy League title since 1996 after sweeping a doubleheader from Brown at home on April 21. The wins gave the Tigers a 13—1 mark in the conference and earned them the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the NCAA regional tournament, to be played May 16—19. Thirteen league victories are the most in Princeton softball history. In 1995, the Tigers went undefeated (12—0), but Columbia did not field a varsity team at the time.

The men’s golf team earned its third straight Ivy League championship at the Metedeconk National Golf Club in Jackson, New Jersey, on April 21 with a two-day team total of 894. James Milam ’02 shot a two-over par 218 to claim the individual title. Creighton Page ’05 placed second with a 222 score. The team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA regional, which begins May 16.

Princeton Director of Athletics Gary Walters ’67 announced on April 16 that he had withdrawn himself from consideration for the vacant AD position at UCLA, where he was on a shortlist of possible candidates. He called going through the selection process for the position “edifying,” but in the end the three-time letter-winning former point guard could not leave his alma mater. “(Princeton) is a university with a magical name that has a unique place in the past and present of intercollegiate athletics. I’m looking forward to further strengthening Princeton’s commitment to the ideal of the scholar-athlete,” said Walters in a written statement.

The men’s lacrosse team kept its NCAA playoff hopes alive by knocking off fifth-ranked Cornell 12—7 at home on April 20. The Tigers scored five goals in a 4:16 span during the third quarter to break open a tight game. The win moved Princeton from eighth to fourth in the national polls and gave coach Bill Tierney the 200th win of his collegiate coaching career.

Avery Kiser ’05 won the individual title at the 2002 Ivy League women’s golf championships with a three-round total of 226 at the Trenton Country Club on April 21. Princeton relinquished its Ivy title to Yale, finishing 17 strokes back with a team total of 980.

Men’s Heavyweight crew’s varsity 8 lost the Compton Cup to Harvard on April 20, its first loss of the season. The freshman 8 won its race in 6:04. Women’s open crew took the Eisenburg Cup by beating Yale on April 20. Men’s lightweight crew took the Platt Cup by beating Cornell and Rutgers on April 20.

Equestrian team member Kelly Wells ’04 will represent Princeton at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Horse Show in May. Wells earned her bid to the nationals by topping the points list among open riders in Princeton’s region.

By A.D.

During four years in the water with Princeton’s women’s water polo team, senior Cassie Nichols never lost a match against any of the Tigers’ conference foes.

Those 36 wins in the Collegiate Water Polo Association are only part of the story for a squad that has won three ECAC championships in the last five seasons and twice appeared in the NCAA final four.

“When I got here, I didn’t know what to expect. There were other teams that had very good players,” says Nichols, the team’s captain and lone senior this season.

Now the Tigers are a team other schools don’t like to see on their schedules. Although they lost to conference rival Hartwick 11—9 in the semifinals of the ECAC championships on April 13 and fell to Michigan 10—9 in the Southern Championship finals on April 20, they were still ranked 13th in the nation and 2nd in the CWPA at press time with a 21—9 record.

Those rankings made Princeton one of the favorites as it prepared to host the Eastern Championships the last weekend of April. Victory would again put them in the NCAAs. “I definitely believe we have just as good a chance as anybody, and the win will be much sweeter because we’ve had to work the hardest and sacrifice the most this year,” says Nichols, who scored seven goals in the loss to Michigan.

Fourth-year head coach Luis Nicolao, who also coaches the men’s water polo team, credits the women’s squad’s desire for its success.

“Anyone who comes to Princeton has a desire to be good at whatever they do,” says Nicolao. “They make my job easier because these kids want to win every game they play. We never lose a game because of lack of effort.”

By A.D.