July 2, 2003: Sports
Double
take
Women’s lax wins second-straight national title
Baseball, softball reach regionals
Sports Web Exclusives! P-nut Gallery column
Double
take
Women’s lax wins second-straight
national title
By Lindsay Kramer
Photo: From left: Seniors Hannah Foster, Sarah Small, Rachael Becker, Whitney Miller, Alex Fiore, and Kelly Sosa celebrate their 2003 national title. The Tigers are the second Division I women’s lacrosse team to repeat as champions. (Bevery Schaefer)
The 2003 Princeton women’s lacrosse team pushed the success of its 2002 national championship season into the background this year, adopting the motto “Nothing to defend. Much to go after.” In one impressive May weekend in Syracuse, the Tigers got it all.
The Ivy League champions defeated No. 1 Loyola 5—3 in a national semifinal May 16 and then edged Virginia 8—7 in overtime May 18 to win a second straight N.C.A.A. title.
“All season, we weren’t thinking, ‘Let’s get back to the final.’ We were thinking, ‘Let’s take care of every game,’” said defender Katie Norbury ’04. “We really needed to unite. I feel like Rocky. To pull through this season with so much hard work, no team deserves it more than we do.”
All-American midfielder Theresa Sherry ’04 delivered the national title-winning goal with 1 minute, 29 seconds left in the second of two three-minute overtime periods. It was Sherry’s third goal of the day, a wondrous, dancing routine in which she cut left, spliced her way between three Virginia defenders, and whistled a shot past the goalie.
“That was my moment. I was trying to take care of the team,” said Sherry, who was bruised yet unbowed after a weekend of physical play.
The game, in a sense, mirrored the season for Princeton, which began 1—3. Virginia raced out to a 3—0 lead in the opening minutes before Tiger coach Chris Sailer called a time out to settle her team. Sherry then responded with two quick goals and further calmed her team’s nerves. Still, the Cavaliers looked solid with a 4—3 halftime edge.
“I was a little nervous after that first half. We were not looking like a championship team,” said Sailer, who won her third national title at Princeton and earned 2003 Coach of the Year honors from Inside Lacrosse magazine. “We knew we had to create [offensively]. I told them at halftime, the defense was awesome, but the defense wasn’t going to win the game for us.”
Perhaps, but the Tiger defenders came close. With Virginia clinging to a 7—6 lead and trying to run out the clock, a stick check by All-American midfielder Alex Fiore ’03 forced a turnover with 1:51 remaining in the game. Twelve seconds later, attacker Whitney Miller ’03, who also made the All-America team, scored from eight yards out to tie the game.
Fiore’s tenacity typified the overall defense. All-American midfielder Elizabeth Pillion ’05 helped shut out Virginia’s scoring machine Lauren Aumiller. Defender Rachael Becker ’03, who was named the tournament M.V.P., shut down Virginia’s Amy Appelt twice in one-on-one charges with the game tied in the closing seconds of regulation. Becker, a three-time first team All-American, earned the 2003 Tewaaraton Trophy, the Heisman Trophy of lacrosse, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding male and female college lacrosse players. Sherry, Pillion, and goalie Sarah Kolodner ’05 were also named to the all-tournament team.
The 2003 Tigers finished 16—4, which tied Princeton’s 1994 national championship squad for the second-highest win total in program history. But this year’s Tigers penned their own ending to a new chapter in the history of Princeton lacrosse, one both unique and familiar.
“It’s obviously really hard to win one, but to come back and
win two says a lot about Chris and our program,” Becker said. “It’s
unbelievable. I know in 20 years, I’ll be able to say I won a championship
in my junior and senior years. There’s no better way to go out than
this. I couldn’t ask for a better story.” 
Lindsay Kramer covers professional hockey and high school and college sports for The Post-Standard in Syracuse.
Rowing
supreme
(Photo: bill allen ’79/nj sportaction )
Women’s lightweight crew celebrated its fifth straight national
title May 31 after beating Harvard in the finals of the Intercollegiate
Rowing Association championships. Back row, from left: Rachel Henderson
’05, Eileen Crawford ’03, Lu Lu ’04, Melissa Renny ’03,
Sarah Skinner ’05, Julia Straus ’05. Front row, from left: Jennifer
Carter ’03, Amelia Robertson ’04, Laurie Dean ’03, and
coach Heather Smith. Not pictured, Alison Barnes ’05 and Lillian
Tomaskovic ’05. The men’s freshman heavyweight boat also won
an I.R.A. national title.
Men’s lax falls to Syracuse
By David Marcus ’92
The Princeton men’s lacrosse team looked primed for another national title run after its eighth straight win, a 17—9 victory at Cornell April 19. Attackmen Jason Doneger ’05 and Sean Hartofilis ’03 were feasting off pinpoint feeds from Ryan Boyle ’04, and goalie Julian Gould ’03 had saved 60 percent of the shots he’d faced.
Then the roof caved in. In a 6—5 double overtime win over Loyola, Drew Casino ’04 and Owen Daly ’03 were sidelined with injuries that kept them out of the next four games. Their injuries, combined with that of Ricky Schultz ’04, and a one-game suspension of Hartofilis, contributed to a 13—6 loss to Dartmouth April 26.
Rebounding from their worst Ivy League loss since 1989, the Tigers beat Brown 11—3 May 3 to earn a split of the Ivy title with Cornell and Dartmouth, and opened the N.C.A.A. tournament with a 16-10 win over Albany May 10. But Boyle, already nursing a pulled hamstring, hurt the other one against Albany. The injury proved costly in a 15—5 N.C.A.A. quarterfinal loss to Syracuse May 17. Boyle, the first-team All-American who normally runs the offense, was too hobbled to do it against the Orangemen.
First-team All-American defenseman Damien Davis ’03, had held Syracuse attackman Michael Powell – arguably the best player in the country – scoreless in an 11—10 Princeton win in March. But Powell collected four goals and three assists in the rematch.
After Princeton’s 11—4 season, coach Bill Tierney put his
team’s efforts in perspective. “We won our ninth straight Ivy
League title, and we lost to a team that went to its 21st straight Final
Four,” he said. “There are a lot of people who would love to
be in our spot, and we’re going to keep setting our sights high.”
David Marcus ’92 writes frequently for PAW.
Baseball,
softball reach regionals
Photo: Melissa Finley ’05 (Bevery Schaefer)
Although Princeton’s 2003 Ivy League champion baseball and softball teams lost in the first round of their respective N.C.A.A. regional tournaments in May, both squads put scares into nationally ranked opponents.
The softball team faced 19th-ranked South Carolina in Arizona May 15. Princeton led 7—2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, thanks to three hits from Kristin Lueke ’05 and home runs from Kristin Del Calvo ’04 and Ivy League Player of the Year Melissa Finley ’05. Ivy League Rookie of the Year Erin Snyder ’06 pitched six strong innings, but in the seventh inning South Carolina scored six runs, including a three-run home run that ended the game at 8—7.
Unable to rebound from the heartbreaking defeat, the Tigers lost 6—0 to Boston College the following day. But Lueke, whose team finished 24—21—1, said, “Seeing that we could play with a team like South Carolina, and that we’re a young team says a lot about where we’ll be next year.”
Baseball’s postseason appearance sent the Tigers to Alabama, where Princeton met 17th-ranked Auburn May 30. Ryan Quillian ’03 pitched strongly, keeping his team within a run, 2—1, heading into the bottom of the fifth. But the Tigers could only muster one more run, and Auburn won 5—2.
Princeton played well the following day against Clemson, rallying three times to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Leadoff hitter and second baseman Steve Young ’04 sparked Princeton with two hits and two runs batted in before Clemson won 7—6 in 10 innings.
“What separates a good season from a great season is winning the
Ivy League championship and going to the N.C.A.A. tournament . . . it’s
an experience they’ll be talking about at Reunions for years,”
said head coach Scott Bradley.
By A.D.
sports SHORTS
Men’s tennis player Darius Craton ’06 was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Trevor Smith ’03 was named the league’s Sportsman of the Year and first team All-Ivy. Craton and the doubles team of Josh Burman ’05 and Tim Kofol ’04 made the league’s second team.
Women’s tennis’s Kavitha Krishnamurthy ’03 was named first team All-Ivy along with Neha Uberoi ’06, who also won the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award. Both players were also selected to the league’s first team in doubles.
Three outdoor track and field stars performed well enough at the N.C.A.A. East Regional in Fairfax, Virginia, May 30—31 to advance to the N.C.A.A. championships in Sacramento June 11—17. Josh McCaughey ’04 earned his way with a distance of 199' 9" in the hammer throw. Tristan Colangelo ’04 qualified by placing fifth in the men's steeplechase with a time of 8:50.85, and Emily Kroshus ’04 received an at-large bid in the 10,000 meters.
Baseball pitcher Thomas Pauly ’04 was selected in the second round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Pauly, who led the Tigers’ pitching staff with a 6—2 record and a 1.46 E.R.A., was the 51st pick overall. If Pauly signs with the Reds, he would be ineligible to play for the Tigers next season. He likely would return to school in the fall to complete his senior year’s academic work, head baseball coach Scott Bradley said.
Men’s lacrosse defenseman Damien Davis ’03, a first-team All-American
who started every game while at Prince-ton, was chosen by the Boston Cannons
in the second round of the 2003 Major League Lacrosse draft.
By A.D.
