Sports: February 10, 1999
The talented women's hockey team shines in a swiftly evolving sport
Ali Coughlin '99, one of the stars of the women's hockey team, has watched a generation pass in just three years. "When I got to Princeton," she recalls, "the team was small and not really talented. We only played two lines -- now we could play five." As the team has only four seniors on its roster, that depth comes from a gifted group of underclassmen who are changing the way women's hockey is played at Princeton. Even Coughlin, who scored 23 goals her freshman year, admits, "I've had to really elevate my play to still produce."
Princeton isn't the only place where women's hockey is changing -- one of the best stories to come out of the Olympic games in Nagano was the phenomenal success of the U.S. Women's National Team. Yet if you believe Princeton coach Jeff Kampersal, that squad was just a preview of what women's hockey is about to become. "The juniors in high school this year are the best class anyone's ever seen," he says. "A few years ago female players started to skate at that critical age -- four to five years old -- and those players are just beginning to reach college." Kampersal, who is in his third season as Princeton's coach, has already noticed a difference in the college game. "The whole tempo has changed," he says.
Coughlin's linemate, freshman Andrea Kilbourne, is one of those young prodigies who are transforming women's hockey. "She can skate around you or go right through you," Kampersal says. "She's the prototypic power forward -- like a Mark Messier or a Cam Neely." Kilbourne's ability to play the body is a huge asset in a game that -- despite its prohibition on checking -- is growing more and more physical. Women's hockey players rarely slam one another into the boards, but while the women may not be able to finish their checks, they sure start them. "I can ride a girl into the boards," Kilbourne explains, "but I can't throw her down."
That may seem like a fine distinction, but the women claim the hockey is in the details. "I like the rules because it keeps the speed in the game," Kilbourne says. From a spectator's standpoint, she's certainly right. Women's hockey is a fast-flowing and exciting game -- especially when compared to the NHL, where the trap, and its accompanying clutch and grab tactics, often clogs the ice. The rink actually seems bigger when the women are on the ice, and the most skilled players can move around the offensive zone without automatically being tied up along the boards.
And watching Princeton play is a particular pleasure. Kilbourne and Coughlin are one of the most dynamic duos in college hockey, currently combining for 52 points in just 14 ECAC games. Kampersal is effusive in his praise of both players. "Ali is our catalyst," he says. "When she's on, the team is unbelievable. She's the most skilled player in the league -- she could stickhandle around you in a telephone booth." As for Kilbourne, "She's a superstar with a lunchpail mentality."
Led by that top line, as well as large contributions by gritty forward Danya Marshman '00, star defenseman Annamarie Holmes '01, and rookie goalkeeper Susan Maes '02, the Tigers (10-3-1 ECAC, 11-5-1 overall) are tied for third in a top-heavy league. Princeton, Harvard, and New Hampshire seem to have cornered the market in offensive talent -- players from those three schools fill the top 14 spots in ECAC scoring -- while Brown and Providence are surviving on the strength of solid defense and superlative goaltending.
The sixth-ranked Tigers, who blew out second-ranked Brown 6-2 and were blown out by third-ranked New Hampshire 10-2, were looking to prove themselves when they arrived at top-ranked Harvard on January 10. But Harvard, which boasts the top four scorers in the ECAC and starts two Olympians (not the naked kind), bludgeoned the Tigers 6-0. "We'd never played at that speed before," Kilbourne says. "We needed to play with more intensity." Kampersal agrees, but also points to the team's struggles on the power play. "That's our albatross," he says. "We're making things too fancy. In order to compete with the best teams we need to be efficient."
As for the challenges of coaching a young team, Kampersal is almost universally positive. "I like them," he says. "They don't know what to do other than work hard." When Princeton is playing well that work ethic shines through in their style of play: they forecheck well, play dump and chase, and rarely give up breakaways or odd-man rushes. Against Harvard and New Hampshire, however, the Tigers often found themselves caught out of position. "We were just running around," Coughlin says. "We need to take calculated risks." Part of that, she feels, comes from having so many freshmen and sophomores on the team. "Being young makes for less emotional stability," she says. "Right now we just aren't a very consistent team."
Consistent or not, Princeton is a dangerous squad that has the talent to play with any team in the country. There are a couple of moments in every game when Coughlin weaves through the offensive zone -- with Kilbourne camped out in the slot and Holmes lurking at the point -- that the Tigers are absolutely mesmerizing: like an accident about to happen, except the end result is seldom by chance. At those moments it's clear how good women's hockey has become -- and how good it can be. And if, as Kampersal suggests, Princeton's group of outstanding underclassmen are only a preview of things to come, the small crowds at Baker rink can look forward to some excellent hockey.
In the meantime, this team is sharpening its skates for its March rematch with Harvard -- not to mention a possible playoff matchup. Despite the lopsided outcome of the first game, Coughlin is confident that the Tigers can beat Harvard. Referring to the first meeting, she says, "It was rumored to be their best game of the season." If the team can come together during its upcoming series of road trips, and if the young players can learn to maintain the intensity and focus they currently display in short flashes -- in short, if the team can grow up -- Coughlin knows that Princeton can win.
And if there's anyone who can judge growth, it's Coughlin. After all, she's seen a generation pass in just three years.
-- Wes Tooke '98
On the final day of his team's annual momentum-killing exam break, Bill Carmody was reasonably optimistic that his 10-4 Tigers had a good chance of picking up where they had left off in early January. Princeton had carried a five-game winning streak into the 16-day mid-season hiatus, capped by back-to-back wins over Brown (67-45) and Yale (66-33). On January 25, the Tigers were scheduled to face Union College, Carmody's alma mater, in Jadwin Gym.
The effect of the annual break on the team's ability to compete is usually a function of the composition of the team itself. Last year, questions about retaining the necessary intensity to carry the squad through a full slate of Ivy competition were brushed off by a veteran starting five who had -- literally -- seen it all before. This year, with a pair of freshmen in the starting lineup and numerous other members of the Class of '02 getting court time, things may be a little different.
"We play this game for a reason," said Carmody, referring to the tune-up against Division III Union, "and this is it. We need to see where everybody is now." For such a young team, however, Carmody's charges appear to be in pretty good shape. "We had five guys with exams on Friday, so we've only had three practices so far. But they scrimmaged pretty well."
The Tiger freshmen got a gentle introduction to Ivy League competition when Brown and Yale visited on January 8 and 9. The Bears came in lugging a 2-10 record and the additional burden of never having won a basketball game in Jadwin Gym. Although the Elis have actually won at Jadwin in the past (most recently in 1993, since which the Tigers have won 10 straight meetings), their 1-10 record at game time made it unlikely that they would provide much of a challenge this year.
In the 67-45 win over the Bears on Friday night, Prince-ton jumped out to an early 17-8 lead, and was ahead 36-20 at the half. Freshman center Chris Young, who was on his way to wrapping up a third consecutive Ivy League Rookie of the Week award, was good for 13 first-half points and ended the game with 19. Senior captain Gabe Lewullis played one of the better all-around games of his career with 13 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds.
Cocaptain Brian Earl '99 scored 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers, bringing him closer to the Ivy League career record of 273, set by Matt Maloney of Penn in 1995. Earl would end the weekend with 248 career three-pointers and a minimum of 13 games remaining in his career.
The Tigers missed eight of their first nine field goals against Yale the next night, but even with that gift, the Elis were only able to put together a 6-4 lead before the Tigers got on track. Sparked by 10 first-half points by Earl, Princeton put together a 21-0 run that left Yale down 25-6 with 5:14 remaining in the half and 38-10 at the buzzer.
Earl finished the game with a game-high 17 points -- more than any two Yale players combined. Junior Mason Rocca came off the bench to play 21 minutes, and collected 11 rebounds and 12 points. Young continued to impress, scoring 13 points with three rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.
This season figured to be a series of challenges for Young, and, so far, the 6'10" Texan has lived up to all of them. In the first half of the season, he proved that he can not only play at the Division I level, but that he is a capable -- though unpolished -- replacement for Ivy League Player of the Year Steve Goodrich '98. "I knew he'd be a good player," Carmody says. "I just didn't know when it would come."
That doesn't mean that there are no more challenges. The Ivy League may be the only Division I conference in the country that plays back-to-back league games on consecutive nights all season long, and, for a freshman facing road trips and intense rivalries for the first time, the season can be both physically and emotionally draining. Young's next challenge will be to maintain his current level of play for the remainder of the Ivy season. "Stamina is an important thing," Carmody says. "And we don't know if he has it yet." Whether or not he does will be one of the deciding factors in the Tigers' run at a fourth consecutive Ivy title.
-- Rob Garver
Swimming on pace for championship
seasons
The men's swimming team has yet to be challenged this season as it has posted a 4-0 record in dual meets and taken first place in two invitationals. The highlight of the season so far was Princeton's dominating performance in the Princeton Invitational -- which included a convincing victory over #17 Virginia and a thrashing of supposed Ivy challenger Brown.
A strong cadre of returning swimmers and a swiftly maturing freshman class make the Tigers uncharacteristically deep this year. At the Princeton Invitational the team won four of five relays and took the top four spots in the 100-freestyle. Two Princeton records also fell during that meet: cocaptain J.P. Norvell '99 broke the school record in the 200-butterfly with a 1:47.57, and Matt Vogt '99 broke the school and pool record in the 100-freestyle with a 47.97 -- the third fastest time in the nation this year.
As always, the biggest yardstick will be the upcoming Harvard-Yale-Prince-ton meet, which is being held at Yale on February 5-6. Last year the Tigers beat Harvard at HYPs, but fell to the Crimson at Easterns. This season, Princeton may have both the stars and the depth to win both meets.
The Women
At the Princeton Invitational in early December, the women's swim team upset defending Ivy champion Brown in the separately tabulated dual meet -- but finished third in the Invitational behind Brown and Virginia. The results from that meet seem to indicate that while the women are a favorite to finish first in the Ivies during the regular season, the team will have to swim even better if it is to win the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships in late February. n
Wrestling continues to improve; men's
squash wins tournament
Less than three seasons after returning to varsity status, the wrestling team has leapt out to a 6-2 record. The Tigers' season began on an auspicious note as sophomore Juan Venturi won the 133-pound division at the Ivy Classic. Two weeks later Princeton placed second out of 14 teams at the Kutztown Invitational. The team then began the dual meet portion of its season when it traveled to western Massachusetts for the Williams College Tournament and returned with a 3-0 record.
Princeton suffered a 28-10 setback against the College of New Jersey -- then ranked eighth in Division III -- but after returning from Christmas break the Tigers won three of four matches at the Princeton Invitational. Coach Michael New says, "We're young and still developing, but we've been working incredibly hard." He explains the team's success by pointing to the maturation of wrestlers such as Ryan Bonfiglio '00, who has emerged as a force at 165 pounds. The team, which is dominated by underclassmen, begins the Ivy League portion of its schedule in late January. While the upcoming competition is sure to be stiffer, this wrestling program knows how to deal with adversity.
Squash
The undefeated men's squash team (5-0), currently ranked third in the country, took some time off from its collegiate schedule to participate in the United States Squash and Racquet Championships. Princeton sent two five-man teams to the event, which allows professionals to participate. The Tigers' A team blanked Williams and Yale before meeting #2 Harvard -- supposedly a stronger five-man team than a nine-man team -- in the semifinals.
Princeton won 4-1 and advanced to the finals against #1 Trinity, whose top player, highly touted freshman Lefika Ragontse, was supposed to roll though collegiate competition. But Peter Yik '00 beat Ragontse in three games, and the Tigers took the title 3-2. Princeton's B team also made the finals in its division, and if the team can maintain that level of play, it has an excellent chance at winning the national championship.
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