Sports: March 24, 1999
Quakers paint Jadwin an ugly blue
Penn takes the Ivy title from men, knock women into a playoff with
Dartmouth
Men: The two roommates sat at either end of the dais in the press room,
freshly showered and finally defeated. For three years they'd known only
what it was like to win the Ivies, but now seniors Gabe Lewullis and Brian
Earl patiently tried to explain how they felt after Penn had come into Jadwin
Gym and emerged with a surprisingly easy 73-48 win to clinch the league
title. One by one, the various members of the media finished and drifted
away to file their stories. But before they left, almost all the local reporters
paused to tap the Tiger captains on the back and thank them -- thank them
for four years of moments so magical that they made following the Tigers
an incredibly rewarding job: Gabe's layup against UCLA, Brian leading the
comeback at the Palestra, the dream season a year ago. For the older reporters,
the experienced ones, knew that such wizards do not come along very often.
This dynasty ended, as most Tiger basketball dynasties do, against a
talented Penn team. Yale and Harvard may have both served as unlikely accomplices
by defeating the Tigers in overtime, but it was Penn that finally proved
that the Tigers were no longer the team to beat by overcoming both a six-game
losing streak to Princeton and their nightmare at the Palestra to seize
the title. The final game was never in doubt as Penn proved itself a worthy
successor. The Quakers were balanced (all five starters scored between 13
and 15 points), experienced (starting two seniors and three juniors), and
tough (Geoff Owens played with a broken jaw that had been wired shut).
On offense, Penn's ball handlers consistently penetrated the seam in
Princeton's zone and then found the open man, who, more often than not,
hit the shot. "We just couldn't stop them," coach Bill Carmody
says. On defense, the Quakers packed the middle and played up on Earl and
Lewullis -- basically daring any of the other Tigers to beat them from outside.
"People have been playing us that way all year," Carmody says.
"You have to be able to hit shots if you want to run backdoors."
But aside from the two Tiger captains and the superb freshman Chris Young
-- who was the Ivy League's unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year -- the
Princeton offense was just too much of a question mark.
After the game, the Tiger seniors appeared resigned to the fact that
they wouldn't be making a fourth trip to the NCAAs. (The Tigers found out
on March 7 that they would play George-town at home in the first round of
the NIT.) Lewullis admitted that he had mixed emotions about playing in
the "other" tournament. "The goal is always the NCAAs,"
he said. "And you don't want to just go through the motions in the
NIT." Earl, however, seemed understandably reluctant to end his career
with a disappointing loss to Penn. "I want to keep playing," he
said. "I'll play anybody."
Unless the Tigers go very deep into the NIT, by the time you read this
article Earl and Lewullis will have played their last games for Princeton.
An era will pass when they walk off the court. They are the last players
to have played under Pete Carril, and, more importantly, they were an essential
part of the teams that finally ended Princeton's drought in the NCAA tournament.
Start with Lewullis, who came to Princeton as an unheralded recruit yet
finished eighth in scoring, who applied a glacier's worth of ice to his
knees this season and never complained once, who hit arguably the most famous
shot in Princeton history against UCLA, and who was finally named first-team
All-Ivy this season.
And, of course, Brian Earl. Forget the points and steals and assists
and Ivy League career three-point record. The statistic that defines Earl
is that he was on the court for a record 93 Princeton victories over the
last four years. Teams have always tried to play physically against the
slight Earl, and this year they hit him and held him and tripped him to
keep him from making his backdoor cuts. But he still played almost every
minute of every game, led the dramatic comeback against Penn, and became
the Ivy League Player of the Year.
So don't remember Brian Earl and Gabe Lewullis by their last game against
Penn. Remember instead that the 20 wins this season came from the sheer
will of two players, who could have accepted the end of a dynasty at graduation
last year, but instead dragged this flawed team into the incredible position
of playing for a chance to go to the NCAA tournament.
Thank you, Brian. Thank you, Gabe.
-- Wes Tooke '98
Women: Meet Maggie Langlas '00 and you might understand how the women's
basketball team, which had plenty of excuses this season to just play out
the string and wait for next year, instead fought hard enough to get just
one win away from the NCAA tournament. The day after losing to Penn 71-65
in the last regular-season Ivy game of the year -- meaning the Tigers now
face a one-game playoff with Dartmouth for the automatic bid to the NCAAs
-- Langlas is sitting in the stands of Jadwin gym. Questions about the Penn
game bring only a small smile and a shrug from the effervescent guard; what's
done is done. Instead, she wants to talk about how excited she is to play
Dartmouth, a team that beat the Tigers by 27 points in their last meeting,
or how happy she is with the way the team has been playing. "This season's
been awesome," she says. "Even despite some of the things that
have happened."
What things? How about opening the season 2-7 and having your coach throw
a key reserve off the team for breaking team rules? How about winning 14
of the next 16 games, but midway through that stretch losing senior captain
Julie Angell, who was having the best year of her career, to a season-ending
knee injury? How about entering the final weekend of the Ivy league schedule
without backup guard Erica Bowman '00, whose father has just died? Things?
Lesser obstacles have led NBA stars to choke their coaches.
Langlas explains the Tigers' resilience in the face of adversity by pointing
to her teammates. "The people on this team are so mentally strong,"
she says. "Maybe that's how we've been able to stay focused on the
task at hand." It's also possible, however, to point at Langlas herself.
The last two games of the season, when the Tigers traveled to Cornell and
Columbia with a precariously thin front line, Langlas scored a third of
the team's points and pulled down 20 rebounds in the pair of Princeton victories.
Once again, Langlas plays guard. "She's what I consider a quiet assassin,"
Freely says. "She does what it takes to win."
In the Princeton offense, doing what it takes to win often means taking
the three-point shot, and Langlas is a deadly shooter from outside, inside,
or any side facing the basket. This season she hit 40 percent of her attempts
from behind the arc, and shot 80 percent from the line. Langlas is also
a disruptive defender, using her long arms and tremendous positioning to
disrupt the opposing guards. "Her only problem is that she's not selfish
enough," says a former varsity player. "She could score 20 points
a game if she shot more."
In the Penn game Langlas did shoot more, scoring 27 points on seven three-pointers
and a couple of backdoor layups that might have earned a grudging nod from
Pete Carril. It wasn't enough. Penn's bench outscored Princeton's 14-0,
and the Quakers made their run in the second half while starting center
Lea Ann Drohan '99 and starting forward Kate Thirolf '00 were catching their
breath on the bench. So, as Langlas sat under the cavernous Jadwin dome,
she knew the season had come down to one game against Dartmouth. "There's
pressure," she says, "but it's good pressure. We just want to
do well."
Two nights later against Dartmouth, the Tigers got off to an auspicious
start. Princeton played tight perimeter defense, with Langlas smothering
Dartmouth star Courtney Banghart, and Thirolf hit four of her first six
shots to help put the Tigers up by 10 points. But Dartmouth went on a run
at the end of the half, and the teams entered the locker room tied at 24.
In the second half, however, Dartmouth was consistently able to get the
ball down low, and as the Tigers eventually tired, Dartmouth got some easy
baskets. "They just had more depth at the post position," Freely
says. The Dartmouth reserves finished the game outscoring the Princeton
bench 32-10 and outrebounding them 20-6. The Tigers were within three points
with 6:45 left in the game but ended up falling 66-49.
"It was hard to end on two losses," Langlas said after the
game, "but so many things this season went really well. I'm excited
for next year." Princeton does seem to be building something -- just
sharing the title with Dartmouth earned the team its best finish since 1985.
If the Tigers are to make the NCAA tournament next year, however, they'll
have to do it without both Angell, who had developed into a reliable defender
and a consistent scoring threat, and Drohan, a superb shot-blocker and,
on offense, the prototypic passing Princeton center. "Knowing that
it was Julie and Lea Ann's last game is what broke our hearts the most,"
Langlas said. "It's sad to know our time together as basketball players
is over."
But this team has already proved it can overcome losses -- both on and
off the court. So if you see the Tigers in the tournament next year, don't
be fooled by their big smiles and upbeat attitude. They may have overcome
far more than you realize just to get there.
-- Wes Tooke '98
Men's lacrosse to defend crown
without its Big Three
For the past three years, attackmen Jon Hess '98, Jesse Hubbard '98,
and Chris Massey '98 were the heart of Princeton's lacrosse team. All-Americas
for three years running, the trio scored 44 percent of Princeton's goals
last year and led the Tigers to a third straight national title -- their
sixth since 1992. "Graduating the players we did, winning it this year
will be a lot harder," says defenseman Kurt Lunkenheimer '99. "We'll
have to lean on more people. Last year, we knew we had something special
on attack. This year, we don't have that security."
Instead, the Tigers have Lorne Smith '99 and Josh Sims '00. An All-America
midfielder the last two years despite being an attackman in high school,
Smith will return to his old position this spring. Sims was the national
midfielder of the year last year, tallying 32 goals, including the game-winner
against Syracuse in the NCAA semifinals. "We're not trying to fool
anyone. It's about Lorne and Josh on offense," coach Bill Tierney says.
Although Princeton may not have hordes of proven players on offense,
they do have some highly touted ones. Attackman Matt Trevenan '02 is a member
of the U.S. under-19 team that will compete in the under-19 World Games
in Australia this summer. "He's got ice water in his veins, especially
for a freshman," Smith says. Though Trevenan will fill Hess's role
as a feeder, Tierney compares the freshman to Kevin Lowe '94. "Hess
was quick and could get away from a guy and then make a pass. Lowe was strong
and could keep the ball away from his defenseman and find the open guy,"
says the coach.
Many of Trevenan's passes over the next four years will go to B.J. Prager
'02. "He has the chance to score a lot," says Lunkenheimer, who
plays against the freshman every day in practice. "He has an uncanny
ability to get open." Matt Striebel '01 will also see time at attack.
Next to Sims, the team's best midfielder may be Rob Torti '01, whom Lunkenheimer
thinks could have "a tremendous year." Chris Berrier '00, Ryan
O'Shaughnessy '00, Chris Har-rington '01, and Jamie Sullivan '01 will also
play at midfield.
While the offense is a work in progress, the team returns the defense
that started last year's title game against the University of Maryland.
Lunkenheimer has started every game since he came to Princeton, and John
Harrington '99 has started the last two years. The Tigers lose Christian
Cook '98, the national defenseman of the year, but when Cook injured his
knee in the semifinal, Tierney replaced him with Jason Farrell '99, who
helped Princeton limit Maryland to five goals. Ted Martell '99 and Ryan
Mollett '01 will split time as the long-stick defenseman. Farrell's brother
Scott '02, another member of the U.S. under-19 team, and Adam Wolfman '99
and John Walsh '01 will round out the unit.
Corey Popham '99 returns as the starting goalie, if not one entirely
secure in his job. Though Popham was the most valuable player in last year's
Final Four, he was less impressive the week before when he allowed eight
goals while making only two saves in a playoff game against Duke. Tierney
pulled his starter in favor of his son Trevor Tierney '01, who held Duke
to one goal the rest of the way in an 11-9 win. "Trevor and Corey are
very similar goalies in size and in how they play," says the elder
Tierney, who won't hesitate to use either player depending on how they warm
up and whom the coach thinks has the hot hand.
The major change in the Tigers' schedule is the addition of a game at
perennial power Syracuse on April 25. "I'm excited about playing Syracuse,"
Lunkenheimer says. "We've had great games in the past, and I'm looking
forward to playing in the Carrier Dome." Despite being ranked first
in at least one preseason poll, Princeton is not as imposing as it's been
the past three years. Tierney points to Duke, Syracuse, the University of
Virginia, Johns Hopkins University, and Baltimore's Loyola College as his
preseason favorites. But in a year where no school appears set to dominate,
the national champion will likely be the squad that improves the most over
the course of the season.
Princeton's talent should take it to the quarterfinals, and once there
the team's playoff experience and Tierney's coaching ability will give the
Tigers a chance at an unprecedented fourth straight national title.
-- David Marcus '92
Women's squash wins national championship
This was supposed to be Harvard's year. Entering the Howe Cup -- the
women's national championship -- Harvard was the top seed, and had already
beaten the second-seeded Princeton women twice this season. That the event
was being held on Harvard's home courts was just icing on the cake, and
over 1,000 spectators, the largest crowd for women's collegiate squash in
anyone's memory, came to watch Harvard win their national title.
But Princeton, which was the defending national champion, had looked
impressive en route to meeting Harvard in the finals, sweeping past Brown
9-0 and beating third-seed Penn 7-2. Based on their earlier two matches
against Harvard, the Tigers were fairly certain they had an edge at the
top of their ladder. Sure enough, No. 1 Julia Beaver '01, No. 3 Blair Irwin
'00, and No. 4 Meredeth Quick '01 all won in straight sets. But Harvard
won at the No. 2, 5, 6, and 7 slots, and only senior No. 8 Avery Coleman's
inspired five-game victory (9-4, 9-4, 7-9, 7-9, 9-5) gave Princeton a chance
to win entering the final match of the day.
So it all fell on a senior, No. 9 Meghan Murphy, who had actually been
playing on junior varsity the last time the two teams had met. Playing before
a vocal and partisan Harvard crowd, Murphy lost the first game 9-4. She
was down in the second game but came back to win 10-8 in overtime, and then
won the third game 9-4 to put Princeton one game away from winning the match.
But the Harvard player won the next game 9-4, and now both teams stood just
nine points away from the national title. "It was the biggest match
of my life," Murphy says. But somehow she managed to block out both
the crowd and the pressure, to win the final game 9-6, giving Princeton
its second consecutive Howe Cup.
"It was such a great way to end my career," Murphy says. "There
are a lot of seniors on this team -- five in the top 10 -- and for us to
be able to end on such an amazing high note is something I'll never forget."
Men's update
After beating Western Ontario 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the National
Intercollegiate Squash and Racquet Association team tournament, the men
fell in the semifinal 9-0 to Trinity, the eventual national champion. The
men then dropped a 5-4 heartbreaker to Yale to finish the season ranked
fourth in the nation.
Winter sports update
Fencing
The men's team took first and the women's team placed second at the Intercollegiate
Fencing Association Championships held the last weekend in February. Épées
Jason Burrell '00 and Mitch Slep '02 both went undefeated as the men's épée
squad proved that it is one of the finest in the nation. Freshman Maya Lawrence,
who had won the 20-and-under épée title at the Junior Olympics
two weeks earlier, also took home the épée crown at IFAs.
Track
The men's track team won their fifth straight Heptagonals crown, beating
second-place Navy by 47 points. The Tigers' individual winners were Scott
Denbo '01 in the shot put, John Mack '00 in the 400-meter dash, Tora Harris
'01 in the high jump, and the 4x400-meter relay. The women's team took second
at Heptagonals, just nine points behind a strong Brown squad. Captain Aiyanna
Burton '99 set a new school record in winning the long jump, leaping 19
feet, 1 1/4 inches. Other first-place finishes included Natalie Deffenbaugh
'02 in the 800, and the 4x800-meter relay.
Wrestling
Two Tiger wrestlers were named to the Ivy League first team. Juan Venturi
'01 made the team in the 133-pound weight class and Ryan Bonfiglio '00 made
the team at 165-pounds.
Hockey
The men's hockey team won its last two games, beating Union 5-0 and RPI
4-3 to finish fourth in the ECAC. The Tigers will host Cornell in the best-of-three
conference series at Baker Rink -- Princeton's first home series in its
history. "I think we're a bubble team now," coach Don Cahoon says
of his team's chances for an at-large NCAA bid. "I think we need to
put a run together in this tournament to make it."
The women finished their season by losing to Harvard 5-4 in overtime
and Northeastern 3-2. They finished in seventh place in the ECAC and will
travel to New Hampshire for the first round of the tournament.
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