Wins propel Tigers into top 20
No. 15 cagers show strength, balance in nonconference play
No less an authority than ESPN's poster boy for logorrhea, Dick Vitale, predicted that if Princeton could get by St. John's on December 27, "these guys could run the table, baby," and finish 26-1. No less an authority than North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge proclaimed, after his Tar Heels barely survived Princeton's visit to Chapel Hill, that the Tigers (11-1 overall, 0-0 Ivy) are capable of winning a national title.
What about Princeton's coach? Bill Carmody has done all right. Overall, he's won 35 games and lost five. He's 14-0 in the Ivy League, 21-3 on the road, and an impressive 2-2 versus the Atlantic Coast Conference, generally considered the finest basketball conference in the land.
What about Princeton's players? A glance at the national rankings after their 77-48 rout of Manhattan showed them 15th in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls. No Princeton team since the 1966-67 version, Butch van Breda Kolff '45's swan song, has been ranked that high. One might venture to say that guards Brian Earl '99 and Mitch Henderson '98, center Steve Goodrich '98, and forwards Gabe Lewullis '99 and James Mastaglio '98 are as talented a starting five as Princeton has had in 30 years, and just possibly the best team in the history of Tiger basketball. There is obviously no prolific scorer à la Bill Bradley '65 on this squad, nor is there a dominating center like Kit Mueller'91. Rather, this team is a paradigm of balance. Balance and fortitude. And, as Earl keeps reminding the press and the guys with microphones on postgame TV wrapups, athletic ability.
Everybody can pass, everybody can catch, and everybody can play steel-trap defense. In the Carril/Carmody scheme, those are the most important things. Everybody also has fast hands. Earl and Henderson are both strong and quick. Goodrich mixes physical presence with touch, has deft hook shots with both hands, and a good outside shot. Lewullis is the team's best three-point shooter next to Earl -- a huge plus for a big (by Tiger standards) forward. Mastaglio has replaced Sydney Johnson '97 as the defensive stopper.
Carmody is eager to assert that the common analysis of Princeton's game -- the throwback multi-pass offense dictates a slow-paced, low-scoring game -- is in error. It's Princeton's defense, he insists, that's responsible for those 38-36 and 50-42 scores.
There may be some disingenuousness here, because one vital element of the team's defense is the nature of its offense. With two and sometimes three players stationed near the three-point line, Princeton sacrifices offensive rebounding for defense. It's virtually impossible for opponents to mount a fast break, because the Tigers always have at least two men back on defense. They sacrifice the occasional opportunity for a second shot to prevent the other team from getting easy baskets.
Thus teams that love to run are forced to walk, and teams unused to passing are forced to pass, and to throw the ball away. When Princeton plays its game to perfection, using either a smothering man-to-man defense or a paralyzing zone, the opposition is neutralized, rendered generic. UCLA becomes Cornell; Wake Forest is transformed into Brown.
On December 13 against North Carolina, the nation's top-ranked team (see related story, page 23), the Tigers grabbed a quick 11-4 lead; the Tar Heels managed only two field goals in the first 4:38. For the rest of the game, the defense remained strong. In its first nine games, North Carolina had 48 three-point baskets; against Princeton they had none.
The Tigers' ball handling, which had sometimes broken down against big-time opposition, was impeccable. There was just one little problem -- time and again they'd work a man free for an unmolested three-pointer; time and again the resulting shot clanked off iron. The final count was four in, 22 out. Still, they trailed by only a basket with just over a minute left before losing, 50-42.
Six days later, when another ACC behemoth, Wake Forest, rolled into the Meadowlands for the Jimmy V. Classic, Princeton took advantage of the Demon Deacons' stubborn adherence to a man-to-man defense with a plethora of back-door layups for a 32-26 halftime lead. When Wake finally converted to a zone, the Tigers made seven of nine second-half three-pointers, withstood a late bomb by 7'1" center Loren Woods, and held on for a 69-64 win over the 22nd-ranked Deacons.
The Princeton-St. John's matchup anticipated by Vitale almost occurred where it wasn't supposed to: in the consolation game of the ECAC Holiday Festival. Unheralded Niagara upset St. John's at Madison Square Garden, and the Tigers suffered a near-fatal recurrence of their long-distance ailment against Drexel, making a dreadful four of 25 three-point shots. They played a generally miserable game on offense, missing 11 free throws as well.
But defense saved the day; Drexel managed just two points over the final 3:40 as the Tigers prevailed, 58-56. Princeton had an easy time with Niagara the next night: Mastaglio equaled his career high with 18 points, and Earl and Henderson contributed a flurry of three-pointers early in the second half as the Tigers cruised, 61-52.
Vitale's 26-1 would seem at worst an even-money bet at this point, in a year when the Ivy League appears more powder-puffish than usual. The March3 Penn game at the Palestra might prove a monkey wrench, as could another dismal outside shooting night against anyone. But even a 25-2 record would probably dictate a decent seed -- as high as fourth, no lower than sixth -- in an NCAA regional.
The weak Ivy schedule provides a mixed blessing: Carmody should be able to give plenty of work to his bench -- especially talented sophomores Mason Rocca, Nate Walton, and Phil Belin, and freshman guard C.J. Chapman. But the transition from Ivy opposition to the NCAA tournament is always stunning -- witness last year's first-round loss to burly California.
-- Peter Delacorte '67
Marshman's style suits scrappy icewomen
With the first of two laps complete, the women's hockey team (7-7-1 overall, 5-5 ECAC, 3-2 Ivy) finds itself jostling in the middle of the ECAC pack. The young squad has endured predictable slowness out of the blocks, but has shown an ability to keep pace with some of the nation's best teams. For Princeton to overtake more opponents, however, the team should follow the lead of left wing Danya Marshman '00.
Marshman tops the Tigers in two categories -- assists and penalty minutes -- and they reflect the qualities she brings to the ice. A playmaker who does her best work below the opposing goal line, the 5'3" Marshman embodies "old-time hockey."
Deliberate bodychecking is illegal in women's college hockey, although a modest amount of contact occurs nonetheless. Marshman, a Michigan native who played in boys' leagues growing up, would welcome a relaxation of the checking rules: "I have to hold back a lot out there," she says. "After my Mom made me switch to the girls' leagues in high school, I got more personal exposure, but I missed the guys' game and how physical it was."
Coach Jeff Kampersal '92 believes Marshman's aggressive corner work and tough demeanor are rubbing off among the Tigers. "She's a feisty player," says Kampersal. "She'd rather go through somebody than around them. She's the grit on our team. She's committed to getting stronger, by weightlifting, running, or biking, and the other players are buying into it more and more."
Marshman regularly skates with linemates Amy Macklin '98 and Abbey Fox '01. The three move the puck well, and their best offensive games have come against two of the best in college hockey: a 7-5 loss to defending ECAC champion Northeastern on November 16, and a 5-5 tie with Minnesota, a rising power coached by Laura Halldorson '85, on December 17.
When hockey season ends, Marshman keeps going, running the 800 for the track squad. The hockey-track combination is an unusual one, especially because the muscular bulk she acquires for her winter sport can hinder her productivity in the spring. Her mental toughness is a tool in both sports, however. "When I'm down in a race, I have to push even harder to catch up," she explains. "Sometimes, when I'm running track, I give myself an ultimatum to race to the finish line like I'm racing for a loose puck."
As the Tigers begin the back half of the schedule, they are in sixth place in the ECAC, four points behind third-place Cornell. With goal-scoring a concern for the Tigers, there is an emphasis on the tough play at which Marshman excels. She hopes to have Princeton kicking into the home stretch, eyeing a March 15 finish line at Northeastern, site of the ECAC championship.
-- Mike Jackman '92
Big Sky's Langlas key for women's hoops
Maggie langlas '00 is proving to be a linchpin for the women's basket ball team (5-6 overall, 0-0 Ivy). The sophomore's defense, three point shooting, and play-making abilities often set the tone for the squad, and throughout the nonconference schedule, the team's up-and-down performances have usually paralleled Langlas's. Her importance was especially apparent in the latter half of December, when Princeton traveled to Michigan just before Christmas, then visited Langlas's hometown, Missoula, Montana, soon after the holiday, for the University of Montana's Western States Showdown on December 28 and 29.
Princeton split its four games on the road, losing at Michigan, 61-58, on December 19, then beating Eastern Michigan, 69-60, two nights later. Against powerful Michigan, whom the Tigers nearly upset, Langlas led the team in scoring with a career-high 24; two nights later she and forward Kate Thirolf '00 combined for 28 at Eastern Michigan. By contrast, when the Tigers lost to Montana, 58-31, in the first round of the Showdown, Langlas appeared hesitant and so did the team. The 5'9" guard led the team in scoring, but her nine-point total illustrated the Tigers' offensive woes.
After the game -- played before a raucous crowd of nearly 5,000 -- coach Liz Feeley speculated Langlas may have felt pressure to perform in her homecoming. "She wanted this team to do very well in Missoula," said the coach. "I wish all those people had witnessed a better effort from us."
Missoula fondly remembered Langlas, whose high-school squad (Hellgate) won a state title in 1995 and a second-place finish in 1996; fans waved placards of support during both Princeton games. Langlas's family served as the team's ambassadors for the tournament, hosting a huckleberry-pancake breakfast the morning before its second game. That night, Langlas and the Tigers showed what they were capable of, pounding MissouriKansas City, 64-46, in the consolation round.
"I loved for my town to see my team play well," said Langlas. "When people out here hear 'Princeton,' they're really naive about it -- [the school is] not really that well known. It was neat for them to see us play well." The Big Sky native played pretty well herself in the second game, scoring 17 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing a career-high six assists, to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. Thirolf, who tallied a team-high 20 points in the game, also won tourney honors.
With young players like Langlas and Thirolf setting the pace, Princeton must now aim for consistency as much as anything, according to Feeley. When things aren't going well, the players "need to find a way to get themselves out of it," she said. And when the Tigers have a lead, she wants them to go for the kill. If they don't, a solid Ivy record could quickly slip out of reach.
-- Paul Hagar '91
Spirited Attoh sparks volleyball to tourney
After high school, Ayesha Attoh '98, now a cocaptain and opposite hit ter on the Ivy champion women's volleyball team (22-6 overall, 6-1 Ivy), desperately wanted to play on a winning college team. She had come to Princeton with an insatiable desire for success not because she experienced the cliché of high-school prowess that renders losing both unacceptable and unfamiliar, but because at her alma mater (Irvine University High School, in California), mediocrity reigned supreme. The embittered victim of scores of losses in Orange County (arguably the strongest league in the nation), Attoh suffered her share of defeat long before she set foot in Dillon Gym, and she learned to despise it thoroughly.
Despite her school's weak volleyball program, Attoh distinguished herself by playing on a strong club team and impressed head coach Glenn Nelson with her talent. In 1994, Attoh joined a Tiger squad that was stronger than she had anticipated, but whose lack of experience could have been another potential Titanic. Displaying his characteristic faith in rookies, Nelson forged half his starting lineup out of freshmen: outside Stephanie Edwards, middle Lowen Cattolico (now a cocaptain), and -- much to her amazement -- the athletic but unproven Attoh at opposite. "Not in my wildest dreams did I think I'd start as a freshman," Attoh said. "I didn't think I was going to be a big deal." She was profoundly mistaken.
That year, the offensive firepower from the trio of freshmen took the Tigers to the Ivy title and a first-ever NCAA game at number-12 UC-Santa Barbara. Princeton's most consistent offensive performer, Attoh set the league standard as a first-team all-Ivy pick and Ivy Rookie of the Year. Since then, one of the most successful classes in Ivy volleyball history has picked up two more league titles, in 1995 and 1997, and grabbed more than its share of all-Ivy selections.
A 4-4 start in this, their senior season, wasn't so promising, however, and they shuddered at the thought of losing a second consecutive Ivy title after dominating their first two years. "It would have been horrible to lose the championship," Attoh says. After the team hit bottom with a three-game loss to Seton Hall, she became "dominant as a leader and a player," says outside Rose Kuhn '99. "All the seniors wanted it that much more."
Though Edwards and both averaged more kills than did Attoh this season, Kuhn credits Attoh's spirited leadership, which complemented Cattolico's more stern style, for spurring the team. Whenever Attoh sensed that the team was slacking off, "she would get this look in her eyes like she was going to hurt you" if the team did not play to its potential, says Kuhn.
With such prodding, preseason lethargy gave way to typical Tiger volleyball -- solid passing, smart hitting -- in the latter half. Setter Melissa Ford '00 made dramatic improvements over a shaky freshman season, and heading into the Ivy tournament with only one loss, the Tigers regained a familiar sense of control over their own destiny.
In an absolute tour-de-force, Nelson's squad lost not a single game in three preliminary matches before it dashed Dartmouth's dreams in a thrilling, five-game final, which gave the Tigers their 10th league title in 20 years of Ivy play. Edwards, Attoh, and Kuhn made the all-tournament team.
After a trying two-week hiatus, Princeton lost respectably to a powerful team from Maryland, which was ranked 19th in the nation (15-6, 15-13, 15-11), in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
-- Josh Stephens '97
Tar Heel memories for John Thompson III '88
On December 13, when the men's basketball team played North Carolina in Chapel Hill, third-year assistant coach John Thompson III '88 had a chance to consider his special connection to the Tar Heels' basketball program. It was a relationship that began in the early 1970s, when his father, Georgetown coach John Thompson, Jr., was calling the shots at St. Anthony's High School in Washington, D.C.
One day, the legendary Dean Smith, at that time the Heels' coach, visited the school, hoping to recruit one of the elder Thompson's star players, Donald Washington. "My father was Donald's legal guardian, and he and Coach Smith got to know one another during the recruiting process," recalls Thompson. "After that they remained very close."
So close, in fact, that Smith invited Thompson's father to serve as an assistant when Smith coached the 1976 Olympic team, and that when Smith decided to retire last October after 36 seasons, the Georgetown coach traveled to North Carolina for the historic occasion.
For several years, the young Thompson attended basketball camps in North Carolina that were run by Smith. "I even learned the Carolina fight song," he laughs. In high school Thompson was himself recruited by Carolina, but he ultimately chose to attend Princeton. As a Tiger, he piled up more assists than any other forward in Tiger history -- his 358 rank third all-time, behind guard Billy Ryan '84 and center Kit Mueller '91.
-- Mike Kaylor
Sports Shorts
Ice upset: For the second time in four seasons, the men's hockey team (9-3-4; 3-3-3 ECAC) upset the nation's number-one squad. A wrist shot by defenseman Steve Shirreffs '99 broke through the pads of Boston University goalie Tom Noble with 3:05 to play, boosting the Tigers to a 3-2 victory on December 30. Forwards Scott Bertoli '99 and Casson Masters '98 also tallied for Old Nassau; Erasmo Saltarelli '98 continued his fine netminding with 30 stops. Three years ago, Princeton beat undefeated and top-ranked Maine, also by a 3-2 margin.
-- Mike Jackman '92
Penn forfeits: When the football team met Penn on November 8, the participation of Penn's all-Ivy defensive tackle Mitch Marrow (six tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble) helped secure the Quakers' 20-17 victory. Little did anyone know at the time that Marrow's participation would eventually turn that Quaker win and four others into losses. A Penn academic panel ruled that the 22-year-old Marrow, a senior with NFL aspirations, became a part-time student and ineligible under NCAA regulations after dropping one of his three courses on September 9. In a report released January 2, Penn officials announced the university would forfeit the five wins in which Marrow played (including the Quakers' victory over Princeton), dropping their record to 1-9. At press time, the forfeitures had been approved by the Ivy League and awaited ratification by the NCAA.
-- Mark Sabath '98
In memoriam: Longtime athletic trainer Prosper F. Cima died November 18, 1997. Cima served in the Army-Air Force in World War II and worked at Princeton for 32 years before retiring in 1982. Cima is survived by his wife, Adeline B. Cima, his son, Prosper F. Cima, Jr., one grandson, and two great-grandsons. He was 78.
Scoreboard
M. basketball
(11-1overall,0-0Ivy)
W vs. UNCWilm., 63-50
W vs. Lafayette, 73-48
W at Bucknell, 64-52
L at North Carolina, 42-50
Jimmy V. Classic
W vs. Wake Forest, 69-64
ECAC Holiday Fest.
W vs. Drexel, 58-56
W vs. Niagara, 61-52
W vs. Manhattan, 77-48
W. basketball
(5-6overall,0-0Ivy)
L at Delaware, 57-59
L vs. Lafayette, 58-67 (ot)
L vs. Geo. Wash., 51-69
W vs. Fairl. Dickin., 72-48
L at Michigan, 58-61
W at E. Michigan, 69-60
Western Sts. Showdown
L at Montana, 31-58
W vs. MissouriKC, 64-46
M. fencing
(3-0overall,1-0Ivy)
Penn St. Openindiv.
W vs. Penn, 18-9
W vs. N. Carolina, 17-10
W vs. Rutgers, 18-9
W. fencing
(3-0overall,1-0Ivy)
Penn St. Openindiv.
W vs. Penn, 16-16*
W vs. N. Carolina, 24-8
W vs. Rutgers, 16-16*
M. ice hockey
(93-4overall,33-3ecac)
L vs. Yale, 2-3
W vs. U. Mass., 4-3 (ot)
W vs. Boston Univ., 3-2
W vs. Union, 3-1
T vs. Rensselaer, 2-2
W. ice hockey
(77-1overall,5-5ecac, 3-2 Ivy)
Princeton Invit.
W vs. Cornell, 4-3
L vs. Minnesota, 1-6
W vs. Providence, 3-2
W vs. Brown, 4-0
L vs. Providence, 2-6
L at Minnesota, 3-5
T at Minnesota, 5-5
W at Yale, 2-1
W vs. Yale, 1-0
M. squash
(4-0overall,20Ivy)
W at Navy, 9-0
W vs. Brown, 9-0
W. squash
(3-0overall,2-0Ivy)
W vs. Brown, 9-0
Constable Invit.indiv.
M. swimming
(2-0overall,2-0eisl)
W vs. Penn, 151-82
Virginia Invit.1st
W at Navy, 179-113
W. swimming
(4-0overall,3-0ewsl)
W at Rutgers, 186-102
W vs. Navy, 190-101
W vs. Penn, 172-114
Virginia Tourn.2nd
W vs. Yale, 179-113
M. track
New Year's Invit.indiv.
W. track
New Year's Invit.indiv.
Wrestling
(4-0overall,0-0eiwa)
Ivy Classic6th
W vs. NYU, 25-20
W vs. Swarthmore, 35-10
W vs. Wagner, 43-7
W vs. Haverford, 37-0
Penn St. Openindiv.
Wilkes Openindiv.
Highlights
M. basketball: ranked 15th in 1/5 national polls; guard Brian Earl '99 named mvp of ecac Holiday Festival. M. hockey: Jeff Halpern '00 named ecac player of week 12/1, Robbie Sinclair '98 named 12/15. W. hockey: Wing Danya Marshman '00 named Ivy player of week & Tammy Orlow '99 named ecac/Heaton goalie of week 12/2. W. squash: Julia Beaver '01 won Constable Invit.
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