Sports: April 18, 2000
Center of Attention
Scouts eye fastballer Chris Young '02 for June draft
A listless 55-41 loss to Penn State in the opening round of the National
Invitational Tournament brought the Princeton men's basketball team's season
to a disappointing conclusion. After five injury-riddled months, the Tigers
emptied their lockers and vacated Jadwin Gym. The frustration of poor performances
against league rival Penn and the loss to Penn State will be carried well
into the off-season by most of the Tiger cagers.
But for Chris Young '02, there is no off-season. Young, who was the Ivy League's rookie of the year in basketball and baseball as a freshman, simply changes uniforms when basketball season ends.
Though it does not take the sting out of what Young described as "a very frustrating season in basketball," he welcomes the change of scenery that baseball affords, saying, "It doesn't make losing any easier, but it helps clear my mind. . . . It is a totally different type of atmosphere, and that makes the transition easier. If [baseball] were a high-intensity, fast-paced game . . . [the transition] might be harder."
Ivy League baseball and basketball are very different animals. While basketball season, which begins October 15 and extends into late February (mid-March or later if there is a postseason tournament invitation), is a marathon, baseball season is definitely a sprint. Baseball does not play its first game until mid-March and squeezes 42 regular-season games into two months.
In preparation for his crossover to the baseball diamond, Young managed
to squeeze two to three throwing sessions per week into his already busy
winter schedule. "You can't just walk out without practicing for six
months and expect to have success," says Young. And Young has enjoyed
tremendous success in both sports since arriving at Princeton. He has led
the basketball team to consecutive berths in the NIT, and this year was
a unanimous first team All-Ivy selection.
If you think the six-foot, 11-inch center stands out on the hardcourt, you should see him on the baseball field. Free of the constant double teams and swarming defenders that he faces in basketball, Young enjoys the isolation of the mound. "One of the great things about being a pitcher is the individual aspect of competition," Young says. "There is that me-versus-you mentality, which makes it fun."
As a Baseball Weekly freshman All-America selection, Young put up staggering numbers last spring. He posted a 4-1 record with a 2.38 earned run average (11th best nationally) and struck out 36 batters in just 31 innings. Ivy foes had never seen anything like the flame-throwing giant, whose fastball is in the 90-mile-per-hour range. Their best strategy against the dominating pitcher was to let him do all the work: Young issued more walks (25) than hits (23) last season. "Although I had a lot of success, I was disappointed in a few things, the main concern being my control. I walked too many people."
Head baseball coach Scott Bradley feels that Young has some things to work on, but that he has enormous potential. "I believe that Chris has a chance to pitch in the major leagues. This will be an important year for him. He has been around the league one time and will not be able to surprise anyone," says Bradley. "He has worked extremely hard on his change-up and his slider, and I believe he will pitch much better than last year."
Bradley is not alone in his evaluation of Young. Baseball America ranked the tall right-hander as the 77th best college prospect in the nation, which would place Young in the vicinity of the fifth round of Major League Baseball's amateur draft. Ordinarily the draft would not be an option for a college sophomore, but Young turns 21 on May 25 and will be eligible this year. Unlike the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball does not require underclassmen to declare themselves eligible for the draft. So Young does not have to make any decisions about his future until he is selected. "Honestly, I haven't really thought much about [the draft]. Hopefully it will become a reality somewhere down the road, but until then, I'm just going to worry about improving as a player," he says.
In his first appearance on the mound this spring, Young threw two scoreless
innings and showed good velocity and an improved change-up and breaking
ball-none of which went unnoticed by the throng of professional scouts in
attendance. If, as Bradley predicts, Young pitches better than last year,
down the road may be just a couple of months away.-M.G.
Women's lacrosse ruins Simons's
return
Tigers squeak past Georgetown, 86
Kim Simons '94 came to Princeton in 1990 determined to help take the
women's lacrosse team to new heights. Over the course of her playing career,
Simons emerged as a vocal leader who drove herself and her teammates on
a steady climb toward national prominence. In Simons's senior year, that
climb culminated in a national championship.
Chris Sailor, Princeton's women's lacrosse coach for the last 14 years, remembers her former attack wing as an "intense leader," who motivated the team and kept players focused on the task at hand.
Six years later, Simons is still driving her team. No longer a player, she is now the head women's lacrosse coach at Georgetown and is rapidly leading the Hoyas into the sport's upper echelon. Simons has transformed Georgetown into a powerful, if friendly, rival to the Tigers. Last month, the Hoyas were ranked sixth in the nation (two spots ahead of Princeton).
Simons credits her time as both a lacrosse and field hockey player at Princeton for much of her success. "My experience at Princeton my senior year was a big reason I went into coaching," she says. "It was an unbelievable experience, playing with that group of talented women. We wanted to go out there and accomplish our goal of winning a national title . . . and we did it."
On March 18, Simons and the Hoyas returned to Princeton for an early-season
meeting with the Tigers. In a matchup that featured teacher versus student,
Simons's Hoyas looked to have the upper hand. Last year, Georgetown laid
a 104 whipping on the Tigers, and the Hoyas returned several key players
from that squad. Successfully avoiding a repeat performance, Sailor and
her young Tigers managed to fight their way to an 86 victory.
The Tigers' home-field advantage and the unstoppable attack of Julie Shaner '01 enabled Princeton to carry the day. Shaner's hat trick and the Tigers' fast start proved too much for the Hoyas.
Princeton (51 overall, 10 Ivy) also may have been riding a wave of euphoria following its 1110 victory over the second-ranked Duke Blue Devils a couple of days earlier. Sailor said that game proved to her that her team was for real. Pleased with the early results, Sailor knows that her team's play in April will be critical for postseason seeding. She is counting on the development of young players and leadership from her few remaining veterans, including midfielders Shaner, Jen Alexander '00, and Hilary Maddox '00; defender Molly Hall '00; and goalie Laura Field '00, to propel the team down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Simons's Georgetown team will look to regroup and make its own postseason push. That would hardly surprise Sailor, who says, "With her personality and her goals, there's no way she's not going to get things done."
Paul Hagar '91
Winter wrapup
Yik, Beaver, Petschigg are champs
In a season riddled with injuries, the men's basketball team was never able to get on track. The consistent absence of Mason Rocca '00 from the Tiger lineup proved especially crippling. But Princeton still managed to earn a second consecutive National Invitational Tournament berth-losing in the opening round to Penn State. After his Rookie-of-the-Year season last year, sophomore center Chris Young turned in another solid effort and was unanimously named first-team All-Ivy. Spencer Gloger '03 was an honorable mention All-Ivy selection.
Though the women's basketball team struggled through a disappointing season, finishing with a 919 record, Kate
Thirolf '00 and Maggie Langlas '00 each surpassed the career 1,000-point milestone. Thirolf was named first-team All-Ivy, and Langlas received honorable mention.
For the second year in a row, Clarkson ousted the men's hockey team from the ECAC playoffs. However, postseason honors were abundant. Kirk Lamb '01 was tabbed second-team All-ECAC and first-team All-Ivy. Darren Yopyk '00 joined Lamb as a first-team All-Ivy selection. The Tigers also placed eight players on the academic All-Ivy team.
It was a banner year for the men's squash team as the Tigers ended Harvard's 10-year reign at the top of the Ivy League. Led by Peter Yik '00, who won his second consecutive individual national championship, and a strong freshman class, the Tigers made it all the way to the national semifinals before suffering a season-ending loss to Harvard.
The women's squash team went one step further before falling to league rival Penn in the national championship. In individual competition, Julia Beaver '01 equaled Yik, capturing a national championship of her own.
The women's swimming team capped a dream season with an Ivy League championship and a 90 record. In a successful but bittersweet campaign, the men's swimming team finished second to Harvard at the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League Championship. This was the fifth straight year that the Tigers have finished second to the Crimson.
The women's and men's fencing team successfully defended its Intercollegiate Fencing Association title. The women's team won the foil, épée, and three-weapon titles at the championship meet. And for the first time in the school's history, Princeton sent 12 fencers-the maximum number possible-to the NCAA championship competition held at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The Tigers finished fifth at the NCAA championships, but Eva Petschigg '03 won the individual foil championship.
The men's indoor track team won its eighth consecutive Heptagonal championship and its third straight indoor Heps victory. John Mack '00 claimed the 400 meters; Mike Spence '00 won the 5,000 meters; and Scott Denbo '01 won the shot put.-M.G.
Men's teams Tennis (105 overall, 00 Ivy) Princeton 6, Navy 1 Princeton 5, Temple ? April 21 Cornell April 22 at Columbia April 29 Georgetown May 6 NCAA Regionals *
Volleyball (711 overall, 39 EIVA) Juniata 3, Princeton 9 Concordia 3, Princeton 0
Lacrosse (31 overall, 00 Ivy) Princeton 11, Hofstra 8 Princeton 15, Rutgers 5 April 22 Cornell April 23 Syracuse April 29 at Dartmouth May 6 at Hobart May 13 NCAA Tournament *
Baseball (69 overall, 00 Ivy) Princeton 6, Delaware 5 Rutgers 17, Princeton 6 April 21 Penn (DH) April 22 Penn (DH) April 26 Temple April 28 at Cornell (DH) April 30 Cornell (DH) May 4 at Seton Hall May 6-7 Ivy League Championship *
Outdoor Track April 1821 IC4A April 22 at Connecticut Invitational April 2729 at Penn Relays May 3 Broadmead Invitational May 6 Princeton Invitational May 9 Princeton Last Chance May 1314 Heptagonals (at Penn)
Golf April 2122 Princeton Invitational April 2829 at Rutherford Intercollegiate
Heavyweight Crew April 22 at Harvard (with MIT) April 29 at Cornell (with Yale) May 6 Brown
Lightweight Crew April 22 Navy/Penn April 29 at Harvard (with Yale) May 21 EARC Sprints (at Worcester, Mass.) |
Women's teams Tennis (92 overall, 00 Ivy) Princeton 5, Loyola Marymount 4 Princeton 5, Boston College 4 April 21 at Cornell April 22 Columbia May 13-14 NCAA Regionals *
Water Polo (143 overall, 8-0 CWPA) April 2930 Eastern Championships May 57 NCAA Championships *
Lacrosse (51 overall, 10 Ivy) April 19 Penn April 22 Dartmouth April 26 Maryland April 29 at Brown May 11 NCAA Tournament *
Softball (915 overall, 00 Ivy) Rutgers 6, Princeton 3 Princeton 5, Rutgers 0 April 21 at Dartmouth (DH) April 22 at Harvard (DH) April 27 at Villanova (DH) April 29 Robert Morris (DH) April 30 at Temple (DH) May 2 Drexel (DH) May 6 Maryland (DH)
Golf April 2123 at Lady Buckeye Invitational (Columbus, OH)
Open Crew April 22 Yale/Virginia April 29 Penn/Dartmouth May 6 Georgetown/George Washington May 14 EAWRC Sprints (at New Preston, CT)
Lightweight Crew April 29 Harvard (at New Haven, CT) May 6 Georgetown/ George Washington May 14 EAWRC Sprints (at New Preston, CT)
Outdoor Track April 22 at Widener Invitational April 2729 at Penn Relays May 6 Princeton Invitational May 1314 Heptagonals (at Penn)
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