Sports: October 20, 1999
Field hockey prospects strong, boosted
by able freshmen
Despite Tiger loss, team often sparkles against sixth-ranked University
of Connecticut
Ten minutes into the field hockey team's 3-1 loss to
sixth-ranked Connecticut, it was clear that while the Tigers might lose
on this particular afternoon, predictions of Princeton's fall from the top
tier of teams were greatly exaggerated. Although the Tigers (4-1 overall,
2-0 Ivy League) were inconsistent, the team played brilliantly in stretches,
and, after the game, coach Beth Bozman said, "I think [Connecticut
coach Nancy Stevens] was shocked at how good we were. She told me she wasn't
happy with what she'd just seen on the field."
Stevens may have been most surprised by the swift development of a group
of freshmen who arrived at Princeton heralded as one of the top recruiting
classes in the country and who have done nothing to dispel that notion during
their first few weeks on campus. The team is starting five members of the
Class of '03: goalkeeper Kelly Baril, defenders Naela El-Hinnawy and Emily
Townsend, and attacks Kristen Skorumski and Ilvy Friebe. Baril has already
established herself as being nearly impossible to beat on any shot she can
see. "You're going to see really great things out of Kelly," Bozman
says. And although the young defense broke down several times against Connecticut,
it has the speed and size to eventually be a barbed wire fence in front
of the talented goalkeeper.
Up front, Friebe and Skorumski have already begun feasting on the weaker
defenses in the Ivy League. Friebe, who is from Germany and has more offensive
moves than Andrew Dice Clay, has been frustrated, however, by the physical
defensive play of the top teams in this country. "It's not as technical
as Europe," Friebe says. "It is frustrating, but I need to learn
to concentrate all the time." So far she's concentrated well enough
to have seven points in five games.
But it would be a mistake to let the glare from the team's young talent
obscure the seniors and juniors. This team will go as far as players such
as cocaptain Robin Dwyer '00, an outstanding defensive midfielder who moved
back to defense this season, can take it. Dwyer, who earned a regional All-America
at midfield, made the move without complaint because defense was where the
team needed her most. In addition to leading by example, Dwyer has tried
to fill the leadership void left by the graduation of the Class of '99.
"I'm trying to remember all the things they told me," she says.
"I want to pass along to the younger players what this program represents."
Other players have also contributed. Melanie Meerschwam '01, who is from
the Netherlands, has assisted Friebe in adapting to the realities of the
North American game. "It's great playing with [Melanie]," Friebe
says. "She's helping me make adjustments." Being raised in the
European system also seems to have given Friebe and Meerschwam a link on
the field-the two are developing a creative synergy that was occasionally
spellbinding during the early games.
If this team can mesh its Europeans and Americans, young and old players,
it has the talent and coaching to go a long way. The winner of the Ivy League-and
it would take a massive upset for Princeton not to win the Ivy League-gets
an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. And while some of the other top
teams, which began sharpening their knives with the graduation of the Class
of '99, may be eagerly awaiting the Tigers, Connecticut has seen enough
to have no interest in running into Princeton again.
-Wes Tooke '98
Changes abound in Tiger football
Cameron Atkinson '03 scores first freshman touchdown in team history
On September 25, 1999, after 130 years of Saturday afternoon
football, the Princeton Tigers moved their act to prime time. Following
a season-opening loss at Cornell, the Tigers hosted the Lehigh University
Mountain Hawks (ranked #15 in the NCAA's division 1AA) and their high powered
offense in the first night football game in Princeton's history.
As the 7 p.m. kickoff approached, an air of excitement settled over Princeton
Stadium. While the fans in attendance were clearly ready for the night,
the Tigers, unfortunately were not.
As it had in the season opener, the Princeton offense stumbled out of
the gate. The Tigers were unable to mount much of a threat in the early
going as the Mountain Hawk defense consistently stuffed Princeton runners
and pressured quarterbacks Tommy Crenshaw '02 and John Blevins '01. In contrast,
the Tiger defense opened aggressively. The heralded Lehigh offense was stifled
by the consistent presence of Tiger defenders in the Mountain Hawk backfield.
Things began to unravel for the overmatched Tigers when Lehigh quarterback
Phil Stambaugh connected on a third down and long pass for 34 yards to the
Princeton 35-yard line. Lehigh tailback, Ronald Jean capped the 12-play,
71-yard drive at the 2:57 mark of the first quarter. Jean scored on a tackle-breaking,
10-yard touchdown dash that, after the extra point, gave the Mountain Hawks
a 7-0 lead.
As the Tiger offense continued to struggle, the defense once again forced
the Mountain Hawks into a critical third down and long situation. Stambaugh
then hit Avon Mack for 25 yards down the right sideline to bring the Mountain
Hawks to within one yard of a first down. With the Tiger defense still reeling,
Stambaugh completed a fourth and 1, play action pass to Kody Fedorcha. The
play covered 30 yards to the Princeton 12-yard line. A 12-yard touchdown
pass to Josh Snyder and the point after gave Lehigh a 14-0.
It looked as though the score would remain there as time wound down in
the first half. However, with the Mountain Hawks near midfield, Stambaugh
completed a short pass to Snyder, who broke a tackle and raced 37 yards
after the catch. He was brought down by a shoestring tackle at the Princeton
3-yard line. Lehigh's Ronald Jean bulled his way into the endzone from there
to give the Mountain Hawks a 21-0 half-time lead.
In the second half, sophomore quarterback Tommy Crenshaw led Princeton
to the Lehigh 20-yard line. However, the threat ended when Crenshaw was
intercepted at the 6-yard line. Despite his team's 31-0 defeat, head coach
Steve Tosches saw some bright spots. "Lehigh is as good a team as we
will face this year, and I thought Tommy Crenshaw threw the ball pretty
well."
In week three of the 1999 campaign, with the Tigers slated to host the
0-3 Fordham Rams, Tosches handed the reins to Tommy Crenshaw. But it was
freshman tailback Cameron Atkinson who put his stamp on the Tigers' first
win of the season: he is the first freshman in the history of Princeton
football to score a touchdown and the first freshman to rush 100 yards in
a game.
Princeton broke out of a season-long offensive slump on its first possession.
Behind several Crenshaw passes and excellent blocking by the offensive line,
the Tigers marched 74 yards to the Fordham 1-yard line. Derek Thiesen '00
then plunged across the goal line to score Princeton's first touchdown of
the season. The extra point gave Princeton a 7-0 lead that it would hold
into the third quarter.
Fifty-four seconds into the second half, Tiger safety Ryan Demler '00
extended the Princeton lead. Demler intercepted an errant Fordham pass and
raced 22 yards into the endzone, making the score Princeton 14, Fordham
0. From there, it was all Atkinson. In the third quarter, Atkinson etched
his name in the Tiger record books by running 38 yards for his first career
touchdown. He later tallied the game's final score with a 12-yard scamper
to the corner of the endzone.
Despite the slow start to the 1999 season, things are looking up for
the Tigers. As Tosches said, Tommy Crenshaw and Cameron Atkinson are athletes
who can "make things happen." Just ask the Fordham Rams.
-Matthew Golden '94
Women's volleyball bounces back
Varied offense, steady passing, and good defense define team's strategy
Last year was hardly a stellar one for the women's volleyball
team. Having graduated three starters from the Class of '98, the Tigers
faced the challenge of defending their 1997 Ivy title with three new starters
stepping into positions that had last been vacated when Mosaic was the Web
browser of choice and binge-drinking had not yet been declared a problem.
The 1998 team lost to Brown in the Ivy finals, but this season Princeton
is already stoked for a comeback, and the Tigers (10-2) are determined to
prove that an "off" year is one in which they finish in second
place.
This year a strong freshman crop of Californians has filled the place
of star outside Rose Kuhn '99. As a result of a varied offense, steady passing,
and ridiculously good defense that averages over 17 digs per game, head
coach Glenn Nelson, whose teams have won eight Ivy titles in 17 years, says
this is "one of our best starts ever."
In 10 preseason wins including victories over three Big East teams and
a first-place finish at the Drexel Invitational, the Tigers have regained
their consistency and have taken advantage of their collective experience
to baffle stronger teams.
"Things couldn't be better," said Nelson, who recently earned
his 400th career win. (Nelson, who has the third most wins in men's volleyball
history, now ranks in the top-30 in all-time women's NCAA wins.)
"We have five starters back, and everyone is a year better,"
said Nelson.
Returning starters include two all-Ivy selections: outside
Sabrina King '01, averaging nearly four kills per game, and setter Melissa
Ford '00, whose freshman jitters have given way to maturity. And in this,
Ford's fourth starting year, life at the helm of the Tiger offense has gotten
even easier.
"The passing is so good that I can set anybody," said Ford.
"It's a setter's dream."
And lest Ford be tempted to go only to her classmate, opposite Erika
Hansen, or middle Emily Brown '01, whose .294 hitting percentage leads the
Tigers, she also has at the other outside spot a rotating arsenal of freshmen,
including Michelle Buffum '03, who is, in Nelson's estimation, already "the
biggest banger on the team" and has fully embraced Tiger spirit.
"It's a great team," said Buffum. "I love everyone."
Though the league as a whole has improved since the days when Nelson's
squads used to thrash all but one or two rivals, Princeton has never ceased
to set the pace for talent and accomplishment.
"We have very high team and individual expectations," said
middle Alexis Collins '02. "Winning Ivies would be the bomb."
As a freshman in 1995 with only one match to her credit but a whole lot
of enthusiasm, Kuhn boldly declared that her team was "the best team
in Princeton volleyball history." Though Kuhn is dearly missed, this
year's team may prove her wrong.
-Josh Stephens '97
In Memoriam: Bill Quackenbush
Bill Quackenbush, a longtime Princeton University coach and a member
of the National Hockey League Hall of Fame, died from pneumonia in Newtown,
Pennsylvania, on September 12. Quackenbush coached three varsity sports
at Princeton: men's hockey (1967-73), men's golf (1971-85), and women's
hockey (1979-85). He played for the Detroit Red Wings (1942-49) and Boston
Bruins (1949-56), appearing in eight straight All-Star games. He was 77.
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