February 25, 2004: Sports
Sports Web Exclusives! P-nut Gallery column
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With 77 career goals, Gretchen Anderson ’04 ranks among the top 10 scorers in Princeton history. (Beverly Schaefer) |
Women’s hockey tops Harvard
By the time she reached her fourth season of hockey at Princeton, Gretchen Anderson ’04 was well acquainted with the team’s winter break routine. “You just eat, sleep, and play hockey,” she says. It may not be the most glamorous itinerary, but this year, the Tigers took advantage of the chance to devote full attention to their sport, opening the postbreak schedule with a 6—3 upset win over No. 2 Harvard January 30.
The Crimson, last year’s Ivy champion, took the lead less than two minutes into the game, but Princeton freshmen Kim Pearce and Elizabeth Keady responded, scoring two goals each in the first two periods to give the Tigers a 4—3 lead entering the final stanza. Anderson assisted on the fifth Princeton goal early in the third and flicked in a backhand shot on a breakaway to seal the win with two minutes left.
For Coach Jeff Kampersal ’92, holding the lead against the Crimson was just as impressive as taking it. “We had kids sacrificing their bodies, blocking shots from the hash mark,” he says. “They just rose to the occasion.” Kampersal, who once captained the Tigers’ men’s team, has built Princeton into a national power on the women’s side during the last eight seasons. After winning a program-best 20 games last year, the Tigers have hopes of grabbing a share of the Ivy League title for the first time since 1995. The race could come down to the season’s final weekend, when Princeton plays at Brown and Harvard, March 6 and 7. Top-ranked Dartmouth is the early league leader.
The Tigers’ fortunes, in the season and the playoffs, are tied
closely to Anderson, a left-winger who has been the team’s most reliable
scorer for three straight seasons. Through February 1, her 20 goals ranked
third in the N.C.A.A. Division I, and Kampersal, who first coached Anderson
as a 15-year-old at a U.S.A. Hockey camp, calls her a “dominant scorer.”
“She doesn’t just hope to score,” he says. “She expects
it.” 
By B.T.
Men’s hoops opens 4--0 in Ivy
A pair of timely first baskets helped men’s basketball survive two Saturday night nailbiters in the opening weekends of Ivy League play. At Yale January 31, Will Venable ’05 grabbed a key rebound and converted his first (and only) field goal attempt of the night with three seconds remaining, leading Princeton to a 49—47 win. A week later, Harrison Schaen ’07 provided a similar lift against Harvard, coming off the bench to tie the contest on his only field goal try, with 23 seconds left. Schaen also blocked two shots and forced two turnovers in the game’s two overtime periods. The Tigers won 58—50.
With an average of 47.8 points-allowed in Ivy games, Princeton has made
its mark with defense. Offensively, the Tigers maintain balance —
only Judson Wallace ’05 averages more than 10 points per game. Ed
Persia ’04 leads the team in assists and three-pointers.
By B.T.
Sports Shorts
Few Ivy rivals can match the dominance of Princeton and Harvard in MEN’S SWIMMING. At the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League meet, which has determined the Ivy champion since 1997, the two schools have been the top two Ivy finishers for 31 consecutive years – 13 titles for the Tigers and 18 for the Crimson. Harvard won in 2003, but the Tigers beat the Crimson head-to-head at this season’s H-Y-P meet January 30—31. Princeton hosts the 2004 E.I.S.L. Championships, March 4—6 at DeNunzio Pool. WOMEN’S SWIMMING defeated Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale January 25, 31, and February 1, improving to 6—0 in the Ivy League.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL won consecutive games for the first time this season, beating Brown and Yale at home. Point guard Katy O’Brien ’06 scored 33 points in the two games, including eight three-pointers.
Joe Looke ’04 won two matches as WRESTLING tried to hold its own against a pair of Ivy foes January 31. The Tigers lost to Columbia, 26—14, and fell 34—3 against No. 14 Cornell.
St. Lawrence shut out MEN’S HOCKEY January 31, extending the Tigers’ winless streak to eight games.
Men’s and Women’s squash each beat Penn January 29 before losing to Yale January 31.
Coach JOE SCOTT ’87’s Air Force Academy men’s
basketball team is soaring in 2003—04. A 13-game winning streak helped
guarantee the Falcons’ first winning season since 1977—78.
By B.T.
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