The Daily Princetonian
Wednesday
february 18, 2014
Spring Preview
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Key Questions Each Team Faces This Season
Men’s and Women’s Golf Preview
Track and Field Previews
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WOMEN’S LACROSSE McMann, Tigers hungrier than ever
By David Liu contributor
On February 21, the Princeton Women’s Lacrosse season will officially kick-off as the team faces No. 9 Loyola. After maintaining a nearly undefeated Ivy League record of 6-1 and reaching the second round of the NCAA championships last season, Princeton Women’s Lacrosse has earned its respected reputation; the team is currently ranked at No. 15 in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). With a fresh influx of eight freshman players and star leadership, the team will work to build off last year’s phenomenal season and revive established rivalries. The Tigers finished the 20132014 season with an impressive 12- 7 overall and 6 -1 Ivy
League record, especially after facing top ranked NCAA teams including Virginia, Maryland, and Penn State. After only losing to Brown in the regular season, the team entered the Ivy League tournament with high confidence. Accordingly, Princeton dominated Cornell in the first round. Unfortunately, the championship game pitted Princeton against Penn, the top team in the conference. The rivalry between the two schools extends as early as 2007, when the Quakers stole the championship; since then, Penn has won every Ivy League championship. The Tigers fell to an early deficit but mounted a comeback in the second half. Unfortunately, Penn narrowly escaped with the title. Speaking on last year’s success and the expectations for See W. LAX page S2
JACQUELINE LI :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Women’s lacrosse finished 12-7 last season and 6-1 in Ivy League games as they reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, crashing out to Virginia 13-11.
MEN’S LACROSSE
Tigers look to fill the void left by Schreiber By Andrew Steele sports editor emeritus
Four Ivy League teams rank among the nation’s top twenty according to both the Inside Lacrosse and the US Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches polls. Surely Princeton, a school nearly as reputable for lacrosse prowess as for academic excellence, is among this elite cadre. Not this year. Cornell, Harvard, Penn and Yale have all found their respective ways into the rankings. As the past few years have evidenced, nothing can be taken for granted in college lacrosse. The last few Orange and Black campaigns, led by some of the nation’s most outstanding players and coaches, seem to have left potential unfulfilled. This season, expectations for the Tigers are somewhat murky following a mediocre 7-6 finish (2-4 in conference play) and the loss of a once-in-a-generation talent. Two-time Tewaaraton Trophy finalist – the award is annually awarded to the nation’s most outstanding college lacrosse player – Tom Schreiber graduated last spring and took his near-boundless talents to Major League Lacrosse’s Ohio Machine. And yet, as dynamic as the three-time all-America first teamer was, during his college career the Tigers
never advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament and only claimed one Ivy League regular season championship. Schreiber, a two-time captain, scored 60 points in his sophomore and junior along with 51 in his final year. How will Princeton replace this consistent and prolific offensive production? “It’s a natural question based on how much Tom impacted the game,” head
coach Chris Bates responded. “There’s going to be a redistribution of the ball, meaning more guys are going to step up.” Bates, who enters his sixth season at the helm with a record of 42-32, pointed to his team’s second through fourth-ranked scorers from last season: the midfield tag team of senior captain Kip Orban and junior Jake Froccaro and a dynamic attack See M. LAX page S4
YICHENG SUN :: PHOTO EDITOR
Coming off a resounding win against Manhattan College, the Tigers hope they can stay hot as the weather warms up.
The Daily Princetonian
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Wednesday February 18, 2015
MEN’S & WOMEN’S GOLF Men’s and women’s golf look to build off strong freshmen performances By Tom Pham associate sports editor
Both men’s and women’s golf look to continue to round into form after an inconsistent fall season. Both teams will look to build on their performances as they look ahead to the Ivy League Championship that will be hosted during the end of April at the Saucon Valley Country Club. The women’s team will look to go one bet-
ter than last season, when it finished second in the Ivy League Championship, while the men’s team will look to improve on their fourth place finish last season. Men’s Golf The fall team saw the men’s team finish in middling form in both the Quechee Club Invitational and MacDonald Cup, but with a strong freshman class, the team will hope to impress in the upcoming spring season. Especially impressive during the fall season was freshman Eric Mitchell, who marked his second appearance for the Tigers with a fantastic victory at the MacDonald Cup, which was hosted in enemy territory at Yale. It was a great weekend for Mitchell, as he carded two under par over the two days, which helped Princeton to a fourth place finish, twelve strokes behind winner Yale. Mitchell has perhaps been one of Princeton’s top performers, also finishing 19th at the Quechee Club Invitational
BEN KOGER :: SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The men’s team looks to improve after an inconsistent performance in the fall, while the women’s team looks to build on previous success.
and 15th at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in California. Also playing well during those events were sophomore Alex Dombrowski and freshman Marc Hendrick. This will be the last season for seniors Joseph D’Amato and Jason Zhou, who hope to leave Princeton golf with a bang and hopefully reclaim the Ivy League Championships for the Tigers, a title they lost out to Columbia last season but won in 2013. With a bounce back season on the cards, the team will need to continue to improve and push for increased consistency during their performances Women’s Golf The women’s golf team saw much more success during the fall season than the men’s team, with an exceptionally impressive victory at the Lehigh Invitational, where the team placed first out of nine teams. The Lehigh Invitational was the highlight of the fall season for the women’s team, with all six players placing in the top 10, and most impressive was the joint top finish from both freshman Tenley Shield and junior Alexandra Wong, with the freshman edging her teammate to bring home the individual trophy, courtesy of a tiebreaker as Shield carded a lower score than Wong. Sophomore Hana Ku rounded out the top three in a dominant performance from the Princeton team. Although success at Lehigh Invitational was a oneoff event, there were encouraging signs throughout the season for the teams, finishing fourth in the Princeton Invitational, fifth in the Nittany Lion Invitational, and 13th in the Mason Rudolph Invitational. Not only
were the team performances promising, but there were also impressive individual performances, including Ku’s and Wong’s, who continue to form a formidable one-two punch for the women’s team, often finishing as the team’s lowest scoring players in the competitions. The fall season also saw a debut performance from Kelly Shon ’14 in a Ladies Professional Golf Association event. Princeton’s finest golfer last season finished 11th while competing against 120 golfers at the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA event. Kelly Shon had an award-filled career at Princeton, as she was the second-ever Princeton student to advance to the NCAA Championship during her junior year. She was also a four-time All-Ivy player and a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year. The women’s team will begin their spring season by travelling to the Moss Creek Golf Club on the weekend of March 21 and 22 to compete in the Low Country Intercollegiate. This will be the first of four competitions that the team will play in the spring, before the team competes in the Pirate Invitational on April 2 and 3, the Brown Invitational 10 days later, and the Ivy League Championship between April 24 and 26. The Ivy League Championship will be held at Saucon Valley Country Club in Pennsylvania, marking the first time that it will be held outside of New Jersey and New York. This course is also where the team had their impressive performance at the Lehigh Invitational, and both the team and Shield hope to repeat their performances to capture the Ivy League Championship for the women’s golf team.
Baseball looks to bounce back after Tigers looking for strong start to disappointing outings last two seasons the season in Florida this weekend BASEBALL Continued from page S6
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tant coaches Mike Russo and Greg Van Horn, Bradley has stressed “how we’re no longer going ot be the team that just hits home runs to win the game, we need to play a bit more soundly as well to have more success in the league this year”. In general, coach Scott Bradley has handed much of the load to the younger guys. This strategy looks to yield dividends not just in hitting but on the mound as well. Though the aforementioned Fagan did pitch the most innings for the Tigers, the average age of the pitching lineup appears to mirror that of the batting – four of the five most used pitchers last season were underclassmen. Granted, unlike with the hitters, the dropoff in performance from Fagan to the underclassmen pitchers is pretty drastic. While Fagan was tearing it up with a 2.33 ERA, the next smallest ERA amongst the top five pitchers. Sophomore pitcher Christopher Giglio expressed the difficulty of replacing such a performer, explaining that “it’s tough to beat a guy who’s up there
for Ivy League pitcher of the year … we won’t be able to replace [Fagan] with one guy, but we’ll be able to replace him with a staff.” This in itself, however, is no reason to doubt the readiness of last year’s pitchers and their ability to step it up this season. In particular, current sophomores Keelan Smithers and Chad Powers really showed their mettle last year. Each got a lot of starting opportunities last year, Smithers at 9 and Powers and 7; moreover, both went on to put up respectable records of 2 — 4 and 3 — 4. In addition to the sophomores, [blank] has expressed confidence in freshman pitcher Nick Brady. However, when talking about the Tigers’ pitching, the big question mark for the season is going to be the health and performance of junior Cameron Mingo. Mingo had an excellent start to his Princeton career in 2013, posting a 2.93 ERA and recording 33 strikeouts in 49.1 innings pitches. Going into last season, he seemed a lock for the starting pitcher spot. Unfortunately, during his sophomore campaign, he would be hampered by injury. Issues with his elbow kept Mingo to just six games and 25 innings pitched. Despite
the aforementioned strong play of the younger players, having Mingo in full form on the mound will be crucial if the Tigers are to make a deep run in the spring, and hopefully get a shot at the Ivy League Championships. If Mingo can stay healthy and the rest of the team continues to develop, then the Tigers would certainly have the tools to make a drastic increase in winning percentage this year. One would think that the team finishing second to last in the conference would have to go through a few years of “rebuilding”. However, having a young core and giving that core a chance to develop, will certainly accelerate the process. Servais reiterated that he definitely sees this team competing for an Ivy League title, pointing out that “all it takes is for one team to get hot for four-five weeks in a row to run the league . We really feel confident … in our ability to play small ball and play better as a team”. In short – while they may have lost some heavyweights last year, the Tigers are looking ready to go as they head down south to do battle against Louisiana State University at the end of the month.
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SOFTBALL Continued from page S6
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ing a mature presence on the field.” Turning to the batting lineup, last season junior catcher Skye Jerpbak had the most home runs of any returning player (3), starting 31 of the 33 games she played last season. Hineman and senior infielder/outfielder Rachel Rendina played in teamhigh 42 games last season. Rendina plays mostly in outfield and led the team with 130 at-bats and 19 runs scored last season. Rendina also had the second-most hits on the
team (34) last year, with six multi-hit games and three three-hit games, Rendina batted a strong .350 with 50 hits in 2013 but only .262 in 2014, so she will definitely be a player to watch in the coming season. Junior first baseman Emily Viggers is also a force to be reckoned with, and started in 29 of the 30 games she played in last season, batting .250 in stark contrast to the .327 batting average she maintained in 2013 in addition to two homeruns and 14 runs batted in. The Tigers will open their season this weekend at a tournament in Florida, which, due to a particularly
cold winter, will be the first time the Tigers have played outside this season. “It’s been a tough winter, and that means that we haven’t had a lot of opportunities to practice outside. Friday will be the first day on the dirt, and I ultimately think the team is ready to compete in the conditions that we have or have not prepped for,” said Van Ackeren. “Our greatest strength is that we’re tougher than we have ever been. Our team is prepared for whatever comes our way. If we fail, our team is resilient and will be ready to come back stronger the next time,” said Van Ackeren.
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The Daily Princetonian
Wednesday February 18, 2015
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SEASON’S QUESTIONS BASEBALL
What’s the Pitching Situation?
With the departure of Michael Fagan, the Tigers now enter the season with mostly young pitchers, as junior Cameron Mingo continues to recover from injury. Will they be throwing well enough to help keep the Tigers competitive in the Ivy League?
SOFTBALL
Can They Overcome the Injury Bug?
CARLY JACKSON :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
BEN KOGER :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
This team that tied for second in Ivy League play has talent in spades. However, they enter the season with injuries to key players, including All-Ivy player Shanna Christian and last year’s star rookie Erica Nori. Will the Tigers get through this early rough patch to make noise later on?
MEN’S LACROSSE
Who’s Going to Replace Schreiber?
Voted the nation’s Outstanding Player of the Year twice in his career, Tom Schreiber leaves a hole in Princeton men’s lacrosse that will be extraordinarily difficult to fill. Will Princeton be able to deal with the loss of such talent and remain near the top of lacrosse? BEN KOGER :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Can They Go Further?
Last season, the women’s lacrosse team showed they can hang with anyone in the nation. Coming into the season ranked at No. 15, this Princeton team boasts a strong combination of steady veteran influence and promising young freshmen. Can they turn promise into results come May?
TRACK & FIELD
Can Both Teams Regain Former Glory?
The men’s team enters this season after losing the Ivy League championships in both indoor and outdoor for the first time in three and four years (respectively). The women’s team has gone without a title since 2011. While members of both teams extol the Tigers’ depth, do they have enough to get back what was once theirs?
GOLF
Can Underclassmen Continue Excellent Performance?
The fall season was certainly a coming-out party for younger members on the team. Men’s golf saw the rise of freshman Eric Mitchell, and on the women’s team freshman Tenley Shield and sophomore Hana Ku shined. Can they continue their great play up through the end of the year?
YICHENG SUN :: PHOTO EDITOR
JACQUELINE LI :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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BEN KOGER :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Daily Princetonian
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Wednesday February 18, 2015
Second round exit will not haunt team W. LAX
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YICHENG SUN :: PHOTO EDITOR
Despite the loss of Tom Schreiber, Princeton’s veteran midfield lineup looks ready to succeed this year.
Men’s lacrosse looks to increase ball distribution with Schreiber’s departure M. LAX
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duo of senior Mike MacDonald and junior Ryan Ambler. “Those are four tried-andtrue guys who can play with and against anybody,” Bates said. Senior midfielder Will Rotatori, a convert from attack, likewise highlighted the potential for increased dynamism in a new offense. “We see it as a positive for us now that more people can contribute,” Rotatori explained. “When Tom was on the field, you would just give him the ball. But now, we have to play more as a team. Coach Matt Madalon, our offensive coordinator, has given us a new offensive set on top of our old two man game.” Last Saturday’s 14-4 drubbing of Manhattan at 1952 Stadium, which included a 5-0 first quarter run by the Tigers, showcased an evolved Princeton offense. Seven different players scored for the home side in a truly dominant showing, including first time goal scorers Bear Altemus and Gavin McBride, both sophomore midfielders, and Adam Hardej, a sophomore attackman. Hardej, listed at 6’ 6” and 225 lbs., transitions from midfield to attack for his sophomore campaign. His size and powerful shot will certainly cause nightmares for opposing coaches and defensemen. “The main thing for him is that he has to realize that nobody can stop him,” Rotatori explained. “If he plays with that confidence and swagger, the veterans on attack, MacDonald and Ambler, will set him up all day.” Another Tiger whom Rotatori believes can make the next step into college lacrosse’s elite is sophomore midfielder Zach Currier. “It took Zach about half of last season to gain that confidence. He was one of the best high school players – he was on the cover of Inside Lacrosse magazine – but he was kind of lacking that swagger. We kept
on going to him and then he finally realized, ‘I can do this.’ He’s dynamic. The next step for him is that he can be the playmaker he was at the end of last season all of this year.” On the other side of the ball, Princeton will look to shore up its defense under new coordinator Dylan Sheridan. The Claremont McKenna graduate has migrated east from Denver, Colo. where he coached the Pioneers defense under former Princeton skipper Bill Tierney. “He’s a very good teacher,” Bates said of the new hire. “Our guys have responded very well to him as a leader. He’s been a part of final four teams three of the last four years. It’s been pretty seamless, so I’ve been very pleased with that. The on-field stuff is a little bit of a work in progress, getting young faces acclimated. But on the whole it’s been very positive.” Senior goalkeeper Eric Sanschagrin will start between the pipes. Despite his four years of experience, he has started only ten games in during his collegiate career. Nonetheless, his early season performances have been impressive both in terms of ballstopping and leadership. In front of Sanschagrin, junior defensive Mark Strabo will continue to take on opponents’ toughest offensive matchups. Particularly noteworthy were his efforts against Tewaaraton winner Lyle Thompson in a preseason scrimmage against Albany. Sophomore Bear Goldstein joins Strabo at close defense. Their linemate from last season, sophomore Will Reynolds, has made the switch to long stick midfield. This change leaves some uncertainty in the third close defense position, a slot which may be filled by a number of younger players including sophomore Alistair Berven and freshmen Daniel Winschuh and Aran Roberts. If you wanted to catch a men’s lacrosse fall practice, you might have had some difficulty tracking down Bates and company. The coaches de-
prived their players of their usual Warrior swag, locker room and field space at 1952 Stadium. The idea behind the regimen was to make the Tigers acutely aware of the privilege of wearing a Princeton uniform. “We haven’t deserved it. I haven’t deserved it these past few years,” Rotatori explained. “People in the beginning were like, ‘What the hell? Are we ever going to get equipment? Are we ever going to get on our field?’ But it helped us get all our excuses out of the way and realize that we have to earn it.” Regaining the conference championship will be no small task for the Tigers. Cornell’s Big Red boasts both the 2015 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in goalkeeper Christian Knight and senior midfielder Connor Buczek. On the whole, only the overpowered Atlantic Coast Conference provides more consistent competition than the Ivy League. In 2014, Princeton ranked second among conference foes in goals per game with 12 (just behind the Big Red’s 12.75) but second-to-last in goals allowed with 10.85 (ahead of Dartmouth’s Swiss-cheese like 13.33). The Tigers’ clearest statistical advantage is in ball security. For the second straight year they turned over the ball over at an Ivy League-low rate of 12.1 times per game (the second lowest was Dartmouth with 17.25). Yet, the Tigers also created the league’s fewest turnovers and collected a league-low ground balls. Success will require some creativity along with plenty of determination. Not only will conference opponents provide steep challenges, but No. 6 Johns Hopkins, No. 10 Maryland and No. 16 Lehigh will put Princeton to the test later in the season. This Friday, No. 19 Hofstra will travel to Sherrerd Field to take on Princeton. This game and this college lacrosse season promises to be another exciting gauntlet. What’s more, it just might be the year of the Tiger.
this year, Senior midfield captain Erin Slifer said, “I’m most excited about the returning team the momentum we had coming off the last season and playing even better than last season.” Last season set the bar high, but Slifer accepts the leadership reigns in stride and hopes for an even more successful year. As the Tigers start a fresh season, hoping to take back the Ivy League championship, the team also welcomes a star leadership cast. Senior attacker Erin McMann will lead the dominant Princeton offense. Boasting an endless list of awards, including leading the team in scoring and reaching First-Team All-Region, McMann hopes to cap her phenomenal Princeton tenure with an even more phenomenal senior year. Moving to the middle of the field, Senior Midfielder Erin Slifer (First-Team All-Ivy, TwoTime Offensive Player of the Week) brings experience and talent. Slifer will rely on this experience to lead the incoming freshmen class, who consists mostly of freshmen. Finally, on the defensive end, Junior defender Liz Bannantine is the youngest captain on the team. Grabbing 25 ground balls and reaching Second-Team AllIvy League, Bannantine rounds off the star leadership cast and anchors the unique Princeton defense. Speaking on the special system in place, Bannantine says that she’s excited to lead the “surprising” and high energy defense. Yet, as veterans rise in ranks the team also makes room for the freshmen. This year, team welcomes a large group of eight
freshmen, as such, the Class of 2018 will have the largest representation on the team. The freshmen are: midfielder Kennedy Krauss, midfielder Ellie McNulty, midfielder Camille Sullivan, midfielder and attacker Colby Chanenchuk, midfielder and defender Addie Ewald, midfielder Abby Finkelston, goalkeeper Mary McDonough and attacker Haley Giraldi. These fantastic players bring strong leadership experience and will bolster the team’s midfield game. When asked what excited her the most about the upcoming season, Junior captain Liz Bannantine said, “The incoming class. We have a really strong freshmen class and they bring a lot to the table. Paired with the returners who have the experience, they have been great in the scrimmages.” Looking forward to the teams schedule beyond the first few games in February, March presents a very formidable challenge. Early on, the Tigers will travel to face Dartmouth on March 10th. A consistently highperforming team, Dartmouth will surely challenge Princeton in the team’s first Ivy League matchup. As the Tigers set their sights on the Ivy League championship, every conference game counts for the team. Then, on March 14th, the Tigers will travel to Charlottesville, Va. to face No. 7 Virginia. In a repeat of last year’s NCAA matchup, the game promises high energy play and heated emotions. At the end of the month, Princeton will face two more challenging opponents in Penn. State and Harvard. After narrowly escaping Penn. State in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year, the team will strive to repeat their success. Only this time, they’ll have home advantage for both games.
In contrast, the team will primarily focus on Ivy League conference foes in April. The lineup includes Yale, Cornell, Penn, Columbia and Brown. The only non-conference foe in April will be No. 1 Maryland. Fortunately, the spacing of these games gives the Tigers time to rest and regroup. Speaking as a leader of the team, senior captain Bannantine says her goal for the team is still to win Ivies. Finally, the 2015 season marks a monumental final season for the two senior captains. Reflecting on their journey, leadership, and team chemistry going into the season, senior attacker Erin McMunn emphasized, “Letting people play their game. We have some great attackers and a great team around. By playing your passion. Everyone is working towards the same goal. It’s a great and strong group. Everyone brings something unique.” Echoing her co-captain’s thoughts on leadership, junior defender Liz Bannantine reflected, “I definitely have found my voice on the team. Not lead by example but by your voice. My ability to inspire others, I rely on my team mates to inspire me as well.” Perhaps the most exciting and special part of the 2015 season, however, is the collective love and passion for the game. Speaking at a deeply personal level but for the team as a whole at the same time, McMunn revealed, “For me, personally, my only goal is to enjoy every single day. I play best when I stop thinking and play free. That’s my goal: to just play and appreciate the moment. You have a limited time to play this great sport at this great university.” With such determination, chemistry, and passion, it’s hard to imagine this team achieving anything short of success.
JACQUELINE LI :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A talented women’s team will attempt to continue their winning ways at 1952 Stadium.
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The Daily Princetonian
Wednesday February 18, 2015
page S5
TRACK & FIELD Both men’s and women’s
track and field teams look to get back to the top
By Katie Glockner staff writer
Men’s Preview This year, as the men’s track and field team finishes their indoor season and enters the outdoor, they hope to reclaim the Ivy League Championship titles from Cornell in each. Prior to last year, the Princeton men had won three consecutive titles in outdoor and four consecutive in indoor competition. However, last spring, despite a strong Heptagonal showing, they fell to Cornell in both indoor and outdoor. The spring outdoor championship was especially close and was decided by a devastatingly few 6.66 points. This season, they aim to win back these titles in both fields. “Every year we go for the Triple Crown, so we hope to win indoor and outdoor,” says captain Tommy Scott, a senior. Captain Scott Rushton, also a senior, adds, “We already won cross-country this year.” The team’s indoor season has been strong thus far, most recently culminating in a win against Harvard and Yale at the annual Harvard-YalePrinceton meet in Cambridge on February 14. “We’ve won this meet 24 years in a row,” says head coach Fred Samara. The indoor Heptagonal Ivy League Championship will take place on February 28-March 1 at Harvard’s facilities. From there, the team will soon transition into the spring season, beginning with a spring break training trip in Orlando, Florida. Following the team’s first meets in Florida, the Tigers will return home for the Sam Howell Invitational on the first weekend of April. According to Samara, every meet in the spring season is important. “Spring season is different than the indoor season because in outdoors we have a regional championship every year. Guys qualify out of performance from the season,” says Samara. “We have a dual goal of winning the league meet but also trying to get in to the NCAA regional meet and hopefully having a number of guys go on the NCAA final. It’s pretty exciting to do that.” “Every meet is used for a different purpose, depending on which athletes we’re trying to bring along. Track’s a different sport than, let’s say basketball, or teams where
you have a league standing. The only thing that matters is getting marks and bringing people along to the league meet, and getting qualifying marks for regionals,” he continues. Captain Greg Caldwell, a junior, comments that maintaining focus and drive throughout the season can be challenging. “As a team overall, it can be a challenge to stay consistent throughout the season, not dropping off,” says Caldwell. “Some people burn out by Heps. Some people have to transition events,” agrees captain Stephen Soerens, a senior. “Sometimes it can be hard to keep your training intensity up all year and not be injured or burned out, so you have to balance.” “That’s the difficult nature of track and field and cross country,” says Samara. “The season is so long. It’s incredibly long. The main criterion is to keep them healthy for so long. A second criteria is to keep them motivated.” Scott identifies another adversary in nature. “Outdoors, there’s weather that you have to deal with that you don’t have to deal with in indoor,” he says Despite these challenges, the team is eager to move on to outdoors, where players can look forward to a larger track and more events. “Outdoors is a little different sport,” says Samara. “It has more strength and throwing events. There are some events that are different than indoors.” The captains express excitement over the addition of the javelin, discuss, hammer throw, 400m hurdles, and 10k events in particular. They also are optimistic about their prospects for the league championship. “We have a really good senior class,” says Rushton. “Last year, we were really top heavy. We had some of the best guys in the league. But this year, we’re deeper.” In addition, Samara remarks that this year’s freshmen have stepped up to fill some of the gaps left by the graduation of last year’s senior class. “We’re doing a lot of exciting things already,” says Samara. “Sometimes it’s hard to rely on freshman as they’re new to collegiate sports and they’re away from home, etcetera, but so far the freshmen have been outstanding on our team.”
Women’s Preview The women’s team hopes to fight through tough competition to win both the indoor and outdoor track Ivy League titles, last theirs in 2011 for both seasons. Last year, at the outdoor championship, the Tigers placed fifth. As a team, they collected 86 points to Harvard’s 162. However, this year the team hopes to challenge opposition, showing strong performances in the indoor season thus far. Most recently, the team enjoyed a victory against Harvard and Yale at the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet hosted in Cambridge on February 14. “We had some really noteworthy performances, which bodes really well for two weeks at the Ivy League,” says head coach Peter Farrell. “One of the advantages of having HY-P at Harvard this year is we got to see their facilities, their track, their runways, two weeks before the big meet.” Regarding the upcoming indoor Heptagonal championships, Farrell expresses optimism, noting that he expects the greatest competition to come from Harvard and Dartmouth. After the championships, the team will ease into the outdoor season with a spring break training trip in Orlando, Florida. “Outdoor is sort of an extension of indoor. In some ways, indoors prepares you for the outdoors,” says Farrell. “We have a spring training trip for the transition between indoor and outdoor,” explains captain Julia Ratcliffe, a junior. “We go down to Florida, get some sun, get some good training in, get everyone amped for the outdoor season.” “I think people enjoy the outdoor season more, so I think people are really excited to get outdoors and onto the bigger track,” she adds. “The indoor track is only 200 meters and the outdoor track is 400 meters, so everything indoors is tighter and more confined.” The outdoor season also includes different events, including the hammer throw, Ratcliffe’s specialty. Ratcliffe was the NCAA national hammer throw champion in 2014. Last spring, at the Larry Ellis Invitational meet in Princeton, she placed the New Zealand national record for hammer throw with a distance of 70.28 meters. The goals for the team’s outdoor season, according to Far-
CARLY JACKSON :: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Both the men’s and women’s teams look to get back on track and reclaim their Ivy League titles.
rell, are “always the same.” “We’re going to try to win the league meet, qualify as many athletes as possible for the league regionals, and send several to nationals,” he says. “We have a few luminaries right now: Julia Ratcliffe, hammer throw; Cecilia Barowski, a junior, number two time in the 800 meters; Megan Curham, Ivy League champion in cross-country. We’ll build a Heps title around hopefully those three.” “I think that the team in general is a lot stronger than it has been in any previous season than I’ve been here, so that’s exciting to see,” says Ratcliffe. “Lots of freshmen have stepped up this year, and throughout the team people are really improving. Girls who have been injured in previous seasons are definitely back in action. It will be great to see a fuller team come back on the field in the outdoor season.” Following the meets over the spring training trip in Orlando, the first outdoor meet is the Sam Howell Invitational
at home on the first weekend of April. The main challenges that Farrell and Ratcliffe identify include weather, health, and strategizing placement of players across a range of events. “The problem with spring track is weather,” says Farrell, “The league meet is the first or second weekend of May, and you have all of April to get ready for it, but all of April isn’t really that nice in New Jersey. We hope to get the right weather situations.” “I think staying healthy is definitely always a challenge. We have a lot of girls competing across a wide range of events, so definitely balancing the training across those events, and putting girls into their strongest events and get the most points,” says Ratcliffe. “It must be so hard for the coaches to strategically place girls in the events that they can perform at their best for themselves and for the team.” Despite these potential dif-
ficulties, the team remains excited to compete outdoors with everything they have. “Having seen the girls really push their hearts out of the season has really inspired me to give my all,” says Ratcliffe. “There’s only a few throwing events in the indoor track, and seeing girls really step up from previous years has made me really excited to see what they can put together on the field when they can really compete.” “I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do with the work that we’ve put in this year,” she concludes. Some major outdoor meets to look for include the Larry Ellis Invitational, at home on April 17 and 18, and Penn Relays, in Philadelphia on April 23 through 25. The Ivy League Heptagonal championship meet will be held in Philadelphia on May 9 and 10. The NCAA Regionals will be May 28 through 30 in Jacksonville, Florida and NCAA Nationals will be June 10 to 13 in Eugene, Oregon.
The Daily Princetonian
page S6
Wednesday February 18, 2015
BASEBALL
Tigers lean on underclassmen to replace key seniors
COURTESY OF GOPRINCETONTIGERS.COM
Deciding to lean on younger players last season could pay dividends this year as the Tigers look to replace two MLB draftees.
By Miles Hinson sports editor
Danny Baer '17
07
Center Field
Paul Tupper '17
Nick Hernandez '17
AVG: .306, SLG: .370, OBP: .380
23
20
Left Field
Right Field
AVG: .275, SLG: .352, OBP: .348
AVG: .202, SLG: .220, OBP: .287
Danny Hoy '16 Cody Phillips '17
01
Shortstop
04
Second Baseman AVG: .285, SLG: .417, OBP: .361
AVG: .167, SLG: .167, OBP: .231
Chad Powers '17 Billy Arendt '16
03
Third Baseman
12
Zack Belski '17
10
Pitcher
ERA: .4.91, WHIP: 1.45 AVG: .182
First Baseman
AVG: .225, SLG: .326, OBP: .301
AVG: .280, SLG: .328, OBP: .316
Tyler Servais, '15
29 Catcher
AVG: .216, SLG: .284, OBP: .308 AUSTIN LEE :: DESIGN EDITOR
SOFTBALL By Sydney Mandelbaum associate sports editor
The softball team is back and better than ever, getting ready to open season play this weekend. After losing only two seniors to graduation last year, the Tigers have a lot to look forward to, with a strong freshman class and a reimagined approach to the game. The Tigers finished the 2014 season with a record of 17-26 overall and 9-11 in the Ivy League, good for a second-place tie with Columbia in the Ivy South Division. This season will start a week earlier than in years past, and the Tigers have been preparing themselves for the new season differently than before. “The team did stuff differently in the offseason, which made practices really productive in February because [the players] really took it a step further this season, ” said head coach Lisa Van Ackeren, referencing how the Tigers started training on their own time during winter break.
The Tigers return two of the three players who earned All-Ivy honors, sophomore infielder Haley Hineman and junior pitcher Shanna Christian. Hineman finished the season leading the team with the highest batting average, .307. Hineman also had 39 hits and seven doubles on the season, managing multiple hits in 10 games. Christian was the team’s first starter last year and led the Tigers with 103 1/3 innings played and 68 strikeouts. Christian had an earned run average of 3.00 in 2013 and 4.13 in 2014, but regrettably is still recovering from an injury from which she will likely return in time for Ivy League play. “We have a lot of injuries, but we’re definitely feeling more comfortable and upfront about our weaknesses in practice,” Hineman said. “We’ve been addressing weakness so that [our] strengths have been really showing up more in our intersquad scrimmages … We’re definitely more prepared, and we’re redefining ourselves here.”
The Princeton baseball team looks to rebound after rough outings in the 20122013 season and the 2013-2014 season. After posting records of 14 — 28 and 14 — 26, respectively, the Tigers are ready to begin a new campaign and start competing again for a spot in the Ivy League championship series. On the surface, Princeton might seem to be faltering after losing some star talent from last season. Alec Keller, senior captain of the 2014 team and drafted by the Washington Nationals, is a player that’s hard to replace. His accolades included three All-Ivy First Team selections (2012 – 2014) and the title of Ivy League Player of the Year in 2014. Moreover, he posted a .327 batting average on the season, top of the Princeton team and second best in the league overall. Despite this loss, senior captain Tyler Servais feels confident in the team’s chances, particularly in their depth. He noted that while “Keller was a really instrumental piece to the team … [Princeton] will have a more stacked lineup one through nine than [they] have had in the past”. Along with Keller’s departure, the Tigers have to deal with the loss of Michael Fagan, last year’s most used pitcher. Fagan, who was drafted by the Oakland Athletics, led Princeton pitchers in innings with 58.0, earned run average (ERA) with 2.33
and record at 4 — 2, as well as leading the lead in strikeouts with 77. Fagan was also an All-Ivy selection, earning his first (and only) All-Ivy First Team appearance of his career. Losing players such as these might suggest that the Tigers are doomed to struggle all year – however, the prospects are certainly brighter than that. The Tigers went into last season with a very young team, and many of the young players were getting ample opportunities last year. A look at the Tigers’ hitting lineup from last year reveals how much the team has been willing to trust the younger guys. While Keller may have held the team’s highest batting average, four of the five players with the most at bat opportunities were underclassmen. Sophomore Danny Hoy, freshman Paul Tupper, sophomore Billy Arendt and freshman Zack Belski were 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th in at bats, respectively. They ended up putting all of those performances to good use – Hoy led the team in runs on the season with 25, and Tupper led the team in runs batted in (RBI) at 20, with Belski tying Keller for second at 19. Not only would Princeton’s hitting benefit from the development of younger players, but also Servais notes that the team could see improved based on a shift in focus on the part of the coaching staff. In addition to bringing in new assisSee BASEBALL page S2
Softball team boasts strong veterans and rookies, face health questions
“We’ve had a tough time with injuries,” Van Ackeren said, who said Christian should be ready by the Ivy season. Van Ackeren added that sophomore pitcher Erica Nori is also injured. “Our biggest key will be keeping people healthy and on the field, making sure our pitching staff is ready to go.” Nori had an incredible freshman season, leading the team with an ERA of 2.29, the fourth-best in the Ivy league last season. Nori pitched 97.2 innings with 53 strikeouts. Classmate and fellow pitcher Claire Klausner will also return this season with 39.1 innings and 22 strikeouts under her belt. Rounding out the pitching staff is freshman Ashley LaGuardia, who in high school was a New Jersey first-team all-state selection among private school players and a third-team allstate pick overall, and will likely make an impact on the team right off the bat. “We have three freshmen; a pitcher, an outfielder and an infielder, and all three are naturally competitive. For
them, they’ll definitely see time with their approaches from the competitive standpoint. [LaGuardia] will definitely see some mound time and [freshman shortstop/ second baseman Danielle
Dockx] will be able to make an impact on shortstop. She has great leadership skills, and I think she’ll step into that role quickly,” Van Ackeren said, adding that “[freshman outfielder Kylee
Pierce] will definitely compete for time in the outfield right away.” Hineman agreed, saying that the newest additions to the Tigers are “already showSee SOFTBALL page S2
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The Tigers look to re-establish themselves as one of the better teams in the conference after going just 9-11 in Ivy League play last year.