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Monday March 25, 2019 vol. cxliii no. 29
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BEYOND THE BUBBLE
Famed economist, professor Alan Krueger dies at 58
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
FRANCISCO ANZOLA / FLICKR
Yale University, which was implicated in the admissions scandal.
Yale, Stanford among institutions involved in admissions scandal RALPH ALSWANG / CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS
Krueger was the James Madison professor of Political Economy at the University.
By Allan Shen Staff Writer
Prominent labor economist, former economic adviser to the Clinton and Obama administrations, and University economics professor Alan B. Krueger died on Saturday, March 16. He was 58. The University announced Krueger’s passing on Monday, Mar. 18. According to a separate statement from Krueger’s family, the cause of death was suicide. Krueger was the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at the University, where he held a faculty position in the Department of Economics and the Woodrow Wilson School for more than three decades. Krueger is most wellknown in the field of economics for his research on the effects of minimum wage on employment. His study with Harvard economist Lawrence Katz and UC Berkeley economist David Card showed that an increase in the minimum wage did not
result in a reduction in employment, contrary to conservative belief. The study has been controversial but widely influential. “Alan was the rare academic who could do it all: brilliant researcher, great teacher, fantastic adviser and accomplished public servant. His passing is a devastating loss for all of us,“ economics department chair Wolfgang Pesendorfer said. In addition to his scholarly work, Krueger committed himself to public service under two Democratic presidential administrations. From August 1994 to August 1995, Krueger served as the Chief Economist of U.S. Department of Labor under President Bill Clinton. He then served under the administration of President Barack Obama, first as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy from May 2009 to November 2010, then as the 27th Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from November 2011 to August 2013.
By Bill Huang Staff Writer
FBI agents recently uncovered an extensive college admissions scam, in which wealthy parents paid admissions counselor William “Rick” Singer hefty sums of money to cheat their children’s way into selective colleges. The scandal allegedly involved dozens of students, parents, and testing officials. Prosecutions are now underway. Yale and Stanford are among the institutions that accepted applicants whose parents had worked with Singer. As of now, there is no evidence of University involvement. There were two parts to the scheme. Singer would first boost students’ SAT and ACT
scores, either by having an impostor take the exam or by bribing test administrators. He would then fabricate athletic credentials and bribe coaches to designate the students as recruited athletes. Wealthy parents spent anywhere from $100,000 to $6,500,000 to guarantee admission for their children. They include actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, as well as several CEOs. Payments were made as charitable donations to The Key, the company for which Singer served as the CEO. In total, Singer collected around $25 million. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, who added that “the real victims in this case are the hardworking students.”
University spokesperson Ben Chang wrote in an email to The Daily Princetonian that, regarding “the ongoing investigation, we have not been contacted and we are not aware of any connections between the University and the case.” Students interviewed by The Daily Princetonian claimed they were not shocked when they heard about the scandal. “Honestly, it’s not surprising,” said Cindy Han ’22. “People already donate all the time, so it’s like, if you can’t afford the donations, you bribe the coach.” Changxiao Xie ’20 said he eagerly awaited the discourse that the scandal would inspire on the Ivy League meme pages. “[It’s] unfortunate people like this exist, but I’m excited for all the spicy memes,” he said.
STUDENT LIFE
U . A F FA I R S
No suspects yet located in lewdness, peering incidents Associate News Editor
In two emails sent via Tiger Alert on Friday, March 15, the Department of Public Safety reported an incident involving an unknown individual “peering into a window at the New Graduate College,” as well as two lewdness incidents that occurred in town. According to the first email sent via Tiger Alert, the peering incident occurred between 8:30 p.m. and 8:50 p.m. Thursday evening. The suspect — described as “possibly male” with a “heart shaped face” and dark eyes — had not been located at the time of publication. In the second Tiger Alert email, the Department of Public Safety wrote that the lewdness incidents, which took place within the same hour Friday evening, “do not appear to be related.”
In Opinion
The first incident occurred around 8 p.m. Friday evening near the intersection of Washington Road and Ivy Lane. The suspect was described as an elderly white male with long gray hair, wearing only a red bandana and no other clothing. The second incident occurred less than an hour later at 8:45 p.m. in a residential backyard on Fitzrandolph Road. The suspect was described as male with light skin, sandy brown hair, and medium build. This suspect was also wearing no clothing. At the time of publication, neither suspect had been found. University spokesperson Ben Chang confirmed that the Department of Public Safety had no further details beyond the initial reports. “The University takes such incidents seriously and will See LEWDNESS page 2
Senior columnist Kaveh Badrei writes of President Trump’s dangerous use of absurdist comedy during the longest speech of his presidency, and senior columnist Leora Eisenberg defends the socio-emotional validation she obtains from Tiger Confessions. PAGE 4
CLAIRE SILBERMAN / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
USG discussed five referenda during their weekly meeting on March 24.
USG discusses Honor Code penalties, appointments By Claire Silberman Associate News Editor
The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) reviewed the language for student referenda on Honor Committee penalties and appointments at its weekly meeting on March 24. USG members discussed five referenda concerning Honor Code reform, eye health, and renaming USG.
Honor Committee Chair Emeritus Elizabeth Haile ’19 introduced a referendum on behalf of the Joint Honor Committee and USG Academics Subcommittee on Academic Integrity Reconciliation Report Implementation that would allow the Honor Committee to make use of an increased variety of penalties. According to Haile, the referendum would shift away from the “standard penalty
Today on Campus 7:30 p.m.: “An Evening with Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus in Conversation with Professor Steven Mackey” Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Place
paradigm” toward a graduated penalty paradigm. Currently the standard penalty is a one-year suspension, but the proposed potential penalties would add a reprimand for writing over time and a onesemester suspension option. The Senate approved the language of this referenda. Recruitment Coordinator for the Honor Committee Chris Umanzor ’19 introduced See USG page 2
WEATHER
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The Daily Princetonian
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Monday March 25, 2019
Two other lewdness incidents have Stankovikj: ‘Club’ in title taken place this year on the towpath of the Senate would make LEWDNESS it more approachable Continued from page 1
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keep the community updated if there are any further developments,” Chang said. “DPS works closely with the Princeton Police Department to maintain vigilance and to alert the community of any incidents of concern.” The most recent prior lewdness and peering incident occurred in November when a man peered into a graduate
student’s window at Lawrence Apartments while exposing his genitals. Although the suspect’s composite sketch was released by the Department of Public Safety the following week, the suspect was never located. Two other lewdness incidents have also taken place in the past year, both occurring on the towpath. In September, a heavy-set adult white male wearing only a white surgical mask exposed himself to a woman running
early in the morning. In May, a young adult white male exposed himself to a female student running on the towpath and proceeded to take pictures of her on his cell phone. No suspect has been apprehended for either incident. Anyone with additional information about the incidents is asked to contact the Princeton Police Department at (609) 921-2100, the Department of Public Safety at (609) 258-1000, or a confidential tip line at tipline.princeton.edu.
JON ORT / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
The Princeton University Graduate College.
USG
Continued from page 1
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a referenda to change the composition of the subcommittees that select the Clerk of the Honor Committee and other appointed Honor Committee members. Umanzor described the change as a “functional amendment” that aimed to increase the proportion of elected members on the Honor Committee. “From a normative perspective, this is a committee run for the students by the students,” he said. “It makes sense to ensure that there is a good number of elected student representatives.” AJ Sibley ’19 presented another referendum asking undergraduates to call on the University administration to establish an annual healthawareness initiative that would educate students on the health threat that screen use poses to the eyes and to install on campus computers blue light protection software. In an email to the student body, Sibley wrote that he “fried out” his eyes by simply studying on his computer for too long. “We are all severely damaging our eyes using computer screens. It hasn’t hit sufficient numbers to gain mainstream awareness,” Sibley said. “Within five or 10 years we’re going to be having this in epidemic proportion.” The Senate unanimously approved the language of this referenda. Bozhidar Stankovikj ‘20, President of the Macedonian Association, presented a referendum that requested USG Senate change its name to “Government Club.” Stankovikj cited the need to lessen the barrier to entry students might feel when confronted with the acronym USG. He suggested that the use of the word “club” in the title of the Senate would make it more
approachable. University Life Chair Nico Gregory ’22 described the matter as “not something that’s pressing.” According to USG Parliamentarian Jonah Hyman ’20, referenda are rarely deemed frivolous, but this meeting proved an exception. All but one member of the Senate voted to deem Stankovikj’s referendum frivolous. Claire Wayner ’22 introduced a referendum on behalf of the Princeton Student Climate Initiative that sought to establish a task force to develop a strategy for tracking campus emissions on a broader basis, actively engage students more thoroughly on the University’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2046, and set benchmarks for the goal of carbon neutrality. “We’re worried that the 2046 date might slip by and administrators might drag their feet,” Wayner said, noting that many students on campus are not yet aware of the University’s climate goals. The Senate unanimously approved the language of this referenda. For each proposed referenda, the Senate should look for wording that would “clearly and neutrally describe the resolution,” according to Hyman. In its consideration, the Senate could either vote to approve, disapprove, or deem a resolution “frivolous.” Sponsors of referenda will have the chance to collect signatures from the student body for a petition to have the referendum measure appear on the ballot during the USG election. Approved referenda will have to collect signatures from 10 percent of the student body over the next week, while the “frivolous” referendum will have to collect signatures from 30 percent of the student body over the next two weeks to appear on the ballot. The Senate meeting was held in Lewis Library 138 at 8 p.m.
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Opinion
Monday March 25, 2019
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Trump’s stand-up special Kaveh Badrei
Senior Columnist
A
s a member of Quipfire!, an improv comedy group on campus, I know the elements of a comedic performance when I see one. Donald Trump’s words and actions on stage at CPAC 2019, the annual gathering of conservative activists, held this year in National Harbor, Maryland, proved more similar to an absurdist one-man improv show than a direct address by the president of the United States. He began the two-and-a-half-hour speech by hugging the American flag and declaring, “You know I’m totally off-script right now.” The improv performance was filled with voices, impressions, expletives, and absurd untruths. Trump covered a variety of issues not uncommon for his stump speeches and stadium rallies—namely, the border wall, the Russia investigation led by Robert Mueller, his own electoral victory in 2016, and the supposedly evil tendencies of members of the Democratic Party. But the strangeness of
Trump’s speech came forth in the manner in which it was delivered, in the performance of his rhetoric and his political convictions. Trump’s protracted CPAC speech stands as an emblematic symbol of the dangers of our performative politics and comedy that punches downward. Trump performed a surprisingly spot-on impression of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, did a bit about a couple unable to watch television because no wind was blowing to power the wind turbines fueling their house’s power, pretended to be a U.S. Army general giving him status reports, and carried out an energetic demonstration of people who used to call him “Donny” but now call him “Mr. President, sir.” Trump didn’t stop there. The president levied an attack against senators with white hair, as compared to his own blonde locks and ultimately topped the entire performance by claiming that Mueller was a “bad, bad, bad man” who was trying to take down the president with “bullshit.” This performance was hardly a speech. It was political theater to the most absurd, characterized by ludicrous statements and wild routines by the leader of the free world. The president of the
United States, in his two and a half hour ramblings, seemed as if he belonged on stage at a comedy club rather than at CPAC. Trump had become the Saturday Night Live caricature of himself. Trump’s theatrics conflated truth with falsehood and facts with fiction in the most insidious of ways. By levying comedy and mockery on his side, Trump demonstrated a new level of performative debasement in American politics. At a time when national problems are rampant and the fabric of our nation shows signs of breaking, Trump scoffed at such challenges. In fact, he turned them into material for his comedy act. While mixing truth and falsehood is nothing new for this administration, the speech was also almost entirely fluff: amid two and a half hours of rhetoric and speech, Trump announced one, only one, piece of substantive action. After railing against the countless problems with our nation today, Trump declared that he would sign an executive order to defend free speech on college campuses, claiming that colleges would be denied federal funding if they did not have measures in place to support free speech on their campuses. While the issue of free speech is obviously important in a democracy such
as ours, the fact that this was the only mention of policy and concrete action moving forward in Trump’s two hours of talk time sends a message of mismatched priorities and dangerous neglect for our nation’s other problems. Comedy is a dangerous weapon. Comedy that punches upward, that targets the unjust, inconsistent, and flawed aspects of society, represents the ideals of satire. It critiques that which is wrong and that which remains problematic in any society, group, or government. But comedy that punches downward does the opposite. When comedy crushes the cries of truth and the realities of wrongdoing, it is a tool to disempower, silence, and delegitimize the voices of those who speak frankly about our society. Our president’s actions on the floor of CPAC levied comedy and theatrics in order to silence the truth underlying our nation today. It is a dangerous addition to our chaotic political moment — one in which mockery and comedy can serve the delegitimization of authentic and honest concerns. Kaveh Badrei is a junior Wilson School concentrator from Houston, Texas. He can be reached at kbadrei@princeton.edu.
On Campus During Break Zaza Asatiani ’21 ..................................................
vol. cxliii
editor-in-chief
Chris Murphy ’20 business manager
Taylor Jean-Jacques’20 BOARD OF TRUSTEES president Thomas E. Weber ’89 vice president Craig Bloom ’88 secretary Betsy L. Minkin ’77 treasurer Douglas J. Widmann ’90 trustees Francesca Barber David Baumgarten ’06 Kathleen Crown Gabriel Debenedetti ’12 Stephen Fuzesi ’00 Zachary A. Goldfarb ’05 Michael Grabell ’03 John Horan ’74 Joshua Katz Rick Klein ’98 James T. MacGregor ’66 Alexia Quadrani Marcelo Rochabrun ’15 Kavita Saini ’09 Richard W. Thaler, Jr. ’73 Abigail Williams ’14 trustees emeriti Gregory L. Diskant ’70 William R. Elfers ’71 Kathleen Kiely ’77 Jerry Raymond ’73 Michael E. Seger ’71 Annalyn Swan ’73 trustees ex officio Chris Murphy ’20 Taylor Jean-Jacques’20
143RD MANAGING BOARD managing editors Samuel Aftel ’20 Ariel Chen ’20 Jon Ort ’21 head news editors Benjamin Ball ’21 Ivy Truong ’21 associate news editors Linh Nguyen ’21 Claire Silberman ’22 Katja Stroke-Adolphe ’20 head opinion editor Cy Watsky ’21 associate opinion editors Rachel Kennedy ’21 Ethan Li ’22 head sports editor Jack Graham ’20 associate sports editors Tom Salotti ’21 Alissa Selover ’21 features editor Samantha Shapiro ’21 head prospect editor Dora Zhao ’21 associate prospect editor Noa Wollstein ’21 chief copy editors Lydia Choi ’21 Elizabeth Parker ’21 associate copy editors Jade Olurin ’21 Christian Flores ’21 head design editor Charlotte Adamo ’21 associate design editor Harsimran Makkad ’22 cartoon editors Zaza Asatiani ’21 Jonathan Zhi ’21 head video editor Sarah Warman Hirschfield ’20 associate video editor Mark Dodici ’22 digital operations manager Sarah Bowen ’20
NIGHT STAFF design Helen So ’22 copy Emma Treadway’22
Opinion
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Turning to Tiger Confessions for reassurance Leora Eisenberg
Senior Columnist
W
hen I lie in bed at night unable to fall asleep, I reach for my phone so that I can scroll through my favorite Facebook posts — namely, the anonymous submissions on the Tiger Confessions group. The proclamations of love give me joy, and the inside jokes make me laugh. The heartfelt confessions that I find there remind me that I’m not alone in whatever I’m going through. But some students have concerns about the page: managing editor Sam Aftel, in his recent column, criticizes the page, writing that “many Princeton students who long for a more empathetic, demonstrably caring, other-centric, less cynical campus will remain confined to a single Facebook page to find any true level of intima-
cy and belonging.” Scrolling through, one can see how the students who submit to Tiger Confessions — legitimately! — have a lot to say about Bicker and the fakeness of many campus social interactions (manifestations of the “self-centered, cynical campus” Aftel mentions). The Facebook group itself, however, provides many deeply caring and emotional posts that many of us — myself included — sometimes need to get by. Being abroad right now in Moscow, I sometimes feel completely isolated. There are no Princeton students for miles around. My problems seem to be uniquely my own — and some of them definitely are; none of my friends on campus truly realize what it’s like to live as a young woman in Moscow alone. But then again, some of my problems only seem like they’re unique to me. Although I may feel like my friends have forgotten about me, many on campus have felt the same way before; numerous others have certainly
felt like they don’t fit in to a certain culture. While I sometimes feel as though I’m the only one having a hard time, posts on Tiger Confessions remind me that I am not: either someone has already posted something similar to what I would write, or the comments on my post remind me that others out there harbor the same feelings. In between the posts about Bicker, there are always many posts that really ring true. It has helped me in some of my hardest times over the past few months. I was overloaded with my classes and my job, and I felt as if I couldn’t do anything right. Either professors or clients were disappointed in me. I was breaking out in zits again. None of my friends in the United States were texting me. I felt worthless and very much alone — 5,000 miles away from my closest confidantes, how I could I even begin to tell them how I felt? I’m so far removed from campus life right now that any discussion of it — and anything that tells me that
people on campus feel the same way I do — is precious. Yes, maybe I should have, at some points, visited the equivalent of Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) here or looked for some genuine warmth (which Aftel almost suggests in the beginning of his article) — but the fact is that those options are just not available for me. I’m very, very far away — and while I do have friends here, they aren’t as close to me as my friends at Princeton, and I don’t have access to a free resource like CPS. Tiger Confessions has not replaced either of these things or saved me from nervous breakdowns — it hasn’t. Nonetheless, the group has given me necessary perspective, in that I wasn’t the only one going through whatever I was experiencing. Other people couldn’t bring themselves to look in the mirror in the morning because of their acne; some also felt like they couldn’t do anything right. Others still felt like their friends didn’t remember they existed. As a commenter on
the page, I would genuinely write that they were not worthless, that acne is temporary, and that their friends most likely do care. So, in my own life, I was reminded that I could tell myself the same – even if I was very far away and even if not every post on Tiger Confessions lent itself to such affirmative interactions. I once received a completely anonymous confession — not to be confused with the ones that I identified as having been written by my friends — calling me beautiful. There are hundreds of other such confessions, and they are almost certain to make the recipient smile — if they are tasteful and respectful, of course. When I’ve been going through a hard time abroad, Tiger Confessions lets me know that I am admired and not alone. And that picks me up and keeps me going when I need it most, as I remain far away in Moscow. Leora Eisenberg is a junior from Eagan, M.N. She can be reached at leorae@princeton. edu.
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WOMEN’S HOCKEY
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Women’s hockey knocked out of NCAA tournament by national runner-up Minnesota, losing 5—2 By Owen Tedford Senior Sports Writer
After receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, Princeton, the No. 7 ranked women’s hockey team (20— 8—5), lost to No. 2 Minnesota (30—5—1) in Minneapolis, 5—2 – a scoreline that does not reflect how close the game really was due to two late empty-net goals by the Golden Gophers. After this game Minnesota beat Cornell 2—0 and then lost to Wisconsin 0—2 in the national championship game. Princeton kicked off the scoring when first-year forward Sarah Fillier, a secondteam All-American and the National Rookie of the Year, teamed up with first-year for-
ward Maggie Connors for a give-and-go that Fillier put in to the net for a 1—0 lead to the Tigers. Minnesota responded with two goals before the end of the first period, bringing them to a 2—1 lead. Fillier, assisted by junior forward Carly Bullock and first-year defender Mariah Keopple, netted Princeton’s second goal and tied the game less than three minutes in to the second period. The Tigers had the only power-play opportunity early in the third period, but were unable to get anything going. The Golden Gophers were able to net the game-winning goal on play in transition. Princeton late in the third period looked to pull junior goalie
Stephanie Neatby to put on an extra attacker, which unfortunately led to two more Minnesota goals on the empty-net to take the score to its final 5—2. Neatby played great in goal making 34 saves on 36 shots including a few spectacular saves. While this was the end of the Tigers’ season, it was not an unremarkable one in any way. They won the Ivy League title, had a 20-game unbeaten streak, and achieved its highest national ranking in program history. Senior forward co-captain Karlie Lund commented, “I’m really proud of how our team did this season. It’s always hard to end the season on a loss, but our team accomplished so much
this year, like having the longest unbeaten streak in program history and winning the Ivies.” On being able to have spent the last four years at Princeton she added, “I feel really lucky to have played for Princeton these past four years. My teammates have become some of my closest friends, and I will miss seeing them every day. While my hockey career has come to an end, I know I will always be part of the PWIH [Princeton Women’s Ice Hockey] family, and I can’t wait to see what the team will accomplish next year.” Senior defender and co-captain Stephanie Sucharda added after the game, “The prep work we did to put ourselves
in that position, to tie the No. 2 team in the country, says a lot about our program, and, especially moving forward, I think our future is looking really good.” Though the loss of seniors Kimiko Marinacci, Keiko DeClerck, Lund, and Sucharda will be substantial due to the leadership they bring, there will be plenty to look forward to next season when Princeton gets back on the ice. The Tigers will return their top forward and defensive line, as well as all but two of its double-digit point-scorers. Next season should be an exciting one, so be sure to keep your eye out for their return to Hobey Baker Rink.
JIM ROSVOLD / GOPRINCETONTIGERS
National Rookie of the Year Sarah Fillier ’22 shoots at Minnesota’s goalie. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Women’s basketball falls just short against Kentucky in NCAA tournament By Jack Graham Head Sports Editor
Leading No. 6 Kentucky (25–7, 11–5 SEC) by four points at halftime in the first round of the NCAA tournament, No. 11 Princeton women’s basketball (22–10, 12–2 Ivy) was 20 minutes away from pulling off an upset. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Kentucky had other ideas. The Wildcats outscored Princeton by nine points in the second half, ending Princeton’s season with a 82–77 win. For the second straight season, Princeton played its first round NCAA tournament game in Raleigh, N.C. Last year, the team lost by 20 to No. 5 Maryland. This year, Princeton opened its tournament at 11 a.m. against a Kentucky team which finished fourth in the SEC. Kentucky is known for its stifling defense led by senior guard Taylor Murray, a semifinalist for the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Wildcats’ defensive pressure caused problems early
in the game for Princeton, who committed several early turnovers. Nonetheless, Princeton led 20–16 after the first quarter. The Tigers extended to their lead to nine points in the second quarter after senior guard Gabrielle Rush hit a three-pointer to make the score 27–18 and force Kentucky to burn a timeout to curb Princeton’s momentum. Kentucky battled back later in the quarter, and Princeton achieved a 37–33 lead by halftime. The game remained roughly even for most of the third quarter, but Kentucky justified its higher seed in the final minutes of the quarter. Kentucky took advantage of a series of Princeton turnovers and missed jumpers, finishing the quarter on a 13–2 run to turn Princeton’s 50–48 lead into a 61–52 deficit. Princeton continued to fight in the fourth quarter, cutting Kentucky’s lead to five on several occasions. The Tigers couldn’t get any closer than that, as Kentucky made free throws and avoid-
ed mistakes to secure a fivepoint win and ticket to the Round of 32. Junior forward Bella Alarie, the Ivy League Player of
the Year, recorded an impressive stat line, with 20 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists. However, she shot just 8–24 from the field, struggling
JACK GRAHAM / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
First-year Grace Stone played 38 minutes in Princeton’s loss to Kentucky.
particularly to hit outside shots. Princeton’s senior captains, Rush and senior forward Sydney Jordan, also provided valuable contributions. Rush led Princeton in scoring with 22 points and shot 6–11 from three. Jordan added 17 points and five rebounds and was instrumental to Princeton’s fast start with 11 first half points. Sophomore guard Carlie Littlefield played the entire game and scored 10 points to give the Tigers four doubledigit scorers. Taylor and guard Maci Morris had 19 points apiece for Kentucky, and first-year standout Rhyne Howard added another 15. With the win, Kentucky advanced to play No. 3 NC State on Monday. Princeton qualified for the NCAA tournament after beating Penn last weekend to win the Ivy League tournament. It was the Tigers’ second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and eighth in the last 10 years.
Monday March 25, 2019
Sports
page 8
{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WRESTLING
Wrestling places 15th at NCAAs, Glory, Brucki, Kolodzik make history By Josephine de La Bruyere Associate Sports Editor
Head wrestling coach Chris Ayres leaned against a basement wall in the Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena. He ran a hand through his closecropped hair. For a second, he seemed on the verge of tears. “I’ve gone through hell to get to this moment,” he said. “I’m getting chills. I mean, this is surreal. This is a dream come true. This is — I think — the greatest turnaround college athletics has ever seen.” Citing budget cuts and gender inequity, the Athletic Department eliminated its wrestling program in 1993. Thanks to the concerted efforts of alumni and thenDirector of Athletics Gary Walter, the program made a resurgence in 1997, but did not receive full University funding until 2004. In 2006, Ayres made his coaching debut at the University. For his first seasons, “we had nothing,” he said. “They’d taken our room away and given it to the football team. We had to roll out mats in Dillon Gym when we wanted to practice.” Princeton wrestling trailed Ivy League and National rankings. Ayres got to work. Thirteen years later, at the Pittsburgh NCAA Championships last weekend, his slog paid off. For only the third time in school history, Princeton pulled off a top-15 finish. It left the tournament with a program-high two semifinalists and three All-Americans. (The previous record, of two All-Americans, dates from 1978.) Patrick Glory became Princeton’s highest-placing first year. Sophomore captain Patrick Brucki became the University’s first athlete to claim the trifecta of All-American, Midlands champion, and EIWA champion. Junior captain Matthew Kolodzik became its first three-time All-American. The first of the competition’s three days had seen six disappointing losses and six dramatic victories. In opening bouts against top-eight seeds, first-year Travis Stefanik, first-year Quincy Monday, and junior Kevin Parker all suffered defeats. That trio lost as well in tough consolation matches; their seasons ended with the round. Seventh-ranked Glory, fourth-ranked Brucki, and fifth-ranked Kolodzik all bested their first two opponents to move onto the next morning’s quarterfinals. Ayres approached the championship’s second day with confidence. “Pat Glory will be Pat Glory,” he said. Brucki will get out of his head. Kolodzik will do more. And then these guys will be unstoppable.” He was very nearly right. Glory fell 9—5 in his quarterfinal match against Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Nicholas Piccininni. That bumped
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Junior and three-time All-American Matthew Kolodzik readies an opponent for a takedown.
him down to the consolation bracket, where he faced Old Dominion’s No. 12 Michael McGee. Glory breezed past him 7—1 to secure his status as an All-American. Glory wrestled his third match of the day against Michigan State’s No. 9 RayVon Foley. In the first period alone, he racked up a 10–0 lead and 2:35 of riding time. The third frame saw some sloppiness from Glory — “stop it now!” yelled assistant coach Joe Dubuque from the corner — but he still managed to finish the eight minutes with a 13—5 major decision. Glory was guaranteed a top-six place, the best ever finish for a Princeton firstyear. Kolodzik pulled off a 5–3 upset of Missouri’s No. 4 Brock Mauller to advance to the semifinals. There, he squared up with Rutgers’ No. 1 Anthony Ashnault, whom he had met earlier this season in Piscataway. In response to Ayres’ claim that Ashnault could not score a point on his wrestler, the Scarlet Knight had bested Kolodzik 10—2 and held up a defiant ten fingers to Princeton’s bench. That defeat had jumpstarted Kolodzik’s slide down the rankings. Here was his opportunity for redemption. “I’m ready to go and prove that things have changed,” he said before the match. They hadn’t. He lost 2—0. Down the drain went Kolodzik’s dreams of an NCAA title, of a dramatic upset. He had made history as Princeton’s first three-time All-American. But like Glory, he fell into the consolation bracket. 197-pound Brucki met with
“Congrats to @PrincetonWBB on a terrific season! Ivy League regular season and tournament champs and valiant fighters to the end in #NCAAW. What a game!” Robin Harris (@IvyExecDir) Basketball
a similar fate. In the morning, he posted a 4—3 decision against California Polytechnic’s No. 21 Thomas Lane to join Kolodzik in the semifinals. There, he faced a formidable opponent: Penn State’s two-time national champion and three-time national finalist, No. 1 Bo Nickal. Despite Nickal’s reputation — “he’s one of the greatest wrestlers this sport has seen,“ said Ayres — Princeton’s coaches were certain Brucki could pull off the upset. But Brucki, who has won by fall five times this season and beaten his opponents by a stunning average of 8.4 points, was pinned just four minutes and 41 seconds into the match. By the end of the Friday evening session, three athletes’ quests for titles had come to an end. But they refused to let that color their attitudes or their performances. They still had a full day of wrestling ahead of them, a full day to secure their ultimate dream of a top-ten finish. Facing Northwestern’s No. 1 Sebastian Rivera in the Saturday consolation semifinals, Glory kicked off the Tigers’ final day of competition. He led 9—7 entering the third period. But a wild scramble with just seconds remaining led to back points on back points for Rivera; the bout ended in a 14—9 loss for Princeton. He then re-faced Piccininni to battle for fifth. It seemed Glory, who led 4—2 at the end of the second frame, would avenge his earlier loss. But he opted to start the third period down, and quickly saw the
error of his ways. Piccininni turned and pinned him. Glory’s first collegiate season was over. He had racked up 30 wins and an EIWA Championship. “I’m not worried about him,” said Ayres. “I love that kid. His problem is never that he didn’t try hard enough, that he wasn’t aggressive enough, that he didn’t bring the right mindset. Sometimes, he just gets beat. Pat Glory has an incredible future ahead of him.” Glory proved less chipper. Being Princeton’s mostdecorated freshman wrestler “is a good feeling,” he said. “But there’s a little bit of a sting in the bottom of my stomach. I wanted to do the best as I could. I know I could have done better.” Next up on the mat was Kolodzik. He took on Duke’s No. 3 Mitch Finesilver in the battle for third place. An escape and over a minute of riding-time gave Finesilver a 2—0 victory. Kolodzik came back from the defeat swinging. Facing Mauller for the second time that weekend, Kolodzik bested him 10—6, his largest margin of the competition. So outspoken in the beginning of the season about his future as a national champion, Kolodzik — who finished seventh his first year and third his sophomore year — had earned fifth place. To him, the next step is logical. “I’ve got one odd number left to collect,” he said. “I just need to fuel up and win this senior year.” Brucki closed Princeton’s weekend in Pittsburgh. The only Tiger wrestler to pull off a win in consolation semifinals, he trounced Fresno
State’s No. 16 Josh Hokit 8—3. In the next round, Brucki faced Oklahoma State’s Preston Weigel. An early scramble led to a takedown of Brucki and a series of swipes for Weigel, who entered the second up 6—0. That margin seemed to break Brucki’s spirit. Weigel accumulated a full period of riding time; Princeton’s wrestler just couldn’t come back. The match ended in a 7—1 decision for Oklahoma State. Brucki placed fourth. “It’s been a tough day,” he said simply. Individual disappointments aside, Princeton’s wrestlers recognized just how monumental their weekend had been. “I can’t even put this into words,” said Kolodzik. “I can’t even imagine how much the coaches are feeling right now.” Ayres answered that question for him. “Listen,” he said, leaning against that basement wall. “Fourth, fifth, and sixth place? A top-fifteen finish? Three All-Americans? I’m so excited. You have no idea. You have no idea what we’ve done to get here.” Over the course of Saturday afternoon, Ayres’ disbelief gave way to pure pride. Hours after his sentimental post-tournament interview, he delivered a rousing speech at a banquet for the Friends of Princeton Wrestling. “Are there any guys here from the class of 1978?” he asked. That year, Princeton had produced two All-Americans. A few men in the room raised their hands. Ayres paused, laughed, leaned into the microphone. “We finally beat you.”
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Junior Matthew Kolodzik became Princeton wrestling’s first three-time All-American this weekend.