Sports

(Photo courtesy of Princeton's Office of Athletic Communications) BUDDING CHAMPION: Phoebe Champion rises out of the water in action this past spring during her freshman season for the Princeton University water polo team. Champion, who piled 35 goals and 20 assists in her debut campaign, will be playing for the USA Water Polo Junior National team as it competes later this month in the 2007 FINA World Championships in Porto, Portugal.

PU Water Polo's Champion Brings Fire, Skills as She Competes for U.S. at Junior Worlds

Bill Alden

It took a while for Phoebe Champion to warm up to the sport of water polo.

"I started playing in third grade and I didn't really like it," said Champion. "My parents had to bring us candy to keep me playing."

Those parental bribes paid dividends as Champion grew to love water polo, becoming a star player for Palo Alto High (Calif.) and the Stanford Water Polo Club.

Resilient Princeton Little League 12s Turned Heads in Advancing to Final 9

Lance Williams

Coming into this year's New Jersey District 12 Little League Tournament, few gave the Princeton 12-year-old all-star team a chance to advance out of Pool B over traditional powerhouses like Sunnybrae, Washington Township, Florence and Chambersburg.

Even fewer gave Princeton a chance after losing its first two games to Florence, 11-2, and Cranbury/Plainsboro, 13-3.

Yet the resilient players of Princeton defied all odds these past two weeks, beating Sunnybrae and Chambersburg, 2-1 and 3-1, respectively, to secure a 2-2 overall record, third place in the Pool B and the right to advance to the team's second Final Nine in the last four years.

Taking Hoops Passion in a New Direction, Hun Alum Morales Has Eye on Coaching

Bill Alden

When Ica Morales headed to Bucknell University in the fall of 2005, she figured basketball was in her past.

The diminutive 5'1 Morales, a four-year player for the Hun School girls' basketball team, planned to focus on golf at college.

As a state Prep girls' champion in golf during her days at Hun, she seemed to have a brighter future on the links than on the court.

But unable to resist the pull of hoops, Morales joined the Bucknell women's basketball program as a student manager during her freshman year.