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Vol. LXIV, No. 12
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
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Vol. LXIV, No. 12
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
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(Photo by Stephen Goldsmith)
MARCHING ON: Princeton University men’s basketball forward Ian Hummer looks for room in the paint last Wednesday in Princeton’s 65-51 win over visiting Duquesne in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Last Monday, freshman Hummer contributed 16 points and six rebounds as Princeton outlasted Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) 74-68 in double overtime in the CBI quarters. |
It was the first taste of post-season play for the Princeton University men’s basketball program since 2004 and things got off to a sour start.
Some 12 minutes into its game last Wednesday against visiting Duquesne in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), Princeton found itself trailing 20-11.
Showing the intensity that has been a hallmark for the Tigers as they posted a 20-8 regular season mark, Princeton ended the first half with a 17-3 run to take a 28-23 lead into intermission.
Building on that surge, Princeton outscored the Dukes 22-12 over the first 12 minutes of the second half to break the game open on the way to a 65-51 triumph.
Courtney Banghart had a good feeling about her Princeton University women’s basketball team after its last practice before facing St. John’s in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
“On Friday, we had an hour on the main court and then went to the community college for the closed practice,” said Princeton head coach Banghart, whose 11th-seeded Tigers were taking on the No. 6 Red Storm in Tallahassee, Fla. “They were very focused; they executed really well. I had a lot of confidence going into Saturday.”
The Tigers showed some good execution in the clash against St. Johns as they stuck with the game plan crafted by Banghart and her staff.
Coming into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) championships earlier this month, Princeton University freshman Garrett Frey appeared to be a long shot to emerge from the meet as an NCAA qualifier.
Frey was seeded seventh at the meet at 125 pounds and needed to beat the number two and number three seeds to get into the title match in order to clinch a berth in the NCAA meet.
But as Frey competed at Lehigh at the EIWA meet, he was steeled by the fact that he had overcome much greater adversity than anything he would face on the mat, dealing with the untimely death of his brother, Adam, 23, who succumbed on December 26 after a battle with cancer.
When Frey lost Adam, a former star wrestler at Cornell, he lost a mentor and confidant as well as a brother.
Last summer, Victor Honore headed to Vienna, Austria and competed in the World Sports Festival 2009 through the People-to-People Sports Ambassador Program.
The rising Princeton High sophomore made quite a splash in the international competition, taking first in the boys’ U-16 50-meter backstroke, second in the 100 butterfly, third in the 100 freestyle, and fourth in the 200 back. He also helped both the 4x100 medley relay and the 8x50 free mixed relay teams take second.
In reflecting on the experience, Honore had a feeling it would pay dividends during his sophomore season with PHS.
Losing stars Cammie Linville and Mariel Jenkins to graduation along with four others from a 2009 squad that went 13-2, the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team would seem to be in a transition phase this spring.
But with 10 players returning from last year, PDS head coach Jill Thomas believes her team will be reloading in 2010 rather than rebuilding.
“All of the returners played all year round; the starting point is higher this year,” said Thomas. “They are committed to being the best and committed to each other.”