ON HIS TOES: Princeton University men’s soccer player Daniel Diaz-Bonilla, right, battles Nico Rosamilia of Rutgers for the ball last Friday night in Princeton’s season opener. Junior forward Diaz-Bonilla generated a number of chances for the Tigers in a losing cause as Princeton fell 1-0 to the Scarlet Knights. Princeton was slated to play at Vermont on September 7 before heading to Colgate on September 12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Daniel Diaz-Bonilla and his teammates on the Princeton University men’s soccer team were bound to be a bit rusty as they hosted Rutgers last Friday night in their season opener.

Princeton hadn’t played a game in nearly two years with the 2020 season having been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns and had a brief preseason in preparing to play a battle-tested Scarlet Knight squad.

“This team has only been together for two weeks after two years off and that team had a season in the spring,” said junior forward Diaz-Bonilla. “They have already had two games and a month together.”

But with the shifty Diaz-Bonilla displaying some dazzling footwork, the Tigers were able to put Rutgers on its heels several times outshooting the Scarlet Knights 8-7 in the first half as rivals played to a scoreless draw over the first 45 minutes of the contest.

The attacking unit of senior Kevin O’Toole, sophomore Walker Gillespie, senior Frankie DeRosa, and junior Ryan Clare along with Diaz-Bonilla was in sync despite the long hiatus from game action.

“We trust each other,” said Diaz-Bonilla. “We are always fluid, we are moving, we are getting off each other. I could play on the right, Kevin can play on the left and Walker can drop down. It is super fluid. We have got Frankie coming off the bench and Ryan sometimes goes up for us. We have a lot of options.” more

HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE: Princeton University women’s soccer goalie Grace Barbara handles the ball last Friday night as Princeton defeated Loyola (Md.) 2-1 in its season opener and first game since 2019 after last season was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. Senior Barbara, a former Princeton Day School standout, made one save in the win. Two days later, Barbara combined with freshman Tyler McCamey to post a shutout as the Tigers defeated Saint Joseph’s 3-0 with each goalie playing a half. In upcoming action, Princeton plays at George Mason (0-4) on September 2 and at 11th-ranked Georgetown (1-0-1) on September 5. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As Grace Barbara started at goalie for the Princeton University women’s soccer team last Friday night in its first game since 2019, she just had to look to her right wrist to see the theme of the evening.

The word “grit” was scrawled in black ink on the tape around her wrist and it characterized the effort that senior Barbara, a former Princeton Day School standout, made to help Princeton pull out a 2-1 win over Loyola (Md.) in its first action after the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

“I definitely didn’t play my best game tonight but I think that is to be expected coming off of so long of not competing at Princeton,” said Barbara.

“But I am ready to build every day and get better every single day. That is really my mentality here. I actually came in at a deficit. I wasn’t able to train with the team for the first couple of days. I had COVID  earlier in the month and had to go through a return-to-play protocol. I had a really short preseason and was working really, really hard to get the starting spot here.”

Princeton had to show some grit collectively as it built a 2-0 lead only to see the Greyhounds score on a penalty kick with 9:18 left in the second half, making the final minutes of the contest a bit edgy for the Tigers.

“It definitely was a dicey win but a win is a win and that is what we have to say,” said Barbara, who had one save on the evening.

“This team, Loyola, has already had two games under their belt. They came in off of a pretty harsh loss (4-0) to Clemson and they were just ready to play. We saw that, they were scrappy to the end. It really taught us about how we can respond in a situation where we conceded a goal. Our mantra is grit this year and we showed exactly that. We really stepped up.” more

KICK STARTER: Princeton University men’s soccer player Kevin O’Toole, right, controls the ball in a 2019 game. Senior star O’Toole, a two-time All-Ivy League selection and the Ivy Offensive Player of the Year in 2018, will be looking to get his senior season off to a big start when Princeton hosts Rutgers (1-0-1) on September 3 at Class of 1952 Stadium in its season opener.It will mark the first game for the Tigers since November 16, 2019 when they fell 2-1 to Yale to end the season at 10-4-3 overall and 2-2-3 Ivy League before the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For Princeton University men’s soccer head coach Jim Barlow, seeing the 2020 season canceled due to COVID-19 concerns robbed him and his players of what they cherish most.

“It is the reason we do what we do; it is the thing that is most joyful about our job and we weren’t able to do it,” said Barlow, whose team last played on November 16, 2019 when it fell 2-1 to Yale to end that season at 10-4-3 overall and 2-2-3 Ivy League.

“That was the hardest part, not being able to get after it with the guys. I think what we do is important to their well-being, and to have it not happen was tough.”

There was lots of joy as the squad hit the field for preseason training starting on August 21 to start preparing for hosting Rutgers (1-0-1) in the season opener on September 3 at Class of 1952 Stadium.

“There is definitely an extra level of excitement to be back,” said Barlow.

“The guys have been waiting for it for a long time. The energy has been really positive, the guys came back fit.” more

RARING TO GO: Players on the Princeton University football team about to burst on the field for their season opener against Butler in September 2019. Princeton, which didn’t get to play last fall as the Ivy League canceled competition due to COVID-19 concerns, starts preseason training for the 2021 season this Saturday. The Tigers, whose last regular season game was a 28-7 win at Penn on November 23, 2019, kick off the upcoming season by playing at Lehigh on September 18. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

While August 21 is about four months away from the holiday season, it will seem like Christmas morning for Princeton University football head coach Bob Surace.

With Princeton not getting a season last fall as the Ivy League canceled competition due to COVID-19 concerns and having limited practices this spring, the Tigers will be hitting the field this Saturday to start preseason practices for the 2021 campaign.

“I just had a lunch with a player and one of his advisers,” said Surace.

“I told the adviser, you don’t understand how excited we are. It is hard to put into words. We got a tease of it in the spring but it wasn’t the same.”

With a number of veteran players not enrolling in Princeton for the 2020-21 school year, the spring sessions had a smaller turnout than usual.

“The hard part was that the numbers were lower, not everybody came back to school,” said Surace.

“Everybody had their individual decision and nobody knew how it was going to go. We had 53 players and we usually have about 75, so it was a much lower number. At times, it limited the full 11-on-11 certain days.”

While there were limits, Surace believes that a number of younger players still made progress. more

JERSEY’S FINEST: Holly McGarvie Reilly, right, takes the ball upfield for the U.S. women’s national lacrosse team. Reilly, a 2009 Princeton alum who starred in lacrosse and field hockey for the Tigers, helped the U.S. win the gold medal at the 2013 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Women’s World Cup in Oshawa, Ontario. Last month, Reilly was inducted into the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame. (Photo by John Strohsacker, provided courtesy of USA Lacrosse)

By Justin Feil

When Holly McGarvie Reilly started playing lacrosse on the very first team at Medford Memorial Middle School, she did not have Hall of Fame aspirations but she approached it as she has everything in her life.

“I’m a competitor,” said Reilly. “My parents really impressed on me the importance of a strong education and doing your best in whatever you’re doing.”

Reilly got hooked early on the new sport and excelled at it along with field hockey and winter track and field at Shawnee High School. The valedictorian at Shawnee, she won 10 varsity letters in a career that included a state track championship, All-State recognition in field hockey, and All-American acclaim in lacrosse before continuing with field hockey and lacrosse at nearby Princeton University.

At Princeton, she helped the Tigers win four Ivy League championships in field hockey as a star back in her fall seasons and during the spring won one Ivy title in lacrosse as a standout midfielder while earning Ivy Rookie of the Year and two-time All-American accolades. She helped the U.S. women’s national team win a pair of World Cup lacrosse gold medals in 2009 and 2013. Her achievements were recognized last month when she was inducted into the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster.

“It was really cool,” said Reilly. “I was very honored and surprised. I honestly didn’t know the process was ongoing. I was called by Peter O’Donnell and the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the foundation board and it was pretty awesome.” more

REACHING FOR GLORY: Ashleigh Johnson leaps to make a save during her career with the Princeton University women’s water polo team. Last weekend, Johnson ’17 helped the U.S. women’s water polo team get off to a 2-0 start in Group B pool play at the Tokyo Olympics. Johnson, who helped the U.S. take gold at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, made 15 saves as the Americans routed Japan 25-4 last Saturday in its opening contest. The U.S. defeated China 11-7 two days later and will look to keep rolling as it plays Hungary on Wednesday in its next Group B matchup. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

After producing a dominant run to the gold medal in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, Ashleigh Johnson and the U.S. women’s water polo team picked up where they left off as they got into action at the Tokyo Olympics last weekend.

Former Princeton University star goalie Johnson and the U.S. routed Japan 25-4 last Saturday in the opening contest of Group B pool play.

Johnson, who became the first African American to make the U.S. Olympics women’s water polo team when she starred at Rio, finished with 15 saves before being pulled for the fourth period. The 25 goals tallied by the U.S. are the most it has scored since a 23-22 shootout victory over the Netherlands at Princeton for the 2019 Holiday Cup.

Two days later, Johnson and the U.S. overcame a 4-2 deficit against China and pulled away to an 11-7 victory. The U.S., which also won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, will look to keep rolling as it plays Hungary on Wednesday in its next Group B matchup.

Another former Princeton standout, Gevvie Stone ’07, enjoyed success on the water as she and partner Kristi Wagner rowed the U.S women’s double sculls to a spot in the A Final after rallying for a third-place finish in the A/B Semifinal on Saturday at the Sea Forest Waterway near Tokyo Bay.

Stone and Wagner were sixth at 500 meters of the semi but trailed Australia by just .17 seconds for fourth and France by .28 seconds for third at 1,000 meters. more

DOUBLE VISION: Gevvie Stone, front, along with Kristi Wagner row in the women’s double sculls for the U.S. national team. Former Princeton standout Stone ’07 and Wagner, who starred at Yale, will be competing in the double for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics next week. (Photo by Ben Tufnell, Row 360, provided courtesy of USRowing)

By Bill Alden

When Gevvie Stone earned a silver medal in the single sculls at the 2016 Summer Olympics, it appeared to be the culmination of a storied rowing career.

Having starred for the Princeton University women’s open rowing program and helping the Tiger varsity 8 win a national title in 2006 and then moving to sculling and taking seventh in the single sculls at the 2012 London Olympics, Stone’s trip to the podium in Rio at age 31 seemed to be a fitting final chapter to her life on the water.

With Stone, a 2007 Princeton alum, having earned a medical degree from Tufts University in 2014 and done a year of residency in emergency medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, her career path after rowing was set.

But the pull of rowing brought her back to the water and Stone resumed training in 2018 with an eye toward making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She came in second in the single at the U.S. trials for the 2019 World Championships and turned to the double sculls.

“You adapt or die,” said Stone. “I jumped in the double that spring with my training partner Cicely Madden and we finished fifth. It was a good learning experience for both of us.” more

MEDAL HUNT: Katherine Holmes displays the gold medal she earned for winning the individual epee at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Former Princeton University women’s fencing standout Holmes ’17 also helped the U.S. to gold in the team epee at the competition. Previously, she had helped the U.S. win the team epee at the 2018 World Championships. Next week, Holmes will be fencing for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics in both epee competitions, hoping to add to her medal collection. (Photo provided courtesy of Princeton’s Office of Athletic Communications)

By Bill Alden

While Princeton University fencing standout Kat Holmes was thrilled to compete in the epee in the 2016 Rio Olympics, she was left with a bitter taste in her mouth after the competition.

“My team and I lost in overtime for the medal round so we knew we had to go for another one,” said Holmes, who helped the U.S. place fifth in the team epee at Rio and took 25th herself in the individual competition.

Holmes returned to Princeton after the Olympics for the 2016-17 school year to compete in her senior season and earn her neuroscience degree. A native of Washington, D.C., Holmes ended up as a four-time All-American and All-Ivy League fencer during her Tiger career.

Staying in international competition, Holmes used that Olympic disappointment to fuel a gold medal performance in the team epee at the 2018 World Championships in Wuxi, China along with the Hurley sisters, Kelley and Courtney.

“I think before we knew that we could win gold but that really changed it to now we believed that we can,” said Holmes reflecting on the victory which saw her take the anchor role for the team. more

POWER STROKE: Claire Collins shows her form in training with the U.S. national program. Former Princeton University women’s open rowing star Collins ’19 was named to the United States Rowing Olympic Team and will row for the women’s coxless 4 later this month at the Tokyo Olympics. The rowing competition is slated for July 23-30 at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo. (Photo provided courtesy of USRowing)

By Bill Alden

After culminating a stellar career with the Princeton University women’s open rowing program in 2019 by being named a first-team All-American and helping the Tiger varsity 8 win the Ivy League crown, Claire Collins wasn’t ready to give up the sport.

“I was strong, I had some good times on the erg and we were getting some good results on the water,” said Collins, who was also named as the winner of the C. Otto von Keinbusch Award for Princeton’s top senior female athlete and was nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year during her senior campaign.

“I was still enjoying it a lot. The national team would be training in Princeton so we would see the women here every once in a while. It was inspiring. You have to listen to your gut, it is an exciting opportunity but it is a big commitment. I was having a lot of fun with the sport and I had bigger goals that solidified. This is my next goal, this is what I want to do after college.”

Following her gut, Collins joined the U.S. program, staying around Lake Carnegie to work out of the Princeton Training Center.

But as Collins was getting used to the more intense training and making a push to earn a spot in the 2020 Olympics, the pandemic halted everything and she went home to McLean, Va.

The hiatus, though, turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Collins was recently selected to the United States Rowing Olympic Team and will row on the women’s coxless 4 later this month at the Tokyo Olympics. more

RETURN ENGAGEMENT: Davon Black drives past a foe in 2019 action for the LoyalTees team in the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League. Former Princeton High boys’ hoops standout Black helped LoyalTees win the league title in both 2018 and 2019. After taking a hiatus last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league returns to action next week for its 32nd season and LoyalTees will be back on court seeking a three-peat. The 2021 campaign tips off with a doubleheader at the Community Park courts on June 21.

By Bill Alden

When the Princeton Recreation Department had to cancel its Men’s Summer Basketball League last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Evan Moorhead vowed that it would return in 2021 and be “stronger than ever.”

True to his word, Moorhead, the assistant director of recreation and league commissioner, has the hoops circuit up and running for its 32nd season, featuring a lineup of eight teams with the action tipping off on the evening of June 21 with a doubleheader at the Community Park basketball courts.

“I wanted to be held accountable so here we are,” said Moorhead.

“I am very excited. If we had this conversation a week ago, I think we would have been at six teams but there were two teams who came together late. We would have run the league with six teams but eight is a good number.”

The process of getting the league back on court was arduous as Moorhead followed guidelines, consulting with the Princeton Health Department to get the necessary approvals as youth and high sports opened up before reaching out to gauge interest for the summer league.

“It has been a difficult year for everybody,” said Moorhead. “Once we got that OK is when I started to reach out to teams from the last few years and to see who was interested. That was really going to drive things. From there, if we had no interest we wouldn’t be having this conversation but there was enough interest there with some of the returning teams. As usually happens, I got some inquiries from some new teams that we were able to add.” more

ACTION JACKSON: Nate Jackson exhorts one of his charges in his role as an assistant coach for the Princeton University wrestling team. In addition to coaching, Jackson, a former All-American wrestler at Indiana University, is competing at freestyle on an international level in a quest to be a world champion. He recently represented the U.S. at the Pan-American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, taking gold at 92 kg (202 pounds), and is competing in Poland this week at an UWW World Championships Ranking Series Event.

By Bill Alden

Nate Jackson is taking multitasking to a new level.

Jackson is an assistant coach for the Princeton University wrestling team, is competing at freestyle on an international level in a quest to be a world champion, and has a busy home life with his wife, Raychelle, and their four young children, ages 3-8.

Jackson, a two-time All American wrestler at Indiana University who turns 27 this August, lives by a simple philosophy as he juggles his many pursuits.

“‘Wherever you are, be there’ is something one of my Indiana coaches used to say,” said Jackson, who recently represented the U.S. at the Pan-American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, taking gold at 92 kg (202 pounds), and is competing in Poland this week at an UWW World Championships Ranking Series Event.

“If I am an athlete, I am going be training. When I leave the practice and come home, I am a father so I need to be all in there. When I step into the office, I am a coach so I need to do exactly what I am supposed to be doing there. That is the only way I can live.”

Excelling at both baseball and wrestling at Marian Catholic High, Jackson, a native of Crete, Ill., went all in on wrestling after his baseball coach insisted that he focus his efforts on the diamond year-round.

Joining a local wrestling club, the Harvey Park Twisters, Jackson started making a lot of progress on the mat.

“They have a lot of people who have won state titles and Big 10 championships,” said Jackson.  more

SHINING LIGHTS: Members of the Princeton University women’s lightweight varsity 8 enjoy the moment after they placed first in their grand final at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship regatta last Friday at Mercer Lake. The boat included Annie Anezakis, Isabelle Chandler, Lauren Sanchez, Kalena Blake, Sarah Polson, Lily Feinerman, Ashley Scott, Nathalie Verlinde, and Rebecca Mays. (Photo provided courtesy of Princeton’s Office of Athletic Communications)

By Bill Alden

Although the Princeton University rowing programs had just a handful of regattas this spring as opposed to their usual slate of around eight weeks of regular season action culminated by the Eastern Sprints/Ivy League championships, the Tigers crews still excelled in national championship competition last weekend.

Taking part in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship regatta last Friday at nearby Mercer Lake, the Princeton women’s lightweight varsity 8 provided a highlight as it won a national title.

Rowing in a two-boat grand final against Wisconsin, the Tigers covered the 2,000-meter course in 7:42.73, more than 26.3 seconds better than the Badgers.

Having seen his varsity 8 take second in the 2019 national final and third in both 2017 and 2018, the triumph was special for Princeton head coach Paul Rassam.

“It’s a bit bittersweet,” said Rassam as quoted on the PU Athletics website in reflecting on the top boat’s first national title since 2003. more

HEAVY DUTY: The Princeton University men’s heavyweight varsity 8 crew pulls hard in a race earlier this season. The top 8, along with the second and third varsity 8s ,will be competing in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship regatta this weekend at Mercer Lake. (Photo by Ed Hewitt/Row2K, provided courtesy of Princeton’s Office of Athletic Communications)

By Bill Alden

Greg Hughes doesn’t know what to expect when his Princeton University men’s heavyweight crew competes in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship regatta this weekend at nearby Mercer Lake, and that’s OK.

“I don’t even know how to compare it, it is just so just different,” said Princeton head coach Hughes.

“Normally we would have seeding, and the seeding would come off the regular season and championship results. We would get a ranking nationally based on our regular season every week and then after the Eastern Sprints. There is no way to really seed it when people haven’t raced that much; there is not any way to cross reference.”

The IRA competition will using a different format this spring in view of the disruptions to competition resulting from the pandemic, featuring time trials and an 18-boat semifinal rather than the typical series of heats leading the semis and finals.

“The clock starts when you go through the end of the starting block, so you have the lane to yourself and you go,” said Hughes in assessing the time trial piece of the regatta.

“You are separated by 30-40 seconds, everyone is going single file down the course like a 1,900-meter head race. The top 18 of those boats will go to the semifinal so it will be three semis with six boats each. It will be the top two from each to the A final, the second two to the B final, and the third two to the C final.”

Adding to the uncertainty for Hughes is the fact that Princeton did not have any fall training or head races and the rowers did not get to work together in person until the students returned for spring semester.

The Tigers started training by doing ergometer work this February outside the boathouse in pods of 10 athletes. After braving a wintry month on the deck, the Tigers hit the water in singles in early March. They progressed to pairs after that, affording some fine-tuned rowing.

“It is incredible training; with national teams, that is normally what you would do,” explained Hughes of the pairs work. more

CLASS ACT: Princeton University field hockey star Clara Roth makes a hit in a 2019 game. Last Thursday, senior Roth was named as the winner of the Otto von Kienbusch Award given to the top female senior athlete as Princeton Athletics held the Gary Walters ‘67 Princeton Varsity Club (PVC) Awards Banquet virtually. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Although Princeton University teams saw no competition in the fall or winter seasons during the 2020-21 school year and had only a handful of meets, games, and regattas this spring, the school’s stellar group of senior athletes still achieved a lot over their careers.

Over the last four years, the members of the Class of 2021 helped the Tigers reach two NCAA Final 4s in field hockey, win ECACH titles in both men’s and women’s hockey, produce an undefeated football campaign in 2018, go 26-1 in women’s hoops in 2019-20, earn NCAA individual titles in fencing, make the NCAA tournament in men’s volleyball in 2019 for the first time since 1998, win the school’s first Ivy League title in wrestling since 1986, and make the podiums in a number of national rowing regattas, among many other accomplishments.

But more importantly than their athletic achievements, the seniors displayed a special resilience and character as they dealt with the crushing disappointment of having seasons wiped away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of reacting with anger, they made the best of the situation, inspiring coaches and teammates alike with the way they handled things. 

Last Thursday, the Princeton Athletics community came together to honor those seniors as it held the Gary Walters ‘67 Princeton Varsity Club (PVC) Awards Banquet virtually.

In a one-hour webcast, co-hosted by senior men’s volleyball player AJ Chen and senior field hockey standout Juliana Tornetta along with Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux Samaan ’91 that included some guest appearances from legendary Princeton athletes from the past, the school bestowed its annual awards recognizing athletic excellence, academic achievement, and service to the community.

Field hockey standout Clara Roth was named as the winner of the Otto von Kienbusch Award given to the top female senior athlete. Roth, a native of Schwetzingen, Germany, was a two-time All-American field hockey player who also earned three All-Ivy and All-Region selections. During her stellar junior season in 2019, which saw the Tigers reach the national championship game, Roth, a 5’8 striker, was named a Honda Sport Award Finalist, first-team All-America, Regional Player of the Year and first-team All-Ivy. She led all Ivy players in points and goals-per-game as she set career highs in both categories. As a sophomore, Roth earned her first All-America selection after being named the Ivy Offensive Player of the Year. She led the squad in goals (13), more than doubling her total from the year prior, and points (34). Roth is one of only 11 players in program history to record 100 career points, nabbing 35 goals, 31 assists. more