Princeton University Athletics
Putting the Fall Back in Perspective
March 01, 2001 | General
Okay, ready for a little perspective? If another Ivy League school wants to break Princeton's record for consecutive field hockey championships, then the players who will be celebrating that accomplishment include some who are currently in fifth grade.
Of course, that would be contingent on Princeton's relinquishing its crown next season, something the Tigers are showing no signs of being ready to do.
Princeton's streak of consecutive field hockey titles reached seven this fall, when the Tigers went 7-0 against the rest of the league. Princeton has now won 44 of 45 Ivy games and had six perfect league seasons in the last seven years.
"We absolutely don't take the Ivy League for granted," says Princeton coach Beth Bozman. "We want to be the dominant team in the league. Also, you get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament when you win. You can't take any of that for granted."
Part of what makes Princeton's streak in field hockey so impressive is that no other school has ever had a field hockey team win more than two straight league championships.
"We've won seven in a row," says Bozman. "I think the only team that will ever break the records that we have is Princeton. When people think it's a given that we're going to win the league title, I don't think they understand the significance of the accomplishment. We recognize it, though."
The field hockey team was not the only fall Ivy champion at Princeton. In fact Princeton had three fall Ivy titles, as the women's soccer team and women's volleyball team also won championships.
The three then advanced to their respective NCAA tournaments, where field hockey went the furthest, earning a quarterfinal berth.
While the field hockey team was winning yet another title, the women's soccer team was winning its first since 1982, the first year of organized league play for women. Princeton went 13-4 overall, the most wins in a season since 1981, and all 13 victories were by shutout. The Tigers were 6-1 in the league, including a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten and unscored-upon Brown, and Princeton knocked off Penn 1-0 to win the crown.
Following that was a trip to Wisconsin, where the Tigers lost to the Big Ten-power Badgers 1-0 in double overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The women's volleyball team won another league title of its own by winning the Ivy tournament. Princeton, which has won 12 league titles and five of the last seven, advanced to the NCAA tournament where it fell to undefeated and eventual-national-champion Nebraska in front of more than 4,000 fans.
by Jerry Price