Princeton University Athletics
Winter Brings Five Ivy Champs
September 21, 2001 | General
Men's Basketball
Surely the Princeton basketball program, which turned 100 this past season, had seen it all at some point since its first game in 1901.
Or had it? The answer was a resounding no, since there had never been a season at Princeton quite like 2000-01.
The Tigers were stripped almost to the bone, losing the head coach, the No. 1 assistant, the All-America center, the top outside threat and three other would-be starters.
And yet there they sat on March 6, Yale and then Brown and finally Penn all vanquished, and it was Princeton who cut down the nets as the Ivy champion. Led by first-team All-Ivy selection Nate Walton, the Tigers went 11-3 in the league to win their eighth championship in the last 13 years.
"The cupboard," said first-year head coach John Thompson, "wasn't as bare as everyone thought."
Men's Fencing
A win against Columbia got the Tigers off to a good start, but a tough loss at Penn set Princeton back in the Ivy League race. Despite wins against Harvard and Yale, the Tigers needed help from Columbia to earn a share of the Ivy crown. A Penn loss to the Lions created a three-way tie at the top of the standings and gave Princeton its sixth league championship in the last eight years.
Soren Thompson became Princeton's second freshman national champion in as many years when he captured the gold medal in men's ?p?e at the NCAA championships. Thompson, also the IFA individual champion, was one of the Tiger's four first-team All-Ivy selections.
Women's Fencing
It didn't have to come down to this. A touch here, a bout there, and Princeton could have assured itself at least a piece of the Ivy title before the last match on the last day of regular-season competition. The Tigers, however, needed to win both matches against Harvard and Yale that afternoon to even have a shot at their third consecutive league title after losing a midseason matchup with Penn.
And there they were, down 13-9 to the Bulldogs, just one loss away from defeat after beating the Crimson earlier in the day. Five bouts later, though, the Tigers celebrated a 14-13 win and the Ivy championship.
Sophomore Mindy Rostal won the bronze medal in foil at the NCAA championships and headed up a list of three Tiger All-Americas with Maya Lawrence and Lisa Leslie. Rostal and Lawrence were first-team All-Ivy honorees.
Women's Swimming & Diving
When the women's swimming and diving team won its second consecutive Ivy League championship, it was a perfect ending to a perfect season. The Tigers finished with an 8-0 dual-meet record and a 7-0 Ivy mark.
Princeton won the league championship with a 96-point lead over Brown after trailing by 21 points after Day 1. Fourteen swimmers posted personal bests at the meet.
Princeton boasted eight first-team and five second-team All-Ivy selections, and divers Erin Lutz and Danielle Stramandi earned All-America honors at the NCAA championships.
Men's Indoor Track & Field
The men's indoor track and field team capped off its season by winning its fourth consecutive indoor Heptagonal championship. Jon Jessup (pole vault), Scott Denbo (shot put) and Tora Harris (high jump) were all repeat winners, while Tensai Asfaw (1,000m) and Josh McCaughey (weight throw) captured their first titles. Harris was named the men's Most Outstanding Performer.
Denbo and Jessup earned their second consecutive Heps titles and also won their events at the IC4A championships. McCaughey, a freshman, earned All-America status with a 14th-place finish in the weight throw.