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Princeton University Athletics
Football Wraps Up Spring Practice, Names 2002 Captains
April 19, 2002 | Football
April 19, 2002
Princeton, N.J. - Princeton football closed the door on spring practice with the announcement of next season's team captains. The Tigers' 12 spring practices culminated in a situational intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday April 13 and seniors Chisom Opara (Lutherville, Md.) and Drew Babinecz (Malvern, Pa.) were shortly thereafter named 2002 team captains.
Opara and Babinecz captain a team that returns 16 starters and 41 letterwinners from the 2001 season, including their top passer, rusher, receiver and tackler.
Opara, a 6-2, 210-pound receiver, led the Tigers with 36 catches for 581 yards. He scored three touchdowns and averaged 72.6 yards per game. Opara and quarterback David Splithoff connected on the longest play from scrimmage last season, a 78-yard strike against Columbia. Babinecz, a 6-0, 217-pound linebacker, successfully came back from an injury that sidelined him in 2000 and finished last season with 24 tackles in eight games played. He had a 32-yard interception return against Dartmouth in the season finale to help Princeton win 35-14.
Splithoff, Princeton's top passer a year ago, and Cameron Atkinson, its leading rusher, also return with Zak Keasey, who led the team in tackles with 71. Splithoff threw for 1,680 yards and nine tourchdowns and Atkinson picked up a team-high 1,036 all-purpose yards. The Tigers played a nine-game schedule and finished 3-6 overall.
2001 captain Bob Farrell heads a list of players lost to graduation. The Tigers lose first-team All-Ivy selection Chris Roser-Jones and third-team All-America kicker Taylor Northrop. In all, Princeton loses three starters on each side of the ball.
The Tigers head into next season with optimism after resounding wins over Yale and Dartmouth to end the 2001 season. The last time Princeton won its final two games was in 1994. The Tigers won the Ivy League title the following year. Princeton opens the 2002 campaign in Bethlehem, Pa. against Lehigh on Saturday, Sept. 21.