Princeton University Athletics
Spring Races Heat Up This Weekend For Four Tiger Teams
April 18, 2005 | General
April 18, 2005
The first two Ivy League titles of the spring were decided this past weekend, when Princeton's men's and women's golf teams both repeated as champion.
That leaves 11 to be decided.
The men's and women's track and field championships and the three rowing championships are contested on a single weekend next month. The remaining six are the result of season-long competition, and this coming weekend is a key one in those races.
The women's lacrosse championship should be decided Saturday in Hanover, when the Tigers travel to Dartmouth to face the undefeated Big Green (CSTV, 3:30 p.m.). Princeton will enter the game at 5-0 in the league and 10-2 overall, while Dartmouth is currently 11-0 overall and 5-0 in the league. Dartmouth has a midweek game against Harvard, who has lost nine straight, and the game against Princeton is the last in the league for the Green. Princeton still has a game against Brown, currently 3-7 overall.
A Dartmouth win over Harvard would mean that the Big Green would win the outright championship with a following win over Princeton. Princeton would clinch at least a tie for the league championship with a win over Dartmouth.
Regardless of the other games, the winner of the Princeton-Dartmouth game will win the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, though both teams figure to easily make the field regardless.
Princeton's men's lacrosse team has no margin for error as it heads to Cornell to take on the sixth-ranked Big Red Saturday (1 p.m., WHWH AM 1350). Cornell is 4-0 in the league, while Princeton is one of four teams who currently have one loss.
A loss to Cornell and Princeton would be eliminated from the Ivy race. Also, because it would mean that the best record the Tigers could get would be 5-7, a loss to Cornell would also eliminate Princeton from a chance at an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, since teams must be at least .500 to get an at-large bid.
On the other hand, a win over Cornell would vault Princeton right into the thick of the race. The other big game for Princeton this week is Wednesday afternoon, when Dartmouth travels to Yale. The Bulldogs are the team that has beaten Princeton, which means that they would hold the tiebreaker over Princeton for the automatic bid in a head-to-head situation. Yale, 3-1 in the league, has two Ivy games left, the Dartmouth game and then a game against Harvard.
Still, Princeton could get the automatic bid even if Yale wins out. In that scenario, Princeton would also have to win out, defeating Cornell and then Dartmouth and Brown at home, and hope that Cornell also defeats Brown, setting up a three-way tie between the Tigers, Bulldogs and Big Red. The automatic bid in that case would be chosen by a random draw.
There is also the mathematical possibility of either a three-way or four-way tie at 4-2. For now, Princeton's best chance is a Dartmouth win Wednesday and a Princeton win Saturday.
The softball race has five teams within two games of first, at least in the loss column. Princeton is currently in first place at 8-2, even in the loss column with 6-2 Harvard. Cornell is next at 5-3, followed by Columbia and Dartmouth at 4-4. Princeton is at Brown Saturday and Yale Sunday, while Harvard and Dartmouth host Cornell and Columbia.
Should Princeton win its four games, it would finish its league season at 12-2 and eliminate every team other than Harvard, who would have to finish its league season 6-0 to tie the Tigers. On the other hand, should Princeton lose a game, then Harvard would win the title by winning out. The other teams all need help from the first two.
As for the baseball race, Princeton is the only Gehrig Division team with at least a .500 league record, while each of the four Rolfe Division teams are at least .500.
Princeton, chasing a 10th straight division title, is currently 7-5, following by 7-9 Penn and 4-6 Cornell. The Tigers host Columbia (2-14) for four games this weekend, while Penn is at Cornell for four games as well. Cornell also hosts Brown for a doubleheader Wednesday.
There are several ways Princeton could clinch the division this weekend or next weekend, when the Tigers play four against Cornell. Penn and Cornell are also mathematically alive, and any of the three could be in first place by the end of the weekend, depending on the results. Penn could clinch at least a tie for the division with four wins over Cornell and four Columbia wins over Princeton.
Harvard is leading the Rolfe Division at 10-2, though 8-2 Brown is tied in the loss column; those two play four games in Providence this weekend. Dartmouth and Yale are both 6-6.
The two division winners will play in the league championship series at the home of the team with the better league record.
Brown is the lone remaining undefeated Ivy men's tennis team, followed by Harvard and Columbia with one loss each. Harvard's women are undefeated, and every other league team has at least two losses.