Princeton University Athletics
Team Of Decade Final: '04 Women's Soccer vs. '07-08 Women's Swimming/Diving
April 20, 2010 | General
Over the span of 14 weeks, 34 teams vied for the title as the GoPrincetonTigers.com Team of the Decade. More than 2,000 total fan votes later, two teams that both dominated the Ivy League and earned national postseason success will compete for that title; the 2004 women's soccer team and the 2007-08 women's swimming and diving team are the finalists in the Team of the Decade competition.
GoPrincetonTigers.com counted down the top 10 male and female athletes of the last decade. TigerBlog wrote about the top coaches of the last decade. We've asked you to help choose Princeton's top team of the decade over the last few months, and now you'll have the opportunity to choose between two worthy squads. A new poll has been added to both the front page and every team page of GoPrincetonTigers.com, asking you to choose one of these two championship teams to win the Princeton Team of the Decade tournament. To find the link, go to one of those pages and hit the tab "Fan Poll," located next to the tabs for Schedules, Results and Standings. The poll will stay open through Tuesday, April 27 at noon.
For the first eight weeks, a group of four (and occasionally five) teams were put together in a first-round pod, and fans had one week to cast their vote. Over the next four weeks, those eight quarterfinalists went head to head for four semifinal berths. Over the last two weeks, the 2007-08 women's swimming and diving team received more than 400 votes to cruise to victory over the 2004 men's water polo team. Similarly, the 2004 women's soccer team received more than 400 votes to top the 2008-09 men's swimming and diving team.
To qualify for the competition, a Princeton team had to win either its league or national championship; in most cases, that was an Ivy League title. For teams that don't compete in the Ivy League, such as women's lightweight rowing or water polo, an Eastern or national championship was enough. Most programs won more than one league champion over the decade, but only one representative could be chosen (and in several cases, picking the top team within one program was difficult enough) for this competition.
Also, teams must have won their titles within that decade. For instance, the 1999-00 men's indoor track and field team qualified for the competition. Teams that won titles in the fall of 2009 did as well, but a team that began competition in the winter of 2009 but didn't compete for titles until February or March will have to wait 10 more years for their own chance at team glory.
To help you choose, GoPrincetonTigers.com presented a case for each team. In 200-225 words, we gave a brief synopsis on each team and tried to explain why that team might have been the best in Orange and Black over the last 10 years.
We hope you had fun with this and enjoyed reliving some of the best teams and best moments of our last decade.
But there is still one more vote to go.
Week One Results: 2006 Open Crew (66.7%); 2000 Men's Outdoor Track & Field (18.2%); 2003 Baseball (15.3%); 2004 Women's Golf (0.0%).
Week Two Results: 2007-08 Women's Swimming & Diving (56.1%); 2009 Field Hockey (21.1%); 2004 Men's Basketball (14.0%); 2005-06 Women's Ice Hockey (8.8%).
Week Three Results: 2004 Men's Water Polo (77.1%); 2001 Men's Lacrosse (16.8%); 2007 Men's Indoor Track & Field (3.6%); 2006 Women's Basketball (2.5%).
Week Four Results: 2009 Men's Lightweight Crew (40.2%); 2006 Football (33.3%); 2007 Women's Squash (12.6%); 2001 Men's Soccer (10.3%); 2001 Men's Fencing (3.4%).
Week Five Results: 2002 Women's Lacrosse (62.0%); 2000 Men's Golf (22.0%); 2007 Men's Cross Country (12.0%); 2009 Women's Tennis (4.0%).
Week Six Results: 2008-09 Men's Swimming and Diving (56.0%); 2000 Women's Water Polo (34.7%); 2007-08 Men's Ice Hockey (5.6%); 2008-09 Men's Squash (2.4%); 2003 Women's Lightweight Rowing (1.3%).
Week Seven Results: 2004 Women's Soccer (48.8%); 2009 Women's Outdoor Track & Field (23.2%); 2008 Women's Volleyball (16.3%); 2000 Women's Fencing (11.7%).
Week Eight Results: 2006 Heavyweight Rowing (41.7%); 2009 Women's Cross Country (27.1%); 2005 Softball (18.8%); 2008 Women's Indoor Track & Field (12.5).
Quarterfinal One Results: 2007-08 Women's Swimming & Diving (50.3%); 2006 Open Crew (49.7%).
Quarterfinal Two Results: 2004 Men's Water Polo (56.0%); 2009 Men's Lightweight Crew (44.0%).
Quarterfinal Three Results: 2008-09 Men's Swimming & Diving (70.3%); 2002 Women's Lacrosse (29.7%).
Quarterfinal Four Results: 2004 Women's Soccer (59.7%); 2006 Heavyweight Rowing (40.3%).
Semifinal One Results: 2007-08 Women's Swimming & Diving (63.0%); 2004 Men's Water Polo (37.0%).
Semifinal Two Results: 2004 Women's Soccer (66.8%); 2008-09 Men's Swimming & Diving (33.2%)
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND:
2004 Women's Soccer
Record: 19-3 • Ivy League Champion
The Case: Some teams are remembered for their utter dominance. Others are remembered for the way they captured, even surpassed, the imagination of their fanbase. But few are remembered for both, especially those that make a magical run to the NCAA Final Four.
Without question, that few includes the 2004 women's soccer team, which made Ivy history with that run to the NCAA semifinal. After a 5-1 start, Princeton won 10 straight games to move atop of the Ivy standings and into both the national rankings and the Tiger record books.
The Tigers also got into the Ivy record book; they are the only team in Ivy League history, men or women, to make it to the Final Four of a 64-team tournament. With Ivy Player of the Year Esmeralda Negron, Rookie of the Year Diana Matheson and four players making the All-Ivy first team, Princeton went into the postseason with confidence.
After a trio of shutouts, Princeton faced 15th-seeded Washington in front of an overflow crowd of 2,504 for a spot in the NCAA semifinal. The Huskies came into the game on a run of three straight shutouts, but Princeton's Emily Behncke ended that quickly enough. Her goal 8:05 in the quarterfinal ignited a 3-1 win. Despite playing even for one half, Princeton finally fell 2-0 to UCLA in an NCAA semifinal televised live on ESPN.
2008-09 Women's Swimming & Diving
Record: 9-0 • Ivy League Champion
The Case: Princeton dominated the decade in women's swimming and diving, winning eight of 10 Ivy League titles. While the Tigers set a University record during the first half of the decade by winning 47 straight meets, it was the 2008 team that dominated like none other.
With All-America sophomore Alicia Aemisegger leading a cast of talent up and down the roster, Princeton cruised through the regular season. The Tigers won nine meets and placed second to No. 11 Penn State in the Big Al Open. That performance left Princeton battle-tested for the Ivy League Championships, which would be held in DeNunzio Pool.
The championship would belong to Princeton from the start. The Tigers won 12 of 21 events and placed second in eight of the nine others. Princeton's depth was overwhelming; in seven of its 12 wins, another Princeton swimmer finished either second or third. While Aemisegger continued her dominance with three wins, four others won at least one individual event.
Princeton sent seven to the NCAA championships, an almost impossible feat for a non-scholarship program. Aemisegger, who would go on to swim in a U.S. Olympic Trial final that summer, earned four All-America honors, including three individual ones. The 800 free relay, which included one swimmer from each class, rallied to All-America honors; it was the first for a Princeton women's relay since 1981.