The Decade In Review, Part 1 - The Top Events - Princeton University Athletics

Before turning the page on the 2010s, GoPrincetonTigers takes a look back at the last 10 years in Princeton sports. Part I is today's look at the top event for each team in the last decade, and tomorrow's Part II will the top athlete from each team for the decade.

The events and athletes were selected by the Office of Athletic Communications staff. Feedback is welcome and encouraged by emailing your thoughts and suggestions to jprice@princeton.edu, and some of those responses will be published early in the new year.

Happy New Year to all, and thank you for your support of Princeton Athletics.

Baseball
May 15, 2016
7-32. That was the Princeton's baseball team's final record as it walked off Hoy Field in April of 2015. Only two teams in all of Division I finished with less victories than the Tigers. In an incredible turnaround, 386 days later, Princeton walked off of Clarke Field as an Ivy League baseball champion. After taking game two earlier in the day, 6-2, behind a strong pitching performance from junior Chad Powers and four hits from senior Billy Arendt, the Tigers collected the conference crown on a walk-off wild pitch in the ninth inning of game three.

Men's basketball
March 13, 2011
Doug Davis nailed his iconic jump shot at the buzzer to give Princeton a 63-62 win over Harvard in the Ivy League playoff game at Yale. The teams had tied for the Ivy title and in the pre-Ivy tournament days, this meant a one-game playoff for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Princeton trailed by one with 2.8 seconds to go when out of a timeout inbounded the ball under the Harvard basket. Davis caught the ball, freed himself up and then swished a 17-footer that just beat the red light and set off a wild Princeton celebration.

Women's basketball
Mar. 21, 2015
With President Barack Obama looking on, No. 13 Princeton picked the right time to record its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, dispatching of ninth-seeded Green Bay in first round action at the University of Maryland's XFINITY Center, 80-70. Princeton's win is just the second-ever for an Ivy League program in NCAA Tournament play, joining 16th-seeded Harvard's upset over top-seeded Stanford in 1998.

Men's cross country
Oct. 29, 2011
Princeton won six Heps titles and three NCAA regional titles thisi decade, and any of those meets could have been the biggest one of the last 10 years. The nod has to go to the 2011 Heps meet, during which Princeton had its top five runners all finish in the top 12 for a team score of 37, 14 points better than second-place Columbia. It wasn't just the performance, though. It was the fact that the meet was held in a Nor'Easter that brought rain, sleet and snow to the West Windsor Fields course, making Princeton's success in some of the most brutal conditions ever even more impressive.

Women's cross country
Oct. 29, 2010
Princeton placed five runners in the top 11 while sprinting away with the 2010 Ivy League Heptagonal championship, finishing 27 points ahead of second-place Columbia. The cross country championship was Princeton's fifth straight and sparked the Tigers to a "triple crown" after winning the 2011 indoor and outdoor Heps titles.

Men's fencing/Women's fencing
March 21-24, 2013
As it alternates each year, the men's competition was held on the first two days of the NCAA Championship, and at that point, Princeton stood second behind Penn State, 94 wins to 83. Princeton's women won 99 bouts over two days to pass Penn State as well as runner-up Notre Dame, which had 77 wins entering the women's competition, finishing with 182 wins to 175 for the Irish and 163 for the Nittany Lions. The team title was Princeton's first of the combined men's/women's era, which has been the scoring system since 1990, and Princeton's first NCAA team fencing title since the men's win in 1964. Ten of 12 Tigers won All-America honors.

Field hockey
Nov. 18, 2012
For the first time in program history, the Princeton field hockey team won the NCAA Division I National Championship, courtesy of a comeback 3-2 victory over No. 1 North Carolina. Princeton won the game off a penalty stroke, this time from Amanda Bird in the 60th minute. Allison Evans and Kat Sharkey – one of three Olympians on the team along with Julia and Katie Reinprecht – also scored for the Tigers.

Football
Oct. 26, 2013
Princeton defeated Harvard 51-48 after rallying from deficits of 42-35 and 48-45 during a wild trio of overtimes and took a major step toward its first of three Ivy League titles during the decade when Quinn Epperly connected with Roman Wilson for his (then) record-setting sixth touchdown pass of the game. There were nearly 1,000 total yards in a game that was tied four different times between the second half and overtime. A critical overtime tackle by Jason Ray forced a field goal in the third OT session and set up the Epperly-to-Wilson connection, which marked the second straight Princeton-Harvard thriller that ended with a touchdown pass from that duo.

Men's golf
April 26-28, 2013
Winning the program's first Ivy title since 2006, Princeton turned in sub-300 rounds all three days in finishing five strokes ahead of Yale, saving its best for last with a final-round 288, the best round of the tournament for any team. Greg Jarmas led Princeton with a +3 71-72-70 for the weekend to win the team title by three strokes.

Women's golf
April 21-23, 2017
The Ivy League Championship went to Florida, and the Tigers found the Sunshine State quite lovely in turning in a +27 to clear runner-up Harvard by 31 strokes in what was the third-largest margin of victory since the tournament began in 1997. Amber Wang, current senior Alison Chang and Hana Ku were three of the top four players for Princeton, which put all of its scoring four in the top seven.

Men's hockey
March 17, 2018
It takes a lot to beat a playoff elimination game that you tie with one second left in regulation and then win in overtime (Princeton vs. Colgate in the 2017 ECAC playoffs), but Princeton did just that a year later in the 2018 ECAC championship game against Clarkson. This time Princeton was the team that gave up the late goal to tie it (with 6.4 seconds left) before Max Becker's goal 2:37 into overtime gave the Tigers a 2-1 win and the ECAC championship and NCAA tournament bid that came with it.

Women's hockey
Feb. 9, 2018
The women's hockey team defeated top-ranked Clarkson 2-0 at Hobey Baker Rink as Carly Bullock scored both goals and Steph Neatby turned away all 27 shots on goal she saw. It was the first win by Princeton over the No. 1 team in the country since 2007, and it came against a Clarkson team that would win the 2018 NCAA championship.

Men's lacrosse
May 3, 2013
Less than a week after a six-goal loss to Cornell at MetLife Stadium, Princeton defeated the Big Red 14-13 in the Ivy League semifinals on Kip Orban's game-winner 2:41 into overtime. The game was tied 7-7 at the end of the third quarter, and there would be 13 more goals scored in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a wild, wild stretch in which the game went from 10-10 with less than four minutes to go to 13-13 three minutes later. Mike MacDonald had seven goals and two assists for Princeton, including an assist on Orban's game-winner, and Tom Schreiber had a goal and four assists.

Women's lacrosse
April 17, 2019
Princeton's 2019 Ivy League title, its sixth straight, was made possible by an incredible win over arch-rival Penn on Franklin Field. Princeton had to work through three two-minute non-releasable yellow cards – two of which overlapped for more than 90 seconds – in the final nine minutes to try to pull out the win. And what did Princeton do? It scored the game-winner down a player. Elizabeth George scored that game-winner, her sixth goal of the night, with 3:50 to play while the Tigers were trying to kill off the last of those yellow cards. The win was Princeton's fifth in a row in a streak that would grow to 11, the longest the program has had since 2004, as the Tigers won the league championship, the Ivy tournament championship and two NCAA games to reach the quarterfinals.

Men's heavyweight rowing
May 17, 2015
Princeton hadn't won the Rowe Cup points title at an Eastern Sprints since 2005, but a pair of golds and a gutsy finish by the V8 ended that drought. The 3V started the run by edging Brown by less than .3 of a second, and the 2V topped Boston University by just over a second. The 1V found itself in a thrilling late sprint looking to get on the medal stand, and it took care of business by edging Brown by about .1 of a second to claim bronze and clinch one of the great team performances for the heavyweights in Princeton history.

Men's lightweight rowing
May 16, 2010
Princeton repeated as Eastern/IRA champion by winning the V8 grand final at the 2010 Eastern Sprints, but it also clinched its first Jope Cup team title since 2003. The varsity eight avenged an earlier loss to Harvard with a win in the main event, while the 2V held off Yale by less than two seconds to claim the program's only 2V Sprints gold since 2003. The freshman eight edged Yale to add a third boat to the medal stand.

Women's lightweight rowing
May 5, 2019
It had been eight years since Princeton won sprints gold against an Eastern field that had improved dramatically during the decade, but the 2019 Tigers had the right mix of talent and spirit to fight off the likes of Boston University, Harvard and Wisconsin to bring the gold back to the Shea Rowing Center at the 2019 EAWRC Sprints. Princeton established itself as the top boat in the East through the regular season as well, including a 10-second win over Harvard to win the Class of 1999 Cup.

Women's open rowing
May 15, 2011
The varsity eight was on its way to an NCAA Championship, but on this Sunday at Cooper River, it led one of the greatest team efforts in Princeton rowing history. The Tigers won EAWRC gold in the 1V, 2V, V4 and 3V grand finals in one of the most dominant team showings in league history. Each boat won by at least three seconds, including the varsity eight, which clinched its first Eastern crown since 2006. It also created some program history, as the Ivy League title was the 15th of the 2010-11 academic year for Princeton; the previous record for any school was 14.

Men's soccer
Nov. 6, 2010
Princeton's loss to Michigan in a gripping 14 rounds of penalty kicks in the snow in the 2018 NCAA tournament is a close runner-up to the second-to-last week of the 2010 season, which saw a matchup of nationally ranked Ivy League unbeatens Princeton and Penn. To the winner would go the league's automatic NCAA bid and at least a share of the league title, and that winner was Princeton, who defeated Penn 2-1 on goals by Benjamin Burton and Antoine Hoppenot. A week later, Princeton defeated Yale to finish the only 7-0-0 Ivy season in program history.

Women's soccer
Nov. 19, 2017
Winner of 22 NCAA championships and playing on its temporary home field in the shadow of the same stadium that hosted Princeton in the 2004 NCAA semifinals, North Carolina was ranked No. 2 in the country when Princeton took the Tar Heels to overtime in the NCAA round of 16. Abby Givens had the overtime winner to send Princeton on to the NCAA quarterfinals at UCLA in what is one of the greatest moments in NCAA women's soccer tournament history.

Softball
May 9, 2016
Princeton became the first team in the then 10-year history of the Ivy League Championship Series to win it on the road when the Tigers beat Harvard 8-3. The win came after Princeton and Harvard played an inning and a half of Game 2, which was halted due to darkness two days earlier. An eight-run second inning in game three powered Princeton to the win.

Men's squash
Feb. 19, 2012
In a tense, packed Jadwin Gym, Princeton rallied from a 4-2 deficit to end Trinity's 13-year reign atop collegiate men's squash with a thrilling 5-4 home win. While Kelly Shannon clinched the title with a 3-0 win at the #4 spot, it was an early win by freshman Tyler Osborne that provided the foundation for the title win; he defeated an opponent he had a prior record of 1-8 against to give Princeton an early win, and following a 3-2 win by Clay Blackiston, Princeton swept the final shift (Dylan Ward, Todd Harrity, Shannon) to set off a championship celebration on Princeton's home courts.

Women's squash
Jan. 13, 2013
Princeton posted the critical win in its 2013 Ivy League championship season and handed Harvard one of its two Ivy League losses over the last eight seasons in comeback fashion. Freshman Rachel Leizman showed poise beyond her years by fighting off a match ball at the #4 spot and coming back for a 12-10 win in the fifth game, while junior Alex Sawin fought through extra points for a 16-14 win in the fourth to clinch the win. Princeton also got five-game wins from Hallie Dewer and Tara Harrington, while future All-American Nicole Bunyan won a 3-1 match at #3.

Men's swimming and diving
Feb. 25-27, 2016
Despite a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 116.5 points with only four events remaining, Princeton rallied past the host Harvard Crimson for the 2016 Ivy title. Corey Okubo and En-Wei Hu-Van Wright won individual titles earlier Saturday night, and then Wright joined Sandy Bole, Julian Mackrel and Ben Schafer to clinch the title with a victory in the 400 free relay. Princeton had several other big efforts in the finale, including placing four in the 200 fly final.

Women's swimming and diving
Feb. 19-21, 2015
Princeton trailed by 92 points with six events to go in the championship weekend, but it put together a rally for the ages to claim the team title. Big team efforts in consecutive events put the Tigers in position, and Caitlin Chambers' victory on the 3-meter board meant a 400 free title would be enough for the team championship. The quartet of Claire McIlmail, Nikki Larson, Elizabeth McDonald and Maddy Veith finished the job in style with a meet record in the finale to clinch the title.

Men's tennis
Mar. 21, 2015
Princeton beat 22^nd-ranked Harvard 4-3 in the final match of the University of San Diego's tournament in a year the team beat 10 top-75 opponents. Princeton went on to gain an at-large berth to the NCAA team tournament that year, the first time since 1998 that Princeton had played in the NCAA team event.

Women's tennis
May 9, 2014
Princeton had played in four NCAA team tournaments between 1983 and 2010 and made a first-round exit each time. Returning to the NCAA team event in 2014 for the first time in four years, 47^th-ranked Princeton drew No. 25 Arizona State. The match came down to second singles, where 94^th-ranked Alanna Wolff, then a freshman, beat 37^th-ranked Desirae Krawczyk in three sets to clinch the team win.

Men's track and field
May 9, 2015
The 2015 outdoor Heps meet came down to the final event of the final event – the decathlon. Princeton and Cornell had bounced back and forth in the lead, and now it came down to the 1,500 at the decathlon. On the final lap, Princeton's Stephen Soerens sprinted away for the win, giving the Tigers the winning points in what was the closest Heps ever. Also, had Soerens finished second instead of first, then Princeton would have lost the team championship. Instead, it was a win, a championship and another "Triple Crown" for the men.

Women's track and field
May 7, 2011
Princeton's Kristin Smoot, Molly Higgins, Greta Feldman and Alexis Mikaelian won the 4x800 relay to provide the clinching points in a dominant Princeton performance at the 2011 outdoor Heps championships. The win completed the "Triple Crown" of winning the cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field Heps titles in the same year. It was the second Triple Crown for the women; no other Ivy women's program has ever done so.

Men's volleyball
April 20, 2019
Princeton won its first EIVA title since 1998 in thrilling fashion, knocking off Penn State 3-2 in front of a raucous Dillon Gym crowd. EIVA Tournament MVP George Huhmann had a match-best 25 kills and added six blocks, while sophomore setter Joe Kelly paced an incredibly efficient offense (.373) with 51 assists. Princeton fought off a set ball and won the opener 28-26, and Huhmann added his final kill to clinch a tense fifth set 15-13.

Women's volleyball
Nov. 18, 2017
Princeton beat Yale in two Ivy League playoff matches in the second half of the decade, but going on the road and posting a 3-0 win is special. Princeton dug itself a massive hole in the opener, but it battled from a 17-7 deficit with an 18-6 run that ended with one of eight kills by Natasha Skov. Princeton took control from there and won the next two sets to clinch a return trip to the NCAA Championships. Maggie O'Connell led the way with 12 kills, while the duo of Maddie Huber (19) and Devon Peterkin (14) combined for 33 digs.

Men's Water Polo
Nov. 20, 2011
The Tigers went wire-to-wire in the 2011 Eastern Final, taking down the Midshipmen, 10-7. Navy drew even to start the third quarter but Princeton answered with a four-goal run to erase any doubt. Navy would outscore the Tigers 4-3 in the final period, but it was not enough to overcome the lead as Princeton earned the win. Princeton would go on to finish third again at the NCAA Championships in 2011.

Women's water polo
April 26, 2015
Princeton won its third CWPA title in four years by ousting defending champion Indiana, 7-6. Having dropped seven-straight matchups (including two by one goal this season) to the 11th-ranked Hoosiers since a 10-5 win in 2007, Princeton avenged last year's 11-10 setback against Indiana in the CWPA finale. Winning their fourth CWPA championship, the Tigers earned the league's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Wrestling
March 21-23, 2019
Princeton's best finish at the NCAAs came during its final trip of the decade, when it set a program record with three All-Americans and placed in the Top 15 for only the third time in team history. Patrick Brucki and Matthew Kolodzik both reached the NCAA semifinals before falling to the eventual tournament champions, while Patrick Glory placed sixth overall, the best finish ever for a Tiger freshman at the national championships. Six Tigers, including four underclassmen, competed at the Championships, one short of the program record.

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The Decade In Review, Part 1 - The Top Events

Players Mentioned

Billy Arendt

Chad Powers