Princeton's 2022-23 Championship Timeline Presented By Hamilton Jewelers
8/2/2023
When Princeton's 38 varsity programs convened together at the start of the 2022-23 school year, each had a singular vision – compete for championships. When the final competitor crossed the finish line at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June of 2023, the final tally stood at 16 conference championships and nine national titles. Take a look back at the championship moments from the 2022-23 Princeton Tigers as presented by Hamilton Jewelers.
Conference Title #1 – Men's Cross Country (October 28, 2022)
A thrilling finish at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx saw Princeton edge Harvard by three points to secure a 23rd Heps championship for the program. All five scorers were inside the Top-14, led by Anthony Monte who took third. Connor Nisbet and Duncan Miller charged past Harvard opponents in the final stretch to claim important Top-10 finishes and solidify the first-place result for the Tigers.
Conference Title #2 – Field Hockey (October 30, 2022)
Carla Tagliente's team picked up the second Ivy League title of the weekend for Princeton with a 2-0 win over Brown at Bedford Field. Senior Day was one to remember as the eight members of the Class of 2023 started the game together and ended it together as champions. The game entered the second half scoreless, but Tiger goals in each of the third and fourth quarters were the difference and helped secure the 27th Ivy League title for Princeton Field Hockey.
Conference Title #3– Women's Volleyball (November 12, 2022)
A 3-0 sweep at Cornell – each set a 25-21 win for the Tigers – was enough for women's volleyball to claim its 19th Ivy League championship in program history. The title was the fifth as head coach for Sabrina King as her team posted a 13-1 record inside the Ivy League.
Conference Title #4– Men's Water Polo (November 20, 2022)
A 13-8 win over St. Francis (Brooklyn) in the NWPC Championship Match secured some history for the men's water polo team – marking the first time in program history that Princeton won back-to-back conference crowns. In the process, Dustin Litvak's crew qualified for the NCAA Championships where the Tigers would defeat Fordham, 11-10, in overtime in the First Round.
Conference Title #5– Women's Fencing (February 12, 2023)
Might be time to start using the D-word when it comes to Princeton's women's fencing team. With its ninth Ivy League title in the last 13 seasons – and second in a row – the Tigers might truly be a dynasty. Zoltan Dudas' team swept through the dual meet portion of the season and that dominance was on full display at the Ivy League Round Robins in Ithaca where the Tigers went 6-0. The championship hung in the balance until the final dual as both Princeton and Columbia entered unblemished, but the Tigers tamed the Lions to the tune of a 20-7 win to claim Princeton's 12th Ivy title all-time.
Just over a month later, Princeton would finish second at the NCAA Championships for its best finish since 2014.
Conference Title #6– Women's Swimming & Diving (February 18, 2023)
Home waters were calming for the Princeton women's swimming and diving team as the Tigers won their 24th Ivy League title with a strong performance in DeNunzio Pool. Princeton amassed 1,480 points during the meet while claiming 12 event titles. Nikki Venema was the High Point Swimmer of the Meet, while Charlotte Martinkus was High Point Diver of the Meet to help their squad to a second Ivy title in the last three conference meets.
Conference Title #7– Men's Indoor Track & Field (February 26, 2023)
It was a “Great Eight” for the men's indoor track squad as they won their eighth consecutive Ivy League Indoor Heps title with a thrilling one-point win over Harvard in Hanover, N.H. The meet came down to the final event – the 4x400 relay – and Princeton's second place finish was enough to hold off the Crimson and secure the 51st and final Heps title overall for head coach Fred Samara who announced his retirement following the conclusion of the outdoor season.
Conference Title #8– Women's Basketball (March 3, 2023)
High Five! With a 71-52 win over Penn at The Palestra. Carla Berube and the women's basketball program secured a fifth consecutive Ivy League championship. The title is the 17th overall for Princeton, and 10th since 2010. One week later at Jadwin Gym, the Tigers again knocked off the Quakers in the semifinals of Ivy Madness before outlasting Harvard in the Ivy Tournament Final, 54-48, to earn the Ivy League's automatic bid as its lone representative in the NCAA Tournament. Entering NCAAs as a #10 seed, the Tigers once again proved they belong with a remarkable 64-63 win over #7 N.C. State – marking the first time an Ivy League women's team won games in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
Conference Title #9– Men's Basketball (March 4, 2023)
In an instant classic, Princeton stunned its oldest rival and claimed its 29th Ivy League men's basketball championship with a 77-69 win over Penn on the final day of the regular season. The start wasn't a memorable one – Princeton trailed 42-25 at halftime. The rest of the way? Those memories will live forever. Princeton chipped away in the second half, tying the game on a Matt Allocco layup with 0:45 remaining. In overtime, the Tigers never trailed. Caden Pierce opened with a layup and the Tigers were 7-for-8 on free throws to ice the game and set off the celebration. One week later, the Tigers again thwarted away the Quakers with a 77-70 win in the Ivy Madness semifinals. The following day, a 74-65 win over Yale secured a trip to the NCAA Tournament – one which saw Princeton advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in the modern era of March Madness.
National Title #1– Sondre Guttormsen (March 11, 2023)
The first national championship of the 2022-23 campaign for Princeton was the third of his career for Sondre Guttormsen. An all-time great in the annals of Princeton track and field, Guttormsen cleared 6.0 meters (19-8 ¼) to not only set a new personal best and Princeton record – he tied the national collegiate record as well. Guttormsen would graduate as a three-time NCAA champion with two wins indoors (2022, 2023) and one outdoors (2022).
National Title #2– Patrick Glory (March 18, 2023)
For the first time in 72 years, Princeton Wrestling has a national champion. Glory days were here again as senior Patrick Glory defeated Purdue's Matthew Ramos, 4-1, in the 125-pound national final in Tulsa. A four-time All-American and two-time national finalist, Glory would go on to be a Hodge Trophy finalist as national wrestler of the year for the second time.
Conference Title #10– Women's Tennis (April 22, 2023)
The 17th Ivy League title overall for Princeton's women's tennis program was secured via a 4-0 win over Dartmouth in Hanover. The title is the fourth in a row for Princeton – and the first for head coach Jamea Jackson in what was her first season as head coach. The next day, Princeton would post a matching 4-0 win over Harvard to finish off the undefeated Ivy season. In May, Princeton defeated Fordham, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
Conference Title #11– Men's Golf (April 23, 2023)
Will Green's team capped a two-title weekend for the Tigers with a dominant performance at the Stanwich Club in Connecticut to win the 31st Ivy title in program history. Princeton lapped the field, finishing 18 shots better than runner-up Columbia. Freshman Riccardo Fantinelli was Ivy champion, earning medalist honors with a score of 211 (-5) to help Princeton to first first team/individual sweep at the Ivy Championship since 2013.
Conference Title #12– Softball (April 29, 2023)
It may not have been pretty, but the ending sure was as the softball team held off a furious Dartmouth rally for a 10-9 win in Hanover to lock up the 21st Ivy League title in program history. The Tigers never trailed in the game, holding a 10-1 lead entering the bottom of the fifth inning. The hosts rallied, closing to within one run after six innings of play, but Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Alexis Laudenslager returned to the circle and shut the Big Green down in the final frame to close out the win.
Conference Title #13– Women's Water Polo (April 30, 2023)
For the first time since 2015, Princeton claimed the CWPA championship with a 12-8 win over Harvard in DeNunzio Pool. Jovana Sekulic was named Tournament MVP, leading four All-Tournament selections. The victory – Princeton's fifth CWPA title – secured an automatic bid to NCAAs where the Tigers would knock off No. 3 Cal in the First Round, 11-9, to reach the national semifinals for the first time in program history.
Conference Title #14– Women's Lightweight Rowing (April 30, 2023)
Three golds and one big trophy! The return mainfest from Worcester included lots of hardware as the women's lightweight rowing team dominated at Eastern Sprints. Princeton won three of four Grand Finals, winning the Varsity Eight, Varsity Four and Double en route to the overall team title.
Conference Title #15– Women's Open Rowing (May 14, 2023)
For the 18th time overall -- and third consecutive regatta -- Princeton claimed the Ivy League women's rowing team championship. The title hung in the balance until the final race, with Princeton needing every one of the 32 points awarded to the winner of the Varsity Eight (spoiler alert: it was the Tigers) to overtake Yale for the big team trophy.
Conference Title #16– Men's Lightweight Rowing (May 14, 2023)
For the first time since 2010 – and 16th time overall – Princeton secured the Jope Cup as Eastern Sprints team champions with a double-gold performance on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. The Tigers won the 1V and 2V for the first time since 2010 as well, the eighth all-time win in those two races for the program.
National Titles #3-6– Women's Lightweight Rowing (June 4, 2023)
For the second year in a row, Paul Rassam and crew claimed the IRA Commissioner's Cup as women's lightweight rowing national champions. Three boats won gold medals and national championships down the road in West Windsor, N.J. to help the Tigers to a 15-point clearance of Boston University for the overall team title. For the Varsity Eight, the gold medal was the third in a row, extending a winning streak that dates back to 2019.
National Titles #7-9– Men's Lightweight Rowing (June 4, 2023)
Mercer Lake was painted Orange and Black as the men's lightweight rowing team won its first national title since 2010 on the strength of wins by the 1V and 2V in West Windsor. The sixth overall team national title for Princeton in men's lightweight rowing, the championship efforts from the 1V (a 1.8-second win over Harvard) and 2V (a 2.5-second win over the Crimson to cap an undefeated season) put trophy-laiden bow on 2022-23 for Princeton Athletics.
