Tiger Origins - Princeton University Athletics

About
"Tiger Origins" is a series of 60-second life stories focusing on the unique upbringings and backgrounds of Princeton student-athletes.

Presented By
PNC Bank, a proud supporter of Princeton Athletics.

Greg Sholars '22 - Men's Track & Field

𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒔 𝑰𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚.

Tiger Origins: @PrincetonTrack's Greg Sholars '22 pic.twitter.com/5BuNx5qXl3
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) October 6, 2020

From Forth Worth, Texas, speeds runs in Greg Sholars' family as his father was an All-American at TCU. Originally a distance runner, Sholars has developed into an All-Ivy League sprinter as a Tiger.

Alexander Mrkalj '23 - Men's Volleyball

𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝑰𝒏 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆.

Tiger Origins: @PrincetonVolley's Alexander Mrkalj '23 pic.twitter.com/3ZXlmxyYs5
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) October 12, 2020

Despite growing up in Canada where he was part of its youth and junior national teams, Princeton was always Alexander Mrkalj's dream school.

Marissa Webb '21 - Women's Water Polo

𝑮𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒕.

Tiger Origins: @Pwaterpolo's Marissa Webb ‘21 pic.twitter.com/ofqJky6ya3
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) October 15, 2020

Constantly told she was too small to be an effective goalkeeper at the college level, Marissa Webb defied the odds not only by making it to Princeton, but by developing into the CWPA Rookie of the Year in 2018 and a CWPA All-Conference honoree.

Grace Ni '23 - Women's Golf

𝘿𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙. 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙.

"Tiger Origins" Presented By @PNCBank: Grace Ni '23 pic.twitter.com/kRnTtDz51L
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) October 21, 2020

While she first picked up a golf club at a very young age and appeared to have a bright future in the sport, a devastating injury in high school almost derailed everything for Grace Ni.

Thomas Bosancic '23 - Men's Tennis

𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚.

“Tiger Origins” Presented By @PNCBank: Thomas Bosancic ‘23 pic.twitter.com/mRTpBDQNPb
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) October 23, 2020

Formerly Australia's top-ranked junior, Thomas Bosancic represented Australia in the junior Davis Cup and played in tournaments all over the world before attending Princeton.

Amy Aririguzoh '24 - Women's Track & Field

𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒘𝒏 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚.

“Tiger Origins” Presented By @PNCBank: Amy Aririguzoh '24 pic.twitter.com/lU59bUtxlZ
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) October 28, 2020

Amy Aririguzoh is following in the footsteps of her siblings, Richmond Aririguzoh '20 and Franklin Aririguzoh '19, who were both student-athletes at Princeton. She is writing her own story competing in the high jump for the Tigers.

Karl Poling '22 - Men's Tennis

𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒔 𝑰𝒔 𝑰𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑫𝑵𝑨.

“Tiger Origins” Presented By @PNCBank: Karl Poling '22 pic.twitter.com/P6f0ks4Kuz
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) October 30, 2020

Named the ITA East Region Player to watch after the 2019-20 season, Karl Poling grew up in a tennis-loving family. His father is the coach Army West Point and played a significant role in his development.

Touma Mack '24 - Men's Water Polo

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒓.

“Tiger Origins” Presented By @PNCBank: Touma Mack '24 pic.twitter.com/bUNjO2Za4o
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) November 9, 2020

Touma Mack loved basketball and football growing up, not finding his way into a pool until he was in high school. He first competed in swimming then water polo, where he was blossomed despite his late start in the sport.

Aria Nagai '24 - Women's Soccer

𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑮𝒐 𝑨 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒂𝒚.

“Tiger Origins” Presented By @PNCBank: Aria Nagai '24 pic.twitter.com/9zPGOcUo4l
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) November 12, 2020

Inspired by seeing Japan's national team win the Women's World Cup in 2011, Aria Nagai picked up soccer later in life. Never the biggest player on the field, Nagai's mastered the technical and tactical side of the sport and always believed in herself.

Ryan Seggerman '21 - Men's Tennis

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄.

“Tiger Origins” Presented By @PNCBank: Ryan Seggerman '21 pic.twitter.com/NSWb4YYq8s
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) November 19, 2020

An elite all-around athlete, Ryan Seggerman is a sports fanatic who remembers all types of stats and the scores of every match both he and his teammates have played in. Seggerman has reached as high as No. 6 in the ITA National Doubles rankings.

Simanga Ndhlovu '22 - Men's Track & Field

𝒁𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑨𝒍𝒍-𝑰𝒗𝒚 𝑺𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓.

“Tiger Origins” Presented By @PNCBank: Simanga Ndhlovu '22 pic.twitter.com/0yRxMrk6OD
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) February 5, 2021

While his first love was the sport of cricket, it was on the track that Simanga Ndhlovu would eventually go on to represent his native Zambia and earn All-Ivy League honors.

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