PVC News - April 2005

P R I N C E T O N

VARSITY CLUB

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Tigers’ Best Honored, 40 Years Later

Led by legends Butch van Breda Kolff and Bill Bradley, the greatest squad in school history reached the 1965 NCAA Final Four.

he 1965 Prince

Featuring ...

Basketball’s Best, 40 Years Later Spring Into Action Where Are They Now? PVC Presents Career Night Swimming Sensation Two Teams, Two Daughters, One Family

They came out onto the court as a unit, men on either side of 60, men who long ago traded in the short shots and tight tops of the old black and white photos for the matching tan vests they all wore on this night.

They were greeted immediately by a standing ovation from the crowd in Jadwin Gym that night.

Jadwin PA announcer Bill Bromberg hadn’t uttered a word yet, and still there was a warm, sustained, appreciative applause filling the building none of them had ever played in, coming from a group comprised largely of fans who had never seen any of them play all those years ago.

These were the members of the 1964-65 Princeton Tigers, a team that accomplished what no other Princeton men’s basketball team

had done before or has done since, a team led by a coach who arrived on campus in the 1940s whose pedigree is still felt in Jadwin every day and a player who remains the greatest athlete in the long history of sports at Princeton University.

Together they came out onto the Jadwin Gym court at halftime of the Princeton-Dartmouth game on March 5, there to be recognized on the 40th anniversary of their amazing season.

It was clear that no one had forgotten them, even those who had never seen them play.

“It appeared that there was genuine affection for the team,” said Gary Walters, a sophomore point guard on the 1964-65 Tigers who today is the University’s Director of Athletics. “It was greatly appreciated by those of us who were there.”

The celebration came 40 years to the month when the Tigers defeated Penn State, North Carolina State and Providence to advance to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. The weekend included two dinners for the team members, who spent The 1965 men’s basketball team made program history by reaching the NCAA Final Four. considerable time

rehashing what they accomplished together on the court and away from the court.

“Teammates are forever,” said Bill Bradley, the captain of the 1964-65 Tigers and without question the greatest player in Princeton basketball history. “We’ve seen a lot of each other over the years. It’s a very special group of people, and together we had a great year a long, long time ago. It certainly doesn’t seem like 40 years. While we’re together, we were recalling moments we’d been through as a team, and it seemed like yesterday.”

Butch van Breda Kolff became the Princeton head coach for the 1962-63 season. Prior to that, he had played at Princeton before graduating as a member of the Class of 1945, though World War II interrupted his time at Princeton.

He would go on to coach Pete Carril at Lafayette College and Walters at Princeton. The genealogy of Princeton basketball is the stuff of legend now; van Breda Kolff to Carril to Walters to Bill Carmody (played for Walters at Union College/ coached under Carril) to John Thompson (played for Carril/coached with Carril and Carmody/ hired by Walters as basketball coach) and now Joe Scott (same as Thompson).

“It was great to be with our coach,” Walters said. “He had a tremendous impact on all of our lives. There were a lot of people speaking very fondly about him at our dinners.”

Led by Bradley, van Breda Kolff’s Tigers won the 1963 and 1964 Ivy League championships, but

continued on page 3

Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood Women’s Lacrosse In The Community News & Notes Winter Highlights Q&A With A.D. Gary Walters ’67 Fall weekends have their charm, as 15,000 get together at Princeton Stadium for a football matchup with another historic league program, or a squad like the 2004 women’s soccer team goes from Ivy favorite to national contender.

The winter is certainly busy on campus, with as many as 14 teams competing on some February weekends. While most associate the colder months at Princeton with the historic success of the men’s basketball team, there is a different and inspirational success story in almost every athletic venue.

Yes, those are special times on campus. But few, and certainly none in the Ivy League, do the spring like Princeton.

Everytime you turn around, there is a critical game for one team or another. Often, the championship dreams of several teams, playing in several different states, will be packed into one little weekend.

Having trouble keeping tabs? Can’t remember why you circled May 7th on your calendar?

Well, here’s a quick cheatsheet.

The middle weekend of April will determine two of the Ivy League championships, and

Spring Seasons Culminate With Upcoming Key Dates Princeton will enter both as the defending champion. One week after the completion of the Masters, the Ivy League version of the Green Jacket will be handed out to the top teams in men’s and women’s golf. The men will compete at the Ballyowen Golf Club in Hamburg, N.J., while the women, led by three-time individual champion Avery Kiser, will look to lead the Tigers to another title at the Maidstone Golf Club in East Hampton, N.Y. Both championships begin Saturday, April 16 and end the following day.

That Saturday will also give a chance for the tennis teams to measure themselves against the head of the Ivy class, Harvard. The men will welcome the Crimson to the Lenz Center, while the women will do battle in Cambridge, Mass.

The following weekend will be a critical regular-season one for several teams.

Both the men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse teams will face top Ivy rivals. The men will travel to Ithaca, N.Y., for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Cornell Big Red on Saturday, April 23. These teams split the 2004 title, and the winner could have the inside track on the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the tournament.

The women will travel to Dartmouth for a battle between the two annual powers of the Ivy League. This contest will not only have 2005 championship implications, but will also be the first meeting between the two teams since Princeton rallied for a classic victory over the Big Green in the 2005 NCAA tournament.

That evening will feature the championship match in the EIVA playoffs, likely to be held at Penn State. The Princeton men’s volleyball team struggled early, but needs only a two-match win streak in the playoffs to have a shot at the title.

The following day, April 24, the softball team will be in Providence, R.I., for its final league doubleheader of the season against 2004 co-champion Brown. Led by ace Erin Snyder, the Tigers are looking for their third trip to the NCAA tournament in the last four years.

On Friday, April 30, the women’s water polo team will likely head to Indiana for the 2005 Eastern Championships. The Tigers, who have had two Top 5 finishes here in the last three years, will look to duplicate the men’s magical ride to the NCAA tournament last fall. The tournament will conclude the next day.

• Princeton Varsity Club News • April 2005

Three league titles will be up for grabs the next weekend, starting with both the men’s and women’s track championships. Columbia University will host the 2005 Outdoor Heptagonal championships, starting Saturday, May 7.

Princeton will lead a field that will be looking to unseat the new track power, Cornell, in the two-day championship. The men’s team was edged out by Cornell in the winter championships and will be looking to even the score.

That afternoon will also open the best-of-three series for the Ivy League championship in baseball. The winners of the Gehrig and Rolfe Divisions will meet at the home of the league’s top regular-season team. Princeton has won the Gehrig Division nine straight times and has reached the NCAA tournament in four of the last five years.

Three more titles will be up for grabs on Sunday, May 15, as the crews will get their day in the sun. The men’s heavyweight and lightweight teams will compete in the Eastern championships at Worcester, Mass., while the open women will compete in Camden, N.J. The women’s lightweight crew does not compete for an Ivy League title, but it will also compete at the Eastern Championships in Camden.

The remainder of May will consist of NCAA tournaments and other national competitions.

GoPrincetonTigers.com will continue to be your source for the most updated information during another wild spring on campus.

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Cl a r s i t y

i n c e t o n

Spinal surgeon helped the Princeton lacrosse operation get in full swing.

V

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Where Are They Now? Justin Tortolani

What is the Princeton Varsity Club?

Performance... Values... Community The Princeton Varsity Club supports the dual mission of: i) Enhancing the experience of current Princeton studentathletes and ii) Building collegiality among current and former Princetonians and other supporters of Princeton Athletics.

As part of the mission, the PVC organizes traditional events and initiatives such as the PVC Senior Student-Athlete Awards Banquet, presentation of PVC sweaters to senior letter winners, and PVC Coaches’ Luncheons and Pre-Game Receptions.

The PVC will also continue to fund the following areas: - Assisting and strengthening the efforts of Princeton Athletics Friends Groups - Implementing community outreach programs which include participation by Princeton student-athletes, coaches, and administrators - Enhancing recruiting efforts - Publishing the quarterly PVC News - Providing endowment support for Princeton Athletics Starting this 2004-2005 season, the PVC has expanded its events this year to include: - A Fall orientation barbecue for student-athletes - A Career Night to assist student-athletes with career planning - A Speaker Series presented by Glenmede that brings prominent figures in the sports world to campus to address student-athletes and the Princeton Community

Benefits of Membership Membership in the varsity Club is open to all letterwinners, alumni, parents and friends of Princeton Athletics.

Varsity Club membership benefits include the following: • Varsity Club lapel pin • Subscription to the PVC News • Option to receive pregame and postgame notes via e-mail • Invitations to special events (including coaches luncheons, Senior Athlete Awards Banquet and game-day receptions throughout the season)

Membership Fees Levels of Support Class $75....................................................... 1995-99 $100..................................................... 1990-94 $150...................................... 1955-89 $100..........................1954 and earlier $150........................ non-letterwinners Graduates five years out (for this coming year that would include anyone in the Class of ’00 and above) may join the PVC at the Varsity Level for $50.00.

His days are spent in a small room, knife in hand, lives literally hanging in the balance. Do it right, and you can look at the family later and tell them their loved one is fine.

Do it wrong, and you have to explain how they’ll never walk again – or worse.

Justin Tortolani’s lacrosse career at Princeton ended in sudden death, what, can it be 13 years already? He’s Dr. Justin Tortolani these days, a spinal surgeon, and sudden death has a much different connotation in his world these days.

“It’s very stressful sometimes,” Dr. Tortolani says.

And then, after just the briefest hesitation, Dr. Tortolani adds: “T prepared me well.”

“T” is, of course, Princeton men’s lacrosse coach Bill Tierney, he of the six NCAA championships, 12 Ivy League championships, 23 first-team All-Americas and 65 first-team All-Ivy selections, not to mention a spot in the lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Tierney has done so much at Princeton, put up such big numbers, it’s easy to forget that when he took over the Tigers, they were one of the worst teams in Division I lacrosse, that they had nowhere to go but up, that he needed a foundation to build it all on. That foundation, back in 1988, was a 6’ 3” quarterback/point guard/attackman from Manhasset, N.Y., named Justin Tortolani.

The lacrosse dynasty that Tierney has built at Princeton began in no uncertain terms with Tortolani. Tierney owes Tortolani, and he’s never forgotten.

“When we talk about Princeton lacrosse, in the most simplistic way of describing it, Justin’s face comes into view,” says Tierney. “He was my first real recruit, my first home visit, my first junior captain. I saw a guy who was a quarterback and a point guard. I loved his leadership ability. In short, we needed someone, and he was the one.”

Tortolani was 5’ 9” as a high school sophomore and 6’3” a year later, when he blossomed into a big-time scorer in lacrosse. When it came time to pick a college, he received conflicting information from his coaches.

“I had one coach who told me that if I wanted to win a national

seman David Morrow, who would be the national Player of the Year in 1993.

Princeton made the NCAA tournament for the first time ever and defeated Johns Hopkins in the opening round in Tortolani’s sophomore year, and they lost a dramatic 14-13 triple-overtime game the following year in the quarterfinals to Towson State.

“In 1992, we were coming off the triple overtime loss,” Tortolani says. “We were struggling a little with our own identity. We lost our three scrimmages, and then we lost to Hopkins and Carolina early in the year. Then we ran the table. I remember thinking the whole year that I thought we had a chance to win it. We had more talent than people gave us credit for.”

Princeton hosted Maryland in the quarterfinals at Palmer Stadium, and Tortolani scored four goals, including the final two, in an 11-10 win that lifted the Tigers into their first-ever Final Four. The game-winner in that game was the 115th of his career, which made him at the time the all-time leader in goals scored at Princeton.

Tortolani added three goals and two assists and again scored the game-winner in a 16-14 win over North Carolina on a near-100 degree day at Penn’s Franklin Field in the semifinal.

“That semifinal game was brutal,” Tortolani says. “It was so hot, guys were having trouble even walking off the field. It was different in the final.”

The temperature dropped about 50 degrees from Saturday to Monday, when Princeton would take on Syracuse for the national title. Tortolani had a goal and assist as Princeton built a big early lead, but the Orange came back to eventually tie the score at 9-9. Princeton almost won it at the end of regulation, but Tortolani hit the post in the final 10 seconds .

“I was sure it was in when I shot it, that that was it,” he says. “I thought I had let the team down, but we had new life when we went to overtime.”

After a scoreless first OT, Princeton’s Greg Waller won the face-off for the second overtime. Moe picked the ball up, raced right down the middle, and drilled the game-winner into the back of the net.

championship in the Ivy League, I had to go to Cornell,” he says. “My head coach, Alan Lowe, told me he had a lot of faith in Coach Tierney. I figured if I went to Princeton, I knew I’d be able to play.”

Tortolani did more than just play at Princeton. He was a two-time first-team All-Ivy selection and third-team All-America, as well as an Academic All-America. His impact at Princeton goes way beyond that. ”He’s not the greatest player ever,” Tierney says. “But he came up big when we most needed him. And because we had him, we were able to get other guys who wanted to play with him.”

Among those players were the members of Princeton’s Class of 1994, which included Kevin Lowe (the son of Tortolani’s high school coach), Scott Reinhardt, Taylor Simmers and Scott Bacigalupo.

Tortolani’s class included All-America defenseman Mike Mariano and midfielder Andy Moe, and the class behind him featured defen-

“It was just total elation,” Tortolani says. “I saw Taylor Simmers cut through, and that gave Andy a wide open lane. No one was better at that than Andy. He looked low and shot high, just like he always did in practice. The goalie dropped his stick, and it went right over him. It seems like yesterday.”

It’s been 13 years, of course. Tortolani went from Princeton – he wrote his senior thesis on fibronectin, a protein – to Cornell Medical School in New York City. He played club lacrosse in New York and Baltimore as he did his residency. He also married Kim Simons, an AllAmerica in women’s lacrosse at Princeton who became the head lacrosse coach at Georgetown and now is an Associate AD for the Hoyas, and they have two children, boys Jack (almost 4) and Cal (almost 2).

Today he works at his own practice at St. Joseph’s Medical Center

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Varsity Alums Share Career Advice with Student-Athletes

Varsity Club brought in 16 former student-athletes to mentor current crop during first Career Night.

The Princeton Varsity Club hosted the Inaugural PVC Career Night for all varsity student-athletes on March 24 in the Jadwin Gym lobby as a way to bring together varsity alumni-athletes and current student-athletes. Many undergraduates and recent graduates have commented on the need for mentoring and networking programs for student-athletes, and Career Night is the first PVC initiative aimed at connecting alums and athletes across all sports and class years. The Career Night offered a forum for undergraduates to ask general and specific questions of alums who had similar

PVC Board of Directors

Hilary Pushkin Kusel ’94

Hewes Agnew ’58

Larry Lucchino ’67

Gog Boonswang ’96

Tom Ludwig ’98

Tara Christie ’97

Podie Lynch ’71

Ralph DeNunzio ’53

John Mack ’00

from Princeton with great preparation for whatever they chose to pursue. Thanks to the PVC and the Princeton alums for taking the time

Margie Gengler Smith ’73

Aila Winkler Main ’92

to tell us about their professions and lives during and after Princeton and give us something to look forward to—it was a great night.”

Ed Glassmeyer ’63

Lauren Mandell ’91

Princeton athletes. The setting was casual as some students and alums stood up and chatted away from discussion tables, and others

Emily Goodfellow ’76

Jack McCarthy, Jr. ’43

roamed between the alum-hosted roundtables.

Richard Kazmaier ’52

John McGillicuddy ’52

about their career paths. Princeton Athletics would like to thank the alumni athletes who participated in the first PVC Night: Carter

Mike McCaffery ’75

Kristin Green Morse ’93

Marsh Abbott ’97 (lacrosse), Hamin Abdullah ’00 (football), Liz Bell ’04 (soccer), Gog Boonswang ’96 (tennis), Catherine Casey ’02 (track,

Richard Prentke ’67

Jason Mraz ’89

soccer), Marty Johnson ’91 P07 (football), Bill Kingston ’65 (basketball), Bob LeFever ’63 (sprint football, wrestling), Kristin Green Morse

John Rogers ’80

Michael Novogratz ’87

’93 (tennis), Kris Brower Schulte ’83 (field hockey, lacrosse, swimming), and Frank Sowinski ’78 (basketball).

Jay Sherrerd ’52

Dan Okimoto ’65

Gary Walters ’67

Andre Parris ’97

experiences as student-athletes at Princeton.

Junior field hockey player Lauren Ehrlichman ’06 shared her experience at Career Night: “The alum in the field I’m interested in offered

Former football player Hamin Abdullah ’00 (right) spoke to current student-athletes at Career Night.

to let me come in to his office and shadow him for a day. Although I have gotten to speak with other doctors about their work and observe them, there is something really special about getting to learn from someone who graduated from and also played a sport at Princeton.

I left Career Night having made some great contacts and feeling generally excited to have met these wonderful people who came away

Student-athletes representing all class years and a variety of majors participated in informal roundtable discussions with former

Sixteen alums returned to Princeton campus to share their experiences since their commencement and answer general questions

cross country), Sally Fields ’73 (squash, tennis), Rick Giles ’83 (football), Ron Grossman ’67 (football), Jon Heilner ’63 P93 (wrestling,

“It’s always fun to speak with undergraduates,” remarked Sowinski. “Their enthusiasm and broad range of interests made for some lively conversation.”

The Princeton Varsity Club plans to host its second PVC Career Night next year, and continue its aim to unite alums and athletes

(Athletic Director)

through the Alumni/Student-Athlete Mentoring Program, which it plans to launch by the fall of 2005.

Geoff Petrie ’70

by Brie Galicinao ’02

1965 Team

continued from page 1

a one-point loss to St. Joe’s in the 1963 regionals and a two-point loss to UConn in the 1964 regionals kept Princeton away from the ultimate prize.

The 1965 Tigers returned Bradley ­ — who won a gold medal as the captain of the United States team at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo — and seven other letterwinners, and they

Bradley scored 41 points, Bob Haarlow added 18 and two other Tigers were also in double figures as Princeton rolled past the Friars 109-69, earning a date in the Final Four in Portland, Oregon.

“The challenge for us was to show that we were students who could play against the best in the country, and we almost became the best in the country,” said Bradley, whose 2,503 points, scored in three years with no three-point shot, are 957 more than any other player who has ever played at Princeton and who is the owner of the 11 highest scoring games in school history. “The game we won in the East Regional final was the best game we played. They were the vast favorite, but we won 109-69. It was one

were joined by a dynamic class up from the freshman team. The 1964-65 preseason prospectus turned out to be highly prophetic, of the best team games I was ever part of on any level. Everyone rose to the occasion. We all played to our potential.” when it read as follows: The opponent in the semifinal was none other than “Princeton should be at least as strong as last year, and there Michigan, and once again Princeton fell to the powerful Wolverines. is a good material available if all hands play up to their potential.

At the time, the NCAA Final Four featured a consolation game, and Bradley seems likely to set both Princeton and Ivy scoring records Princeton took full advantage in a record-setting 118-82 win over that will last for many, many years.”

Wichita State.

The 118 points are the most any Princeton team Princeton went 19-5 during the regular season, which includhas ever scored in a game, and the 58 points that Bradley scored ed a 13-1 record in the Ivy League and an epic trip to the Holiday against the Shockers remain to this day the most points any player Festival in New York City, where Princeton dropped an 80-78 game has ever scored in an NCAA Final Four game. to Michigan in what remains one of the greatest games in Madison “The game has changed a lot Square Garden history. since then,” said Bradley, who “I thought that game was won two NBA championships the best game by Bradley,” said with the New York Knicks and is Walters of his teammate, who a member of the Naismith Basscored 41 in the game. “That was ketball Hall of Fame.

“The hype of a very meaningful game. It was a the Final Four has changed, has very ballyhooed game. There were dramatically increased.

We were 18,000 or so in the old garden. aware we were in the Final Four You’d be astonished by the play that then, and we could have been the game got.”

NCAA champion, which was our Princeton defeated Penn State goal. For me, scoring 58 points 60-58 in the first round of the was a good evening, but in the NCAA tournament at the Palestra, end, we didn’t win the championand that win advanced the Tigers ship.” to the regional at College Park, Michigan didn’t either, as Maryland. The Tigers, behind 27 UCLA was actually the 1965 NCAA from Bradley, defeated North Carchampion.

Still, 40 years later, it olina State 66-48 in the first game hardly mattered to those who were of the doubleheader at Cole Field there that night in Jadwin Gym. House. Providence then knocked “Princeton was a very special off St. Joe’s, and the Friars were so place,” Bradley said.

“And it still confident of their chances in the is.

We were glad to have been part final that they cut the nets down of it.” following their win over the Hawks.

The best part, as it turns out, and The regional final proved to be a part not soon to be forgotten. no contest, but not the way Proviby Jerry Price dence had envisioned. Instead, Bill Bradley’s mark of 58 points in a Final Four contest has never been topped.

Sue Perles ’75

Advisory Committee

Tom Pirelli ’69

Hamin Abdullah ’00

Bill Powers ’79

Chris Ahrens ’98

Scott Rodgers ’71

Alan Andreini ’68

John Scully ’66

Bob Baldwin ’42

Mark Shapiro ’89

Carl Behnke ’67

Rod Shepard ’80

Priya Bhupathi ’02

Tina Smith ’95

Bill Bradley ’65

Trevor Smith ’03

Pete Carril h44, h52,

Frank Sowinski ’78

h75, h84, h90

Charlie Stillitano ’81

Sara Chang Guthrie ’84

Chris Thomforde ’69

Y.S. Chi ’83

Kiersten Todt Coon ’94

John Claster ’67

Bob Varrin ’56

Janet Clarke ’75

Aditi Viswanathan ’89

Ahmed El Nokali ’02

Frank Vuono ’78

John Emery ’52

Nathan Walton ’01

Bess Frank ’99

Bill Walton ’74

Debbie Garwood ’79

Marc Washington ’97

Ward Glassmeyer ’89

Margot Wheeler ’87

Wyc Grousbeck ’83

Becket Wolf ’97

Wendy Herm ’99

Rick Wright ’64

Jay Higgins ’67

Larry Zadra ’83

Mike Higgins ’01 Chuck Huggins ’83

Ex-Official

John Hummer ’70

Board Members

Ugwunna Ikpeowo ’96

Royce Flippin ’56

John Ingram ’83

Bob Myslik ’61

Marty Johnson ’81 Hayden Jones ’98

Undergraduate

Devon Keefe ’01

Advisory Committee

Bert Kerstetter ’66

Chanel Lattimer ’05

Bill Kingston ’65

Weston Powell ’06

Richard Korhammer ’89

Neil Stevenson-Moore ’05

• Princeton Varsity Club News • April 2005

PC

P ee rr ff oo rr mm aa nn cc ee • V aa

Record Finish Concludes Captain’s Stellar Swim Career The moment itself was lost on her. It was about the only thing the whole weekend that she lost.

One minute earlier, in the final championship session at the 2005 Ivy League Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, a packed DeNunzio Pool prepared for the 100 free final.

There were three Harvard women and two Princeton women among the eight finalists. Those two schools have annually been the final two to battle it out for the league title, but truth be told, that race had already been decided. This Crimson team finally had the depth to end Princeton’s five-year stranglehold of the Ivy League championship.

Still, this race meant something because of the Princeton swimmer in lane 4. Senior Stephanie Hsiao had made this league championship, like the two previous ones, her own personal showcase. She would be in the 400 free relay later in the evening, but this would be her final individual race in Ivy League competition.

And you could tell that everybody in the building, including fans of the other seven Ivy League schools that have made an annual habit of watching Hsiao beat their own swimmers, were rooting for her to make it special.

A mere 49.68 seconds later, those fans who once sat and rooted quickly stood and applauded. It wasn’t the same as they did for any other league champion. This was clearly different.

No woman has ever raced the 100 free faster in the Ivy League championships, nor has any woman raced it faster at Princeton.

Nobody stood on the top podium at the Ivy League championships more this season, or over the last two.

Nobody deserved that moment more than Hsiao.

And nobody noticed it less than she did.

“I didn’t even know that happened,” she said the day before she boarded a plane for West Lafayette, Ind., to compete in the 2005 NCAA championships. “I was zoning out. When I hit the wall and looked at the stands and saw the Princeton fans, I figured I had won. Then I saw (assistant coach) Damion (Dennis) jumping up and down. It says a lot about the Ivy League in general. People just appreciate fast swimming.”

And nobody in the league has been swimming as fast as Hsiao.

“I’ll replay that moment forever,” women’s swimming coach Susan Teeter said. “For somebody that awesome of a person to achieve success at that level and be recognized like that, that’s what I coach for.”

That moment was years in the making, dating back to her first years in swimming as a seven-year-old child in Irvine, Calif. She was an all-around athlete and even played organized soccer, but there was a certain aspect of the game that was going to hold her back.

“I was afraid of the ball,” she said. “I would just run away.”

With few soccer coaches out there looking for that quality, Hsiao started to focus on her swimming. At the age of 10, she joined Irvine Novaquatics, a highly competitive team that swam year-round and had most of its swimmers recruited to swim in college.

Hsiao swam well enough to reach the Olympic Trials, which is where she first met Teeter. The recruiting process proved successful, as Hsiao picked Princeton over a host of other Ivy League institutions. Naturally, you would expect somebody who would end her career as the Swimmer of the Meet at her final Ivy League Championships to be dominant from the start.

Hsiao was solid in her first year, but she was neither dominant nor satisfied.

“She didn’t do what she was capable of that year,” Teeter remembers. “In our sport, we measure ourselves against the clock, and she didn’t get all of the times she was capable of getting. Her sophomore year, she came in and realized she could be in charge of her own destiny.”

Hsiao took charge the first day of her sophomore year by going

talented she was, you only need to look at one particular dual meet, when Hsiao asked to be thrown into the 100 breast.

It was an event she wasn’t recruited for and not expected to compete in, and yet in her first attempt she went 1:04, the best time any Princeton swimmer had gone that year.

Was it a fluke, they both wondered? When she did it again in the dual meet against Harvard, they suspected it was far from a fluke. When she won the 2003 Ivy League title in that event by going 1:02.43, more than 1.5 seconds faster than anybody else, it was clear that she was just a superior performer.

That type of dominance has been evident throughout the remainder of her career, which has included 12 victorious performances in the last two Ivy League championships. While it will be nearly impossible to make up the points that she has scored for the team, replacing the person and teammate will be much harder.

“College swimming is all about the team,” Hsiao says. “I am big into the team goals. It’s so much easier when you have 40 women, 40 of your closest friends, cheering you on.”

Swimming may seem like an individual sport, but swimmers will tell you differently. These are among the closest of teammates, especially at Princeton, where they wake up at 6:30 to swim for a couple hours before classes and then come back in the late afternoon for two more hours together. That’s four hours a day for four of the most critical years of your life.

In fact, it was the closeness and team camaraderie that helped push Hsiao to the levels she has reached. Growing up, she swam for a clock.

Now she swims for her teammates.

And during one of the darkest times in the history of the program, she helped carry her teammates to something much more important than a victory. She just helped them carry on.

It was during the 2004 fall break trip that the men’s swimming & diving team lost sophomore Alan Ebersole to a tragic accident. Considering how close the men’s and women’s teams are, both teams banded together in the lobby of the hotel they were staying. Hsiao looked out for the members of the sophomore class first, but also for her entire team.

“She came to me afterwards and told me she was trying to figure out how to be a captain for all people,” Teeter said. “She was trying to give everything to everybody. I was so impressed with her.

“I’m really going to miss her.”

to Teeter’s office and saying that she was ready to do whatever it takes to become the best swimmer possible. She isn’t unlike many athletes who make that type of proclamation to their coach.

She stands out in a different way.

“It’s easy to say it,” Teeter says. “It’s another thing to say it and follow through.”

Hsiao followed through in a big way, taking off to her first of three brilliant seasons at Princeton. To understand just how

She will probably miss her more than those fans at DeNunzio who stood in unison and saluted Hsiao after she beat their swimmers one last time.

But that day, that moment, they appreciated fast swimming.

And one unbelievable swimmer.

by Craig Sachson

Here’s To You, Mr. Robinson; The Kids Turn Their Lonely Eyes To You He came to Princeton as most student-athletes do, a highly decorated high school superstar who hoped he’d leave his own legacy.

A select handful do truly leave a legacy, and Joe Robinson is among them. Except he probably could never have imagined the kind of legacy he would leave.

And the thousands of people, mostly young, whose lives he would touch.

Joe Robinson Robinson was a standout at River Dell High School in his hometown of Mahwah, N.J. He played three sports, football, basketball and track, and he played on the varsity team for 11 of a possible 12 athletic seasons.

It was football that gave Robinson the most notoriety. As a quarterback, free safety and punter, he earned all-county and all-

state honors. Standing 6-4 with a solid track background, he was simply too athletic to go unnoticed.

He was offered scholarships by William & Mary and Wisconsin, but it was Princeton who stayed aggressive in the recruiting process. Robinson went on an official visit, met his future teammates and saw his future facilities and felt sure that this was the school for him. He knew he would bring something special to Old Nassau.

He was right.

Unfortunately, he learned that sometime after he brought something else to Princeton – a broken leg.

“I broke my leg the spring before I got here,” said Robinson, whose injury came on a high jump attempt in high school. “Being a three-sport athlete, I developed a stress fracture, which led to the broken leg. I had shin splints also. The injuries were the most frustrating thing, since I never had a chance to develop with everybody else.”

While his physical development was stunted, his development

as a person was about to surge. Searching for a job for the summer after his freshman year, Robinson was introduced to the “Taking Kids Out” Program, or TKO, by Varsity Club assistant director and former women’s tennis coach Louise Gengler ’75.

The program provides a baseball-themed educational experience to children from low-income families at the Double-A Trenton Thunder games. Robinson led the academic lessons, provided transportation and coordinated all aspects with both the Thunder and local community group. He would spend approximately 150 hours in the summer working on this project.

When fall rolled around, Robinson had plenty on his plate.

Another football season was beginning, as was a new semester of classes.

But clearly, TKO was never far from his heart. Robinson extended the program by creating an academic-year mentoring program that brought youths ages 12-17 in from a housing development to campus each week for mentoring, tutoring and tennis.

April 2005 • Princeton Varsity Club News •

V C

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• C oo mm mm uu nn ii tt yy

Married Coaches Use Communication, Love To Raise Young Family The women’s basketball team won 13 games this past season, despite a slew of injuries that could have derailed any program. The Tigers featured the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Meagan Cowher, and a starting lineup of five players who will be back next season. It’s far from where Barron wants the team to be, but if you are either going forward or backward, then this team took a major step in the right direction this season.

The softball team has won two Ivy League championships under Maureen Barron, and it started off the 2005 season with a highly successful spring trip that included a The Barrons (l to r): Lane, Richard, Maureen and Rae. 2-0 victory over the No. 3 Stanford Rae and Lane are also blessed to have other people in their lives Cardinal, a win that gave Princeton a stellar 14-6 record at that that help mom and dad thrive as both parents and coaches. Their point of the season.

Apparently, you can still be a good coach, even if it isn’t your grandparents live as far south as Knoxville, Tenn., and as far north as Toronto, Ont., but both get to New Jersey when the family calls. most important role.

“That’s great for the girls when they are around,” Maureen “You can be passionate about it,” Maureen Barron says. “You can’t let it consume you completely. When we play, I am completely says. “And it’s great for the grandparents too.”

They also have a babysitter with flexible hours who will spend a focused on the team.”

Since the basketball (winter) and softball (spring) seasons are few hours at their house during the afternoons when needed. Most days, one parent will try to go in later and the other will leave early, at different times, the in-season coach gets to be the more focused but when both have practices, a reliable babysitter is a must. one.

Long periods away can be especially tough, but they allow the “We’re both very flexible,” Richard Barron says. “We are conother parent significant time with the children. For Richard, it can stantly passing the baton. The person in their season has first be a three-week stretch in July when the recruiting trail is blazing priority. A practice is more important than an unofficial meeting.” fiercest. For Maureen, it is a 10-day spring trip, when her team is To stay coordinated, the Barrons communicate constantly. The track, baseball and assistant women’s basketball coaches have preparing for those critical 14 Ivy League games.

During the last spring break, when the softball team was offices in between Richard’s and Maureen’s, and they see each beating No. 3 Stanford, dad took the girls on a trip to his parents’ constantly walking back and forth from one to the other. They know each other’s practice schedule a month in advance, and they can house in Knoxville. Having grown up in the area, he got to know the members of the Tennessee coaching staff, and he brought his set up team meetings and recruit visits around that.

Both agree that they do more work at home than they used to. daughters in to meet the legendary Pat Summitt.

“That was her first time meeting the twins,” Richard says. “She Recruiting calls, film watching and basic paperwork can be done especially liked Lane, since she was a redhead. She said she has after the daughters go to sleep.

Because when they are awake, Richard and Maureen are dibs on both of them.”

Even with an arena filled with national championship banners, parents. Ironically, that probably helps them as coaches.

“Being married and having kids makes you realize there is you get the impression Summitt would have no chance at luring more to life than just your job,” Richard says. “Being a parent the Barrons to Knoxville.

born, but my players have always been like my kids,” Maureen says. “They were like my family, but they were older and they didn’t live with me.

“Nothing is as important to me as Lane, Rae and Richard.”

Raising one young child is enough work for any young couple, much less twins. When you throw in that both of the parents are Division I coaches, well, it’s almost impossible to imagine how either is successful.

Of course, you don’t need to imagine it.

humbles you. To be humbled is human. It all helps you better relate to the athletes, since they have more going on in their life than just the team.”

In turn, the student-athletes adore the Barron twins. Both members of the basketball and softball teams will visit the house and shower both with attention and love. These student-athletes are still part of the Barron family, even if they don’t share the last name, and both parents are thrilled to have their daughters growing up with these young ladies as role models.

Princeton is and will be a part of their lives.

And they, in turn, will be a part of many lives at Princeton.

At the center of it all are two people — coaches, co-workers, best friends and parents — who are busy raising both an immediate family and their own extended families with love, family values, dedication and heck of a lot of flexibility.

And Sesame Street showing on the TV, with films of the Harvard game just waiting in the VCR.

by Craig Sachson

“We were off on Mondays from football that year,” Robinson said. “So Monday afternoon I would drive and pick them up. We would have an hour of tutoring, and then I would bring them downstairs in Jadwin for tennis lessons.”

While the kids would play tennis, Robinson was picking up the pizzas for a nice dinner together before he drove them home around 6:30. While his tennis game didn’t improve much, those sessions sure improved many young lives.

“Joe has been a tremendous role model to minority youth in the area through his coaching, work with summer camps, and participation with TKO,” said Heather Camp, the program facilitator for the Pace Center for Community Service. “He has fun with the kids, but also demands order and respect. He has demonstrated the importance of education, responsibility, and being true to one’s self. Children gravitate to Joe.” While the work he has done with TKO will always be closest to his heart, it is far from the only work he has done for the greater community. He spent one year as the coordinator and one as the co-coordinator for the Princeton Justice Project, and he spent more than 500 hours over the two years for that group. During his time, he coordinated and booked speakers for the Reconciliation Committee Conference on Reparations (2002-03) and managed and organized a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

He has worked with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Mercer County, has coached and helped expose children at a multi-cultural summer

camp to the Princeton campus and its educational resources.

“Joe’s connection and interaction with the local community’s youth is very special,” Gengler said. “Joe brings discipline, strength, empathy ­— he connects with them and they with him. Joe sincerely cares about these kids and their future. The kids seem to understand that. There is respect; they listen and clearly look up to this strong student-athlete who serves as true role model for them.”

“Joe’s commitment to those less fortunate than himself makes him a shining example for our players, all athletes, and the Princeton community at large,” head football coach Roger Hughes said. “His dedication and selflessness to his community service projects, as well as his ability to overcome his own adversity, has been an inspiration to us all.”

Among those inspired has been Robinson himself, who now has a better understanding of how he wants to use the sociology degree he will somehow earn between the hundreds and hundreds of hours he has dedicated to both community service and Princeton football.

“My academic and extracurricular pursuits during my undergraduate years have all been interwoven with the thread of public service,” Robinson said. “The result has been a decision to dedicate my life to the nonprofit sector.”

Robinson won’t be remembered for his time at Princeton the way some athletes will. Despite

all the injuries, he fought through and earned time as a special teams player. He never made the big impact in a game, not nearly the way he did in the community.

But he isn’t bitter about it. Not in the least.

“I understand where I fall on the overall team,” he said. “I was a quarterback in high school. I miss touching the ball every play and controlling the game.”

Instead he touched lives, and controlled the academic and overall development of young people that he could have easily passed by.

by Craig Sachson

photo courtesy of Peter Farrell

The life of a coach has more emotional highs and lows than most outsiders would expect.

Sure, a loss hurts. A win is thrilling. But there’s so much more.

You worry about recruits — will they call, are they interested, who else is going after them? You wonder if admissions will let them in, if there is financial aid available.

You worry about your players — your livelihood rests on their shoulders (or arms or legs or whatever other body part you need). And it isn’t just their performance on the field that is a concern. They’ve turned double plays and hit free throws thousands upon thousands of times, but can they do it hours after a bad exam, or a fight with a significant other? Are they thinking more about the next pitch or the next party?

Then there are future schedules, weather patterns, hiring assistant coaches — there is always something to think about.

“This job doesn’t have normal hours,” head women’s basketball coach Richard Barron says. “The life of a coach is 24/7. It takes acceptance of that to make it possible.”

Barron’s wife more than accepts his schedule. She lives it.

Maureen Barron, formerly the Maureen Davies ’97 who pitched the Princeton softball team to the only two College World Series it ever reached, is now the head coach of that same program. She works about 20 steps down the hall from her husband in Jadwin Gym, the building where he has experienced some of the biggest highs and lows of his professional career.

They understand each other, the passion and dedication that it takes to succeed at their chosen profession. They get to know each other’s players, come to care about them deeply, root like crazy for their teams to win every game they play.

Rae and Lane Barron don’t care as much. They’re more concerned with what The Wiggles sing about that morning.

“I try not to take a loss home,” Richard says. “When I see my kids after a game, if they’re still awake, I’m giving them my full attention. At that point, they aren’t thinking about a loss. They’re thinking about diaper rash, or if they’re hungry, or if they like the bubbles in the bathtub.”

And if that’s what the Barron twins are thinking about, you can rest assured that the parents are too.

Katherine Rae and Dorothy Lane Barron were born Nov. 25, 2003. They were born to a pair of successful young coaches whose lives mostly revolved around two things — each other, and their own teams.

“I did have a life outside of Princeton softball before they were

• Princeton Varsity Club News • April 2005

News & Notes

Women’s Lacrosse Gains Soup-Er Status Off Field

The Princeton women’s lacrosse team has certainly seen a lot of good fortune over the past few years, beginning with two straight national championships, two chances to visit the White House and 28 straight victories and continuing with an unforgettable team trip to Australia this past December.

It only makes sense, then, that the Tigers have spent part of this semester returning some of that good fortune. Volunteering their time and efforts at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), groups of Princeton players and coaches have traveled to the downtown Trenton facility to help prepare and serve meals for the needy in the local community.

Separate groups of Princeton players and staff helped serve and prepare lunch at TASK four times this semester, participating in three-hour shifts at the soup kitchen prior to returning to campus and afternoon practice. Sometimes a few of the Tigers have even been late for practice, but Princeton’s head coach doesn’t really mind.

“I think our Australia trip made all of us realize just how fortunate we are to have the opportunities and the life that we do,” says Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. “All of us wanted to find some way to get out there in the community and help people that haven’t been as fortunate.”

TASK, located on Escher Street in Trenton, serves both lunch and dinner Monday through Thursday and lunch on Fridays, feeding 300 people or more at each meal. In addition to food preparation, serving and cleanup activities at the soup kitchen, Princeton players have also been involved in preparing food deliveries for TASK’s new South Trenton facility located in the city’s South Ward.

TASK estimates that between 800 and 1,000 volunteers every year assist in its efforts to feed the hungry, with those volunteers coming from a variety of different areas ranging from religious and social organizations to various school groups and individuals.

“It’s really been an eye-opener for all us,” says Princeton senior goalie Sarah Kolodner, one of the many Tigers who have volunteered at TASK. “So many of the people there are employed but can’t make ends meet and need what the soup kitchen provides so that they and their children won’t go hungry.”

While TASK has existed since the early 1980’s, demand for the services provided by it and similar organizations has actually skyrocketed in recent years.

“In 2004 we served more than 157,000 meals, which is staggering,” says Peter Wise, TASK’s Director. “We are seeing many more folks coming to TASK on their midday break. People are doing anything they can to make ends meet. Too many folks do not have enough money left after paying their rent to eat.”

Several Princeton players also plan to take advantage of TASK’s Adult Education services next fall by serving as tutors at the facility. Volunteer tutors provide one-on-one assistance for adult students in basic literacy, math, GED preparation and computer skills, usually at times that do not conflict with the facility’s meal program.

“Our opportunities were somewhat limited this spring with the season coming up, but we look forward to making this a permanent part of of our team’s service next fall,” says Sailer.

by David Rosenfeld

Varsity Weight Room to Get Face Lift Thanks to the PVC Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous member of the Princeton Varsity Club Board of Directors, the Varsity Weight Room in Jadwin Gym is scheduled for a complete overhaul. Scheduled to begin this summer, the project will include a full transformation of the 3,500 square foot space into a state of the art strength and conditioning area which will benefit all Princeton studentathletes. Among the weight room improvements are: a new floor, air conditioning, a complete line of new equipment, new wall mirrors, a new ceiling and a fresh paint job. The Princeton Varsity Club Weight Room is scheduled to open in Fall, 2005.

Jason Flickinger ’99 Selected To Oxford Boat On March 27, former Princeton rower Jason Flickinger ’99 sat in the seventh seat and helped the Oxford crew to a win over rival Cambridge in the most famous rowing competition of the year, The Boat Race. Flickinger helped Oxford make history in its annual competition, as he was part of the heaviest crew to ever race in this historic event. Flickinger was part of three Eastern championship crews at Princeton (1997-99), as well as the 1998 national championship squad.

Football Spring Game To Take Place April 23 The annual Spring Game will take place at Princeton Stadium on April 23 at 3 p.m. This event will be the final session of the spring practice schedule. The Tigers are allowed 12 sessions before they break for the summer. A number of key positions are up for grabs right now, including quarterback, tailback and inside linebacker.

This will be the players’ last chance to impress the coaches before the summer break begins. Admission to this session is free.

Princeton To Host NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Quarterfinals On May 22

Increased Scoring, New Attitude Highlight Gadowsky’s First Season Leading Men’s Hockey The 2004-05 men’s hockey season provided the supporters of Tiger hockey a chance to catch a glimpse of the future of hockey at Princeton. Armed with a new coach and a new attitude, the team equaled its win total from the previous two seasons combined, and scored more goals than it had in the previous three seasons, showing its fans a sign of what is to come.

Upon his arrival at Princeton, first-year head coach Guy Gadowsky said that his team would be offensive and would put the puck in the net. And looking back on the season, that is exactly what happened.

Junior Dustin Sproat and sophomore Grant Goeckner-Zoeller each eclipsed the 30-point plateau and Princeton had eight players register double-digits in points. Sproat’s team-high 35 points were 15 more than last season’s leading scorer and were Princeton’s highest single-season scoring total since Jeff Halpern had 44 points in the 1998-99 season.

Sproat also became the first Tiger since John Messuri in 1988 to win the ECAC Hockey League’s scoring title. Sproat’s 27 league

points tied him atop the standings with Dartmouth’s Lee Stempniak, and his 15 league goals ranked him second in that category.

Senior defenseman Luc Paquin recorded 24 points for the Tigers and was named first-team All-ECACHL, becoming only the fifth Tiger to receive the award. His point total was the most for a Princeton defenseman since Steve Shirreffs potted 33 in the 199798 season. Sproat was named to the league’s second team for his efforts.

Sproat, Goeckner-Zoeller and Paquin all recorded career seasons. In fact, of the 14 returning skaters who appeared in at least six games last season, all but three posted new single-highs in 2004-05. Plus, the Tigers attack was balanced, as all 20 skaters that made more than six appearances tallied at least two points during the season.

Armed with a strong cast of returning players, a talented incoming class and another year’s worth of experience, the 200506 season should be another step in the new positive direction of Princeton hockey.

One of the two quarterfinal sessions of the NCAA men’s lacrosse championships will be held at Princeton Stadium on May 22. The afternoon will feature two contests, with the opener starting at 1 p.m. Princeton Stadium, which hosted the women’s lacrosse semifinals and championship in 2004, last hosted the NCAA men’s quarterfinals in 1999.

Tickets are now available for the full session ($15 for adults, $10 for children). Consult www.GoPrincetonTigers.com for more information, or contact the ticket office at 609-258-3538.

Coaches Luncheons Bring PVC Members The Inside Information

Cruse(r) Control Two of the longest and most loyal tenures in the history of Princeton University, let alone the Department of Athletics, will come to an end at the end of 2004-05 academic year with the retirement of Dave and John Cruser.

Brothers John and Dave are retiring at the end of the year after a combined total of 75 years of service to the

New PVC event programming – like the addition of PVC ‘On the Road’ and PVC Speaker Series – has created a diverse PVC event calendar this year, but Coaches’ Luncheons and Pre-Game Receptions have remained popular with longtime PVC members and new guests.

University. John, the athletic facilities foreman, is completing his 35th year at Princeton. Dave, a member of the grounds crew, is completing his 41st year.

The Coaches’ Luncheons in January and February featured head coaches from a variety of sports: Richard Barron (women’s bas-

Together, they helped generations of Tiger athletes compete on their fields and courts of Princeton through their hard work and dedication to making each and every Princeton athletic venue first-class.

ketball), Guy Gadowsky (men’s hockey), Gail Ramsay (women’s squash), Chris Sailer (women’s lacrosse), Joe Scott (men’s basketball), and Julie Shackford (women’s soccer). The coaches provided

“It would be a conservative estimate to

an ‘insider’s look’ on their seasons while their student-athletes –also

say that more than 5,000 Princeton athletes

in attendance – discussed their Princeton experiences. The Coach-

have benefited from John and Dave’s work,

es’ Luncheons provided great opportunities for question and answer

whether they realized it or not,” says Direc-

sessions with the featured coaches and student-athletes.

tor of Athletics Gary Walters.”

Pre-game receptions also provided a forum for PVC members to

John and Dave were presented with Princ-

interact with members of the Princeton coaching staff before Princeton

eton football jerseys commemorating their

athletic events. The last pre-game reception of the year took place at the

years of service to the University in a half-

end of March, prior to the men’s lacrosse game against Syracuse.

time ceremony during the Princeton-Penn

The final Coaches’ Luncheon of the 2004-05 year is scheduled

men’s basketball game March 8.

for Wednesday, April 20th, at 12 p.m. in the Class of 1956 Lounge

Life-long Mercer County residents, John and Dave are identical twins who were born nine minutes apart (John is older).

(located in Princeton Stadium). Coaches’ Luncheons and Pre-Game Receptions are free for PVC members and $10 for guests.

Assistant Director of Athletics for Facilities Jeff Graydon (l) and Director of Athletics Gary D. Walters ’67 (r) honored Dave Cruser (41) and John Cruser (35) at halftime of the Penn-Princeton men’s basketball game.

Visit the PVC webpage linked to GoPrincetonTigers.com for the most recent calendar updates, or call Louise Gengler at 609-258-8393.

April 2005 • Princeton Varsity Club News •

Three-Time Champion Highlights Successful Winter Performances He entered the court that Sunday afternoon fresh, confident and three games away from history.

He faced arguably his top rival during his three years in collegiate competition, the only player to take more than one match off him since he first arrived at Princeton in 2002.

He even trailed in the opening game.

And then Yasser El Halaby did what he always does when the pressure of the moment reaches a crescendo. He dominated.

El Halaby was once again the top individual success story of the Princeton winter season, but he was far from the only one sporting the Orange and Black.

• • • Kent Demond knew what the stakes were for his next dive.

The Princeton sophomore had watched his closest rival, Pittsburgh’s Denis Nemtsanov, perform a near flawless dive in the final round of the 2005 Zone ‘A’ Diving Championships. After leading for most of the competition, DeMond knew he was now looking up at Nemtsanov in the standings.

And if he didn’t nail his last dive, he would be watching Nemtsanov book a flight to the NCAA Championships.

“Kent remained tenacious and focused throughout the contest, answering each challenge his competitors put forth with an equally impressive effort of his own,” diving coach Greg Gunn said.

“He really thrived in this stressful and demanding environment. He seemed to enjoy every minute.”

He especially enjoyed the minutes after his final dive, a brilliant performance that sent him to the top of the podium and to the NCAA Championships.

• • • Junior Jacqueline Leahy had a pretty good understanding of how the 2005 IFA Championships would work out. A standout competitor, Leahy won the IFA title in foil as both a freshman and sophomore. A 2005 first-team All-Ivy selection, Leahy headed to this year’s championships looking for a three-peat.

She achieved that, and then to keep Jacqueline Leahy the No. 3 special, she went to NCAAs and placed third in the foil. All told, it was a magical third year for one of the premier fencers at the University.

Of course, the same could be said about the first year for freshman Tommi Hurme, who made his IFA debut a memorable one in 2005. Hurme claimed the gold medal in the epee competition, although teammate and 2004 Olympian Soren Thompson had the stronger NCAA competition. Thompson matched Leahy with a third-place finish in the epee.

• • • Junior Jake Butler placed fifth at the 2004 EIWA championships, which was amazing in itself because he had missed most of the season due to injury. He wrestled back after a first-round loss and claimed a spot on the podium, but he knew that his goals

The schedule-makers didn’t do Butler any favors; the 197-pound junior faced eventual NCAA champion Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State.

Butler lost that match, but he came back for his first career NCAA victory by topping Purdue’s Nathan Moore 4-3 in the consolation draw.

You can expect Butler to raise his expectations once again before he enters his final year of competition, Jake Butler and judging from this year’s results, there is no reason to believe he won’t achieve them.

• • • It should take you about two seconds to read this sentence.

That amount of time separated junior Cack Ferrell from the NCAA title in the 3,000-meter run at the Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Two seconds.

Her time of 9:24.20 added yet another All-America honor to her already impressive resumé in the Princeton track/cross country programs. She was already a three-time All-America performer heading into these NCAA championships (2003 and 2004 cross country; 2004 indoor track), but this was the closest she has come to an NCAA title. At the 2004 indoor championships, she placed 11th in the 3,000.

“What really impresses me about Cack Ferrell is her ability to compete way above her fitness level,” head coach Peter Farrell said. “As coaches we have expectations for our athletes to compete at or a little above their fitness level. This way they don’t overly stress themselves with unrealistic expectations. Cack’s ability to get this extraordinary effort out of herself bodes well for future performances when her work load increases.”

• • • In 1992, his first season as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Cowher was named the AP Coach of the Year.

He became the second coach in the franchise’s proud history to earn a top coaching honor.

His daughter one-upped him.

Freshman Meagan Cowher became the first Princeton Tiger to earn the Ivy League Rookie of the Year honor after finishing the season Meagan Cowher second in rookie scoring with 11.1 points per game and first in rebounding with 4.8 per game.

• • • Then there is El Halaby, who is blazing a trail in men’s squash that might never be matched.

He didn’t even have his typical regular season, losing twice in league play, but those who have followed the Cairo, Egypt, native closely know that he raises his game when the stakes get higher.

The stakes got high in the national team tournament, which Princeton entered as the fifth seed. The Tigers whipped Penn, fell to eventual champion Trinity and then shocked No. 3 Yale, a team that had routed Princeton 8-1 one month earlier. El Halaby went 3-0 during the weekend. In fact, he went 3-0, 3-0 and 3-0.

The junior didn’t lose a game in any of his three matches, and considering the last two were against the No. 3 and No. 2 players in the nation, it was a bad sign for the field heading into the national tournament.

El Halaby entered the 2005 championships riding a 21-game win streak in the individual nationals. He trailed Trinity’s Michael Ferreira 2-0 in the semifinal of the 2003 championships, but rallied for the win and never looked back.

He swept his first three opponents in the 2005 tournament to run the streak to 30 games, and he expended little energy in reaching the semifinal. His opponent in the Saturday evening semifinal was the dangerous Siddharth Suchde, the No. 1 player at Harvard.

Suchde, who fell to El Halaby 3-0 in the 2004 semifinal, won the opening game of the rematch by a 9-5 score.

Suchde would win two more points the rest of the evening. And neither of them would come in the final two games.

El Halaby defeated Yale’s Julian Illingworth 9-6, 9-2, 9-1 in the Sunday final to become the first player in men’s squash history to win the national title as a freshman, sophomore and junior. He could become the first male and only the second player in squash history to win four national individual titles next season; the only woman to accomplish the feat is Penn State graduate and current women’s coach Gail Ramsay.

El Halaby’s accomplishments are mostly unknown to the common sports fan, and you get the feeling he’s fine with it. When the athletic department honored him during the Penn/Princeton men’s basketball game, the shy El Halaby wasn’t even sure he wanted to go out on the court by himself.

He did step out for the recognition, and he received as genuine an ovation from the Princeton student

would be more lofty for 2005.

Mainly, Butler wanted to keep wrestling beyond the league championships. That left one option to him — the NCAA Championships.

Finally healthy for a full season, Butler tore through the competition and earned a 19-5 record during the regular season.

He reached the EIWA semifinals and, falling a loss to the top seed, wrestled back to fifth place once again.

But this time was different. His strong record, combined with a 3-0 record against one of his main competitors for a wild card spot, earned him one of the EIWA bids to the NCAA tournament. Butler became the first Princeton wrestler to reach the national tournament since 2002 finalist Greg Parker.

The 6-1 forward, who scored a career-high 28 points in a home win against St. Peter’s, was named the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Week four times in the first seven weeks.

All things considered, it was a good year to be a Cowher.

• • • The story of senior swimmer Stephanie Hsiao is welldocumented on page 5 of this newsletter, but a story of individual successes this past winter must include her. The 2005 Ivy League Championship Swimmer of the Meet, Hsiao stood on the top podium six times over the three-day session. She was also the lone swimmer on either squad to compete in the NCAA championships, and she did it in two events.Few teams will suffer a loss to graduation tougher than the women’s swimming & diving team.

section as any during the season. He, like the rest of the 2004-05 Princeton winter standouts, is one of their own.

And their own made this another memorable winter.

Tortolani

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in Baltimore, where he arrives at 6:30 every morning. “I see patients all day three days a week,” he says. “I operate two days a week. I’m on call for the ER two days a week. We have a lot of patients with spinal deformities, patients with neurological problems, cancer, tumors on their spine. For me, the operating room is like game time. There’s a lot of preparation and practice, and a lot of mental preparation to get ready. It’s a team in the OR, not that much different than lacrosse.”

At the time Tortolani graduated, Tierney often said that his record of 120 career goals would stand for a long time. Instead, it’s already been beaten three times, by Jesse Hubbard (163), Chris Massey (146) and Sean Hartofilis (126).

“I think everyone should have a chance to beat a record,” Tortolani says. “It’s such a good feeling, such a sense of accomplishment. When we first won the championship, we thought it’d be 50 years until we won another one. Now we’ve won five more. What T has been able to accomplish is amazing.

I look back and can’t believe how many classes have come and gone since I’ve been there. I can’t believe T is that old. I’ve heard him say things about how he thought a lot of the success started with me, and it’s a tremendous honor to hear him say that, but lacrosse is a team game and we won as a team. I know how hard it is to win. I saw my wife go through it. You can’t take anything for granted.

The ball bounced our way when we were there.”

Yes, there were some good bounces. No, it wasn’t luck or a fluke or anything like that. Princeton lacrosse is a program that started at the bottom, made it to the top and has stayed there ever since. All of it, all of the championships and individual success, began with a single player, Justin Tortolani, Dr. Justin Tortolani, the spinal surgeon who long ago became the backbone of a dynasty.

by Jerry Price

Yasser El Halaby

On The Road Again

by Craig Sachson

Princeton Director of Athletics Gary D. Walters ’67, along with four prominent Princeton coaches, joined a large group of Princeton alums and friends for the inaugural PVC ‘On the Road’ event in Philadelphia on February 24th. The Princeton Varsity Club partnered with the Princeton Club of Philadelphia to host the event, which featured updates from Walters as well as head coaches Scott Bradley (baseball), Julie Shackford (women’s soccer), Chris Sailer (women’s lacrosse) and Bill Tierney (men’s lacrosse). Walters started the lunch with a brief summary of the current state of Princeton Athletics, and then Shackford recapped the women’s soccer team’s incredible fall season and trip to the NCAA Final Four. The three coaches previewed their seasons and reflected on their wonderful experiences coaching student-athletes at Princeton.

PVC ‘On the Road’ is a new PVC program which will allow Walters, as well as a variety of Princeton coaches, to visit with athletic supporters in select cities away from the campus.

The Princeton Varsity Club looks forward to its second PVC ‘On the Road’ event this fall, coming to a city near you.

• Princeton Varsity Club News • April 2005

Q & A With The Director Of Athletics 1) What is the mission of the PVC? Our staff and the Board have spent a lot of time over the past few months refining the PVC mission in an attempt to communicate it more effectively. After a great deal of brainstorming and crafting, we narrowed the message down to “Supporting and Uniting Princeton Athletics.” What does this mean?

It means that the PVC is both the vehicle for “telling the story” of Princeton Athletics and its storied tradition as well as the unifying force which connects all current and former student athletes, regardless of sport, as well as other supporters of Princeton Athletics.

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2) What is in store for the PVC?

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More specifically, we want to help unite these groups around their shared appreciation of the unique experience that is being a member of the Princeton Athletics family, whether athlete, parent, friend, or fan. In an attempt to expand the mission further, we decided to break the PVC down into its conGary D. Walters ’67 stituent parts which underlie the mission (i.e. what exactly are we uniting around?). We came up with: Performance, Values, and Community and got lucky that they are the same letters as the Princeton Varsity Club! This message resonated with the Board and other supporters of Princeton Athletics with whom we spoke and we hope it will do the same with all the alums and Friends who feel as strongly about the Princeton Athletics experience as we do.

We have many exciting programs and initiatives in the works for the PVC as we head into the Spring. Perhaps the most exciting is the renovation of the Jadwin Varsity Weight Room.

Thanks to a generous, anonymous gift via our Princeton Varsity Club Board of Directors, the E level space which now houses outdated, substandard workout equipment will be transformed into the “PVC Varsity Weight Room.”

The project will include a new ceiling, taking out a wall that divides the 3,500 square foot space, new, state of the art equipment, new lighting, and more. This upgraded facility will be a boon to all of our student-athletes, who today have difficultly scheduling workouts due to a lack of appropriate space and equipment.

The PVC Varsity Weight room is set to open by the fall sports season.

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3) How does the PVC interact with the respective Friends groups?

I’ve described the relationship as the following: the Friends groups are the bricks of the Princeton Athletics foundation and the PVC is the mortar. What does this mean? Simply that the PVC serves to both assist our Friends groups in reaching out to their individual sport alums and friends and to unite our current studentathletes and our alums around the broader tradition and principles of Princeton Athletics. In addition, the PVC provides valuable programs and services that benefit all Princeton studentathletes, regardless of sport. Examples of these are new events such as the PVC Career Night and the Frosh/Soph BBQ in the fall, as well as

traditional programs such as our coaches’ luncheons. Finally, our (limited) PVC staff works in tandem with our central University Development office and the Friends groups to facilitate and improve fundraising initiatives, including the Unified Appeal. With the launch of our new PVC web site in the fall, we hope to facilitate even more coordination between, and expand exposure for, all our Friends groups which form the “bricks” in the foundation of Princeton Athletics.

4) Why should I encourage others to join the PVC? Becoming a member of the PVC represents a show of support for what Princeton Athletics stands for – i.e. Performance, Values, & Community. If you know people who believe in what I refer to as “collegiate athletics properly done,” joining the PVC is a vehicle for them to show their commitment to helping deliver that message broadly.

5) Is the PVC only for Varsity letterwinners?

Absolutely not. We have associate members who are parents of student-athletes both past and present, members who were junior varsity players but never earned a varsity letter, members who are alums and while they did not play a sport still believe in the mission and value of Princeton Athletics, and even members who have no affiliation with Princeton University other than their belief in the benefits of collegiate athletics properly done. In a phrase, our PVC membership is a “melting pot” of those who believe in supporting and uniting around the Performance, Values, and Community of the Princeton Athletics tradition.

Princeton University Department of Athletics Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ 08544-0071

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A second PVC initiative which is keeping us busy this summer is the launch of a comprehensive PVC web site which will not only include information on the PVC and its programs but also will serve as a portal for all of our Friends groups. We are currently working with a vendor to build a site which will house a new mentor program to more easily connect our currentstudent athletes with alums, a comprehensive calendar where we will be able to post all upcoming PVC and Friends groups events, and an area for our “Tigers in the Community” program where we can better highlight all the great community service work our teams are performing.

Other projects that are keeping us busy include planning our next PVC Speaker Series event which will feature Kathy DeBoer on April 13th, starting work on our next “PVC on the Road” event scheduled for the fall, and, of course, starting to ramp up work on our signature event, the PVC Senior Athlete Awards Banquet, which takes place on May 26th at the Shea Rowing Center.

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Published by Princeton University’s Department of Athletics, Jadwin Gymnasium, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-0071

Princeton Varsity Club

(609) 258-5666 Gary Walters Director of Athletics Jamie Zaninovich Associate Director of Athletics for Athletic Relations/Marketing Jerry Price Associate Director of Athletics / Director of Athletic Communications Craig Sachson PVC News Editor/Assistant Director of Athletic Communications David Rosenfeld Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Brie Galicinao Assistant Director of Athletic Relations/Marketing Yariv Amir Athletic Communications Assistant Nick Konawalick Athletic Relations/Marketing Assistant Director Louise Gengler Assistant Director of the Princeton Varsity Club Beverly Schaefer Staff Photographer All photos © Beverly Schaefer unless noted Tennant Printing, DeLand, Fla.

S ports : the sweatiest of the liberal arts

– D rew H yla n d ’ 6 1

April 2005 • Princeton Varsity Club News •

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