Weekend Sports: Princeton clinches 3 Ivy titles

Cross Country: Men win 3rd straight Heps title

Led by junior Chris Bendtsen’s first-place finish and six runners in the top 14, the men’s cross country team claimed its third consecutive Ivy League title at West Windsor Fields on Saturday afternoon. Princeton finished with 26 points, less than half of second-place Columbia’s total of 58.

The Tigers, ranked 23rd in the nation, defeated the No. 10 Lions and the rest of the Ivy League with an impressive performance at the Heptagonal Championships. Bendtsen won the 8K race in 23 minutes, 41.8 seconds, followed by junior Alejandro Arroyo Yamin in second place, six seconds behind. Junior Tyler Udland finished fourth, while junior Jonathan Vitez and sophomore Eddie Owens rounded out Princeton’s scorers in seventh and 12th.

Racing an hour earlier, the women’s team finished second, edging Brown and Harvard by two points. Cornell dominated the race, sweeping the top three spots to win its second straight team title. Senior Greta Feldman led the host Tigers with an eighth-place finish.

Field Hockey: Tigers improve to 6-0 in Ivy play

The field hockey team clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title on Saturday, beating Cornell 5-0 on the road. The No. 2 Tigers have not allowed a goal in their last five conference games.

Senior striker Kat Sharkey and sophomore midfielder Sydney Kirby scored first-half goals to take a 2-0 lead, and the visitors struck thrice more after halftime for a comfortable victory. Each of the Tigers’ first three goals came off of a penalty corner.

Princeton has now won eight consecutive Ivy League titles and 17 of the last 18. The Tigers can win the conference championship outright with a victory over Penn next weekend.

Women's Soccer: Princeton wins 10th straight

The women's soccer team throttled Cornell 5-1 on Saturday evening, improving to 6-0 in conference play and clinching at least a share of the Ivy League title. It marked the 10th straight victory for the Tigers, their longest such streak since the 2004 season, when they reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.

Sophomore defender Lynessa McGee scored the game's first goal, striking off of a corner kick in the 13th minute. Sophomore midfielder Jessica Haley and sophomore forward Lauren Lazo each added goals before and after halftime as the visitors took a 5-0 lead before conceding a late goal.

Princeton has clinched its first conference championship since 2008, but it has not yet secured an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. To do so, the Tigers must win or draw against second-place Penn when the rivals meet at Roberts Stadium next Saturday.