Each week, Sports and Data writers analyze recent athletic competitions to provide analysis and insight on the happenings of Princeton athletics and individual players across the 38 intercollegiate teams at Princeton. Whether they are record-breaking or day-to-day, statistics deliver information in concise ways and help inform fans who might have missed the action. Read past By the Numbers coverage here.
Princeton Tigers: Nov. 1–7
24 games and matches were played across 18 sports and nine U.S. states over the past two weeks. Of the 13 games where only one team came out on top, the Tigers won 61.5 percent of matches, slightly less than the 63.6 percent in last week’s games. Multiple-day meets and tournaments are counted individually for each day of the competition. Competitions with more than one event or individual results such as golf and cross country are not included in our win percentage.
This week, the Tigers won over three-fifths of their games. They broke even with home field advantage this past week, taking four of eight in New Jersey. The Tigers, however, excelled at playing on the road, losing only one of their five games away from Old Nassau, including volleyball’s impressive win in New Haven — more on that to come.
All bark no bite
Women’s volleyball broke one of the longest standing home-court undefeated streaks this weekend with a four-set victory over Yale. The Bulldogs had triumphed in 30 home games in a row until the Tigers strolled into New Haven, led by sophomore hitter Kamyrn Chaney and her 25 kills.
“This win definitely meant a lot to everyone — particularly because of Yale’s incredible winning streak,” junior middle blocker Lucia Scalamandre wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “A lot of the girls on the team, including me, have some bad memories of losses in that gym, so it was very important to win that specific game.”
“I think you could see our determination in the way we played and in the energy of the girls off the court as well,” she continued.
Full swing ahead
First-year women’s golfer Olivia Duan played her way into the Ivy League Player of the Month for October. Duan shot a program-low 63 at the Evie Odom Invitational to begin the month.
Exalted eight
Princeton women’s soccer, recent Ivy League regular season champions and hosts of this weekend’s conference tournament, boasts eight All-Ivy honorees this season. Seniors Lily Bryant, Tyler McCamey, and Heather MacNab join junior Pietra Tordin on the first team, and senior Ryann Brown, senior Kate Toomey, junior Drew Coomans, and sophomore Zoe Markesini earned second-team laurels.
Lee’s late-game lunacy
Star junior point guard Xaivian Lee scored 16 of his 27 points in the second-half in the Tigers come-from-behind 81–80 win over Iona in Jadwin Gym on Monday. Lee — who turned down the NBA Draft and transfer portal last year — sank two free throws with just over three seconds left to claim victory for the Tigers in their first game of the season.
Starting sharp
Men’s and women’s fencing open as No. 4 respectively in the US Coaches preseason poll ahead of their first competition on Nov. 17 in Philadelphia. Both teams of Tigers are coming off Ivy League Championships last spring and only trail Harvard, Columbia, and Notre Dame in the national rankings.
Senior épée Mike Bissinger wrote to the ‘Prince,’ “We’re feeling great. We picked up a lot of promising first-years this year, and they’re all showing great discipline at practice.”
On channeling last season’s momentum into the upcoming one, Bissinger referenced the graduating seniors from last year. “Channeling the incredible leadership and energy of the guys above me who graduated last year will be crucial. Although fencing is objectively individual, the captains play a huge role in boosting team morale in the face of tough losses.”
“It is also added motivation that we are ranked behind Columbia after we beat them last spring,” he noted.
Carnegie chaos at the chase
At the Princeton Chase this Sunday, the men’s heavyweight 8+ A boat shattered the previous course record on Lake Carnegie. The A boat topped a crew from 2012 by 15 seconds with a time of 12:10.95, finishing first for the day in the Tigers home race. The women’s lightweight 8+ A boat also set a course record with a 14:22.03, a full twelve seconds faster than ever before.
All in all, the Tigers had a winning week, posting a win percentage over 60 percent. From golf to rowing to volleyball, the Tigers notched many successes on the course and court and look to have a strong finish to the season in fall sports with Ivy League championships looming and a strong start to winter seasons. Check back next week to learn about all things Princeton Athletics — By The Numbers.
Harrison Blank is an assistant Sports editor at the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.