July sports updates

Men's lightweights win at Henley; Bates named coach of men's lacrosse; Senior awards; Track All-Americans; Baseball draft; More

  The Princeton MEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT CREW added another championship in its perfect season, edging the Brown freshman heavyweights to win the Temple Challenge Cup at the Royal Henley Regatta July 5. The Tigers won the national lightweight title and the Eastern and Ivy championships in 2009, but the Henley win may have been their crowning achievement: They were the first Princeton lightweight boat to win the Henley collegiate title since 1973. [ Corrected July 15: While 2009 marked the Princeton lightweights' first Temple Challenge Cup win since 1973, the Princeton freshman men's heavyweights won the Temple Challenge Cup in 2003, and the Princeton men's heavyweights won the Ladies Challenge Plate in 2006. Nine Princeton boats have won Henley titles, beginning in 1948 when the Princeton lightweight eight won the Thames Cup. ] Former Drexel coach Chris Bates was named head coach of Princeton MEN'S LACROSSE June 29, replacing Hall of Fame coach Bill Tierney, who resigned three weeks earlier to become the head coach at the University of Denver. Bates, a 1990 Dartmouth graduate, led Drexel to 31 wins and two Colonial Athletic Association championships in the last three seasons. Ten athletes shared top honors at the Princeton Varsity Club's SENIOR AWARDS banquet May 28. Lee Jubinville (men's hockey), Mark Kovler (men's lacrosse), Doug Lennox (men's swimming), Michael Maag (men's cross country and track), and Mauricio Sanchez (men's squash) shared the Roper Trophy, given annually to Princeton's top male athletes. Susannah Aboff (women's golf), Kathrine Giarra (women's diving), Parker Henritze (women's volleyball), Holly McGarvie (field hockey and women's lacrosse), and Jolee VanLeuven (women's cross country and track) received the Von Kienbusch Award for the top female athletes. Mathematics major Cary Malkiewich (men's heavyweight crew) won the Class of 1916 Cup as the varsity letter winner with the highest academic standing. Adam Berry (football), Joelle Milov (women's swimming), Agatha Offorjebe (women's track), and Kristin Schwab (field hockey and women's lacrosse) earned the Art Lane Award for selfless contribution to sport and society. In MEN'S and WOMEN'S TRACK , two Princeton athletes earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships June 10-13. Michael Maag ’09 finished 10th in the men's 5,000-meter run, and Sarah Cummings ’11 placed 12th in the women's 10,000-meter run. Three Princeton BASEBALL standouts were selected in Major League Baseball's amateur draft. The Atlanta Braves picked pitcher David Hale ’10, a Georgia native, in the third round (87th overall). He has not yet signed a contract. [UPDATE: Hale signed with the Braves July 11 and reported to the team's rookie-league club in Danville, Va.] Pitcher Brad Gemberling ’09, selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 24th round, began his professional career with the Yakima Bears in June. Catcher Jack Murphy ’10, chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 31st round, made his debut with the Auburn Doubledays in June. Infielder Dan DeGeorge ’09 signed a free-agent contract with the Cleveland Indians and joined their New York-Penn League affiliate, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Former MEN'S LACROSSE star Kevin Lowe ’94, Princeton's all-time leading scorer and a two-time NCAA champion, will be enshrined in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in November. His selection was announced May 22. In WOMEN'S TENNIS , Taylor Marable ’11 and Hilary Bartlett ’12 lost a three-set match in the opening round of the NCAA doubles championships, played in College Station, Texas. May 21. Princeton teams won 11 IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS in 2008-09, the most of any school. Cornell and Harvard, the Tigers' nearest challengers, each won seven titles. For the 23rd consecutive year, Princeton topped the unofficial Ivy standings for all sports. The Tigers also ranked No. 40 in the Leerfield Sports Directors' Cup standings, a measure of overall sports success. Princeton earned the highest ranking among schools that do not compete in the Division I Bowl Championship Subdivision. Princeton will no longer print MEDIA GUIDES , due in part to the University's cost-cutting measures. All of the information that would have been contained in media guides will be available online, the Athletic Communications office said, "in a more easily accessible format."