Welcome Back Coach Kessel

COURTNEY KESSEL NAMED HEAD COACH OF PRINCETON WOMEN'S HOCKEY 

TigerBlog was hoping for a Game 3 in the Men's College World Series.

And a Game 7 in the NHL Finals. 

Oh well. He ended up with neither. There was a Game 7 in the NBA Finals, which didn't exactly have a lot of drama in the fourth quarter. The best part of that game? 

Kristin Chenoweth's version of the national anthem. 

KRISTIN CHENOWETH SINGS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM 🤩

PERFECT WAY TO TIP OFF GAME 7 ON ABC! pic.twitter.com/BVUEcNmD8L

— NBA (@NBA) June 23, 2025

 Who couldn't have liked that? Okay, maybe TB is a bit biased because Chenoweth was the original Glinda in "Wicked." 

Still, she crushed the anthem Sunday night in Oklahoma City, which is close to where she grew up. Who knew she was such a big Thunder fan? 

By the way, if you could go to either 1) the MCWS, 2) Game 7 of the NBA Finals or 3) the deciding game of the Stanley Cup finals, which would you choose? 

TB would go with the baseball. 

And all of that brings him to, without a segue, the hiring of the new head coach of the Princeton women's hockey team. 

Courtney Kessel was introduced yesterday as the new head coach of the Tiger women's hockey program. She comes to Princeton from the same league where former head coach Cara Morey left to join, the Professional Women's Hockey League, where Kessel had been the head coach of the Boston Fleet.

Kessel has been at Princeton before, serving as an assistant coach under Morey from 2019 until she joined the Fleet in 2023. She was at Princeton for the 2019-20 season, which saw the Tigers go 26-6-1 and win the ECAC championship.

That victory came in overtime at Cornell, then ranked No. 1 in the country. The game-winner came from Mariah Koepple that night.

Koepple is a player in the PWHL. Here is what she had to say about the Tigers' new head coach:

“Courtney is the perfect fit for Princeton and the women in the program. I am so excited to see what she can bring to this team to elevate it even higher. My time at Princeton when Courtney was there was unmatched, and I am so thrilled with her selection as the new head coach. She allows her players to excel in all aspects of their lives which is something so special to see. Courtney brings a level of compete and skill that will really propel this program forward. ‘PWIH’ is in great hands and I just know there are many championships in the near future. PWIH FOREVER!”

That tells you a great deal, doesn't it. 

Kessel is herself a former great player, one who had international experience with the Canadian women's team and who was a two-time first-team All-Hockey East selection and a second-team All-American at New Hampshire. 

She's also part of an incredibly athletic family. Her husband is Blake Kessel, who was also a player at New Hampshire and then a long time pro. 

Blake's brother Phil won three Stanley Cups (two with Pittsburgh, one with Vegas) and played in an NHL-record 1,064 consecutive games. Their sister Amanda has won three Olympic ice hockey medals with the United States.

Oh, and Phil Kessel Sr.? He played football with Washington in the NFL and Calgary in the CFL.

And now she is back at Princeton. 

TigerBlog didn't know her well during her first go-round here, but he did know her well enough to see the same qualities that Koepple did. She is a very warm, welcoming person, and her positivity is obvious from the first time you speak with her. 

It'll be 100 degrees in Princeton most of this week, which doesn't exactly scream hockey season. On the other hand, Kessel is only four months or so away from puck drop on her first season as the Tiger head coach .

TB wishes her the best of luck, obviously. 

There have only been five other head coaches in the 45-year varsity history of the program. Kessel will be the sixth. 

TB hopes it'll be a long time until there is a seventh. 

Welcome back, Coach Kessel.  

Dog Surfing

Well, it's officially summer. 

And what does that mean? You know. It's dog-surfing season. 

Dog-surfing? 

TigerBlog watched the end of Game 1 of the Men's College World Series best-of-three championship series between LSU and Coastal Carolina Saturday night. It was a riveting Game 1, in which LSU scored one run in the first and then won 1-0 behind a complete-game, 130-pitch three-hitter from Kade Anderson. 

Shockingly, it seemed like his mother was nervous, excited and ultimately thrilled — at least that was TB's take from the endless times the broadcast cut to her in the stands.  

A game like that is next to impossible these days in the Major Leagues, by the way. LSU, by the way, won the second game 5-3 yesterday to take the national championship. 

Anyway, when the game ended, TB flipped through the channels for a second and then saw what will undoubtedly replace baseball and every other sport as America's Pastime. Yup. It's dog surfing.

This couldn't be real, right? Dogs on surfboards? This had to be AI, or a dream or something. 

Nope. It's legit. And it's riveting. 

Surf's up, pup. 

There are different categories based on the size of the dog and whether or not it's a tandem, which could mean either two dogs or one dog and one human. 

This is great stuff. TB watched for five minutes and already was annoyed at the judges for putting Rosie second in the mid-size dog category. Rosie should have won easily. 

Also, the TV feed had a Go Pro that was on the front of the surfboard. Did the dogs look happy? They certainly looked wet. One looked a bit concerned. Another looked annoyed — Why are the humans harshing my mellow? 

It all made him want to write about dogs in today's entry. Maybe he could write about the Waterdogs of the Premier Lacrosse League, but that would have been too easy. 

You know what else would have been easy? Going through the current issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly. Get it? PAW.

While going through the PAW online, TB did come across THIS story about women's basketball alum Abby Meyers and her recent season of playing in Israel. There are no dogs in the story, though it does mention yaks.  

Were there any great moments of dogs in Princeton Athletic history?

How about foxes? They're sort of like dogs. Princeton Foxes include Stephanie Fox (softball ’93), Kevin Fox (football ’77), Finn Fox (men's lacrosse rising sophomore) and J.R. Fox (men's basketball ’39).

There have been cats, that's for sure. For starters, there's the whole "Tigers" thing, right?  

Then there have been cats such as Kat Sharkey (field hockey ’13), Cat Caro (field hockey ’17), Kat Holmes (fencing ’17), to name a few. Former men's lacrosse player Cathal Roberts' nickname was "Big Cat."

There have been bears too: Bear Lockshin, Bear Altemus, Bear Goldstein, all of whom were men's lacrosse players.  

Rabbits? Well, there was women's basketball player McKenna Haire. And men's soccer player Antoine Hoppenot.  

Some others that popped into TB's mind: current men's lacrosse player Cody Lam and former women's soccer player Catherine Byrd.  

There haven't been any alpaca, though there was an All-American football player in the 1920s named Al Packer. Just kidding. TB is pretty sure nobody named Al Packer ever played anything at Princeton. He just thinks alpaca are cute. 

They are, right? 

So dogs? 

Ryan Boyle had a dog named Gus when he played lacrosse at Princeton. TB remembers seeing Boyle and Gus walk away together after more than one game. 

Then there is Watson. He's a Princeton Bulldog, belonging to the family of former women's lacrosse player Shea Smith. 

Ah, Watson. If anyone can relate to you, it's TigerBlog. You know, the whole shifting allegiances from one Ivy League school to another. 

In his case, it was his alma mater to Princeton. In your case, it was your distant cousin the mascot in New Haven to Princeton. Watson was a frequent visitor to Princeton games as well. 

There are probably way more animal references that TB might have seen had he spent more time on it. Has there been a letterwinner named "Lyons?" An All-American named "Deer."

There have to be some Tigers who were nicknamed "Moose" or "Horse" or something like that. This requires more research.  

In the meantime, there's this from the Beach Boys:

Little surfer
Little dog
Wagging through the morning fog.
Do you love me, do you surfer dog? 

Ah, yes. America's Pastime. Dog surfing.

It's here to stay.  

TigerBlog h'65

Imagine, for a moment, that you're being led around the Princeton campus, making one seemingly random turn after another, with no obvious clear destination.

You've been told that your end point is something important. What could it be? 

A lecture? An exhibit? A tour of a new building? What? 

If you're TigerBlog, you don't usually do well in situations like this. He wants answers. He doesn't want to have to guess. Even worse, he doesn't want to have to keep asking what's next.

His escort on this sojourn was his friend Pattie Friend, whose husband Lloyd was in the Class of 1965 (that's a foreshadow, by the way). For her part, she was playing it up in a big way, pretending to be lost, saying "is it left or right" and then "oh yeah, this way."

She could probably tell that she was starting to annoy TigerBlog. How could she not? 

He asked only one question: "Is this going to be fun?" She just smiled. 

Eventually, the long and winding road led to the football stadium. There, in one of the tunnels near the top of the stadium stood a man in a pair of khaki shorts and an orange collared shirt that said "Princeton Golf" on it. 

TB, though, immediately thought of a different sport. The man was, after all, Cosmo Iacavazzi, one of the greatest athletes Princeton has ever known and the captain of the 1964 undefeated football team. 

Did this tell the story, though? No, it didn't — not even when Cosmo first extended his hand for a firm handshake. 

This all left TB more confused than ever. 

Little did he know that one of the greatest honors of his life was about to come his way. 

"On behalf of our class," Cosmo said, "it's my privilege to let you know that you have been chosen to be an honorary member of the Class of 1965."

Was this on the level? Was this some sort of joke? 

"This is for real," Cosmo said. 

Once he realized that this was on the up and up, TB couldn't stop smiling. An honorary member of the Class of 1965? 

That's the class that featured Cosmo, as well as another fairly well-regarded athlete — Bill Bradley. And men like Johnny O'Brien, who grew up at the Milton Hershey School before playing football at Princeton and then returning to the school as its headmaster after a successful business career. There's a limitless amount of respect for that trajectory.

The Class of 1965 has certainly left its mark on this University. Its roster is a series of alums who have lived by the University motto: "In the nation's service and service of all humanity," and they have incredible contributions in the areas of government, the military, business, medicine, law, athletics and so many others. 

And now TB is an honorary member. That's something that overwhelms him.

When you go to work at Princeton in your 30s, you're not thinking that one day you might be honored by any class, let alone one as legendary as the Class of 1965. You're just thinking about what needs to be done that day, that season, what game might be coming up. 

TB has had that same attitude in the 31 years he's been doing this. It's why he continues to write here everyday, because every day brings with it something special to be shared, with another challenge to be creative. 

It's why he also still gets that same feeling of excitement for gamedays. It's why he sits here now ready for the start of the 2025-26 athletic year, and why he is already looking forward to the opening weekend of field hockey in early September, even if it's still June. 

Of course, there is one fair question to be asked: Why did the Class of 1965 choose TigerBlog for this honor? 

Cosmo said it was in recognition and appreciation of all of the years that TB has been chronicling the athletic achievements — and the athletes — of the Class of 1965 and all the other Princeton classes. That was something that made TB's heart flutter and resulted in an ear-to-ear grin. 

TB hasn't done this for the recognition. He's done it because it's always been something he's passionate about and something that has challenged him. 

In all of his time at Princeton, he's never once applied for another job anywhere else, in athletics or anything else. This is what he's wanted to do, and this is where he's wanted to do it. 

And that's why, come Monday, there will be another entry here. 

But it'll come from someone who has been changed a bit by his meeting with Cosmo. 

Honorary? Yes. 

Honored? More than you know. 

Thank you to everyone in the Class of 1965 who supported this. 

TB is proud to be your newest classmate. 

Charlie's Story, PLL Update, Fantinelli In England

Charlie Levy is a pretty athletic looking young man. 

When TigerBlog first met him and learned that he attends the University of Colorado, his first thought was that he perhaps was a football player. He certainly looks the part. 

As it turns out, no, Levy doesn't play for Coach Prime in Boulder. 

He is, though, spending his summer in Princeton.  In fact, he's working for the football and men's basketball teams.

If you read the story on goprincetontigers.com about former men's basketball player Jerome Desrosiers and his current standings as one of the top 3X3 players in the world, you can thank Charlie Levy. It's his story. 

Didn't read it? You can right HERE.

Levy, by the way, is the nephew of former Princeton men's basketball Howard Levy. 

As for Desrosiers, in three years he has become the No. 1 ranked Canadian 3X3 player and 50th ranked player worldwide. He's part of a growing number of Princeton alums who excel at this version of the game, which is positionless and requires every player to be able to dribble, pass, shoot and defend.

Does that sound familiar? That's been the cornerstone of Princeton men's basketball for decades. 

Make sure you read Charlie's story. It's an excellent first effort, certainly better than the first story TB ever wrote (which was about a high school football game between Academy of the New Church and Pennington a long, long, long time ago). 

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The Premier Lacrosse League holds its third weekend of games this weekend at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. 

This past weekend in Philadelphia, Princeton alum Zach Currier became the first pro outdoor player ever to reach 200 career points and 300 career groundballs. Put another way, had TB started out with "only one player in pro outdoor lacrosse history has ever had at least 200 career points and at least 300 career groundballs" and asked you to guess who it was, the only possible guess would have been Currier. 

Also in PLL Princeton alum news, Coulter Mackesy of the Boston Cannons had one assist in his first pro game and then put up three goals in his second, including two rockets from the outside. Mackesy, of course, is Princeton's career leader in goals with 167. 

And then there is Michael Sowers, who currently leads the PLL with 17 points on three goals and 14 assists. A year ago, only seven players in the league had at least 14 assists — for the entire season. No other player this season has more than six assists. 

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Coastal Carolina advanced to the championship round of the Men's College World Series with an 11-3 win over Louisville yesterday. The Chanticleers have now won 56 games, including their last 26. 

Yes, that's 26 straight wins for a college baseball team. 

When TB saw the coach for Coastal Carolina was Kevin Schnall, he knew that the name was familiar. How did he know of Schnall? It was driving TB a bit nuts. 

Then he called his old friend Mark Eckel, a longtime local sportswriter, who reminded TB that Schnall is from right here in Mercer County. In fact, he went to Notre Dame High School, about 10 miles or so from Princeton's campus, where he played baseball and also was a quarterback in football.

His father Steve was an assistant coach on Bill Parcells' first two New York Giants teams.  

Kevin Schnall is in his first year as the head coach at Coastal. His 56 wins are the most ever by a first-year Division I head coach. 

Can he get two more? 

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Princeton's Riccardo Fantinelli has been the Ivy League men's golf Player of the Year each of the last two years. 

He's currently in England, where he is competing in the British Amateur championships — and doing very well at that. 

Fantinelli, who will be a senior this coming year, made it through the qualifying rounds, which were 36 holes of stroke play, to reach the knockout match play Round of 64. He won his first match 3 and 1 over Giovanni Binaghi, advancing to today's Round of 32 against Canadian Isaiah Ibit. 

That match went off at 9:09 local time, or 4:09 Eastern time this morning. 

Ibit, by the way, recently finished his freshman year at Kent State, where he was a first-team All-MAC selection and the MAC Rookie of the Year.  

Okay, Smart Guys

So here is a story about consumerism that TigerBlog is sure is relatable for most. 

TigerBlog needed a new shower curtain, and he found himself across the street from a TJ Maxx while doing a different errand. Perfect, he thought. He'd just run in after the first errand. Two birds with one stone, as it were.

Ah, but here's where the consumerism comes in. How many items did TB end up buying in TJ Maxx? 

If you guessed "seven," you are correct. Isn't that how it works?  

Anyway, instead of having one item, he now had seven — including two new bath towels. When the woman at the checkout line asked if he'd like a bag, he said sure. That's when she said it would be an additional 10 cents.

Ten cents for a bag? That's not exactly a cost deterrent. Feeling generous, TB told her to add an additional dollar to his bill and then to give the next 10 people a free bag. 

She gave him a quizzical look. 

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The College Sports Communicators At-Large Academic All-District honors were announced yesterday. 

The At-Large division is for all sports that don't have their own sport-specific category. You'll probably know these names, since they're also some of Princeton's best athletes. 

Here are Princeton's All-District selections:

Men

William Huang, golf, senior, economics
A PING All-Region selection for the second year in a row, William Huang was named honorable mention All-Ivy this season to record his fourth career All-Ivy selection -- just the 13th golfer in Ivy history to earn four career All-Ivy honors.

Nicholas Lawson, fencing, senior, physics
Lawson was an All-American at the NCAA Championships this season, finishing ninth in épée. He earned first-team All-Ivy honors after going 9-2 at the league meet, and he was also the team's Academic All-Ivy selection.

Brandon Lee, fencing, junior, computer science
Lee won All-American honors, finishing third at the NCAA Championships this year. He was the NCAA regional foil champion and a first-team all-region honoree.  

Gavin Molloy, water polo, senior, Public and International Affairs
Molloy was part of the Princeton squad that won its fourth straight Northeast Water Polo Conference title. The senior captain was named a All-NWPC honorable mention, NWPC All-tournament honorable mention and was part of the ACWPC All-Academic team.

Charlie Palmer, golf, sophomore, economics
A second-team All-Ivy selection this season, Palmer was also named PING All-Region to build off a 2024 year where he was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Tucker Wade, lacrosse, sophomore, economics
Wade was Princeton's first sophomore midfielder to earn first-team All-Ivy League honors in 13 years, as well as an honorable mention All-American. His five goals in the NCAA opening round win over Towson were one off the program record for an NCAA game. 

Women's

Rachael Carver, water polo, senior, Public and International Affairs
Carver was second-team all-conference who graduates as the program all-time leader in career assists (260). She started every game for the Tigers, leading the team with 60 assists along with 44 goals, 26 steals and 25 drawn ejections as the team made the CWPA Championship game. 

Ella Cashman, field hockey, sophomore, molecular biology
A first-team All-Ivy League defender, Cashman also scored six goals to help Princeton to a 7-0 run through the Ivy League to win the championship and reach the NCAA quarterfinals. Cashman, a first-team All-Region selection as well, scored both goals, including the game-winner in OT, in Princeton's win over Harvard that decided the league title. She was also an NFHCA All-Academic selection. 

Sara Covin, open rowing, senior, psychology
Covin coxed the first varsity to Ivy League gold, taking down previously unbeaten Yale in the Grand Final. She earned first-team All-Ivy honors. 

Hadley Husisian, fencing, sophomore, English
Husisian was an All-American honoree in 2025, finishing third at the NCAAs. She was also the NCAA regional épée champion, a first-team all-region honoree, and a first-team All-Ivy honoree, going 14-4 at the Ivy meet.

Victoria Liu, golf, senior, computer science
A first-team All-Ivy honoree in 2025, Liu finished her Princeton career as a three-time first-team All-Ivy selection. She recorded one victory this season, winning her home tournament at the Princeton Invitational for the third time.

Issy Wunder, hockey, junior, psychology
Wunder had a career year in which she was named a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier award, the Ivy League Player of the Year, First-Team All-Ivy, All-ECAC First Team, ECAC Forward of the Year, finalist for ECAC Player of the Year and Academic All-Ivy. Wunder was third in Division I in goals per game (0.81) and fourth in points per game (1.56).  She racked up 50 total points on. 26 goals and 24 assists to help lead the Tigers to the ECAC Quarterfinals.  

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Of those 12, there are 10 who have been selected to advance to the national ballot: Huang, Lawson, Lee, Palmer and Wade for the men and Carver, Cashman, Covin, Husisian and Wunder for the women. 

The national honorees will be announced in July. 

It's not easy to be that strong athletically and academically at Princeton. Did you check out the majors as well? Those are some challenging academic loads. 

It's what Princeton athletes sign up for when they come here. 

Congrats to those on the list. They are amazingly impressive.  

All-Americans Aplenty

If you happened to be watching the end of the Arkansas-Murray State game at the Men's College World Series yesterday, then you saw something incredible. 

If you weren't, well, then you missed one of the most electric moments you could ever hope to see in the world of sports. 

Arkansas' Gage Wood, pitching in an elimination game, threw a no-hitter and struck out 19 Racers in a 3-0 win. It was just the third no-hitter in MCWS history, after Jim Ehrler of Texas in 1950 and Jim Wixson of Oklahoma State in 1960.

It's not just that he threw the no-hitter, and it's not just that he did so in the elimination game. 

Wood is projected to be a pretty high pick in the coming Major League draft, a likely second-round pick and possibly a first-rounder. Despite that, he has not had a great year, making only nine starts with an ERA over five. 

And yet he was untouchable yesterday. His 19 strikeouts were a single-game record for the MCWS, and the only thing between him and a perfect game was a hit batter in the eighth, after he'd retired the first 21 Racers he'd faced. 

As for the ninth, there was a bit of controversy when Wood seemed to hit the leadoff batter, only to have the replay show that the hitter moved into the ball. In college, that becomes a strike, and in this case, it was Strike 3. 

The next two batters? They had no chance. Strikeout. Strikeout. It was just pure dominance. You couldn't help but be wildly impressed. 

Serious question, no hyperbole. Given the stakes:

Gage Wood throwing a 19-strikeout no-hitter, in a game where his team's season was on the line, has to be one of the greatest pitching performances -regardless of level - in baseball history, right?pic.twitter.com/58Dkpz5p5n

— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) June 16, 2025

The answer, Aaron, is a resounding "Yes." 

The MCWS is the last remaining college event of the 2024-25 academic year. The second-to-last was the NCAA track and field championships. 

 The women's championship went to Georgia for the first time. The men? There was a tie between Texas A&M and USC. Should there be a tiebreaker, or are you okay with co-champs in this situation? 

Maybe whoever had the most individual champs? In that case, it would have gone to Texas A&M, who had two to USC's zero. 

And remember last week, when TB mentioned that Cal discus thrower Mykolas Alekna was a lock, as he was the Olympic silver medalist a year ago in Paris and whose qualifying throw was five meters past anyone else? It turns out he also currently in the World Record holder.

How'd he do? He came in second to 2024 Jamaica Olympian Ralford Mullings of Oklahoma, who won by more than two meters. 

As for Princeton, the Tigers had themselves an All-American time in Eugene. 

Princeton sent eight athletes to compete in individual events after the East Regional qualifying. All eight of those Tigers earned either first- or second-team All-American honors. 

There were two who earned first-team (by virtue of finishing in the top eight of their event), and those two were Greg Foster in the long jump and Sam Rodman in the 800. The other six all finished between ninth and 16th, becoming second-team All-Americans.

That list is: Shea Greene (javelin), Casey Helm (discus), Joe Licata (shot put), Mena Scatchard (1500), Georgina Scott (long jump; also was an honorable mention honoree in the triple jump) and Harrison Witt (1500).

The highest finisher was Rodman, who finished in fourth place, exactly one second behind Sam Whitmarsh, one of Texas A&M's individual winners. Rodman became Princeton's highest finisher in the 800 since Ed Burrowes, who was the runner-up in the event in ... 1940. That's even longer than the gap from the last MCWS no-hitter. 

Rodman finished his career as a three-time first-team All-American, with the honor in the 2022 distance medley relay indoors and the 800 outdoors in 2022.

As for Foster, he finished seventh to become an All-American for the first time in his three trips to the championships. 

And with that, another athletic year has come to an end at Princeton. This one was special, with its record 17 Ivy League championships and countless great moments. 

Someone who writes a blog every day should probably review all of that at some point this summer, no?  

To The Fathers

Okay everyone. 

Say hello to Lillian.

She's not even four years old yet. Does she look athletic to you? 

She certainly does to TigerBlog. She certainly looks like she's mastered cutting at full speed, right? 

Can't you see her in 10-15 years, turning the corner as she dribbles a basketball or soccer ball or holds a field hockey or lacrosse stick or a baton? Or, for that matter, is it hard to picture her as she excels at any sport she wants?

You never really want to project down the road about how good an athlete someone who could still be classified as a toddler, but Lillian isn't just any toddler. Perhaps the Utah jersey gives her away? 

Lillian is the oldest child of two of the greatest Princeton athletes of all time — field hockey player Kat Sharkey and men's lacrosse player Tom Schreiber. That's Schreiber's Utah Archers jersey, by the way. 

One of TB's favorite stats he's ever stumbled upon at Princeton is that Sharkey scored one more goal (107) than Schreiber did (106) as Tigers. Sharkey went on to play in the Olympic Games after helping Princeton to the 2012 NCAA championship, and Schreiber has won a World Championship, multiple professional championships and pretty much every Outstanding Player and Most Valuable Player award there is. 

Yesterday, of course, was Father's Day. TigerBlog stumbled upon what is one of the greatest videos you will ever see, starring Tom Schreiber. Here, watch for yourself:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by U.S. Men’s National Team (@usa_mlax)

 

That's just awesome. You can't possibly watch that and not smile.  

And congratulations to Kat and Tom on the coming arrival of their third child, a girl, to join Lillian and her younger brother Patrick. It's a good thing that the video was with a doll and not an actual child, for many reasons, not the least of which is that someone like Patrick wouldn't really sit still for it all. 

Of course, anyone who has ever changed diapers — TB has no idea how many he did all those years ago, but he does know that the first time it took about 20 minutes and the last time it took about 20 seconds — doing so while holding a ball in a women's stick is pretty impressive, even on a doll.  

Father's Day dates back to 1909, or two years after Mother's Day. It began, in all places, in Spokane, Wash. 

The fathers have been playing catch-up ever since. TigerBlog read someplace yesterday that Americans spend nearly $9 billion a year more on Mother's Day than on Father's Day. So what to make out of this?

Well, in fairness, the mothers are a tad bit more, uh, inconvenienced by the whole childbirth process. Still, is that worth $9 billion more?

TigerBlog has met hundreds of dads of Princeton athletes through the year. For that matter, TB is one of them: TigerBlog ’P22. 

There are all different kinds of sports fathers. They exist on a decibel scale that ranges from silent to really, really loud, but the common denominator is the support they offer — to their kids and to all of their kids friends and teammates. 

If you are a former sports dad, like TB, you know that you clearly miss those days, from the youth level until they stopped playing, which for both of TB's kids was college. 

Those were great days. A lot of life lessons were learned on those fields and in the car rides back and forth. For his part, TB will never forget them. They're such an important part of his life, up there with anything he's experienced. 

He, like all fathers, would like to think that he made a big impact on his kids' lives and that they will take with them forever the things he taught them. He also appreciates every day how lucky he is for how his kids turned out. 

Anyway, that's enough sentimentality for one day. 

TigerBlog hopes all the dads out there had a great day yesterday — even if their kids got them gifts on the cheap, at least compared to the mothers.

Wouldn't It Be Nice

TigerBlog is pretty sure that he's spent more hours listening to music by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band than any other band. 

Who is in second? He'd guess the Beach Boys. With that, the news of the death this week of Brian Wilson was saddening.

Wilson was certainly a musical genius, that's for sure. His life was troubled with demons and a fight against mental illnesses, and even with that he led the band to make some of the greatest music ever made, with two of the greatest albums ever — "Pet Sounds" and "Endless Summer."

It didn't matter how cold or snowy it was outside. Just put on "Endless Summer," and you were immediately transferred to the Southern California surf. 

Consider the songs on the album "20 Golden Greats":

Side 1 — "Surfin' USA"; "Fun, Fun, Fun"; "I Get Around"; "Don't Worry Baby"; "Little Deuce Coupe"; "When I Grow Up To Be A Man"; "Help Me Rhonda"; "California Girls"; "Sloop John B."

Side 2 — "You're So Good To Me"; "God Only Knows"; "Wouldn't It Be Nice"; "Good Vibrations"; "Then I Kissed Her"; "Heroes And Villainas"; "Darlin"; "Do It Again"; "I Can Hear Music"; "Break Away."

Pretty incredible, no? And that doesn't even include other hits, like "Surfer Girl," "The Warmth Of The Sun," "In My Room" and "Surfin' Safari," among so many others. Oh, and "Little Saint Nick," a Beach Boys Christmas tune.

Sigh. Rest in peace, Brian. 

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Speaking of "Wouldn't It Be Nice," that certainly applies to the Princeton track and field team as it competes at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Ore. As in "Wouldn't It Be Nice" if Princeton had a winner, or at least some of its athletes on the podium.

Actually, that should be "some more" on the podium.

Greg Foster became the first Tiger to earn first-team All-American honors at this year's championships after he took seventh in the long jump. Foster, a junior who leapt 25-7¼, earned All-American honors for the first time while making his third NCAA appearance. Malcolm Clemons of Florida was the winner, going 26-4 1/2.

Princeton had another All-American as well, as Joe Licata earned second-team honors by finishing 13th.

Harrison Witt had the third fastest time in the 1500 semifinals Wednesday at 3.41.98, which left him .31 seconds away from Adam Spencer of Wisconsin's top time of 3:41.67. 

The final, which could be riveting, goes off at 8:12 this evening. One hour later, Sam Rodman will run in the 800 final, after posting the fifth fastest time in Wednesday's semis. Casey Helm will be the first Tiger in action today when he competes in the discus at 5:15 Eastern. 

The Princeton women had three athletes compete last night: Mena Scatchard eased into the finals with the fifth fastest time; she will run her final race as a Tiger tomorrow night at 9:11 Eastern. Scott earned second-team All-American honors with an 11th place finish in the long jump, and she will now compete tomorrow in the triple jump. 

Shea Greene also earned second-team All-American honors with a 10th place finish in the javelin.  

* 

Two quick updates from yesterday's piece on the U.S. Open at Oakmont. 

First, Dave Giancola, the Princeton color commentator for football and men's lacrosse, spends his full-time days working for the USGA, which runs the Open. He texted this to TB this morning: 

Another fun Princeton connection to the USGA/U.S. Open - Stuart Francis was President of the USGA from 2020-2023. Will Green is the J. Stuart Francis ‘74 Head Coach of Men’s Golf. I saw Stu last night, one of the great great people

Also, it turns out that the blind date that Matt Ciciarelli set Craig Sachson up on didn't quite work out. Someone else set Craig up with his wife Jess. 

TB, for the record, has fixed up two different couples who ended up married. 

*

Congratulations to TB's longtime friend and colleague Mike Mahoney of Penn Athletic Communications for being recognized with the College Sports Communicators President's Award. 

The wording: Introduced in the 2014-15 academic year, this award recipient is selected by the reigning College Sports Communicators President. This award serves to honor exemplary service and leadership within the organization's committee structure in support of programs that benefit CSC members.

You won't too many better people than Mahoney, even if he is a Quaker. TB tries not to look down on people from Penn (though for the record, Mahoney is a Dartmouth grad). 

* 

Have a great weekend everyone and a Happy Fathers' Day to all the dads. 

And a happy birthday to Zack DiGregorio tomorrow. No more eulogies for a long time, Zack, no matter how good you are at them.  

 

Teeing Off

So this isn't quite a Guest TigerBlog, in so much that TB is doing the writing. 

It's more that, for today, the idea and the research belong to Matt Ciciarelli.

And who is he? A long time ago, he worked in the Princeton University Office of Athletic Communications. If you're in the market for a communications specialist, you could do a lot worse than calling Matt. 

He is a hard-working guy who was very dedicated to his teams and coaches and especially the student-athlete experience. He brought a strong work ethic to his job every day, as well as a smile and a great sense of humor. 

If TB is remembering correctly, it was Matt who fixed up Craig Sachson, another former OAC great, on a blind date one time, and that woman ended up being Sachson's wife Jess. 

TB has missed Matt since he left. That's why hearing from him is always nice.  

Such was the case yesterday, when he got a text message about the U.S. Open at Oakmont. At that point, TB knew Oakmont had something to do with golf, though he wouldn't have said definitively that it was located in Western Pennsylvania. He might have actually guessed Illinois (foreshadow, by the way). 

Then again, he also wouldn't have known that the U.S. Open begins today and that it is being held at Oakmont.

As it turns out, Ciciarelli's dad grew up 15 minutes from the course, while Matt himself grew up more like 45 minutes away. Here is some of the cool information that Matt sent TB's way about Oakmont. 

Interesting facts …

It’s bisected by the Pennsylvania Turnpike… after playing the first hole, players walk over a bridge, play holes 2-8 before walking across the bridge again to play 9-18. 

No water hazards on the course … only old drainage ditches along some of the holes that are considered hazards.

The way the course looks now is how it was originally designed. Trees were added in the 50s and 60s. After hosting the 1994 US Open, about 7,000 trees were removed to make it look like it was originally intended (and at the “urging” of the USGA). 

The club president, the pro and the superintendent cut down the trees under the cover of darkness because the members wanted to keep them. I need to find the great story that talks about how they used the headlights from the trucks to see.  

The whole Pennsylvania Turnpike thing is fascinating. You can see for yourself:

Oakmont boasts many distinctive features, but none is more striking than the Pennsylvania Turnpike cutting through the heart of the course.@BrendanPorath dives into the history of this iconic intersection of infrastructure and golf.

(Photos courtesy Oakmont Country Club… pic.twitter.com/FbX26MLKHH

— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) June 8, 2025

There was also more to Oakmont than just that. As it turns out, the club has a great deal of Princeton golf history. 

According to Matt:

• Oakmont has hosted the NCAA Championships three times … 1916, 1930, 1937. Princeton won all three of those team championships

• Princeton’s George Dunlap won the first of his back-to-back individual championships at Oakmont in 1930 

The 1916 national championship at Oakmont featured seven teams, five of whom are current Ivy League schools: Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Penn and Cornell, as well as Williams and ...

... Illinois. Now you get the foreshadow.

Princeton dominated in 1916, both in the team event and then in the individual. The Daily Princetonian saw it this way: 

Eight men represented Princeton in this match [the team final against Harvard], not one of whom lost. This well-balanced power of the team was illustrated later in the individual championships.

As for George Dunlap, who grew up in North Jersey, he'd win the individual title at Oakmont in 1930, and he'd also win the U.S. Amateur, which at the time was as prestigious as any in the world, in 1933. To reach the match-play elimination rounds, Dunlap first had to survive a 12-man playoff in the qualifying round. 

Dunlap wouldn't win another major title, though he would accumulate lots of titles. How so? His family was in the publishing business, and it was his company that published the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery series. 

If you're anywhere near TB's age, you read them. 

George Dunlap, by the way, lived to 94, passing away in 2003 after spending nearly 60 years as a Florida resident.   

This concludes today's sort-of joint blog experience. Thanks Matt. Appreciate the help, as always.  

Thoroughbreds

TigerBlog watched quite an interesting baseball game Monday night. 

It was an elimination game between Murray State and Duke in the NCAA tournament, with the winner to head to Omaha for the Men's College World Series and the loser to go home. Murray State was up 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth, with one out and a runner on first for Duke. 

The batter hit a ground ball to the shortstop, who flipped it to second to try to start a double play. The baserunner's slide took down the second baseman, who was unable to get a throw off to first. 

Two out. Runner on first. One out away. 

Ah, but then the second base umpire ruled that the second baseman had been interfered with, resulting in an out call at second and against the batter at first. Game over. 

Murray State obviously began to celebrate with the requisite dogpile on the field. Game over? Not so fast.

The umps got together and reviewed the call, and then overturned it. Suddenly, Murray State needed another out, and the winning run was at the plate. 

Now this was high drama. A team that thought it had clinched its spot in the CWS — as a regional fourth seed no less — now was one big swing of the bat away from having that dream squashed in the most heartbreaking fashion. 

It got TB to thinking — has there ever been a game in any sport anywhere that featured dogpiles from both teams? 

How would the drama play out? With a soft ground ball to first. Game over, again. Murray State to Omaha. 

Murray State, by the way, is located in Murray, Kentucky, about seven miles north of the border with Tennessee. According to Wikipedia, it is the 19th-largest city in Kentucky. 

Its sports teams are called "the Racers," though the baseball team has at times been known as "the Thoroughbreds," or, as it has said on its jerseys at time, "the Breds." That's fairly unique. 

Is there another school that has one nickname for almost all of its teams and then a different one for another? If Princeton did that, which team would change and what nickname would replace Tigers? 

The Men's College World Series begins Friday in Omaha. It's a fun event to watch on TV, and it looks like a blast to see in person. Perhaps someday TB will attend. In the meantime, he's all in the ’Breds. 

Speaking of the ’Breds, TB saw an interesting post on the NCAA website about the seeds of the teams that reach the MCWS. Since the current format began in 1999, Murray State is only the fourth No. 4 seed to get to Omaha, along with 17 No. 3 seeds, 34 No. 2 seeds and 153 No. 1 seeds (nearly three-quarters).

It will run for nearly two weeks, making it the final college athletic event of the academic year. 

There is still another event to be contested, though, and that would be the NCAA track and field championships, which begin today and run through Saturday in Eugene. This will be the final competition in 2024-25 for Princeton.

The track and field championships also look like they would be a fun time. Those who have been there say that's how it is, at least. It's sort of a different kind of thoroughbred, no?

Princeton will have three women and nine men in the field, by virtue of the qualifying meet in Jacksonville two weeks ago.  

Among the women will be Mena Scatchard, the von Kienbusch Award winner who will run in the 1500 semifinals while she concludes her record-setting year. Georgina Scoot will be in two events, the long jump and triple jump, and Shea Greene will throw the javelin. All three will be in the running for All-American honors. 

On the men's side, Harrison Witt will run the 1500, Sam Rodman is in the 800, Greg Foster is in the long jump, Joe Licata in the shot put and Casey Helm in the discus. 

Witt's qualifying time is the second best in his event. As for the discus? It seems to be fairly bunched, other than the top two of Ralford Mullings of Oklahoma, whose qualifier was five meters beyond anyone else — other than Cal's Mykolas Alekna, who is five meters past Mullings. 

If Alekna wins an NCAA title, he can hang his award next to his Olympic silver medal, the one he won in Paris last summer.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Karl Dietz, Xavier Donaldson, Kavon Miller and Joey Gant — none of whom is a senior — have a qualifying time of 3:02.62. No team in the field has gone below 3:02, which means that this is pretty wide open, with the Tigers in the mix.

You can read all the start times and schedules HERE.