Court Report

When TigerBlog was a kid, anytime he and his family went anywhere, FatherBlog would always count the number of bags that they took with them.

That way, when it came time to get the luggage from baggage claim, he'd know exactly how many pieces the entire family needed to have.

It seemed like a relatively efficient system. In fact, TigerBlog has used it often throughout his life, though he has altered it a bit.

For instance, if he knows he needs a handful of items at supermarket, he'll just remember that he needs five things. Then, when he gets there, he doesn't need a list. He just knows he needs five things, and then he remembers what the five are.

Or maybe he knows he has to do three things before he leaves at the end of a given day. Or remember to feed two children.  

When he leaves for work, he'll use the same system. He knows he needs to take X number of things with him, and it doesn't really matter what they are. When it comes time to go, he figures it out.

This morning, though, he couldn't remember if he brought his lunch with him. It was one of the four things he needed to bring with him.

Then, as he was driving, he couldn't remember if he'd brought his lunch.

TigerBlog likes bringing his lunch in. Leftovers, usually. And fruit. Grapes and an apple. The red grapes, not the green ones. Cantaloupe, when it's in season.

And it's so easy to just get the lunch out of the fridge and pop it in the microwave. No muss, no fuss.

For years, TB went out to lunch. He went through his bagel place phase. And Panera. And Frist. Now? Just get it out of the fridge.

Fortunately, he had it with him. The other items he had to bring? His computer bag, a new pair of shorts for his locker and two extra layers to wear later, when he goes to TigerBlog Jr.'s lacrosse game.

Why two more layers? Because, despite being April 8, it's back to being freezing. Today? Ugly. Cloudy, gray, chance of rain, high in the mid-40s.

It's supposed to warm up again this weekend, with sunshine and temps back in the 60s. And that'll work out just fine for Princeton Athletics, who has some huge events this coming weekend.

The month of April is when the bulk of Ivy League spring competition takes place. And the seasons zoom by.

In fact, it'll only be two more weekends before Ivy League champions are crowned in both men's and women's tennis. Of course, only one full weekend has been played, but already the season is at the midway point.

Imagine soccer or lacrosse or field hockey if they played two games each weekend and one against a travel-partner tucked in. Or basketball if it was only single round-robin, instead of double round-robin.

That's what Ivy League tennis is.

You know what else Ivy tennis is? Loaded.

Anyway, to date, each team has played three league matches and each will play four more by next Sunday, two this weekend and two next.

Princeton is the lone unbeaten on the women's side and is also 3-0 on the men's side, along with Columbia. Both the men and the women play Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend, with the men at home and the women away.

The Princeton women are ranked 53rd, which leaves them third in the league in rankings, behind No. 37 Dartmouth and No. 46 Columbia. Dartmouth lost 6-1 to Columbia, who has a 4-3 loss to Cornell.

Princeton's women went 7-0 in the league last year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, where the Tigers almost knocked off the No. 2 team in the country, Alabama. A perfect league record. A first-round NCAA win. A strong showing against a national power in the second round.

Sound familiar? Okay, it didn't get the attention that the women's basketball season just got, but it was still one of the great accomplishments in Princeton Athletics in the last few years.

The Princeton men are 18-4 overall and 3-0 in the league. The program record for wins is 20, set in 1995.

Princeton is ranked 30th nationally, ahead of its two visitors this weekend. Dartmouth ranks 54th, while Harvard is 34th. Princeton and Harvard have split a pair of matches this year, and Princeton defeated the Crimson 4-3 in San Diego in the most recent of the two.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and allow the matches to be played outside at the Lenz Center. If not, they'll be in Jadwin Gym.

Ahead for both teams are matches against Columbia and Cornell. And that'll be that for the Ivy tennis regular season.

 Just in time for the really nice weather.