Princeton-Lehigh Football Game

Updated postgame
Some final stats: Culbreath goes 20 for 126 and a touchdown; Anderson is 20 for 29 for 244. Thanheiser catches nine for 120. Clark of Lehgih is 14 for 27 for 169 and a TD. Princeton outgains Lehigh 392-238. Time of game is 2:31. Not sure if the new timing rules or the fact that the game was one long drive after another made it such a quick game.

Updated with no time remaining
Princeton 10, Lehigh 7
Louden's field goal is good. Princeton wins.

Updated with 3 seconds remaining.
Fourth down from the 15. Princeton timeout. Connor Louden will attempt a 32-yard field goal to win the game.

Updated with 21 seconds remaining.
Princeton has third and two at the Lehigh 13. It's a 30-yard field goal from here. Remember, Lehigh has already blocked one field goal. Princeton with one timeout remaining. Lehigh with one timeout remaining.

Updated with :45 remaining.
Anderson to Thanheiser for 47 yards. First and 10 Princeton at the 21.

Updated still with :55 remaining
Watson didn't get it. Princeton ball. First and 10 on the 32.

Updated with :55 remaining.
Lehigh gives it to Adam Watson on the fourth down. He looks short, but a measurement is coming.

Updated with 1 min remaining.
McGowan's run leaves Lehigh with 4th and 1 at the 32. A 49-yard field goal would put the Mountain Hawks on top, but Princeton calls timeout first. Before the timeout, Lehigh had its offense on the field. No wind to speak of.

Updated with 1:26 remaining in fourth.
Still tied.
Lehigh timeout. Third and 2 at the Princeton 34. Lehigh's kicker Jason Leo is good, but might be too far for him if the Hawks don't get first down.

Updated with 2:3o remaining in fourth
Lehigh gets a first down at the Princeton 42 as Matt McGowan puts together two good runs.

Updated with 3:30 remaining in fourth
Still tied.
Lehigh's Matt Cohen sacks Anderson, forcing a punt. Coyle drills another one. Cribbs returns to the Lehigh 38.

Updated with 5:55 remaining in fourth.
Wilson Cates makes a nice tackle in a third down play, forcing a Lehigh punt. Tigers get it at their own 21.

Updated with 7 min remaining in fourth.
Still tied.
Another punt for Coyle goes inside the 10. This time, Jarard Cribbs fields it and returns it to the Lehigh 33.

Updated with 9 min remaining in fourth
Princeton 7, Lehigh 7
Lehigh punts on 4th and 8 at the Princeton 40. Goes into the end zone. First and 10 Princeton from the 20. Princeton has outgained Lehigh 312-203.

Updated 13 min remaining in fourth
Princeton 7, Lehigh 7
Princeton forced to punt for first time. Great coverage by Meko McCray. Lehigh first and 10 at its own 10.

Updated End of Third
Princeton 7, Lehigh 7
Princeton forced a Lehigh punt on the first three-and-out of the night. The Tigers had reasonable field position to start the drive at their own 25. First three quarters take less than two hours to play. Culbreath - 14 carries, 115 yards through three quarters.

Updated with 1:40 in third
Princeton 7, Lehigh 7
Yet another long drive. Princeton goes 10 plays but turns it over at the Lehigh 30. Princeton has yet to punt in this game.

Updated 5 min left in third
Culbreath goes over 100-yard mark rushing as the Tigers are on the move.

Updated First Drive Of Third Quarter
Princeton 7, Lehigh 7
Lehigh takes the second-half kick and goes on another long march. This time, the Mountain Hawks run off 12 plays plays before a Jeff Jackson sack ends the threat and forces a punt. Princeton gets it on its nine.

Updated end of half
Princeton 7, Lehigh 7
Culbreath has 89 yards. Anderson is 11 for 15 for 121 yards. Lehigh's quarterback Clark is 7 for 11 for 101 yards and the interception. Princeton has outgained Lehigh 238-113.

Updated 2:44 left in half
Jeffrey Jackson ends a Lehigh drive with an interception at the Tiger 23.

Updated 4:57 remaining in half
Princeton 7, Lehigh 7
Jordan Culbreath gets Princeton on the board with a one-yard TD run on a nice pitch from Brian Anderson. Culbreath now has 88 yards on eight carries. A 46-yard pass from Anderson to Magro set the Tigers up.

Updated 7:18 Remaining in half
Lehigh 7, Princeton 0
Lehigh's J.B. Clark throws a short TD pass to Mike Fitzgerald.

Updated midway second
Princeton 0, Lehigh 0
Lehigh blocks a field goal attempt. Al Pierce picks it up and brings it to the Princeton eight. Brian Anderson, the holder, chased him down to save the touchdown on an amazing hustle play.

Updated Early Second
Still scoreless
Lehigh's drive goes eight minutes and comes up empty when Jason Leo misses a long field goal. The first 19 minutes of the game features one possession for each team, 155 yards, and no points.

Updated End of First
Princeton 0, Lehigh 0
Lehigh answers Princeton's drive with a long one of its own. Quarter ends with the Mountain Hawks with a first down at the Tiger 36.

Updated In First Quarter
Princeton 0, Lehigh 0
Princeton took the opening kickoff and took the first 10:26 off the clock before being stopped on a 4th-and-goal inside the one. Brian Anderson,who completed all six of his passes on the 17 play drive, was stopped on a sneak.

Update Pregame
Surprising Ivy League finals: Brown 24, Harvard 22; Cornell 17, Yale 14.

Princeton and Lehigh are about 20Updated minutes away from kickoff. It's extremely humid in Princeton, but the rain hasn't been more than a mist at any point all day. Waiting for the first appearance of the Princeton band, who had so much excitement a week ago at the Citadel. The band's performance this weekend will not refer to what happened in Charleston.

Tigers in San Diego

Not since 1912 had Princeton had three or more Tigers playing Major League Baseball until early September of 2008 when Will Venable joined Chris Young and Ross Ohlendorf in the Major Leagues. This weekend all three find themselves in Southern California as the Pittsburgh Pirates conclude the season against the San Diego Padres.

It is unlikely that all three will appear in the same game, as Young is scheduled to pitch on Saturday and Ohlendorf on Sunday, while Venable will likely play all three games in centerfield. Thanks to the Padres and photographer Chris Hardy for this picture taken during batting practice prior to Friday night’s game.

Correction/Apology

The Princeton Department of Athletics sent out its annual Unified Appeal publication a few weeks ago. For the second straight year, it is done in the form of a calendar.

Before the calendar part starts, the publication features several pages devoted to other aspects of Princeton athletics, including a review of Princeton's 2007-08 All-Americas. The list is an impressive one that includes photos of 35 Tigers who earned that prestigious honor a year ago.

Unfortunately, it should have had 36 pictures, as we inadvertently left Christy Johnson of the women's cross-country team off the list.

We'd like to apologize to Christy for the mistake, congratulate her on her achievement and wish her and her teammates luck moving forward this year.

Men's Basketball Game Time vs. Central Connecticut State Set

Princeton and Central Connecticut State will tip at 1 p.m. in New Britain, Conn., on Dec. 20. That leaves one last TBA time on the Princeton men's basketball schedule, the final game of the regular season at Penn on Tuesday, Mar. 10.

Princeton and CCSU met to open the season at Jadwin Gym last year, with the Tigers winning 59-57 to give Sydney Johnson '97 a win in his head coaching debut. It was the first meeting between the two schools.

Hockey Already?

Tuesday was the first official day of fall. The leaves are just starting to change colors. Princeton is hosting its first football game on Saturday night, and the puck is about to drop on another collegiate hockey season.

Seem a little early? Well for the non-Ivy college hockey playing world the season is about to begin. On the women's side, Quinnipiac and Wisconsin play the first regular season game on Friday night, Sept. 26. A day later, Connecticut and Sacred Heart join the mix, while over the weekend, there are 20 other exhibition games scheduled between NCAA schools and teams from Canada.

In contrast the Princeton women do not have their first official practice until Oct. 10, which is still two weeks away. The Tigers first competitive action comes with an exhibition game on Oct. 17 and scrimmages the following day before their season-opener on Oct. 25. Princeton's opponent that night, Connecticut, will have played eight real games, plus one exhibition contest, leading into the night. There will be 18 real games played featuring ECAC schools before the Tigers, and all Ivy schools for that matter, even start official practice.

On the men's side, the two Alaska schools have exhibition games this weekend, with the bulk of schools playing exhibition games next week. The first real games will be played the week of Oct. 10. Princeton, and the other Ivies, can start official practices on Oct. 17 and play their first regular season games the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 weekend. Princeton has an exhibition game on Oct. 25 and opens the season in Oct. 31 against Brown in a non-league game against the Bears. Two years ago, Princeton, Brown and Yale decided to open the season with an Ivy showcase, so that they would not be opening the season against teams with several other games under their belts, looking to avoid the situation the Princeton women will be in this season, playing their first game against a team playing its ninth.

Bye, Chuck

Chuck Yrigoyen, one of the most universally well-liked people ever to set foot in Jadwin Gym, is leaving the Princeton area after a long career here.

Yrigoyen is moving from his current position as Associate Director for Athletic Administration and Championships at the Ivy League office to become the commissioner of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The complete release about the move is available here:
http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/article.asp?intID=6711.

Chuck spent 19 years at the Ivy office. Before that, he worked in the Princeton Office of Athletic Communications, beginning as an intern in 1983 and then spending six years as Director of Athletic Communications. Yrigoyen was the men's basketball contact at Princeton when the Tigers almost defeated Georgetown in the 1989 NCAA tournament. Yrigoyen stayed close to Princeton athletics at the Ivy office, including some time as the color commentator for Tiger basketball.

More than that, he was a friend to almost anyone in the Princeton athletic department, especially those with whom he went back 10, 20, almost 30 years. He has a gregarious personality and a sharp sense of humor, and he will definitely be missed by those who were his friends for all these years. He will especially be missed by the Jadwin lunchtime basketball crowd, as Chuck has probably played in more games on the east court than anyone else in the decades-old history of that game.

Best of luck, Chuck, and thanks for all the laughs through the years.

Going, Going, Gone

In case you missed it, Will Venable and Chris Young both hit home runs this weekend as the San Diego Padres swept the Washington Nationals.

Venable hit his second since being called up in late August as part of a 3-for-7 night Friday night in an 11-6 win. Young hit the first of his career in Saturday's 6-1 win in which he allowed two hits in seven shutout innings to even his record at 6-6.

For the record, Young in his career is now batting .121 with 16 hits in 132 at-bats. He has four doubles, a triple and a home run with eight RBIs.

Women's Tennis Results from Day Two in Atlanta

Below are results from the women's tennis team's second day at the Georgia Tech Invitational. The team will wrap up competition Sunday.

Pictured from Atlanta are Taylor Marable, serving, and the three members of the freshman class, from left, Rachel Saiontz, Lauren McHale and Hilary Bartlett.

Singles
Flight 1
Amanda McDowell, Georgia Tech (3) vs. Lauren McHale, Princeton, 6-1, 6-4
Flight 2
Christy Striplin, Georgia Tech (57) vs. Taylor Marable, Princeton, 7-5, 6-1
Flight 3
Irina Falconi, Georgia Tech def. Melissa Saiontz, Princeton, 6-1, 6-0
Flight 4
Hillary Barlett, Princeton def. Lynn Blau, Georgia Tech, 6-0, 6-4
Flight 5
Noelle Hickey, Georgia Tech (107) vs. Blakely Ashley, Princeton, 6-1, 6-4
Flight 6
Hillary Davis, Georgia Tech vs. Sarah Hoffman, Princeton, 6-3, 6-1
Flight 7
Sasha Krupina, Georgia Tech vs. Rachel Saiontz, Princeton, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Flight 8
Christy Ngo, Georgia Tech vs. Sarah Huah, Princeton , 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
Flight 1
McKenna/Hein, Arizona St. (41) def. Marable/Bartlett, Princeton, 9-8 (8-6)
Flight 2
Abdala/Simmons, Arizona St. def. Huah/McHale, Princeton, 8-4
Flight 3
Brown/Van Horne, Arizona St. def. M. Saiontz/R. Saiontz, Princeton, 9-7
Flight 4
Kozmina/Gresova, Georgia State def. Ashley/Hoffman, Princeton, 8-4

LIVE UPDATES: Football vs. The Citadel

Updated 3:23 p.m.
Special teams got Princeton again after The Citadel forced a 3 and out. This time, Coyle blasted his longest punt of the day, and Roberts returned it even further. The speedy receiver went down the middle of the field, cut right and returned it 54 yards. It looked like an inevitable touchdown, but Coyle did a heck of a job using the sideline to cut off room and ultimately force Roberts out. Asheton Jordan did the job himself, going off the left side of the line for the 5-yard touchdown. The extra point failed, and The Citadel led 30-17.

The Princeton offense just hasn't been able to settle into a drive throughout the second half. The Citadel has improved its pressure and kept Anderson or Culbreath from getting comfortable. The Bulldog offense currently has the ball after converting on 4th and 1 near midfield and is moving again. It's time to head to the field, but check back later on GoPrincetonTigers.com for a full recap of Princeton opening day of the 2008 season.

Updated 3:05 p.m.
The third phase for The Citadel also got going, as the offense marched 68 yards to take its first lead of the day. Blanchard’s 35-yard pass to Joshua Haney, the first real miscommunication for the Tiger secondary, got The Citadel down to the 10 yard line, and on third down, Blanchard faked a quarterback draw and flipped a lob to tight end Taylor Cornett, who did a nice job getting his feet inbounds before falling out the back of the end zone.

The Princeton defense did a bend-but-don’t-break on The Citadel’s next possession, which kept the Bulldogs from extending the lead to more than a touchdown. Princeton got some much-needed pressure on Blanchard when The Citadel got to the 12 yard line, and Sam Keeler moved the lead to 24-17 with less than one minute remaining in the third quarter.


Updated 2:47 p.m.
You had to know a proud Citadel team would come out fired up in the second half. Special teams provide The Citadel with a big break early in the second half. Mel Capers, who had 16 blocked kicks in high school, came off the right side of the line and blocked Ryan Coyle’s punt to open the second half. Reggie Rice picked it up and sprinted 25 yards for the touchdown. The Citadel defense has forced another punt and has the ball on its own 38 yard line with 8:56 left in the third quarter.

Updated 2:23 p.m.
The Citadel cut the deficit to three points by driving 66 yards for the touchdown. Roberts, who not gotten on track before the drive, made two big plays on the drive. He took a reverse run 11 yards for a first down and caught an 11-yard post pattern for a touchdown. Citadel quarterback Bart Blanchard, a cool customer amidst a strong Princeton rush, added a long run of his own.

Looking to score again before halftime, Pete Ploszek took the kickoff and, after 15 yards, handed it to Meko McCray. A track standout in the sprints, McCray nearly broke it and was tackled at the 50. After a first down, Thanheiser took an end around into The Citadel red zone, and after getting inside the 10, Anderson hit Zimmerman for the touchdown. Zimmerman, whose blocking in the first half (along with the offensive line) was a key to the offensive success, threw a quick block, rolled off and caught a pass in the flat. He was hit short of the goal-line but powered himself in for the score.

Princeton will get the ball first after halftime and leads 17-7. In his first start, Steven Cody has six tackles in the first 30 minutes.

Updated 1:45 p.m.
After another defensive stop, Princeton went 78 yards for its first touchdown of the season. Anderson ran for 18 yards, following a Jonathan Meyers lead block, to move deep into Citadel territory. The blocking in the run game has been superb so far. Matt Zimmerman has made several inside blocks to spring Culbreath, who seems to always fall forward for two extra yards. A wide receiver screen to Trey Peacock got the ball to the 2 yard line, and an option pitch left to Culbreat gave Princeton its first touchdown.

The fans, and there are a lot of them here, aren't sure what to make of this. Through the first 22 minutes of the game, Princeton has outgained the 22nd-ranked Citadel 152-46.

Updated 1:32 p.m.
The first quarter ends with Princeton ahead 3-0. After a stop near midfield, Anderson converted a 3rd and long pass to Will Thanheiser for a first down. He nearly had another, but a pass to Peacock was a little behind him. Ryan Coyle's first punt of the season went 37 yards, which may not seem like much compared to his superior average from last season, but the hang time on the punt didn't allow Andre Roberts a chance to return it. Rest assured that head coach Roger Hughes will take 37-yard punts like that all day.

Updated 1:14 p.m.
For Collin McCarthy, Brian Anderson and Jordan Culbreath, it was a nice way to start the season. The Citadel got the ball first, and on its first play of the season, the Princeton defense recorded a sack when McCarthy came off the side and got to Bart Blanchard. Princeton forced a 3-and-out, although The Citadel nearly hit on a 61-yard touchdown pass to Roberts. His speed is scary.

The Princeton offense got the ball after a nice punt return from Matt Ransom. On Princeton's first offensive play of the season, Brian Anderson faked a handoff and ran a quarterback keeper 26 yards. Two plays later, Culbreath took his first run nine yards and broke two tackles on the play. Both look quick. Princeton converted on two third downs on the first drive, including one on a nice scramble by Anderson and a nice catch in traffic by Trey Peacock.

The drive ended with a 31-yard field goal by Connor Louden. Considering the way the 2007 season opener against Lehigh began, this was a very successful start.

Updated 12:35 p.m.
Two freshmen could see playing time in the backfield today, running backs Eric Stoyanoff and Jonathan Meyers. Meyers, a top lacrosse recruit as well, turned a lot of heads when he passed up scholarship offers from schools like Florida and Michigan to attend Princeton. The New York Times did a feature on Meyers that can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/sports/ncaafootball/20princeton.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin.

Updated 12:25 p.m.

Princeton, in white tops and white pants, have taken the field at the beautiful Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston for warm-ups. After a quiet 15-minute bus ride from the hotel, the players seem focused and ready. Junior Dan Kopolovich, the back-up quarterback, appears to be in the secondary mix as well and might start. If he does, you can feel confident that he, Cart Kelly and the rest of the defensive backfield will keep their eyes on junior All-America Andre Roberts, who seems just as dangerous on punt returns as he does in the offense.

TigerBlog will keep fans updated throughout the game with updates, and the final recap, with updated stats, will be available on GoPrincetonTigers.com.

Tiger Bits: Info from Women's Soccer's 1-0 Win over Towson

Sarah Peteraf's last three career goals have been game-winning or game-tying. On Oct. 28, 2006, Peteraf had the only goal in a 1-0 win over Cornell. After not scoring last season, Peteraf has scored in two of Princeton's three games this season. She had the game-tying goal against Boston University and the game-winner against Towson. Five of Peteraf's six career goals have come in Princeton shutouts.

Speaking of shutouts, sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Pont earned her first career shutout against Towson.

Freshmen Lauren Brown and Alissa Boddie got their first career starts against Towson. Barb Previ has been the only other freshman to start this season, getting the nod in Princeton's opener against Boston University.

The overtime win was Princeton's first overtime victory since Oct. 22, 2005 at Harvard when Emily Behncke '06 scored with 14 seconds left in the second OT. The last time Princeton won an overtime game at home was Sept. 10, 2005 against Loyola Marymount when Diana Matheson '08 scored 2:20 into the first overtime.

The win over Towson was Princeton's first over a Colonial Athletic Association team since 2002 when the Tigers beat George Mason. Princeton had since faced two CAA teams, back-to-back during the 2006 season when it tied Virginia Commonwealth and lost to William & Mary.

Two-Round Results from Men's Golf at The McLaughlin

Princeton stands sixth of 18 teams through two rounds at the McLaughlin Invitational hosted by St. John's at Bethpage Red on Long Island. At +21, the Tigers are 14 shots off the lead held by Southeastern Louisiana.

With one round to play Saturday, the individual lead is held by Sacred Heart's Pat Fillian at -2. Here are Princeton's individual results:
11 Juan Pablo Candela Princeton 72 70 142 +2
27 Patrick Wasserman Princeton 76 69 145 +5
29 Andrew Maliniak Princeton 72 74 146 +6
46 Eric Salazar Princeton 78 71 149 +9
58 Max Schechter Princeton 77 74 151 +11

Results from Women's Tennis' First Day in Atlanta

Highlights from Princeton's victories Friday include Taylor Marable's (pictured) win over 61st-ranked Naoko Ueshima and Lauren McHale's win over 81st-ranked Monika Dancevic. Marable and Hilary Bartlett teamed to beat a Georgia Tech pair that is the 30th-ranked doubles team, including 2008 NCAA singles champion Amanda McDowell.

Singles
Flight 1
Lauren McHale, Princeton def. Monika Dancevic, Georgia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Flight 2
Yvette Hynman, Georgia def. Melissa Saiontz, Princeton, 6-3, 6-2
Flight 3
Nadja Gilchrist, Georgia def. Hilary Bartlett, Princeton, 6-1, 6-4
Flight 4
Taylor Marable, Princeton def. Naoko Ueshima, Georgia, 6-0, 6-2*
Flight 5
Cameron Ellis, Georgia def. Rachel Saiontz, Princeton, 6-1, 6-4
Flight 6
Adrienne Elsberry, Georgia def. Blakely Ashley, Princeton, 6-0, 6-3
Flight 9
Sarah Hoffman, Princeton def. Kiara Powell, Georgia St., 6-4, 6-2

Doubles
Flight 1
Bartlett/Marable, Princeton def. McDowell/Falconi, Georgia Tech, 8-5*
Flight 2
Striplin/Hickey, Georgia Tech def. McHale/M. Saiontz, Princeton, 8-6
Flight 3
Krupina/Ngo, Georgia Tech def. Ashley/Huah, Princeton, 8-5
Flight 4
R. Saiontz/Hoffman, Princeton def. Blau/Davis, Georgia Tech, 8-6

*Result later vacated due to NCAA Committee on Infractions decision.

Men's Tennis Competes at USTA in NYC: Day 1

Six members of the Princeton men's tennis team began play Friday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Men's College Tennis Invitational in the form of three doubles teams, two of which won their opening matches.

Both of Princeton's first-flight teams won. Peter Capkovic and Alex Vuckovic defeated a Columbia pair 8-6, while George Carpeni and Alex Kruger-Wyman won over an Alabama duo 8-1. Capkovic and Vuckovic will meet a Harvard twosome Saturday morning while Carpeni and Kruger-Wyman will meet a Brown pair.

Princeton's entry in the third flight, a younger pair in sophomore Parker Preyer and freshman Yohei Shoji, lost 8-6 to a team from St. John's. Play will continue for Preyer and Shoji, however, against a Marist pair Saturday morning.

Later Friday in singles play, Princeton had three players in the top singles draw with Kruger-Wyman, Capkovic and Carpeni. Kruger-Wyman lost his first match to Kalle Norberg from Mississippi, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, before defeating Bogden Borta from Columbia in a walkover. He will meet Yale's Jeff Dawson in his last singles match Saturday.

Peter Capkovic lost to Brown's Chris Lee, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5), before falling again to Cornell's Kyle Doppelt in a walkover. Capkovic will face Yale's Mike Caldwell Saturday. Carpeni lost to Harvard's Chris Clayton, 6-3, 6-3 before defeating Caldwell, 6-3, 6-1. Carpeni will face Doppelt Saturday.

Preyer won his first two matches in the sixth singles flight, defeating St. John's Derek Wallensteen, 6-0, 6-1, and Marist's Landon Greene 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Preyer will face Cornell's Connor Sherwood Saturday. In the seventh singles flight, Shoji defeated Marist's Rhys Hobbs, 7-5, 6-3, before falling to Dartmouth's Chris Ho, 6-1, 6-3. Shoji will face Hobbs again Saturday.

Ivy Opener

The field hockey team takes on Dartmouth Saturday afternoon in the first Ivy League contest by a Princeton team this academic year.

Here at Princeton Athletics, we often refer to the fact that Princeton has won the Ivy League's unofficial all-sports points standings. In our current context, it has been 22 straight years. How is this determined? Simple. Each of the 33 official Ivy League sports is given equal weight. First place is worth eight points, followed by seven for second and six for third and so on. Points are split evenly in case of a tie for a place finish, so two teams that tied for second would get 6.5 points each. In the event that a sport with fewer than eight teams (men's lacrosse, for instance, has seven), the winner still gets eight points.

The Ivy League office does not officially recognize an all-sports champion, and to honor the wishes of that group, we're careful to use the term "unofficial."

Officially, Princeton played 191 head-to-head Ivy League contests last year with a record of 124-65-2. That's a winning percentage of .654.

Greetings from Charleston...

The official Princeton travel party, including coaches, staff, administrators, family members and a group of very excited players, has made its way to Charleston, S.C. The Citadel is not the typical opponent for Princeton, and it certainly wasn't the typical way to travel.

Since Princeton usually plays its first road game at either Lehigh or Lafayette, the team doesn't leave campus until Saturday. This year, it was time to say goodbye on Thursday. The travel party met at Caldwell Field House at 3:45, picked up a bagged lunch and followed a police escort -- yes, a police escort -- to the Philadelphia Airport.

The team arrived in a parking lot next to the airport, where only one plane could be seen. The charter flight, aboard Miami Airlines, was waiting for the travel party. After an ID and bag check, the party was loaded and ready to go.

Unfortunately, about 18 planes ahead of Princeton's were also ready to go. The 2008 Tigers waited three long weeks as most other schools began their football seasons. What's 45 more minutes?

After a smooth flight, the team headed to a nearby Sheraton, found their rooms and met in one of the ballrooms for dinner. By the time dinner was over, it was 10:00 and, after players hung out with their families for a bit, it was time to call it an evening.

Friday's schedule begins with carriage tours of Charleston for both players and members of the travel party. After that, the players will move their focus fully to the tough No. 22 Citadel football team. There will be a reception for the travel party and any local alumni at the Gibbes Museum of Art at 6:30 p.m.

Men's Basketball Game Time vs. Concordia Moved to 5 p.m.

The Jan. 25 Princeton men's basketball game versus Concordia has been moved to a 5 p.m. tip-off in Jadwin Gym.

Originally scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip, the game was shifted later to accommodate an indoor track meet held the same day.

Game Week Already?

It's game week for the Princeton football team and its seven Ivy League rivals. Princeton, as a reminder, plays at the Citadel Saturday at 1 in the first meeting ever between the schools.

The football season, of course, is already nearly a month old, and teams from the NFL through all levels of college to high school and down through youth leagues have all played multiple games to date.

While one's instinct might be to be critical of the Ivy League way of waiting so long for the opening of the season, the good far outweighs the bad. Yes, it is a long wait from the first football games that are on TV in August until the Ivy kickoff in late September. Yes, Princeton has only one home game before Oct. 18, by which time a team like Ohio State will have played five home games.

Still, the rhythm of an Ivy League season is great. Ten weeks. Ten games. No bye weeks. No loss of momentum.

There's also almost a guarantee that when Nov. 1 rolls around, the league title will still be up for grabs among half the teams in the league. Even for the teams out of it by then, each week is its own mini-season, a chance to prepare and compete in rivalries that date back more than a century in almost every case.

As for this weekend's Princeton game, it can be heard on WPRB FM 103.3 and on goprincetontigers.com. Audio on the Website is free, as always. Ed Benkin is back as the play-by-play man for the Tigers, and Dan Loney will be the color commentator this year.

Princeton's Sachson Honored In CoSIDA Writing Contest

Craig Sachson of Princeton's Office of Athletic Communications won first place nationally in the "coach feature" division of the College Sports Information Directors' Association Fred Stabley Writing Contest with his profile of Princeton women's volleyball coach Glenn Nelson.

Sachson's feature can be found here: http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46541&SPID=4230&DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=1329027

Sachson began his sports information career at Princeton as an intern before working at Cornell for two years. He returned to Princeton in 2002 and serves as the contact for 12 teams as the Director of Athletic Media Relations.

Princeton, California

What are the odds of four Princeton hockey teammates winding up the same professional team three years later? Well, apparently they are pretty good.

The Fresno Falcons of the ECHL announced yesterday the signing of Kyle Hagel, an assistant captain on last year's ECAC Championship team, and Dustin Sproat, the ECAC scoring champion in 2006. Those two join two players already there: Daryl Marcoux, a 2007 Princeton graduate, played in Fresno last season, while Grant Goeckner-Zoeller, also an '07 graduate and the seventh leading scorer in program history, played in the ECHL for Augusta and Dayton last season and was traded to Fresno last month.

Princeton head coach Guy Gadowsky played in Fresno during the 1995-96 season and served as the team's head coach for three seasons from 1996-99 before becoming the head coach at Alaska-Fairbanks.

Kristin Schwab And The Et Als

The name of the article is "Limitations of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Angiography In the Diagnosis of Intracranial Aneurysms," and it appears in the July 2008 edition of neurosurgery.online.com.

The list of four authors appears on the left side of the first page. The last three are Philippe Gailloud, M.D., Gerald Wyse, M.D., and Rafael Tamargo, M.D. The lead author is Kristin E. Schwab. She is listed as "Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine." All subsequent pages of the article are headed by "Schwab, Et Al."

If the name Kristin Schwab is a familiar one, it's because she's the same Kristin Schwab who is a senior on the Princeton field hockey and women's lacrosse teams. Schwab has spent the last few summers doing research at Johns Hopkins, and she also traveled to Africa to do additional research. Obviously, she is a pre-med student.

As for the story itself, it is very clinical. Here is the conclusion: "MRI/MRA studies are often inaccurate in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms and should not be used as the sole diagnostic studies for intracranial aneurysms. Other radiographic modalities should be further investigated as alternatives to MRI/MRA for the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms."

Schwab has been All-Ivy League in both of her sports.

Princeton Tennis Teams Set to Start Fall Campaigns

Both Princeton tennis teams will begin their fall seasons this weekend, with the men traveling to Penn State for a multi-team event and the women's team hosting a similar event, the Princeton Invitational, at the Lenz Tennis Center.

The men's event will feature Princeton taking on North Carolina State Friday, Penn State Saturday and Alabama Sunday. The event will not count as a regular dual match, but will feature seven singles players and four doubles teams battling it out with their Wolfpack, Nittany Lion and Crimson Tide counterparts.

The women's event will bring Penn, Buffalo and Virginia Tech to campus. The schedule is below:

4 p.m. Friday: Four doubles matches - Penn vs. Buffalo and Princeton vs. Virginia Tech
5 p.m. Friday: Four doubles matches - Princeton vs. Penn and Virginia Tech vs. Buffalo
10 a.m. Saturday: Eight singles matches - Penn vs. Buffalo and Princeton vs. Virginia Tech
Noon Saturday: Four doubles matches - Penn vs. Virginia Tech and Princeton vs. Buffalo
4 p.m. Saturday: Eight singles matches - Penn vs. Princeton and Virginia Tech vs. Buffalo

Sunday's matches will be decided upon Saturday by the coaches. All fans in attendance at Friday's matches will be able to enjoy free pizza and can sign up for a tennis clinic.

In case of rain, the matches will take place on the indoor courts on Jadwin Gym's E level.

Take Your Pick If You'd Like To Go To The Princeton Invitational

So you want to go to the Princeton Invitational this weekend? Just one question: Which one?

The Princeton campus hosts three events named the "Princeton Invitational" this weekend. In addition to sharing the same name, all three also share the same ticket price: $0.

The men's soccer team hosts doubleheaders Friday and Sunday featuring the Tigers, American, Seton Hall and Penn. The Princeton Invitational for women's tennis is this weekend as well, beginning Friday and running through Sunday. The other Princeton Invitational is in men's water polo, which runs from Friday to Sunday as well; the water polo event features 10 teams, seven of which are ranked nationally and two more of which are receiving votes in the latest poll.

The cross country teams could have made it four Princeton Invitationals but chose instead to call their Saturday event at home "The Old Nassau Run," to be followed in October by their own Princeton Invitational.

Golf Teams to Begin Fall Seasons This Weekend

Princeton's men's and women's golf teams will start their fall seasons this weekend, the men playing at an Indiana-hosted tournament and the women traveling to Penn State.

The men's tournament, the Wolf Run Intercollegiate at Wolf Run Golf Club in Zionsville, Ind., will feature 14 teams playing a par-71 course that measures 7,195 yards. Ball State, Eastern Michigan, IUPUI, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Missouri, North Florida, Purdue and Toledo will join the Tigers and host Hoosiers. The teams will play 36 holes Saturday and 18 holes Sunday. The forecast looks iffy, especially Saturday, with scattered thunderstorms in the forecast and clouds for Sunday.

The women will stay closer to home at Penn State's Blue Course. The Nittany Lion Invitational will feature Western Michigan, Ball State, William & Mary, Longwood, Monmouth, Bowling Green, Ohio, Rutgers, Bucknell, Butler, Boston College and Ivy foes Columbia and Yale joining Penn State and the Tigers. As with the men's tournament, the teams will play 36 holes Saturday and 18 Sunday. Also as with the men's tournament, the forecast is inauspicious with thundershowers threatening Saturday and isolated thunderstorms Sunday. The Blue Course is a par-72 measuring up to 7,172 yards.

Both teams are scheduled for five fall tournaments, with the women hosting the Princeton Invitational at Springdale Golf Club next weekend.

Ike? Yikes

The women's soccer team is scheduled to play two games this weekend in Texas, beginning Friday at Texas A&M and continuing Sunday at Rice. Hurricane Ike is currently on a similar itinerary as the Tigers, with a possible landfall in Texas sometime later this week or weekend.

The hurricane may still shift to the south and enable Princeton to play its games, or it may wipe out part or all of the trip. Updates to follow.

Women's Tennis Receives On-Court, Off-Court Honors

Junior Melissa Saiontz (pictured at right) of the Princeton women's tennis team has been ranked 80th in Division I in the ITA's preseason rankings of singles players and doubles teams released Sept. 4. The link to the complete list can be found here. The list does not include incoming freshmen, so Princeton's national No. 1 recruiting class as judged by the Tennis Recruiting Network did not factor into the rankings.

Four members of the team earned the ITA Scholar-Athlete Award for attaining a GPA of 3.5 or better, including seniors Kristen Scott and Kelly Stewart, junior Melissa Saiontz and sophomore Sarah Hoffman. The team overall achieved ITA All-Academic Team status for having a GPA of 3.2 or better.

The ITA designation follows an honor that the team received in June, the NCAA Public Recognition Award. The award is provided to those teams that have an NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate in the top 10 percent of all squads in their sport.

Young Comes Within Four Outs Of A Perfect Game

Chris Young pitched his first career complete game and came within four outs of a perfect game as the San Diego Padres defeated Milwaukee 10-1 Sunday afternoon.

Young retired the first 23 batters he faced before Gabe Kapler homered with two outs in the eighth. Young finished with a complete game two-hitter with five strikeouts and no walks.

He also had an RBI in the game, and it wasn't just any RBI. Young hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to drive in fellow Princeton alum Will Venable, who also had two hits and an RBI of his own.

Young flirted with a no hitter just about two seasons ago against Pittsburgh on Sept. 22, 2006. Young retired 25 batters in that game without surrendering a hit until Joe Randa homered in the bottom of the ninth. Young walked three in that game and gave way to reliever Cla Meredith with one out remaining in the ninth inning.

In Case You Missed It

The Citadel will be Princeton's first football opponent of the season. Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs lost their game this weekend 45-17 at Clemson, just as it was no surprise that they won their opener 54-7 over Webber College. For those who don't know Webber, it is an NAIA school, one whose ability to spin is to be admired for this rather euphemistic headline on its official Website: "Warriors Put Seven On Board Against The Citadel." This is the same site, though, that mentioned that the Warriors are now 0-2 after a "21-23 loss to Wisconsin-Stevens Point."

The Citadel, who is off next weekend before hosting Princeton Sept. 20, threw for 338 yards against Clemson, though that was largely because the Bulldogs were behind all game. A week earlier in the Webber game, the Citadel attempted just 19 passes while rushing the ball 42 times.

Princeton's second game, and home opener, is against Lehigh, which opened yesterday with a 19-0 win over Drake in the rain and wind of the remnants of Tropical Storm Hannah. Lehigh ran the ball 53 times in the game and threw it only 12, though two of those passes went for touchdowns, including an 85-yarder.

Colgate's game at Coastal Carolina was postponed until Sunday afternoon. The Raiders opened their season with a 42-26 loss to Stony Brook.

Football Shows Encouraging Signs During Yale Scrimmage

The annual Princeton-Yale football scrimmage, which kicks off a weekend when most schools are playing their first (or second) real game, took place Friday night on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.

The starting Princeton offense impressed on its first drive. Starting running back Jordan Culbreath, the hero of last year's win over Cornell, ran the ball six times on the drive, including consecutive rushes of 13 and 17 yards. He looked quick and shifty and found holes cleared by an experienced offensive line. It's been a while since you could call this line an experienced one, but players like Mark Paski and J.P. Makrai have come into their own and should be leaders.

Another leader on this offense is tri-captain Brian Anderson, who put Princeton in front 7-0 with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Will Thanheiser. Both players worked hard on the play; Anderson broke from the pocket and scrambled left to buy time, while Thanheiser came from across the field and toed the back of the end zone when he leapt for the scoring pass.

Anderson and Culbreath played only two series, but they looked good overall. Anderson completed 4 of 5 passes for 52 yards, while Culbreath carried the ball 10 times for 74 yards. The offense struggled without Culbreath; a banged-up RC Lagomarsino didn't play, so the majority of the carries went to freshmen Eric Stoyanoff and Jonathan Meyers. The two combined for 39 yards on 12 carries and showed promise, but neither was really able to carry the offense.

The defense was able to get most of its players some time, and like the offense, showed some promise. However, the inexperienced pass defense was picked on by Yale. The Bulldogs, who scored a 28-7 win in the scrimmage, scored its two last touchdowns on long pass plays in the second half. With the starters in, Yale did put together a 69-yard touchdown drive that featured two pass plays of more than 20 yards. During the Media Day session that preceded the scrimmage, defensive coordinator Steve Verbit noted the secondary as a work in progress, and clearly it will need to be better when the two teams meet for real in November.

Like all other positions, there were positives in the backfield, including an interception and 20-yard return for Glenn Wakam.

Overall, a scrimmage is a weird game to watch. After the first quarter, there were no kickoffs and no punts, and by the second half, there were no extra points (although we credited Yale with both extra points during that session, because a 26-7 final score just doesn't sound right). It was a good test for Princeton against a Yale team that won 17 of its last 19 games heading into this season.

By the way, while Princeton is scrimmaging Yale this weekend, Week 1 opponent The Citadel is taking on ACC favorite Clemson. Pretty much the same, right?

A Princeton Fan Enters The Basketball Hall Of Fame

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame welcomes, among others, television commentator Dick Vitale as the most recent class is inducted this weekend. Vitale, for whatever faults he might have as an on-air personality, is a huge fan of Princeton basketball and was a big part of the Tigers' glory run through the late ’90s and beyond.

Vitale did several Princeton games on ESPN, including the win over Wake Forest in the 1997 Jimmy V. Classic and the 1997 Princeton-North Carolina game at the Dean Smith Center when the Tigers suffered their only loss of that regular season.

For Princeton fans who were at the Meadowlands for the 1997 Jimmy V. event, there is no forgetting the speech that Vitale made between the Princeton win in the first game and the start of the second game. It was an impassioned on the devastating effects of cancer that went for 15 minutes with a hand-held mike at center court in front of 15,000 fans. It was a mix of humor and heartfelt heartache, and when it was over, no one in attendance was unmoved.

About an hour before Princeton's game at North Carolina that same season, Vitale stood at floor level, midcourt, at the Dean Dome. The doors had opened, and there was a line up to the mezzanine in the giant building of kids waiting for his autograph. He signed every one, engaging every kid and family along the way, all the while carrying on a conversation with Brian Earl, then a Princeton guard and now an assistant coach.

During the broadcast of that game, Vitale called on Princeton fans to show up at Jadwin and support the team, complaining that to that point, there had been "half a house" at the home games. Princeton's next home game was against Manhattan; the game was a sell-out.

When James Mastaglio wanted to contact Vitale for a part of his senior thesis, Vitale's response was unflinching. "Give him my home number," he said.

Vinnie DiCarlo was an intern in the Princeton Office of Athletic Communications 13 years ago. Before coming to Princeton, he had spent some time at UConn, and he had a picture on his desk of him and Vitale, who was sporting a huge smile. DiCarlo told the story of the picture, which had been taken by a friend of his. DiCarlo said he was going to sneak up behind Vitale and have his friend snap the picture as soon as he got there. When he did, Vitale grabbed DiCarlo and put him in a bear hug. "That's not a picture," Vitale said. "This is a picture." He then posed with DiCarlo.

It's easy to judge Vitale from his overbearing on-air personality, his cliched schtick, his pro-Duke leanings and his "all coaches and players are great" overbearance. For those who've never met him, though, the in-person side of him is unbelievably impressive. He is an amazing public speaker, and his ability to interact with people remains unrivaled.

And, of course, he has remained a huge fan of the Tigers. Add it up, and it's great to see him in the Hall of Fame.

2003 and 2004 Baseball Regionals Where are They Now?

The 2003 and 2004 Princeton baseball teams were among the best teams the school has seen in the sport. With Will Venable’s recent call-up to the Majors, three players from those two teams have appeared in the Major Leagues. Ross Ohlendorf has pitched parts of two seasons with the Yankees and Pirates. Venable now has a week under his belt as an outfielder for the Padres and although he has yet to appear in a Major League game, Tim Lahey made the Phillies out of Spring Training and spent a week on the roster before being sent down to the Minors.

In both 2003 and 2004, Princeton won the Ivy League and went to the NCAA regionals. In 2003 the Tigers went to Auburn in a regional that included Princeton, Auburn, Clemson and Ohio State. A year later Princeton was grouped with Virginia, Vanderbilt and George Mason in a quartet dubbed the ‘SAT Regional.’

Looking back it is interesting to see what has become of some of the stars of those teams.

In 2003, Princeton played Auburn in the opening game and suffered a 5-2 loss as the Auburn pitching duo of Levale Speigner and Steven Register stymied the Tigers. Five years later, both are pitching at the Major League level. Speigner has pitched parts of two seasons in Washington and Register debuted this season in Colorado. Tug Hulett batted third for Auburn that day and went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Today, Hulett is a second baseman in Seattle. Lahey went 2 for 4 in the game for Princeton.

A day later, the Tigers fell to Clemson 7-6 in 10 innings. Ohlendorf pitched six innings, allowing three runs and fanning eight, while Lahey knocked two more hits and was named to the All-Regional team. No one from the Clemson team Princeton faced has made it to the Major Leagues.

In 2004, the Tigers made a splash by knocking off top-seeded Virginia 4-2 in the opening game. Ohlendorf was dominant in 8.2 innings allowing just two runs and striking out six, while Lahey had two hits and scored a run. The lineup Ohlendorf faced featured Mark Reynolds leading off, Ryan Zimmerman batting third and Joe Koshansky in the clean-up spot. Reynolds, the everyday third baseman in Arizona now was 0 for 5, Zimmerman, the third baseman in Washington, went 1 for 3 with a run scored, and Koshansky, a first baseman in Colorado, was 0 for 4. Venable went 0 for 2 in the game.

Princeton faced Vanderbilt the next day and lost 11-1 and avoided Jeremy Sowers and Jensen Lewis, both of whom know pitch for the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers faced Virginia once more in the regional and lost 9-0. Reynolds was 0 for 3, Zimmerman was 3 for 5 and Koshansky was 1 for 5. Venable picked up a hit in the game and the Princeton starter that day, Erik Stiller, whose best NCAA start would come two years later against Oklahoma State, allowed six runs in four innings. Stiller may well be the next Tiger call-up to the Big Leagues next season after an excellent season in AA this year.

An Eye on the Forecast

The pending landfall and potential tracks of Tropical Storm Hanna on the East Coast of the U.S., has led to the rescheduling of Princeton's field hockey opener at Richmond. The current forecast for the original 11 a.m. start time this Saturday calls for 76 degrees with heavy rain and 40 mile per hour winds. Instead, Princeton and Richmond have agreed to play 17 and a half hours earlier on Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m., when the forecast is for 82 degrees, light showers and 10 mile per hour winds.

Play Ball

Princeton's 38 varsity teams and roughly 1,000 student-athletes combine for more than 600 contests in an average academic year. The first of these comes up Friday when the women's and men's soccer teams kickoff their seasons.

The added dynamic this year, of course, is the brand-new facility, Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium. The construction of the stadium forced the teams into Princeton Stadium last year, though it appears that it was well worth the inconvenience.

The new stadium is stunning on first view, with its wide concourses, concession stands, upgraded seating, beautiful grass and turf fields, large scoreboard and magnificent plazas and permanent structures.

As with any new field, it will be interesting to see what dynamics come up in the course of play. What will end up being the preferred seating of the spectators? The seats at midfield are practically on the playing field, but the end zone seats give an amazing view, especially when play is right in front of that end.

There is also the trivia aspect of who scores the first goal in the new facility. For the record, Alex Sierk scored the first points in Princeton Stadium, when he kicked a pair of field goals in a 6-0 win over Cornell in the first football game of the 1998 season. Who will be the soccer equivalent?

Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium is going to be a huge hit with fans. The first opportunity is Friday afternoon/evening, when the women host Boston University at 5 followed by the men's game against Lehigh.

Admission to all regular-season soccer games is free.

Princeton In The Majors

If only there was an easy way to look some facts up. Princeton has three players now on Major League rosters, two of whom had productive nights last night. Questions: How many colleges currently have three players on MLB rosters? For that matter, how many have three graduates on MLB rosters? And, while we're at it, how many have three players on MLB rosters where two of the players are better known for their college basketball careers?

To save you the trouble of looking up box scores, San Diego's Will Venable was 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored in an 8-4 loss to the Dodgers. Venable, who scored 16 points in Princeton's 2004 NCAA tournament loss to Texas, is now hitting .316 for the Padres.

Pittsburgh's Ross Ohlendorf, who originally was a reliever for the Yankees, made his frst career start last night against the Reds and pitched well, retiring the first eight and going six innings with a no-decision in a 6-5 Pirate win.

The third Princeton alum in the majors in Venable's teammate, Chris Young, whose next start is Sunday at Milwaukee. Young and Venable, by the way, were never teammates in college in either basketball or baseball.

Kevin Unterstein Joins Men's Lacrosse Staff

Kevin Unterstein is joining the men's lacrosse staff after graduating from Hofstra this past spring. He becomes the 14th person to hold the second assistant position behind head coach Bill Tierney and associate head coach David Metzbower since the first of Princeton's six NCAA championships in 1992.

The list includes nine non-Princeton grads and five Princeton grads. Of the non-Princetonians, seven are currently college coaches, including three who are head coaches and a fourth who used to be. Of the five Princetonians on the list, none is currently a college coach.

The non-Princetonians feature Penn head coach Brian Voelker, who was on Tierney's 1992 staff, as well as current Dartmouth coach Bill Wilson, SUNY-Geneseo coach Jim Lyons and former Butler head coach and current Navy assistant Stan Ross.

Unterstein's immediate predecessor is Greg Raymond, who left last month to become the top asssistant at Drexel. Shawn Nadelen, currently the top assistant at Towson, was the first of the group to stay for more than one year, as he was at Princeton from 2002-04.

Matt Striebel ’01 was an assistant coach at Princeton for the 2005 season. It was during that time that Metzbower had shoulder surgery, which prohibited him from warming up the goalies during practice and before games. As a result, that responsibility fell to Striebel, and both he and Tierney credit that experience with helping him become a much better shooter in Major League Lacrosse.

In other men's lacrosse news, Inside Lacrosse ranked nine of Princeton's 12 incoming freshman among the Top 100 recruits in Division I.

Men's Basketball Game Time vs. Army Set

The men's basketball game time at Army has been set for 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 23, following a women's game (not involving Princeton) set for noon at West Point's Christl Arena. The Army game was one of a few marked "TBA" when the schedule was first released last week.

McHale Bows Out at U.S. Open Juniors

Incoming tennis freshman Lauren McHale (Englewood, N.J.) and her doubles teammate Alexa Guarachi, a 17-year-old from Florida, fell in their first-round match at the U.S. Open junior tournament, 6-2, 6-2 to the Indonesian pair of Beatrice Gumyula and Jessy Rompies.

Ohlendorf Called Up

Ross Ohlendorf was called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday giving Princeton three players currently on Major League rosters. Ohlendorf, who was traded by the Yankees to the Pirates in early October will be part of a six-man starting rotation in Pittsburgh in September. He will make his first start on Wednesday at Cincinnati.