The Tritons were ranked 12th nationally and featured a roster primarily of Californians. They're clearly the kind of team you love to see come into your building before the start of your league schedule.
Before the match, TB spoke briefly with the UC-San Diego coach, Kevin Ring, a 1996 UC-San Diego graduate who started his volleyball career as the team manager before winning three letters as a player. He is a Californian himself, through and through, and according to his bio on the team's website, he currently lives in La Jolla.
If you recall, Saturday was the day that it snowed. TB asked Ring about how his team was enjoying having been in the middle of a heavy storm like that, and he mentioned that there were players on his team who had never seen snow before.
As for the match, Princeton won the first and third sets before falling in five. As someone who does not know much about volleyball, TB found it fast-paced and entertaining, though obviously it would have been better had Princeton pulled it out at the end.
The Tigers open the EIVA season this weekend on the road, at Penn State and St. Francis (Pa.).
If you've never been to a volleyball match in Dillon, they're definitely worth attending. You're right on top of the court no matter where you sit, and it gets very loud as well. Each time TB watches a match there, he thinks of what it must have been like when Princeton basketball played there, especially in the Bill Bradley years.
The match Saturday night was a reminder for TB of one of his favorite parts of being at Princeton, and one of the things that's kept him here all these years. Each sport has its own culture, it's own way of connecting a large group of people - players, parents, friends, alums - all under one banner.
It's the same with every program at Princeton. These teams draw people
in from different backgrounds, locations and expectations, and it throws
them together through a shared commonality.
In this case, that's "Princeton Volleyball," which has become an extended family for so many people through the years. These families have many members, and the relationships between them last forever.
The family is special to all of them. There are some, though, for whom membership means just a bit more and who, in turn, mean a bit more to the rest of the family.
John Donovan was one such person.
John Donovan was the captain of the 1986 men's lacrosse team, an attackman who ended his career dramatically, scoring a goal with one second to go in his final game (it was his third of the day). Donovan was part of a very close-knit group of men's lacrosse players from the 1980s, but that would not be his only Princeton family.
There haven't been too many people who have ever been more connected to Princeton field hockey than John Donovan. He and his wife Katy sent four different players to the program, beginning with Kaitlin in the Class of 2010 and continuing through the current team, with Claire, who is a junior.
In between were Amy, an All-Ivy League pick on the 2012 NCAA championship team, and Annabeth, who graduated in 2019.
For all that time, John Donovan has been there, at games, and especially at tailgates before and after. He made anyone who happened to wander by feel welcome, made them part of the family too. His love for Princeton field hockey was impossible to miss.
TB was shocked and saddened when he learned that John Donovan had passed away last week, at the way-too-young age of 58.
Tragic news that we just lost John Donovan, my former Princeton Lacrosse teammate who wore #8. Rest In Peace “Nipper.” We’ll all be joining you soon enough, so keep the beer cold for us. pic.twitter.com/6ETDfgxunO
— Tim Murdoch (@McGilllaxcoach) January 28, 2022
Donovan spent his life giving as much as he could to his family, the Donovan side (including two sons who went to Cornell and his five grandchildren) and the extended Princeton side. He coached youth lacrosse and hockey in Unionville, Pa., and he's been such a constant at Tiger field hockey for so many years.
TB asked Carla Tagliente, the head field hockey coach, if she'd like to say something about John. Here is her quote:
"John touched so many lives in the Princeton community and impacted many generations of Princeton field hockey families. He loved Princeton Field Hockey, but family, community and relationships were what were most important. He was the patriarch of Princeton Field Hockey – always behind the scenes welcoming new people, making sure others were taken care of, lifting people up. We will miss you John. Our deepest condolences go out to the Donovan family."
Tagliente sent TB that quote after TB had already written this:
John Donovan was a very warm, friendly, welcoming person. He will definitely be missed, by all the family members whom he touched. TB sends his warmest condolences to everyone who knew him.
Clearly, there is a common theme. This was a really good man, taken way too soon.
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