Peacocks And Tigers

In TigerBlog's book about the first 50 years of women's athletics at Princeton (shameless plug, you can buy it HERE), there is a section on the national champions that the women's program produced. 

Were TB writing it now, he could add the name Maia Weintraub, who won the NCAA foil championship Friday at Notre Dame. Weintraub, a freshman, became Princeton's first foil champ in 22 years. 

Maia Chamberlain, who is featured in the book after she won the NCAA saber title in 2018, reached the semifinals this year. The Princeton men also had two fencers reach the individual event, as Nicholas Lawson, another freshman, reached the epee final and Mohamed Hamza, a junior foil, reached the semifinals.

In all the Princeton fencing team finished fourth, its best showing since 2017, and produced seven All-Americans.

Within the section on national championships, TB's book has a chapter called "The Almost Champions," which talks about some of the teams and individuals who came really close to winning it all. Included in that section were swimmer Alicia Aemisegger (an NCAA runner-up), the 2009 cross country team (who finished fifth nationally) and the 2004 women's soccer team (the only Ivy team to ever reach the Final Four).

The basic point is that greatness isn't always measured by a national championship. Not every team or individual can get there, and to get close? That can be among the greatest moments an athletic program has.

This, of course, applies to the St. Peter's men's basketball team. No matter who wins the championship a week from tonight (including if a certain coach wins in his final year), St. Peter's will be THE story of the 2022 NCAA tournament. Even more than when George Mason reached the Final Four or when Butler made back-to-back championship games, this St. Peter's team inspired an outpouring of love from all over the country. Social media probably had a lot to do with it.

It ended for the Peacocks yesterday with a fairly one-sided loss to North Carolina in the regional final. Before that, St. Peter's became the first 15-seed ever to reach the Elite Eight, something it did by defeating Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue.

Maybe the reason for the Peacock love was that the team played so hard, something that was also true in yesterday's loss. Maybe it's because it was a whole team of guys that mostly were overlooked, especially by the teams it beat.

Mostly, TB thinks, it was about the coach, Shaheen Holloway. Every time he spoke during this tournament, he made even more fans that he already had. He spoke from his heart. He was honest. He was funny.

TB heard him at one point talk about working his way up to being a head coach by holding pretty much every other job along the way, which is something that Princeton men's lacrosse head coach Matt Madalon has said as well. He mentioned how point guards make good coaches, since they have to see everything, which you know appeals to former Princeton Ford Family Director of Athletics Gary Walters. 

No, St. Peter's didn't reach the Final Four. What the team did accomplish, though, will always be part of NCAA tournament lore. Actually, TB isn't really sure how the Peacocks did it. They were overmatched yesterday, and they should have been overmatched in their other games too. Still, they found a way to win. The most astounding was Friday night against Purdue, who seemed completely lost against the team from the MAAC.

As for the Final Four, if Duke is going to give its coach the same send-off that UCLA gave to John Wooden, it's going to have to go through North Carolina in the semifinal. It's the first time the two will meet in the NCAA tournament, and it's going to be a high-intensity event. Kansas-Villanova will be the jayvee game Saturday, but TB thinks whoever wins that game wins the final Monday.

In addition to fencing and basketball, there was another NCAA event this weekend, and Princeton did well there as well. The men's swimming and diving program produced two All-Americans this weekend. One was Joe Victor, who earned honorable mention All-American honors in platform diving. His teammate Raunak Khosia was a three-time honorable mention All-American, in the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 fly, setting Ivy League records in all three events.