Caps, Gowns, Competitions

The population of the town of Princeton essentially doubles during Reunions.

On an average day, the population is around 30,000. For Reunions and Commencement, that's about how many non-residents flock here.

It's loud, energetic and packed, starting on Thursday. The momentum builds and builds, through Reunions and Class Day and then finally to Commencement. 

And then? Everyone leaves. The campus goes from all that jazz to something of a ghost town. 

Each time TigerBlog experiences it, he has the same sense. It's eerie. 

Princeton celebrated its 276th Commencement yesterday. This is from the program for the event:

Princeton traces its founding to a royal charter granted on October 22,1746, by King George the Second of England. The first Commencement Exercises were held in 1748, in Newark, then home of the College of New Jersey, as Princeton was originally called. Six students were graduated at the first Commencement. One of Princeton’s first graduate students was James Madison 1771, later the fourth president of the United States. He remained at the college after graduation to continue his studies with President John Witherspoon, who was the only college president as well as the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. Systematic graduate instruction began in the 1870s, and the Graduate School, as it is known today, was formally organized in 1900. Princeton’s Commencements have been held in late spring only since 1844. Before then the ceremony took place in the fall because
the College was in session all summer long. Since the College moved to Princeton in 1756, Commencement has been held in a variety of locations on or near campus, including Alexander Hall,
the First Presbyterian Church, and Nassau Hall. From 1922 until 2019, the front lawn of Nassau Hall (known as front campus) was the site of Commencement, weather permitting. Commencement was held for the first time in Princeton Stadium in May 2021.

It was back in the football stadium yesterday. The processional began at 9:30; by mid-afternoon you couldn't tell that anything had happened on campus, as all of the grads headed into the next chapters of their lives. 

Actually, make that almost all of the grads. Graduation may have come and gone, but the 2022-23 athletic year at Princeton still has some big moments left.

There are still five teams who are competing for national championships: men's heavyweight rowing, men's lightweight rowing, women's lightweight rowing, men's track and field and women's track and field. Out of those groups, it would be far more shocking if no Princetonians won national championships than if they did.  

The Intercollegiate Rowing Association has its national championships from Friday through Sunday on Mercer Lake. The three finals, all of which Princeton figures to reach, will be held Sunday morning in less than one hour, beginning with the women's lightweight final at 10 and followed by the men's lightweights at 10:20 and men's heavyweights at 10:40.

The IRA championships website, which has any kind of information you might want about the racing, can be found HERE.

The women's open team competed this past weekend at the NCAA championships, which were on the Cooper River in South Jersey. Princeton came in third, behind Stanford and Washington, giving the Tigers a second-straight third-place finish in the overall team sports standings. 

The Princeton women's lightweights are the two-time defending champion and are unbeaten on the year. The two men's crews will be right in the mix as well.

Then there is the NCAA track and field championships, which will be held at the University of Texas June 8-10. Princeton has qualified four athletes after last week's regionals.

On the women's side, Kate Joyce will be back in the finals in the javelin, looking for her second-straight All-American performance. Joyce, a junior from Connecticut, was the 12th place finisher at the East regional, making her the final athlete from that group to advance to Austin.

On the men's side, Nicholas Bendtsen finished fourth in his heat of the 5,000 meters to advance. Bendtsen, also from Connecticut, was fourth at Heps in the 5,000.

Of course, there are also the Guttormsen brothers, Sondre and Simen, who are back for the final go-round as Princeton Tigers, though not in their final collegiate seasons. In fact, the Norwegian pole vaulters will be competing on the same track that will become their home next year, when they join Texas as grad transfers.

Sondre is chasing his fourth NCAA pole vault title, having won twice indoors and once outdoors. Simen finished fourth indoors and outdoors last year and didn't compete this year indoors due to an injury.