Snow Way

You want to know TigerBlog's definition of an awful weather forecast? 

When the amount of snow you're supposed to get is five times the temperature when you wake up, that's a bad weather forecast. 

 It was four degrees when TB woke up yesterday. The forecast for Saturday night into Sunday (and maybe Monday) is for 20 inches of snow. 

Yeah, that's not ideal. 

For a point of comparison, Princeton received 12 total inches of snow for all of the winter of 2024-25. For another point of comparison, TigerBlog  

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The coming forecast has already resulted in a few changes to this weekend's schedule. 

The women's tennis team's dual match opening weekend has been rearranged. Instead of opening Saturday against Rutgers and then playing James Madison Sunday, it will now be James Madison tomorrow at 10 am and then Rutgers as schedule Saturday at noon. 

Those matches will be played at the Si Qin Family Indoor Tennis Center at the Meadows Campus. If you haven't been there yet, you'll be bowled over by it like everyone else is when the first see it. 

In addition to women's tennis, the start times for the two basketball games for Saturday have also been changed. 

The women's game at Brown has been moved to noon from 2. The men's game at Jadwin Gym is also moving to noon from 2. 

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There are 15 Princeton teams who are competing this weekend, if TigerBlog has counted correctly.  

The wrestling team hosts Columbia tomorrow night in Jadwin Gym (7 pm) in the first Ivy League match of the season. Like the tennis center, if you haven't been to a wrestling match in Jadwin, it's a treat. 

Princeton will have a quick turnaround to Saturday for another match in Mercer County. This one, though, is on the road, at Rider (at 4, at least unless the snow changes things).

There is swimming and diving as Virginia Tech and Penn State are at DeNunzio Pool tomorrow. The men's and women's squash individual national championships will be held beginning tomorrow in New York City; Princeton's Zeina Zein is the defending women's champ. 

The complete schedule is HERE. 

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Speaking of squash, congratulations to former Ford Family Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux Samaan on being named the CEO of US Squash. 

Marcoux Samaan, a 1991 Princeton grad, is one of the best women athletes Princeton has ever had, with record setting careers in both soccer and ice hockey. She was the AD at Princeton from 2014-21.

Is she a squash player? She definitely loves ping-pong and pickleball. And she plays to win every time in every sport.  

In his book on the first 50 years of women's athletics at Princeton, TigerBlog wrote this about Marcoux Samaan, who was then the AD and whose idea the book was in the first place: "She's 50 percent CEO and 50 percent head cheerleader."  

TB has no doubt she'll bring her innate enthusiasm to the new job. 

 

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By the way, Princeton has only ever had six people who have held the title of Director of Athletics. The first was in 1941, when Ken Fairman was named AD, after athletics had previously been under the direction of the faculty. 

Fairman's successor in 1972 was Royce Flippin, followed in 1979 by Bob Myslik. Gary Walters followed in 1994, Marcoux Samaan in 2014 and John Mack since 2019. 

How many schools can say they've only had six ADs (all alums) in 85 years? 

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Lastly, TigerBlog has been debating whether or not to say this, but okay, here goes. 

The National Field Hockey Coaches Association's National Coaching Staff of the Year was Northwestern's. The Wildcats did win the NCAA championship, and so they deserve all the credit in the world for that achievement. Also, their coaching staff, led by head coach Tracey Fuchs, is one that is wildly respected across the board, especially by Princeton's coaches. 

On the other hand, the team Northwestern beat in the championship game was Princeton, and in double overtime at that. TigerBlog was shocked to see that Princeton's staff did not win the award. 

Consider these facts: 

Northwestern started three grad transfers and had five All-Americans, including the NFHCA Player of the Year. Princeton started four freshmen and four sophomores and had two All-Americans. Northwestern had a 2-1 edge in U.S. Olympians on top of that. 

Princeton and Northwestern played twice this season, with a total goal count of 4-4. Princeton won 3-2 in Evanston and was the only team to beat the Wildcats this year. Northwestern won 2-1 in the second OT of the final. 

Also, the Division II Staff of the Year was from Newberry College, who, wait for it, lost in overtime in the national final. 

Feel free to disagree. And congratulations again to Northwestern.