The Top 10 of 2004

Athletic year was highlighted by accomplishments

By: Bob Nuse
   In terms of sports in the Princeton Packet area, 2004 was a very good year.
   There were championship teams at all ages. There were some comings and some goings. And there were some performers who competed and won at the highest levels.
   The accomplishments were many, but here is a look at the Top 10 in the Packet area for 2004. Not to be outdone by any late-night talk show hosts, the accomplishments are presented in reverse order.
   10. PU’s Final Four weekend.
   For Princeton University, seeing teams reach the Final Four in the spring has become an almost annual event. The success of the men’s and women’s lacrosse programs over the past decade has seen those teams reach the national semifinals on an almost annual basis, as they both did in 2004. But this year, two new PU teams got into the Final Four mix, as the women’s soccer team and the men’s water polo team each played in the national semifinals on the same weekend.
   Both teams saw their runs to a national championship come to an end against teams from UCLA in the national semifinals, but not before they had made history along the way. The women’s soccer team became the first Ivy League school to reach the Final Four, finishing the season with a 19-3 record that included four tournament wins before a 2-0 loss to UCLA in the semis.
   The men’s water polo team completed the school’s best season ever with its appearance in the NCAA semifinals. The Tigers won the Collegiate Water Polo Association championship with a four-overtime win over St. Francis. In the Final Four, the Tigers lost to UCLA, 7-5, in the semifinals.
   9. Hun School tennis team’s repeat three-peat.
   Winning three championships in the same season is never easy for any team. Doing it in back-to-back years makes the accomplishment even more impressive. During the 2003 girls’ tennis season, the Hun School managed to win all three championships it competed for — Mercer County Tournament, state Prep A tournament and Mid-Atlantic Prep League.
   This year, despite losing three key players to graduation, the Raiders completed a second straight three-peat by winning all three crowns again. Senior Angela DiPastina won her fourth straight Prep A singles championship, completing an undefeated season of her own. She also won the first singles championship at the Mercer County Tournament. Senior Gwen Birnkrant, juniors Lucy DiPastina, and sophomore Caitie Druker were part of all six championships over the two years.
   8. West Windsor softball keeps on rolling.
   When the players on the West Windsor Little League all-star softball teams begin their summer of all-star competition, they go in knowing they may have to cancel any other plans. This year the 12-year old team captured the state championship and advanced to the Eastern Regional, where it finished in third place. The state championship was the second in three years for the core group of players on the team. As 10-year-olds, West Windsor had captured two straight state championships prior to this year.
   This year’s 10-year-old team from West Windsor nearly made it three straight wins. But the latest group of softball stars lost in the state championship game after winning District 12 and Section 3 championships.
   7. Montgomery softball wins Group III title.
   In his first year as head coach of the Montgomery High softball program, Johnny Rooney could never have envisioned the Cougars having a season like the one they enjoyed in 2004. Montgomery finished the season with a 22-4 record and captured the state Group III championship with a 3-2 win over Hammonton.
   Montgomery won five state tournament games to win the Group III title and never trailed in any of them. After losing to Bernards in the Somerset County Tournament, the Cougars ran off 12 wins in their final 13 games to capture the school’s first state softball championship.
   6. Good luck, JT. Welcome back, Joe.
   After four successful seasons as the head coach of the Princeton University men’s basketball team, John Thompson moved on to become the head coach at Georgetown, where his father had previously built the Hoyas into one of the top programs in the nation. Just days after Thompson departed, former PU point guard and assistant coach Joe Scott was hired away from Air Force to take over the vacancy left by Thompson.
   In four years at Air Force, Scott built the Falcons into a program that advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time, earning Big West Coach of the Year honors along the way. Scott’s team played North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, ironically at the same Denver location that Thompson’s Tigers were also playing. Just a couple of weeks later, Scott was heading home to take over as the head coach at his alma mater.
   5. Jason Read’s Gold.
   Hun School graduate Jason Read had a goal of not only making it to the Olympics, but bringing home a gold medal. Read accomplished that goal in 2004 when he was part of the United States eight man crew that captured a gold medal in Athens. The gold medal was the first in crew for the United States in 40 years. Princeton University graduate Chris Ahrens was also part of the winning crew for the USA.
   Read and Ahrens weren’t the only Packet-area athlete to compete in Athens. Hun and Princeton University graduate Paul Teti was also part of the crew team, while Princeton High graduate Andy Potts competed in the triathlon. PU athletes Tora Harris (track and field) and Soren Thompson (Fencing) were also part of the United States Olympic team.
   4. Matt Davidson becomes a pro.
   When Matt Davidson was a member of the West Windsor-Plainsboro High golf team, he was just the latest in a long line of talented players who had been a part of Dave Christensen’s program. After a successful high school career, Davidson went on to become a top player at Furman University, as well as one of the top amateur players in local competitions in Mercer County.
   In December, Davidson took his play to the highest level when he qualified for the PGA tour by finishing tied for 11th at the PGA Q-school. With his performance, Davidson earned his PGA card and will now be competing against the best golfers in the world. Davidson was one of the few golfers who have managed to qualify for the tour in their first attempt at the Q-school. He shot 10-under par for the six-round event in California.
   3. Montgomery’s Cal Ripken dynasty.
   It was quite a summer for the Montgomery Cal Ripken 12-year-old all-star baseball team. This particular group had become used to success, winning championships at various levels in summer tournaments the previous three summers. But the team reached new levels of success in 2004, advancing all the way to the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Md.
   Montgomery captured the Southern New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic Regional championships to reach the Cal Ripken World Series, where they split their four games, being eliminated by the eventual United State champion Raleigh.
   As 11-year-olds, Montgomery had also captured the Mid-Atlantic championship. As 10-year-olds, they reached the regional after winning the Southern New Jersey championship.
   2. Chris Young’s Major League debut.
   When Chris Young made the decision to sign a Major League contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and give up his final two years of baseball and basketball eligibility at Princeton University, there were those who wondered if he had made the right decision. On Aug. 24, all those doubts were erased when Young made his Major League debut with the Texas Rangers.
   In April, Young, who had been traded to the Montreal Expos in 2003, was traded to the Texas Rangers. He spent the early part of the season at Double-A Frisco before being promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma. In late August, with the Rangers in a pennant race, Young was called up to the Majors and made his debut against the Minnesota Twins.
   Young finished the season starting seven games for Texas. He went 3-2 with a 4.71 earned run average. And any lingering doubts that anyone might have had about Young’s decision were quieted for good in November when he signed a contract extension with Texas that has him signed through the 2008 season.
   1. Swim Capital of New Jersey.
   When the top girls’ swim teams in the state gathered at The College of New Jersey for the state championship meets, three of the four teams were from the Packet area. In the state B Division final, Montgomery topped Princeton, 87-83, to win the Cougars’ first state swimming title. In the A Division final, West Windsor-Plainsboro South stayed close before falling to four-time defending state champion Vineland, 98-72.
   The day at TCNJ completed a remarkable season of girls’ swimming for the three teams. Montgomery finished the season with a perfect 17-0 record, capturing the state B Division title as well as the Somerset County championship.
   Princeton also enjoyed similar success, winning the Central Jersey B title and advancing to the state final before falling to their neighbors to the north. The sectional title was the first for Princeton since 1994.
   WW-P South captured the Central Jersey A championship and then knocked off Westfield to reach the state A final. The Pirates had lost to Westfield in the state semifinals the two previous years. Earlier in the year, WW-P South had captured the Mercer County championship, as well as capturing the championship at their own Pirate Invitational for the first time since 1996.