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Princeton
Wins 2004 Ivy League Championship
Final
v. Cornell (6) 25-5
Semi Final v. Harvard (1) H 19-17
Quarter Final v. Brown (4) H 15-0
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2004 Ivy League Champions |
On Sunday the Princeton men's rugby team defeated
Cornell in the championship game of the Ivy League
Tournament for its fifth title and first since
1979, ending a 25-year drought. Princeton faced
three different Ivy League rivals, beating Brown,
Harvard and Cornell.
Following
a fifth place finish in the 2003 Ivy championships,
the Tigers entered the weekend seeded fifth and
played No. 4 Brown in their first game on Saturday
morning. Princeton had very little trouble with
the Bears. While the Tigers only scored two tries,
Princeton controlled the tempo of the match and
played the entire game inside the Brown half,
defeating the Bears, 17-0.
Princeton faced Harvard in the semifinal match,
who, besides being the defending champions, also
finished second in the nation in 2003. The Tigers
began the game slightly apprehensive, and Harvard
scored first, with a crash-ball try only five
minutes into the game. But Princeton quickly regrouped
and took control of the match. In a game well
balanced between the forwards and the backs, Princeton
beat Harvard on both sides of the game, disrupting
Harvard's set-pieces in the forwards and stopping
the Harvard backs behind the gain line.
The Tigers moved down the field with quick passes
and precision running to score the go-ahead try
at 21 minutes into the half. Leading 10-7 at the
half, the Tigers remained aggressive and extended
the lead early in the final period. But Harvard
refused to give in, making for a nerve-racking
back-and-forth game with four lead changes in
the final 15 minutes. Princeton shut the door
on Harvard in the final five minutes with a go-ahead
penalty kick, making the score 19-17.
After winning the most exciting game of the
tournament, Princeton carried momentum into the
championship game against Cornell. In this game
the Tigers focused much of their attack on the
forwards, and Princeton's pack dominated the Cornell
side. Scoring three pack tries, with two rolling
mauls, and one pushover try from a scrum, the
Tigers stuck to their game plan and controlled
the game, winning 25-5 to take the title.
Ross Mazo
Princetonian Contributor
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