Tiger swimming hosts Harvard, Yale in critical meets at DeNunzio

The Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet is always circled with a big red marker on the men's swimming team's schedule. It is the Tigers' oldest tradition — competing among the classic triumvirate of the Ivy League for the ultimate bragging rights. As a meet, it never gets more intense. As a fan, it never gets more enthralling.

"It's really do-or-die in every event," senior captain Craig Wales said. "Every race counts, every point matters and every swim can make a huge difference."

The Princeton men's squad has begun its taper and its sights are set on one thing only — topping No. 18 Harvard one-on-one at H-Y-Ps Feb. 2-4 at DeNunzio Pool.

The women's team will also compete against the Crimson and the Elis that weekend, but they are in the opposite position. Ranked No. 24 in the nation earlier this week, the Tigers are the expected powerhouses. But one can never be too careful — H-Y-Ps has a history littered with dramatic upsets, the last one being the men's H-Y-P victory at home three years ago. It was the last time H-Y-Ps were hosted by Princeton.

For the men's team, defeating this year's Crimson squad will be a formidable task. Full of considerable depth and versatility, Harvard has coasted so far to an undefeated season and performed admirably at the Texas Invitational in December, finishing fifth against a laundry list of NCAA Top 25 teams.

"They just have a lot of good swimmers in every event and it's going to take more than a couple of upsets to win," Wales said.

While the Tigers need strong performances from everyone in the lineup to fill out as many seconds and thirds as possible, Princeton must rely on its top swimmers to defend against a continual barrage of Crimson first places. Junior distance freestyler Kevin Volz will look to break the stranglehold of the Harvard distance swimmers who claimed the first five places in the 1650-yard free at last year's Easterns. Sophomore Garth Fealy hopes to continue his seasonal dominance in the breaststroke events — a strong point for Princeton at recent H-Y-Ps.

Other notable swimmers to watch will be sophomore sprinter Jesse Gage, who hopes to match his career times in the 50 free and 100 fly; senior Matt Harrigan, always a threat to break out with a great performance in the individual medley events; and freshman Juan Val-divieso, whose versatility makes him a distinct wild card in the Princeton lineup.

"I think we have the best team and however we match up on paper, I know that we have the advantage in heart," Wales said. "That is the best ally you can have."

Cruise control

The women's team, meanwhile, continues to cruise through the season, posting some remarkable swims and looking primed to repeat its perfect season from last year. Right now, Princeton holds three of the top five positions in the Ivy League 'psyche' sheets in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke, led primarily by sophomore Chrissy Holland and freshman Lauren Rossi.

This is only topped by the Tiger backstrokers. They hold six of the top eight swims in both the 100 and 200 this season, headed by sophomore Kate Conroy and littered with a mix of freshmen and upperclassmen that would make any opponent weary. But this dominance has not imbued Princeton with a sense of beaming overconfidence — it has made the Tigers more diligent.

"I think we look really great [in practice]," junior Jocelyn Petrella said. "Our technique, all the starts and turns, are really coming together well for the final stretch of the season.

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"We're really focusing on those little things that are going to make us swim fast. We can't take any of these teams for granted because they are gunning for us."