Women's swimming pulls away to win second-straight Ivy League title

After the obligatory celebrating steps, the Princeton women's swimming and diving squad felt unsatisfied. Towering over DeNunzio Pool, the 10-meter platform stood waiting. Many climbed to the top and — after a moment of hesitation — each Tiger leapt and plunged straight down into the diving tank, exuberantly flailing their arms and yelling as they went.

And as each surfaced, a smile of satisfaction came across their face and a united cheer came from fellow teammates waiting at the edge. These Tigers, with their unique mix of skill, brashness, confidence and craziness, had retained their Ivy championship and did not want the exuberant rush of victory to end.

Princeton overcame the last of its obstacles this past weekend en route to a second-straight perfect season and an Ivy title. Despite falling behind after the first day, the Tigers recovered admirably, exploiting their strengths — especially in the diving events — to defeat their closest rival, Brown, by 96 points, 870-774.

"I couldn't name just some performances as better than others. This was such a team effort, with everyone putting everything on the line," head coach Susan Teeter said. "It's just unbelievable. It feels great."

As expected, none of the Tigers' competitors were a pushover this weekend, especially not Brown. With their strengths in the freestyle and individual medley events, the Bears jumped out to a 21-point lead after day one, in spite of some great performances by the Tigers.

Junior Val Kukla started Princeton off with a University record-setting bang, as has become customary the entire season. Kukla broke her old 500-freestyle record by over three seconds, finishing second overall with a time of 4 minutes, 49.49 seconds.

But most importantly, the diving squad finished 2-3-4-7 in the one-meter event, accounting for 66 of the Tigers' 221 points on Thursday. Led primarily by senior Erin Lutz, junior Katherine Mattison and sophomore Kristy Wilson, Princeton showed again it was far and away the best diving squad of the Ivy League and prevented its chances from spinning out of control.

After their early struggles, the Tigers exploited their advantages wisely, in particular in the backstroke and breaststroke events. On Saturday, sophomore Chrissy Holland and freshman Lauren Rossi landed a one-two combo in the 100 breaststroke, complemented in the very next event by the trifecta of junior Kate Conroy, sophomore Michelle Nielson and senior Sangeeta Puri in the 100 backstroke. This — coupled with a one-three finish by sophomore Molly Seto and junior Jocelyn Petrella, respectively, in the 100 fly — put the Tigers back into the lead by 19 points.

On Sunday, Princeton surged ahead for good behind intense racing and another outstanding diving performance. Standouts included another one-two punch by Holland and Rossi in the 200 breaststroke, this time with Rossi taking the crown. Sheer Princeton depth dominated in the finals in the 200 backstroke, as five of the top eight finishers were Tigers, with Conroy leading the pack once again.

Finally, to top it off, the divers clinched the Princeton victory by qualifying five of the top eight divers and completing a sweep of the the first three spots in the three-meter standings. Once again, Lutz won the event outright and added to her final performance by achieving a pool, meet and Ivy record for most points scored in a three-meter event. She was aptly named diver of the meet.

"These girls put so much effort throughout the year and when it comes time to perform, they are always ready to put on a show," diving head coach Greg Gunn said. "It is just really great to watch."