Leahy to lead Tigers at Easterns

Junior Jamie Leahy of the men's swimming and diving team will step into Crandall Pool today with high hopes and a single goal — dethroning host Harvard, which has been first to Princeton's second at the Eastern Conference championships every year since 1995.

Leahy — one of the Tigers' consistent top performers in both individual and relay freestyle events — has a particularly important role on the team as the anchor leg of the 200-yard relay, the first event. Winning that race could set a dominating tone for the weekend, and Leahy has no doubts about his ability to do just that.

"I am positive that no one will touch the wall before I do on that relay," he said.

He has performed this role before — at the 2001 HYP meet, where the Tigers upset the Crimson. At that event, the winning relay he anchored not only created momentum for an overall victory, but also set a new team and pool record (1 minute, 19.79 seconds).

But Leahy did not get the chance to repeat that performance at last year's Easterns. Instead of diving into the pool the first day of competition, he was going under the knife for an emergency appendectomy.

So his determination to "get the Princeton vibe flowing through Cambridge, Mass.," as he puts it, is made even stronger by his frustration at having been unable to do so last year.

"Not having been able to participate last year, it's that much more significant for him this year," head coach C. Rob Orr said. "And hopefully that'll cause him to rally and flourish and do a good job."

Behind Leahy is a coach and teammates that are arguably the strongest in the conference.

Of his coach, Leahy has only superlatives to say.

"[Coach Orr] is the best coach I've ever encountered. There isn't a better coach in the East, and I'm convinced there isn't a better coach in the country," Leahy said.

"We don't swim for Rob out of fear; instead we swim for Rob because we want to give back what he is giving us."

About his teammates, he is equally positive.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"There's almost never a time when you will find a swimmer without a fellow swimmer beside him [at Princeton], and this is the main reason I swim today."

But although he now considers the Princeton program second to none, Leahy had originally applied early decision to Yale. The weekend after submitting that application, he visited Princeton and was so enamored with the camaraderie of the swimmers that he changed his Yale application to regular decision and sent in an early application to Princeton right away.

Indeed, throughout Leahy's life, friendship has always been the primary attraction of the sport. The high school All-American joined a summer swim league at the age of six at his family's swim and tennis club in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio. He had such a great time with his teammates that summer that he joined the Greater Toledo Aquatic Club so he could swim with them year-round. He continued to swim with that organization until graduating from high school.

"I'd say the main reason I started swimming was because I was having barrels of fun with the kids I just met and wanted to continue that," he said.

"Today, when I look back, I still swim for the same reason. The group of friends I have here at Princeton are much the same [as the group] that got me swimming in the first place."