W. swimming wins another Ivy crown

Women's swimming and diving splashed its way into an elite group this weekend, joining the ranks of the 1991-93 and '96-98 Chicago Bulls, the '98-2000 New York Yankees, and Tour de France star Lance Armstrong.

In a feat that few athletes in any sport have ever achieved – indeed, that no NFL team has ever accomplished – the Tigers took their third straight league championship by coming out on top at the Feb. 21-23 Ivy championships, hosted by Harvard. Princeton finished with 706 points, just 15 points ahead of second-place Brown with 691. Harvard was third with 655 points, and Yale, with 605 points, finished fourth.

The first day of competition was not indicative of the way the meet would end: Princeton finished with 207 points, well ahead of most of the pack but behind Brown, which had amassed 232 points. Nevertheless, the Tigers did have some impressive day one performances. Senior Katherine Mattison took first in 1-meter diving with 274.55 points. Senior Val Kukla won the 500-yard freestyle in four minutes, 53.07 seconds, followed by sophomore Sarah Fraumann in second (4:54.81) – both meeting the NCAA "B" time standard.

The NCAA sets "A" and "B" time standards; all collegiate swimmers who meet the "A" standard are guaranteed a berth at the national meet, and swimmers who meet the "B" standard are then considered until the meet fills.

The Tigers came out firing from the start of the second day of competition and their stint in second place did not last long.

In the first race of the day, senior Kate Conroy, freshman Chrissy Holland, junior Molly Seto, and freshman Chrissy Macaulay set a new meet record with their winning 200 medley relay time (1:42.68), also an NCAA "B" cut. Val Kukla followed up that performance with a win in the 1000 free (10:00.68).

Princeton went on to take at least one of the top three spots in five of the next six events, with four NCAA "B" qualifying times: Seto in the 100 butterfly (second place, 55.69), freshman Amy Jones in the 200 free (third place, 1:51.08), Conroy in the 100 backstroke (first place, 55.92), and Jones, senior Ann-Marie Casperite, Kukla, and Seto took second in the 800 free relay (second place, 7:28.11). Another win came from Macaulay in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.57), followed by Holland in third (1:04.86).

At the end of day two, as the waves settled in Harvard's Blodgett Pool, the top four teams were already locked into their ultimate order of finish: Princeton led with 509 points, followed by Brown (482), Harvard (414), and Yale (381).

Princeton's 27-point lead going into the final day of competition was no guarantee of victory: in a large championship meet like the Ivies, the top 16 finishers earn points for their team, from 20 points for first place to one point for 16th, and Brown had ample opportunities to catch up. But by the same token, the Tigers did not necessarily need a lot of first-place finishes to gather points.

Indeed, Princeton did not take first in any of the final day's events, while Brown captured three wins, including a 1-2-3 sweep of the 100 free. But with at least one top five performance in all but two of the last seven events, the Tigers secured their lead and the Ivy title.

Sophomore Lisa Battaglia finished third in the 200 back (2:02.87), followed by Conroy in fourth (2:03.08). Holland was second in the 200 breast (2:19.78), and freshman Steph Hsiao, Jones, Casperite, and Kukla were third in the 400 free relay (3:27.38). Seto finished fifth in the 200 fly (2:04.03), and Mattison chipped in points from the boards with her third-place 3-meter diving performance (451.80 points).

The eight swimmers who may qualify for the NCAA championships — Kukla, Fraumann, Macaulay, Holland, Seto, Jones, Conroy, and Casperite — now have just under a month to prepare for their trip to Austin, Tex., where the University of Texas will host the national Division I meet March 21-23.

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For the rest of the team, what has been a wildly successful season – though not surprisingly so – has come to an end. With their four-year, 32-meet win streak intact, and three straight Ivy titles, what more could the Tigers want?

Perhaps a fourth straight Ivy title?