Dominant women's swimming cruises to win weekend Princeton Invitational

Highlighted by a record-setting performance by junior Sarah Frauman, the women's swimming team dominated all three days of competition to win the Princeton Invitational, scoring 1,127 points, 386 points better than second-place Rutgers. Villanova was third with 696.5 points.

The Tigers got off to a quick start on day one, leading Villanova by 117 points after the first day of competition, as at least one Princeton swimmer finished in the top three of every event.

The Tigers took the lead early, winning the 200-yard freestyle relay in the first event of the day. Sophomores Chrissy Macaulay, Stephanie Hsiao and Amy Jones and senior Molly Seto finished in 1:35.45, nearly two seconds in front of the second-place squad from Rutgers.

In the next event, Frauman and freshman Libby Engelmeier placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 500-yard freestyle.

In the 200-yard individual medley, the Tigers took third, fourth and fifth with freshman Whitney Ryan, Hsiao, and Seto finishing in that order.

With one first-place already under her belt, Macaulay went on to win again in the fourth event, the 50-yard freestyle.

And in the 400-yard medley relay, Macaulay, along with seniors Michelle Nielson, Chrissy Holland and Seto, finished second.

On the diving board, senior Kristy Wilson took third in the 3-meter.

After a jumping out to a comfortable lead on day one, the squad further extended that margin Saturday.

Second day

In the first event of the day, the relay team of Nielsen, Holland, Macaulay and Seto placed second in the 200-yard medley relay, with Macaulay swimming a blistering 23.16 in the freestyle as the anchor. The Tigers continued to place high in almost every event: Ryan placed second in the 400-yard individual medley while Seto placed third in the 100-yard fly.

In perhaps the most thrilling finish of the day, Hsiao won the 100-yard breaststroke by two-hundredths of a second over Rutgers's Katie Kuczmarski. A clear example of their depth, the Tigers placed four swimmers in the eight-person final heat of that event.

Wilson and sophomore Maggie Littlefield placed second and third on the 1-meter diving board.

Third day

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On Sunday, Frauman set the school record in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:38.80. The previous record, set by Tara Martin in 1988, was 16:45.77.

In addition, Frauman, and Engelmeier, who finished third in the event, became NCAA provisional qualifiers as a result of their times.

"Sarah has been one of my best swimmers all year," head coach Susan Teeter said.

"She really swam well today and I'm happy with where she is right now."

In other events on the day, freshman Kitsie Kerner placed second in the 200-yard backstroke; Hsiao and sophomore Amy Jones took second and third in the 100-yard freestyle; and Ryan finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke.

The three-day domination demonstrated that the team, which has already shown its ability to handle competition in dual meet situations, will be ready for the larger meets later in the season, including the crucial Ivy League championships.