M. swimming wins H-Y-P after close meet against Harvard, Yale

Coming down the stretch at last weekend's double-dual swim meet in Cambridge, the men of Princeton and Harvard sprinted neck-and-neck towards the finish line, as Yale languished behind in the dust.

With only the 400 meter freestyle relay still to be swum, the Tigers and the Crimson were knotted at 168 points. Princeton's hopes rested squarely on the shoulders of four men: senior captain Jamie Leahy, junior Mike Salerno, sophomore Justin Chiles, and senior captain Carl Hessler.

The Tiger quartet delivered an apocalyptic blow to Harvard's hopes. Anchorman Hessler touched the wall a second ahead of his Crimson foe, giving Princeton a 179-174 victory over Harvard to go along with a 275-76 trouncing of Yale. Under the double-dual meet format, all three teams competed simultaneously, but scoring was calculated as if three separate dual meets had occurred. Harvard bested Yale 291-60 in its dual meet.

Princeton had jumped out to an early lead, taking six of the ten first day events. Hessler led the way, winning the 200m fly and taking second in the 200m free. Junior backstroker Steve Fleming, senior freestyler Jesse Gage, and sophomore diver Kent DeMond each won an individual event. The Tigers also won two relays, the 200m free and the 400m medley.

Entering the second day, it was clear the best team of the meet would be either Princeton or Harvard. The Tigers led the Crimson by just eight points, with each team holding more than a hundred point advantage over Yale.

To the delight of frenzied home fans, Harvard quickly pulled ahead, winning Sunday's first two events.

"For a while [on the second day], I wasn't too optimistic," head coach Rob Orr said.

Most "devastating" was the 200 medley relay — the Crimson won by a mere hundredth of a second. Yet, the Tigers would rebound to win the next three events. Gage, Chiles, and Salerno swept the 100m freestyle. Just a few minutes later, Gage took the 100m backstroke, his third individual title of the weekend.

In the biggest upset of the meet, Fleming won his second individual event of the meet, the 200m backstroke. In doing so, he defeated Harvard captain Dan Shevchik, who was an NCAA Championships finalist last year.

But, as it had so many times over the weekend, the lead changed again, as Harvard snagged the next two events. DeMond's narrow loss in the 3-m diving event — by just three-tenths of a point — put the Tigers on the ropes.

Senior Garth Fealey kept Princeton alive with a win in the 200m breastroke. With his win, the Tigers pulled into a tie for the final time, setting up the final showdown.

Although the 400m free relay has traditionally been one of Princeton's strengths, the team was handicapped by the unavailability of Gage. The top sprinter on the team, Gage had already competed in the maximum five events allowed per meet. Still, the eligible swimmers tabbed for the relay were more than qualified for the challenge.

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

"The team was experienced, so I was fairly optimistic," Orr said.

Before the event, Orr simply reminded his four swimmers that, if they got the lead, they should concentrate on safe starts in order to avoid the chance of disqualification.

"We all knew what we had to do," Chiles said, "and what it meant to our teammates and the parents and alumni cheering in the stands."

Princeton held the edge through much of the race, but it was far too close for comfort. Hessler led by just half a second when he hit the water for the final time.

"It was a crowd-pleaser," Orr said. "We were just fortunate to have the final outcome go our way."

The triumph avenged last year's disappointing third place showing at the H-Y-P meet. The two victories pushed the Tigers' season record to 7-0. On Saturday, they will travel to Annapolis, Maryland to face Navy.

Princeton still has many challenges to overcome and goals to meet in order for their season to be deemed a success. Undoubtedly, however, the brilliant finish at the H-Y-P meet will remain the most unforgettable moment of the season.

"It's just one of those things you'll always remember," said Leahy. "The whole team gave it their all, and we were victorious."