Men's swimming looks to defend title at Easterns

A 9-0 regular season dual meet record — outstanding. A victory at the H-Y-P meet — thrilling. A top-25 national ranking — impressive.

A victory at Easterns — priceless.

So far this season, all has gone exactly according to plan for men's swimming. Each year, Princeton strives for what head coach Rob Orr terms the "triple crown." Step one, a spotless regular season, is in the bag. But the Tigers must clear the second hurdle — a victory at this weekend's Eastern championships — for their season to be truly complete. Scoring well at NCAAs held March 27-29 would only be icing on the cake.

"We can swim well this weekend without winning the title," senior captain Karl Telleen said, "but we wouldn't be satisfied."

Princeton travels to the Nassau County Aquatic Center on Long Island as defending champions. And while they are favored to repeat — at least on paper — no one suggests that doing so will be easy.

Blocking the Tigers' path to glory is Harvard. Beyond just the ordinary motivation of competition against their bitter rivals, the Crimson are also looking to avenge two heartbreaking losses.

The first came last year at Easterns, when Princeton held off Harvard with a victory in the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. In a déjà vu moment, the Tigers snatched this year's H-Y-P meet from the Crimson thanks to a victory in the same final event.

As always, the illustrious class of 2003 will lead the Tigers into battle. Last year, this class scored 666 points at Easterns, more than half Princeton's total. Among the 10 events the team won, four were relays. All six individual titles were contributed by the then-juniors.

Senior Jesse Gage led the way with three victories, taking the 50 free, the 100 free, and the 100 butterfly. With his total of 96 points, Gage tied as the individual high-scorer of the meet. Classmate Carl Hessler chipped in 88 points, including a victory in the 200 fly. Garth Fealey added two more victories, winning the 100 and 200 breastroke.

All three of those swimmers also shared the impressive distinction of qualifying for and participating in the NCAA Championships a year ago. Orr expects a repeat performance from all three this year, and hopes several other Tigers will be able to swim personal bests to qualify for the NCAAs. He specifically singled out juniors Steve Fleming and Juan Valdivieso as already being particularly close to the necessary times.

Even if Gage, Hessler, and Fealey dominate their individual events as expected, the senior stars will not be able to win the meet alone. Each swimmer can compete in just three individual events at the championships.

While an outstanding meet from one swimmer certainly places a team on the road to victory, it is far more critical that every team member contributes. Each of the top 24 finishers in an event is awarded points on a descending basis.

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"In this type of meet we can't rely on just a few guys to make it happen," Telleen said. "Everyone has to get tough, especially with fast swims in trials to secure spots in the top eight."

According to the format of the meet, each team is limited to just 17 swimmers and three divers. For Orr, selecting which swimmers and divers will be among the active 20 is an agonizing decision. The decision is mainly based on performances at the H-Y-P and the last few dual meets.

"It's the hardest challenge of my job," he said. "You're guessing which combination will score the most points, and there's no way to ever know if you're right."

In the end, Orr has chosen a roster featuring seven seniors, seven juniors, and six sophomores for this year. He was quick to mention that the lack of freshmen on the roster was not indicative of a lack of talent among the class of 2006, but simply a function of the strength of the older classes.

Over the past two weeks, during which time the Tigers have not had any meets, the swimmers have tapered their training in order to be fresh for the meet. Through a reduction of yardage and intensity of workouts, swimmers are given an opportunity to rest. Each individual tapers differently, based on what combination of work and rest he and Orr agree to be optimal.

With the regular season a distant memory, the roster set, and taper completed, now is the time the Tigers must deliver.

A loss would leave an unbefitting bitter taste in the mouths of the seniors; a win would validate all they have accomplished this year and provide a storybook ending for their careers.

Priceless indeed.