W. swimming falls to Pitt, ending 47-meet win streak

As Emily Dickinson once said, "Fame is a bee. It has a song, it has a sting."

On Monday, women's swimming, a program that has enjoyed the sweet song of fame for so long, finally felt its sting as the team suffered its first true defeat, falling to Pittsburgh. With such a loss comes the end of an amazingly long string of 47 wins, bringing to a close one of the most memorable athletic streaks in Princeton history.

The men's team also fell to Pitt, snapping its own winning streak of 15.

The visiting women fell to the Panthers by the relatively close score of 165-135. While the team itself was not able to pull through with a victory, there were some exceptional showings on the individual level.

Diving dominated the scene early on, with freshman diver Michelle Demond taking first place in both the oneand three-meter dives and junior diver Maggie Littlefield claiming both second-place spots as well.

In addition to these early successes, sophomore swimmer Libby Engelmeier had a standout performance this weekend, winning both the 500- and 1000-yard freestyle events and helping to keep the meet close as the Tigers struggled to capture the first-place spots in most events.

In the end, however, this individual effort was not enough to keep Princeton in the hunt. The Tigers were able to win only one other first-place finish, achieved by sophomore swimmer Kitsie Kerner in the 100-yard backstroke.

While this loss was a bitter one to swallow, it was by no means totally unexpected. According to coach Susan Teeter, Pittsburgh is a team "of high quality, equal to or a step above Harvard's talent."

The closeness of last Monday's match-up only goes to show that this year the Tigers will have their hands more than full when they head into H-Y-Ps, their most important meet to date. With an exceptionally young and talented Harvard team on the horizon, Princeton will also be contemplating the survival of its remaining streak of four consecutive Ivy League titles.

Despite the end of an amazing run for the Tigers, they hope this loss is but a blip in the current epoch of women's swimming.

The men fall

The men's swimming and diving team fell to Pittsburgh on Monday, 155.5-145.5, but the Tigers did not give up the meet without a fight.

At the end of the day, a mere ten points separated the victorious Panthers and a hungry Tiger squad. That margin is the difference between a first-place and a secondplace finish in one event.

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

The end of the meet proved that the Tigers were not ready to give in. After Pitt gained the edge in the early action with a strong showing from its diving corps, Princeton surged back with top finishes by its swimmers.

The Tigers finished in first-place in three consecutive events, culminating the meet with freshman Meir Hasabani's first place finish in the 400-yard individual medley and a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay by a team composed of freshman Ryan Becker, sophomore Will Reinhardt, junior Jeremy Tillman and junior Justin Chiles.

Until the Pittsburgh race, the Tigers held a 15 meet winning streak that started at the end of last season. For the Class of 2004, this is only the third dual meet they have ever lost.

"When we scheduled Pitt, we knew how good they had been in the past and how good they were going to be this year," senior Jeff Yellin said.

Having not raced the Panthers since the 1994-95 season, the new competitor added a twist to Princeton's already tough schedule. It provided the talented Tigers with some non-league competition which, talent-wise, surpasses any Princeton has seen thus far.

"[Pittsburgh is] definitely a solid team, probably one of the toughest on our schedule," senior Hallett Johnson said.

Though the Tigers knew they were facing a powerful team, the meet was by no means the focus of their season as they continue to train for the remainder of their schedule.

Princeton next races Dartmouth at home on Jan. 25.