Streaking m. swimming hosts EISL Championships

For too long, the only suspense surrounding the men's Eastern Intercollegiate Swim League Championships was wondering whether Harvard would have room in the rafters to raise yet another men's championship banner.

Beginning in 1996, the Crimson won six consecutive EISL titles, often by painfully wide margins. The 2002 Princeton squad finally unseated Harvard, reclaiming the league title for the first time since 1995. The Tigers are ready to return to glory as they host the EISL Championships today through Sunday at DeNunzio Pool.

Last season, the Tigers looked poised to repeat as champions, going undefeated during the regular season, but the Crimson rallied on the final day of Easterns to claim another victory in the lasting rivalry.

Princeton (9-1) and Harvard (8-1) are the favorites again this year, but the field looks to be much more competitive than in years past, with a handful of schools looking to push to the top of the final standings. All eight Ivy League schools will compete along with Army and Navy.

"While on paper it may look like Harvard and Princeton are the favorites, this year's meet will be much closer in places 1-5 than in recent years," Tigers' head coach Rob Orr said. "Any of Columbia, Cornell, Yale, Dartmouth or Penn could have a huge impact on this meet's outcome."

Harvard is strong across the board again, and a loss to Princeton at the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton tri-meet is the only blemish on its record. If the Crimson swim the way they did in knocking off No. 21 North Carolina earlier this season, they will be tough to beat.

The Tigers, though, have swam well all year. They ran through their league dual meet schedule without a loss, and a victory at the H-Y-Ps gave the Tigers momentum they have managed to sustain. The Tigers are currently No. 22 in the country, and a victory this weekend could help them vault even higher.

Each year, the Tigers aim to sweep their dual meets, finish first at Easterns, and post a strong showing at the NCAA championships. Their perfect league record represents a third of what Orr calls the "triple crown" — a victory this weekend brings them a step closer.

In truth, Princeton has already exceeded expectations this season. Last year's graduating class was perhaps the greatest in school history, so the 2004 season was expected to be a rebuilding one. Perhaps the best of that extraordinary group, Jesse Gage, tied for top individual performance at Easterns last year.

The 2003 Easterns saw an incredible 13 meet records fall, nine to Tiger swimmers. Still, the effort was not enough to propell Princeton past the Crimson. Harvard's Dan Schevchik and John Cole tied with Gage for top individual honors. Like Gage, both have graduated.

Although the gap between the Tigers and Crimson and the rest of the league is typically quite substantial, the mass graduations have narrowed it. Yale, which finished third at last year's Easterns, could surprise.

Still, Princeton is not lacking talent. Senior Juan Valdivieso and junior Justin Chiles are among the best freestroke swimmers in the league, and freshman Meir Hasbani has emerged as a standout.

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Harvard's top performers include Rassan Grant, Mark Knepley, and David Cromwell, who won the 200 backstroke at last year's championships and was part of the Crimson's first-place 200-meter medley relay squad.

Yale will rely on Jimmy Veasy, who looks to finish high in both the 200m fly and the 100m free. Alex Nash and Andrew Foss could also shine for the Bulldogs.