Men's swimming celebrates its 100th anniversary this weekend

The story of Princeton University spans over two centuries, and while the swimming team has been in existence for less than half of that time, it too has quite a story to tell.

This weekend will see the celebration of the team's centennial anniversary, as both current team members and alumni who swam for the Orange and Black will come together.

"It's a great chance for us to meet all those names that we just come across from stories and from the record board," senior swimmer Justin Chiles said. "It takes a big event like this to get all these people back together."

The celebration will be held over Friday and Saturday and will feature an alumni swim meet with members of the current team as well as an evening reception and dinner. The Friends of Princeton Swimming, the team's booster organization, is putting together the festivities.

About 400 alumni and their guests are expected to attend. Guests from as far back as the Class of 1939 will be present.

One major factor behind the high turnout is head coach Rob Orr, currently poised to enter his 26th season coaching the Tigers.

Orr has led the Tigers to a record of 225-30 (.882) during his tenure, making him one of the winningest Princeton coaches ever.

Under Orr, Princeton is undefeated in dual meets at DeNunzio Pool. The team should top 100 dual-meet wins at DeNunzio during Orr's tenure by the end of this season.

The Tigers have also won eight of their Easterns Championship meets with him, including one last year.

Not only has Orr compiled an impressive record as head coach, but he is also well liked by his swimmers both past and present.

"The amount of people coming is kind of a tribute to how respected our coach is," Chiles said. He explained that the festivities were, in part, "to celebrate [Orr] and his success."

As the current team looks forward to this weekend, it also looks forward to the start of the competitive season in November.

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"It's going to be a difficult battle between us and Harvard," Chiles said, adding that Princeton boasts a team as deep as any other in the Ivy League this year, a key advantage.

With a strong, deep team and an experienced coach, the Tigers will look to continue the story of success that has characterized the Princeton men's swimming team over the past century.

Perhaps Princeton's past stars will have a few tips for the team's rising stars this weekend.