Teams look to race to top Ivy spot again this season

It may be difficult for the men's and women's swimming and diving teams to top last year's dramatic sweep at the Ivy League championships, but that doesn't mean the Tigers won't give it their best shot.

Back from a Fall Break training trip in Puerto Rico, the Orange and Black is ready to begin its season looking for a repeat performance.

An upset over league favorite Harvard at the Ivy League championships ended the women's season with a burst of positive momentum that has caused many to set high expectations for the team this year. The squad enters the season ranked No. 24 nationally.

"We are working every morning and night — running, spinning, lifting and of course swimming — so we can outdo ourselves from last year," sophomore backstroker Rebecca Nyquist said.

Like their female counterparts, the men's team ended last season with stellar performances across the board, winning the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League (EISL) championship and sharing the Ivy League title with Harvard.

Returning five of their fastest swimmers — Ellen Gray, Kelly Hannigan, Brett Shiflett, Justina DiFazio and Lisa Hamming — and welcoming two divers and five swimmers to the roster, the women's team has the talent to perform well again this year. The Tiger's class of 2010 includes Alicia Aemisegger, an aspiring Olympian who broke Princeton's 400 individual medley record by nearly four seconds in her first qualifier for Princeton.

"We are excited about our freshman class and we expect all of them to contribute a lot this season," Nyquist said.

The men's squad continues to possess a deep, talented roster, highlighted by the fact they took last year's EISLs without winning a single event. The Tigers were able to perform well enough in every event to win as a team. Senior All-American Meir Hasbani is a key leader in this year's quest to repeat the glory of last season.

"Though we had a great season last year, we look even better early on this season," sophomore John Lamonaca said. "A lot of our guys are much healthier this year."

The men's and women's squads both open their season this weekend against a highly-ranked Michigan program. The powerhouse Wolverine squads — the men are ranked No. 11 and the women No. 10 — provide both the men's and women's teams with formidable challenges to jumpstart the season.

"This is the first time in a long while Princeton has traveled to face such high-caliber competition, and we are getting ready for it," Nyquist said.

Before facing the stellar Michigan squad, the women's team will face-off against Oakland University on Friday.

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After returning from Michigan, the teams' Ivy slate begins with a dual meet against Penn and Cornell in Ithica, N.Y. next weekend. On Dec. 1-3 the Big Al Invitational, featuring Tennessee and Pittsburg, will give Princeton's swimmers a second stab at top national competition; the divers will travel to Rutgers on their own that weekend.

Following the Big Al, Ivy League competition resumes with a match against Dartmouth, the famous annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet and the Ivy League Championships, all of which will take place at DeNunzio Pool.