Princeton tops among Big Three

It's time to bust out the champagne and celebrate what has already been dubbed the "Super Sunday Sweep."

The men's and women's swimming and diving teams hosted the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet at DeNunzio Pool this weekend, and each walked away with the title that has eluded both teams for the past several years. The men's team (8-4 overall, 4-1 Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League) defeated the Crimson 190-163 and the Bulldogs 228-125, while the women's team (8-1, 5-0) swept Harvard and Yale 174-145 and 192-127, respectively.

Both teams shouldered great expectations going into this highly anticipated meet. The men's team, which has never lost a home meet at DeNunzio, hoped its good fortune at home would help it reclaim the HYP title — one that has eluded its grasp since 2004. For the women, the HYP meet was the only obstacle separating them from a perfect Ivy League season.

"Meets at home are always more intense, and the longer that the undefeated streak at DeNunzio continues, the more the guys on the team will feel the pressure of history," senior swimmer Meir Hasbani said. "This week, some 30 alumni e-mailed the team's list-serve to get the guys pumped up and motivated to swim fast. The e-mails are great, but they also make the meet that much more nerve-wracking because you know all of the alumni are watching."

To add even more pressure, the Tigers were facing the Crimson for the second time. Though Harvard won first-place finishes in five of the 10 events Saturday evening, the Tigers held on by relying on their key strength: depth.

While they won only three events on Saturday, the Princeton men concluded the evening with a tight 94-92 lead over Harvard and a comfortable 127-59 triumph over Yale. Princeton claimed second and third in the opening 200 freestyle relay, with the "A" team finishing only .09 seconds after Harvard's. The Crimson continued its strong opening by taking first in the 200 freestyle.

"For the past 30 years or so, either Harvard or Princeton has been the conference champion," Hasbani said. "It is a bitter rivalry, and both teams are so determined to beat the other that HYP always brings out the fastest swims from both teams. We hadn't beaten Harvard in a dual meet in three years, and after our losses to Navy and Cornell, and barely scraping by Columbia, they were definitely the favorites going into this weekend."

Determined to preserve their undefeated home streak and defeat their closest rivals, Princeton's men fired back, with sophomore John LaMonaca claiming the 100 breaststroke. The Tigers' continued domination of the 200 butterfly, an event Princeton has historically controlled, epitomized the squad's depth. Sophomore Doug Lennox led Hasbani, sophomore Dan Eckel and senior Ryan Rimmele to a 1-2-3-4 finish. The Tigers' depth continued to win points, and though Hasbani was out-touched for first in the 200 IM by just under .2 seconds, he and three teammates claimed second through fifth for the Tigers.

Several Tigers stole the spotlight the following day. Lennox finished second in the 100 freestyle and won the first event for Princeton during the second session in the 100 butterfly. Sophomore Dan O'Connor took second in the 200 backstroke and freshman Mike Papageorge swept both diving events, with junior Stuart Malcolm claiming second in the three-meter. Ultimately, the last event of the conference, the 200 breaststroke, clinched the title for Princeton. With Harvard's strong performance in the 500 free, Hasbani and senior Mike Ott responded with a strong first and third finish respectively.

"This win was really special. This weekend was probably one of the most intense and nerve-wracking meets of my life," Hasbani said. "We haven't won HYPs since 2004, when the seniors were freshmen. As seniors, we felt a lot more pressure than we did when HYPs were at home four years ago, and it feels good to leave knowing that 2007 successfully kept the DeNunzio winning streak alive."

The women had a completely different start at the meet, opening the first session by winning five of nine events. Freshman star Alicia Aemisegger opened the individual events with a strong boost for the Tigers, setting a new pool record in the 1,000 freestyle, finishing in nine minutes, 47.14 seconds. Junior Ellen Gray and freshman Aurora Lee rounded out the top four places in the event, taking third and fourth places respectively. Sophomore Justina Di Fazio extended Aemisegger's momentum, edging out freshman Jane Kim of Yale by only .06 seconds to claim first in the 200 free. Aemisegger returned to the pool to win the 200 fly, followed by senior Sobe George's win in the 50 free and junior Lisa Hamming and senior Kelly Hannigan's 1-2 finish in the 400 IM. The women matched the men's depth in the one-meter dive, with sophomore Katie Giarra leading three teammates to claim second through fifth for Princeton.

But the strong performances didn't end on Friday. Di Fazio opened Saturday's session with a strong win in the 100 free. Aemisegger claimed her third individual title, missing the pool record in the 200 breaststroke by only .25 seconds. Giarra claimed a second title in the three-meter with Hamming and Hannigan mimicking their 1-2 finish the day before in the meet's concluding event, the 200 IM.

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The wins this weekend may prove to be a strong indicator of what is to come at the EISL Championships in less than three weeks for the men and less than two weeks for the women. Both teams will have a home-pool advantage, as DeNunzio will host both the Ivy Championships and the EISLs.

"One thing we cannot afford to do is get cocky and complacent," senior Dave Ashley said. "Again, Harvard will be our number-one competitor at Easterns, and we have a lot of preparation to do in order to ensure another win in three weeks. Our depth bodes well for us; however, Harvard put up a good fight this past weekend, and showed us that it will not be an easy meet."