The men's and women's swimming and diving teams return this year with a legacy in their hands. Both teams have won seven of their last eight league championships and return as two-time defending champions. With their season just around the corner, these Tigers have brought the skill and experience to prove that they intend to stay on top.
Coming off a perfect season in the Ivy League, the No. 24 women's team has both the depth and the talent to propel it to the top of its league and deep into the NCAA championship. In last year's Ivy League championships, the Princeton women easily secured the top spot, scoring 80 points above second place Harvard and 370 points above Yale.
"We've had a tremendous amount of success over the years, but true success is being able to sustain that legacy, and I think that we're capable of that," women's head coach Susan Teeter said.
The Tiger women took first place in 10 of the 16 individual events at Ivys, with eight top times coming from returning swimmers. Only Harvard came close, with a mere three first-place finishes coming from returning swimmers.
Despite losing standout swimmers Kelly Hannigan '07 and Sobenna George '07, the Class of 2011 has the potential to immediately step in where the last year's senior class left off. Of the eight incoming freshman, one has an Olympic trial time cut, another has competed at World Championships and five competed either in spring or summer nationals last year.
"They [the freshman class] have been a good emotional boost, funny group and they all fit right in. They've been a huge addition to the program," Teeter said.
These well-rounded freshmen join the ranks of three veteran classes, each contributing top swimmers to the team. Sophomore All-American Alicia Aemisegger, an NCAA finalist in both the 500 m free and 400 m IM and an Ivy League champion in three events, is accompanied by classmate Courtney Kilkuts, the Ivy League champion in the 200 m IM and third-place finisher in both the 200 m and 100 m breaststroke.
Junior Justina DiFazio claimed three top finishes at last year's Ivys, taking first place in both the 100 m and 200 m free, second in the 50 free and was also a member of three top relay teams. The senior class rounds out this stacked team with Ellen Gray, a past NCAA competitor, Ivy League champ and a finalist in both the 500 m and 1000 m free, and Lisa Hamming, who claimed third place in the 400 m IM and eighth in the 200 m breaststroke.
While the women's team comes into the year with confidence and the talent to back it up, the men's team has its work cut out for itself.
"This year is going to be a significant challenge," men's head coach Rob Orr said. "We got fairly decent, able freshmen that will be tested in the next couple of weeks, but we didn't replace the depths of our graduating class by any means."
The men's team is built around depth, winning last year's Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League (EISL) championships despite having only one first-place finisher. The Tigers will have to rely heavily on their strong junior class this year. Will Schaffer, Dan Eckel, Mike Carter, Robert Griest, Doug Lennox and Easton Chen, all juniors, all claimed top eight times at Easterns in their respective events. Sophomores Chris Quemena and Jon Hartmann led their class after claiming three top eight finishes at Easterns. The senior class is paced by Mike Baity, who played an integral part in the sixth place 200 free relay and third place 200 medley last year.
"We have our work cut out for us this year, and we'll see who rises to the occasion," Orr said.
While the swimmers have established themselves as an Ivy League powerhouse, they wouldn't be where they are without the contribution of the divers. Princeton's top finishes on the boards last year came from junior Katie Giarra, the Ivy League champion in both the one-meter and three-meter dives, and sophomore Mike Papageorge, who took second in both events at EISL championships last year. Senior Stuart Malcolm also returns this year after competing in the 2007 NCAA Championships last year and placing third in the three-meter and fifth in the one-meter dive at EISLs.
Both the men's and women's teams start their seasons at home this Friday with a dual meet against Oakland University in DeNunzio Pool. While the women easily defeated the Grizzlies 145-92 last year, it will be a different story for the men, who face a talented Oakland squad for the first time. It will be a challenge worth seeing, as the men have never lost a home meet at DeNunzio.
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