The men's and women's swimming and diving teams are sprinting towards their third consecutive championship title after decisively defeating Penn and Cornell on Friday and Saturday afternoon in Philadephia.
Neither the Quakers nor the Big Red stood a chance against the Princeton men's team (3-0 overall), falling to the Tigers 214.5-85.5 and 199-101, respectively. Freshman Patt Biggs set the tone for the Tigers, winning the 1000-yard freestyle by over five seconds. Biggs currently holds the fifth-fastest time in the nation in this event.
The junior trio of Will Schaffer, Dan Eckel and Doug Lennox have plowed through the competition this season and did so again last Friday, each taking one or two first-place finishes.
Schaffer battled with Penn's Chaz Maul, edging him in the 100-yard breaststroke by .07 seconds for a first-place finish. Schaffer pulled through again in the 200 breaststroke, grabbing first place two seconds ahead of any other competitor.
Eckel also posted fast times, winning the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1 minute, 51.5 seconds. Lennox continued to show his versatility by taking first in both the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, with his fly time only a second off an NCAA-B cut.
Sophomore Michael Papageorge led the divers Friday night, with a first-place finish in the three-meter event, while classmate Dan Dickerson grabbed second and junior Yarden Fraiman finished fourth. The divers' talent and depth continues to be a strong point for the men's team, as they have consistently taken one of the top two spots in both the three-meter and one-meter events this season.
Friday night's impressive performance was followed by an equally impressive one Saturday afternoon, as the women's team (3-0 overall) blew Penn and Cornell out of the water 184-113 and 204-93, respectively. Finishing in first place in 12 of the 16 events and taking second in the remaining four, the Tigers dominated the meet and started the Ivy League season on the right foot as they head for another Ivy League championship.
"It was a great meet," senior captain Lisa Hamming said. "It was a chance to get out and race against some Ivy League teams, and really set the tone for the rest of the season."
The Tigers started off fast with the 200-yard medley relay, taking first place by a resounding four seconds. Senior Ellen Gray continued the first-place streak, winning the 1,000-yard freestyle by over 20 seconds with a time of 10:03.71, and was followed by freshmen Lauren Benjamin and Nicole McAndrew, who took second and third, respectively.
Sophomore All-American Alicia Aemisegger debuted the season with her first individual event in the 200-yard freestyle. With an impressive start, Aemisegger was ahead by two seconds after the first 50 yards and opened up the margin in the last lap as she finished in 1:49.45.
Aemisegger finished the meet dominantly, winning both the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard IM by over eight seconds. Her times give her NCAA-B cuts in all three events and place her in the top 20 nationally for all three events.
Sophomore Courtney Kilkuts took first in the 100-yard breaststroke, along with first-place finishes by junior Monika Friedman in the 200-yard butterfly, freshman Megan Waters in the 50-yard Freestyle, and junior Justina DiFazio in the 100-yard freestyle.
Senior Gayle Rudofsky led the way for the Tigers in the one-meter event, finishing first with a score of 229.6, followed by freshman Carolyn Littlefield in second and junior Peggy Kearns in third. Kearns was also Princeton's top finisher in the three-meter event, coming in second among a tough field of competitors.
The Tigers are off this weekend as they prepare for their strongest competition of the season at the Big Al Invitiational, which will test Princeton's talent.
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