Lennox All-America in 200 butterfly

“My races at nationals went very well,” Lennox said. “I was able to stay relaxed and focused, and was therefore able to race tough and prove to myself that I belonged at the meet with the other guys from big name programs.”

Butterfly specialist Lennox and senior diver Stuart Malcolm were the only Tigers to represent Princeton at the 2008 NCAA men’s swimming and diving championships at the University of Washington.

Lennox qualified for the 200 fly by winning an Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League (EISL) title with a time of one minute, 44.36 seconds, breaking both the EISL and the Blodgett pool records. Lennox, who earlier this season qualified for Puerto Rico’s Olympic team, won the EISL title last year in the 100 fly. Malcolm earned a trip to the championships by winning a Zone A platform competition.

Entering the competition with the fourth-fastest time in the field, Lennox finished with a time of 1:42.80, just one hundredth of a second behind third-place Danny Beal of Stanford. Georgia’s Gil Stovall won the NCAA title in 1:41.33, while his teammate Mark Dylla took second in 1:42.08. Despite the disappointment of such a close loss, Lennox can revel in being Princeton’s first All-American honoree since 2006.

“I am very excited to be All-American,” Lennox said. “After having barely missed earning All-American honors in the 100 butterfly last year, and then coming back this year and being able to come so close to third is very special to me.”

The diving competition was also fierce, as Malcolm made his last collegiate appearance. Despite his dominant performance in the 2008 Zone A Diving Championships last weekend, Malcolm was unable to make it to the finals at nationals.