Tigers to compete on biggest stage

All told, more than a dozen Princeton athletes have either qualified or are attempting to do so in a variety of sports.

While most are participating in individual events, some — like Matheson — are competing in team sports.

Coming off her final collegiate campaign, in which she was named Ivy League Player of the Year, Matheson now turns her focus to professional competition. This level of play, however, is nothing new for Matheson. The Ontario native has been playing for the Canadian national team since she was 18.

“I had trained at the national training center since I was 16 or 17, and a lot of my teammates got called up before I did,” Matheson said. “So I always felt like I could catch on.”

Though only 24, Matheson has already experienced success at the international level, scoring three goals in 77 appearances with the national team.

Matheson has high hopes for her squad this year after its fourth-place finish at the 2003 World Cup.

“Four years ago, we didn’t qualify, which was a fairly big upset,” she said. “So we are really excited to get another chance this time around. We’ve played in a lot of big games before, so we’re not too nervous.”

Following the team’s strong performances during qualifying, Matheson is confident that Canada will medal in August.

“We’d definitely like to get a medal, preferably gold,” the four-time All-Ivy midfielder said. “But I’d settle for any medal.”

No matter the outcome, Matheson will be heading to Norway next fall to play for her first professional team.

Unlike Matheson, Lennox’ success will depend solely on his own performance. The 2007 Eastern champion in the 100-meter butterfly has qualified to represent Puerto Rico for both that event and its 200-meter counterpart.

Despite the rigors of swimming and his success at Princeton, Lennox has no guarantees heading into the stiff international competition.

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“It is different to compete at the international level,” the Illinois native said in an e-mail. “Swimming without extremely high expectations allows me to relax, swim my own race and see how I stack up against the best in the world.”

Like Matheson, Lennox will not be competing for the United States, instead choosing to take advantage of his eligibility to compete for the Puerto Rican team. The decision was not a difficult one for Lennox.

“Actually, I knew that making the US Olympic team would probably never happen — especially if I came here to Princeton instead of going to a ‘swimming school,’ ” he said.

Lennox is also looking forward to the new experiences he could have out of the pool while in Beijing.

“I’m looking forward to the atmosphere in the Olympic Village, being in the presence of some legendary athletes and watching as many other competitions as possible,” Lennox said. “The only things I’m nervous about is not being able to communicate with people who don’t speak English or Spanish, or breaking some random Chinese law that I am unfamiliar with — that would be a disaster.”

While Lennox is happy to have qualified for two events, his goals do not end there.

“I’m super excited that I made both events, because they are swum really differently and the training will need to be much more creative in order to ready for each,” he said. “Hopefully I can make the semi-finals in one or both events.”

Lennox could be joined in Beijing my as many as 10 other Princeton swimmers, including juniors Will Schaffer, Mike Carter, Robert Griest, Dan Eckel, Monika Friedman and Justina Di Fazio, sophomores Alicia Aemisegger and Courtney Kilkuts, and freshmen Meredith Monroe and Colin Hanna.

A number of Princeton alumni may also test their rowing talents this summer against the world’s best boats.

Former heavyweight crew standout Sam Loch ’06 was recently named a member of the first boat of the 2008 Australian Olympic team. Looking to compete for the United States are Steve Coppola ’06 and Caroline Lind ’06.

The 2008 Games kick off on August 8.