Fresh off a tough training trip in Florida during fall break, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams feel ready to defend their titles from last year and put some new names on the board.
Both teams have returning coaches with a long history of experience. The men’s head coach, Rob Orr, is in his 30th season as head coach and the women’s head coach Susan Teeter returns to the pool with 26 years of experience at Princeton and 176 dual meet victories. Greg Gunn returns for his 21st season as both teams’ head diving coach.
The women’s team is looking for leadership from their two senior captains this year: Alicia Aemisegger, a returning All-American, and Courtney Kilkuts, who holds the school record in the 200 individual medley.
“We had a lot of swimmers come back from the summer in phenomenal shape,” Kilkuts said. “So I think that this season is going to be very exciting in terms of how much people will improve.”
The women are looking to defend their 23 dual meet win streak this season and hoping to defend the Ivy Dual Meet title this season. In the short term, the women are preparing for the Bucknell Invitational, which will take place at Bucknell on Dec. 4 through Dec. 6. In both of these competitions, the team is looking for repeat top performances from some of their senior swimmers, including both captains, as well as younger swimmers.
Freshmen Kathy Qu and Carter Stephens will be essential for the team in both butterfly and freestyle, especially since the Tigers lost several key swimmers in that area last year. Freshman Sarah Furgatch will also add to the team in the breaststroke, as the team looks to regain the Ivy Title this year.
“The team is hungry to try and regain an Ivy Title,” assistant women’s swim coach Phil Spiniello said. “We realize it will be an entire team effort, though.”
The men’s team faces gaps from swimmers who graduated last year. Of the 17 seniors who graduated, seven were on the Tigers’ Ivy Championship team. But the Tigers certainly have some impressive talent returning. Senior captains Dan Dickerson, Jon Hartmann and Chris Quemena look forward to leading their team to another winning season.
The team has two returning All- Americans, Hartmann and sophomore Colin Cordes. The team acquired 10 new freshmen and have an impressive group to add to a team already deep in talent.
The team is also excited to have sophomore Bryan Tay back after his trip to the 2008 Olympics where, competing for Singapore, he won the heat and came in 41st overall.
Other swimmers to look out for this season include Quemena, who reached the final for the 200 IM at the Ivy League championship last year and junior Pat Biggs, who will race in the 1650 freestyle this year at the Ivy League Championships. The coaches are also counting on sophomores Jon Christensen, Travis McNamara and Mike Monovoukas to bring points to the team.
Freshman Andres Tung is fresh off the Hong Kong National Team. Freshmen Will Lawley and Brian Barrett will add significant depth to the freestyle events, while freshman Kaspar Rigali, with his experience on the Estonia National swim team, will hopefully be a strong competitor for the Tigers in the backstroke, butterfly and IM.
Gunn said he is looking forward to an exciting year with a lot of diving talent. On the men’s team, three returning divers have experienced diving at the championship level. Dickerson, in particular, is looking to repeat his wins on both boards last year and his diver of the meet award. There are also two new freshman divers who will add depth to the program.
For women’s diving, Gunn said he recognizes the loss of two very talented divers but hopes that the two new freshmen will be competitive this season. Sophomore Courtney Fieldman will most likely be favored in the 1-meter championship in the Ivy League Championships this year. Harvard is certainly going to give the girls a challenge, but Gunn said he hopes that the Tigers will prevail.
“We beat Harvard last year by a lot,” Gunn said. “I would like to repeat that this year. I do not care how much we win by, as long as we are just one point ahead.”
On both teams there is potential for the Tigers to compete at the NCAA zone meet. A great performance is expected from freshman Stevie Vines, a three-time Georgia State Championship diver, and freshman Bryna Tsai.
The Harvard, Yale and Princeton tri-dual meet seems to have both teams nervous for next semester. Unlike last year, most of the meets are at home this year. “We generally swim best in our own pool,” assistant men’s coach Jamie Holder said. But Dickerson realizes this is a weighty task, and noted that the Tigers have never lost at home in a dual meet. He also said Penn, Cornell and Columbia will also challenge the team. Across the board, though, both teams recognize that Harvard will pose the biggest threat.
“Our toughest competitor is a very strong and deep Harvard squad,” Spiniello said.
Both Dickerson and Cordes said that one of the most important changes to swimming this year is the ban of full body suit technology.
“Without the aid of full body suit technology, it will be harder to match the top times of last year,” Cordes said.
Dickerson said, though, that he thinks it will take swimming back to the basics and make the races even more exciting.
Read More
No. 7 women’s lacrosse season ends in NCAA quarterfinals against No. 1 UNC
Hayk YengibaryanWith the loss, the career of senior attacker Mackenzie Blake comes to an end. Blake finished her career with a program-best 231 career goals and three first-team All-Ivy selections.
With the loss, the career of senior attacker Mackenzie Blake comes to an end. Blake finished her career with a program-best 231 career goals and three first-team All-Ivy selections.
No. 3 men’s lacrosse season ends in NCAA quarterfinals after 19–18 loss to No. 5 Syracuse
Hayk YengibaryanWith the win, Syracuse advances to the final four for the first time since 2013. For the Tigers, their season ends along with the career of senior standout attacker Coulter Mackesy.
With the win, Syracuse advances to the final four for the first time since 2013. For the Tigers, their season ends along with the career of senior standout attacker Coulter Mackesy.
Preview: No. 3 men’s lacrosse plays No. 5 Syracuse in NCAA quarterfinals
Hayk YengibaryanShould the Tigers beat the Orange, they will advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 as they look to win their first national championship since 2001.
Should the Tigers beat the Orange, they will advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 as they look to win their first national championship since 2001.