Men's Swimming and Diving: Twenty years of wins at DeNunzio

When asked about the men’s swimming team’s impressive 20-year undefeated streak in dual meets at DeNunzio Pool, head coach Rob Orr simply said, “Is that how long it is? That’s what people have told me.”

Orr’s attitude belies Princeton’s remarkable success at home — since DeNunzio Pool was built in 1990, the Tigers have never lost a dual meet while swimming in home waters.

Orr’s humble approach to Princeton’s streak — calling his team “fortunate” to attain such long-term success — is one of his defining characteristics. When asked the secret to his team’s success, Orr’s first thought was to praise Michael McLaughlin, the man responsible for the upkeep of the pool.

Orr has a pragmatic approach to the team’s success. “It’s a real sense of pride,” he said. “Nobody likes to lose.”

Loss has not been something that Orr has dealt with too often during his time at Princeton. The Tigers’ undefeated run through the Ivy League this year, capped with the team’s second consecutive Ivy League championships title at DeNunzio last weekend, brings Orr’s career record for dual meets to 275-39. A significant portion of that record is the team’s perfect 107-0 mark in home meets.

Asked the reason for Princeton’s success, Doug Lennox ’09 — who guided the Tigers to three Ivy League titles, holds six school records and was twice named first team All-America — explained, “Every single guy that comes to this team will just say ‘Rob Orr.’ He’s a fearless leader, and he just has this ability to show so much emotion in the locker room before a big meet here at DeNunzio. It’s just like, if you don’t react to it, you’re not a human being, you know? It’s like, if he can’t rile you up, you don’t have emotions.”

After a strong senior class graduated last season, there were doubts as to how the team would fare this year. Yet the Tigers, buoyed by a strong group of underclassmen, ran through the Ivy League and grabbed a spot in the top 25.

Senior tri-captain Christopher Quemena pointed to “the streak” as a key to Princeton’s continued dominance.

“Although Rob doesn’t put much emphasis on the streak, his influence is still present in that all the swimmers have such a high respect for him that we find it unacceptable to fail,” Quemena said. “Especially at DeNunzio, where Rob has been the coach for the entirety of the pool’s existence.”

Last weekend, alums, friends and family of the men’s swimming team descended upon DeNunzio to support the Tigers in the Ivy League Championships. The poolside atmosphere exemplified what senior tri-captain Jon Hartmann called “the amazing environment that cultivates success and brings out the best in Princeton swimmers and divers.”

Among the spectators was Jonathan Meer ’02, whose interest in the streak continues beyond his Princeton years. Meer played a part in the streak’s formation, and he recalled a tense Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet in which the Tigers were “the much weaker team on paper” but still came out on top.

“There’s just something about DeNunzio that makes you perform above and beyond expectations,” Meer said. “Most guys on the team here weren’t even born when it started, but they still feel the sense of pride and expectation.”

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This sense of camaraderie imbues the youngest members of the team with a clear understanding of the type of program to which they belong.

“It’s exciting to be part of a team that has done extremely well in the Ivy League as well as at the national level,” freshman Brian Barrett said. “The streak is great because it keeps us practicing hard throughout the year, no matter how bad it sucks, and makes meets at DeNunzio that much more exciting.”

The pressure to keep “the streak” alive is felt by the whole team. Lennox, a member of the Puerto Rican swim team at the Beijing Olympics, said competing for Princeton offered more pressure than racing for his country.

“Honestly, for me anyways, competing for Puerto Rico, there wasn’t a ton of pressure when I went to the Olympics,” Lennox said. “Here, there [was] a lot more pressure and people depending on me. The Olympics was more relaxed of an environment.”

The Tigers’ knowledge of the program’s history motivates the current members of the team.

“When you swim or dive at DeNunzio, you are not only competing for your current teammates, but Princeton Swimming past and future as well,” Hartmann said. “It gives us a unique chance to be a part of something much bigger than our current team or ourselves. I think some of the greatest performances I have seen in my four years have been at home with the streak on the line.”

Orr said he fears that this streak may not last much longer, explaining that “as it gets much harder to recruit student athletes, I think that we will definitely see a loss before I retire.”

But the Tigers are not going to be willing to go down without a fight. Princeton’s success goes beyond recruiting well, since the entire team has contributed to the streak.

“We don’t have the money or scholarships like Texas or Harvard, but we have Rob Orr,” Meer said. “The reason guys come here and swim their best is because of Rob Orr.”

As long as Orr remains, DeNunzio will stay a decidedly home-field advantage.