Princeton University Athletics
Men's Outlook
December 05, 2000 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Second place can become a comfortable environment, but the Tigers' men's team has gotten restless there and hopes to kick its way upward in 2000-01.
The Tigers enter the season trying to snap a five-year run of second-place finishes at the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League championships. Harvard has won the event each of those years. Princeton has finished first or second at the EISL championship meet every year, with the exception of 1982, since 1968.
"Our proverbial rebuilding year is lingering," coach Rob Orr said. "Hopefully this coming season we'll be chipping away. Realistically, Harvard is the down-and-out favorite, but our objective is to whittle away at them."
The promising news is that Princeton graduated eight seniors who compiled 148 of the Tigers' 355 points from last year's EISL meet, while Harvard graduated 368.5 points. Princeton returns two swimmers from the EISL champion free relay team, which Princeton won for the first time since 1980. "That was a good way to wrap up last year's season," Orr said. "Even though we lost the meet, winning the relay definitely made the statement that the Tigers are still here, and watch out for next year. We finished on a positive note."
Princeton's talent is spread across all four classes, provided the incoming freshmen live up to their potential.
Orr says the senior class "is probably comprised of the strongest group we've had here in quite some time" and features Andrew Chadeayne, Matt Harrigan, Lance Needham, Oliver Stroeh, Craig Wales and Dennis Chang. Harrigan is the school record holder in the 400 individual medley and won the EISL 200 breaststroke with an Olympic-qualifying time of 2:01.66. He was first-team All-Ivy League in the 200 breast and second-team in the 400 IM. Wales (butterfly) and Chang (backstroke) are team captains. Chadeayne, a backstroker, was second-team All-Ivy in the 200 medley relay. Needham will swim IM/breaststroke, and Stroeh will swim the breaststroke/butterfly.
"They're a little fed up with not winning," Orr said of the seniors. "They'll strive to try and change things, and this is their last year to do it."
Two school record holders highlight the junior class: Chris Cunningham, who holds the 200 back-stroke mark, and Kevin Volz, who set the standard in the 1,000 meters. Cunningham won the EISL 200 free and took third in the 200 IM and was first-team All-Ivy in the 200 free and second-team in the 200 back.
Matt Keay, who rebounded from mononucleosis his freshman year, and Nathan Rebuck, a member of the EISL winning relay team and a second-team All-Ivy pick in the 200 free relay, are expected to be strong contributors.
Jesse Gage headlines the sophomore class. Gage burst on the scene by winning the EISL 100 butterfly in a meet-record and Olympic-qualifying time of 47.84. Gage, the Tigers lone NCAA qualifier last year, was also a member of the winning relay team. He was first-team All-Ivy in the 100 fly and second-team in the 50 free, 200 free relay and 200 medley relay. Another sophomore standout is Carl Hessler in the 200 fly.
The incoming freshmen feature a pair of talented divers in Michael Shyong and Michael Sullivan. Shyong's brother, Andy, graduated last year after earning second-team All-Ivy in the one and three-meter events. Juan Valdivieso, who sat out last season while training to compete for Peru in last summer's Olympics, should bolster the 200 fly and mid-distance freestyle events. Chris Johnson is a Pennsylvania state champion in the 100 free and will make a nice one-two punch in the sprints along with Mike Salerno. Kevin Weiner, from the nearby Peddie School, and Chester Yarbrough are solid in the IM and distance events.
"Overall, I'm pleased," Orr said. "It's a fairly well-balanced team. The leadership quality of the seniors always helps when it's combined with the enthusiasm of the freshman class. If it all gels together, hopefully we can make a strong unit that will be capable of doing good things. We're striving to close that gap at Easterns."
Because second place is no longer a comfort level Princeton enjoys.