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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Big Al Invitational
Players Mentioned
Men Place Third, Women Fourth In 2006 Big Al Invitational
December 03, 2006 | Women's Swimming and Diving
PRINCETON - A trio of strong swims in the 1650 free and a fourth win by Alicia Aemisegger were the Princeton highlights during the final day of the 2006 Big Al Invitational, but the final victories of the day went to both the men and women of Virginia. The Cavaliers swept both competitions, with the Princeton men taking third and the Princeton women placing fourth.
Neither Princeton squad made any change in team standings Sunday. The women entered in fourth place and couldn't make up enough ground to catch third-place Pittsburgh. The Tigers, who had five Top-4 swims on Sunday, ended the weekend with 590.5 points, while Pittsburgh had 660.5. The men, who went 2-3 in the 1650 free, ended the weekend with 474 points, comfortably ahead of fourth-place Pittsburgh.
The final session started well for Princeton, as the Tiger distance standouts gained some early points. Ellen Gray, the star of the 2006 Ivy League Championship win for Princeton, placed third in 16:39.02, an NCAA B-cut time. The men got a second place finish from Robert Griest (15:29.11, B-cut) and a third-place finish from David Ashley (15:36.36).
Kelly Hannigan placed fourth in the 200 back in 2:03.10, while Mike Zee claimed seventh for the men in 1:51.65. Neither team got a swimmer in the 100 free final, but sophomore Justine DiFazio won the consolation final in 51.63 seconds. For the men, Jon Hartmann took 12th in 46.61.
The lone win on the session for Princeton came from the lone Tiger winner for the weekend. Aemisegger recorded a B-cut time to win the 200 breast in 2:15.96. Teammate Lisa Hamming took fourth in 2:21.88. Men's swimmer Will Schaffer took 11th in 2:08.35.
The men placed two in the final of the 200 fly, with 2006 All-America Meir Hasbani placing sixth in 1:50.58 and Ryan Rimmele taking seventh in 1:50.70. Joelle Milov placed 13th for the women in 2:09.48.
In the 400 free, the women placed fourth in 3:28.81 and the men placed seventh in 3:06.37.
"There were some excellent performances off one day of rest for 90% of our team," women's coach Susan Teeter said following the three-day competition. "There were lifetime best swims from Alicia Aemisegger in the 500 free, Kelly Hannigan in the 200 back, Jeannie Campbell-Urban in the 200 breast, Joelle Milov in
the 500 free, 200 fly, and 1650 free, and the list goes on. It was a great swim from every class and every stroke group. Another impressive mile from Ellen Gray who went 16:32 last year to qualify for the NCAA's in February and is already at 16:39 in December; it's very good for her at this time of year. Overall, there was very impressive leadership and swimming from the senior class, top to bottom, as they look to defend their title in their home pool."