Princeton University Athletics
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Women's Swimming/Diving Carries Winning Tradition, Lofty Goals Into 2007-08 Season
November 07, 2007 | Women's Swimming and Diving
There is plenty of optimism and excitement within the Princeton women's swimming and diving program for the upcoming season, and with good reason. By the end of the 2006-07 campaign, the Tigers were firmly entrenched in the Top 25, had won their second straight and 17th overall Ivy League title and had come within one second of their first individual NCAA championship.
With a strong recruiting class bolstering a roster that features seven of the Top 20 returning scorers at last season's Ivy League championships, and the prospect of hosting this year's championships at their beloved DeNunzio Pool, Princeton is more than ready to get going on its towards an unprecedented 18th Ivy championship. The season begins Friday night at 6 p.m. in a men's and women's dual meet against Oakland at DeNunzio Pool.
Freestyle
Defending Ivy League 100 free champion Justina DiFazio will lead a loaded corps in this stroke. In the last two years, this Tiger junior has won the both 100 and 200, and she has placed either second or third in the 50 and another 100. She has been a constant presence on the relays, which could also generate significant excitement this season.
She will lead a group of sprinters that will be bolstered by a strong group of freshmen who will need to replace departed senior Sobenna George. Emily Trautner is an eight-time All-America sprinter from Greenbrae, Calif. A league and team MVP, she competed at the 2007 Spring Nationals. Classmate Megan Waters also competed at Nationals after earning All-Met honors from The Washington Post three years in a row. She was a league champion in both the 50 and 100. Both could be immediate scorers in the sprints at Ivies.
Head coach Susan Teeter has a variety of options in the mid- and distance events, although none will be as feared as three-time All-America and 2007 Ivy League Championships Swimmer of the Meet Alicia Aemisegger. The Tiger sophomore set six individual school records last year, including both the 500 free (4:38.88) and the 1000 free (9:37.55). She won both events at the Ivy League championships and placed third in the NCAA 500 free championship final. Her winning time, which is the new Princeton school record, was less than two seconds off the winning time and more than three seconds faster than any other underclassman in the country.
Prior to Aemisegger's arrival, seniors Brett Shiflett and Ellen Gray were both Ivy League champions in free events. Shiflett won the 500 free in 2006, while Gray claimed the 1000 and 1650 that same season. Both should be able to be top scorers again this season as they look to cap their careers with Ivy League championships.
A newcomer to watch is freshman Nicole McAndrew, a two-time Arizona state champion in the 500 and a one-time champ in the 200. A seven-time All-America, she led Sun Devil Aquatics to a third-place finish at the 2007 Spring Nationals. Australia native Ming Ong, who has international experience after swimming for the Malaysian national team this past year, could be another factor.
With the remarkable depth at her disposal, Teeter doesn't mind getting a little greedy. One of her goals is to send an 800 free relay team to NCAAs, which would be a remarkable feat for one of the non-power conference schools. Aemisegger and DiFazio were part of an Ivy League record-setting 800 free relay team last year, as was senior co-captain Lisa Hamming, who doesn't even specialize in the free but is simply too competitive to let her team down. That competition should drive these Tigers as they look to be part of a potentially historic relay squad.
Backstroke
If not for the performances from junior Meghan Capparell, Princeton would have been shut out in both the championship and consolation finals of both the 100 and 200 back at last year's Ivy League championships. Capparell provided important points in both strokes and even reached the championship final of the 200. Teeter feels confident that Capparell will continue to improve, but she has also brought in a pair of specialists she hopes can challenge for Ivy titles.
Freshman Julie Kochman, a Team Suffolk swimmer from Melville, N.Y., placed fifth in the 200 back and 11th in the 100 back at the 2007 Junior Nationals. A Spring Nationals qualifier in both events, she was a scholar-athlete winner at Half Hollow Hills East. Princeton has had great success from Team Suffolk swimmers; men's great Jesse Gage still owns six Princeton individual and medley records.
Classmate Meredith Monroe is a 10-time all-state and two-time All-America selection from Dallas. She reached the 200 back championship final at the 2007 Spring Nationals and qualified for the Summer Nationals. She is also a strong free and IM swimmer, but her most immediate contributions to Princeton will likely come in the back.
Breaststroke
Almost any other year, sophomore Courtney Kilkuts would have been remembered as the prized recruit from the Class of 2010. With Aemisegger garnering the majority of attention, a brilliant freshman season from Kilkuts went somewhat unnoticed by people outside of the Princeton program. Inside, though, the Tigers know they have a star on their hands for the next three years. Kilkuts had three Top 3 individual finishes at the 2006 Ivy League championships, including third-place finishes in both the 100 breast (1:04.02) and the 200 breast (2:16.17).
Aemisegger won the 200 breast last year in 2:14.19 and earned All-America honors in the event, so she would be seen as the favorite if she swims the event. Hamming is also strong in the stroke, having placed eighth in the 200 last year. The departure of 100 champ Kelly Hannigan will be one of the biggest graduation losses for Princeton this season, so Teeter will hope for greater contributions from the likes of Lindsay Wich and freshman Oriana Poindexter.
Butterfly
Junior Monika Friedman had Princeton's top fly finish last season, placing second in the 200 (2:02.21). The good news is that she lost only to a senior, and her time was nearly a full second faster than any returning competitor, so she must be viewed at least among the favorites in this event. The bad news is that she was really the lone bright spot in this stroke at last year's championships. Capparell was Princeton's top finisher in the 100, and that was 19th overall.
There is potential to enter one of the strong IM swimmers in this event, or hope that another fly swimmer on the roster improves enough to break into the Ivy elite.
Individual Medley
Without question, Princeton had the strongest set of IM swimmers in the league last year, and that likely won't change this year.
Kilkuts won her first Ivy League championship last year in the 200 IM (2:01.54). A former junior national champion in this event, Kilkuts' winning time was more than half a second faster than any of her competitors in the final. Hamming placed sixth in the event, giving Princeton three of the top six finishers (Hannigan took third).
The 400 IM also had three Tigers in the championship final, including Hannigan, who won in 4:20.14. Hamming placed third in 4:22.69, which was more than three seconds faster than any other returning finalist.
Junior Alex Wiley also qualified for the finals and placed eighth (4:32.19). And that doesn't even factor in the second-best 400 IM swimmer in the entire nation last year. Aemisegger, who won Ivy titles in the free and breast, might be her strongest in the 400 IM. She qualified for the 2007 NCAA championship final with the best time in the country, and her final time of 4:04.80 was less than one second away from winning Princeton its first NCAA championship in women's swimming. The time was also a new program record, one of six individual records Aemisegger now owns. Another is the 200 IM, which she set by being the first Princeton swimmer to go under two minutes (1:59.59).
Freshman McAndrew is also a potential contributor in this event.
Diving
One of the great weapons within the women's program is its diving corps. Princeton had five of the Top 10 finishers in the 3-meter competition and four in the 1-meter competition, and most of those return.
Leading the way is junior Katie Giarra, who earned 2007 Diver of the Meet at the league championships after sweeping both events. She set a Princeton championship meet record in the 1-meter competition with 307.00 points, and she nearly set the championship record in the 3-meter event.
Instead, the 3-meter record still belongs to junior Peggy Kearns, who set the mark during the 2006 championships. Kearns has NCAA championships experience in the platform competition.
Senior Charlotte Jones and junior Shelby Rudd both qualified for the championship finals in both the 1- and 3-meter events in last year's league meet. A new face, although not necessarily a new name, to watch is freshman Carolyn Littlefield. The younger sister of former Princeton diver Maggie Littlefield, Carolyn was a district champion and a state silver medalist as a student at Mary Institute St. Louis Country Day. She qualified for AAU nationals this past summer and could be an immediate scorer for Prince-ton, which will need to replace 2007 All-America Michelle DeMond.