Princeton University Athletics
Swim/Dive Teams Welcome Strong Field To 2008 Big Al Open
December 04, 2008 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
The Big Al Open has grown into one of the top early-season competitions in collegiate swimming and diving, and the upcoming 2008 edition should only build on that legacy. A strong field, highlighted by a pair of Top-10 teams from the University of Florida, will make its way to DeNunzio Pool to compete in the three-day Open, which begins Friday at 11.
The competition will last three days and include two sessions each day. On Friday and Saturday, the preliminaries will begin at 11 and the finals will begin at 7. On the final day, the preliminaries will begin at 10 and the finals will begin at 6. All sessions are free, and an event schedule can be found at the bottom of this story. Most schools, like Princeton, will bring both a men's and women's teams; those schools are Brown, Columbia, Florida, Rider and Utah. Rutgers only has a women's program. The meet will also count as a dual meet between both the men's and women's teams of Princeton and Brown.
The Princeton men are currently ranked 22nd nationally, while the women are just outside the Top 25. Florida is the heavyweight in both fields; the Gator men are ranked sixth, while the women are fifth. Florida won't have its full squad at DeNunzio Pool, though; several of the stronger competitors will head to the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center for the 2008 U.S. Short Course Nationals.
This is the first trip to DeNunzio Pool for both Florida and Utah. The Utah women were picked to finish second in the Mountain West preseason poll, while the men were picked to finish fourth. The rest of the field features some familiar faces, including Columbia head coach and former Tiger swimming great Diana Caskey, a former All-America and 1985 graduate of Princeton.
EVENT SCHEDULE
FRIDAY (prelims at 11, finals at 7)
W 200 free relay
M 200 free relay
W 500 free
M 500 free
W 200 IM
M 200 IM
W 50 free
M 50 free
1M diving prelims
at 1:30 p.m.
1M diving
consolation finals
SATURDAY (prelims at 11, finals at 7)
W 200 medley relay
M 200 medley relay
W 400 IM
M 400 IM
W 100 fly
M 100 fly
W 200 free
M 200 free
W 100 breast
M 100 breast
W 100 back
M 100 back
3M diving prelims
at 1:30 p.m.
SUNDAY (prelims at 10, finals at 6)
W 200 back
M 200 back
W 100 free
M 100 free
W 200 breast
M 200 breast
W 200 fly
M 200 fly
W/M 1650 free (all but
fastest heat), to begin
around 4 p.m.
finals session will open with 1650 free finals