Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Day Two
Players Mentioned
Men's Swimming/Diving Continues Successful Big Al Open; Vines Qualifies For NCAAs
November 15, 2009 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Strong swims throughout the lineup and a diving performance that punched one ticket to the NCAAs highlighted a terrific first weekend for the Princeton men's swimming and diving team during the Big Al Open.
Following a strong first session of the annual Big Al Open, Princeton opened Saturday's portion of the weekend by winning the 200 medley relay. The team of Colin Cordes, Beau Pickering, Michael Monovoukas and Matt LaMonaca won in 1:35.60, while the team of Kaspar Raigla, George Rae-Grant, Andres Tung and Geoff Faux placed third in 1:36.21.
Jon Christensen won the 400 IM in 4:01.95, barely edging teammate Colin Hanna, who placed second in 4:01.99. Raigla placed second in the 100 fly (51.07), finishing behind only Princeton alumnus and former Olympian Doug Lennox. The Tiger alum also won the 200 free, while Cordes finished third in 1:42.67. Pickering placed second in the 100 breast in 58.96, while Raigla placed third in the 100 back in 52.59.
The 800 free relay team of Ryan Chiu, Brett Lullo, Patrick Biggs and Pickering won with a time of 6:58.99, while the quartet of Christensen, Will Lawley, Cordes and Travis McNamara placed second in 7:00.50. McNamara followed with a win in the 1650 in 16:08.82, while Biggs followed closely in 16:10.33.
Cordes, Hanna and Raigla finished 1-2-3 in the 200 back, with Cordes winning in a time of 1:52.29. Tung (46.63) and Monovoukas (47.05) finished behind Lennox in the 100 free, while Pickering won the 200 breast in 2:08.83. Lullo placed second in the 200 fly in 1:54.32, while the team of McNamara, Cordes, Lawley and Tung won the 400 free relay in 3:09.58.
Stevie Vines was a double winner on the diving boards, although his best performance came on the three-meter board. He qualified for the Zone 'A' Diving Championships by scoring 355.20 points on the three-meter board, while senior Michael Papageorge finished second with 284.45 points. Vines and Papageorge had a much closer 1-2 finish on the one-meter board. Vines won the event with 269.95 points, while Papageorge took second with 265.50 points.
Princeton will begin its Ivy League season this Friday when it hosts Cornell and Penn.