Princeton University Athletics
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Men's Swimming/Diving Brings Top Talent, Depth Into 2010-11 Season
November 11, 2010 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Four times in the last five years, the Princeton men's swimming and diving team has been the one taking the celebratory leap into the pool following the Ivy League championship meet. In 2006 and 2007, depth was king for Princeton, which won only one individual event in two championship victories.
Over the last two seasons, the Tigers have been touching the wall first significantly more often. In a dominant performance in DeNunzio Pool last year, Princeton won more than half of the championship finals (11 of 21), including each of the five relays.
Either way works just fine for veteran head coach Rob Orr and the Princeton men's squad, which is looking for five titles in a six-year span for the first time since 1991-1996. The challenge will be a little tougher, though; after two straight impressive championship performances in its own DeNunzio Pool, the Tigers know they will have to take their winning show on the road this year. If Princeton is going to take a third straight title, it will have to do so in Harvard's pool.
The long journey to championship weekend will begin this Friday, when Princeton competes in the two-day UVA Fall Invitational. Both Virginia Tech and Virginia will be competing with the Tigers, who will make their home debut Dec. 3-5 at the annual Big Al Open.
And while we're still months away from Ivy League championship weekend, it's never too early to start thinking about who will impact the Tigers, who broke into the national Top 25 last year and would love to stay among the national elite this season.
Here is an early stroke-by-stroke look at the early contenders for Princeton's conference team:
FREE
How impressive were Princeton's sprinters last year? Here's a quick explanation. Following the third event of the 2010 Ivy League Championships, the Crimson held a 35-point lead over the field.
One event later, the 50 free, Princeton led Harvard by nearly 90 points. That was just one of three sprint free events the Tigers dominated during its 2009 championship performance.
While Columbia sprinter Adam Powell won both the 50 and 100, both finals had an Orange and Black feel. Juniors Matt LaMonaca and Michael Monovoukos both had top-five finishes in each event; LaMonaca placed second in the 100 and fourth in the 50, while Monovoukos took third in the 100 and fifth in the 50.
Princeton's best finish in the 50 came from senior Geoff Faux, who was the Tigers' lone qualifier for the NCAA Championships. Faux placed second in the 50 and is hoping both he and more teammates will get another opportunity at the NCAA Championships.
Junior Colin Cordes had a pair of top-three finishes, placing second in the 200 and third in the 50. Sophomore Andres Tung took sixth in the 50 and won the consolation final, while Brett Lullo took seventh in the 200.
While all of those swimmers brought home big points for Princeton, none took the top spot of the medal podium. Sophomore Will Lawley earned that feat in the 200, which he won in 1:36.82. Outside of his own teammates, nobody was inside of two seconds behind Lawley, one of the promising young swimmers in the program.
Freshman Ian Rea is hoping to be the next championship freshman in the sprints. A big, strong swimmer, Rea already has times that put him in the Ivy League Top 10.
Princeton will be looking for more from its distance group this season, as that was the one area Harvard made up serious ground. Its top performer was junior Travis McNamara, who had top four finishes in both the 500 (third) and 1000 (fourth). Senior Colin Hanna also added a fourth-place finish in the 500.
Freshman Paul Nolle should be an immediate contender in the distance events. Both his 1000 and 1650 times would be third among returning swimmers, while his 500 time would be fourth. If he and a healthy senior tri-captain Patrick Biggs can score in the distance events, it would be a big edge for the Tigers.
BACK
Sophomore Kaspar Raigla made an immediate impact in this stroke, placing in the championship final in both the 100 and 200. He was less than .2 of a second off the Ivy title in the 100, and he placed second in the 200. He will lead a group that also includes the reigning Ivy League champion in the 200.
Cordes, who finished in the top three in both the 50 and 200 free, won the 200 back by more than .7 of a second. Both Raigla and Hanna were also in the final; Hanna took fourth. Sophomore Charley Wang was a consolation finalist in the 100.
One freshman to watch is Adam Lebovitz, who will also impact the IM corps. Lebovitz placed fourth at the YMCA National Championships in the 200 back with a time that would have placed him seventh at Ivies. While the Ivy League has a mostly young set of backstrokers, Lebovitz will look to break into the elite immediately.
BREAST
While the overall depth in the program has brought Princeton to its current position within the league, junior Jon Christensen has been one of the individual standouts at Princeton. He was dominant at the 2010 Ivy meet, winning two events and placing second in a third. He won the 100 breast and placed second in the 200, and has a good rivalry forming with a couple of fellow juniors within the league.
Beyond Christensen, Princeton didn't have much depth in this stroke last year. Thanks to the Class of 2014, that should change. As many as three freshmen could be scoring for the Tigers when they head to Blodgett Pool for the Ivy meet next year.
Daniel Hasler recorded a trio of times last summer that qualify him for the 2012 Olympic Trials, including one in the 200 breast. He had 12th-place finishes at Junior Nationals in both the 100 and 200. Eric Materniak nearly joined Hasler with qualifying times for Olympic Trials, and his performances at nationals are positive indications of how he might perform at Ivies.
K.J. Park recorded Top-7 finishes in both the 100 and 200 breast at the NCSA Junior Nationals, including a second-place finish in the 100. His 100 time would put him right in the mix with the Class of 2012 trio that currently dominates the Ivy League breaststroke competitions.
FLY
Monovoukos has the top returning finish for Princeton, placing fifth in the 100. Wang finished just behind him and also reached the consolation final in the 200. Lullo was a championship finalist in the 200, while Raigla reached the consolation final in the 100.
IM
Christensen is the reigning Ivy League champion in the 200, and only one returning Ivy swimmer finished within one second of him. Lullo was a consolation finalist in the 200. McNamara finished in the top five of the 400, while Matt Jacobson reached the consolation final of the same event.
This is another area that could get a major assist from the freshman class. While the likes of Hasler, Materniak and Lebovitz will aid in their respective specialty strokes, each has an impressive history in the IM and could give Princeton another deep presence in these championship finals.
DIVING
Princeton lost two top seniors in Daniel Dickerson and Michael Papageorge, but freshman Stevie Vines gave an early indication that he would be a top Ivy contender for years to come. He placed second in both the 1- and 3-meter competitions in his first Ivy championship meet. Tom Wells was a consolation finalist in the 3-meter event.
Freshman Mark O'Connell will also look to make an immediate impact in the two diving events.