Princeton University Athletics
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Tigers Hope Ivy Experience, Exciting Youth Will Lead To Title Repeat
November 11, 2010 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Head coach Susan Teeter knew the 2010 Ivy League championship meet would be a hold-your-breath type of three-day meet, but even she couldn't have imagined just how thrilling the event would be. She probably exhaled sometime this summer, but she and her talented crew is back and ready to chase a repeat when the 2011 meet comes back to DeNunzio Pool.
It won't be an easy championship to win, especially with a talented Harvard squad looming and the rest of the league improving every year. Throw in the losses of Ivy champions Alicia Aemisegger and Courtney Kilkuts, and maybe the task would seem insurmountable.
However, while Aemisegger might have dominated the headlines, there was plenty of young talent scoring for Princeton last year. And now Teeter has added a strong Class of 2014, which has both the talent and versatility to be major scorers in a conference meet.
There are several months of improvement standing between Princeton and the championship meet, and that journey will begin with the challenging two-day UVA Fall Invitational this weekend in Charlottesville. The Tigers will take on both Virginia and Virginia Tech to open their season, and then will open their Ivy League season next weekend against both Penn and Cornell. Their DeNunzio debut will come during the first weekend of December, when the Tigers host the annual Big Al Open.
Here is a stroke-by-stroke preview of the 2010-11 Princeton women's swimming and diving team.
FREE
Senior Megan Waters should be a leader both in and out of the pool this year. She is one of the premier sprinters in the league, a record holder at Princeton and is looking to punctuate her career with one more Ivy League title. Waters is the reigning Ivy champion in the 100 and placed second in the 50. She will be a crucial force in both individual events and relays, as she could anchor four different relays this season.
Outside of Waters, Princeton's top contributor in the 50 or 100 was Carter Stephens, who placed 10th in the 50. Teeter will look at a pair of freshmen, Lisa Boyce and Karen Wang, to add important depth to the sprint group. Both were Junior and Senior National qualifiers, and Boyce qualified for Olympic Trials as well. Both have times that would have put them in the Ivy finals in both the 50 and 100.
Junior Jillian Altenburger will try to defend her Ivy League title in the 200 free this coming season and is another, while Kathy Qu won the consolation final in this event at last year's Ivy meet. Boyce and Wang could also factor in at the 200.
As the distance grew, so did the Princeton representation in the championship finals. There is a full cast of potential champions or top scorers already on the roster, and there is a pair of newcomers who could immediately jump into the mix.
Senior Nicole McAndrew had Top-6 finishes in the 500 and 1650, including a fourth-place finish in the latter. Junior Aislinn Smalling was third in the 1000 and seventh in the 500, while senior Ming Ong was fourth in the 1000 and eighth in the 500. Junior Lauren Shanley also had two Top-10 finishes (1000, 1650), including a seventh-place finish in the 1000. Even junior Meredith Monroe, whose strength in the back, placed fourth in the 500.
Even without the newcomers, Princeton seems set in the distance events. But both Maureen McCotter and Kacey Morris posted times in all three events that would put them in the top eight at Ivies. Both were Junior and Senior National Qualifiers, and Morris might also factor into the 200 free.
BREAST
Sophomore Sarah Furgatch was Princeton's top finisher in both the 100 and 200 last year. She reached both championship finals at the Ivy Championships, and her best finish was sixth in the 200. Junior Caitlin Baran was a championship finalist in the 200, as well as a consolation finalist in the 100, and junior Kerry Gruendel placed just outside the Top 10 in the 100.
So it would seem that Princeton won't have a major championship contender in this stroke for 2011. Unless you noted the summer of freshman Andrea Kropp, that is; Kropp won the 2010 USA Swimming Junior National Championship in the 200 breast and earned a silver medal at the 2010 Junior Pan-Pacific Games. She placed fifth at Senior Nationals in the 200 and didn't lose to anybody in the college age range.
Kropp will be competitive in the IM and fly as well, but she could be competing for NCAA titles in this stroke, especially in the 200.
BACK
Monroe had done plenty already in her first two years at Princeton, including rallying a relay to Princeton's first relay All-America since 1981. She had helped Princeton to the 2008 Ivy League title and did the same last year. Her only blemish was missing an Ivy individual title, but she took care of that with a dominant swim in the 200. Monroe also placed third in the 100 and returns as one of the top backstrokers in the league.
Princeton returns three of the top six in the 100; Waters placed fourth and Ong placed sixth during the second day of the 2010 Championships. Boyce, McCotter, Morris and Wang could also be early contributors in the events.
FLY
Stephens is Princeton's top returner in this event. She placed fourth in the 100 and sixth in the 200 at last year's Ivy Championships and will look for an even higher spot on the medal podium this year. Qu was also a consolation finalist in the 100, while both Boyce and Wang are potential freshman contributors in the stroke.
IM
Aemisegger and Kilkuts dominated the Ivy League in the IM, so replacing them won't be easy. Princeton does have championship finalists returning in both the 200 and 400, including McAndrew, who took fourth in the 400. Gruendel placed seventh in the 200, and Furgatch finished one spot behind her. Kropp also has times that would qualify her for both championship finals at the Ivy meet.
DIVING
While most know that Aemisegger was an All-America in 2010, few remember that sophomore diver Bryna Tsai also claimed the individual honor at the NCAA Championships. She earned that distinction in her specialty, the platform; while that isn't an event at the Ivy Championships, it could help Princeton get back into the Top 25 at NCAAs.
Tsai is part of a solid young group of divers who will try to bring an Ivy title home this season. Senior Caroyln Littlefield had the best Ivy meet last season, finishing third in the three-meter competition and fifth in the one-meter. Princeton's only other championship finalist was Tsai, who took sixth on the three-meter board. Juniors Courtney Fieldman and Christina Kirkwood will also look to break into the championship finals this year.
Princeton brought in three freshmen divers: Randi Brown, Emily Kaplan and Rachel Zambrowicz.