Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Both Swim/Dive Teams Reach No. 2 In National Mid-Major Rankings
December 20, 2010 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
Both the Princeton men's and women's swimming and diving teams are coming off Ivy League championship seasons, and both are in their respective winter breaks with undefeated records. They found a new similarity on Monday, as both moved to No. 2 in the latest CSCAA
Mid-Major Division I Polls.
The Princeton women are ranked second, behind only Miami-Ohio, after an impressive end to the 2010 portion of the season. After improving its dual meet streak to 33 with wins over both Cornell and Penn, the Tigers routed the field to win the Big Al Open. Princeton has gotten strong performances from all over the roster, but its freshman class has been especially strong. Both set program records already this season, with Lisa Boyce going 54.10 in the 100 and Andrea Kropp going 2:11.62 in the 200 breast.
It won't take long for Princeton to take on another highly ranked team in the poll. Third-ranked Harvard will meet both Princeton and Yale for the annual HYP meet Jan. 28-29 in New Haven, Conn.
The Tiger men appear in two polls this week. They moved five spots to No. 2 in the men's poll, and they are the highest-ranked mid-major in the TYR /CSCAA Division I Dual Meet Poll, where they are currently 25th. Like the women, Princeton swept its Ivy League openers against Penn and Cornell before cruising to victory at the Big Al Open. The junior class continues to drive the Tigers; Colin Cordes and Jon Christensen were among the winners at the Big Al.
The Princeton men will also have its chance to battle a top-rated program, although their showdown could be for the top spot in the rankings. Navy is currently No. 1 nationally and will compete against Princeton Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. at DeNunzio Pool; that could prove to be one of the biggest challenges in Princeton's 20+ year undefeated streak in dual meets at DeNunzio Pool.
The Mid-Major rankings use an objective point system to compare teams' relative strength in a traditional dual meet lineup as submitted by participating teams. The ranking is available to those institutions that a) are not members of a BCS conference or Mountain West Conference, or b) provide fewer than one-half of the allowable scholarships under the NCAA rules. Teams must have submitted entries within the first two polling periods to be eligible for the final ranking.