Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Day Two
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Players Mentioned
Men's Swim/Dive Wins Five, Holds Huge Lead Going Into Final Day Of Big Al
December 05, 2010 | Men's Swimming and Diving
The Princeton men's swimming and diving team didn't take its foot off the gas pedal during the second day of the 2010 Big Al Open. With multiple wins in both the individual and relay events, Princeton will enter Sunday with more than a 300-point lead over anybody in the competition.
Princeton currently leads with 852 points, while Florida is second with 546.5 points. Columbia is third with 390, slightly ahead of Brown (369.5). Rider is fifth with 164 points.
Just as it did Friday, the Princeton men got off to a strong start in the 200 medley relay. The team of Kaspar Raigla, Jonathan Christensen, Michael Monovoukas and Geoffrey Faux won the event in 1:30.68, while the 'B' team of Adam Lebovitz, K.J. Park, Charlie Wang and Andres Tung wasn't far off the pace with a third-place time of 1:34.07.
Senior Colin Hanna, a former Ivy League champion, was impressive in his dominance of the 400 IM. His B-cut time of 3:50.04 won the event by nearly five full seconds, and by more than eight seconds over any non-Princeton swimmer. Hanna's only challenge came from freshman teammate Daniel Hasler, who took second in 3:54.93. Classmate Eric Materniak placed fifth in 4:06.13, while senior Patrick Biggs took eighth in 4:06.85.
Monovoukas had Princeton's top finish in the 100 fly with a third-place time of 49.65, while Raigla finished fifth in 50.27. The Tigers had one more in the championship final, with Wang placing seventh in 50.59.
When Princeton won the 2010 Ivy League title, its dominance in the sprints was a major reason. Though the 200 free may not be a total sprint, Princeton was totally dominant. Junior Colin Cordes won the event in 1:38.57, and four of the next five finishers were teammates. Junior Travis McNamara took second in 1:39.66, while sophomore Will Lawley finished third in 1:40.75. Senior Brett Lullo was fifth in 1:41.54, while sophomore Andres Tung took sixth in 1:42.30.
Christensen gave Princeton back-to-back wins by taking the 100 breast in 54.56. Two freshmen reached the top four, with Park (56.63) and Hasler (58.37) taking third and fourth, respectively.
The 100 back turned into a showdown of 2010 Ivy League individual champions. Both Raigla and Columbia's Adam Powell left the field within one length of the pool and turned the race into a duel; Powell ended up with the win in 49.57, while Raigla finished in 49.95. Lebovitz won the consolation final in 51.60.
When Princeton had five of the top six in the 200 free final, you could guess that it would do pretty well in the 800 free relay. The Tigers went 1-2 in the event, with the 'A' team of Christensen, Lullo, Lawley and Cordes winning in a B-cut time of 6:41.55, and the team of Hanna, McNamara, Ian Rea and Tung placing second in 6:46.45. The 'B' team beat every other team in the field by more than five seconds.
As he did Friday, sophomore Stevie Vines earned Princeton's top diving finish Saturday. He scored 364.50 points to place third in the three-meter competition, while freshman Mark O'Connell took seventh with 284.85 points.
Here is the schedule and order of events for Sunday's final sessions of the 2010 Big Al Open.
SUNDAY EVENT SCHEDULE (10 a.m. prelims, 5 p.m. finals)
25) Women's 1650 free
26) Men's 1650 free
27) Women's 200 back
28) Men's 200 back
29) Women's 100 free
30) Men's 100 free
31) Women's 200 breast
32) Men's 200 breast
33) Women's 200 fly
34) Men's 200 fly
*** BREAK ***
35) Women's 400 free relay
36) Men's 400 free relay