Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Day Three
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Players Mentioned
Women's Swim/Dive Team Enjoys Record-Setting Weekend, Victory At Big Al Open
December 06, 2010 | Women's Swimming and Diving
The Princeton women's swimming and diving got a taste of how special a dominant meet at DeNunzio Pool can be, and the Tigers will do whatever it takes to get an even better feeling in two months when the Ivy League Championships come to DeNunzio Pool.
With special performances up and down the line, including record-setting efforts by a pair of freshmen, Princeton completed a wire-to-wire victory at the 2010 Big Al Open. The Tigers scored 1,190 points, more than 260 better than anybody in the field. Florida took second with 828 points, just ahead of Washington State's 820. Brown took fourth with 440 points, while Rider finished fifth with 310.
Princeton also picked up a dual meet victory over Brown, which extends the Tigers' dual meet win streak to 34. Princeton completed the 2010 portion of its season with a 3-0 record, including three wins within the Ivy League.
“I am really proud of our team's performance here at the mid-point of the season,” said head coach Susan Teeter, who has led Princeton to nine of the last 11 Ivy League championships. “We were committed to swimming smart for this time of the year, swimming faster as a team and doing the little things right in preparation for Ivy championships in February.
“We performed well and had fun racing Brown, Florida, Rider and Washington State. It's nice to know the hard work we've put in is starting to pay off. We were very happy to pick up some NCAA B standards and we just need to stay focused on our team mission of racing and swimming fast.”
Princeton started Sunday's final session by placing three in the top five of the 1650 final. Freshman Maureen McCotter took third in 16:50.91, while classmate Kasey Morris finished fourth in 16:58.96. Junior Aislinn Smalling ended up fifth in 17:05.74.
Princeton also had two of the top three of the 200 back, with junior Meredith Monroe taking second in 2:00.24. Monroe will be looking for an even better finish in the Ivy League final; she is the reigning league champion in this event. Freshman Karen Wang ended up third in 2:01.93, while Morris took eighth in 2:07.90.
Freshman Lisa Boyce, who set the Princeton record in the 100 back Saturday evening, took second in the 100 free in 50.14. Along with senior teammate Megan Waters, who placed fourth in the 100 in 50.29, Princeton should have a formidable duo of sprinters for the rest of the league season.
“I'm really proud of Megan Waters,” Teeter said. “She has been one of the most committed athletes I've ever coached. Day in and day out she works on the little things to make herself better and I'm so happy to see her performing so well.”
Freshman Andrea Kropp completed a brilliant first home weekend by taking nearly two full seconds off Alicia Aemisegger's Princeton record in the 200 breast, an event she won at Junior Nationals this past summer and placed fifth in at Open Nationals. Kropp won in 2:11.62, also a DeNunzio Pool record, a time that was more than six seconds faster than the rest of the field. Teammate Sarah Furgatch placed third in 2:20.09, while teammates Caitlin Baran (2:22.90) and Kerry Gruendel (2:24.92) took seventh and eighth.
The Tigers had half the field in the 200 fly final, with Stephens placing second in 2:20.07. Kathy Qu placed third in 2:03.00, while Leslie Bargmann took fifth in 2:04.87. McCotter rounded out the final by taking eighth in 2:06.86.
The final event of the meet saw Princeton place two of the top three in the 400 free relay. The 'A' team of Waters, Jillian Altenburger, Stephens and Boyce took second to Washington State in 3:23.23, while the team of Wang, Laura Slater, Qu and Ming Ong finished third in 3:28.73.
Princeton is now off until Jan. 23, when it hosts Dartmouth at 11 a.m. The Ivy League Championships will come to DeNunzio Pool Feb. 24-26.