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Princeton University
Day Three
Players Mentioned
Women's Swim/Dive Team Reclaims Ivy Crown With Thrilling Win
February 28, 2010 | Women's Swimming and Diving
When her team boarded the bus for Blodgett Pool, Susan Teeter knew that this particular Ivy League Championship meet wouldn't be decided until late Saturday night. Despite strong efforts from both Yale and Harvard, the tradition of excellence for the Princeton women's swimming and diving program added one wild championship after the 2010 Ivy League conference meet.
Princeton won one of the fastest and most competitive Ivy League championship meets with 1465 points, only 27 more than second-place Harvard. Yale posted one of its best performances in years, finishing third with 1350 points. The Tigers led wire-to-wire, although at no point from Thursday night to before Saturday's championship session did Teeter feel certain about anything besides the character of the team she was sending to the pool.
That is the type of character that Teeter has been proud to note throughout her incredibly successful career, which now includes nine of the last 11 Ivy League championships. It is the character of swimmers and divers who once wore the Orange and Black, or who now wear the Orange and Black, or simply by those who supported them the most.
"Lee Tay, father of Yen Tay '00, was one of our biggest fans, and I want to dedicate this meet to him," a thrilled and reflective Teeter said afterwards. "He recently lost his battle with cancer, but the last thing he ever said to me was 'Win this thing.' It's hard to know I can't bring the trophy to him when we get home. We will miss him dearly.
"It was just an amazing meet for us," Teeter added. "I am so excited for the seniors, the captains and the whole team. We're really proud of the team. It was a great meet. Both Harvard and Yale swam really well. It was great to see three teams swim so fast and so close together. It just bodes well for a great future and great racing in the Ivy League next year."
Princeton held a slim lead entering the final day of the championship meet, but it sent its multiple-time All-America standout Alicia Aemisegger out for the first event. Aemisegger, who will enter the NCAA Championships with one of the top mile times in the country, defended her 1650 title by winning the event in 16:08.00. The win was a historic one for the senior co-captain, who was a perfect 12-for-12 in individual events in her four career Ivy championship meets.
Of course, team performances win Ivy titles, and Teeter's group did well overall in the mile. Sophomore Aislinn Smalling placed third in 16:51.07, while junior Nicole McAndrew took fourth in 16:51.46. McAndrew cut more than 13 seconds off her seed time and topped a pair of Harvard swimmers by more than two seconds. Princeton sophomore Lauren Shanley took ninth overall in 17:01.50.
Sophomore Meredith Monroe picked up her first Ivy League individual title in the next event, as she set an Ivy League championship meet record in the 200 back with a winning time of 1:56.61. Monroe had been on the medal podium numerous times throughout her young career, but she picked a perfect night to grab the top spot for the first time. Junior Ming Ong placed sixth overall in 2:03.64.
One of the most exciting showdowns of the weekend took place in the 100 free, as Princeton junior Megan Waters and Yale sophomore Emily Dominski both posted times of sub-50 seconds. Waters was just a bit faster, winning the event in 49.88, only .03 of a second faster than her Bulldog rival. Waters was the only Princeton swimmer in the championship or consolation final, but she made the most of her swim.
Yale's talented senior Susan Kim followed with a victory in the 200 breast. Her A-cut time of 2:09.7 won the event by more than four seconds, while Princeton senior co-captain Courtney Kilkuts finished third overall in 2:15.12. Princeton had two more swimmers qualify for the finals with strong preliminary swims. Freshman Sarah Furgatch took sixth in 2:17.07, while sophomore Caitlin Baran placed eighth in 2:20.08.
Yale dominated the 200 fly, placing four swimmers in the top five, including champion Alex Forrester, who won the event in 1:55.78. Princeton's top scorer was freshman Carter Stephens, who placed sixth in 2:02.17.
Junior diver Carolyn Littlefield picked up her second top-five finish of the weekend when she placed fifth in the one-meter diving competition with 246.15 points. While she was the only Princeton competitor to reach the championship session, a trio of divers scored well in the consolation final. Sophomore Courtney Fieldman won that event to place ninth overall with 225.20 points, while freshman Bryna Tsai placed 10th with 219.25 points. Sophomore Christina Kirkwood ended up 12th with 216.05 points.
By the time the 400 free relay was ready to begin, Princeton's only mission was to avoid any miscues or false starts that would lead to disqualification. With four of her most reliable performers on the blocks, there was little to worry about. The team of Waters, Kilkuts, Monroe and Aemisegger placed second to Yale with a B-cut time of 3:22.46.
And then, as so many past teams in Orange and Black did before, Princeton celebrated another Ivy League championship. Led by Aemisegger and Kilkuts, whose leadership was praised by Teeter as early as preseason practices, the Tigers took the crown away from the defending champion in its own pool, while also holding off an improved Yale program racing hard for its retiring head coach Frank Keefe.
Yes, there is a tradition to this program.
And yes, it grew this weekend.