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Men's Swimming/Diving Readies For Annual H-Y-P Showdown; Info Page Debuts
January 28, 2011 | Men's Swimming and Diving
BRETT LULLO ON TIGERCAST l MEN'S SWIMMING INFORMATION PAGE
In a little more than one month, the Princeton men's swimming and diving team will head to Cambridge to compete for its third straight Ivy League championship. This weekend, the two dominant Ivy powers will meet in the middle to compete for a title that is almost as important to all involved — the title of H-Y-P winner.
Princeton will take on Harvard and Yale in the Ivy League's most exciting regular season meet this weekend; the competition will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. and will continue at noon on Sunday. Princeton has won this event each of the last two years, and each time it followed up by winning the Ivy League title. Harvard's last win in this matchup came in 2008.
A month later, it also won the Ivy League title.
While this meet won't have a direct impact on the Ivy League championship meet, it is an opportunity for both Harvard and Princeton to send off an opening message. For the Tigers, it would be especially meaningful because they will have to make the trip to Harvard's Blodgett Pool when they race for a third straight Ivy League title.
Of course, messages aside, this is an event that doesn't need extra hype. H-Y-P weekend means more than enough to swimmers, divers and alumni alike, and with three strong teams in the mix, this weekend promises to be another exciting competition.
Much of Princeton's dominance in the 2010 Ivy League championship meet came from its freestyle sprinters, many of whom could be found in numerous championship finals. In both the 50 and 100 free, five of the top six finishers in the final were from Princeton, and the other was Columbia's Adam Powell.
Heading into this weekend, Princeton again has a number of top sprinters in the league, although Powell again stands with the top times. Senior Geoff Faux, Princeton's lone representative in the NCAA Championships last year, has the best H-Y-P time in the 50 (20.76), while junior Colin Cordes has the best 100 time (45.23) and the second-best 50 time. Michael Monovoukas and Andres Tung are also among the top times in these events, and both were Ivy championship finalists last year.
Cordes has the league's second-best time in the 200 (1:38.57), while teammates Colin Hanna, Jon Christensen and Travis McNamara are right behind him. Sophomore Will Lawley is also in the top 10, but he proved his ability at this distance last year by winning the Ivy League final.
If there was one major area where Harvard gained ground, it was in the distance free events. Princeton has had a strong showing so far in the 500 with the league's top four times, led by McNamara's 4:27.05, while both Hanna and freshman Paul Nolle could also be scorers in the distance events.
Sophomore Kaspar Raigla is the top returning finisher in the 100 back from last season's league meet, and his time of 49.95 is the best in this weekend's field. Cordes has a top-five time in the 100 and the Ivy's best time in the 200 (1:47.25), while Hanna and freshmen Adam Lebovitz and Nicholas Beaulieu are also among the league's top five.
Christensen is the most decorated breaststroke swimmer in the field this weekend; a two-time league champion, he has the Ivy's best time in both the 100 (54.48) and the 200 (1:58.15). Freshman K.J. Park should also factor in, as he has top-four times in both events. Classmate Daniel Hasler is also a top-five performer in the 200 breast.
Each of the three teams bring in strong fly swimmers, although Yale's Goksu Bicer is atop the field in the 100 at 49.55. Monovoukas is only a tenth of a second behind him, while Raigla is also in the mix at 50.27. Charlie Wang, an Ivy finalist in the 100 last season, is also in the top 10. Senior Brett Lullo is Princeton's only representative in the Ivy League Top 20 in the 200 fly, although only two Harvard swimmers and no Yale swimmers are ahead of him.
Christensen and Hanna are currently 1-2 in the 200 IM, while Hanna has the top time in the 400 IM. Hasler has top-five times in both events as well.
While several will vie for points in diving, this weekend could come down to a rematch of both Ivy League championship finals. Harvard sophomore Michael Stanton earned Diver of the Meet honors by winning on both boards, while Princeton sophomore Stevie Vines took second in both.