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With Fourth Straight Ivy Title As End Goal, Tiger Swimming Opens 2011-12
November 10, 2011 | Men's Swimming and Diving
The men's swimming and diving team has moved on. It is preparing itself for a run at the 2012 Ivy League championship, which will be decided at its own DeNunzio Pool during the first week of March. The Tigers are vying for a fourth straight league title, something Princeton hasn't done in two decades.
Yes, Princeton has moved on. But we can go back one more time.
The 2011 Ivy League championship was decided in Harvard's own Blodgett Pool, and the Crimson came in as the undefeated team in the league. Princeton jumped out early, but Harvard chipped away and seemed in position to win during the final session.
And that's when Princeton put forth a night not to be forgotten. Dramatic swims, dramatic dives and one complete team effort left Princeton as the champion by 5.5 points, the slimmest margin in Ivy League history.
Wow.
OK, now we can move on too.
Veteran head coach Rob Orr has added a highly touted recruiting class to an already talented roster. That group is led by one of the most dominant classes any program has put together in more than a decade. The Princeton Class of 2012 has experienced plenty of individual success; as a class, they are a perfect 3-for-3 at the conference meet.
They will begin the Drive For Four this weekend at the Princeton Open, and they will keep their sights set on one more three-day meet in their magical home pool, where Princeton has won three titles in the last six years (2007, 2009, 2010).
Here is a stroke-by-stroke preview of the 2011-12 Princeton men's swimming and diving team:
FREE • With both Princeton's Geoff Faux and Columbia's Adam Powell having graduated last summer, there will be some open spots atop the sprint free medal stand at the Ivy League Championships. Princeton has a trio of seniors who could make that jump. Senior Colin Cordes, known more for his expertise in the back events, placed fourth in the 50 free last year.
Classmates Michael Monovoukas and Matthew LaMonaca were both championship finalists in the 50, and Monovoukas added a third-place finish in the 100 championship final. LaMonaca was a consolation finalist in the event. Together, they will be vital contributors in both individual and relay competitions.
Juniors Will Lawley and Andres Tung are also contributors in this event. Of course, Faux leaves a big hole, and the staff hopes freshman Harrison Wagner can help fill those. He was a nationally top-ranked incoming freshman in both 50 and 100 free who already earned his Olympic Trial cut in the 50 free. His top times in both the 50 and 100 would have earned him second-place in both championship finals last year.
Both Cordes and Lawley earned top-three finishes in the 200 championship final, while senior Travis McNamara was also a championship finalist. McNamara is one of Princeton's best mid-distance swimmers; he has six top-five finishes In his career, including an individual win in the 500.
The top freshman performer for Princeton last season was Paul Nolle III, who scored the 10th-most individual points - third most for any freshman - at last year's championship meet. He placed third in both the 500 and the mile; on the final night, when every point mattered, he cut more than 15 seconds off his seeded time to move past Harvard's top distance swimmer and place second overall in 9:06.61.
After Nolle and McNamara, Princeton didn't have great depth, but it is looking for big things from freshmen David Paulk and Caleb Tuten. Paulk won four Pennsylvania AA state championships as a senior at Shady Side Academy, while Tuten set club records in the 500 free, 800 free and 1000 free.
Both had times last year that would have qualified them for distance championship finals.
BACK • Junior Kaspar Raigla leads the charge in this stroke after topping Powell for the 100 back title. He moved up one spot on the podium from his freshman season, and he should be one of the favorites in both events this season.
He placed second to teammate Cordes in the 200 back last season; while Raigla beat everybody else in the field by more than two seconds, Cordes topped his younger teammate by the same amount. It was a dominant 1-2 effort for Princeton, and with talented sophomores Adam Lebovitz and Nicholas Beaulieu and senior Charlie Wang looking to break into the championship finals, Princeton could be even stronger this year.
Two freshmen expected to make immediate impacts are Connor Maher and Michael Strand. Maher is a two-time All-America in 2010 (100 back, 200 IM) and three-time All-America in 2011 (100 back, 200 IM and 100 free), and his 200 back time would have trailed only Cordes and Raigla in the 2011 200 final.
Strand won the New Jersey state championships in both the 100 back (2010, 2011) and 100 fly (2011), and his 100 back time would have been second to Raigla in the 2011 100 final.
BREAST • The Princeton Class of 2012 has played a huge role in winning three straight Ivy League titles, and its superior depth has been the dominant reason. However, every class has its top scorer, and the top scorer in this top class has been Jon Christensen. He has won five individual Ivy League titles in his career, including two in the 200 breast and one in the 100 breast.
Christensen has been battling Penn's Brendan McHugh for three straight years in both finals, and each grabbed one Ivy title at the other's expense last year. If both can stay healthy this season, their duels at the 2012 championship finals at DeNunzio should be appreciated by the entire crowd.
Classmate Eric Materniak reached both consolation finals, and he won the 200 consolation final by .1 of a second on the final day. How important was that swim? Had he finished second in that race, Princeton would have lost the title.
Sophomore Daniel Hasler is another likely factor in the breast. He recorded a top-five finish in the 200 breast during H-Y-P weekend, but he developed an illness that kept him out of the Ivy championships. That illness led to a team-filmed YouTube video that drew national attention and ended with Hasler and 2011 captain Colin Hanna '11 getting interviewed on swimmingworld.com.
FLY • Monovoukas has continually improved his Ivy finish in the 100 free, including a Princeton-best third-place finish at the event last year. Not only did he score important individual points, but he helped Princeton to victories in both the 200 and 400 medley relays. Raigla also reached the 100 championship final, placing seventh.
Senior Charlie Wang also placed in the Top 10 in the 100 fly by winning the consolation final, and he finished 21st in the 200 fly. That finish is Princeton's best for any returning swimmer, meaning Princeton will be looking for some reinforcements.
The first comes from senior Ryan Chiu, who likely would have Princeton's best finisher in the 200 fly had he not broke his hand during the season. He is healthy now and looking forward to a strong finish to his career. Freshmen Strand and Oliver Bennett will also factor into the fly. Strand figures to be a bigger competitor in the 100, while Bennett has already qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 200. An eight-time NISCA All-America honoree, his top time would have placed him third in the 2011 championship final.
IM • Christensen returns as the reigning 200 IM champion, topping his rival McHugh by more than one second. He is Princeton's lone returner to place in the Top 20 in the 200 IM, but the staff is hopeful that the like of Maher, Paulk and Tuten can provide a big spark. Maher has the strongest incoming time in the 200 IM at 1:48.58, which would have been the fourth-best time in the 2011 final.
Materniak is Princeton's lone returning championship finalist in the 400 IM and will look to move into the top five this season. Hasler is also looking forward to competing in his specialty, the 400 IM. Tuten would have been a top-three finisher in the event last year and will be looking to help replace the points lost by the graduation of Colin Hanna.
DIVING • Junior Stevie Vines has never finished worse than second in any of his four Ivy League championship finals, and his victory in the 3-meter competition last year was a huge part of Princeton's surge to a third straight championship. He is the reigning Ivy League Championships Diver of the Meet, and he gives Greg Gunn a reliable scorer for the 2012 meet.
Senior Tom Wells was a championship finalist in the 3-meter and a consolation finalist in the 1-meter competition, and sophomore Mark O'Connell reached the consolation final in the 3-meter event. Freshman Michael Manhard is a three-time All-America honoree who could also factor into the conference meet.