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Swimming/Diving Seasons Open Friday At Princeton Fall Invitational
November 12, 2011 | Men's Swimming and Diving
The Princeton men's and women's swimming and diving seasons opened Friday night, and many of the Orange and Black were competing in the familiar water of DeNunzio Pool during the first session of the Princeton Fall Invitational.
A portion of the women's team is also competing at the Minnesota Grand Prix; information on that event will be posted when available.
With Georgetown, Lehigh and The College of New Jersey in attendance, Princeton figured to get a good early test before its Ivy League season opened next weekend. Both programs got a handful of wins, and they will look for more Saturday during the final two sessions of the competition.
On the women's side, Princeton opened the meet with a win in the 200 free relay, as the team of Laura Loughran, Laura Slater, Kerry Gruendel and Kathy Qu topped the field in 1:38.29. Princeton also placed second, as Shirley Wang, Emily Yu, Cara Slear and Aislinn Smalling finished in 1:40.55.
Loughran grabbed the first individual win of the weekend in the 500 free (5:01.71), while teammate Lauren Shanley finished as the runner-up by less than a second. Gruendel, a senior co-captain, won the 200 IM in 2:06.75, while Slear took second in 2:08.75.
Slater took second in the 50 free in 23.87, while the quartet of Wang, Yu, Qu and Loughran won the 400 medley relay in 3:55.74.
The men opened with a second-place finish in the 200 free relay, as Harrison Wagner, Matthew LaMonaca, Ian Rea and Michael Monoukas finished in 1:24.07, less than a quarter of a second behind Lehigh's top quartet.
Senior tri-captain Colin Cordes won the 500 free in 4:33.92, while fellow captain Jonathan Christensen won the 200 IM in 1:52.98. Both Cordes and Christensen are reigning individual Ivy League champions for Princeton, which will close its season by hosting the Ivy League Championship meet at DeNunzio Pool during the first weekend of March.
Wagner placed second in the 50 free in 20.50, and the 400 medley relay team of Adam Lebovitz, Christensen, Monovoukas and Cordes won the 400 medley relay in 3:25.70, more than seven seconds faster than any other team.
Princeton had four of the top five diving finishes for both the men and women. The women competed in the 3-meter competition, and senior Christina Kirkwood placed second in 276.45. Bryna Tsai, Randi Brown and Emily Kaplan rounded out the top five. The men competed on the 1-meter board, and Mark O'Connell took the win with 336.75. He topped reigning Ivy League champion Stevie Vines by seven points, while Michael Manhard and Chris Kelly both earned top-five finishes.