Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tigers Expect Another Thriller As Host Of Women's Swim/Dive Championships
February 22, 2011 | Women's Swimming and Diving
LIVE RESULTS l LIVE VIDEO l IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL l PRINCETON TRADITION
Impossible as it seems, the drama-filled 2010 Ivy League Women's Swimming & Diving championship weekend - in which Princeton never left Harvard's Blodgett Pool with greater than a 38-point lead - is now a full year old.
Ask a member of that Princeton squad about those three days, which ended with the Tigers celebrating a 27-point victory and its ninth title in an 11-year span, and you'll see the exuberance return. Not that any championship win is easy, but there was just something extra grueling about those three days.
They also know that weekend represents the new norm in the Ivy League. You want the title, you better come with everything. And then you better find a little more.
The 2011 championship weekend will be held in the Tigers' own DeNunzio Pool Feb. 24-26, with preliminary sessions beginning at 11 a.m., and finals sessions beginning at 6 p.m.
A $30 all-session pass is available for purchase at DeNunzio throughout the first day, while single-session passes can also be bought throughout the weekend. Preliminary sessions are $4 for adults and $1 for children/students, while finals sessions are $6 for adults and $3 for students.
For those who can't make it to DeNunzio Pool, each session will be streamed live on GoPrincetonTigers.TV.
If last year's meet is any indication, each session will play a major role in determining the 2011 champion. While Princeton comes in with the momentum of a perfect Ivy League regular season, dual-meet success doesn't always translate to championship weekend success. Winning a final isn't nearly as important for team success as putting three or four into a final, and that gets decided during the prelim sessions.
Depth reigns supreme during championship weekends, and Tiger head coach Susan Teeter knows that there is a wealth of depth among her Ivy rivals.
"As much as people think like we might be the front runner, I feel that Harvard is the team to beat," Teeter said. "We'll have to rely on all our talents and have a really special meet from the entire team to keep the trophy at home this year.
"It should be exciting for both the competitors and the great fans of the Ivy League, and we look forward to racing after a long year of hard work," Teeter added. "I also feel that the entire league is faster and the overall depth of talent in the league is the best it's been in my time here, so I look forward to a tight championship race between eight teams, not just Princeton and Harvard."
Those eight teams will compete over the span of 21 events: 14 individual swims, five relay swims and two diving events. None can be taken lightly, especially the diving. You don't need to go back any further than the 2007 championship win for Princeton for proof; the Tigers won that title by 87.5 points over Harvard, and they outscored the Crimson by 133 points off the boards.
Championships can be won anywhere in DeNunzio, from the racing lanes to the diving boards, and maybe even in the stands, where Princeton will count on its passionate and vocal alumni and fan support to carry the Tigers that little extra bit - and that could be the difference between retaining and relinquishing the title.
Here is a stroke-by-stroke preview of the championship weekend:
FREE
The most accomplished sprinter in the Ivy League is Princeton senior Megan Waters, who currently owns the program records in both the 50 and 100 and comes in with the league's top times in both (22.68, 49.67). She has been a consistent force on Princeton's relays, but she won her first individual crown last year by taking the 100. She won that by more than a second over Harvard's Katy Hinkle, who has also been one of the league's top sprinters over the last four years.
Both will have to fend off Princeton freshman Lisa Boyce, who comes into the weekend with the third-best time in the 50 (23.00) and the second-best time in the 100 (50.32).
Princeton and Harvard dominate the Top 10 in both events, though Columbia's Katie Meili is one to watch in either event.
Tiger junior Jillian Altenburger is the reigning Ivy League champion in the 200 and comes in with the league's best time (1:48.43), while Aislinn Smalling (1:50.41) and Kathy Qu (1:50.58) comprise two of the Ivy's top five in the event. Altenburger's main competition could come from Harvard's Kate Mills; those are the only two Ivy swimmers to produce sub-1:50 times this season.
As the distance gets longer, Mills becomes a favorite; her time of 4:50.21 is the league's best in the 500. An event won by Princeton's Alicia Aemisegger over the last four years is now open to the field, including Smalling and her Tiger teammates Kasey Morris and Ming Ong.
Ong, the Tigers' senior co-captain, won the 1000 during the H-Y-P meet with the Ivy's best time of 10:00.76, and she would love nothing more than to pick up her first individual win in her final meet. This could be a big swing event between the Tigers and the Crimson, as each has three of the top six times in the Ivy League. Smalling and Maureen McCotter make up Princeton's trio, and all three should be contenders in both the 1000 and 1650.
BACK
Both Boyce and junior co-captain Meredith Monroe are among the top contenders for back titles this weekend. Boyce will likely compete in the 100 back, which she owns the Ivy's best time (54.10) by more than one full second. Boyce won the event at H-Y-P and owns the Princeton record in the event, while Monroe ranks third in the event in 55.21.
Monroe is the reigning Ivy League champion in the 200 back, and she ranks second in the league with a time of 1:57.96. Her main challenger in the event could be Harvard junior Meghan Leddy, who also owns top-two times in both events.
Senior Julie Kochman and freshman Karen Wang are potential championship finalists for Princeton, which could gain big point swings in this event.
BREAST
Princeton freshman Andrea Kropp was the 2011 Ivy favorite in both the 100 and 200 breast before she ever stepped foot on campus. An Olympic Trials qualifier in both events, she reached the 200 championship final and the 100 bonus final at the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships, and she owns the Ivy's best times in both events.
Princeton doesn't carry the same level of depth in this stroke, although Harvard doesn't either. Juniors Hannah Cody and Kerry Gruendel and sophomore Sarah Furgatch could be competitive in either or both events.
FLY
Waters has the Ivy's top time in the 100 fly by more than 1.5 seconds, while sophomore Carter Stephens has top-three times in both events. Stephens was Princeton's only major force in both events at the 2010 championships, and she could be Teeter's replacement for Aemisegger in the 200 and 400 medley relays. Freshmen Boyce and Qu are also strong in both events.
IM
The 200 IM has belonged to Courtney Kilkuts for each of the last four years, so a new champion will finally be crowned. If the top times are any indication, that champion will likely come from one of the big two; Princeton has three of the top five times in the event, while Harvard has four of the top seven.
Kropp leads the field with a time of 2:01.14, while Harvard's Mills is second with a time of 2:02.88. Princeton got three championship finalists last year in Kilkuts, Gruendel and Furgatch, and Gruendel could be one of the main contenders again this year. She has Princeton's second-best time of 2:04.25, while Altenburger is third with 2:04.28.
Freshman Rebecca Lewinson won the 400 IM in H-Y-P meet, and she comes into the weekend with the fifth-best time of 4:25.85. Along with Furgatch and Caitlin Baran, Lewinson will look to be a top scorer for Princeton. Should Kropp compete in the event, she would immediately become a top contender, along with Columbia's Meili and Harvard's Mills and Katherine Packard.
DIVING
Senior Carolyn Littlefield brings momentum into the championships after earning both her first and second collegiate victories during the H-Y-P meet. In her final home meet, she'll have the comfort of diving off her own boards and will look to improve on her third-place finish on the 3-meter board at the 2010 championships.
She leads a talented and deep group of divers, which includes 2010 All-America Bryna Tsai, junior Christina Kirkwood and a trio of freshmen, Randi Brown, Emily Kaplan and Rachel Zambrowicz. Kirkwood has the Ivy's best score this season on the 1-meter board (293.55), while Zambrowicz has the third-best score on the 3-meter board (291.83).