Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Day One
Players Mentioned
Waters' Record Highlights Successful First Day At Ivy Championship Meet
February 25, 2011 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Senior Megan Waters continued her brilliant senior season with an Ivy League championship record swim in the 50 free, which highlighted a strong opening day for a Princeton women's swimming and diving team looking to capture its second straight Ivy League title this weekend.
Competing in the friendly confines of DeNunzio Pool, Princeton raced out to a 64-point lead over Harvard through five of 21 total events. That lead will shrink somewhat based on the three-meter diving preliminaries, as Harvard placed one extra competitor in Friday's championship final. However, Greg Gunn's crew performed well, placing three in the final to keep pace with a strong Crimson crew. Senior Carolyn Littlefield led the field through prelims with an A-cut score of 284.10 points, while both junior Christina Kirkwood and freshman Rachel Zambrowicz also reached the championship finals.
"It's been a really exciting meet for us so far and for the league in general," head coach Susan Teeter said. "It's nice to see new event champions and parity across the board. Our team really had some great efforts with the 200 free relay breaking the school record by over a second, and we also achieved 9 NCAA B standards out of 12 swims.
"And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Megan Waters' spectacular performance in the 50 which currently has her 20th in the nation," Teeter added. "But we're realistic, it's only one day and we have two more days of tough competition remaining against a really strong field."
Thursday's championship session opened with the 200 free relay, and Princeton wasted no time jumping out to a lead. With Waters leading a quartet that included freshman Lisa Boyce, junior Kerry Gruendel and sophomore Carter Stephens, Princeton won the event in a championship meet record time of 1:31.40. That time beat second-place Harvard by one full second, giving Princeton eight extra points in the team competition.
The individual championship events began with the 500 free, and talented Penn freshman Shelby Fortin raced away with the victory in 4:43.27, nearly four full seconds faster than anybody in the field. Princeton put three in the top six, including third-place junior Aislinn Smalling, who finished in 4:49.60. Senior co-captain Ming Ong took fourth in 4:50.86, while freshman Maureen McCotter placed sixth in 4:51.77.
Princeton junior Jillian Altenburger and Harvard senior Kate Mills were in a tight battle in the 200 IM final, although neither was racing for first. Teeter mentioned the strong level of swimming across the board, and this was another example of it. One event following a Penn freshman victory, Columbia sophomore Katie Meili posted the only sub-2:00 time to win in 1:59.20.
With the team competition likely to come down to Princeton and Harvard, every point will matter this weekend; Altenburger made sure she picked up the extra one, topping Mills by .03 of a second to take second place in 2:00.37. Princeton freshman Andrea Kropp rallied in the final 100 to catch Harvard's Laura Evans and tie for fourth in 2:00.44, and junior Kerry Gruendel added a seventh-place finish in 2:03.59. The Tigers got one more Top-10 finish, as freshman Rebecca Lewinson placed 10th in 2:03.81.
Princeton's win in the 200 free relay seemed to signal good things to come in the 50 free final, and the Tigers delivered. Waters actually set the Ivy League championship record with a preliminary swim of 22.36, and she took her first 50 title with a time of 22.44. Crimson senior Katy Hinkle took second in 22.74, but Boyce and Stephens followed closely to take both third and fourth. Boyce, part of the highly touted freshman class making its Ivy Championship debut Thursday night, finished in 22.91, while Stephens finished fourth in 23.34.
Princeton even went 1-2 in the consolation final, as junior co-captain Meredith Monroe won in 23.47 and freshman Laura Slater took second in 23.64.
The Tigers capped the evening in style, winning the 400 medley relay by nearly five full seconds and missing the Ivy League record (set by Princeton in the 2010 championship meet) by .01 of a second. The foursome of Monroe, Kropp, Waters and Boyce won in a DeNunzio Pool record time of 3:39.21, while Yale took second in 3:44.18.
The medley relay victory was an even more positive sign for Princeton considering the way each individual performed. Monroe, Kropp and Waters each won their respective 100s against every swimmer in the field, and Boyce beat five of seven while being nearly five seconds ahead of her closest opponent at the race's conclusion.
Of course, depth is key and momentum can swing during a championship meet, so Princeton is well aware that it will need four more great sessions to win its 10th title in 12 years. Friday will open with preliminaries at 11 a.m., and will conclude with a nine-event finals session at 6 p.m. The championship session will include the 200 medley relay, the 1650, the 400 IM, the 100 fly, the 200 free, the 100 breast, the 100 back, the three-meter diving finals and the 800 free relay.
Fans can purchase single-session tickets at the door prior to any remaining session, and the entire competition can be seen live on GoPrincetonTigers.TV.