Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Day Three
Players Mentioned
Waters Caps Championship Career With Top 40 Finish At NCAA Championships
March 19, 2011 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Senior Megan Waters ended her brilliant Princeton career Saturday with a Top 40 finish in the 100 free during the final day of the 2011 NCAA Championships, held in Austin, Texas. While the swim may not have been as fast as Waters wished, her career is one that Princeton will proudly remember for years to come.
Waters, who was Top 20 in the 50 free and Top 30 in the 100 fly, was hoping to break into the All-America category during her specialty, the 100 free. The two-time reigning Ivy League champion in the event, Waters carried a Princeton record time of 48.66 into Saturday's preliminary swim. Unfortunately, unlike her first two preliminaries, she was unable to match that mark and finished 34th in a time of 49.23.
"She tried too hard today," a proud head coach Susan Teeter said after the event. "I love that she still had that much passion in her final collegiate race. She's had a great career and has so much to be proud of. Megan has been an amazing representative of our Princeton family and program."
Waters' career spans both records and championships. She holds Princeton records in the 50 free (22.36), the 100 free (48.66) and the 100 fly (53.28), with two of those records being either set or matched this past weekend. She was also part of three Princeton record relays, including swimming the anchor leg in both the 200 medley (1:39.80) and 400 medley (3:39.20). Waters was also part of a record-setting 400 free relay (3:20.33) two years ago.
She has also played a big role in three Ivy League championship wins for Princeton, including a thrilling 27-point win last season and a perfect 7-for-7 showing in leading the team to the 2011 championship. In her last conference meet, Waters won the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly, and she was part of wins in the 200 and 400 free and the 200 and 400 medley relays. Her effort in the most recent championship meet, held in a loud and excited DeNunzio Pool, earned her Ivy League Championships Swimmer of the Meet honors.
Above all else, anything you need to know about Waters' career can be summed up in 48.42 seconds. That was the split of her anchor leg in the 400 free relay during the 2011 championship finals. With the team championship having been decided and trailing by more than 1.5 seconds to Harvard senior Kate Mills, one of the premier swimmers in the league, Waters could easily have enjoyed one last swim in DeNunzio Pool and celebrated the team title minutes later.
Instead, she caused a DeNunzio uproar. With a 100 split that bested her Princeton record 100 time of 48.66, she caught Mills in the final 50 and touched off a dramatic celebration with her seventh and final victory.