Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Day One
Players Mentioned
Kirkwood, Boyce Grab Ivy Wins, Help Tigers Stay Close To Favored/Host Harvard
February 24, 2012 | Women's Swimming and Diving
DAY 1 RESULTS l CHAMPIONSHIP MAIN PAGE l SATURDAY'S EVENTS
The Princeton women's swimming and diving team knew it would be the hunter this year. The Tigers even embraced the role after years of serving as the hunted. Through one session of the 2012 Ivy League Championships, they seem to be handling the role just fine.
Less than a month after falling to Ivy favorite Harvard by 80 points in a dual meet at Blodgett Pool, the Tigers returned to Blodgett with something to prove. The Crimson left the first day of the three-day championships with a lead, but it wasn't nearly as substantial as the one Harvard held the last time these teams met.
In fact, that lead is only three points.
Individual Ivy League championships for sophomore Lisa Boyce and senior Christina Kirkwood helped Princeton score 429.5 points during the first two of the six-session championship meet. Harvard remains the team to beat with a leading score of 432.5 points, while Yale is third with 339.5 points. No other team has more than 300 points.
Boyce claimed her second career Ivy League title by winning the 50 in a Blodgett Pool record time of 22.45 seconds. She defeated Yale junior Alex Forrester, one of the league's most decorated swimmers, by less than .2 of a second. Boyce, who won the 100 back Ivy League title last year, will enter the rest of the weekend with the league's best times in the 100 free and 100 back.
"It was exciting to see Lisa break the pool record of Jill Sterkel at this meet with a lifetime best performance," head coach Susan Teeter said.
Junior teammate Carter Stephens gave Princeton two championships finalists in the 50 free, and she placed sixth in a time of 23.64.
Kirkwood earned her first career Ivy League individual championship by winning the 1-meter event with 288.90 points. Reminiscent of the 2011 performance of Carolyn Littlefield '11, who opened Ivies by winning her first career league title, Kirkwood scored 288.90 points to win the event by more than eight points.
"I couldn't be happier for a senior who has worked so hard year after year," Teeter said. "She achieved this success in her final Ivy League meet. It is a great tribute to her."
It was also a very strong day for diving coach Greg Gunn's squad, which placed three in the top five of the championship finals. Reigning Ivy League Championships Diver of the Meet Rachel Zambrowicz took fourth with 268.60 points, while classmate Randi Brown was fifth with 267.30 points.
Princeton opened Thursday's finals session with a second-place finish in the 200 free relay. The quartet of Boyce, senior Kerry Gruendel, freshman Sarah Liang, and Stephens finished in 1:32.79, .02 of a second faster than third-place Yale. Columbia won the event in 1:32.58.
Penn sophomore Shelby Fortin remained undefeated in Ivy League finals by taking the 500 in 4:44.91, while a trio of Crimson swimmers followed within the top five. Princeton didn't have a championship finalist, but three Tigers in the 'B' final helped offset the big Harvard points in the 'A' final. Freshman Reese Iriondo took 10th in 4:52.37, while classmate Claire Loht took 11th in 4:53.01. Senior Lauren Shanley added a 14th-place finish in 4:54.71.
Both Gruendel and Liang scored in the 200 IM final. Gruendel, a senior co-captain, placed sixth in 2:03.57, while Liang took eighth in 2:05.99. Princeton also had two in the consolation final, as freshman Cara Slear (11th, 2:03.63) and senior Caitlin Baran (13th, 2:04.53) added important points.
Boyce gave Princeton its first win in the 50 free, and senior co-captain Meredith Monroe added a 10th-place finish in the 50 in 23.79. She edged Harvard's Sarah Sumner by .5 of a second; in a competition that could be dramatically close, every individual victory plays a significant role.
The swimmers gave way to the diving, and Princeton took advantage with a strong performance. Besides the trio of top-five performers, Tiger sophomore Emily Kaplan took 12th with 233.35 points.
The first day ended with the 400 medley relay, won by Columbia in 3:40.87. Princeton's quartet of Boyce, freshman Emily Yu, Stephens and Monroe finished fourth in 3:44.29.
Friday's competition will begin at 11 am with preliminaries, and it will conclude at 6 pm with eight of the weekend's 21 finals, as well as the consolation finals of the 3-meter diving championships.