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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men's Swimming/Diving Opens Season In New Position, With New Young Talent
November 05, 2014 | Men's Swimming and Diving
The Princeton men's swimming and diving team will head to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend to open its season in a tri-meet with both No. 10 Ohio State and Denison College. Key links for the weekend, as well as a full season preview, can be found below.
| Date/Time/Opponents | Nov. 7 (5 pm) and 8 (9 am); Tri-Meet vs. No. 10 Ohio State/Denison |
| Weekend Links | Live Results l No Live Video |
| Follow On Twitter | @PUCSDT l @PUTigers l @PUTigers_Live |
| Princeton Tigers | Roster l Schedule |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | Roster l Schedule |
| Denison Big Red | Roster l Schedule |
| What's Up Next | Nov. 21: Penn/Cornell at Princeton (3 pm) |
The position is a bit unfamiliar, but that doesn't make it unwelcome.
After five straight years of capping its season with an Ivy League championship, the Princeton men's swimming and diving team was knocked off the top of the mountain by Harvard last season.
For once, the target is now on somebody else's back.
For once, Princeton can be the hunter.
And the Tigers are plenty familiar with the hunting grounds this year.
Yes, there are several months until the 2015 Ivy League Championships return to DeNunzio Pool (Feb. 26-28), but this group is hungry to build towards that weekend and keep the trophy in Princeton. There was plenty of talent returning from the 2014 squad, but the coaching staff has enhanced the group with another Top 10 recruiting class.
The season starts this weekend in a tri-meet against both Ohio State and Denison in Columbus, Ohio. Princeton will compete three times at home during the regular season, including the Ivy openers against both Penn and Cornell Nov. 21.
Here is a look at several of the key competitors for Princeton this season:
FREE
Senior Harrison Wagner and junior Jeremy Wong were Princeton's top finishers in the 50 and 100 free at Ivies last year, as well as key figures in the relays. Wagner is a former Ivy League champion in the 50 free, and he has all-time Top 4 Princeton marks in both events.
Wong broke into the Top 10 in the 100 last year, and he placed fifth overall at the Ivy Championships in the event. Classmate Sandy Bole was also an A finalist in the event, and his dramatic swim-off win in the 2013 Ivy Championships remains one of the standout moments of that weekend.
Two freshmen who could make an immediate impact in the sprints are Alex Lewis and Ben Schafer. Lewis, the 19th-ranked recruit in the nation by collegeswimming.com, has lifetime bests in the 50 and 100 that would have qualified for the Ivy Championship 'A' finals. Schafer was a top swimmer in Australia who will factor in both the free and fly.
Sophomore Julian Mackrel reached the 200 free final last year, while junior Conner Jager was a Top-10 finisher. Sophomore Sam Smiddy returns as the lone Princeton finalist in the 500. Two freshmen could bolster the Orange and Black point totals in both events; Zach Buerger, ranked ninth among all incoming recruits nationally by collegeswimming.com, was the 2014 Most Outstanding Swimmer at the PIAA Championships. His top times in both the 200 and 500 were both NCAA B-cuts last year, and both would have put him in the Ivy 'A' finals. Tyler Sullivan won three Kentucky state championships and could factor in either event at Ivies.
Junior Zachary Ridout returns as Princeton's top distance swimmer. He placed in the Top 3 at Ivies in both the 1000 and the mile, and he owns Top 5 Princeton times in both events. Smiddy is also strong in the mile.
BACK
Seniors Michael Strand and Connor Maher join Oliver Bennett as tri-captains this season, and the first two are part of a backstroke trio that rank as the best in the league.
Strand is the two-time defending Ivy League champion in the 100 back, and his time of 46.68 is a program record. He is a critical piece of the medley relay, and he has finished in the Top 10 at Ivies in the 200 back every year of his career.
Maher is a former champion in the 200 back, and he has been an 'A' finisher in both the 100 and 200 back events in each of his last two Ivy Championships (he missed the 2012 Championships due to illness).
Lewis, Schafer, and Buerger are all factors here, as well as fellow freshman Corey Okubo, the third-ranked incoming freshman nationally by collegeswimming.com. Okubo's lifetime best in the 200 back would actually be the second-fastest time in Princeton history.
BREAST
Juniors Byron Sanborn and Marco Bove are both returning 'A' finalists in the 100 breast, and Sanborn was a Top-3 Ivy finisher in both the 100 and 200 breast. Sanborn, who competed at the 2013 NCAA Championships in the breast events, should be a top contender for his first Ivy League individual title in either event.
Classmate Jack Pohlmann should also be a contender for the 'A' finals in both events, and junior Teo D'Alessandro bring a Top-5 Princeton time into the 100 breast this season.
FLY
Princeton didn't have a Top-6 Ivy finisher in either the 100 or 200 fly last season, which was a significant factor in its relinquishing of the league title. The Tigers will be looking for improved finishes from its returners, as well as some major points from its newcomers.
Strand placed seventh in the 100 fly last year, while fellow tri-captain Bennett placed seventh in the 200, one spot ahead of Bove. All three are talented enough to move up in either event.
Like the back, the freshman quartet of Okubo, Buerger, Lewis and Schafer could immediately turn a weakness into a strength. Okubo's lifetime bests in both fly events would have been Top-4 at Ivies last year, while Buerger would have been an 'A' finalist in both. Lewis and Schafer should both contend in the 100 fly; the latter won the bronze medal in the 100 fly at the Australian Age Championships.
IM
If fly was a weakness last season, the individual medley was a clear strength. Princeton returns four juniors who reached the 200 IM championship final, including each of the top three. Teo D'Alessandro won the event over Bove and Sanborn, and he owns the Princeton record in both the 200 (1:45.08) and the 400 IM (3:47.22).
Sophomore Sam Smiddy may have surprised some people with his victory in the Ivy Championship 400 IM last year, but he dominated the event and won by more than 1.5 seconds. He holds Princeton's second-fastest time in the event, trailing D'Alessandro by only .11 of a second.
Okubo, Buerger and freshman Liam Karas will all be competitive in the IM. Okubo's lifetime best in the 200 IM would have won Ivies last year, while Buerger's would have been enough for third. Karas' would have been third, though it would have been faster than any swimmer at any school other than Princeton.
Okubo's lifetime best in the 400 IM wouldn't have won the Ivy Championship last year; he would have had to settle for second place.
DIVING
Senior Michael Manhard had a career effort at the Ivy Championships last year, placing fourth in both the 1- and 3-meter competitions, and he will be the leader of the diving corps this season. Sophomore Nathan Makarewicz got a taste of the Ivy finals last year by taking seventh in the 3-meter event, and both Liam Fitzgerald and Drew Jung could vie for a spot on the Ivy League team with strong performances this season.