Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Princeton To Honor Seniors, Cap Home Schedule, With Friday Dual v. NC State
January 07, 2015 | Women's Swimming and Diving
The Princeton women's swimming and diving team will honor its Class of 2015 and compete for the final time this season at DeNunzio Pool when the Tigers take on N.C. State Friday at 5 pm.
| Date/Time | Friday, Jan. 9 • 5 pm |
| Follow Along | Live Results l Live Video (subscription required) |
| @PUCSDT l @PUTigers l @PUTigersLive | |
| Princeton Links | Roster l Schedule |
| NC State Links | Roster l Schedule |
| What's Coming Up? | Princeton vs. Harvard/Yale (Jan. 30-31 in Boston) |
The Tigers (5-1, 4-0 Ivy League) have been off since early December, when they split their team between the AT&T Winter Nationals and the Brown Open, where they earned dual victories over both Brown (173-127) and Dartmouth (228-72). This meet serves as the team's official open to the 2015 portion of the season, which will include both the H-Y-P weekend (Jan. 30-31) and the Ivy League Championships (Feb. 19-21), both of which will be held at Harvard.
Princeton, winners of 11 of the last 15 Ivy League championships, know that it will be a challenging road to unseat Harvard atop the league this season, and it will get a strong early test Friday when it takes on an NC State team that is just outside the Top 25 in the latest CSCAA poll. The Wolfpack women are 2-2 on the season, though both of their losses are to teams currently ranked in the Top 5.
The Tigers have gotten several strong performances early this season, both in the water and on the boards. At Winter Nationals, the quartet of Olivia Chan, Nikki Larson, Lindsay Temple and Elsa Welshofer posted a Top 20 finish in the 400 medley relay, while Welshofer reached the 'C' final of the 200 fly; the freshman now owns Princeton's fourth-fastest time in the 100 fly and the seventh in the 200 fly.
Fellow freshman Claire McIlmail was also both an individual and relay winner at the Brown Open; she won the 200 free in 1:47.97, and she teamed with Alisabeth Marsteller, Madelyn Veith and Katie Diller to win the 400 free relay in 3:22.00.
On the diving side, nobody had a better start to the season than sophomore Caitlin Chambers, who won every 1- and 3-meter event she entered, and she broke Erin Lutz' 16-year record on the 3-meter board when she scored 342.70 points in Providence.
While Princeton will be testing itself against one of the nation's strongest programs, it will also use Friday to honor the Class of 2015. For the program, members of the junior class wrote bios for the five seniors, which can be read below the order of events:
FULL MEET ORDER OF EVENTS
200 Medley Relay
1000 Free
200 Free
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Fly
50 Free
Break
100 Free
200 Back
200 Breast
500 Free
100 Fly
Break
200 IM (W)/400 IM (M)
400 Free Relay (W)/ 200 Free Relay (M)
Diving continues throughout the meet
Courtney Ciardiello hails from Rye, New York. A politics major pursuing a certificate in political economy, her thesis focuses on the economic costs of political violence. Courtney is a force to be reckoned with in the mid-distance events; her unwavering dedication to PUCSDT comes out when she competes in the grueling 200 fly/200 back double year after year. On top of her passion for the team, Court is known for her fun-loving personality, contagious energy, and leadership in and out of the pool. Her teammates and friends will miss her next year but not to worry – Court's passion for Princeton will undoubtedly bring her back to Denunzio in the future!
Elizabeth Gelb came to Princeton from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is a Woodrow Wilson major, writing her thesis on the “International and Control Measures that are in place to determine if the United States is ready for the next pandemic”. Last summer, Liz worked for the government in Washington D.C., where she will be returning upon graduation as she pursues a consulting position at Deloitte. Liz is one of the most enthusiastic members of the team; she never fails to make the people around her smile and is always willing to help out a teammate. In the pool, she has the heart of a tiger and shows her strength in the butterfly events. With her avid interest in knowledge, we won't be surprised to see Liz make a big impact in the real world. We will truly miss her next year!
Reese Iriondo is a senior hailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a core member of the distance group, Reese trains hard and sometimes gets lucky enough to sprint! This past summer, she studied zebras in Kenya for her Ecology and Evolutionary Biology thesis. She tested different theories for why zebras evolved stripes, mainly focusing on ectoparasites. After college, she hopes to continue her studies in medical school to become “Docta D”, a pursuit we are sure she will enjoy success in. Reese literally knows how to fall and get back up stronger than ever, a testament to her commitment to the Tiger tradition. We will miss all of the laughs and good times Reese brought with her to the PUCSDT family.
A Texas native and senior co-captain, Shirley Wang has been a valuable contributor to PUCSDT since her freshman year. Specializing in backstroke, Shirley's commitment and incredible work ethic have led to her great success both in and out of the water. An Economics major with a certificate in Political Economy, Shirley is writing her thesis on the effect of Women's Clinic closures on Children's Medicaid Expenditures in Texas counties. Shirley's loud and enthusiastic cheering, coupled with bright orange and black flare will surely be missed on deck next year. We are excited for all the great things the future has in store for her and look forward to seeing her in the stands in her orange and black as a proud Tiger alum!
Emily Yu came to the Tiger family from Walnut, California. She is an Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major, and is writing her thesis on zoonotic disease outbreak potential and the prevalence of certain diseases. Last spring, Emily studied abroad in Panama, and this past summer, she traveled to Madagascar to conduct thesis research. In addition to being a world traveler, Emily specializes in breaststroke and has been an enormous asset to the team both in and out of the pool. We will miss her bubbly personality and infectious laugh, but we can't wait to see what exciting things she accomplishes!