Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Ivy Championships Day 3
Players Mentioned
Championship Comeback! Tigers Rally For Thrilling 22nd Ivy League Title
February 22, 2015 | Women's Swimming and Diving
COMPLETE RESULTS
This was how it had to end. One comeback after another this season, Princeton simply refused to give in. Down 92 points with six events to go in the final session of the Ivy League Championships certainly didn't seem like the time to start.
No, the Tigers just stuck with the game plan. Swim hard. Dive well. Win.
That was more than enough to claim Princeton's league-best 22nd Ivy League championship.
Princeton won the final two events of the weekend, including that 400 free relay that has been so magical all season, to win the championship with 1423 points. Reigning champion Harvard, which both hosted the event and led after the first two evenings, placed second with 1401.5 points. Yale, which led with two events to go, finished third with 1377 points.
It was the 17th Ivy League championship for head coach Susan Teeter, who hasn't had a two-year stretch without a league title at any point this century. While each title has been special, few (any?) matched the final-session drama of this one.
"I couldn't be any prouder of this team for the effort and sacrifice they made for each other throughout the season and during this incredible weekend," Teeter said. "This league continues to get faster, and it took more than just great swimmers and divers to bring the Ivy League championship back to Princeton. It took a great team. This was a testament to the character and resilience that has been developed through the incredible tradition of this program, and this team certainly added to it over the last 72 hours.
"We'd also like to dedicate this meet and season to Morgan Karetnick's father, Kenny, who we lost far too early in life after the HYP meet," Teeter added. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the family."
The first event of the night was the mile and, as expected, it was Yale that stole the show. The unexpected came at the final touch, as two Bulldogs touched the wall in exactly 16:21.92 to share the Ivy League championship. It's one thing to finish a 100-yard race simultaneously; to do it after 1650 is incredible.
Princeton did place one in the Top 8, as senior Reese Iriondo made her final collegiate swim an important one. She finished in 16:45.05 to take sixth, while teammate Mary Kate Davis took 11th in 16:53.31. Iriondo was injured during Princeton's 2013 Ivy League championship win, so she was thrilled to be able to compete in a championship-winning performance.
Freshman Lindsay Temple had a thrilling performance in the 200 back prelim, and she followed it up with an impressive third-place finish in the final. Harvard went 1-2 in the event, but Temple took third in 1:56.63. Junior Sada Stewart also qualified for the A final, and she finished in a tie for seventh place in 1:59.58. Senior Shirley Wang made a huge comeback in the 'B' final to win that race in 1:58.63, which accounted for some important points.
At that point, Princeton still trailed by a significant margin, but it knew the upcoming 100 free would get the Tigers right back into contention.
The Tigers put four in the finals during prelims, including freshman Claire McIlmail, who came off a winning effort in the 200 free Friday evening. McIlmail had Princeton's best finish, going 49.94 to place fourth. Junior Elizabeth McDonald, the 50 free champion from Thursday night, took sixth in 50.38, while Madelyn Veith (50.59) and Nikki Larson (50.61) claimed seventh and eighth.
Suddenly, a deficit that had approached triple digits minutes earlier was back under 11 points.
Harvard had an edge in the 200 breast, but Princeton got a brilliant effort from sophomore Olivia Chan in the 'B' final. She dropped nearly 2.5 seconds off her prelim time to win in 2:17.46. Combined with Melissa Fulenwider's eighth-place finish in the 'A' final (2:19.67), Princeton was able to offset one of the Crimson's stronger events.
And that was bad news, considering Harvard didn't actually have anybody in the next event.
Princeton had two in the 'A' and two in the 'B' finals, including freshman Elsa Welshofer, who nearly pulled off a massive comeback in the championship final. In fourth place entering her final 50, Welshofer produced a 30.34 split to pass two Yale swimmers. Brown's Gina Matsumoto won the event in 1:58.61, just .01 ahead of Welshofer. Karetnick added a sixth-place finish in 2:00.61 to move the Tigers into second place.
That was second place behind Yale, not Harvard. Princeton had gained a 37.5-point edge on the Crimson with two events to go, including the 3-meter diving final. Tiger sophomore Caitlin Chambers, the reigning 3-meter champion, would not be denied in her final event of the Ivy League season. Chambers was magnificent throughout the event, scoring a pool- and meet-record 360.55 points to remain perfect in the league season.
"Saturday's 3m final was one of the most stressful events I've ever dove in," Chambers said. "The quality of the diving was absolutely amazing and every single woman in that final brought their best to the table. Coming out on top, and particularly after winning the 1m title Thursday, was really exciting.
"I'm really happy with my individual performance this week, but I have to say that I'm honored to be a part of PUCSDT," Chambers added. "After working with these amazing women all year I know everybody swam and dove their hearts out this weekend to win the team championship and winning it together means so much more than any individual achievement."
Classmates Lisa Li (fifth, 288.75) and Deborah Daly (eighth, 235.95) both joined Chambers in the 'A' final, which fended off a challenge by Harvard's four divers in the final. The Tigers led by 11.5 points entering the 400 free relay, meaning they needed only a third-place finish to clinch the league title.
But why finish third when you can close the meet in record-breaking style?
The quartet of McIlmail, Larson, McDonald and Veith — the same quartet that raced in the 100 free final earlier in the evening — left no doubt with a brilliant victory in a championship meet record time of 3:18.25. When Veith touched the wall a final time, she clinched a championship that won't soon be forgotten by anybody involved.
During a season filled with dramatic finishes, this was the ultimate finish.
And it was done by the ultimate team.