Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Ivy Championships Day 2
Players Mentioned
Men's Swim/Dive Wins Three Titles, Builds Lead During Day 2 At Ivy Champs
February 28, 2015 | Men's Swimming and Diving
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Freshman Corey Okubo made his first individual event at the Ivy League Championships a historic one, and a pair of Tiger relays ignited a packed DeNunzio Pool Friday night during Day 2 of the 2015 Ivy League Championships. Okubo set an Ivy League record in the 400 IM, while both the 200 medley and 800 free relay posted wins, during another strong day for Princeton at the Ivy League Championships.
Princeton will head into the final day of the championship weekend with 1026 points, more than 150 ahead of second-place Harvard (874.5).
While Okubo claimed his first Ivy League individual championship, senior tri-captain Michael Strand broke the Princeton record in the 100 back and led off the victorious 200 medley relay, which posted an NCAA A-cut and Ivy League record time of 1:24.95 to defeat the rest of the field by more than two seconds. Strand opened a lead in the 50 back, and junior Jack Pohlmann built on it in the breast.
The senior duo of Connor Maher and Harrison Wagner, who were part of Princeton's record-setting 200 free relay Thursday, closed the win in style to help the Tigers continue to build their advantage.
Junior Zach Ridout opened the individual finals with a sixth-place finish in the 1000 (9:05.71), and then it was time for Okubo's breakout performance in the 400 IM. He broke the Ivy League record in 3:43.95 to claim the title, while teammate and defending 400 IM champion Sam Smiddy took second in 3:45.62. Smiddy's time was more than a second faster than any other competitor, as well as a DeNunzio Pool record, which gave Princeton a dominant edge in the event.
Junior Teo D'Alessandro, coming off his Ivy League title in the 200 IM Thursday, took second in the 200 free in 1:35.63. Senior David Paulk (sixth, 1:37.14) and junior Sandy Bole (seventh, 1:37.15) gave Princeton three in the championship final, which helped the Tigers build upon their lead.
Freshman Zach Buerger had a strong showing in the 100 fly. He took third in his championship final in 46.99, while classmate Ben Schafer added a third-place finish in the 'B' final in 48.17.
Princeton went 2-3 in the 100 breast, which turned into one of the closest events of the evening. Cornell freshman Alex Evdokimov won in 53.12, while junior Byron Sanborn (53.41) and Pohlmann (53.47) took the next two spots.
Strand broke his own Princeton record in the 100 back with a time of 46.47, though it came in a race that included an Ivy record performance by Columbia senior David Jakl (45.98). Maher took sixth in the final in 47.97, while the duo of freshman Alex Lewis (47.86) and Andrew Helber (48.11) took the top two spots in the 'B' final.
D'Alessandro, Bole, Maher and Buerger continued Princeton's dominance in the relays by winning the 800 free in 6:25.39.
The final day of the Ivy League championships will begin at 11 am with preliminaries, and it will conclude with the final session at 6 pm.