Princeton University Athletics
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Tiger Men Claim First HYP Win Since 2012, Win 15 Of 19 Events Overall
January 30, 2016 | Men's Swimming and Diving
COMPLETE RESULTS
The senior class wanted one HYP win before it graduated. It got it done this weekend, and it did so in dominant style.
Princeton remained perfect on the year by taking 15 of 19 events to defeat both Harvard (224.5-126.5) and Yale (253-98). The Crimson earned the split by topping Yale 263-90.
"We've been waiting for a chance to be able to win the bucket and to be able to do it at Denunzio was especially gratifying," senior Andrew Helber said. "We'll be back in the pool Monday morning ready to start a final week or two of hard training and then start to taper down for the big meet in Providence. I think how we did this meet is really going to fuel us forward, but we need to keep our wits about ourselves as nothing is guaranteed and Harvard, as well as all of the other teams, are going to be more hungry now to put up some good swims in four weeks."
Princeton set the tone during the first event Friday night, as the quartet of En-Wei Hu-Van Wright, Alexander Lewis, Ben Schafer and Julian Mackrel won the 200 free relay by only .03 of a second over Harvard. That win set off a flurry of victories for the Tigers over the next two days.
Freshman Murphy McQuet wasn't overwhelmed by his first swim in HYP competition. He won the 200 free in 1:35.81, while Hu-Van Wright followed by taking the 100 back in 47.12. Hu-Van Wright would add another Friday night win in the 50 free, which he took in 19.90 — nobody else in the field broke 20 seconds.
Senior tri-captain Jack Pohlmann won the 100 breast in 54.28, while Corey Okubo won the 200 fly in 1:44.18. That topped a 1-2-3 Tiger finish, which included a runner-up performance from freshman Cole Buese (1:45.34).
Another tri-captain, Teo D'Alessandro, won the 200 IM in 1:46.73, though Tigers would finish in each of the top five positions. It may have been the biggest swim for D'Alessandro, a Princeton record holder and individual Ivy League champion, as a senior in DeNunzio Pool.
Senior Noam Altman-Kurosaki took fourth in the 3-meter diving competition (297.50), while Sam Smiddy took second in the mile in 15:18.03. The Tigers ended Friday by going 1-2 in the 400 medley relay, with the quartet of Helber, Pohlmann, Schafer and Bole winning in 3:11.24.
Helber led off another strong effort to begin Saturday, as he teamed with Pohlmann, Schafer and Bole to win the 200 medley relay in 1:27.19. Smiddy won a terrific 400 IM battle with Yale's Kei Hyogo in 3:52.64, and Hu-Van Wright picked up a third victory by going 43.47 in the 100 free.
Helber grabbed an individual win to team with his relay victories by taking the 200 back in 1:43.55.
"This meet was especially amazing because nearly top to bottom everyone put up best times," Helber said. "For me, the races that were most exciting to watch were the drops not from people who won events, but from non-scorers who shocked the world and put up best times. That is really what is special about this team, because no matter who you are or how fast you are everyone is behind you 100 percent."
Schafer won the 100 fly in 47.59, and McQuet followed with a runner-up finish in the 500 in 4:24.79. Junior Nathan Makarewicz took second in the 1-meter diving event with 293.85 points, and classmate Brett Usinger capped off the individual events by winning the 200 breast in 1:57.95.
The quartet of Hu-Van Wright, Mackrel, Schafer and D'Alessandro finished the event by winning the 400 free relay in 2:55.05.