Team Title, Tucker's School Record Highlight Princeton's Final Day At Big Al Invitational

Ela Noble Heidi Smithwick Ellie Marquardt

Team Title, Tucker's School Record Highlight Princeton's Final Day At Big Al Invitational

December 03, 2023 | Women's Swimming and Diving

Dakota Tucker had to wait two days for her first official Princeton women's swimming and diving school record.

Tucker, a freshman, swam a 2:09.54 200 breaststroke, breaking teammate Margaux McDonald's 10-month-old school record by nearly two full seconds, to win the event on the final day of the Big Al Invitational. Tucker also broke the old school record for the 200 IM Friday on the meet's first day, but she finished second in that race behind classmate Eleanor Sun, who now holds that record. Tucker also bettered the NCAA Provisional Qualifying standard in the 200 breaststroke, as did teammate Eliza Brown, who finished third in the race.

Princeton dominated the meet from start to finish, amassing 803.5 points, defeated runner-up Penn State by 209 points in the 10-team field.

Heidi Smithwick won her second event of the weekend, taking the 200 butterfly in a B qualifying time of 1:56.64. Ellie Marquardt also won for the second time and also met the B standard when she took the 100 freestyle in 49.34, edging teammate Ela Noble by one one-hundredth of a second. Johnston also met the B standard.

Princeton had four of the top seven in the 200 backstroke, as runner-up McDonald and third-place finisher Sun bettered the B standard. Grace Black (fifth) and Sabrina Johnston (seventh) also scored points in the final

Princeton finished the meet by taking the 400 free relay with Johnston, Noble, Veronique Rossouw and Marquardt.

Princeton's next dual meet will be Jan. 12-13 in South Bend, Ind., against Notre Dame and Navy.