On Tap with ... Colin Cordes

Senior tri-captain Colin Cordes of the men’s swimming team is a school record- holder and two-time Ivy League conference champion in the 200-meter backstroke. Cordes, an economics major, calls a spot 36 miles north of Chicago home. The ‘Prince’ recently sat down with Colin to learn more about the swimmer’s “Orange Team,” a hypothetical Cloister Inn gang battle and the fallout from the team’s hit video, “Get Better, Hasler.”

Q: Who is your professional athletic role model?

A: I’d have to say Michael Jordan. He’s from Chicago, and he’s one of the greatest athletes ever to play any sport. He’s a great guy.

Q: Where are you from, and what is it like there?

A: I’m from Glenview, Ill. It’s about 36 miles north of Chicago. It’s a pretty small town.

Q: What was your “welcome to college” moment?

A: Last month, when I got an email saying I have to start looking for thesis advisors and thesis topics.

Q: How far do you think you could swim without stopping?

A: I’d say about eight miles.

Q: What is the relationship between the swimmers and the divers on the team?

A: We get along pretty well. It’s a totally different sport, but I guess we both end up finishing our events in the water. Most I can do is probably a cannonball or maybe a front flip off a diving board, but we train together and we do hang out a lot. We have a good combined swimming and diving team.

Q: How many miles do you think you swim in one year?

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A: About 10 miles a day, 300 days a year, so probably around 3,000 miles.

Q: Michael Phelps: greatest athlete alive or pot-smoking hippie? Or both?

A: Probably both. A lot of the swimmers are known for hanging out around the beach in California, swimming and doing a lot of things they probably shouldn’t be doing. I guess Michael Phelps just got caught.

Q: What’s the strangest thing that’s ever happened during a race?

A: When I was younger, I got really nervous and thought I missed my race. I ended up jumping and swimming with the girls heat. I looked really ridiculous.

Q: It’s said that good swimmers become so used to the water that they become somewhat uncoordinated on land. Is it true?

A: Oh, yeah. My freshman year, I broke my elbow falling off my bike. Sophomore year, I broke my nose when I tripped and fell.

Q: If you didn’t swim, what sport would you play?

A: Probably club lacrosse. Junior Rory Loughran and I like to pick up sticks and play down on Poe Field on Friday afternoons when we don’t have practice.

Q: Who is the quirkiest member of the swim team?

A: Fuminum! It’s gotta be senior Adlai Pappy. He’s got that good-good.

Q: What’s the best thing about being an athlete at Princeton?

A: The great groupies who follow our team around. Getting the automatic bicker into Cloister is a good part of being a swimmer, too. All the athlete classes offered are great, too — I’ve really enjoyed those throughout my time here.

Q: What’s the worst thing about being an athlete at Princeton?

A: My freshman year, when we had to stay on campus over break. I lived in Forbes, on the fourth floor of the addition, and there was maybe one other person there in the whole building. It was basically like I was living in The Shining. I think I saw Jack Nicholson wandering around the hall at one point.

Q: Who would win in a no-holds-barred gang battle, the crew team — a rival affiliation in Cloister Inn — or the swim team?

A: I’d have to say the swim team. We’ve got some big guys — senior Mike Monovoukas practices mixed martial arts. We’ve got our defensive lineman, senior Charlie Wang. He’s 6 feet 2 inches tall and 260 pounds. I think we’d have a good shot.

Q: If push came to shove, would you rather have to race without a swimsuit or without goggles?

A: I’d have to go without a suit. It’s tough to swim without goggles, even if they’re foggy or filled with water.

Q: What has been your favorite class at Princeton so far?

A: ELE 102: New Eyes for the World: Hands-On Optical. It’s nicknamed Lasers. My friends and I really enjoyed it. Our midterm involved making a poster about moving lasers with mirrors. It’s a good class.

Q: Do you have any pre-race rituals?

A: Visualizing the race beforehand. During the season, we practice going the pace times. We try to get the feel beforehand and walk out how the race is going to go down.

Q: What’s the most embarrassing song on your iPod?

A: I have some good songs by Taylor Swift.

Q: Was there any fallout from “Get Better, Hasler”?

A: We made this YouTube video last year of Katy Perry’s “Firework,” and I was contacted to do some music videos out in Hollywood. They ended up giving the role to some guy named Justin Bieber. So anyway, I’m a big YouTube star. Listening to all that Katy Perry really got me into Taylor Swift.

Q: Tell me about the “Orange Team” and the “Black Team,” the swim team’s internal divisions.

A: It’s based on personality. The happy-go-lucky kids are on Orange. The more serious, emo kids are on Black. On Orange Team, we like to make love, make babies, sing, dance and hold hands. The Black Team is for all the not-cool kids who don’t want to have any fun. The Orange Team is just better.

Q: The swim team is known for having some good traditions. Can you tell me about one?

A: The cowbell cheer we do at the start of meets. Sophomore Daniel Hasler bangs the cowbell in a certain pattern, and we do a cheer in the pattern of the beat of the cowbell.

Q: If you were a T-shirt, what color would you be?

A: Not orange, black or white. I have too many of those already. I’d say neon green.