Swimming & Diving: Last year’s Ivy champs start afresh

Last season, it all came down to Columbia.

Coming into the last race of the Ivy League championship meet, the men’s swimming and diving team led Harvard by only 7.5 points, making it any team’s championship.

Harvard beat Princeton in the 400-meter freestyle relay. But Columbia beat both, so the Crimson could not catch the Tigers’ score, giving Princeton its third-straight Ivy League championship in one of the most exciting finishes the championship meet has seen.

This year the men’s and women’s teams are looking forward to building on their successes from last season, as the women also won their 10th league title in the past 12 years. However, both teams have some hard work ahead to continue their tradition. The Tigers lost many strong swimmers to graduation and are looking to their freshman class to step up to the challenge.

“Our freshman class this year is exceptionally fast in the pool,” senior tri-captain Colin Cordes said. “They have already demonstrated themselves to be some of the fastest and hardest workers on our team, and they will prove to be a key in our success this season, especially at the Ivy League championships in March.”

Senior co-captain Meredith Monroe also has high hopes for the freshman women to add energy and speed to the team. “We are so excited the freshman girls are a part of our team,” she said. “They bring in so much infectious energy, excitement and spirit that spreads to the rest of us. They have come in and fit in well with our team dynamic and training schedule. We can only hope they continue to develop into stronger swimmers not only this year, but in the future as well.”

Training for the winter season has already begun, as the teams spent Fall Break in Florida for their annual trip.

“We just got back from our Fall Break training trip in Florida, and we’re looking to continue our hard work into our upcoming swim meets where we will have the chance to prove ourselves as the top Ivy League swim team,” Cordes said. “This will also be the time for the freshmen to step up to their first college swim meet and exhibit their talents.”

The Tigers also had a powerful showing this summer, with 11 current swimmers and one alumnus earning a spot for Olympic trials at national competitions. Two women, freshman Courtney Ciardiello and sophomore Lisa Boyce, earned Olympic cut times in two events each. Boyce will have trials for the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke, while Ciardiello will compete for the 100-meter fly and 200-meter backstroke. Megan Waters ’11 earned a cut in the 50-meter freestyle.

Nine men have earned Olympic trial cut times, including Cordes; junior Will Lawley; sophomores Paul Nolle, Daniel Hasler and Eric Materniak; and freshmen Oliver Bennett, Conner Maher, Caleb Tuten and Harrison Wagner.

“I’m really excited to compete this summer at the Olympic Trials — representing Princeton at one of the fastest meets in the world is a great way to finish my Princeton career,” Cordes said.

The women’s team will have to fill the void of last year’s stellar freshman Andrea Kropp, who unenrolled from Princeton and plans to transfer to the University of Southern California in the spring. There, she will have more opportunities to train on a high-performance level and will compete in the Olympic trials for the 100-meter and 200-meter breastroke.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The Tigers are facing many critical and exciting meets this season, beginning with the Princeton Open this Friday at DeNunzio Pool. According to Cordes, two of the toughest meets for the men will be the dual meet against Navy in January and the tri-dual meet against Harvard and Yale in February.

Monroe is looking forward to the Big AI Invitational in December, as it “is a good indicator of where we are in the season.” The women are also excited for the Harvard and Yale tri-dual meet because it is the final meet of the season and the last meet for the entire team to swim together.

With strong seasons to guide them, the Tigers are in the mindset that hard work and training will bring them out on top again.

“Every year, the Ivy League gets faster, and every year we have to adjust,” said Monroe. “We just need to focus on the team, focus on our training and focus on what we can do better. This year nothing is a given, and every team is fighting for that top spot.”