Women's Swimming & Diving: Tigers can’t outpace Crimson, finish 2nd

Overall, senior co-captain Meredith Monroe said that the women are proud of their performance at the meet. However, she said she thinks that some improvement could have come from relaxing more during the races.

“We do much better when we go out, have fun and stop worrying about the score or the pressure of competing at such a high level,” Monroe said.

Princeton started off the weekend strongly, ending the first day of competition only three points behind the Crimson. Sophomore Lisa Boyce and senior diver Christina Kirkwood each took home individual Ivy League titles on the first day. Boyce’s title in the 50-yard freestyle was her first of three for the weekend, and she achieved a pool record at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool. Kirkwood won the title in the 1-meter dive for the Tigers with 288.9 points.

To open the first day of competition, Boyce, senior Kerry Gruendel, freshman Sarah Liang and junior Carter Stephens swam for second place in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Gruendel went on to a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Stephens also earned a sixth place finish in the 50-yard free.

“After the first night, we were only three points behind, which was a lot closer than we were expecting, and I think that made us try a little too hard and over-swim some of our races the next day,” Boyce said.

On day two, the gap between Princeton and Harvard increased to 92 points as the Tigers remained in second place. Boyce took home another league title in the 100-yard backstroke race, which she also won at the championships last year. Two other Tigers finished in the top eight of the race, with freshman Shirley Wang in sixth and Monroe in seventh.

The day opened again with a second-place relay finish by the Tigers in 200-yard medley, swam by Boyce, Gruendel, Stephens and Monroe. Sophomore Maureen McCotter and senior Lauren Shanley then had fifth and sixth place finishes in the 1000-yard free. Stephens took third place in the 100-yard butterfly.

To finish out the weekend, Boyce earned her third league title for this season in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing the race in 49.13 seconds.

“I’m really happy with how I did this weekend,” Boyce said. “I went in trying to forget about the end result and just focus on racing and being in the moment, which was a great change for me. And then getting under 53 seconds in the 100 backstroke was probably one of the best moments of my individual swimming career.”

“I’m so happy with that swim,” she added. “And, as always, there are still plenty of things that I can improve on for next time.”

Freshman Reese Iriondo opened the third day with a fifth-place finish for Princeton in the 1650-yard free. Wang, freshman Courtney Ciardiello and Monroe then finished in the top 10 for the 200-yard backstroke.

Monroe believes that the team “did a fantastic job at cheering and getting behind each other for each and every race and dive. We went out and showed the league what kind of team we are.”

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

Boyce agreed that the team did an outstanding job of keeping morale and energy up throughout the weekend. “Everyone was cheering for each other and being incredibly supportive throughout all six sessions, which is completely representative of the family that we have here,” she said.

“We had some really great swims and lots of superb diving,” Monroe said. “Harvard had a very talented team this season, and their competition made this year’s championships a very exciting meet. Our team is now looking forward to building off what we have accomplished this year to become even better for next season.”

While this was the final meet of the season for the Tigers, they are ready to jump into preparation for next year. According to Monroe, the team starts spring training almost immediately. “We work all year-round for the Ivy Championships, not just during our official season,” she said. Additionally, a few Tigers will be competing at the Olympic Trials at the end of June.

As this was her last collegiate meet swimming with the Tigers, Monroe reflected on her experience this weekend and over the past four years. “I am happy with the effort and heart I gave all my races,” she said. “I left everything I had in the pool. I may not have gone the times I wanted, but the team helped me get through the meet. I could not have asked to be a part of a better group of women as I was this past weekend. I really appreciate all the support they have given me not only at my last meet, but throughout this entire season and my whole career.”