(Information on this weekend's Big Al Open, including a link for the live video, can be found at the bottom of this preview.)
Senior Carter Stephens stood exactly where this talented
group of freshman currently stands. As a freshman, Stephens came into a team
that had just suffered defeat at the Ivy League Championships, and it had no
interest in making that a trend.
Back then, the senior leadership from Alicia Aemisegger and
Courtney Kilkuts helped push the Tigers back atop the league for their 19th
of 20 Ivy League championships. Stephens realized immediately that her class
would be counted on, and she is making sure the current freshman class
understands the same.
It doesn't hurt that this particular freshman class was
ranked in the Top 20 nationally by CollegeSwimming.com, and it follows a
now-sophomore class that was also highly touted.
Princeton knows that it is now chasing a loaded Harvard
squad, but when the Ivy League Championships roll around (Feb. 28-Mar. 2), they
will be returning to the friendly confines of DeNunzio Pool. In fact, starting
with Big Al this weekend, Princeton will host three of its biggest weekends at
DeNunzio (Big Al, H-Y-P and the Ivy League Championships).
Anybody who has ever competed for the Orange and Black at
DeNunzio knows just how meaningful that can be.
And head coach Susan Teeter and assistant Suzanne Yee are
particularly excited to see just how meaningful it will be to this Class of
2016.
One class won't return Princeton to the top of the league,
but Teeter likes both the depth and competitiveness from this team. Starting
this weekend, she is hoping the Princeton faithful will feel the same.
SPRINTS
While there will be plenty of new names playing key roles
for the Princeton women's swimming and diving team, one very familiar returning
name belongs to Lisa Boyce. The 2012 Ivy League Championships High Point
Scorer, Boyce swept both the 50 and 100 free, and she competed in both at the
NCAA Championships. Boyce was an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100 free (as
well as the 100 back), and she earned the Team MVP last year.
Boyce has been one of the young stars for Princeton over the
last two years, but she will likely be the veteran for the sprint corps this
year. Three freshmen could be joining her in both relays and, ideally, Ivy
finals this season. Elizabeth McDonald is a two-time Connecticut state champion
in both the 50 free and 100 free, and she is a two-time Summer Junior Nationals
qualifier.
Megan Lydzinski is also a state champion, though her titles
came far closer to home. A three-time New Jersey state champion (two in the
100, one in the 50), Lydzinski is a three-time qualifier for the USA Swimming
Long Course Junior Nationals.
Both McDonald and Lydzinski have top times that would
immediately qualify for the All-Time Princeton Top 10. Lydzinski's best 50 time
of 22.99 would fall behind only Megan Waters '11 and Boyce, while McDonald's
50.39 in the 100 would be seventh best.
Maylin Meisenheimer would also have a Top-10 time in the 50.
She won the Texas 5A state championship in the event last year, and is a
multiple-time qualifier for Nationals.
Stephens, a senior co-captain, isn't exactly ready to give
away her spot in the sprints. The fly specialist was an 'A' final qualifier in
the 50 at last year's Ivy League Championships.
MID/DISTANCE FREE
Senior Jillian Altenburger has Princeton's third-fastest
time in the 200 free and is a former Ivy League individual champion in the
event. She will be looking to cap her career with another title in the 200.
Sophomore Damaris Iriondo and senior Maureen McCotter were
Princeton's top distance swimmers last year. Iriondo finished fifth in the
mile, 10th in the 500 and 11th in the 1000, and she will
be looking to move up in all three. McCotter's best finish came in the 1000
(fifth), though she also had a Top 10 finish in the mile.
Freshman India Boland is her club record holder in both the 1000
and the mile, and her best times in both would qualify for the Princeton Top
10. If she can drop even more, she could be a big factor in those two events at
the Ivy Championships.
BACK
Boyce is the reigning Ivy League champion in the 100 back,
and she holds the Princeton record in the event (52.96). Boyce reached the
Olympic Trials in the 100 back, and she placed 16th in the event at
the U.S. Open Championships this past summer. With the depth of young sprinters
on the team, Boyce will likely remain as the starting leg on the medley relay.
Freshman Sada Stewart moved into the Princeton Top 10 during
the team's Black & Orange scrimmage, and she was the highest-ranked
individual for Princeton in the CollegeSwimming.com recruiting rankings. Also
an IM specialist, Stewart has been invited to both USA Senior and Junior
Nationals, and could team with Boyce for a dominant duo in the 100 back.
Sophomore Shirley Wang reached both the 100 and 200 back
finals at the Ivy Championships last year, and she finished in the top five in
the 200. Classmate Courtney Ciardiello also made the 'A' final in the 200,
where she finished eighth, but she followed up with an Olympic Trials cut in
the event.
FLY
Stephens has made every individual Ivy League final in the
fly events throughout her Princeton career, and she has finished each between
second and sixth. While a team championship is priority number one for this
co-captain (along with Kathy Qu), it would be particularly sweet to come with
her first individual crown. Stephens finished third in the 100 and fifth in the
200 last year, and she has Top-3 Princeton times in both events.
Knowing they only had one year left with Stephens, the
Princeton coaches made sure to load up on talented freshmen in this stroke.
Morgan Karetnick, a Top-90 recruit by CollegeSwimming.com, qualified for the
Olympic Trials in the 100 fly, and her best time would immediately move into
the Princeton Top 6 in both the 100 and 200. Nikki Larson was named the
Minnesota Athlete of the Year and is a five-time state champion, while Beverly
Nguyen is the only freshman with a sub-2:00 time in the 200. Nguyen competed at
both Junior and Senior Nationals before coming to Princeton.
BREAST
Princeton will be hoping for the most significant
improvement in the breast events after missing out on both 'A' finals at the
Ivy Championships last year. Sophomores Emily Yu and Cara Slear are both
candidates to make a big jump; each made the 'B' final in both events last
year. Yu placed a Princeton-best 13th in the 100, while Slear took
12th in the 200.
Senior Sarah Furgatch is an experienced competitor in the
events, and she is a former finalist in both the 100 and 200. Freshman Mallory
Remick, a former qualifier for both Summer and Winter Nationals, will also
bolster the group.
IM
Stewart won the YMCA national championship in the 200 IM,
and she brings 200 and 400 times that would qualify for the all-time Top 5 at
Princeton. She could immediately factor in the Ivy Championship in both events
and help make up for the loss of 2011-12 co-captain Kerry Gruendel, similar to
how she will make up for the loss of other co-captain Meredith Monroe in the
back.
Ngyuen is also a strong IM performer, and she owns her high
school record in the 200. Larson is an eight-time All-America, and Slear
finished just outside the Top 10 in both events at the 2012 Ivy League
Championships.
DIVING
The junior duo of Rachel Zambrowicz and Randy Brown made
both 'A' finals at the 2012 Ivy League Championships, and Zambrowicz was the
2011 Ivy League Championships Diver of the Meet. Seniors went 1-2-3 in the
1-meter and 1-2 in the 3-meter last year, so both have an opportunity to rise
to the top of the podium this year.
Freshmen Alice Eltvedt and Helen Zitkovsky will both be
competing for spots on the conference team, though recent history says to watch
out for seniors at the Ivy Championships. After winning performances the last
two years by Carolyn Littlefield (2011) and Christina Kirkwood (2012), there is
plenty reason for optimism for the likes of Courtney Fieldman, Katelyn Perry
and Bryna Tsai.
The 2012-13 Big Al Open will begin Friday night at 6 pm, and will
include sessions at 9 am and 2 pm on Saturday. Joining Princeton at its
annual early-season meet will be Fordham, Georgetown, Lehigh and TCNJ.
You can watch all three sessions (subscription required) by clicking here.
The schedule of events can be found below:
Friday 6 pm
Women’s / Men’s 200 Free Relay
Women’s / Men’s 500 Free
Women’s / Men’s 200 IM
Women’s / Men’s 50 Free
break
Women’s / Men’s 400 Medley Relay
Saturday 9 am
Women’s / Men’s 200 Medley Relay
Women’s / Men’s 400 IM
Women’s / Men’s 100 Fly
Women’s / Men’s 200 Free
Women’s / Men’s 100 Breast
Women’s / Men’s 100 Back
break
Women’s / Men’s 800 Free Relay
Saturday 2 pm
Women’s / Men’s 1650 Free
Women’s / Men’s 200 Back
Women’s / Men’s 100 Free
Women’s / Men’s 200 Breast
Women’s / Men’s 200 Fly
Women’s / Men’s 400 Free Relay
