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The Princeton Tigers took the Frank Keefe Trophy at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and diving Championship in Princeton on Feb. 15-17, 2007. The top Ivy League performers in each individual event and the top Ivy League team in each relay event earn selection to the All-Ivy League swimming & diving first-team. The second Ivy finishers earn second team honors. The following earned their All-Ivy status at the 2007 Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championship:
FIRST TEAM
50y free — Meg Gill, Yale / Sr., Chester, Va.
100y free — Justina DiFazio, Princeton / Soph., Burlington, Ont.
200y free — Justina DiFazio, Princeton / Soph., Burlington, Ont.
500y free — Alicia Aemisegger, Princeton / Fr., Oreland, Pa.
1000y free — Alicia Aemisegger, Princeton / Fr., Oreland, Pa.
1650y free — Alexandra Clarke, Harvard / Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.
100y fly — Bridget O'Connor, Harvard / Jr., Scarsdale, N.Y.
200y fly — Noelle Bassi, Harvard / Sr., Franklin Lakes, N.J.
100y breast — Kelly Hannigan, Princeton / Sr., Greenwich, Conn.
200y breast — Alicia Aemisegger, Princeton / Fr., Oreland, Pa.
100y back — Moira McCloskey, Yale / Sr., Ventnor, N.J.
200y back — Lindsay Hart, Harvard / Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.
200y IM — Courtney Kilkuts, Princeton / Fr., Corona, Calif.
400y IM — Kelly Hannigan, Princeton / Sr., Greenwich, Conn.
One-meter diving — Katie Giarra, Princeton / Soph., Herndon, Va.
Three-meter diving — Katie Giarra, Princeton / Soph., Herndon, Va.
200y free relay — Yale, Andrea Clifford (Fr., Chattanooga, Tenn.), Moira McCloskey (Sr., Ventnor, N.J.), Alexis Mann (Soph., Ontario, Calif.), Meg Gill (Sr., Chester, Va.)
400y free relay — Yale, Jane Kim (Fr., Buena Park, Calif.), Alexis Mann (Soph., Ontario, Calif.), Moira McCloskey (Sr., Ventnor, N.J.), Meg Gill (Sr., Chester, Va.)
800y free relay — Princeton, Justina DiFazio (Soph., Burlington, Ont.), Lisa Hamming (Jr., Lake Forest, Ill.), Kelly Hannigan (Sr., Greenwich, Conn.), Alicia Aemisegger (Fr., Oreland, Pa.)
200y medley relay — Harvard, Lindsay Hart (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.), Jackie Pangilinan (Jr., Clifton, N.J.), Bridget O'Connor (Jr., Scarsdale, N.Y.), Amanda Slaight (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.)
400y medley relay — Harvard, Lindsay Hart (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.), Jackie Pangilinan (Jr., Clifton, N.J.), Bridget O'Connor (Jr., Scarsdale, N.Y.), Amanda Slaight (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.)
SECOND TEAM
50y free — Justina DiFazio, Princeton / Soph., Burlington, Ont.
100y free — Meg Gill, Yale / Sr., Chester, Va.
200y free — Jane Kim, Yale / Fr., Buena Park, Calif.
500y free — Alexandra Clarke, Harvard / Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.
1000y free — Alexandra Clarke, Harvard / Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.
1650y free — Ellen Gray, Princeton / Jr., Larchmont, N.Y.
100y fly — Meg Gill, Yale / Sr., Chester, Va.
200y fly — Monika Friedman, Princeton / Soph., Stanford, Calif.
100y breast — Jackie Pangilinan, Harvard / Jr., Clifton, N.J.
200y breast — Susan Kim, Yale / Fr., Rockville, Md.
100y back — Lindsay Hart, Harvard / Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.
200y back — Moira McCloskey, Yale / Sr., Ventnor, N.J.
200y IM — Lindsay Hart, Harvard / Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.
400y IM — Nicole Bassi, Harvard / Sr., Franklin Lakes, N.J.
One-meter diving — Samantha Papadakis, Harvard / Jr., Deerfield, Ill.
Three-meter diving — Michelle DeMond, Princeton / Sr., Potomac, Md.
200y free relay — Princeton, Sobenna George (Sr., St. Augustine's, Trinidad), Justina DiFazio (Soph., Burlington, Ont.), Kristin Arey (Sr., Charlotte, N.C.), Lisa Hamming (Jr., Lake Forest, Ill.)
400y free relay — Princeton, Lisa Hamming (Jr., Lake Forest, Ill.), Kristin Arey (Sr., Charlotte, N.C.), Sobenna George (Sr., St. Augustine's, Trinidad)), Alicia Aemisegger (Fr., Oreland, Pa.)
800y free relay — Harvard, Alexandra Clarke (Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.), Lindsay Hart (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.), Meaghan Colling (Jr., Monson, Mass.),Laurin Weisenthal (Sr., Huntington Beach, Calif.)
200y medley relay — Yale, Moira McCloskey (Sr., Ventnor, N.J.), Caroline Dowd (Jr., Weston, Mass.), Andrea Clifford (Fr., Chattanooga, Tenn.), Meg Gill (Sr., Chester, Va.)
400y medley relay — Yale, Moira McCloskey (Sr., Ventnor, N.J.), Susan Kim (Fr.., Rockville, Md.), Meg Gill (Sr., Chester, Va.), Jane Kim (Fr., Buena Park, Calif.)
The Princeton Tigers claimed the EISL Men's Swimming and Diving Championship in home waters at the DeNunzio Pool on Feb. 22-24, 2007. The top Ivy League performers in each individual event and the top Ivy League team in each relay event earn selection to the All-Ivy League swimming & diving first-team. The second Ivy finishers earn second team honors. The following earned their All-Ivy status at the 2007 EISL Men's Swimming and Diving Championship:
FIRST TEAM
50y free — Alex Righi, Yale / Soph., Phoenix, Ariz.
100y free — Alex Righi, Yale / Soph., Phoenix, Ariz.
200y free — Michael Smit, Cornell / Sr., Mount Sinai, N.Y.
500y free — Michael Smit, Cornell / Sr., Mount Sinai, N.Y. AND Wes Newman, Cornell / Soph., Chateauguay, Que.
1000y free — Samuel Wollner, Harvard / Jr., New York, N.Y.
1650y free — Samuel Wollner, Harvard / Jr., New York, N.Y.
100y fly — Doug Lennox, Princeton / Soph., Lake Forest, Ill.
200y fly — Michael Smit, Cornell / Sr., Mount Sinai, N.Y.
100y breast — David McKechnie, Cornell / Sr., Collingwood, Ont.
200y breast — David McKechnie, Cornell / Sr., Collingwood, Ont.
100y back — Alex Righi, Yale / Soph., Phoenix, Ariz.
200y back — Geoff Rathgeber, Harvard / Jr., Kensington, Conn.
200y IM — Geoff Rathgeber, Harvard / Jr., Kensington, Conn.
400y IM — Geoff Rathgeber, Harvard / Jr., Kensington, Conn.
One-meter diving — Luke Sanders, Harvard / Jr., Maryville, Ill.
Three-meter diving — Jeff Leichtenstein, Yale / Jr., Barrington, Ill.
200y free relay — Cornell, Michael Smit (Sr., Mount Sinai, N.Y.), David McKechnie (Sr., Collingwood, Ont.), Brad Gorter (Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Wesley Newman (Soph., Chateauguay, Que.)
400y free relay — Harvard, Pat Quinn (Jr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.), David Guernsey (Soph., Essex, Conn.), Bill Jones (Soph., Fremont, Mich.), Geoff Rathgeber (Jr., Kensington, Conn.)
800y free relay — Cornell, Wesley Newman (Soph., Chateauguay, Que.), David McKechnie (Sr., Collingwood, Ont.), Brad Gorter (Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Michael Smit (Sr., Mount Sinai, N.Y.)
200y medley relay — Cornell, Phil Baity (Soph., Greenwich, Conn.), David McKechie (Sr., Collingwood, Ont.), Jackson Wang (Soph., Delta, B.C.), Brad Gorter (Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa.)
400y medley relay — Cornell, Phil Baity (Soph., Greenwich, Conn.), David McKechie (Sr., Collingwood, Ont.), Michael Smit (Sr., Mount Sinai, N.Y.), Wesley Newman (Soph., Chateauguay, Que.)
SECOND TEAM
50y free — Pat Quinn, Harvard / Jr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.
100y free — Tobin White, Columbia / Sr., Mount Hermon, Calif.
200y free — Wes Newman, Cornell / Soph., Chateauguay, Que.
500y free — No second team
1000y free — Robert Griest, Princeton / Soph., Atlanta, Ga.
1650y free — Eric Lynch, Harvard / Soph., San Jose, Calif.
100y fly — Dan Jones, Harvard / Soph., Fremont, Mich.
200y fly — Meir Hasbani, Princeton / Sr., Willamette, Ill.
100y breast — Zachary Glassman, Columbia / Soph., Westmount, Ont.
200y breast — Michael Nelson, Columbia / Sr., Walnut Creek, Calif.
100y back — Phil Baity, Cornell / Soph., Greenwich, Conn.
200y back — Phil Baity, Cornell / Soph., Greenwich, Conn.
200y IM — Will Schaffer, Princeton / Soph., Wheaton, Ill.
400y IM — Meir Hasbani, Princeton / Sr., Willamette, Ill.
One-meter diving — Mike Papageorge, Princeton / Fr., Fairfax Station, Va.
Three-meter diving — Mike Papageorge, Princeton / Fr., Fairfax Station, Va.
200y free relay — Harvard, Geoff Rathgeber (Jr., Kensington, Conn.), David Guernsey (Soph., Essex, Conn.), Bill Jones (Soph., Fremont, Mich.), Pat Quinn (Jr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.)
400y free relay — Cornell, Wesley Newman (Soph., Chateauguay, Que.), Kevin Carey (Soph., Long Beach, N.Y.), Brad Gorter (Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Michael Smit (Sr., Mount Sinai, N.Y.)
800y free relay — Columbia, Kevin Wakefield (Soph., Malverne, N.Y.), Hyun Lee (Soph., Seoul, South Korea), John Dragelin (Soph., Vienna, Va.), Tobin White (Sr., Mount Hermon, Calif.)
200y medley relay — Yale, Alex Righi (Soph., Phoenix, Ariz.), Matt Sweitzer (Soph., New Canaan, Conn.), Chris Pool (Soph., Montgomery, Md.), Andrew Foss (Sr., Fairfax Station, Va.)
400y medley relay — Harvard, Jason Degnan-Rojeski (Sr., East Lansing, Mich.), Geoff Rathgeber (Jr., Kensington, Conn.), Dan Jones (Soph., Fremont, Mich.), Pat Quinn (Jr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.)
A week ago, it was the Women's program celebrating an Ivy League championship and we watched as Coach Susan Teeter joined her team in a celebratory dip to commemorate the occasion.
Tonight, it was C. Rob Orr's turn to do the same with the Princeton Men and the EISL championship as they put together a performance in front of the home crowd that saw a winning margin eventually rise to 184.5.
The final standings also created quite a stir as Yale rose to 3rd place in the overall by a grand total of 5 points over Columbia.
1. Princeton - 1405
2. Harvard - 1220 1/2
3. Yale - 1036
4. Columbia - 1031
5. Cornell - 963 1/2
6. Navy - 801 1/2
7. Brown - 624
8. Penn - 580 1/2
9. Dartmouth - 316
As for the individual awards ...
High-Point Scorers of the Meet (Moriarty Trophy) -
Geoff Rathgeber - Harvard
Alex Righi - Yale
HIgh-Point Diver of the Meet (Michael Trophy) -
Jeff Lichtenstein - Yale
High-Point Career Swimmer (Ulen Trophy) -
Mike Smit - Cornell
Jeff Lichtenstein ('08, Yale) ruined my bold prediction. I had predicted a major upset tonight and I was leaning toward the 3m diving competition as the mode to deliver the bold prediction. I thought that an unknown quantity, most notably freshman Mike Papageorge ('10, Princeton), would come out of nowhere to win the whole thing.
That is until I saw Jeff Lichtenstein dive in the finals.
Although Papageorge proved to the EISL competition that he belonged in the finals as a freshman, it was Lichtenstein that masterfully crafted a program chock full of difficulty and precision. His routine placed him comfortably in first place going into the last dive. However, Papageorge made it very interesting by hitting his final dive to high scores. His statement dive meant that Lichtenstein would need to not only choose a high degree of difficulty on his final dive, but also hit it.
And Lichtenstein did just that.
He selected a dive with a high degree of difficulty registering 3.5 and just narrowly missed nailing it with a slight rotation issue as he entered the water. However, he had certainly done enough to outscore Papageorge and win the competition, by a margin of 359.00 to 347.45.
Excellent spectacle, gentlemen.
Congratulations to Princeton on its victory. Take an 8-minute stroll through the land of EISL swimming by clicking below.
Mike Smit ('09, Cornell) also did his best to be put in the mix for the Swimmer of the Meet by staving off a furious challenge from the rest of the competition and winning in the oft undesirable Lane 2. Smit found himself in Lane 2 after qualifying in 3rd position during the preliminaries.
But in the final, his performance left absolutely no doubt that he was the swimmer to beat in the race. His 1:46.44 outdueled Meir Hasbani ('07, Princeton), the leading qualifier in the preliminaries, and his 1:47.04.
So add Mr. Smit as the 4th deserving candidate for the Swimmer of the Meet.
Ready for a 3rd name to the Swimmer of the Meet consideration?
Dave McKechnie ('07, Cornell).
McKechnie smoked the rest of the field to also remain undefeated in the overall competition as he led wire-to-wire in the 200 Breaststroke. His 2:00.18 held off a challenge from two Columbia swimmers and provided much needed points for the overall team competition that now looks much closer than Princeton (the leaders at that beginning of the day) would prefer.
Congratulations, Dave on a superb swim.
Alex Righi ('09, Yale): You are my new best friend.
You don't even know me, but we're officially best buds ... and it's not because you're parents gave you an equally awesome name to mine.
Nay.
The reason is because you made a smart man out of this fan. I made a bold prediction on a wing and a prayer, and you brought it to fruition. My words are now prophetic. Heck, I may even consider myself smart now.
You see, the other Alex did exactly what this Alex said he was going to do at 1:33 pm today: he was going to smash his own Meet and EISL records, and by virtue of his exploits, would destroy the existing Pool Record. Not only that, but he also beat his competition by a full second in the process.
Yes, that isn't a typo. A full second. Actually 1.11 seconds to be exact. His swim was flawless and now he owns every record in the discipline.
Oh, and while we're at it: go ahead and add Alex Righi to the growing list (2) of Swimmer of the Meet candidates.
Fantastic swim, Alex ...
... Your friend,
Nostradamus
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the first candidate for Swimmer of the Meet:
Geoff Rathgeber ('07, Harvard).
Ho-hum, another race ... another record. Just another day at the office.
Rathgeber led from the onset and was never troubled by the competition as he cruised to yet another victory at the EISL meet, lowering the pool record held by former Harvard swimmer, David Cromwell ('06), from 1:44.20 to 1:43.54.
Kevin Mukri ('07, Navy) was Rathgeber's closest competition, swimming a very respectable 1:45.62.
With the win, Harvard has begun to close the gap considerably with Princeton and now is within striking distance for the overall championship.
Samuel Wollner ('08, Harvard) outkicked teammate Eric Lynch ('09) in the first event of Saturday night: the 1650.
Wollner's heroics follow up on his win last night in a race that mimicked this win almost identically. Once again he waited until the end to make his move, and once again he successfully outkicked his competition in the final 25 yards.
His time of 15:15.37 was a Top 10 All-Time mark.
Congratulations Sam, way to make our collective hearts stop for a second night in a row!
I'm going to make five bold predictions for the nightcap of Day 3 as my normal teaser.
1. Alex Righi of Yale will break his own Meet and EISL record in the 100 Freestyle, and will subsequently smash the Pool record for the event.
2. There will be a major upset tonight that many will say "nobody can honestly say that they predicted that!" Well guess what, I predicted it. And when it happens, I'll gloat. :)
3. A longstanding record will fall tonight.
4. There will be a four worthy selections for the Swimmer of the Meet, but only Co-Swimmers of the Meet will be awarded.
5. I personally will not get out of the DeNunzio Pool before 10pm. And I have to be up at Harvard (roughly 4 hours and 49 minutes away) for a Fencing tournament tomorrow. Good times.
... Stay Tuned!
Upon completion of Day 2, the leaderboard looks as follows:
Coach C. Rob Orr's Princeton Tigers lead the overall competition going into the final day.
1. Princeton - 916
2. Harvard - 795 1/2
3. Cornell - 681 1/2
4. Columbia - 675
5. Yale - 674
6. Navy - 556 1/2
7. Brown - 441
8. Penn - 414 1/2
9. Dartmouth - 198
This just goes to show you how vital ALL of the points are as Princeton has stormed to the lead by virtue of 2nd-8th place showings. To put it in perspective, Princeton has only officially won 1 discipline, whereas Yale has taken home 2 event wins, Harvard has 4 event wins, and Cornell leads with a total of 6 event wins.
Will it be a Princeton sweep in 2007 in their home pool? Tomorrow will have the answer.
In what was easily the best race of the night, Cornell staved off a fantastic upset bid by Columbia University. Columbia gave everything they had in this race, and prior to the last exchange were actually leading.
Only a fantastic anchor leg by Mike Smit ('07) kept Columbia from staging a monumental upset. The team of Kevin Wakefield ('09), Hyun Lee ('09), John Dragelin ('09), and Tobin White ('07) battled the entire way, and by using exceptional speed and textbook turns, nearly stunned the crowd. To put it in perspective, and if you consider seeding times as valid measures of performance, then Columbia seemingly came out of nowhere to place 2nd.
But at the end of the day, it was Smit, combined with Wes Newman ('09), Dave McKechnie ('07) and Brad Gorter ('08) keeping Columbia and the rest of the teams at bay, to capture the full allotment of points.
We'll see you tomorrow!
Alex Righi ('09, Yale) held off a late challenge from Kevin Mukri ('07) of the Naval Academy to take the maximal points in the event that saw five (5) sub-50 second times registered. First place is certainly not a new experience for Righi, who has already won events this year and has been on the podium in year's past, but it should be noted that Mukri's race was the highest placement by an individual swimmer from the Naval Academy to this point.
The final 25 yards of Mukri's swim propelled him from 4th place up to 2nd place and saw his time of 48.61 only bettered by Righi's 48.01. He was closing the gap with Righi during every subsequent stroke.
All Cornell knows how to do is win. It is as simple as that. And Dave McKechnie ('07) added more proof of this unquestionable truth during a smashing performance in the 100 Breaststroke. McKechnie jumped out in front of the competition and coasted back home with a victory that was just as much awe-inspiring as it was ... for lack of a better word ... easy.
McKechnie crushed the competition in a signature race that saw him touch the wall a full 2.16 seconds faster than Zachary Glassman ('09), the second-place finisher from Columbia. His prowess in the pool also broke the meet and EISL records for the event.
Excellent swim, Dave, and congrats on the records!
DeNunzio's Pool is officially Mike Smit's ('07, Cornell) to own. Well at least in the 200 Free it is.
Although he was off the pace that he posted in the 2006 meet by .1 second, his 1:35.52 erased a pool record that has been in existence since 1:36.33. The original mark was held by Mike Kiedel of Harvard, who also owns the EISL record.
Smit is also making a very compelling case for another Swimmer of the Meet distinction. Not surprisingly, Smit and Geoff Rathgeber of Harvard were co-Swimmers of the Meet last year, and both appear poised to compete for the distinction again this year.
If there was ever a race that teams could possibly gain some valuable points on the leaders, Princeton ... this was that race. This was because Princeton only had 1 person represented, whereas challengers Harvard and Cornell sported 3 and 2 racers, respectively.
But if I may steal a horse racing reference: you've gotta have a horse in the race if you want to win.
And Princeton had a horse. Not to mention a very fast one.
Doug Lennox ('09) outlasted the competition in the 100 Butterfly to take home 1st place and 32 vital points in the team competition with a time of 47.94. Although Harvard benefitted the most from the swim, after taking 2nd, 3rd and 6th places, it was Lennox's performance that was the most significant. He did what he needed to do in order to keep Princeton with the most points possible.
Geoff Rathgeber ('08, Harvard) seems to only be getting more and more comfortable at the EISL competition. After rewriting the record books in the 200 IM on Thursday night, he went for the encore double on Friday night in the 400 IM. While he did not set any records during this swim, it was plain to see that he was on a different level than the rest of the competition. His final time of 3:47.59 was nearly 4 full seconds faster than his closest competition.
Unfortunately, Harvard's prospects for the team championship took yet another blow as a result of the final of the 400 IM. The reason for this was not from another disqualification, but arguably just as devastating: Princeton took 2nd-4th and 6th place in the competition and extended a lead which may prove to be insurmountable by the end of the night.
For nearly 990 yards, Robert Griest ('09, Princeton) was comfortably in control of the first Freestyle competition of Friday night's program.
Unfortunately, the race was the 1000 yards ... and the 10 yards in which Griest found himself in 2nd place were yards 991 through 1000. That was when Harvard junior, Sam Wollner, overtook him to reach the wall first.
Wollner was nestled in second position for most of the swim and waited for the optimal time to make his move, and based on the results, he chose the perfect time. His 9:06.36 bested Griest's effort of 9:06.61 and allowed for Harvard to regain some vital points that were lost as a result of the disqualification in the 200 Medley earlier in the night.
Sam Wollner (pictured) is joined by Ivy League swimming legend, Tony Corbisiero ('82, Yale), the presenter of the 1000 award.
