Princeton Takes the Double

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

Rathgeber Owns Pool Record in 200 Back

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.

Rathgeber Takes Another Title

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.

Rathgeber's 200IM Romp; Record Smashed

Geoff Rathgeber ('08, Harvard) blasted his own existing Meet and EISL League records Thursday night by putting together a near flawless effort that saw him shave a large chunk of time. His existing records both stood at 1:46.11 and were set last year in front of his home fans. Now he can lay claim to 1:44.67 in the discipline.

His margin of victory, to further display the clinic he put on in the pool, was nearly 4 full seconds.

In addition, Rathgeber's heroics erased a pool record that was held previously by Andrew Thirlwell of the University of Tennessee (2006) that stood at 1:46.92.

"Good ol' Rocky Top! Ousted by a better Ivy!"