Women's Swimming Update - 1

2012-13 Ivy League Women's Swimming Top 10 Performances (through Dec. 18)

Photo courtesy Harvard Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Princeton and Harvard are off to strong starts as the first part of the season winds down for Ivy League women's swimming teams. 

The Tigers are 4-0 in dual meets, all of them coming against Ivy competition. Harvard is 3-0 against Ivies foes thus far to follow closely behind the Tigers. Brown is 3-1 overall and 1-1 in Ivy action, having lost to Princeton. 

The first CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Division I Ranking was released on Nov. 15, with Princeton No. 5 and Columbia at No. 6 in the poll on the women's side. The next set of CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Division I Rankings will be released shortly as this week was the post-invite submission deadline. 

Brown
The Bears (3-1, 1-1), finished third at their Brown Invitational in early December. Brown split dual meets with Princeton (L, 198-101) and Dartmouth (W, 166-134) as a part of that invitational. Briana Borgolini swam an NCAA B-standard time in the 100 breaststroke of 1:01.73, the second fastest time in the Ivy thus far this season and a Top 50 time in Division I. She also has a B-standard mark in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:14.41, tying her own school record. Brown returns to action on Jan. 5 when they visit Providence.  

Columbia 
Columbia (1-2, 1-2) closed out the first part of its schedule with a 159-140 win over Penn on Dec. 7. Katie Meili, who finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke at the AT&T Winter Nationals in Austin, Texas, has already logged four B-standard times this season. That fifth-place finish in Austin came in an Ivy-best mark of 59.64. That's also the ninth-fastest time in Division I this season. She has done similar in the 200 breaststroke, as well, with a B-standard time of 2:12.70 - close to two seconds better than anyone else in the League thus far and 33rd in Division I. Meili has the fastest 200 IM time, also, with a 1:57.42 - almost three seconds faster than anyone else in the League this year and good enough for B-standard. That's also the 13th-fastest mark in Division I this season. She has the second-best time in the Ivy this season in the 400 IM, clocking in at 4:16.62. Teammate Alena Kluge also is on the B-standard list for the 400 IM with a time of 4:19.01, which is fourth fastest in the League this year.  Columbia returns to action on Jan. 3 when it hosts Wagner. 

Cornell  
The Big Red won the Ithaca College Invitational before the holiday break. Cornell (0-4, 0-4 Ivy) hopes that will be a springboard heading into January after dropping Ivy meets against Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Princeton. Sarah Schlichte set a pool record at Ithaca in the 1650 with a time of 17:24.29. Freshman Jenna Immormino has gotten off to a good start this season with Ivy Top 10 times in the 50 and 100 freestyles. Her 50 freestyle time of 23.11 is the best among Ivy freshmen and fourth best in the League this season. Cornell returns to action Jan. 7 when it hosts Yale. 

Dartmouth
The Big Green (2-3, 1-3) finished fourth at the Brown Invite, while dropping a dual-scored meet to Brown in the process. Danielle Kerr has logged Ivy Top 10 times in the 500 and 1650 freestyle events. Freshman Charlotte Kamai has a Top 10 in the 100 free and freshman Emily Holt has a Top 10 in the 100 backstroke. At the Brown Invite, Erica Serpico finished second in the 1-meter diving with a score of 270.75. Dartmouth returns to action on Jan. 12 when it is in Philadelphia for a tri-meet with Yale and Penn.  

Harvard
The Crimson (3-0, 3-0) started their year with Ivy wins over Cornell, Dartmouth and Columbia before traveling south for the UGA Fall Invite. In Athens, the Crimson set seven school records and had four NCAA B-standards achieved. Sara Li has the top Ivy time in the 200 freestyle and a B-standard mark of 1:47.96. Freshman Sherry Liu has the top League time in the 500 freestyle this year with a B-standard time of 4:45.92. Another freshman Kendall Crawford already has two B-standard times in the 100 and 200 backstroke. Both her times of 54.20 and 1:56.16 are the best in the Ivy thus far this year. Courtney Otto has the top times with three B-standard qualifiers thus far in the 200 butterfly, 200 IM and 400 IM. Her 400 IM time of 4:10.55 is six seconds faster than the rest of the League so far and is the 19th-fastest time in Division I this season. Otto's 200 butterfly mark of 1:56.24 is seventh-fastest in Division I thus far this season. Harvard returns to action Jan. 11 when it visits Miami (Fla.). 

Penn
Despite three individual wins by Shelby Fortin, the Quakers (2-2, 1-2 Ivy) dropped a 159-140 decision against Columbia before hitting the semester break. Penn had just returned from Gambier, Ohio where it won the Total Performance Invitational. Fortin has the second best time in the Ivy this year in the 200 freestyle, 1000 freestyle and 1650 freestyle. She also has Top 10 times in the 100 freestyle and 200 backstroke, both of which broke school records. She's even been a part of a 400 freestyle relay team that set a new school record at TPI. Penn is back in action on Jan. 12 when it hosts Dartmouth and Yale in a tri-meet. 

Princeton
The Tigers sit atop the Ivy standings heading into January. Princeton (4-0, 4-0) recorded comfortable wins over Dartmouth and Brown as part of the Brown Invite. Lisa Boyce has already recorded four NCAA B-standard marks beginning with the 50 and 100 freestyle, which includes an Ivy-best 22.52 in the 50. That mark is also the 15th-fastest in Division I this season. Boyce also has a B-standard time in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke. She joins teammate Sada Stewart on the 100 backstroke list. Stewart, just a freshman, and teammate Shirley Wang have B-standard times in the 200 backstroke, as well. Beverly Nguyen, also a freshman, has a B-standard time in the 200 butterfly and the 400 IM. The Tigers return to action on Jan. 4 when they host Villanova. 

Yale
The Bulldogs (1-0, 1-0) have had a strong start to the season with a win over Columbia in a dual meet, a first place finish at the Boston University Invitational and a second place finish at the Brown Invitational. Alex Forrester had a solid start to her senior year, with four NCAA B-standard times already. Her mark of 22.61 in the 50 free is 22nd fastest in Division I thus far this year and second in the Ivy. Her 49.12 in the 100 free is a League best and is 24th fastest in Division I. Her 52.19 mark in the 100 butterfly is an Ivy-best and ranks fifth in Division I this year. And her 200 butterfly time of 1:56.99 is second in the league and is 14th-fastest in Division I this season. Meanwhile, in the distance swims, freshman Eva Fabian has the top marks in the League in both the 1000 and 1650 so far.  Her 1650 mark of 16:18.75 is also an NCAA B-standard time and, at 19th-fastest in Division I this season, is also 14 seconds faster than anyone else in the League thus far. Yale returns to action Jan. 7 when it visits Cornell.