Dec. 10, 2006
Final Stats
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Victories in 10 events helped propel the Navy men's swimming and diving team to a 165-135 victory over Princeton, Sunday afternoon in Lejeune Hall. The win, the first for the Mids over the Tigers in over 40 years, improved Navy's record on the year to 11-0, while Princeton, the 2006 Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League champion, dropped to 3-3 on the campaign.
"The key to today's win was that everyone played their role and did what they were capable of," said Navy head coach Bill Roberts. "Whether it was winning an event or providing key second, third or fourth-place finishes, everyone did what we wanted them to do. As a result, the points started to add up for us."
The Mids jumped out to an early 13-4 lead after winning and placing third in the opening 200 medley relay, but the score was tied at 18-18 following the first individual event of the meet, the 800 freestyle. Navy would respond by winning seven of the next nine events to jump out to a 125-82 advantage.
The Navy run started when Christopher Jenkins (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) held off Jon Hartmann to win the 200 freestyle event by three-hundredths of a second. Kevin Mukri (Sr., Silver Spring, Md.) next won the 100 backstroke for the Mids, then Kevin Kysiak (Jr., Western Springs, Ill.), Ari Molina (So., Arlington, Va.) and John Kennedy (Sr., Richmond, Va.) placed 1-2-3 for the Navy in the 100 breaststroke.
The Tigers placed first and second in the 200 fly to narrow the margin down to 12 points at 62-50, but Alex Oldenkamp (So., Coppell, Texas) won the 50 free and Kevin Teague (Sr., Lexington, Ky.) won the one-meter diving event to boost the Navy lead to a more comfortable 89-61.
After Jenkins was edged by five-hundredths of a second in the 100 free by Mike Carter, Mukri posted his second victory of the day, winning the 200 backstroke by three seconds over teammate Billy Vey (So., Huntersville, N.C.), then the Navy trio of Adam Meyer (Fr., Bethesda, Md.), Andrew Utama (Fr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Kennedy placed first, second and third, respectively, in the 200 breaststroke.
The Tigers would win the next two events, the 400 free and the 100 fly, before the individual event portion of the meet was closed with Teague winning the three-meter diving event and Meyer winning the 200 individual medley race.
"The opening relay event really set the tone for the day," said Roberts. "We saw very strong swims from not just our winning team, but also from the foursome who placed third. Additionally, our breaststrokers and divers were very instrumental in us coming out of here with the victory."
The last time Navy defeated Princeton in a dual meet was Feb. 13, 1965.
"Princeton is a fabulous team," said Roberts. "When we reach the end of the season, they will be the team to beat at the league championship."
Navy will now take a break from its season for exams and the holidays before returning to competition Jan. 6 at Harvard.
