NCAA Div. I Men: Princeton Holds A Narrow Lead After Day 1 of Annual “Battle of the Brains”

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 1. THE annual "Battle of the Brains" – formally entitled the Harvard-Yale-Princeton men's tri-meet – has defending Eastern Intercollegiate champ Princeton leading after 10 events on Day 1.

The meet, underway at Harvard's Blodgett Pool, site of the 1980 NCAA men's Division 1 Championship and the following year's USS spring Nationals (not to mention site of this season's men's Eastern Championships), has Harvard's men leading Yale, 154-31, but trailing Princeton, 97-89.

Princeton, defending women's and men's Eastern champ, leads Yale, 141-44. The meet continues with the final eight events beginning at 1PM Sunday afternoon.

Harvard junior John Cole turned in an impressive double, splashing to firsts in the 200 freestyle, the second event of the evening, with an NCAA "B" cut of 1:38.24; and then coming back a bit later to win the mile.

The Crimson next posted two of the top three finishes in the 100 backstroke, with David Cromwell first (49.89) and Dan Shevchik — defending conference 400 IM champ — third (50.56).

Princeton's Garth Fealey (55.04) was fastest in the 100 breast with Harvard's Rassan Grant and Mike Gentilucci finishing second and third (55.77 and 56.90 respectively).

Another Tiger – defending Eastern 200 fly champ Carl Hasssler – won, but only by the narrowest of margins. He edged Harvard's James Lawler by .01, 1:47.67-1:47.68. Third was Tiger junior Juan Valdivieso (1:47.95). He's a Peruvian native who reached the 200 fly semis of the World Championships a couple of years ago in Fukuoka and then was a finalist at that summer's U.S. Nationals in Clovis, then finished second to Hassler at last March's Easterns.

The Tigers' third individual title of the opening evening of competition came when senior Jesse Gage, defending Eastern 50 free-100 fly champ, won the half-century in 20.33. Gage has been the conference's dominant sprinter-flyer during his career at Princeton and is one of the most talented swimmers ever to wear the orange-and-black.

He's triple-defending Easterns champ (50-100 frees, 100 fly) and his fly win in 47.81 broke his 47.84 standard from the previous year. He lowered it still further at NCAAs (47.77, school- and confrence-record.)

Gage also played a key role in Princeton's pair of relay victories, leading off the 200 freestyle foursome that won in 1:20.84 (seventh nationally); and then anchoring the 400 medley, which roared home first in 3:18.05 (11th-best for 2002-'03).

Harvard's strongest events of the night were the 200 IM and the 1650 freestyle, as its swimmers posted the top three finishes in each race. Shevchik (1:50.76), Grant (1:52.12) and Gentilucci (1:52.75) swept the 200 IM. Then Cole splashed home first in the 1650 in a fine 15:05.84, followed by Andrew McConnell (15:36.47) and Billy Gray (15:37.65) to round out the top three.

Cole's time ranks him sixth nationally. He's the Crimson and Eastern record-holder in the 500-1650 frees with 4:16.81-14:39.71 clockings from last season's NCAAs, where in the latter he finished runner-up to USC's Erik Vendt. Cole's mile pr ranks him ninth on the all-time performers' list and is second-best among returnees.

Vendt's 14:42.97 from the Longhorn Invitational in Austin last December leads the nation.

HARVARD-YALE-PRINCETON MEN'S TRI-MEET

BLODGETT POOL

CAMBRIDGE. MA.

Feb. 1-2, 2003

25 YD. POOL

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Day One: Feb. 1, 2003

Event 1 Men 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
===============================================================================
School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Princeton 'A' 1:20.84
1) Gage, Jesse SR 2) Salerno, Mike JR
3) Bynum, Scott SO 4) Leahy, Jamie SR
2 Harvard 'A' 1:21.27
1) George, Kemi JR 2) Burnz, Brad JR
3) Krna, Andrew SO 4) Drake, Leif SR
3 Princeton 'B' 1:22.06
1) Reinhardt, Will FR 2) Schwartz, Adam SR
3) Stover, John FR 4) Yellin, Jeff JR
4 Yale 'A' 1:22.47
1) Lange, Aaron SR 2) Cocks, James SR
3) Veazey, Jimmy JR 4) Cooney, Jack JR
5 Harvard 'B' 1:22.93
1) Knepley, Mark FR 2) Langan, Nick SO
3) Budris, Kevin JR 4) Cocks, Bill FR
6 Princeton 'C' 1:24.28
1) Carroll, Brendan FR 2) Johnson, Chris JR
3) Carroll, Justin SR 4) Patterson, Geoff SO
7 Yale 'B' 1:24.88
1) Green, Adam SO 2) Hardy, Tom FR
3) Ellis, Hiro FR 4) Fuentes, Alberto JR
8 Yale 'C' 1:26.72
1) Lange, Dave SO 2) Hendrick, Cameron FR
3) Fitzgerald, Quinn SO 4) Kuczik, Casey SR
9 Princeton 'E' 1:36.44
1) Sabbatini, Peter SO 2) Martinez, Fermando SO
3) Hauser, Jerome SR 4) Ezzyat, Youssef SO
— Princeton 'D' X1:26.22
1) Fay, Jake SO 2) Miller, Brendan FR
3) Wong, Peter FR 4) Baccich, Thorn SO
— Yale 'D' X1:30.16
1) Lopez, Tom SO 2) Elder, Ben SR
3) Kelsey, Jeff SO 4) Elliott, Justin SO

Event 2 Men 200 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Cole, John JR Harvard 1:38.24
2 Hessler, Carl SR Princeton 1:38.67
3 Chiles, Justin SO Princeton 1:39.36
4 Cieslikiewicz, Jan SR Harvard 1:40.41
5 Lawler, James JR Harvard 1:41.26
6 Hanley, Ben SR Harvard 1:41.38
7 Bowman, Matt JR Yale 1:41.53
7 Walker, Cory SR Harvard 1:41.53
9 Fitzgerald, Quinn SO Yale 1:41.83
10 Knepley, Mark FR Harvard 1:41.91
10 Atkinson, John SO Yale 1:41.91
12 Shue, Brian FR Princeton 1:41.92
13 Gray, Billy FR Harvard 1:42.01
14 Yellin, Jeff JR Princeton 1:42.47
15 Clay, Will SO Princeton 1:42.64
16 Palumbo, Greg SR Yale 1:42.83
17 Persinger, John SR Harvard 1:43.53
18 Foster, Eric SR Princeton 1:44.21
19 Locke, Kieran FR Yale 1:44.57
20 Zingale, Brian SO Harvard 1:44.61
21 Aldrich, Matt JR Yale 1:45.69
22 Carey, Tim SR Yale 1:46.94
23 Bicalho, Victor FR Harvard 1:47.28
24 Budris, Kevin JR Harvard 1:47.46
— Cooney, Jack JR Yale X1:40.61
— Reinhardt, Will FR Princeton X1:43.05
— Salerno, Mike JR Princeton X1:44.59
— Patterson, Geoff SO Princeton X1:44.73
— Fuentes, Alberto JR Yale X1:48.09

Event 3 Men 100 Yard Backstroke
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Cromwell, David FR Harvard 49.89
2 Fleming, Steve JR Princeton 50.42
3 Shevchik, Dan SR Harvard 50.56
4 Donohue, Pat SR Princeton 50.59
5 Metcalf, Scott SO Harvard 50.63
6 Nash, Alex JR Yale 51.07
7 Stainthorpe, Ned SO Yale 51.52
8 Edell, Steve SR Yale 52.09
9 Cheng, Warren JR Princeton 52.16
9 Cooney, Jack JR Yale 52.16
11 Telleen, Karl SR Princeton 52.44
12 Fishman, Alan FR Princeton 52.59
13 Norberg, Stephen FR Harvard 53.10
14 Levin, Hanan JR Yale 53.18
15 Sisk, Geoff SR Princeton 55.12
16 Hodavance, Michael FR Princeton 55.22
17 Miller, Brendan FR Princeton 58.96
18 Elder, Ben SR Yale 59.13
— Heggi, Cole JR Yale X52.27
— Locke, Kieran FR Yale X54.47
— Carroll, Brendan FR Princeton X56.65

Event 4 Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Fealey, Garth SR Princeton 55.04
2 Grant, Rassan JR Harvard 55.77
3 Gentilucci, Mike SR Harvard 56.90
4 Delaney, Evan SO Princeton 57.02
5 Lin, Jonathan JR Harvard 57.22
6 Tillman, Jeremy SO Princeton 57.37
7 Hardy, Tom FR Yale 57.83
8 Johnson, Hallet JR Princeton 57.89
9 Siroky, Alexander SO Harvard 57.95
10 Cocks, Bill FR Harvard 58.34
10 Glass, Greg SO Princeton 58.34
12 O'Brady, Colin FR Yale 58.94
13 Fay, Jake SO Princeton 59.09
14 Mack, Joe SO Yale 59.34
15 Elliott, Justin SO Yale 59.79
16 Schotter, Rob SO Yale 1:00.05
17 Ezzyat, Youssef SO Princeton 1:05.21
18 Martinez, Fermando SO Princeton 1:05.22
— Lange, Aaron SR Yale X59.87
— Green, Adam SO Yale X1:01.61

Event 5 Men 200 Yard Butterfly
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Hessler, Carl SR Princeton 1:47.67
2 Lawler, James JR Harvard 1:47.68
3 Valdivieso, Juan JR Princeton 1:47.95
4 Walsh, Kevin SR Princeton 1:48.56
5 Veazey, Jimmy JR Yale 1:49.22
6 Smith, Ryan SO Harvard 1:49.70
7 Cole, John JR Harvard 1:50.07
8 Yarbrough, Chester JR Princeton 1:50.45
9 Knop, Travis FR Princeton 1:51.22
10 Kuczik, Casey SR Yale 1:51.62
11 Walker, Cory SR Harvard 1:51.73
12 Shue, Brian FR Princeton 1:52.13
13 Ellis, Hiro FR Yale 1:52.73
14 Erickson, Ryan JR Princeton 1:53.19
15 Kelsey, Jeff SO Yale 1:53.44
16 Weiner, Kevin JR Princeton 1:53.49
17 Lopez, Tom SO Yale 1:54.25
18 Dewey, Rick SR Harvard 1:54.34
— Fitzgerald, Quinn SO Yale X1:56.75

Event 6 Men 50 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Gage, Jesse SR Princeton 20.33
2 Reinhardt, Will FR Princeton 20.83
3 Drake, Leif SR Harvard 20.85
4 Leahy, Jamie SR Princeton 20.87
5 George, Kemi JR Harvard 20.88
6 Burnz, Brad JR Harvard 20.96
7 Lange, Aaron SR Yale 21.00
8 Salerno, Mike JR Princeton 21.14
9 Krna, Andrew SO Harvard 21.15
10 Stover, John FR Princeton 21.23
11 Bynum, Scott SO Princeton 21.24
12 Cocks, James SR Yale 21.27
13 Langan, Nick SO Harvard 21.29
13 Schwartz, Adam SR Princeton 21.29
15 Patterson, Geoff SO Princeton 21.43
16 Yellin, Jeff JR Princeton 21.48
17 Cieslikiewicz, Jan SR Harvard 21.51
18 Green, Adam SO Yale 21.59
19 Carroll, Justin SR Princeton 21.64
20 Budris, Kevin JR Harvard 21.83
21 Johnson, Chris JR Princeton 21.87
22 Fishman, Alan FR Princeton 22.04
23 Carroll, Brendan FR Princeton 22.06
24 Cheng, Warren JR Princeton 22.08
25 Fuentes, Alberto JR Yale 22.11
26 Hendrick, Cameron FR Yale 22.30
27 Telleen, Karl SR Princeton 22.40
28 Miller, Brendan FR Princeton 22.41
29 Sabbatini, Peter SO Princeton 22.90
30 Lange, Dave SO Yale 22.91
31 Bicalho, Victor FR Harvard 22.94
32 Wong, Peter FR Princeton 22.97
33 Elder, Ben SR Yale 23.70
34 Hauser, Jerome SR Princeton 24.09
— Veazey, Jimmy JR Yale X21.36
— Hardy, Tom FR Yale X21.56
— Cooney, Jack JR Yale X21.99
— Ellis, Hiro FR Yale X22.22
— O'Brady, Colin FR Yale X22.26

Event 7 Men 1 mtr Diving
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 DeMond, Kent SO Princeton 299.40
2 Roy, Ricky JR Harvard 273.75
3 Crahan, Tom JR Harvard 248.95
4 Lee, Nick SO Princeton 248.15
5 Shyong, Michael JR Princeton 241.40
6 Sullivan, Michael JR Princeton 239.70
7 Rybalko, Danil FR Harvard 234.95
8 Rohrbaugh, Michael JR Yale 215.75

Event 8 Men 200 Yard IM
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Shevchik, Dan SR Harvard 1:50.76
2 Grant, Rassan JR Harvard 1:52.12
3 Gentilucci, Mike SR Harvard 1:52.75
4 Yarbrough, Chester JR Princeton 1:53.29
5 Baccich, Thorn SO Princeton 1:53.32
6 Fleming, Steve JR Princeton 1:53.46
7 Johnson, Hallet JR Princeton 1:53.77
8 Bowman, Matt JR Yale 1:54.03
9 Edell, Steve SR Yale 1:54.80
10 Cremer, Paul SR Princeton 1:54.95
11 Siroky, Alexander SO Harvard 1:55.17
12 Glass, Greg SO Princeton 1:55.24
13 Tillman, Jeremy SO Princeton 1:55.31
14 Smith, Ryan SO Harvard 1:55.53
15 Dewey, Rick SR Harvard 1:55.56
16 Heggi, Cole JR Yale 1:55.91
17 Clay, Will SO Princeton 1:56.03
18 Persinger, John SR Harvard 1:56.41
19 Delaney, Evan SO Princeton 1:56.80
20 Norberg, Stephen FR Harvard 1:57.12
21 Lin, Jonathan JR Harvard 1:58.15
22 Hendrick, Cameron FR Yale 1:58.39
23 Lopez, Tom SO Yale 1:59.50
24 Elliott, Justin SO Yale 1:59.63
25 Hodavance, Michael FR Princeton 2:02.88
— Kuczik, Casey SR Yale X1:55.61
— Nash, Alex JR Yale X1:57.54
— Stainthorpe, Ned SO Yale X1:58.62
— Locke, Kieran FR Yale X2:00.44
— Schotter, Rob SO Yale X2:00.61
— Kelsey, Jeff SO Yale X2:00.90

Event 9 Men 1650 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Cole, John JR Harvard 15:05.84
2 McConnell, Andrew SR Harvard 15:36.47
3 Gray, Billy FR Harvard 15:37.65
4 Atkinson, John SO Yale 15:37.89
5 Ellis, Bryan SO Princeton 15:45.44
6 Palumbo, Greg SR Yale 15:45.78
7 Carey, Tim SR Yale 15:45.98
8 Cremer, Paul SR Princeton 15:48.22
9 Gremban, Pat SO Princeton 15:51.58
10 Valdivieso, Juan JR Princeton 15:55.03
11 Aldrich, Matt JR Yale 15:56.09
12 Hanley, Ben SR Harvard 16:01.81
13 Everman, Brendan FR Yale 16:03.45
14 Weiner, Kevin JR Princeton 16:05.96
15 Mardam-Bey, Sami FR Princeton 16:33.76

Event 10 Men 400 Yard Medley Relay
===============================================================================
School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Princeton 'A' 3:18.05
1) Fleming, Steve JR 2) Fealey, Garth SR
3) Hessler, Carl SR 4) Gage, Jesse SR
2 Harvard 'A' 3:19.76
1) Cromwell, David FR 2) Grant, Rassan JR
3) Lawler, James JR 4) Burnz, Brad JR
3 Princeton 'B' 3:21.91
1) Donohue, Pat SR 2) Delaney, Evan SO
3) Stover, John FR 4) Chiles, Justin SO
4 Harvard 'B' 3:22.66
1) Metcalf, Scott SO 2) Gentilucci, Mike SR
3) Smith, Ryan SO 4) Krna, Andrew SO
5 Yale 'A' 3:23.58
1) Nash, Alex JR 2) Hardy, Tom FR
3) Veazey, Jimmy JR 4) Cocks, James SR
6 Princeton 'C' 3:23.63
1) Walsh, Kevin SR 2) Johnson, Hallet JR
3) Knop, Travis FR 4) Salerno, Mike JR
7 Harvard 'C' 3:23.73
1) Shevchik, Dan SR 2) Lin, Jonathan JR
3) Cocks, Bill FR 4) Knepley, Mark FR
8 Yale 'B' 3:26.60
1) Stainthorpe, Ned SO 2) O'Brady, Colin FR
3) Kuczik, Casey SR 4) Lange, Aaron SR
9 Yale 'C' 3:28.90
1) Edell, Steve SR 2) Mack, Joe SO
3) Ellis, Hiro FR 4) Fuentes, Alberto JR
10 Harvard 'D' 3:31.26
1) Norberg, Stephen FR 2) Siroky, Alexander SO
3) Zingale, Brian SO 4) Budris, Kevin JR
11 Yale 'D' 3:32.63
1) Heggi, Cole JR 2) Elliott, Justin SO
3) Lopez, Tom SO 4) Green, Adam SO
— Princeton 'D' X3:27.01
1) Cheng, Warren JR 2) Tillman, Jeremy SO
3) Yellin, Jeff JR 4) Reinhardt, Will FR
— Princeton 'G' X3:37.18
1) Sisk, Geoff SR 2) Baccich, Thorn SO
3) Hauser, Jerome SR 4) Carroll, Justin SR
— Princeton 'F' X3:37.40
1) Hodavance, Michael FR 2) Fay, Jake SO
3) Wong, Peter FR 4) Schwartz, Adam SR
— Princeton 'E' XDQ
1) Telleen, Karl SR 2) Glass, Greg SO
3) Erickson, Ryan JR 4) Patterson, Geoff SO

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