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[Deandra Uleman]

Thatwas the question that veteran head coach Susan Teeter faced upon returning from the 2008 NCAA championships, where she took seven Princeton swimmers for the exclamation point on her 13th Ivy title. Never one to shy from a challenge, Teeter brought in a recruiting class ranked 14th nationally by CollegeSwimming.com.

Adding those talented newcomers to a championship foundation like the one currently at DeNunzio Pool doesn't guarantee a title. It will take hard work and dedication, championship experience and youthful exuberance. It will take both physical and mental health, as well as support from teammates and coaches and a willingness to go that one extra mile.

These are the qualities that have been present at Princeton during this current streak of eight Ivy League titles in nine years. It isn't easy, but when you are the hunted, it's the reality of the situation.

Of course, it doesn't hurt either. Princeton, which opens its 2008-09 season this Saturday at the Rutgers Invitational, has its sights set on a 19th Ivy League title, a ninth in 10 seasons and a fourth straight overall. The league will be challenging once again, especially with another strong Harvard squad and several rising programs in the league, but that is the kind of challenge that Teeter and her talented competitors have thrived on in past seasons.

FREESTYLE

Senior co-captain Justina DiFazio has been one of the fastest free swimmers throughout her career, and there is no reason to expect anything different in her final year. She is a multiple-time Ivy champion with wins in both the 100 and 200, and she was part of the 2008 All-America 800 relay team. DiFazio had top-three finishes last year in both the 50, 100 and 200 at the Ivy Championships.

Sophomores Megan Waters and Emily Trautner proved to be talented sprinters during their first championship weekend last year. Waters placed sixth in the 50, while Trautner placed seventh in both the 50 and 100, and both were part of the 200 free relay team. An improvement in both could lead to top-five finishes in the Ivy League this year.

A trio of freshmen to watch are Jillian Altenburger, Kerry Gruendel and Aislinn Smalling, all of whom produced Olympic Trials cuts as high school seniors. Gruendel set the Greenwich High School record in the 50 free, while Altenburger and Smalling have produced strong 200 times.

The top distance swimmer in the league is junior Alicia Aemisegger, even though those aren't her best events. Aemisegger is the reigning 500, 1000 and 1650 Ivy League champion, and she won both the 500 and 1000 at the 2007 league meet. Aemisegger earned All-America honors in both the 500 and 1650 last year; she also set league records in both and became the first Ivy swimmer to break the 16-minute mark in the 1650. The two-time defending Ivy League Championships Swimmer of the Meet, Aemisegger is on her way to one of the greatest careers in league history.

Sophomore Nicole McAndrew improved greatly during the season and posted top-six finishes at the Ivy Championships in the 500, 1000 and 1650 last year. McAndrew was a seven-time All-America in high school and could fill the shoes of 2008 graduate Ellen Gray, a distance specialist. Sophomore Ming Ong is another distance swimmer who made an impact at the Ivy Championships last year.

BACKSTROKE

Junior Courtney Kilkuts leads this group after claiming the 2008 Ivy League 100 breast title. She has never finished worse than fourth in either the 100 or 200 breast at the conference meet and is one of the best pure racers on the squad. Kilkuts can also build on the experience of reaching her first NCAA championships last season, which came in the 200 IM.

The only other championship final qualifier for Princeton last year is graduate Lisa Hamming, so Teeter will look for quality from her incoming freshmen. Baran qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 200 breast, while both Altenburger and Gruendel are strong in this stroke. Much like Monroe provided in the back last year, Teeter will be hoping for at least one freshman to jump into the league elite by the conference meet.

Senior Monika Friedman might have been Princeton's breakout star of the 2008 Ivy League Championships. She swept the 100 and 200, including a thrilling finish in the latter, and qualified for the NCAA championships in the 200. Friedman, a 2007 runner-up in the 200, will be one of the seniors looking to complete a four-championship career with Princeton, and her performance at the upcoming Ivy championships will play a major role.

Trautner picked up a third-place finish in the 100, and incoming freshmen Leslie Bargmann and Erin McGowan Kiernan both excelled in the event. DiFazio is also an option in this stroke; she swam the fly for the 200 and 400 medley relay teams at each of the last three conference meets.

Kilkuts is the two-time Ivy League champion in the 200 IM and will enter the 2008-09 season as the favorite. She owns the Princeton record in the event, which she set at the 2007 Big Al Open to qualify for her first NCAA championship meet. Kilkuts' winning time last year was more than 2.5 seconds faster than any returning swimmer in the league, so she will again be favored to defend her title.

The IM could possibly be where Teeter gets the most production from her freshman class. Altenburger posted an Olympic Trial cut in the 200 IM and has Top-20 times in her age range in both the 200 and 400 IM. Baran is a four-time All-America honoree in the 200 IM, and both Gruendel and Smalling are excellent 200 performers. Princeton has had two of the top three 200 IM finishers in each of the last five years, and Teeter believes Princeton can match the effort once again.

Of course, that doesn't even factor the premier IM swimmer in the league and one of the best in the nation. Aemisegger reached the U.S. Olympic Trial final in the 400 IM and barely missed a spot in the 200 IM final. She hasn't swam in either IM event at the Ivy League championships because of Princeton's strength in both events, but she was the 2007 NCAA silver medalist in the 400 IM. If called upon to swim that event, Aemisegger would be the clear favorite for an Ivy League title.

Regardless, she could challenge for Princeton's first NCAA title in the 400 IM in 2009.

DIVING

Coach Greg Gunn has helped develop a deep and talented group of divers that has consistently produced in the league meet, and the 2008-09 squad should be another strong one that can score big points when the Ivy League championship is up for grabs.

The lineup starts with senior Katie Giarra, who was named the 2007 Ivy League Championships Diver of the Meet after winning both the 1- and 3-meter competitions. Injury cost her much of the 2008 season, but she returned in time to post second-place finishes in both events last year. If she stays healthy, she'll once again be a formidable challenger on both boards.

While Giarra holds the 1-meter championship record, the 3-meter record belongs to classmate Peggy Kearns, who set it in 2006. Kearns, who advanced to the 2006 NCAA championships in the platform competition, placed fourth on the 1-meter board last year and will set up a strong 1-2 punch with Giarra.

Sophomore Carolyn Littlefield posted a sixth-place finish on the 3-meter board last year and will look to improve on that. She could replace the consistent Charlotte Jones, who reached the finals on both boards during her senior year. Senior Shelby Rudd was also a double finalist in 2006 and will look to reach that level once again.

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