Princeton swimmer leads the Tiger charge

If there is one swimmer to watch at the Ivy League Championships this weekend, it is Princeton’s all-star captain, Alicia Aemisegger. Arguably the best women’s swimmer to ever grace the pools of the Ivy League, Aemisegger currently holds the fastest time of all Division I athletes in the 1000 free by over six seconds while also ranking 5th in the 400IM, 6th in the 500 free, and placing in the top 20 in the 1650 free and 200 IM events.

At the Ivy League Championship last year, Aemissegger was named “Swimmer of the Meet” for the third year in a row and earned First Team All-Ivy honors by achieving the fastest time in six events, taking the top spot in three individual competitions and helping three Princeton relay teams to finish first as well.

Aemisegger currently holds the all time Ivy League record in three individual events, is a member of two record-holding relays, and is tied for 5th in the record for most Ivy League Championship titles awarded in a career. At this, her last Ivy League Championship, Aemisegger will have one more chance to leave her legacy in the Ancient Eight.

“Alicia has a unique ability to be able to physically handle enormous amounts of yardage at a very intense pace,” remarked Princeton’s head coach Susan Teeter. “She is extremely efficient in the water and the two combined with her competitive spirit make her an extraordinary athlete.”

Aemisegger was setting records and raking in accolades before she ever became a Division I athlete. In high school, she was marked as one of the top recruits in the nation, having qualified for U.S. nationals as a freshman and having come within .03 seconds of making the national team in the 400 IM that same year.

At the start of her college career, Aemisegger made an immediate impact on Princeton’s team, performing better than any swimmer in the history of Princeton swimming at the NCAA tournament her freshman year. At the meet, she placed second in the 400 IM, third in the 500 free, and reached the consolation finals in the 200 breast. As a freshman, Aemisegger set six individual records for the Tigers and combined with her 800-free relay team to set a seventh. During her first year, Aemisegger was also named one of Collegeswimming.com’s Mid-Major Swimmers of the Year and was selected for the Mid-Major All-America team.

As a sophomore in the 2008 season, Alicia was selected to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and proceeded to the finals in the 400IM. By the 2008 season, she had claimed seven All-American honors in her first two years as a Tiger, and entering her final season as a senior, she boasts a total of 10.

Out of all her accolades, there is one that stands out among the rest. “I would have to say that her cumulative success that allowed her to be named Princeton’s Athlete of the Decade would be her greatest accomplishment,” Teeter said. “It’s something that I don’t think any athlete ever goes to college thinking they will accomplish, so the honor is just humbling.”

The 2010 season marks Teeter’s 26th season as head coach for the lady Tigers. During her career, she has led the women’s swimming and diving team to 13 Ivy League Championships, taking three championship wins in the past five years and eight in the past 10. Aemisegger is arguably the greatest swimmer Teeter has coached in all her seasons at Princeton, and is likely one of the most accomplished female athletes to have ever competed for the university in any sport.

At the end of regular season this year, Princeton’s team finished at the top of the Ivy League, boasting a perfect record of 7-0. Going into the Ivy League Championships this weekend, Aemisegger and the Tigers will look to reclaim the Ivy League title from last year’s winner, Harvard, who scored 1583.5 points in the meet, while Princeton fell short, placing second with 1334.

It will be a bittersweet meet for Alicia, who will strive to top her own individual records as she swims in her final Ivy League competition before she moves on to dominate in the NCAA tournament and beyond.