Ranking the Classes: #5 (t) - Princeton

CollegeSwimming: “Hey Rob, can we get a comment about your top-five class?”

Rob Orr: “Five O’Clock Class? No, we’re not offering lessons at 5:00”

CollegeSwiming: “No, you’re recruiting class. It’s going to be ranked fifth.”

Rob Orr: “Out of what?  Six?  Four?”

That’s the Princeton head coach for you.  Part nutty professor, part genius, and now relentless recruiter?  Maybe not relentless, but successful certainly.  The Tigers, whose women scored big with Alicia Aemsiegger a couple of years back and hit it big with the additions of Travis McNamara and Colin Cordes.  Both are nearly NCAA-ready, but Princeton hit the trifecta when Brian Tay, who deferred admission to prepare for Beijing (where he’ll represent Singapore), came on board.  That gives Princeton three in the top thirty (one).  Tay will be joined by Charliey Wang and fellow Olympian (and rising-senior) Doug Lennox for one of the top butterfly lanes in the country.  After those four, the talent drops off a bit, but not the potential.  Breaststrokers Jon Christensen and Ryan Chiu, backstroker Robert Coe and flyer Adlai Pappy all have significantly weaker third events, but the quartet were all courted by top-ten programs. 

A rival coach’s perspective: “Great job by Coach Orr and his staff.  McNamara will be a player at the NCAA championships early in his career. Cordes is a big get for them.  He fills a need for the relay anchor position.”