Cannon Trophy Meet – Princeton vs. Rutgers (W)
- November 16, 2024
- Piscataway, NJ
- 25 Yards (SCY)
- Score: Princeton, 176 def. Rutgers, 124
- Full Results
Sophomore Eleanor Sun set a Rutgers pool record to lead the Princeton women in their win over the Scarlet Knights. By Winning 176-124, the Tigers retain the Cannon Trophy, named in honor of the Princeton-Rutgers Cannon War—a feud between the two universities over ownership of two cannons left by the British Army in 1777. This is Princeton’s fourth-straight win in the Battle for the Cannon Trophy meet.
Sun, who qualified for the 2024 NCAAs as a freshman, earned three event wins—two individual, one relay—on the day. Her pool record came in the final event of the day, the 200 IM, as she clocked a 1:59.51 to undercut the former pool record, which Mary Pelton had held at 1:59.82 since 2018.
Sun also won the 200 backstroke (1:57.58), finished second in the 200 fly with an NCAA ‘B’ cut (1:58.83), and split 29.18 on the opening 200 medley relay win for the Tigers.
Despite losing by 52 points, there were plenty of positive takeaways from the meet for the Scarlet Knights. They earned four event wins, highlighted by sophomore Sofia Bartoloni and fifth-year Molly Urkiel going 1-2 in both breaststroke events. Bartoloni swam 1:02.29 in the 100 breaststroke to edge into Rutgers’ all-time top ten rankings in tenth. She improved her eighth-place ranking with her 200 breaststroke win, swimming a lifetime best 2:14.84.
Rutgers’ divers went 2-3 on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards and posted three new top-10 performances. Behind 2024 NCAA ‘B’ finalist Holly Prasanto’s 2nd place finish, freshman Bailee Sturgill scored 297.30 on the 1-meter board, moving into the rankings in eighth.
On 3-meter, Prasanto scored 338.03 points to move from eighth to fifth on the all-time list, while Sturgill improved on her Rutgers PR from the season-opener, scoring 327.38 to take over eighth in the rankings.
In addition to Bartoloni’s efforts, Rutgers got event wins from freshman Isabela Valle in the 1000 free (10:14.76) and junior Martyna Piesko in the 100 backstroke (55.09).
Princeton kicked into gear after Rutgers won three of the first five swimming events. Jenna Walters and Heidi Smithwick each won two events for the Tigers. Walters won the 100/200 freestyle (49.96/1:49.04), leading a Princeton podium sweep in the former. Smithwick, the defending Ivy League champion in the 200 fly and a 2024 NCAA qualifier, won the 200 fly and 500 freestyle. She won the 200 fly with an NCAA ‘B’ cut of 1:57.85, then clocked 4:54.10 to win the 500 free.
Princeton swept the podium in both sprint events. Before the break, junior Ela Noble led the charge in the 50 freestyle with a 22.89. Given their sprint depth compared to Rutgers, it was unsurprising to see the Tigers take the win in the 200 freestyle relay to end the meet. Noble (22.97), Nicole De Pree (23.24), Smithwick (22.98), and Veronique Rossouw (22.69) swam 1:31.88 for the win.
Other Event Winners:
- 200 medley relay: Princeton — 1:42.25
- 100 butterfly: Veronique Rossouw, Princeton — 54.64
- 1-meter diving: Charlotte Martinkus, Princeton — 304.95
- 3-meter diving: Charlotte Martinkus, Princeton — 346.35
