By Bill Alden

After making a solid debut for the Princeton High boys’ swimming team last winter, David Brophy is looking to take things to a higher level as a sophomore.

“I have been really working hard in the offseason, my freestyle has improved a lot,” said Brophy, who also competes for the PTAC (Princeton Tigers Aquatics Club) team. “I would say the biggest improvement for me is probably the 500 free and the 200 free.”

Last Wednesday against Robbinsville, Brophy showed that progress, placing first in the 500-yard free in a time of 5:11.21.

“I was trying to keep it steady, it was a good swim,” said Brophy. “I got a nice time off of it — I was really proud of myself.”

With PHS posting a 105-59 win over the Ravens to improve to 3-0, Brophy is proud of the squad’s efforts overall.

“The whole team has improved a lot because they have all been working hard in the offseason,” said Brophy. “That is great, we are going to keep it going.”

Helping the Tigers win the Mercer County championship meet, the Public B Central Jersey sectional title and advancing to the Public B state final on the way to a 14-1 record last season as a freshman, gave Brophy a great boost.

“It was definitely a confidence builder but it was also we need to do that again this year,” said Brophy.

Brophy draws confidence from competing with a sophomore class that includes such standouts as David Xu, Jaiden Xu, Daniel Guo, Tyler Cenci, Matias Da Costa, and Jaiden Jung.

“We all push each other to do better,” said Brophy. “We are all friends outside of school, we all hang out. We have got a really nice bond and it is really great.”

In addition, Brophy is pushed to greater heights by his older brother Marty, a senior standout for PHS cross country and wrestling.

“They are different worlds but you see what he does in the larger level,” said Brophy, who also plays baseball. “He is a senior so it is something that I have to live up to. Even if they are different sports, we still compare them in a way. I want to do similar things in my sports.”

PHS head coach Carly Misiewicz likes what Brophy has been doing this winter.

“David’s 500 was a nice, very easy controlled 500,” said Misiewicz. “That is what he and I were talking about.”

In the win over Robbinsville, Misiewicz got a lot of good swims as PHS victors included David Xu in the 100 and 200 free, Daniel Guo in the 200 individual medley, Daniel Baytin in the 50 free, and Elijah Meier in the 100 breaststroke.

“We are still able to have fun with things and just mix things up a little bit now, getting everyone in different events,” said Misiewicz. “Maybe they only have one event and a relay or two. I think to start the season off with our first three meets, it is good to be able to have that flexibility. We can experiment with some things and learn a little bit more about our freshmen and newcomers and even our vets.”

With the Tigers having a meet against Hopewell Valley at the Pennington School on December 22 before going on holiday break, Misiewicz knows that things will get tougher in January.

“Coming right back from the break we have got in order Notre Dame, WW/P-South, and WW/P-North,” said Misiewicz. “We are kind of gearing up for that with a focus on hard training through the break. We will then start to focus on technique and little details.”

Brophy, for his part, is geared up for the challenges ahead.

“We are trying to have a great season, build off of what we did last year, and maybe go a little further,” said Brophy. “I am looking forward to it. At our first practice, we were talking about how there was going to be a target on our backs. We are hoping to be really good.”