ALEX THE GREAT: Princeton High boys’ swimmer Alex Petruso churns through the water in a backstroke race earlier this season. Senior star Petruso helped PHS go 9-3 in regular season action. This week, Petruso and the Little Tigers will be looking to come up big at the Mercer County Championships, which take place from January 26-28 at WW/P-N. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

When the Princeton High boys’ swimming team lost 94-76 to Notre Dame on December 1 to fall to 0-2, it looked like the squad could be in for a long winter.

But PHS head coach Carly Misiewicz saw a battling spirit from her swimmers that day that left her feeling confident.

“We really gave them a fight,” said Misiewicz. “I think the Notre Dame meet was probably one of the best meets of the entire season for us as far as everyone being positive and really being there to race and wanting to do well.”

In the wake of that defeat, PHS has done really well, winning eight of its next nine meets to finish the regular season with a 9-3 record.

“To come back and swim as hard and as fast as we did, I think just speaks volumes about the team,” said Misiewicz.

“It shows that they are not willing to give up and always going to put up a fight.”

The Little Tigers produced a hard effort in its season finale, cruising to a 115-55 win over Hopewell Valley on January 12.

“I think overall we had some really phenomenal swims and spectacular times across the board,” said Misiewicz.

“My thing going into it was that this meet is for the seniors. So let’s get out there and let’s swim fast and make sure that they are really having a good time and a great meet and that they feel really supported for their last regular season meet. It definitely did go really well.”

Two senior stalwarts, Will Kinney and Alex Petruso, have done some great things this winter for PHS.

“Will Kinney is standing out by far for us,” said Misiewicz.“He did the 100 freestyle in 51.4 against Hopewell, unshaved and untapered. To be swimming that fast right now is speaking to everything he has done training-wise this season with everything he has put in and all the little tiny details that he has really tried to work on to perfect. He has swum really well. Alex Petruso is someone who consistently swims well across the board.”

Another senior, Gabriel Bar-Cohen, was slowed by illness at the beginning of the season but has been surging lately.

“When he came back, we had to rebuild and rework towards everything he had worked towards at the start of the season,” said Misiewicz of Bar-Cohen.

“He has been somebody at any meet throughout the season, when I say what are you thinking, what are you feeling, the first thing he always says is, coach, whatever you want me to swim. That’s huge for a senior to really want to do what is best for the team.”

In Misiewicz’s view, PHS is a team to watch at the Mercer County Championships, which take place from January 26-28 at WW/P-N.

“I do think we can challenge for a title; we have to have the same mentality we had going into it last year,” said Misiewicz.

“Honestly I don’t think people really expected us to get third last year. They thought going into the season Princeton is not really as great as they were before and then we came out and surprised everybody with how we performed. To me, it just showed how much they wanted it, how fast everybody across the board swam after the preliminaries.”

The Little Tigers need to stay in the moment to swim their fastest in the county meet.

“The thing that I am stressing to them is that if you have a not so great swim, shake it off, and feed off of everybody else doing well,” said Misiewicz.

“Maybe one race doesn’t go your way but maybe the next race, you have the race of your life. Swimming is a very mentally tough sport, so it is not getting into their heads and not focusing on what place are we going to be. It is just get out and swim your race and do what you have to do to beat the person next to you.”