M. Swimming Dunks Yale, Falls to Princeton

This past weekend the Harvard men's and women's swimming teams faced Yale and Princeton in dual meets.

The men defeated Yale but lost to Princeton, while the women went down to both the Elis and Tigers in a day filled with standout performances.

Men's Swimming

Princeton men's swimming and diving teams had never lost a dual meet in their own pool. Harvard had not lost a dual meet since 1997.

Suffice it to say that tensions were high as the biggest swimming powers in the league faced off last weekend. With Harvard, Yale and Princeton all competing, the competition was bound to produce some excitement. Both Harvard and Princeton were undefeated going into the meet, and the stands were packed.

Two days and nineteen events later, however, only Princeton emerged with bragging rights intact. Harvard lost to Princeton 197-156 but beat Yale solidly with a final score of 243-110.

"All of the Princeton swimmers were shaved and rested for HYP," co-captain Matt Fritsch said in an e-mail message.

"Their program this year was designed for their swimmers to peak at HYP. Our program is designed for us to peak at the conference championship."

Even so, the Crimson proved an aggressive competitor. The men posted nearly sixty personal-best times and took first place in six events. All Crimson relay teams--200 medley, 400 medley, 200 free and 400 free--clocked NCAA-qualifying times.

Senior Michael Im walked away from the meet with two wins in the backstroke events. Im and sophomore Dan Shevchik swept first and second place in the 200 back.

Freshman distance star John Cole touched first in both the 500 and 1000 freestyle events. His time of 8:54.92 broke the school record (set by Bobby Hackett in 1979) by nearly five seconds.

"My main goal was to win the event and beat Princeton," Cole said. "My swim didn't feel terrific, so when I touched the wall, I didn't know what to expect."

Cole's performance in the 1000 places him first in the country in collegiate polls, ahead of Olympian Erik Vendt and just six seconds short of a national age group record. The win also broke the Princeton pool record for the event, previously held by Harvard sophomore Andrew McConnell with a time of 9:03.04. Cole swam each length in an average time of 13.4 seconds.

"When I saw 8:54, I was absolutely shocked," Cole said. "I was so surprised. I couldn't believe it."

Cole's 500 freestyle time, meanwhile, was good enough to out-touch Yale sophomore Carl Hessler, who trailed two seconds behind at 4:23.

Adding to the team's successes were the diving skills of both freshman Enrique Roy and senior Greg Walker. Walker won the three-meter with a final score of 294.85, while Roy and Walker took second and third, respectively, on the one-meter board.

Among other highlights from the meet, Shevchik garnered a second-place NCAA-qualifying time of 3:53.22 in the 400-yard individual medley. The sophomore also placed third in the 100 backstroke with a time of 50.04.

"We knew Princeton would be completely tapered and shaved and that they would have the home pool advantage," Cole said. "But for the most part, we were focused and were not going to go down without a fight."

Part of that fight included filling in spots left by sick or injured team members. Notably, the Crimson competed without the help of senior Jamey Waters (who suffered a broken hand after a close finish in the medley relay at Brown last week), sophomore John Persinger and co-captain Mike Groves (due to a back injury).

The team of sophomore Mike Gentilucci and freshman Rassan Grant scored valuable points for Harvard in the breaststroke events. Gentilucci and Grant finished second and third, respectively, both in the 100 and 200 breast.

The Crimson also managed to secure second place in the 100 freestyle as senior Dan Barnes qualified for NCAA's with a time of 44.74. Fellow senior Adam Shaw placed third in the 100 butterfly, while junior Kyle Egan, recovering from a hip flexor injury, touched third in the 200 fly.

The HYP meet comes just one month before the Eastern Championships, to be held at Army's pool in New York. Before Harvard has a chance to settle the score with Princeton, however, they will compete against the rest of the league--first at Cornell with Dartmouth this weekend, then at Pennsylvania on the 17th.

"I am certain that we will successfully defend our record at Easterns and that we will make a strong showing at NCAAs," Fritsch said. "Simply put, they [Princeton] were a better team than us the first weekend in February. Soon we'll see who the best team is the first weekend of March."

Women's Swimming

Although the scores on the giant orange board might not have indicated it, this weekend the Crimson had one of its best meets in recent history.

The Harvard women's swimming and diving team (3-4, 3-4 Ivy) wrapped up its dual meet season Friday evening and Saturday afternoon with losses to Ivy rivals Princeton (7-0, 6-0 Ivy) and Yale (9-1, 5-1 Ivy) in a two-day, double-dual meet at Princeton. The Tigers defeated Harvard 205 to 112 and Yale outpaced Harvard 168.5 to 150.5.

The Crimson's results at the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton competition are a bit paradoxical, much like the team's season.

As for Harvard's individual and relay performances, the Crimson was faster than ever.

Captain Pia Chock broke the 100-yard butterfly school record in a time of 55.57 en route to a second place finish, coming in .09 seconds behind Princeton's Molly Seto. Chock bettered the time of 55.98 set at the 1999 Ivy Championships by former Crimson standout Sarah Murphy '02.

Freshmen Kate Nadeau broke Chock's 200-yard butterfly record from earlier this season. Nadeau clocked a 2:02.41 en route to an HYP victory, lowering Chock's time of 2:03.26 from a November scrimmage.

Both athletes were untapered and unshaved and both times are NCAA provisional qualifying standards.

"It says a lot about our program and our training," sophomore Lovisa Gustafsson said. "Both of our girls were able to step it up. Knowing that they were capable of breaking those records before Ivies is awesome and we are very proud of them."

Several Harvard swimmers broke into and ascended the team's All-Time Top 10 list with personal best times and best-untapered swims.

Senior Lillian Brown shaved down and swam to personal bests en route to a fifth place finish in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 400-yard individual medley. Brown clocked 1:52.78 and 4:29.43, respectively.

"I raced well and I had fun racing," Brown said. "This was the fastest dual meet I have swum at in my four years and this sets the team up very well for Ivies in a few weeks. We're ready to compete and they won't be expecting us"

Sophomore backstroker Jessi Walter obliterated her personal bests with team leading performances. She finished third in both the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes, clocking times of 57.66 and 2:03.91, respectively.

"I looked at the clock and didn't think it was my time," Walter said of her 100-yard race. "This was my first full season of training and I am very pleased and excited with the results so far."

Sophomore Anna Fraser, only weeks after shoulder surgery, battled back with impressive untapered swims in the 100-yard butterfly and relay events. Fraser's fourth place finish was just tenths off her second place conference swim from last season. Her freestyle relay leadoff was a best-unshaved time as well.

Junior sprinter Janna McDougall recorded two lifetime best-untapered swims at the HYP meet. McDougall swam to a second place tie in the 50-yard free (23.78) and to third in the 100-yard free (51.59). McDougall also led the Crimson 'A' relay to a pair of second place finishes.

In the 200-yard medley, McDougall teamed up with freshmen Erica DeBenedetto, Fraser, and Chock for a season best of 1:45.95.

Coach Steph Wriede-Morawski '92 replaced DeBenedetto with Nadeau for the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team touched second in 3:27.72 and defeated the Princeton 'A' relay.

On the boards, the Crimson did not fair as well. However, 1999 NCAA qualifier Camilla McLean showed off her acrobatics scoring 262.7 points, good enough for a third place finish on the three-meter board.

Amongst all the individual and team achievements, this weekend marked another major disappointment for the Harvard Women's swimming tradition.

For the first time in four years Harvard lost to Yale and in doing so, finished its first losing season in at least seven years.

Earlier in the season, Harvard lost to Pennsylvania, the eighth place finisher at last year's Ivy Championships.

These ups and downs have been fueled by several factors.

Earlier this season, the Crimson lost an entire crop of decorated returnees to attrition. The team also has had a series of injuries among its star-athletes and top recruits, including former school record holder and Harvard's sole conference champion from last year, Lovisa Gustafsson.

The Crimson has another chance to avenge the disappointments of the season at the Women's Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships in Princeton, February 22-24. Ivies will be the last chance for the Crimson's relays to make a run at the Big Dance and for standouts like Chock and Nadeau to guarantee themselves spots at Nationals.