W. Swimming Sandwiched at H-Y-Ps

The Harvard women’s swimming and diving team placed second at the 2003 H-Y-P meet this weekend at Blodgett Pool, defeating Yale for the first time since 2000, when the Crimson (7-3, 5-2 Ivy) last hosted the H-Y-P meet. Harvard beat the Bulldogs (8-3, 3-3) 194.50-124.50 while falling to the dominant Princeton Tigers, 199-120.

The Crimson swimmers were led by freshman phenom Jane Evans, who took first in the 400- (4:21.95) and 200-yard (2:04.87) individual medleys. It was Evans’ third consecutive meet with two victories. The freshman also placed third in the 100-yard butterfly (56.57).

“I was just looking to swim fast,” Evans said. “We taper at the end of the season, so this meet doesn’t really give an indication of how fast I’m going to swim.”

After falling behind, 114-55, to Princeton (8-0, 6-0) after the first day of competition, Harvard waged a strong assault on the Tigers’ sizeable lead.

Sophomores Emily Moffat and Whitney Henderson grabbed first (5:07.50) and third (5:08.12) in the 500-yard freestyle.

The Crimson divers also performed well, as junior Renee Paradise and sophomore Anne Osmun took first and second in the three-meter event with scores of 254.10 and 249.75, respectively. The pair also placed second and third in the one-meter event, with Paradise notching 241.50 points and Osmun finishing with 241.45.

But while Harvard had its fair share of individual highlights, the team was no match for the fearsome Tigers, who had won 38 in a row and jumped out to an early lead on day one of the meet with six first-place finishes in nine events.

Princeton didn’t let up on day two, either, and cruised to the victory.

“It was a big meet and we knew it would be hard to catch them [the Tigers],” Evans said.” “We were just concentrating on ourselves and trying to set personal bests.”

The Crimson will travel to Princeton at the end of the month for the Ivy League Championships (Feb. 27 - March 1).

According to Evans, the team will be primed for revenge.

“We’re underdogs so there is no pressure,” she said. “We’re definitely going to come out fast.”