W. Swimming Stays Perfect on Year

The Harvard women’s swimming team remained undefeated Saturday after dispatching Northeastern, 175-112.

After easily defeating Penn almost a month ago, Harvard (8-0, 5-0 Ivy) once again took care of business before the heavily anticipated Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet by beating a Huskies team (6-1, 3-1 America East) that was appreciably better than the Quakers had been.

Northeastern came into the meet undefeated, but left with its sole loss of the season.

Before the meet, the Crimson took time to pay tribute to its six senior members, who swam their final meet at Blodgett Pool. Tri-captains Molly Brethauer, Anne Osmun and Emily Stapleton, along with seniors Allison Bates, Stephanie Greco and Molly Ward were honored for their consistent performances and positive impact on their team.

Junior Kim Ono, who garnered a first-place finish in the 100 backstroke, spoke of the special occasion for her senior teammates. “It was a happy and sad day for all of us,” she said. “We’ve seen them grow since we were freshmen.”

The meet featured two impressive diving performances by freshman Samantha Papadakis, who was able to overcome a tough opponent in Adela Gavozdea of Northeastern, who finished second to Papadakis in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events. Papadakis won the one-meter board with 287.10 points, edging Gavozdea by just 0.37 points. In the three meter-diving event, Papadakis was able to execute her final dive to go ahead of her opponent to grab the top spot.

“It increased my confidence to beat someone of that caliber,” Papadakis said. “She qualified for the NCAA last year, so by beating her, I feel that I’ll have a chance to qualify, too.”

Harvard won the first 10 events of the day, starting off strong with victories in the 200-yard medley and 1,650 freestyle. Sophomore Emily Wilson finished first in the latter in 17:15.83.

The Crimson then captured the top four places in the 200 freestyle, with sophomore Kelly Blondin picking up the first-place points in that event. Sophomore Kate O’Brien won the 100 breaststroke, and junior Jane Evans followed with a first-place finish in the 200 butterfly—a race in which Harvard took the top three spots.

After junior Erin Mulkey touched the wall first in the 50 freestyle, senior Emily Stapleton led the Crimson in grabbing the top four places in the 200 backstroke. Freshman Bridget O’Connor won the 500 freestyle before Kristen Kane of Northwestern finally captured the only first-place finish for her team in the 200 breaststroke.

The Crimson swam the last four events, which included the 100 butterfly, the 400 IM, the 200 IM and the 200 freestyle relay, as non-scoring exhibitions.

Harvard improved to 8-0 with the win and now prepares for the Jan. 28-29 double-dual meet against Yale and Princeton.

“That’s the meet we’ve been training for the entire season,” Ono said. A victory would ensure a first place finish for the Crimson in the regular season going into the Ivy League championships at the end of February.

Freshman Jaclyn Pangilinan, who finished first in the 100 freestyle, commented on Harvard coach Stephanie Morawski’s approach to get them ready for the upcoming Ivy match.

“Steph never wants us to underestimate our opponent,” Pangilinan said. “She looks to push us past our comfort zones, reminding us it’s not about racing for yourself. You are only one person on your team. When it comes to the Ivies, every point counts, whether you finish first or fifth.”

The Crimson expects this victory against the Huskies to boost its confidence when it faces much tougher competition against the two Ivy League schools in a meet that rounds off its regular season schedule.