SEASON RECAP: Crimson Can’t Shake Princeton in Race for 1st

The Harvard women’s swimming and diving team may not have reclaimed the Ivy League title from Princeton this season, but it did finish second in the league, rewriting 13 school records enroute to a 7-2 finish and an ECAC Championship title.

The year was unique for the Crimson, as its 11 seniors made up more than a third of the team’s roster, providing for strong leadership but also making it difficult to see the season come to an end.

The Class of 2007 was led by two-time All-American Noelle Bassi who, despite struggling with knee and back injuries all year, won a third straight Ivy League title in the 200 butterfly and qualified for her fourth NCAA Championships. After placing 14th in the event at the meet in 2006, the injured Bassi swam a 2:00.89 at this year’s Championships to grab 32nd.

“When you’re up against that kind of competition, it’s tough,” she said. “There is always pressure to perform well for yourself and Harvard, but I’m happy with my performance. I look forward to the next chapter of my life.”

It was also in with the new for the Crimson, as the team welcomed a talented freshman class led by freestyle swimmer Alexandra Clarke, who set four individual school records and narrowly missed an All-American distinction at this year’s NCAA Championships.

Although the freshman did not record her fastest time in her specialty, the 1650-yard freestyle, a mark of 16:21.43 was fast enough for 17th out of 43 swimmers in the event. The top 16 earn All-American honors.

“Getting 17th in the mile is a huge incentive for next year,” Clarke said afterwards. “That’s what I take most from this tournament—the experience. It’s a great learning tool.”

Junior Samantha Papadakis qualified for her second straight NCAA Diving Championships and returned to Cambridge with a 30th-place finish in the one-meter dive and a 29th place in the three-meter event.

“I did some great stuff—more great stuff than bad stuff—which is always what you want,” she said after the competition. “I’m definitely pleased with the consistency of my overall performance.”

The improvement on last year’s NCAA finish wrapped up a spectacular season for the junior, who is also a Crimson sports writer. She lost just one diving event during dual-meet action and rewrote a 19-year-old school record in the three-meter.

Although the 169-129 loss to Rutgers and the second-place finish to Princeton at HYP mark Harvard’s first two losses in dual-meet action since 2004, the team responded to each setback this season with an impressive performance at the following meet.

The Crimson bounced back after the Rutgers meet with a 161-74 trouncing of UNH and turned in 12 school records following HYP at the Ivy League Championships.

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Compton can be reached at compton@fas.harvard.edu.