Unbeaten Streak Remains Intact

The Harvard men’s swimming and diving team continued its march toward perfection this weekend with a resounding sweep in the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet. The Crimson defeated the usually feisty Tigers 213.5-139.5 and trounced the Bulldogs 227.5-125.5 over the two-day meet in New Haven, Conn. Princeton topped Yale, 213-140.

With the double victory, No. 22 Harvard ran its record to 8-0 overall and 7-0 EISL. The Crimson also rebounded from a defeat at the hands of Princeton at last year’s HYP meet, when the Tigers managed to escape with a victory despite the fact that Harvard won 19 events—one fewer than the combined total of the other two squads. This year, the Crimson came armed with both depth and speed, and refused to allow the Tigers to top the podium for the second year in a row.

“Last year we won the majority of the events but still lost by a fair amount,” co-captain Geoff Rathgeber said. “This year—as the score indicates—we almost dominated both Princeton and Yale. That is a testament to our top-end talent, with the people who are able to win races, and a testament to the depth, not only with individuals getting faster, but also with the freshman class who came in this year, which was a huge boost to the team.”

Although the Tigers won the first race of the meet—the 200 freestyle relay—the Crimson responded with a 1-2 finish in the 200 freestyle by co-captain Sam Wollner and David Guernsey, respectively, and the momentum quickly swung into its favor. After Rathgeber nailed first place in the 100 yard breaststroke—and an NCAA B qualifying time—Bill and Dan Jones demolished the competition and tallied NCAA qualifying times of their own with 1-2 finishes in the 200 butterfly, respectively. The twins—who finished only .06 second apart—set the tone for the meet by reaching personal bests while dominating an event that the Tigers usually control.

“I talked to them before the meet,” Wollner said. “I told them there’s no one better than them in the league in the 200 fly, and that it was time for them to show that. They responded and really shut it down in the 200 fly. It was a really impressive performance.”

Seconded Rathgeber: “It was a big feat. We got the momentum back quickly.”

The Crimson also got strong performances from its distance crew, which performed exceptionally well in a small, wavy Yale pool that is generally not conducive to longer races.

In addition to the 200 free, Wollner led a 1-2-3 finish in the 500 freestyle, with junior Eric Lynch and sophomore Mason Brunnick rounding out the top three. Additionally, Lynch led yet another 1-2-3 finish in the 1650 freestyle, as sophomore Alex Meyer nailed second, and Wollner came in third. Harvard also dominated the 200 and 400 medley relays.

“The distance swimmers absolutely performed lights out this weekend,” Rathgeber said. “They are the hardest workers on the team, and maybe even in Harvard athletics. They had several personal best times and scored several 1-2-3 finishes.” These finishes, as Wollner pointed out, not only garnered points for the Crimson, but were also “completely demoralizing” to the Tigers and Bulldogs.

In addition to the importance of the meet within the league, the Crimson felt that its strong performance validated its No. 22 national ranking. Compared to other conferences with swimming scholarships and more resources, an EISL team in the top 25 is an impressive feat.

Yet, despite its elation over this weekend’s results, the Crimson has one dual meet remaining in the regular season, and then will face tough tests in the upcoming ECAC Championships at the end of February and the EISL Championships March 6-8.

Rathgeber sounded Bill Belichick-like in his refusal to remain satisfied with a perfect record when postseason challenges await.

“Our goal from the outset of the season was perfection, and it’s something we’ve talked about as something to aspire to.” Rathgeber said. “So to be undefeated, it’s great, it’s wonderful, but we’re not done yet. We still have Penn next weekend, and then the [EISL] Championships and ECAC to go.”

—Staff writer Julie R.S. Fogarty can be reached at fogarty2@fas.harvard.edu.