Harvard Uses Depth to Claim ECAC Title

Resting many of its top performers in preparation for this upcoming weekend’s Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League Championships, the No. 22 Harvard men’s swimming and diving team may have seemed ripe for an upset heading into this past weekend’s ECAC Championships held at the University of Pittsburgh.

But thanks to the efforts of several Crimson underclassmen, Harvard (9-0, 8-0 EISL, 7-0 Ivy) continued its unblemished season and successfully defended its ECAC crown from a year ago, clearing the 26-team field by an astounding 60-point margin and finishing the three-day affair with a grand total of 524 points.

The Ivy League and EISL regular season champs finished day one of the weekend meet in second place, behind a solid Rider University squad, but quickly overcame this 11-point deficit to amass a 37-point advantage of its own through day two, and never looked back come day three, as it established the final 60-point margin of victory.

In Friday morning’s preliminary session, senior Eddie Jou, sophomores Simone Melillo and Robert Lynch, and freshman Eric Taylor helped set the tone for the Crimson with a victory in the 400-medley relay in a time of 3:26.10. Harvard then continued its strong performances into the evening as Taylor and fellow freshman Hank Yan, along with sophomores Tyler Holland and Rick McKellar, finished the 200-free relay finals in a time of 1:24.38, good enough for fourth place.

Sophomore Tommy Gray then followed with a second-place showing and a time of 4:33.27 in the 500-freestyle ‘A’ race.

“We have deep, talented classes of freshmen and sophomores,” Gray said. “That really helped set the tone for EISLs next weekend.”

Harvard then asserted its depth in the 200-IM race, as junior Tim Parent finished third with a time of 1:53.74, Lynch finished fourth in 1:53.78, and freshman Evan Schindewolf took sixth in 1:54.45.

Saturday’s action proved no different for the Crimson as the relay team of McKellar, Melillo, senior Brendan Mitchell, and Taylor combined for a second-place showing in the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:33.00, just half of a second off the pace set by the winning Seton Hall squad.

“Everyone swam really well,” Melillo said. “We’re just one step closer to finishing off the year undefeated. It was nice to see an especially good showing out of our two seniors this weekend, Eddie Jou and Brendan Mitchell, who finished off their careers on high notes.”

In the 400 IM, Schindewolf’s second-place effort in 4:02.92, Parent’s third-place showing in 4:03.73, and Lynch’s time of 4:05.39, good enough for fourth place, helped the Crimson remain clear of the field.

Gray’s victory in the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:41.49, along with McKellar’s third place effort in the 100 butterfly in a time of 50.40 and Melillo’s second place showing in the 100 breaststroke in 56.37, helped close out a strong second day for the Crimson squad. Harvard moved into first place in the field after the day’s events.

On the third and final day of competition, Gray continued his strong swimming with a second-place effort in the 1650 freestyle in a time of 15:53.45. Lynch then provided the winning margin for the Crimson as he captured a grueling 200-yard butterfly event in a time of 1:50.37, with Parent finishing a solid third in 1:52.27. Melillo helped close out the meet for Harvard, as he took second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:03.71.

“We had great performances top to bottom this weekend,” assistant coach Mark Sowa said. “But we still have a lot of swimming ahead of us.”