Crimson Swims to Season-Opening Sweep

When it comes to swimming, the Big Green and the Big Red are no match for the Crimson. The Harvard men’s swimming and diving team crushed its competition in the opening meet of the season. The squad traveled to Hanover, N.H. on Saturday and toppled host Dartmouth by a score of 222-78. The Crimson dominated Cornell in a similar fashion, winning 216-82.

Harvard (2-0, 2-0 Ivy) captured 13 of the 16 events at the meet to control its first matchup with conference competitors. These two victories put the Crimson squad on track to continue the success it enjoyed against Ivy opponents a year ago. Last season, Harvard triumphed over the Big Green and the Big Red in Ithaca, N.Y., a day after falling to Texas A&M in its opening meet.

“I thought overall we had good energy and raced well,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy said. “There were a lot of good signs and a lot of little things that we need to work on. I was pleased with the way they got up and raced from the first race to the last race.”

The Crimson conquered both of the team relays, snatching up first and second in the men’s 200-yard medley relay. Junior Nicholas DuCille, sophomores Greg Roop and Owen Wurzbacher, and freshman Jack Pretto finished with a time of 1:33.94, touching the wall just a half of a second before the second-place Harvard team.

Later during the meet, the Crimson took home first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay. DuCille teamed up senior Will Heyburn and freshmen Spenser Goodman and Oliver Lee to gain victory with a time of 3:07.77, over two seconds ahead of their second-place competitors.

“Winning against Cornell and Dartmouth in the [200-yard medley] relay was a great way to start off the meet,” co-captain Justin Davidson said. “We struggled with relays a bit last season, so we’re heading in the right direction for the rest of the season.”

Harvard proved to be equally dominant in the individual races. In the 200-yard freestyle, the Crimson recorded a 1-2-3-4 finish, with three freshmen grabbing the top three spots. Goodman took the event in 1:40.70, just tenths of a second before classmates Chris Satterthwaite and Wes Stearns.

The rookies continued their success, racking up points for the squad when Pretto earned second in the 100-yard backstroke in 51.25. Junior Robert Newell just edged out Pretto to take the event with a time of 51.22.

“I think the freshman class had a phenomenal day [on Saturday],” Davidson said. “They’re really talented and responded to the challenges of competing in the Ivy League incredibly well. We’ll be looking forward to them helping us throughout the year.”

DuCille was one of the standout performers for the Crimson upperclassmen. He led the charge in the 100-yard freestyle to win with a time of 46.79, besting Goodman’s second-place time of 46.98. DuCille also grabbed second in the 50-yard freestyle, right behind teammate Lee.

Co-captain Douwe Yntema stepped up into his role as one of the team leaders, swimming the 200-yard butterfly in 1:53.34, good for second place behind junior Niall Janney. Janney also beat out his competition in the 200-yard individual medley, his second win of the meet.

In the one-meter diving event, Harvard cleaned up and took three of the top four places. Sophomore Michael Stanton took home the gold in the event with a score of 295.05. Senior Zac Ranta and freshman Joe Zarrella finished in second and fourth, respectively, with scores of 291.85 and 284.

“What was most impressive about the divers...was that they came back in the one-meter competition after not winning the three-meter event,” Murphy said. “It was the second opportunity to compete, and I thought they did a good job.”

After a dominant performance in the pool this weekend, the Crimson opens up its home season against Columbia on Friday afternoon. It is the first of three home events for the squad this year. Last season, Harvard edged out a win over the Lions, 167-133, and will look to continue its winning ways in the water.

—Staff writer Steven T. A. Roach can be reached at sroach@fas.harvard.edu.