Ivy Foes Cornell, Dartmouth No Match for Crimson at Home

The Harvard men’s swimming and diving team (2-0, 2-0 Ivy) started off its season with a bang, dominating both Cornell (0-2, 0-2 Ivy) and Dartmouth (1-1, 1-1 Ivy) in its annual tri-squad meet on Saturday at Blodgett Pool. The Crimson sailed past its opponents, defeating the Big Green, 180.5-119.5, and the Big Red, 227.5-72.5.

“I think that we started off the season pretty well and we really showed our strength in terms of the freshman squad and everybody else on the team,” co-captain Matthew McLean said. “I think we are starting off the season pretty strong and kind of like a powerhouse.”

Harvard demonstrated its dominance by placing first in 11 out of the 16 events. The pair of wins brought the Crimson’s Ivy League dual meet win streak to 11, as the squad went a perfect 9-0 last season.

“The team did great,” freshman Mike Mosca said. “The camaraderie was incredible. This was the first time ... I really got to experience how awesome my team is. It is really inspiring.”

The first-place finishes began with the first event, the 200-yard medley relay. Harvard was represented by sophomore Jack Pretto, freshman Chuck Katis, sophomore Oliver Lee, and freshman Griffin Schumacher.

The relay team finished over 1.5 seconds ahead of the second-place representatives Dartmouth for a solid start to the meet.

In the 1000-yard freestyle, freshman Mike Gaudiani took a close second to the Big Green’s Nejc Zupan by a mere 0.5 seconds, turning in a time of 9:25.82.

Senior Niall Janney also earned the Crimson second-place points in the 200 butterfly, finishing between Dartmouth and Cornell in a touch-out race.

Freshman Zach Walters and sophomore Spenser Goodman snagged a 1-2 finish in the 200-yard freestyle, increasing Harvard’s growing advantage over their opponents.

The two touched the wall within 1.5 seconds of one another, finishing in 1:40.85 and 1:42.7, respectively.

Before the first break, Lee and sophomore Chris Satterthwaite gained more points for the Crimson in the 50-yard freestyle, with Lee picking up first place and Satterthwaite tying for second. Lee swam a 20.82, while Satterthwaite tied Dartmouth junior Will Derdeyn with 21.01 seconds.

Harvard displayed its depth in the one-meter diving event with a 1-2-3 sweep from Mosca, junior Michael Stanton, and sophomore Joe Zarrella. The divers scored 367.25, 306.40, and 276.80, respectively, with Mosca setting a new school record for the event.

“I dove really well,” Mosca said. “I had a new dive and everything kind of worked out and panned out well. I have to attribute my success to all the cheers from my teammates. They’re what make it the best.”

This meet was Mosca’s first non-scrimmage dual meet of the season, showing promise for helping Harvard in the competitions to come.

Satterthwaite, sophomore Danny Crigler, and Walters matched the divers after the break, also racking up serious points for the Crimson through another 1-2-3 finish. The trio stopped the clock within a second of one another with times of 45.90, 46.90, and 46.80, respectively.

Co-captain Rob Newell earned another first-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke with 1:52.83, while the 200-yard breaststroke went to sophomore Jason Ting (2:07.62). Junior Owen Wurzbacher finished not far behind, bringing Harvard third-place points with a time of 2:09.48.

The Big Green demonstrated its strength in the 500-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly, taking a first and second in the former and finishing 1-2-3 in the latter.

But the Crimson did not give up too much, following Dartmouth with a 3-4 finish by junior Greg Roop and freshman Reed Snyder in the 500. Harvard also captured fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh in the 100 with performances by Pretto, freshman Kyle McIntee, Lee, and junior Ryan Cutter.

In three-meter diving, Mosca again took first with a score of 361.95. Zarrella sealed second with 314.20 points, just passing Cornell junior Jon Zollo by 0.5 points.

The Crimson concluded the meet just as it had started it—with multiple first-place finishes. In the 200-yard individual medley, Katis touched with a time of 1:51.45, while Janney, junior Ian Mirisola, and Crigler took fourth, fifth, and sixth behind the Big Green.

The closing event, the 200-yard freestyle relay, ended in a Crimson victory over Dartmouth by .6 seconds, finishing with a time of 1:23.35.

“We have a really good group of guys who are working really hard,” Schumacher said. “We pulled through as a team and swam well.”