Women's Swimming and Diving Claims Ivies Crown

One year ago, Harvard Women’s Swimming and Diving conceded the Ivy League title to Princeton—after holding onto the lead for the first two days of competition. This weekend, the Crimson (5-2, 5-2 Ivy) returned to take back its victory with 1500.5 points, smashing plenty of records in the process.

However, it was not the score that motivated the squad.

“We treated every session like it was a blank slate, and took advantage of each session to prove how hard we have worked throughout the season,” freshman Meagan Popp said.

Dramatic performances came in the pool and on the boards alike. Harvard divers dominated, doing their fair share of work towards the Ivy League title.

Freshman Mikaela Thompson broke the meet record in the one-meter, her score of 314.20 trumping the seven-year-old record of 312.05, and coming out over 20 points ahead of the silver medal winner.

Thompson was trailed by Crimson sophomores Alisha Mah, and Jing Leung, and freshman Katie Russ in third, fourth, and fifth respectively.

“I tried to leave nothing on the boards, and go for it, with the goal of placing as high as possible to score points for the team,” Thompson said. “I took it dive by dive, and focused on what I had to do to perform each dive well.”

Thompson also had an action-packed three-meter competition. Four dives into prelims, the freshman found herself in 23rd place. Her next dive earned her a spot in the finals, where she finished seventh.

In addition, every single Crimson competitor made it to the finals of the event, where they took up six of the top-eight spots, making Ancient Eight history. Sophomore Hannah Allchurch took first with 334.95, while Leung took bronze with 315.70.

The swimmers also saw a fair share of glory, with victories and records across a variety of events. Popp topped the podium multiple times, notably in the 200 IM, where her time of 1:57.94 took first, and broke a school record in the process.

However, Popp was not content with just one record-breaking finish. Her time of 101.65 in the 100 breast garnered a silver medal and another place in Harvard’s record books. The freshman also took part in the 800 free relay, taking second place and demolishing yet another school record.

In addition, Popp returned to Cambridge boasting a tie for gold in the 200 breaststroke, second place finish on the 400 medley relay team, and a third in the 200 medley relay, placing top-three in every race she entered.

“I was just feeding off the energy of my team,” Popp said. “Seeing them cheer and dance for me before my races made me smile and gave me confidence that my entire team had my back.”

But it was not just the rookies making waves in Princeton’s DeNunzio Pool. Fellow relay record-breaker and senior Danielle Lee had her fair share of success, taking first in the 100 back for the third consecutive year with a time of 53.13.

The veteran again took to the podium in the 200 back, her time of 1:55.71 good for second, after tying Princeton’s Lindsay Temple in the prelims.

“A big part of what enabled us to be successful this season was leadership,” Thompson said. “Our captains not only lead by example, but also motivated us and helped to push us as individual athletes and as a team.” Another set of standout performances came from freshman Sonia Wang.

The California native took gold in the 400 IM, setting the second-best mark in program history with a time of 4:11.42. And, as the only Crimson swimmer in the final of the 200 butterfly, Wang again topped the podium, touching the wall in 1:57.02.

But despite the slew of records shattered and qualifications met, this meet really came down to the joy of the sport for the Crimson.

“By this point in the season it is time to show off the result of all of the hard work that we have been putting into the pool,” Thompson said. “To race for the sake of racing, and dive for the sake of diving.”

—Staff writer Isa DeLaura can be reached at idelaura@college.harvard.edu.