M. Swimming Spanks Princeton, Yale

U.S. News and World Report may have ranked Harvard, Yale and Princeton in a three-way tie, but in a exhilarating two-day meet this weekend the Harvard men's swimming and diving team proved they own the top position in the Ivy League trifecta.

Beating Yale 86-77 and Princeton 119-44, the Crimson left little doubt as to who is number one. Even more impressive is that for Harvard, the victory was a mere stepping stone for loftier goals such as Easterns and NCAAs. HARVARD  86 YALE  77 HARVARD  119 PRINCETON  44

"There were a lot of great swims at the meet," said co-captain Jon Samuel. "Ryan Egan's victory in the 200 butterfly and our 400 freestyle relay performance were excellent. Greg Walker's 3-meter diving was also critical in defeating Yale."

There was a lot of anticipation surrounding the competition, especially since Harvard had lost to Princeton the last two years.

"Going into the meet there was a lot of hype and rumors running around that there might be a changing of the guard," said senior James Zenyuh. "But the team came together and quieted all the talk."

The tone of the meet was set Friday night with the opening 200-meter freestyle relay. For the first three legs the crowd held its breath as swimmers from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton matched one another stroke for stroke. But any hopes Yale or Princeton had of squeaking out a victory were dashed by senior Alex Kurmakov, who powered out an incredible anchor leg to win by three-tenths of a second.

"We knew it was important from the beginning of the meet to have momentum in our favor," said co-captain Greg Wriede.

With this momentous start the Harvard men continued to pound their opponents in the remaining events. In the 200-meter freestyle, junior Jan Sibbersen swam a stunning 1:40.58, just missing first place. The energy continued throughout the night with an impressive 200-meter butterfly performance turned in by freshman Ryan Egan, followed by a 1-2 finish in the 50-meter freestyle by Kurmakov and sophomore Matt Fritsch.

"Getting second in the 400 medley relay at the end of the first night forced us to focus all our energy into beating Yale the second night," Wriede said.

Demonstrating his ability to motivate and carry the team, Wriede backed up his words by claiming first place in the 400-meter individual medley on Saturday. Following his lead, junior Brian Swinteck had a personal best time in the 100-meter freestyle while freshmen phenoms Charli Cromwell and Justin Nyweide put in incredible performances to take second and third respectively in an extremely close 200-meter backstroke.

"I was impressed by how well the underclassmen stepped up; we won most of the close races. It's a good sign going into Easterns and for next year," Zenyuh said.

Junior Tim Martin also swam well, securing yet another first place for Harvard in the 500-meter freestyle with a time of 4:28.92.

Most Crimson swimmers tapered minimally for the event and didn't step down their training in the preceding days. Yale, on the other hand. approached the competition by fully resting and shaving in fear of the Harvard powerhouse. Yet despite this clear advantage, they failed to claim the sought after trophy of H-Y-Ps.

The Crimson now points towards the Eastern Championships, scheduled for Mar. 4-6, to cap off its undefeated season and looks to qualify men for the NCAA championships.

"The meet definitely boosted our confidence, but at the same time the season is far from being over," Samuel said. "We need to carry the success of the weekend in to Easterns and NCAAs. Princeton will swim much better at the conference meet and we need to by ready for that."