Freshman Ward’s Four Wins Lead W. Swimming

The Harvard women’s swimming and diving team (5-1, 4-1 Ivy) notched another win on Saturday, this time against non-league Pittsburgh (2-3) at the Panthers’ Trees Pool on Saturday by a score of 161-139.

Crimson freshman Molly Ward dominated the competition by winning the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyles and by anchoring Harvard’s 400 freestyle relay to a victory by .03 seconds.

Ward opened up her assault on Pitt with a win in the 200 freestyle, taking the victory in 1:56.08.

“I was nervous going into the meet because the 200 free was a new event for me,” Ward said. “I’m happy I was able to do well and contribute to our team’s victory.”

The first-year Texan then added wins in the 50 free (24.23) and 100 free (52.93). Ward’s win in the 100 was her first-ever victory over co-captain Janna McDougall.

Ward grabbed her fourth win of the afternoon with a win in the 400 freestyle relay, anchoring the team of Anna Fraser, Jessi Walter and Jane Humphries to a win by the narrowest of margins.

McDougall was solid in her events as well, anchoring the opening 200 medley relay team of Ali Bates, Jelena Kristic and Fraser to victory. McDougall then added on a win in the 100 backstroke, a second place finish in the 100 freestyle and a third place finish in the 200 individual medley.

Sophomore sensation Kate Nadeau showed her sprinting prowess with a win in the 100 butterfly. Nadeau, one of the fastest 200 butterfliers in the conference, put her speed to work for the Crimson.

“I was satisfied with my swim,” Nadeau said. “I was psyched for the team to really come together and step up against a scholarship school.”

Junior breaststroker Rachael O’Beirne proved her dominance in the 200 breaststroke, with a strong win in 2:25.61. O’Beirne was third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.63.

“The team went into the meet looking at it as an opportunity to do some racing after training trip, to help us prepare for the competition at HYP and Ivies,” senior sprinter Lauren Fabian said.

Harvard will spend the next three weeks preparing for its Yale-Princeton double dual meet. Harvard Coach Steph Morawski ’91 will select her conference championship team based in part off these next performances.

W. Swimming 161, PITTSBURGH 139

(event winners and Harvard scorers)

200 Medley Relay: 1. Harvard ‘A’ 1:47.09 (Allison Bates, Jelena Kristic, Anna Fraser, Janna McDougall), 3. Harvard ‘B’ 1:52.22 (Emily Stapleton, Erica DeBenedetto, Molly Brethauer, Jane Humphries)

1000 Freestyle: 1. Emily Colley (P) 10:20.50, 2. Stephanie Greco 10:32.04, 5. Abbie Davies 10:41.53

200 Freestyle: 1. Molly Ward 1:56.08, 3. Kate Nadeau 1:56.88, 4. Jane Humphries 1:56.97

100 Backstroke: 1. Janna McDougall 58.11, 3. Molly Brethauer, 1:00.16, 4. Allison Bates 1:00.19

100 Breaststroke: 1. Ryan Redman 1:05.32, 2. Jelena Kristic 1:06.67, 3. Rachael O’Beirne 1:07.63, 4. DeBenedetto 1:07.85

200 Butterfly: 1. Whitney Henderson 2:06.19, 3. Emily Stapleton 2:10.61, 4. Katie Wilbur 2:12.39

50 Freestyle: 1. Molly Ward 24.23, 4. Jessi Walter 25.62

1-Meter Diving: 1. Jen O’Brien (P) 274.65, 3. Renee Paradise 227.33, 4. Coral Day-Davis 222.90, 5. Anne Osmun 215.93

100 Freestyle: 1. Molly Ward 52.92, 2. Janna McDougall 53.58

200 Backstroke: 1. Karen Thibodeau (P) 2:05.62, 3. Emily Stapleton 2:07.71, 4. Allison Bates 2:10.25, 5. Jessi Walter 2:10.96

200 Breaststroke: 1. Rachael O’Beirne 2:25.61, 2. Jelena Kristic 2:28.12

500 Freestyle: 1. Emily Colley (P) 5:03.90, 2. Whitney Henderson 5:10.07, 4. Stephanie Greco 5:13.08, 5. Rebekah Lorenz 5:19.98

100 Butterfly: 1. Kate Nadeau 58.61, 3. Molly Brethauer, 1:00.19

3-Meter Diving: 1. Moreen O’Brien (P) 269.33, 2. Renee Paradise 258.60, 3. Anne Osmun 258.53, 5. Coral Day-Davis 214.65

200 Individual Medley: 1. Carolyne Savini (P) 2:10.10, 3. Janna McDougall 2:11.62, 4. Kate Nadeau 2:13.65, 5. Rachael O’Beirne 2:14.47

400 Freestyle Relay: 1. Harvard ‘A’ (Anna Fraser, Jane Humphries, Jessi Walter, Molly Ward) 3:37.33

(All events in yards.)