Cromwell, Crimson Top Ivy Foes

The Harvard men’s swimming and diving team unofficially proclaimed its dominance in the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League (EISL) with victories over both Princeton and Yale in the annual meet of the big three.

Co-captain Dave Cromwell led the charge, setting a meet record in the 200-yard backstroke and contributing to a win in the 200-yard medley relay.

Four swimmers notched two wins for the Crimson (7-1, 6-1 EISL), which can now grab a share of the league title with a win next weekend against Penn.

“It feels really good to win Harvard-Yale-Princeton,” co-captain Bill Cocks said. “It’s always one of the fastest meets of the year, and everyone gets really into it. After our loss to Columbia earlier in the year, we wanted to make sure that we were still at the top of the league. This meet proved that we’re still a good team, and it was even better to win HYP in our own pool.”

The Crimson won 14 of the 19 races over the two-day event, including six out of nine events on the second day of competition.

Although Harvard notched many first-place finishes, the Tigers remained in the hunt by consistently grabbing points in the 2-4 spots.

In fact, the pivotal race of the meet for the Crimson, the 100-yard freestyle, was not even won by the home team, but rather by a Bulldog swimmer.

Although Yale’s Alex Righi claimed victory, Harvard sophomore Pat Quinn narrowly beat out Princeton’s Will Reinhart to snag the second-place spot and deprive Princeton of valuable points.

“Pat Quinn just did a great job this weekend,” Cromwell said. “His relay swims were crucial, and his 100- free was huge. He upset Reinhart, one of the best swimmers at the meet, and just did an incredible job.”

The Crimson youth movement continued to impress, as freshmen Bill Jones and Eric Lynch scored individual victories—two for Jones and one for Lynch. Sophomore Geoff Rathgeber, a consistent threat, tallied two individual victories.

“Geoff is just a great swimmer,” Cocks said. “He performed well this weekend, as always. For the 200- breaststroke, he was told only about 10 minutes before the race that he would be swimming. Yet, he was still mentally prepared and came out and swam a great race.”

Both captains complimented the freshman performances.

“The freshmen have been outstanding this year,” Cocks said. “It can be tough to get into a new program, but they’ve been working hard and performing well. I’m proud of the freshmen and sophomores.”

Still, the performer of the day was Cromwell, who etched his name in the Crimson record books.

“I went into the race hoping to grab a victory and get some momentum for our team,” Cromwell said. “Still, I have been a little haunted by the pool record for all year, and that just added fuel to the fire. I’m very happy to get it.”

Added Cocks, “Dave always swims the best he can, and he really wanted this record. It’s a fast time not only for the pool, but for the league and nation. Everyone was really excited, and fed off of his energy.”

The Crimson looks to continue its winning streak when it hosts Penn on Saturday in the last dual meet of the season.

A win would garner at least a share of the conference championship for Harvard.

Although the Crimson savors its wins this weekend, it knows that the ultimate prize lies ahead at the Eastern Championships, which will take place March 2-4 in New York.

“This meet means a lot to all the teams because of the history of the rivalry, and it was a great victory,” Cromwell said. “Still, we don’t want to take too much out of it. Our ultimate goal is still the Eastern Championships. We want to savor this weekend, but also keep our eyes on the real prize.”

—Staff writer Julie R.S. Fogarty can be reached at fogarty2@fas.harvard.edu.