Crimson Sweeps Senior Weekend

The Harvard men’s swimming and diving team came out strong this past weekend, narrowly topping Ivy League opponent Brown (2-6, 1-3 Ivy) on Friday and blowing out cross-town rival Boston University (5-4) on Saturday. The wins raise the Crimson’s record to 6-1 (5-0) for the season.

The weekend also marked the last home meets of the Harvard seniors’ collegiate swimming careers. The Crimson celebrated Senior Day in Blodgett Pool by thrashing the Terriers, 201-99.

“It was a tale of two different meets this weekend,” co-captain Tommy Gray said. “Against Brown we came out kind of flat—I think we underestimated them a bit...Saturday against BU was the complete opposite.”

HARVARD 201, BOSTON UNIVERSITY 99

Harvard powered past the Terriers Saturday, claiming 13 of the day’s 16 events to post its second-largest winning margin of the season.

In the culmination of a dominant diving weekend for the Crimson, junior Zac Ranta took first in both the one-meter and three-meter events. Ranta claimed the one-meter dive with a score of 274.50, followed closely behind by freshman Michael Stanton, who posted a 273.00.

Sophomore Niall Janney captured the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard butterfly, with a 4:04.08 finish in the 400-yard race. Janney touched the wall in 1:52.48 in the butterfly event, followed by freshman Ryan Cutter and sophomore Ross Ford for a 1-2-3 finish.

Sophomore Rob Newell was the third Harvard athlete to claim two individual events on the day, bringing home the gold in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke. Newell finished the 100-yard race in 51.62 and posted a 1:51.04 finish for the 200-yard backstroke.

Senior Mason Brunnick and co-captain Alex Meyer combined for three victories in the distance freestyle races. Brunnick claimed the 200-yard and 500-yard events in times of 1:41.28 and 4:32.82, respectively, while Meyer finished the 1000-yard freestyle in 9:18.62 for the win.

Junior Justin Davidson grabbed two races for Harvard, adding to the Crimson’s already-sizeable lead. Davidson placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.24 and the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:06.13.

Sophomore Nicholas Tan wrapped up the day’s individual wins with a victory in the 100-yard butterfly. Tan touched the wall in 50.37.

Harvard also bested the Terriers in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of juniors Jordan Diekema and Will Heyburn, freshman Owen Wurzbacher, and sophomore Eric Taylor captured the race with a time of 1:33.33.

“From top to bottom, everyone swam really well,” Gray said. “It was a really good way to get the momentum going for next weekend.”

HARVARD 127, BROWN 116

Harvard squeaked by Brown on Friday to keep its undefeated conference record intact.

“The Brown meet was a little rougher than we expected,” Brunnick said. “The second half of the meet we were able to get our act together, but the first half we were losing close races.”

Brunnick himself claimed Harvard’s first victory of the contest in the 1000-yard freestyle. The senior finished with a time of 9:32.37, followed by freshman Greg Roop at 9:38.36.

The Bears bested the Crimson in the next six events, but Harvard stayed strong and fought back in the 100-yard freestyle. Tan won the event for his team with a 46.49 finish, while Heyburn took second in 46.63.

Meyer and junior Blake Lewkowitz led the charge in the 500-yard freestyle, claiming first and second place, respectively. Meyer posted a 4:36.63 finish, while Lewkowitz touched the wall in 4:43.25.

Wurzbacher won the 100-yard breaststroke in a close race with Brown’s Conor Carlucci, beating out the Brown swimmer with a time of 57.33.

But Harvard secured its victory through its divers, who captured both of the contest’s diving events. Ranta and Stanton brought home the top two places in the three-meter dive with scores of 331.88 and 313.28, respectively. Stanton took the one-meter event as well, keeping the divers’ record perfect for the weekend’s dual meets.

The Crimson will face its toughest competition of the season next weekend in the two-day Harvard-Yale-Princeton (HYP) meet, held in the Tigers’ home pool.

“It’s going to be really interesting and a great challenge,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy said. “We need to be prepared to swim better than we have all year.”

—Staff writer Alexandra J. Mihalek can be reached at amihalek@fas.harvard.edu