Bastone Makes Waves at NCAA Championships to Conclude Women’s Swim’s Season

Sophomore Alexandra Bastone placed 18th in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking in at 4:38.98, at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, marking the team’s highest individual placement at the meet since 2022.

Bastone, who was seeded 25th, posted a time just two-tenths of a second off of the personal best and school record she swam in the event during the Ivy League Championships in February. That weekend, she also posted blistering times in the mile (15:59.70) and 200-yard (1:46.33) freestyles, capturing 1st place finishes in all three of her events.

While the 18th place finish left Bastone just shy of the eight-athlete consolation final — as the University of California at Berkeley’s Maya Geringer took 16th place after finishing just 0.22 seconds ahead of Bastone — her performance placed her as the top Ivy swimmer of the three who competed.

Bastone’s finish was also the highest placement from the Women’s Team at Nationals since then-senior Felicia Pasadyn’s 15th place finish in the 400-yard individual medley in 2022.

Harvard’s veteran junior diver Nina Janmyr finished in 38th on the one-meter board, earning a score of 249.45 during her third appearance at NCAA’s — following placements of 35th and 40th during her freshman and sophomore seasons respectively.

Bastone followed her performance with swims in the 200-yard and 1,650-yard freestyles on Friday and Saturday, placing 41st and 20th.

In the mile, Bastone’s time of 16:00.86 was a second off of the personal best she swam during the Ivy League Championships — which secured her the school record and the 17th seed heading into NCAAs — but remained fast enough to finish ahead of all of tThe Crimson’s conference competitors.

Bastone’s 200-free (1:45.99) was a personal best, allowing her to improve on her position as the fifth-fastest swimmer in program history.

Bastone and Janmyr’s performances concluded the Women’s season, making it the 13th straight year in which a Harvard athlete appeared at NCAAs.

The Crimson’s Men’s Swimming and Diving Team will take on NCAA bids of their own next weekend in Washington, starting Thursday, March 26th.

—Staff writer Avani B. Rai can be reached at avani.rai@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @avaniiiirai.