2017 Ivy Men Day 2 Up/Mid/Down Report

2017 Ivy League Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25
• Blodgett Pool, Harvard University, Boston MA (Eastern Standard Time)
• Prelims 11AM / Finals 6PM
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live on Ivy League Digital Network (Subscription Only)

Day Three Prelims

Harvard freshman Dean Farris had the day off yesterday, and it paid off big-time on Friday. Farris ripped a 1:32.71 in the 200 free to erase a 1980 Blodgett Pool record, that Rowdy Gaines set when he swam at Auburn, by 1.8 seconds. Farris also took 8/10 off the championship record, which Kenyon assistant coach Doug Lennox set in 2009. Two events later, Farris came back and wiped out another pair of records with a 45.74 in the 100 back. He was 1.1 under the pool mark set by Michael Strand in 2014, and 2/10 faster than David Jakl’s 2014 championship record. Farris earned a NCAA “A” cut in the 200 free, and was .37 away from a second one in the backstroke.

In the 100 back, Farris led a Harvard sweep of the first four spots. Senior Jack Manchester qualified second with 46.97. He was followed by classmate Max Yakubovich (47.64) and junior Koya Osada (47.88). Yale’s Adrian Lin was the second-fastest qualifier in the 200 free with 1:35.20; Harvard senior Aly Abdel Khalik touched third in 1:35.49.

In the 100 fly it was Harvard’s Steven Tan out front with 46.43, while teammate Yakubovich went 46.63 to qualify second. Yakubovich will be in lane 5 twice in tonight’s final session: 100 fly and 100 back. Penn senior James Jameson was third out of heats with 47.01, while Columbia senior Terry Li had 47.06.

Two-time defending champion Alex Evdokimov of Cornell broke Nejc Zupan’s pool record with a top qualifying time of 53.02 in the 100 breast. Qualifying next was Harvard junior Shane McNamara (53.96) and Columbia sophomore Jack Smith (54.18).

In the 400 IM, Harvard senior Christian Carbone erased Sam Smiddy’s pool record with 3:46.79, qualifying just ahead of defending champion and Ivy record-holder Mark Andrew of Penn (3:46.90). Another Penn sophomore, Thomas Dillinger, qualified third in 3:49.27. Columbia sophomore Shane Brett (3:50.35) was fourth.

Harvard looks to have a lock on the Ivy League title this year, but there are still exciting team races taking place. Columbia is challenging Yale for third, and Cornell and Brown are locked in a tough battle for fifth.

Note: “Ups” refer to swimmers in the A final, who can finish no lower than 8th barring a DQ; “Mids” refer to swimmers in the B final, who can finish no higher than 9th and no lower than 16th (again, barring a DQ on the low end); and “Downs” refer to swimmers in the C final, who can finish no higher than 17th and no lower than 24th (again, barring a DQ on the low end).