Harvard Becomes First Ivy Team to Crack Top 10 Since Yale in 1969

2019 MEN’S NCAA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 27 – Saturday, March 30
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, Austin, Texas
• Prelims 10 AM / Finals 6 PM (Central Time)
• Defending champion: Texas (4x) (2018 results)
• Psych Sheet
• Live Stream
• Live results

TOP 10 TEAM STANDINGS:

1. Cal – 560
2. Texas – 475
3. IU – 385.5
4. NC State – 307
5. Louisville – 212
6. Florida – 164
7. Alabama – 142
8. Harvard – 132
9. Ohio State – 124
10. Virginia – 106

Harvard pulled off a feat that hasn’t been done in 50 years tonight. They finished in the the top 10 at men’s NCAAs, which is the first time an Ivy League team has done so since 1969, when Yale finished 5th. On top of that, the last time Harvard cracked the top 10 itself was in 1963 when they finished 10th.

It gets a little dicier when trying to figure out the last time a Mid-Major program made it into the top 10. We’re defining Mid-Major as any team not in a Power 5 conference (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12). SMU finished 9th in 1998, but it’s sort of an open question as to whether they should have been considered a Mid-Major at that time or not. So, to be as specific as possible: SMU was the last team to crack the top 10 whose Football team wasn’t competing in a conference considered to be a ‘major Division I conference’, and that happened in 1998.

Harvard finished 18th with 58 points at last year’s NCAAs. They moved up 10 places and 74 points this year, thanks in large part to junior Dean Farris and high scoring relays. Farris racked up 53 points for the Crimson after winning the 100 back and 10 free, and clocking a 5th place finish in the 50 free. Farris also played a pivotal role in the Harvard relays, two of which finished in the top 8, and two made the top 16. Brennan Novak, a senior, also tallied up 11 points for Harvard after finishing 8th in the 500 free.

Looking to the future, there’s a lot to be excited about after this team’s historic finish this year. Namely, the Crimson will return nearly everything next year. Seniors Novak, Logan Houck, and Grant Goddard will have graduated. In terms of scoring swims, that means Novak’s 11 individual points will not be returning. Novak was also part of the 7th place 800 free relay, where he provided Harvard’s 2nd fastest split. Goddard only swam on the 200 free relay, which came in 8th. He anchored in 19.45 in prelims and 19.95 in finals.

Other members of Harvard’s NCAA team:

• Umit Gures (Freshman)
• Corban Rawls (Sophomore)
• Mahlon Reihman (Sophomore)
• Michael Zarian (Sophomore)
• Daniel Chang (Junior)
• Raphael Marcoux (Junior)