Harvard men’s swimming and diving hosted the annual HYP meet against Ivy rivals Yale and Princeton at Blodgett Pool over the weekend. The Crimson came away with a double win, capping a perfect 9-0 (7-0 Ivy League) season.
The Crimson led Princeton 102-84 and Yale 142-44 after Day One of the two-day meet. Day Two kicked off with an HYP meet and Blodgett Pool record of 1:27.09 from Princeton’s 200 medley relay team: Michael Strand (22.14), Jack Pohlmann (24.56), Connor Maher (21.12), and Harrison Wagner (19.27).
The Tigers went 1-2 in the 400 IM behind Corey Okubo (3:51.25) and pool record-holder Sam Smiddy (3:52.65). Yale freshman Kei Hyogo took third place with 3:53.03. Both Princeton and Yale narrowed Harvard’s lead at this point. The Tigers further closed the gap in the 100 free. Sandy Bole posted the fastest time (44.35) out of the penultimate heat. Julian Mackrel won the last heat with 44.47, making it a 1-2 Princeton finish. Harvard’s Paul O’Hara came in just .02 ahead of Princeton’s Michael Hauss, 44.60 to 44.62; Hauss touched out Harvard’s Ed Kim by 1/100.
Just when it looked like it was going to be a nailbiter, Harvard made a run on the next five events, as well as the diving, and there wasn’t much anyone could do to catch them. The Crimson’s Jack Manchester (1:43.71) and Koya Osada (1:45.58) came in ahead of Okubo (1:45.78) and Andrew Helber (1:46.58) in the 200 back. Then Max Yakubovich led a 1-2-3 Harvard sweep in the 100 fly with his 47.75. Yale’s Alwin Firmansyah (48.87) was next.
Jack Boyd added more points to the Crimson’s total with a 4:25.07 win in the 500 free. Yale’s Hyogo and Zach Buerger of Princeton tied for second with 4:27.31. Smiddy went 4:28.50 for fourth. Eric Ronda, who filled the absence when Chuck Katis transferred from Harvard to Cal last year, led a 1-2 sweep of the 200 breast with 1:58.20 over teammate Shane McNamara (1:58.97). Princeton’s Brett Usinger (1:59.45) and Byron Sanborn (2:00.17) touched next.
Harvard’s All-American diver Mike Mosca won the 1-meter diving with 332.10 points. Teammate David Pfeifer outscored Princeton’s Michael Manhard, 307.45 to 305.25 for second.
Princeton’s “A” and “B” 400 free relays went 1-2 to close the meet. Ben Schafer (44.59), Wagner (43.55), Mackrel (43.72), and Maher (43.82) clocked a 2:55.68, while teammates Jeremy Wong (44.79), Hauss (44.59), Bole (43.55), and Buerger (44.18) went 2:57.11 for second.
Harvard’s Kim, Steven Tan, O’Hara, and Spenser Goodman put up a third-place 2:57.84, while Yale’s Victor Zhang, Aaron Greenberg, Firmansyah, and Rob Harder went 2:58.04 for fourth.
Final Scores:
Harvard University 190 – 163 Princeton University
Princeton University 267.5 – 85.5 Yale University
Harvard University 271 – 82 Yale University
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