Harvard Women Down Columbia To Kick Off 2017

HARVARD VS. COLUMBIA

  • Results
  • Hosted by
  • Tuesday, January 3rd
  • 25 yards
  • Dual meet format

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

  • Harvard- 173
  • Columbia- 122

The Harvard and Columbia women started the new year with some Ivy League dual meet action, with the Crimson women taking a 173 to 122 victory. The Harvard women now have a 3-0 record and are undefeated in conference competition so far. Mikaela Dahlke, Willa Wang, and Brittany Usinger each won twice in the team’s victory.

Dahlke, a freshman, led a 1-2-3 sweep for Harvard in the 200 free, winning the race in 1:51.94 to finish over 2 seconds ahead of the field. She then picked up a victory in the 100 free, clocking a 51.60 ahead of Columbia’s Mary Ashby (52.48).

Wang was a key piece in the distance races, winning the 500 free (5:02.26) and 1650 free (17:03.01) for Harvard. Usinger, on the other hand, swept the butterfly races. She first touched in 2:03.46 to win the 200 fly by nearly 3 seconds. Usinger then went on to claim the 100 fly victory in 56.20.

PRESS RELEASE – HARVARD:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – For the 31st time in 32 meetings, the Harvard women’s swimming and diving team (3-0, 3-0 Ivy) topped Columbia (1-4, 0-4 Ivy) , 173-122, at Blodgett Pool Tuesday afternoon. Including the diving events (competed on Nov. 18) the Crimson captured wins in 10 events over the Lions with Mikaela Dahlke, Willa Wang and Brittany Usinger each winning twice.

Wang notched Harvard’s first victory Tuesday, posting a 17:03.01 time in the 1650 free. Teammates Regan Kology and Matti Harrison claimed second and third. The 500 free later in the meet also went to Wang in 5:02.26, with the Crimson’s Daniela Johnson and Claire Pinson rounding out the top three.

The 200 free saw Harvard finish 1-2-3 as well. Led by Dahlke’s 1:51.94, Harvard earned the top-16 points available in the event with Victoria Chan garnering second and Geordie Enoch taking third. Dahlke’s second win of the day came in the 100 free, as she edged Columbia’s Mary Ashby with her time of 51.60. Chan finished third in the event.

The 100 and 200 butterfly events ended with Brittany Usinger registering the top times. Usinger took the 200 fly by nearly three seconds, clocking in at 2:03.46. Fellow sophomore Valerie Yoshimura touched in second. Usinger and Mei Lynn Colby finished 1-2 in the 100 fly, with the winning time coming in at 56.20. Colby earned her own individual victory in the fastest event of the meet, the 50 free, narrowly beating Chan with a time of 23.97.

The 100 back saw Kristina Li capture the top honors by 1.22 seconds, touching the wall in 56.55.

The diving portion of this meet was conducted Nov. 18 as Harvard’s divers are at Utah today competing. The Crimson dominated on both boards, claiming the top five spots in the one-meter and the top three in the three meter. Junior Hannah Allchurch secured the win in the one-meter with a 308.55, followed by Alisha Mah, Mikaela Thompson, Jing Leung and Megan Galbreath. Ling captured the win on the three-meter with a 340.35, with Allchurch and Thompson coming in second and third.

Harvard’s divers will compete at Utah today and Denver on Wednesday before the Crimson reconvene as one unit to take on Penn and Brown Jan. 13-14.

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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