Around the Ivies: Men's Swimming and Diving

With regular season meets completed, men’s swimming and diving teams throughout the Ivy League anticipate the end-of-year championships. Of these tournaments, the Ivy championship stands at the forefront. This year the Ivies will be hosted at Brown fromFeb. 25 – 27. Until then, all eight teams, which currently represent a wide range of success, will reflect on the past season and improve areas of weakness. Ironically, the current regular season standings perfectly mirror last year’s Ivy championship results, the only difference being Yale and Penn swapping control of third place.

Princeton (7-0 Ivy): For the first time in school history, the Tigers managed to finish with a perfect regular season record. In the process, Princeton also won its first HYP tournamentin four years, winning 15 of the competition’s 19 events. The only accomplishment remaining for the Tigers is an Ivy League championship, and based on the HYP results, the Tigers are well poised for their third consecutive one.

Harvard (6-1 Ivy): In a close second to the Orange and Black, Harvard tightly trails rival Princeton. Until the final tournament of the season, the Crimson had matched the Tigers' success, maintaining an undefeated season. Then, Harvard faced Princeton and the two undefeated teams collided. Ultimately, the Tigers emerged victorious, winning by nearly 100 points. Despite the Crimson’s success, one has to wonder whether they will be able to challenge the Tigers in the upcoming championship.

Penn (5-2 Ivy): In often-overlooked third place, the Quakers have improved on last year’s fourth-place result, finishing with only two loses. These defeats came to higher-ranked Princeton and Harvard. Though one win behind the Crimson, the Quakers actually had better luck against the Orange and Black during the regular season, falling 217-234. Princeton will surely watch its back against the Quakers.

Yale (4-3): The Bulldogs have yet to discover a winning strategy against rivals Princeton and Harvard. Though consistently above average and having defeated four of their seven Ivy League opponents, the Bulldogs do not seem poised to overtake either the Crimson or Tigers. On the other hand, the HYP tournament may have brewed individual rivalries, specifically in the 400 IM when Princeton junior Sam Smiddy narrowly edged Yale’s Kei Hyogo by 0.37 seconds.

Columbia (3-4) The Lions find themselves yet again in the middle of the Ivy League pack. Last year, the Lions finished fifth in the Ivy championship, so they will surely seek to eclipse such results this time around. On that note, sophomore diver Jayden Pantel has been a pure bright spot for the Lions. The Canadian has won 21 consecutive three-meter diving events. The Tigers will put his record to test next weekend.

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Cornell (2-5) Though the Big Red’s lonely two Ivy wins this season place the team in the lower echelon, Cornell has had a few bright spots this season as well. To kick off the season, the Big Red began with a 2-1 record, defeating Dartmouth College and Binghamton University. After winning their fifth straight Bomber Invitation, the Big Red finished the season with a two-game winning streak, showcasing strong performances over Colgate and Brown.

Brown (1-6) Similar to last year, the Bears had little luck against Ivy League foes this season. Their only win came over last-ranked Dartmouth at Princeton’s Big Al Invitational. Since then, the Bears have lost to Ivy League opponents by double-digit margins. Of note, Brown battled Cornell for sixth place in the Ivy championships last year, fostering a local rivalry.

Dartmouth (0-7) The Big Green sits at the bottom of the Ivy League men’s swimming and diving rankings. Dartmouth has only found success in local invitational events this season and has yet to defeat an Ivy League team. Looking at individual events, potential sources of celebration at the Ivies, Dartmouth has demonstrated success in the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, and 200-yard IM.