Princeton dominates Yale, falls to Harvard in annual HYP meet

The three powerhouses of theIvy League collided in Harvard’s Blodgett Pool this past weekend for the annual Harvard, Yale and Princetonmen’s swimming and diving meet. With all three teams putting undefeated Ivy League records on the line, the everlasting rivalry intensified. The Tigers accumulated an early lead over the Bulldogs, going on to win 267.5 to 85.5, but lost 160 to193 against the Crimson in a battle until the very end.

Despite Yale’s impressive record, the key matchups foreshadowed a Princeton-Harvard showdown. True to form, the 100 back, 200 back, 100 breast and 200 IM all featured matchups between Princeton and Harvard. Coming off a dual double meet sweep over Brown and Penn, and carrying the most impressive undefeated record, Harvard certainly presented a formidable challenge for the Tigers.

Starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday night, the HYP kicked off with a Princeton victory in the 200 free relay, consisting of seniors Harrison Wagner and Connor Maher, sophomore Julian Mackrel and freshman Alexander Lewis. With Yale making it into the top three in only one of the first eight events, the tensionbetween Princeton and Harvard emerged early in the meet. Freshman Zach Buerger then led Princetonto victoryin both the 200 fly and IM, with the Tigers sweeping the latter highly anticipated event.

Unfortunately, the Crimson won the contested 100 back and 100 breast matchups, and swept the 1 meter diving event, ending the day with a manageable 102-84 lead over the Tigers.

Determined to overcome the previous day’s losses, the Tigers returned on Sunday for an intense battle against Harvard. Princeton proved its Ivy league status by winning Sunday’s first three events: the 200 medley relay, 400 IM and 100 free. In fact, the team’s performance in the 200 medley relay set a new pool record.

After the first three events on Sunday, the Tigers had overcome their deficit and earned a 124-117 lead. However, the Crimson came right back and won five consecutive events afterwards. Following the meet, Wagner said, “It wasn’t as disappointing as the score reflected. I think we had a lot of great swim, with close races that swayed the lead. I think we laid it all on the line.”

The Tigers finished the meet on a high note, winning the 400 free relay, their first win in the event in over four years and capping off an impressive weekend of relays. In fact, the Tigers won three out of their four relay races at the meet.

For the players and coaches, though, this weekend was not only a physical game also a mental one. Freshman Corey Okubo explained, “The 200 yard butterfly [on Saturday] didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, but on the second day, I had a confidence boost, and my mental state was much better.” Further encouraging this positive mentality, Buerger said that he personally tried to “make sure the energy was high throughout the entire team.”

Moving forward, the Tigers hope to carry this mentality on to the rest of the season and the ultimate prize: the Ivy League championships. While the team certainly plans to train tirelessly, assistant coach Mitch Dalton noted, “The only way to win with such talented athletes is to focus on ourselves.” With emphasis on team congruency and energy, the Tigers promise a must-watch sequel.

The team will visit Columbia this Friday before hosting the Ivies at Princeton’s own DeNunzio Pool Feb. 26-28.