W. Swimming Rewrites Record Book in Finale

The Harvard women’s swimming and diving team climbed back to third place in the Ivy League Championships and took out seven school records in the process as it closed out its 2001-02 season.

The Crimson (5-3, 4-3 Ivy) tallied 655 points, behind this year’s champion, No. 45 Princeton (706), and runner-up Brown (691). It was the third time in four years Harvard had taken third place at Ivies. The records made this year’s meet particularly memorable.

“The Ivy Champs was the most fun I have ever had at a meet,” said co-captain Catie Lee. “Every time a record was broken, everyone on our team felt like they had just broken a record themselves. It speaks to the great things this team is going to do in the years to come.”

The standout Crimson performances came from both veterans and newcomers through the three days of competition.

Co-captain Janna McDougall spearheaded the Crimson effort with an individual school record and two school records in relays.

McDougall swam the anchor leg on the opening 200-yard freestyle relay, closing out the strong efforts of freshman Molly Ward and juniors Anna Fraser and Jessi Walter. The foursome finished second with a new team record of 1:34.33, behind Brown’s new meet and pool record time of 1:32.42.

McDougall also anchored the winning 400-yard medley relay. The relay proved to be the most exciting moment for the Crimson of the meet.

McDougall led off with a 56.68 backstroke split, a new team record.

“Our relays were phenomenal. The 400 medley was amazing and I was just ecstatic,” McDougall said. “Everyone was so strong and it was just an amazing feeling.”

Sophomore breaststroker Erica De Benedetto was second in the water with a solid breaststroke split of 1:04.09. What was yet to come was nothing short of amazing for the Harvard team.

Fraser, fresh off a record in the 200 free relay, put a tentative season and shoulder injuries behind her by splitting a lighting fast 54.64.

These three swimmers set up freshman sensation Molly Ward for the anchor freestyle leg.

Ward finished off the Crimson’s attack by downing Brown freestyler and Jamaican Olympian Dawn Chuck in the final 100 with a stellar 49.98 split. Ward capped off Harvard’s second relay record of the night, touching the wall in a cumulative time of 3:45.41.

Sprinter Fraser dominated the competition again on the second night of Ivies with a victory in the 100-yard butterfly. She touched the wall in 55:49, a personal best and a new school record.

Freshmen Molly Ward and Molly Brethauer each set individual school records to cap off this season’s most successful weekend of swimming and diving.

Ward clocked a 51.11 in the 100 freestyle and Brethauer touched in 2:00.54 en route to victory in the 200-yard backstroke.

At the team’s banquet in April, junior Christin McConnell received the Spirit Award, sophomore Renee Paradise picked up the John Walker Award honoring the team’s outstanding diver, senior Lauren Fabian earned the Nancy Sato Award for commitment to the team and Lee and junior Jane Humphries grabbed the Coach’s Awards. The banquet gave the seniors a final chance to celebrate the outstanding conclusion to their careers.

“I’m so glad I competed for the Crimson all four of my years in Cambridge,” said senior distance ace Rebekah Lorenz. “This year was our best season since I arrived. We had our strongest showing at Ivies and I am proud of our team.”

WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

RECORD 5-3 (4-3 Ivy), 3rd at Ivy Meet

COACH Stephanie Morawski

CAPTAINS Catie Lee, Janna McDougall

HIGHLIGHTS At Ivies, school records are broken by junior Anna Fraser in the 100 fly, freshman Molly Ward in the 100 free, freshman Molly Brethauer in the 200 back, and three Crimson relay teams.