M. Swimming Edged Out By Princeton

The Harvard men’s swimming and diving team suffered its first Ivy League defeat this weekend as it hosted the 2003 H-Y-P meet at Blodgett Pool. The Crimson dropped a disappointing five-point, 179-174 decision to Princeton while crushing Yale, 291-60.

“We knew it was going to be tough to beat Princeton and we didn’t really expect to beat them,” said senior Mike Gentilucci, who took third in both the 100-yard breaststroke (56.90) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:52.75).

The meet was not decided by any single event, Gentilucci added, but rather by a well-balanced assault by the Tigers (7-0).

Junior freestyler John Cole notched two victories for Harvard (5-1, 4-1 EISL) on the first day of competition, including a win in the 200-yard freestyle (1:38.24).

Freshman David Cromwell and co-captain Dan Shevchik placed first (49.89) and third (50.56) in the 100-yard backstroke, respectively, while the junior diving duo of Enrique Roy and Tom Crahan took second and third in the one-meter event.

Toward the end of day one, the Crimson performed well in its two strongest events, sweeping the 200-yard individual medley and the 1650-yard freestyle. However, Princeton’s depth still ensured a 97-89 overnight lead.

Harvard continued to chip away at the Tigers’ advantage on Sunday, but in the end Princeton was simply too strong. Winning 14 of 19 events and grabbing a number of second- and third-place finishes, the Tigers swam well across the board.

The Crimson narrowed Princeton’s lead with a trio of top-three finishes in the 200-yard backstroke, the 100-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle. Shevchik, Cole and sophomore Alexander Siroky even managed to grab the top three spots, respectively, in the 400-yard individual medley. However, the Tigers countered that feat by taking the top three positions in the very next event, the 100-yard freestyle.

In the final race, the 400-yard freestyle relay, Princeton sealed its victory over the Harvard ‘A’ unit by a mere second.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (9-2) failed to pose a significant threat to either squad. Ironically, the Crimson beat Yale more soundly than the Tigers did. Princeton beat the Bulldogs, 275-76.

With the EISL Championships still a month away, there is still plenty of time for Harvard to prepare for its next encounter with Princeton. Last year, the Crimson beat the Tigers at H-Y-Ps, but Princeton turned the tide at Easterns, bringing Harvard’s six-year Eastern reign to an abrupt halt.

“We’ve just got to get tougher,” Gentilucci said. “We’re coming up on the part of the season where we start resting, so we’re going to be ready next time we see them.”

Next weekend, Harvard faces more Ivy League competition as the team travels to Ithaca, N.Y., to take on Cornell and Dartmouth.