Harvard Men's Swimming and Diving Wins 12th Straight Dual Meet in Defeat of Columbia

When the Harvard men’s swimming and diving team stepped out onto the Uris Pool deck in New York City on Saturday afternoon, it did so with the pressure of having not lost to an Ivy opponent in over two years.

It left with its streak intact, as the Crimson overtook Columbia (2-2, 1-2 Ivy), 206-92, winning 13 of the 16 events and taking a 1-2-3 finish in six races. This victory marks the 12th consecutive dual meet win for Harvard (3-0, 3-0 Ivy) and its 10th straight Ivy League win.

“I think [it] was a great meet,” freshman Mike Gaudiani said. “We had a lot of energy going into it, and it really showed. We had numerous fast swims, and the team just really kicked butt.”

Freshman Chuck Katis highlighted the meet, setting three pool records in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke, and 200-yard individual medley.

The Crimson began the meet strongly, with a first-place finish in the three-meter dive by freshman Mike Mosca, who posted a score of 379.28 points.

The 200-yard medley relay team, composed of Katis, sophomores Jack Pretto and Chris Satterthwaite, and senior Niall Janney, came out on top with a time of 1:31.01—nearly two seconds faster than the Lions’ relay team.

“The 200 medley relay went pretty well,” Pretto said. “It’s nice to get up and compete with the relays and swim as fast as you can because there [are] not that many opportunities.”

Harvard followed up the relay’s performance with its first 1-2-3 finish in the 1000-yard freestyle.

Gaudiani led the Crimson with a time of 9:27.94, while freshmen Reed Snyder and John Bailey finished in second and third with times of 9:31.19 and 9:34.32, respectively. Sophomore Spenser Goodman continued the first-place streak in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:38.56 finish.

“Harvard has incredible depth in our distance program,” Gaudiani said. “And we all swam really fast today across the board, so I think that played a huge part in our success.”

In the 200-yard backstroke, Columbia freshman Omar Arafa claimed victory with a time of 50.20. Pretto, co-captain Rob Newell, and junior Ian Mirisola came in close behind with a 2-3-4 finish with times of 50.56, 50.87, and 52.87, respectively.

Katis then set his first pool record of the day in the 100-yard breaststroke at 55.18. The event was also another 1-2-3 finish for Harvard, as junior Owen Wurzbacher finished in 57.60 and sophomore Jason Ting in 58.19.

Freshman Kyle McIntee added another victory for the Crimson in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:48.72. Janney contributed second-place points with his finish at 1:51.08.

Satterthwaithe placed first in the 50-yard freestyle with a personal best of 20.71. Sophomore Willy Brophy also posted his best time in the event, coming in third at 21.39.

Harvard took its third 1-2-3 finish in the 100-yard freestyle with another first-place finish by Satterthwaite, who clocked in at 44.74. Goodman took second in the event with a personal best of 45.94 and sophomore Danny Crigler came in at 46.34.

Columbia freshman Jeremie Dezwirek took the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:49.19. Newell touched just .58 seconds after at 1:49.77.

The Crimson returned to the top with another pool record by Katis in the 200-yard breaststroke. The freshman led Harvard’s fourth 1-2-3 finish, clocking in at 2:00.76. Wurzbacher came in second with a time of 2:05.59, followed by Ting, finishing at 2:07.42.

Gaudiani swept the distance races, earning a victory in the 500-yard freestyle, coming in at 4:35.03. Junior Greg Roop finished closely behind Gaudiani with a time of 4:35.86.

“I was feeding off of a lot of the team’s energy,” Gaudiani said. “We went in there, and we swept the top three places for the 1000 and the 500, so I think that was really a big motivation.”

The Crimson’s final two 1-2-3 finishes occurred in back-to-back races: the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard individual medley.

McIntee took first in the butterfly with a personal best of 50.07. Janney landed second place, touching the wall at 50.52, and junior Ryan Cutter earned a third-place finish with a time of 50.99.

Katis swam a personal-best at 1:48.56 in the individual medley, notching both a first-place finish and a new Uris Pool record. Newell came in second, finishing at 1:52.62 and Mirisola contributed third-place points with a time of 1:52.95.

In the final event, Columbia earned some points back after both of Harvard’s 400-yard freestyle relay teams were disqualified. Although the Lions raked in 15 points, it was not enough to overcome its sizeable deficit.

“The coach got up and told us he saw us competing more as a team than ever,” Pretto said. “I think we came together ... we swam more united than ever, trying to incorporate the new freshmen, and everyone was just on the same page.”