Freshmen Step Up Early

After winning five of the 15 individual races at the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton invitational, the freshman class of the men’s swimming team has spectators wondering what exactly the FDO has been putting in the Yard’s water supply this year.

Indeed, the Harvard men’s swim team’s class of 2014 has been a beast in the pool.

“[Our performance at the HYP meet] proved how well we dominated in the [regular] season and shows how well we can do in the future and over the next four years,” said freshman distance freestyle swimmer Wes Stearns.

This July, collegeswimming.com ranked the Crimson’s 2010 recruiting class as the No. 20 fastest in the nation, and the men have not failed to live up to their reputations. Dominating in short and long distances, freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly, the freshmen have stepped up this season above and beyond most of their predecessors.

“I have to give the freshman class credit for their work ethic and consistency,” coach Tim Murphy said. “They have the excitement and energy for what they’re doing...and [the team has] benefitted from the environment we’ve gotten from it. I think they have all stepped up in their own way.”

Although the 10 swimmers who make up the freshman class only comprise a fraction of the undefeated team, they more than pulled their weight. This past weekend in New Haven, Conn., five different Harvard rookies won their respective events. First Spenser Goodman and Chris Satterthwaite both touched in at 1:38.99 to tie for first place in the 200 free. Then classmate Jack Pretto edged out junior teammate Robert Newell to win the 100 back and fellow freshman Oliver Lee won the 50 free for the second consecutive meet.

Finally, Stearns, who has won an event in each of the last six meets, hit NCAA ‘B’ cut with a time of 15:23.85 to solidify the freshman class’ commanding accomplishments at the HYP meet and throughout the season.

In addition to the freshman winners at the HYP meet, backstroker Jason Ting and diver Joe Zarrella have both contributed victories to the Crimson’s perfect record, while the remainder of the rookies have each placed in their respective events.

Collegeswimming.com may have predicted an impressive performance from Harvard’s incoming class of recruits before the season even began, but the freshman cannot help but credit the upperclassmen with much of their success.

“The upperclassmen have been really inspirational,” Satterthwaite said. “They’re guys we can look up to—whether as role models for swimming or to talk about academic issues. [Following their advice] allows us to focus on swimming and the important issues.”

Additionally, Satterthwaite points to the freshmen’s unique class dynamic as another reason for their success.

“We haven’t had many [freshmen] competing head-to-head unless it’s mutually beneficial,” Satterthwaite said. “We haven’t had a lot of one [freshman’s] success meaning another one’s failure. One guy’s success just gets the other guys pumped.”

While the men’s season is heading into Ivy League Championships next month, the freshmen are already hoping their impressive times will help attract another set of fast recruits, ideally a set of even faster ones.

“When we get a good class like we did this year, we make news in the swimming world,” Goodman said. “When we get the word out, we get faster recruits...and it’s just a cycle like that. Every year is getting faster, and next year’s recruiting class will likely be in the top ten.”

Coming into the end of the season, the Crimson will certainly appreciate having these secret weapons around. The freshmen are a threat in the water right now, but their older teammates are even more excited to see how they fare for the rest of their careers.

“The upperclassmen are really excited for the next few years, because they are excited for our success and they are excited about the years to come,” Satterthwaite said.

—Staff writer Patrick Galvin can be reached at pgalvin@college.harvard.edu.