January 23, 2012

Women's Swimming and Diving Update 4

Photo Courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Over the past two weekends, Harvard posted a League win over Brown to move to 5-0 on the season versus Ivy competition, while Yale posted a pair of Ivy wins and Columbia added one as well.

In the chase to catch the Crimson, the Bulldogs and Lions both moved to 3-1 on the year in the Ivy standings, while Princeton remains at 3-0.

The Ivy teams have three more weekends of dual and tri-meet action before breaking for the 2012 Ivy League Championships, which Harvard will play host to on Feb. 23-25 at the Blodgett Pool, Cambridge, Mass.

The second set of CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Division I Rankings were released on Dec. 15. The Crimson moved up two places to second, while Princeton entered the rankings at No. 4 and Columbia moved to No. 11. The next set of CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Division I Rankings will be released after the Feb. 7 pre-conference championship submission deadline.

Ivies in the Mid-Major rankings
2. Harvard (253.83 points)
4. Princeton (250.16)
11. Columbia (239.09)
RV. Dartmouth

Brown
The Bears fell at Harvard on Jan. 14 by the score of 193-107 … freshman Kate Dillione won the 200-free (1:53.21), beating out Harvard's Sarah Sumner by .05 seconds … senior Rebecca Tassell had a strong day on the boards for Brown, taking second overall on the one-meter, with an NCAA Zone qualifying mark of 270.67 … Tassell also finished fourth on the three-meter board with a score of 277.88 … the Brown divers then took part in the UMass-Amherst Diving Invite on Jan. 22 … the Bears return to the pool on Jan. 28 when they take on Ivy foe Columbia.

Columbia
On Jan. 21, the Lions downed League foe Cornell, 194.5-99.5 … Columbia won 13 of 16 events to improve to 4-1 overall on the year and 3-1 in Ivy League play … senior Dorothy Baker, junior Katie Meili, junior Kristina Parsons and freshman Salena Huang comprised the 400 medley relay team that won in an Uris Pool record 3:50.23, breaking a record that had stood since 2008 … freshman Chacha Bugatti also had a strong day as she won the 1,650-free (16.49.95) and the 500-free (4:59.01) … sophomore Kathleen Furr placed first in the three-meter diving event with 252 points … the Lions are back in action on Jan. 28 when they head to Boston for a tri-meet with Boston University and Ivy foe Brown.

Cornell
The Big Red split a pair of meets over the past two weekends, besting Colgate on Jan. 14, 175-125, before falling at Columbia, 194.5-99.5 ... against Coalgate, freshman Meredith Drummond won the 400 IM (4:27.38), missing the pool record by less than a tenth of a second … also against Colgate, senior Mary Kate Lynch earned her first collegiate victory on the one-meter boards (231.59 points) … against the Lions, junior Ali Guba came up with Cornell’s lone win of the day as she finished first in the 50-free (24.82) … the Big Red are back in action on Feb. 4 when it plays host to Brown in an Ivy League matchup.

Dartmouth

The Big Green posted a 3-1 mark over the last two weekends of action, earning wins over Penn, 150-149, Vermont, 193-107, and New Hampshire, 199-98, but dropping a decision to Yale, 174-126 ... Dartmouth is now 3-2 in the League standings … in the dramatic one-point win over Penn on Jan. 14, the Big Green finished third and fourth in the 400-free relay to clinch the victory … sophomore Danielle Kerr won the 1,000-free (10:13.89) … freshman Siobhan Hengemuhle won the 50-free (24.53) … in the win over Vermont, the Big Green won 12 of 16 events and set two Forbush Natatorium records including Kerr’s win in the 1,650-free (17:13.33) … the other record came as the team of Christine Kerr, D. Kerr, Sasha Alcon and Elizabeth Kamai won the 200-free relay (1:39.35) … senior Erica Serpico qualified for the NCAA Zone Championship in one-meter diving after winning the event with a score of 268.72 … then against New Hampshire, Dartmouth won 13 of 16 events, including 1-2-3 sweeps in the 100-back, the 100-fly and in the diving events to highlight the afternoon … D. Kerr picked up her fourth consecutive win in the 1,000-free (10:24.44) and also won the 500-free (5:05.15) … Dartmouth is back in action on Jan. 27-28 when it plays host to the Dartmouth Invitational at the Upper Valley Aquatic Center in White River Junction, Vt.

Harvard
On Jan. 14, the Crimson turned in a home win over Brown, 193-107, to improve to 5-0 in the League standings … nine Crimson swimmers won at least one event as Harvard claimed 12 victories overall … senior Meghan Leddy led the way with wins in the 200-fly (2:06.63) and the 500-free (5:02.37) … freshman Kelsey Hojan-Clark also won two events, taking the 1,650-free (17:04.58) and the 200-back (2:06.45) … then on Jan. 21, the Crimson dropped a pair of decisions to Big Ten foes Northwestern, 172-127, and Iowa, 153-146 … the losses snapped Harvard’s five-meet win streak … Leddy earned Harvard’s lone win on the day, capturing the 200-back (2:02.61) … junior Caroline Weaver placed second in the 200-back (2:03.95) and third in the 100–back (57.57) … Harvard returns to the pool when it plays host to the annual HYP meet at Blodgett Pool against Yale and Princeton on Feb. 4-5.

Penn
The Quakers dropped a pair of Ivy League decisions as part of a tri-meet at Dartmouth on Jan. 14, losing to Yale, 161-138, and the Big Green, 150-149 ... sophomore Shelby Fortin won two races for Penn, including the 200-free (1:51.53) and the 500-free (4:57.67) … the Quakers have finished the Ivy portion of their regular-season schedule with a 2-5 mark versus League opposition … Penn is back in the pool on Jan. 27 when it swims in a dual meet at West Chester.

Princeton
The Tigers are back in action on Jan. 29 when they travel to Hanover, N.H. for a tri-meet against Ivy foe Dartmouth as well as New Hampshire.

Yale
The Bulldogs notched wins over Dartmouth, 174-126, and Penn, 161-138, on Jan. 14 as part of a tri-meet in Hanover, N.H. … with the wins, Yale moves to 3-1 in the Ivy standings … junior Alex Forrester set a Karl Michael Pool record in the 100-free (51.14), breaking a three-year-old record … the team of Forrester, freshman Cassidy Lapp, senior Hayes Hyde and junior Joan Weaver set the Karl Michael Pool record when they won the 400-free (3:28.67) … Hyde, senior Athena Liao and senior Rachel Rosenberg each won two individual events … Hyde won the 200-fly (2:04.91) and the 100-fly (57.04) … Liao added wins in the 100-breast (1:04.60) and the 200-breast (2:18.57), while Rosenberg proved victorious on the one-meter (265.05 points) and three-meter (270.45) boards … the Bulldogs are off until the annual HYP tri-meet between Harvard, Yale and Princeton on Feb. 4-5 in Cambridge, Mass.