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Women's Swim/Dive Splits HYP Weekend; Yale Claims Status As Ivy Favorite
January 31, 2016 | Women's Swimming and Diving
COMPLETE RESULTS
Since the winter of 2000, every Ivy League championship in women's swimming and diving has been won by either Princeton (12) or Harvard (4). Both teams left DeNunzio Pool this weekend knowing it will take a superior effort next month to add another title to that total, because a third school is ready to join that group.
Yale swept the annual HYP meet, held over the weekend at DeNunzio Pool, with wins of 173.5-126.5 over Princeton and 167-133 over Harvard. The Tigers came away with a weekend split, as they defeated Harvard 165-135.
These results, combined with a thrilling final day at the 2015 Ivy League Championships, have shown how tight the league has become, and how ready Yale is to breaking into the top tier of the league. The Bulldogs will have the chance to cement that status Feb. 18-20 when the 2016 Championships come to DeNunzio Pool.
They won't sneak up on anybody this year, though. Instead, every other team will be aiming at them.
Princeton has traveled this road before, and it is a team that knows how to bear down and chase its ultimate goal. The Tigers had several strong performances throughout the weekend that they can build on, a stretch that started with a win in the opening race; the quartet of Sada Stewart, Olivia Chan, Nikki Larson and Maddy Veith won the 200 medley relay in 1:42.45.
Following a third-place finish by Mary Kate Davis in the 1000 (10:03.19), freshman Elaina Gu won the 200 free in 1:49.23. It was one of the most exciting races of the weekend, as she won by only .03 of a second.
Two more freshmen finished 1-2 in the 100 breast. Janet Zhao won the event in 1:03.08, while classmate Kate Didion took second in 1:03.26. Yet another freshman, Isabel Reis, followed with a runner-up finish in the 200 fly (2:00.23).
Both Maddy Veith (23.43) and Kathleen Mulligan (23.57) took Top-3 spots in the 50 free, and Colleen McHugh took fifth in the 3-meter diving event in 261.80. Veith opened Sunday's session by taking third in the 100 free (51.33), and Lindsay Temple followed by taking fourth in the 200 back (2:00.09).
Didion and Zhao flipped spots in the 200 breast, as Didion won the event in 2:15.25, while Zhao finished second in 2:16.94. Classmate Monica McGrath finished fourth in the 500 (4:56.04), and senior Nikki Larson finished third in the 100 fly in 55.17.
Deborah Daly took third in the 1-meter event with 271.50 points, and Beverly Nguyen added a third-place finish in 2:04.29. The weekend closed with a second-place finish in the 400 free relay, as the quartet of Larson, Mallory Remick, Reis and Veith finished in 3:24.77.
Princeton has one meet left before the Ivy League Championships; the Tigers will honor its senior class during Friday afternoon's home meet with Columbia. The event will be streamed on the Ivy League Digital Network.