2023 Ivy League Men’s Fan Guide: Is It Tiger Time? Princeton Poised To Unseat Harvard

2023 Ivy League Men’s Championships

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
• Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center, Providence, RI
• Defending Champions:
  • Men: Harvard (5x)
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Live Video

Harvard held off Princeton to win its fifth consecutive men’s Ivy League title last season by just over 100 points, but the Crimson have lost superstar Dean Farris to graduation which could potentially open the door for the Tigers to take home their first championship banner since 2016.

With the Princeton women having won the conference title over the weekend, the men’s team will look to capitalize on that emotion and momentum and upend Harvard.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Wednesday

• 200 medley relay
• 800 free relay

Thursday

• 500 free
• 200 IM
• 50 free
• 1-meter diving
• 200 free relay

Friday

• 1000 free
• 400 IM
• 100 fly
• 200 free
• 100 breast
• 100 back
• 3-meter diving
• 400 medley relay

Saturday

• 1650 free
• 200 back
• 100 free
• 200 breast
• 200 fly
• 3-meter diving
• 400 free relay

2022 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Harvard, 1596
2. Princeton, 1492
3. Penn, 1066
4. Brown, 976
5. Columbia, 919
6. Yale, 788
7. Cornell, 572
8. Dartmouth, 299

SWIMMERS TO WATCH

Brown: Max Hardart (Fr- Free/IM), Jack Kelly (So- Breast/IM)), Lukas Scheidl (Sr- Back/IM), Rowland Lawver (Fr- Diving)

Max Hardart has emerged as one of the conference’s top distance freestylers in his freshman year, and gives Brown a strong 1-2 punch in the 400 IM alongside senior Lukas Scheidl. Jack Kelly has been on a roll in his sophomore year, reeling off best times of 52.61 in the 100 breast, 1:52.93 in the 200 breast and 1:45.20 in the 200 IM at the Bruno Invitational in December, ranking second behind Penn’s Matt Fallon in both breaststrokes and third behind Raunak Khosla and Fallon in the 200 IM.

Columbia: Jonathan Suckow (Sr- Diving), Demirkan Demir (So- Breast), Seungjoon Ahn (Jr- Fly/Free), Adam Wu (Fr- Free/Fly)

Diver Jonathan Suckow will again be a reliable source of points for the Lions as he’ll aim to defend his titles in the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Freshman Adam Wu has emerged as a contender in the 200 and 500 free, hitting respective times of 1:36.8/4:19.8 in December, and Demirkan Demir will look for a repeat of last year after upending Matt Fallon for the 100 breast win in 2022. Junior Seungjoon Ahn was third last year in the 200 fly and ranks second this season.

Cornell: Sebastian Wolff (So- Breast/IM), Pietro Ubertalli (Fr- Back/Free), Joseph Gurski (So- Fly/Free)

The Big Red didn’t have any individual podium finishes last year, but have a solid group with plenty of ‘A’ final potential led by sophomores Sebastian Wolff and Joseph Gurski. Gurski ranks inside the top seven in both fly events this season, while Wolff is up there in the 200 IM. Freshman Pietro Ubertalli has had an impressive first season and should be in the ‘A’ final of the 200 back.

Dartmouth: Everett Tai (Fr- Diving), Tim Park (Sr- Free/Fly), Yan Dvorteskiy (Fr- Free), Kyle Schubert (Sr- Diving)

Losing their top point scorer from last season Isaac Weigel, the Dartmouth men will have an uphill battle this season. They’ve got a mix of newcomers and veterans that give the Big Green a solid diving and freestyle group, with freshmen Everett Tai and Yan Dvorteskiy and seniors Kyle Schubert and Tim Park being the team’s best bets for points.

Harvard: Umit Gures (Sr- Free/Fly), Gunner Grant (Jr- Back), Marcus Holmquist (Jr- Free), Shane Washart (So – Distance), Adam Wesson (So- Diving)

Senior Umit Gures has had another strong season for the Crimson and enters the championships leading the conference in the 50 free (19.60) and 100 fly (45.68). The Turkish native missed the midseason Minnesota Invite in order to prepare for the Short Course World Championships, so we’ve yet to really see him hit a taper this season. Junior Gunner Grant hit best times of 46.44 in the 100 back and 1:42.41 in the 200 back in Minnesota, positioning himself to repeat his victories from last year. Swedish junior Marcus Holmquist is a threat across the 50/100/200 free, while sophomore Shane Washart will vie for repeat wins in the 1000 and 1650 free.

Penn: Matt Fallon (So- Breast/IM), Ben Feldman (Jr- Free/Fly), Jason Schreiber (Jr- Breast/IM), Kevin Keil (Jr- IM)

With Dean Farris graduating, Matt Fallon is the bonafide biggest star in the conference, with many penciling him in as a contender for a medal at the World Championships this summer in the 200 breaststroke. In the NCAA, he was the runner-up in the 200 breast as a freshman and is essentially a lock to repeat as Ivy League champion, while he’ll have to battle with Columbia’s Demir for the 100 victory. Fallon will also have a shot in the 200 IM, where he comes in ranked second behind Princeton’s Khosla. Fallon will have some support from junior Ben Feldman, who’s ranked second this season in the 50 free (19.83), third in the 100 fly (46.79) and fourth in the 100 free (43.66). Jason Schreiber and Kevin Keil provide depth in the IMs.

Princeton: Raunak Khosla (Sr- IM/Free), Lucas Tudoras (Fr- Free), Nicholas Lim (Jr- Fly/Free), Tyler Hong (So- IM/Fly/Back), Mitch Schott (Fr- Free/Back/Fly), Max Walther (Sr- Free)

Raunak Khosla swept the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM at last year’s championships, and will be the favorite to do so once again as he leads the Ivy League in all three events this season. Freshman Lucas Tudoras has emerged as a freestyle force, while fellow first-year Mitch Schott will also provide valuable points in the 200/500 free and either the 200 back or 200 fly. Junior Nicholas Lim is a top-tier option in the same range of events, having finished in the top five across the 200 free, 500 free and 200 fly last year, while sophomore Tyler Hong is elite in the 200 back, 100 fly and 200 IM.

Yale: Noah Millard (So- Free/Back), Joe Page (Sr- Free), Connor Lee (Sr- Free/Fly), Alexander Deng (So- Breast)

Yale’s top scorer last season, Noah Millard has leveled up this year after dropping a 4:14.6 500 free at the Ohio State Invite, and he’s also the Ivy League’s top swimmer in the 200 free (1:34.38) and will be in title contention in the 1650 free. Senior Joe Page will again be a top-five threat in the 50, 100 and 200 free, while Connor Lee and Alexander Deng will contribute in the fly and breast events, respectively.

SHOWDOWNS

100 Breaststroke: Matt Fallon was upended by Columbia’s Demirkan Demir in the 100 breast last season, and the two will rematch here with Fallon having been 52.00 already this season (though he was 51.45 at midseason invites in 2021-22). Demir has only been 53.09 this season, and Brown’s Jack Kelly has actually been faster at 52.61, though Demir dropped a 51.93 in last year’s final and will likely need to be sub-52 at the least to take down Fallon once again.

100 Freestyle: Without Dean Farris, the 100 free field is bunched up at the top, with upstart Princeton freshman Lucas Tudoras leading the conference this season at 43.44. Yale’s Joe Page (43.51), Harvard’s Marcus Holmquist (43.59) and Penn’s Ben Feldman (43.66) are close behind, while Princeton’s Max Walther is the top returner after placing third last year in 42.89.

100 Backstroke: Last season we saw Harvard sophomore Gunner Grant claim the 100 back title by six-tenths over Princeton freshman Tyler Hong, with Hong having led the prelims in 46.71 before Grant delivered in the final, clocking 46.58. This season, Grant leads the conference in 46.44, and Hong is close behind in 46.84. The two are set to lock horns once again, and with Hong having a year of experience under his belt, he’ll be looking to deliver after adding in last season’s final. Harvard sophomore Anthony Rincon, third last year, set a PB of 47.03 at the Minnesota Invite and will also be in the hunt.

SWIMSWAM PICKS

1. Princeton
2. Harvard
3. Penn

Is it Princeton’s time? The numbers indicate that it is, with solid diving in place to support their swimming prowess. Harvard remains a threat, but without Farris, not only do they lose his 92 individual points from last year, but the relays are diminished. Penn remains a clear third.