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The Harvard Crimson have received verbal commitments from Arizona’s Matti Harrison and Massachusetts’ Jerrica Li.
Matti Harrison
Harrison is from Paradise Valley, near Phoenix, Arizona, where she swims for Phoenix Swim Club and Arcadia High School. A 2016 Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100 back, Harrison is a national-level distance freestyler and 200 backstroker as well. She competed in the 100/200m backstrokes and 400/800/1500 freestyles at Summer Junior Nationals in San Antonio, dropping 8 seconds in the 1500 and finishing 14th overall.
Her top times include:
| SCY | LCM | |
| 50 back | 26.80 | 30.60 |
| 100 back | 55.36 | 1:03.37* |
| 200 back | 1:59.84 | 2:18.38 |
| 200 free | 1:51.22 | 2:06.68 |
| 500/400 free | 4:53.36 | 4:22.34 |
| 1000/800 | 9:59.74 | 8:54.68 |
| 1650/1500 | 16.37.38 | 17:01.13 |
*2016 Olympic Trials cut
Harrison’s breadth should make her valuable to the Crimson in 2016-17, as she would have made top-8 at 2015 Ivy League Women’s Championships in the 1000 and 1650 freestyles, and would have been on the A/B bubble in 100/200 backstrokes and in the 500 free.
Jerrica Li
Li hails from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, where she attends Longmeadow High School and swims for Mei’s Typhoons Swimming Club. Li has an enormous range of events, with national-level times in free, back, breast and IM.
Li lead Longmeadow to a fourth-place finish at the 2015 MIAA Girls’ Division 2 Swim & Dive Championships with two firsts (100 and 200 free) and leadoff legs on both the 200 and 400 free relays, which finished third and second, respectively.
Li’s top times over the last two seasons include:
| SCY | LCM | |
| 50 free | 23.42 | 26.91 |
| 100 free | 49.91 | 57.69 |
| 200 free | 1:48.54 | 2:05.75 |
| 200 back | 2:00.89 | |
| 100 breast | 1:03.62 | |
| 200 breast | 2:19.25 | 2:42.79 |
| 200 IM | 2:03.35 | 2:22.04 |
Given the versatility of her talent, Li will be able to step in wherever Head Coach Stephanie Wriede Morawski needs her most. Her times would already qualify her for “A” finals at the conference level in the 100/200 free and 100 breast and “B” finals in the 50 free, 200 back, 200 breast, and 200 IM.
*DISCLAIMER: Harrison and Li have not yet been officially accepted to Harvard. As is true with all Ivy League schools, Harvard’s Admission Office will not send its acceptance letter until the beginning of December, along with those of all Early Action candidates. The procedure for a recruited athlete like Harrison or Li is for Admissions to review their transcripts and SAT scores, “support (their) application(s) for admissions in the fall,” issue them Likely Letters, then offer them acceptance into the class of 2020.
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Harrison is a solid addition of a quality, diverse swimmer to the Harvard program. The former Arizona Marlin and now Phoenix Swim Club swimmer has worked hard in both the academic classroom and pool to provide outstanding contributions in both arenas. Great commitment for Harvard. Congrats Matti.
Why would anyone dislike your comment about her accomplishments? Congratulations on your amazing accomplishments….you are a great roll model for younger swimmers.