2018 Men’s Ivy League Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2018 MEN’S IVY LEAGUE SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 21 – Saturday, February 24
• Prelims 11 a.m./Finals 6 p.m.
• DeNunzio Pool, Princeton, NJ
• Defending Champion: Harvard (results)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• NCAA Qualifying

The 2018 Men’s Ivy League Championships continue tonight in Princeton, New Jersey. Swimmers are set to compete individually in the 500 free, 200 IM, and 50 free. We’ll also see finals of the 1-meter diving and 200 free relay. Harvard’s Brennan Novak is the top seed in the 500 free after breaking the Meet Record with a quick 4:14.17 in prelims. Penn’s Mark Andrew (1:45.34) and Thomas Dillinger (1:45.42) lead the 200 IM after finishing hundredths apart this morning. In the 50 free, Yale’s Aaron Greenberg leads heading into finals with a 19.36.

MEN’S 500 FREE:

1. GOLD: Brennan Novak, Harvard, 4:13.34
2. SILVER: Kei Hyogo, Yale, 4:15.32
3. BRONZE: Logan Houck, Harvard, 4:16.08

Yale’s Kei Hyogo took it out in 1:39.69 to set the pace up front, but Harvard’s Brennan Novak chased him down on the back half. Novak dropped another 8 tenths from his own Ivy League Record, which he set in this morning’s prelims. Hyogo wound up 2nd, dropping over a second from his lifetime best. Harvard got 2 men on the podium as Logan Houck rounded out the top 3, dropping nearly 3 seconds. All of the top 3 men were under the 2017 NCAA invite time (4:16.67).

Penn’s Taylor Uselis and Columbia’s Michal Zyla battled for 4th. Zyla had a slight edge going into the final 50, but Uselis came through down the stretch to out-touch Zyla 4:20.32 to 4:20.57.

MEN’S 200 IM:

1. GOLD: Mark Andrew, Penn, 1:43.24
2. SILVER: Zach Buerger, Princeton, 1:44.77
3. BRONZE: Thomas Dillinger, Penn, 1:44.99

Penn’s Mark Andrew took down a 5-year-old Ivy League Meet Record tonight. Through the front half, he trailed Princeton’s Zach Buerger by 6 tenths, but Andrew surged ahead with a 29.32 breaststroke split and never looked back. Penn’s Thomas Dillinger also closed the gap on breaststroke, but Buerger was able to hold him off for the silver. In terms of an NCAA invite, Andrew is about a second under last year’s qualifying time (1:44.34).

Harvard’s Daniel Chang and Yale’s Jonathan Rutter battled for 4th with a pair of 1:45s. Chang put up a 29.38 breast split to run down Rutter after trailing by a second through backstroke. Chang touched in 1:45.77 to Rutter’s 1:45.96.

MEN’S 50 FREE:

1. GOLD: Aaron Greenberg, Yale, 19.49
2. SILVER: Steven Tan, Harvard, 19.66
3. BRONZE: Henry Gaissert, Yale, 19.70

Though he was slightly off his prelims time, Yale’s Aaron Greenberg secured the win tonight. With his 19.36 from this morning, Greenber is hundredths below the 2017 NCAA invite time (19.43). Harvard’s Steven Tan clipped Yale’s Henry Gaissert for the silver. Just off the podium in 19.79 was Harvard’s Raphael Marcoux. Princeton’s Ben Schafer (19.82) and Columbia’s Kevin Frifeldt (19.87) joined them sub-20.

Also breaking 20 were Harvard’s Ed Kim (19.88) and Penn’s Nathaniel Cunnan (19.97) from the B final.

MEN’S 1-METER DIVING:

1. GOLD: Jonathan Suckow, Columbia, 374.20
2. SILVER: Christian DeVol, Yale, 359.05
3. BRONZE: Jayden Pantel, Columbia, 346.70

Columbia racked up the points with 2 men on the podium. Champion Jonathan Suckow earned a new Pool Record with his performance. Princeton and Harvard each got a good boost here with 2 men in the final as well. Princeton’s Colton Young and Charlie Minns placed 5th and 6th respectively, while Harvard’s Bobby Ross and Hal Watts finished 4th (Ross) and 7th (Watts).

MEN’S 200 FREE RELAY:

1. GOLD: Harvard, 1:17.47
2. SILVER: Princeton, 1:18.43
3. BRONZE: Yale, 1:18.67

Harvard reeled in an NCAA ‘A cut here with Raphael Marcoux (19.82), Steven Tan (19.21), Ed Kim (19.31), and Paul O’Hara (19.13). Yale’s Henry Gassiert (19.68 leadoff) and Aaron Greenberg (19.18) got their squad off to a strong start before Harvard ran them down on the 3rd leg. They were in the hunt for silver, but Princeton’s Cole Buese (19.54) was able to close the gap and secure the silver. The Tigers also got a 19.33 from Ben Schafer on the 2nd leg.

TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 2:

  1. Harvard University                563   2. Princeton University              459
  3. Yale University                   377   4. Columbia University               364
  5. University of Pennsylvania        355   6. Cornell University                237
  7. Dartmouth College                 203