Unbeaten Rivals Clash at HYP Women's Swimming
Storyline
The Harvard women's swimming and diving team looks to wrap
up a perfect Ivy League dual season and claim the league's
head-to-head title as it takes on rivals Yale and Princeton in the
annual HYP meet Saturday evening at 5 p.m. at Princeton's
DeNunzio Pool.
Follow From Home
Live results of the meet will be available here.
The Trophy Case
The 2008-09 Crimson captured the Ivy League and ECAC meet
championships but suffered a dual loss to the Tigers in last
season's HYP meet. Harvard is eager to defend its Ivy meet title
but would like to first claim the Ivy dual crown. The Crimson last
won the dual title in 2005-06, when it posted head-to-head records
of 10-0 overall and 7-0 against Ivy League competition. In each
year since, an HYP split has left Harvard with a 6-1 final Ivy
record.
Battle of Unbeatens
All three teams enter Saturday's meet with flawless league records
and a share of the lead in the Ivy League standings. Harvard (5-0,
5-0 Ivy League) is finishing its Ancient Eight schedule and can
therefore clinch the league dual title outright with an HYP sweep.
Princeton (4-0, 4-0) has a meet remaining with Columbia, while Yale
(6-1, 4-0) will take on Brown later. A sweep by the Tigers or
Bulldogs would clinch them a share of the dual championship.
The Best Around
The HYP meet will likely decide the Ivy League's dual champion, and
it serves as a preview of the Ivy League Championships at the end
of next month. An HYP team has won 31 of the previous 33 league
titles and 26 of the 33 Ivy meet championships. (The league
champion was determined by the dual standings from 1983-96.) The
Crimson and Tigers have occupied the top two team positions at
Ivies for each of the last seven years.
Last Time Out
Harvard celebrated Senior Day with a sweep of all 13 events en
route to a 177-66 win against Brown in the Crimson's final home Ivy
League dual meet Saturday. Alexandra Clarke (1,000-yard freestyle,
100 butterfly) and Kate Mills (200 free, 400 individual medley) won
two individual events each. Katy Hinkle played a part in three
total event wins (50 free, 200 medley relay, 200 free relay).
Scouting the Bulldogs
Yale comes in without a league loss but on the heels of a
stinging non-conference defeat at the hands of Navy, 151-149,
Saturday. Navy rallied in the final yards of the final event, the
400 free relay, to hand the Bulldogs their first loss. Susan Kim
leads the Eli swimmers. She captured the 100 and 200 breaststrokes
and the 200 IM against Navy and is the defending Ivy champion in
both breaststrokes. The Yale roster also features Hayes Hyde, last
year's Ivy 200 fly champ.
Scouting the Tigers
Harvard's Ivy championship last season ended Princeton's three-year
run as league meet champion, but the Tigers are still clinging to a
three-year streak as dual titlists. Princeton has won all four
of its dual meets and claimed a team title at the Bucknell
Invitational this season. The Tigers' most recent win came Sunday
at Dartmouth, 169-126, as Princeton posted 12 event wins.
There are two defending Ivy individual champions on this year's
edition of the Tigers, Alicia Aemisegger (500 free, 1,650 free, 400
IM) and Courtney Kilkuts (200 IM).
History Lesson
The Crimson defeated Yale, 232-87, and fell to Princeton,
170.5-148.5, in last season's HYP meet at Blodgett Pool. Harvard
had at least three of the top five finishers in eight of the 15
individual events and finished with a 1-2 finish in the 400-yard
freestyle relay. Kate Mills set a school record in the 200 free
with a time of 1:47.42 that she would eclipse at Ivies. She joined
Katy Hinkle (50 free) and Meghan Leddy (200 backstroke) as winners
of individual events. Susan Kim was Yale's lone event winner, in
the 100 breast. Alicia Aemisegger led Princeton with wins in the
200 fly, 500 free and 1,000 free.
Coming Attractions
Harvard sees its final head-to-head action of the season when it
welcomes Boston neighbor Northeastern to Blodgett Feb. 12.
