Harvard Overtakes Princeton For Lead Heading Into Final Day Of Women’s Ivy League Meet

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, February 21. THE Harvard University women’s swimming and diving team made up 45 points on Princeton during Friday’s finals session to take a 28-point lead into the final day of competition at the women’s Ivy League Championships. Pennsylvania’s Shelby Fortin (200 free, 1:45.69) and Harvard’s Danielle Lee (200 back, 52.83) each set Ivy League Championship meet records on Friday night to highlight the evening.

Ivy League Press Release

Capping the night off with a win in the 800 freestyle relay, Harvard holds the lead heading into Saturday’s final day of action at the Ivy League Women’s Swimming Championships.

Harvard has 952 points to lead, 28 points better than Princeton’s 924. Yale is third with 739, followed by Columbia, Penn, Brown, Cornell and Dartmouth.

The second night of action began with a thrilling 200 medley relay. Princeton, which began the night with a 17-point lead in the team standings, edged Columbia by eight one-hundredths of a second, while Harvard was third.

A strong showing in the 1,000, however, gave the Crimson the lead. Sherry Liu won the final heat in 9:43.53, the fourth-fastest in Ivy League Championship history. The Crimson had four in the top 10 over four heats to score big in the event – 99 points with those four swimmers alone – and take a 49-point lead over the Tigers for the time-being.

Yale’s Emma Smith won the 400 IM with a strong final length of the pool. She touched the wall in 4:15.17 after a final length of 28.96. Beverly Nguyen’s second-place finish in the event helped Princeton shave a few points off the Harvard lead.

The Tigers regained the lead by the slimmest of margins, though, with a 1-2 finish in the 100 butterfly. Nikki Larson and Morgan Karetnick touched the wall in 53.11 and 53.90, respectively, to give Princeton a one-point lead.

Penn’s Shelby Fortin won the 200 freestyle in 1:45.69, setting the first Ivy League Championship meet record of the weekend. It was the third time she has won that title in her illustrious career.

The Crimson stretched the lead a little more in the 100 breaststroke. Columbia’s Mikaila Gaffey earned the Ivy title with a time of 1:01.05 while the Crimson’s Stephanie Ferrell placed fourth in the event as the see-sawing of the lead swung back in favor of Harvard.

In the closest race of the night, the Crimson’s Danielle Lee edged Princeton’s Lisa Boyce for the 100 back final. Lee touched in 52.83, two one-hundredths of a second ahead of Boyce, who had won the title three years in a row. Lee’s time was also an Ivy League Championships record.

To close the night out, the Crimson held off a pair of charges by Columbia and Princeton and, with Liu swimming the anchor leg, won the relay in a time of 7:15.07.

Saturday’s final day of action gets underway at 11 am with preliminary events. The Ivy League Digital Network will have live coverage throughout the day.

TEAM SCORING
1. Harvard 952
2. Princeton 924
3. Yale 739
4. Columbia 668
5. Penn 595
6. Brown 512
7. Cornell 464
8. Dartmouth 373

Results For: Women’s Ivy League Championships, Day Two

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