Harvard Tops Boston University, 201-99, on Senior Day

Pictured: Niall Janney won the 200 butterfly and 400 IM. 
Photo courtesy: David Silverman Photography

Complete Results

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Crimson men’s swimming and diving team won 13 of 16 events to emerge with a 201-99 victory against crosstown rival Boston University Saturday afternoon at Blodgett Pool. Niall Janney led the Harvard charge with victories in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM, while Robert Newell captured the 100 and 200 backstroke, Mason Brunnick won the 200 and 500 freestyle and Zac Ranta claimed both diving events.

The Crimson, which improved to 6-1 overall on the season, opened the day by taking the 200 medley relay as the foursome of Jordan Diekema, Owen Wurzbacher, Eric Taylor and Will Heyburn swam to victory with a collective time of 1:33.33. Alex Meyer followed by posting the meet’s fastest time in the 1,000 freestyle with a mark of 9:18.62. Blake Lewkowitz (9:38.51) and Matthew Kaminske (9:44.32) placed second and third, respectively. Mason Brunnick and Nicholas Tan were 1-2 in the 200 freestyle, as Brunnick grabbed the wall in 1:41.28, followed by Tan in 1:41.49.

Newell picked up Harvard’s fourth straight win to open the meet as he swam ahead of the competition in the 100 backstroke, finishing in 51.62. Davidson followed with a victory in the 100 breaststroke (58.24), before Janney led a 1-2-3 placing for Harvard swimmers in the 200 butterfly. Janney won the race in 1:52.48, while Ryan Cutter (1:55.00) and Ross Ford (1:55.35) were close behind.

On the boards, Ranta amassed 331.20 points to win the three-meter diving competition. Ranta also claimed the one-meter board, edging teammate Michael Stanton, 274.50-273.00, for first place. Newell completed his sweep of the backstroke races, taking the 200 with a time of 1:51.04. In the 200 breaststroke, Davidson and Wurzbacher completed the race in less than a second apart, as Davidson won the event in 2:06.13, while Wurzbacher was second in 2:06.90. Brunnick and Meyer placed 1-2 in the 500 freestyle, led by Brunnick’s time of 4:32.82. Meyer finished the race in 4:37.42. In the 100 butterfly, Tan posted the fastest time, touching the wall in 50.37, just ahead of Ford (51.57). In Harvard’s final win of the afternoon, Janney cruised to a time of 4:04.08 in the 400 IM.

Harvard closes out the regular season with the annual HYP meet against Yale and Princeton. The meet will be held at Princeton’s DeNunzio Pool Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30. Competition on Friday is set to begin at 6 p.m.