NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Yale men's swimming and diving team begins its 122nd season this weekend with a meet versus MIT on Friday, followed by a second one Saturday against Brown. Last season's opener for the Bulldogs was a huge success, as they dominated the Beavers 189–88. Personal highlights abounded with sophomore Liam Bogart registering his first collegiate victory in the 1000-yard freestyle and senior Henry Gaissert taking home first place in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events.
Records fell during the 2018-2019 season en route to an admirable fifth-place finish by the Elis at the Ivy League Swimming Championships. Overall, the squad posted a 4–4 dual meet record and saw huge production from the class of 2022. Sophomore Christian Bell notably finished third in the 200-yard backstroke at the all-important HYP meet to close out the year and Michael Blank took third in the 100-yard backstroke event at the meet vs. Dartmouth and Penn.
The major highlight of the past season came on the third day of the Ivies. The talented 400-yard medley relay team – composed of junior Tyler Harmon, junior Tim Dorje Wu, junior Patrick Frith, and Gaissert – set a Yale record with a time of 3:12:41. This blistering finish was the first Yale record set that season.
There have been notable updates to the Yale men's swimming roster in the offseason, both in the coaching staff and the election of a new captain. Keith Miller, who spent 27 years as the coach of Harvard men's and women's diving teams, has signed on to be a volunteer diving coach for the Bulldogs. Additionally, senior Matt Slabe, a significant contributor in the long-distance freestyle event for Yale, will serve as the captain of the squad coming into this year. He is the 122nd Yale men's swimming and diving captain in the history of the program.
The class of 2023 is comprised of eight talented swimmers and divers looking to make an immediate impact on the Yale team. The two first-year divers are Jean Paul Ditto and William Lefebvre. As far as swimmers, there are six new faces on the Bulldog team this season. These athletes are Nathaniel Hickman-Chow, Greg Kalin, Connor Lee, Jack O'Connor, Joseph Page and Jami Rzepecki.
The Eli roster is loaded with senior talent. Gaissert was awarded the John Edward Heaton High Point award for accruing the most points on the team in dual meet competition that season. The senior was notably a runner-up in the freestyle event at the 2019 Ivy League Championships. Senior Max Bottene showed signs of dominance in the event as several points last season, taking 10th place at the Ivies in 50-yard freestyle and notably finished second against Cornell in 100-yard freestyle.
Fellow seniors Tristan Furnary and Ryan Huizing were also instrumental in Yale's success. Huizing took first place in the 100-yard butterfly against both Columbia and MIT, while Furnary placed third in individual medley competition against Cornell and Columbia.
The juniors on the Yale roster have stepped up significantly and found great success last season. Harmon was a force to be reckoned with in his specialty backstroke event, taking home a seventh-place finish at the 2019 Ivy League Championships and the Livingston Mather Award for excellence in backstroke swimming. Wu found similar success in his breaststroke competitions, as the Virginia native placed fifth at the Ivies. Following the season, Wu received the M. Davies Award for excellence in breaststroke swimming. This was the second time he has taken home this accolade.
The diving team will be anchored by both young talent and also returning members. Sophomore Owen Stevens is the only second-year diver, with the majority of the team coming from the class of 2021 and a senior. Junior Christian Devol will be hoping to replicate the success he found last year. The Pennsylvania native took home second place in the 1-meter dive in the HYP meet last season and fourth place in that event at the Ivies. He was given the Harry Burke Award for his huge contributions to the diving squad. The sole senior, Chris Labella, brings excellence and experience to the diving roster. The Californian placed 10th in the 1-meter dive and 12th in the 3-meter dive at the 2019 Ivy Championships.
The butterfly and backstroke events have huge potential for the Bulldogs this year. Frith was tremendous in butterfly competition his sophomore year, taking first place in the 200-yard butterfly against Columbia and second place against MIT in the 100-yard butterfly. Bell was dominant in backstroke, taking first against Columbia and second place at the meet vs. Dartmouth and Penn in the 200-yard backstroke.
Following the contests against MIT and Brown, the Bulldogs travel to New York to take on Columbia on Nov. 16. They then travel all the way to Columbus, Ohio, to compete in the Ohio State Invitational at the end of November. The Elis return home to face Southern Connecticut on Dec. 5.
The Ivy season picks up with a meet against Penn and Dartmouth on Jan. 11, followed by Cornell on Jan. 18. The major contest of the dual meet season will be the HYP meet that takes place at the end of January and into February. Following Harvard's undefeated 2018-2019 campaign, Yale will be looking to flip the script on its archrivals this time around.
Following those all-important meets, the Elis head into the Ivy League Championships which fall at the end of February. Those events will be held in Cambridge, Mass., this year. The season concludes in March with the NCAA Division I Championships and the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships if the Bulldogs qualify. The two events will be held in Morgantown, W.V., and Indianapolis, Ind., respectively.
