However, despite the considerable role played by Harvard’s veterans, the meet was not without contributions from some new faces. The Crimson’s freshman class had a strong debut meet, while several sophomores showed their improvement from last season with convincing performances.
Rookie Michael Zarian particularly impressed, picking up a pair of wins in the 200 butterfly and the 200 individual medley exhibition. Classmate Eric Whisenant also collected a podium finish, touching the wall second behind Tran in the 200 backstroke, while first-years Levente Bathory and Reihman ended up second and third, respectively, in the 200 freestyle.
The team’s first-years also played a significant part in Harvard’s relay success, with Zarian, Reihman, Bathory, and fellow freshman Corban Rawls all swimming to podium finishes as part of Crimson relay lineups.
“The freshmen swam incredibly well,” Haeffner said. “They've been bringing outstanding energy in practice. It's exciting to see that pay off in competition and we're looking forward to what they can accomplish over the rest of the season.”
Harvard also looked to some of its returners to make an increased impact in Saturday’s meet.
Sophomores Marcoux and Daniel Chang both had strong freshman campaigns, but the pair cemented their place as contributors with this weekend’s contest. Each swimmer won an individual event and took second in another on Saturday.
Marcoux added to his runner-up finish in the 50 freestyle with a narrow victory over second-place Tan in the 100-yard freestyle. Chang traded places with Zarian in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200 individual medley, winning the first event with Zarian in fourth place, before taking second behind the rookie in the 200 IM exhibition.
With its veterans performing well and a strong debut meet under its rookies’ belts, the Crimson may hope that history will repeat itself once again. Harvard has finished each of the last three seasons with an undefeated dual meet record, and the team will be aiming to keep that trend going. For now, though, the Crimson is just focused on its next meet.
“[This weekend’s result] gives us great confidence in our performance and our training for the rest of the season,” Ross said. “We had great energy, and we’re all looking forward to [the team’s next meet against] Columbia now.”
—Staff writer Sam Christenfeld can be reached at sam.christenfeld@thecrimson.com.