The 500 freestyle featured the return Owens, who had earlier won the 1000 freestyle. Owens showed no fatigue as she got to a quick start, blazing through her first 200 in 1:59.00. Owens finished with a time of 5:01.90 and freshman Annabelle Paterson out-touched the Bear’s Sophia Cherkez in 5:04.45.
In the 100 fly, Dahlke and junior Brittany Usinger dueled it out, with Dahlke edging out her teammate by a second with a time of 55.26.
“I think what really helps our team be successful is that we really stress having a positive attitude and being their for one another,” Usinger said. “None of us are here to compete just for ourselves. We’re here to compete for the team. It’s always exciting to be working as an individual for the bigger goal, which is the end of the season, just sticking to the process. So I think for our team, what’s special is that we’re all here for each other and that’s why the sport is so fun because we get to be there for each other.”
After the one meter diving break, the meet resumed with the 200 individual medley. Again, Harvard jumped to a fast start, with four swimmers from the Crimson ahead after the first hundred. Senior Geordie Enoch and Popp duked it out for the top spot, with Enoch winning in a time of 2:05.46, followed by Popp, junior Valerie Yoshimura and Pinson.
The final 400 freestyle relay event, raced as an exhibition event, featured four Harvard relays against three of Cornell’s. The A relays were less than a body length apart for the entire contest. However, Li extended the Crimson’s lead at the end, giving her relay the victory in 3:28.85.
“We are excited not because of necessarily dominant performances, but mostly because how they’re swimming and diving. They’re executing their strategies well, and for us, that is the most important,” Morawski said. “So, they’re doing a really good job, some in best events, some in off events, some on new dives, some on dives they’ve done before, but executing everyday, in and out of practice, what they need to work on to be successful at the end of the season. At the competitions, it’s reinforces that we’re going in the right direction, so that’s what I’m the most pleased about right now.”
With two impressive wins under its belt, the team looks to show their prowess at large invitationals in the coming weeks.
“I just looking forward to having fun in practice and then carrying that fun into the rest of the meets of the season,” Usinger said. “We obviously take it one meet at a time, one day at a time, and just carrying the fun into the end of the season, so it should be good.”