His fourth-place finish earned him first team All-America status, making him the first Harvard swimmer to receive that distinction since Alex Meyer `10 finished 14th in the 1650 freestyle at NCAAs in 2010.
“Dean had an amazing meet,” senior Aly Abdel Khalik said. “To step up and race the fastest guys in the country is by no means an easy task, especially as a freshman. Coming in fourth behind three Olympians only speaks to the bright future he has in this sport.”
Farris would also collect a second All-America honor, finishing 14th overall in the 200 backstroke to earn the title of honorable mention All-American. The first-year is the first Crimson swimmer to be named All-America in two individual events since Geoff Rathberger `08 in 2008.
Farris’ time of 1:39.99 in the prelims of the 200 back also broke the previous school record in the event.
The freshman would pick up a third All-America honor as well, racing to a 14th-place finish in the 800 freestyle relay along with sophomore Brennan Novak, senior Jack Manchester, and Abdel Khalik. The lineup’s time of 6:17.26 demolished the previous school record by more than two seconds and earned the squad honorable mention All-America distinction.
Novak would also race individually in the 500 and 1650 freestyle events. The sophomore finished 23rd in the 500 free before ending up in 20th place in the 1650 free.
Harvard would crack the top-20 in 200 freestyle relay too. Farris, Yakubovich, and Manchester teamed up with junior Steven Tan to touch the wall in 19th in the event.
The 400 freestyle relay lineup of Tan, Farris, Yakubovich, and junior Ed Kim had a strong showing as well, finishing 23rd overall with a time of 2:52.93.
Despite the team’s success, the Crimson is already thinking about next year.
“Watching the fastest guys in the country break records makes us more excited to see what we can do in the next season,” Abdel Khalik said. “This was a great year for us and we plan to keep the ball rolling in these upcoming seasons.”
—Staff writer Sam O.M. Christenfeld can be reached at sam.christenfeld@thecrimson.com.