The Harvard Women's Swim and Dive team (4-0, 4-0 Ivy) was electric at the three-day Minnesota Invitational swim meet that ran Dec 4-6. Of the six schools competing, the Crimson placed third, putting up a tough fight against its opponents. It was only bested by the California Golden Bears and the Minnesota Golden Gophers, ranked 6th and 22nd in the country, respectively.
Harvard swimmers launched off the block as fast as ever, even in preliminary rounds. Senior Anya Mostek broke a school record in the 50-yard freestyle preliminary race, clocking in at an impressive 22.44 seconds. Sophomore Kiley Wilhelm broke a school record in the 100-yard butterfly preliminary race and then bested her own record again later that afternoon. Her time of 51.78 seconds, which spurred her to a third-place finish during the meet, was an NCAA qualifying time.
"Everybody stepped up in prelims and got the job done, and worked on little things and improved in finals," Head Coach Amanda Kulik said.
Also recording NCAA qualifying times during the Invitational were junior Alexandra Bastone and freshman Carolina Daher for their respective fourth and fifth-place finishes in the 1650-yard freestyle.
The Crimson held nothing back in its relay races either. The team placed second in the 200, 400, and 800-yard freestyle relays, just getting edged out by the California Golden Bears in each one. Notably, senior Sydney Lu competed in all three of these races.
"I love watching our relays," Kulik said. "Just the way that it was scrappy, and they were gaining on Cal."
This meet was a rewarding experience for the team to get out of its comfort zone and compete against out-of-league teams. It proved to Harvard that it could hold its own against some of the best teams in the country, not only the smaller Ivy League schools.
"To be in an arena with other schools outside of the Ivy League and to challenge our whole team and compete against new faces is just really incredible," Kulik said.
Harvard's divers also impressed their competitors. Along with diving in her typical one-meter and three-meter events, sophomore Samantha Holtz stepped up to compete in the 10-meter platform dive, placing fifth.
"It's so beautiful watching [our divers] build on their fundamentals and be able to execute their dives," Kulik said.
Per usual, the team's camaraderie and supportive nature stood out amongst the other teams at the meet. Even the teammates who couldn't make the trip out to Minnesota for the meet watched the races over Zoom. Plus, before each race, the Harvard squad clapped three times and shouted the names of the swimmers who were about to enter the water, giving the Crimson athletes a warm welcome.
"Our team's goal is always to be the loudest on deck," Kulik said while reflecting on the culture she fosters on her team. "You're never alone; you always have the support of your team. It's really exciting to continue to see that wherever we go."
The Crimson's goal is to end the season with 80 percent of its athletes having recorded a lifetime best time in the pool, and it is on track to achieve this, with 45 percent of swimmers already having done so. This success is in no small part due to the team's grit and the student-athletes' steadfast commitment to push themselves.
"From the get-go, regardless of what team or what place we enter, what team we compete with, we never want to lose our identity and who we are and our core values," Kulik said. "Everybody has a role to play. Everybody has a voice. Everybody can lead."
Kulik can't wait to see how her athletes compete in the upcoming second half of the season after training over winter break, especially after seeing Harvard's successful performance in Minnesota.
"We're just really excited to keep this adventure going," she said.