Reaching 1,000 career victories is enough to make any team’s season. But the millennium milestone, which the men’s swimming team passed two weeks ago at the H-Y-Ps, should not overshadow what has the makings of an outstanding year for the Bulldogs.
The Eli men are 13-1 in head-to-head competitions, with the lone loss coming at the hands of Harvard. With most victories coming handily, Yale has not been pressed often in close competition.
Several Bulldogs have climbed into the top five in Yale’s record books, including James Cocks ’03, Greg Palumbo ’03, Jack Cooney ’04 and Jimmy Veazey ’04.
With the Ivy tri-meet season ending last weekend in a rout of Brown and Columbia, Yale has only the EISL Championships and the ECAC Championships remaining before possible NCAA qualifications.
With a similar win-loss record to the men, the women’s swimming team is in the midst of an outstanding season.
Early in the season two Eli divers, Melanie Loftus ’05 and Bates Gregory ’03, set the tone for the season by breaking the school record on the 3-meter spring board.
Susan Cooke ’03, Danielle Baron ’03 and Paige Harazin ’04 paced Yale early on and should continue to do so as the Bulldogs make a strong push to close out their season.
At the Ivy Championships in Cambridge, Mass. Feb. 21-23, the Bulldogs will try to avenge their only loss of the season to Princeton.
As both teams prepare for the annual swimming ritual of shaving and tapering, both the men’s and women’s teams look prime to improve on their third place finishes at the EISL championships and the Ivy Championships.