Yale Athletics

The men’s and women’s swim teams have built up a winning streak against other Ivy League schools over their last few meets. 

Both teams have recently beaten Cornell University, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania since returning from the winter recess. The men’s team celebrated Senior Day by capping off a four-meet winning streak against Dartmouth and Penn, while the women’s team also secured victories against the two schools in their last home meet of the season.

“Because it was our seniors’ last home meet, we wanted to send them off with all our support which only bolstered our confidence and energy at that meet,” said Alex Massey ’24 of the women’s swim team. 

Both teams spent a week in Puerto Rico over the break to bond and train ahead of the recent Ivy League competitions. According to Massey, “it was nice to be outside and in the sun, but most of our time was structured around practices which forced us in a way to get so much closer as a group.”

The ten-day trip allowed the team to get into “fantastic shape,” said Alexander Hazlett ’26. The team started off the new year with a win against Cornell on Jan. 10-11 in Ithaca, posting a score of 166.5 to the Big Red’s 133.5. 

California native Jean Paul Ditto ’24 headlined the competition by winning the 3- and 1-meter diving events. Ditto continued his success by winning the 3-meter board at the next meet on Jan. 13. 

“Our training in Puerto Rico helped us finish strong against both Penn and Dartmouth and come away with 2 wins,” Hazlett said.

Hazlett attributed the team’s recent successes to “team unity” and “great effort.” He added that the combined program is “close-knit,” so they race for each other. The recent training camp on the tropical island has also helped the team produce season-bests at the most recent meets. 

Hazlett said that “it definitely was not our best performance” against Cornell, even though the Bulldogs secured a victory. However, he was “proud” of the way the team responded, saying, “we were forced to put that behind us just days later and race.”

During the women’s team’s Senior Day meet, the team was just as successful as the men’s. Massey won three events for the Bulldogs — the 200 butterfly, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley.

Meanwhile, Raime Jones ‘23 and Ophelia Pilkinton ’24 won the 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke and the 50 and 100 freestyle, respectively.

“As the end of season approaches, our focus as a team remains sticking together as one,” Massey said. “We’re working towards a common victory, so we’re leading with the mindset that if we can each help other teammates improve, then the whole team will benefit.”

Massey said that she is most proud of the team’s “camaraderie,” pointing to the endless support of her teammates.  

Both the men’s and women’s swim and dive team will compete in Cambridge from Jan. 27-29.