
Courtesy of Noah Millard
The Elis (5–0, 4–0 Ivy) began 2025 on a high note, triumphantly defeating Dartmouth (1–6, 0–2 Ivy) and Penn (2–5, 1–5 Ivy), with scores of 192–108 and 190.5–109.5, respectively.
After training and conditioning in Puerto Rico over the winter break, the Bulldogs returned to Kiphuth Exhibition Pool this past weekend, ready to face off against Dartmouth and Penn and keep up their undefeated streak.
“[Heading] into the meet, we’re super excited to kickstart the second half of our season and enjoy the lead up to Ivy champs,” Noah Millard ’26 wrote to the News before the weekend meet. “The camp in Puerto Rico provided a great environment for us to remove distractions and focus on enhancing our training and getting closer with our teammates. We all came into the new year refreshed and energized to attack our goals!”
On Friday, the first day of the tri-meet, Nicholas Chau ’26 started the weekend off strong for the divers, placing first in the 3M dive, earning a final score of 345.00. First-year Jackson Lipscomb ’28 put Yale on the scoreboard in the 1M dive, finishing third with 279.60 points.
Chau told the News he was happy with his performance in the 3M dive, which reflected the hard work he had put in during training, but he hopes to continue improving in the 1M board.
“With the Penn [and] Dartmouth meet, I think the competition was strong given that we’re at the peak of our season,” Chau wrote to the News. “I had ups and downs, and coming out from training trip in Puerto Rico and New Haven, we had tough conditioning and double practices every day with some lift sessions, so my body was feeling sore … But, I’m looking forward to HYP and Ivies knowing that I have the potential to do better.”
On the swimming side, the Bulldogs dominated the Big Green and Quakers on Saturday in the relays. In the 200-yard medley relay, the team of Jake Wang ’28, Charlie Egeland ’27, Nick Finch ’28 and Millard finished first, clocking in with a time of 1:28.55. Lucius Brown ’26, Alex Deng ’25, Alexander Hazlett ’26 and Ben Meulemans ’25 finished second with a time of 1:29.34.
The 400-yard freestyle relay saw Deniel Nankov ’27, Finch, Meulemans and Millard take first in 2:59.25, followed closely by Nareg Minassian ’26, Brown, Hazlett and Mak Nurkic Kacapor ’27 in third at 3:04.94.
Millard and Finch claimed the most first-place finishes for the Elis. Millard excelled in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:36.44 and the 500-yard freestyle in 4:25.48. Finch took first in the 50-yard freestyle in 20.03 and the 100-yard butterfly in 47.64.
Wang trailed Millard in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:40.34, finishing in third, and Kacapor finished in fourth with a time of 1:41.62. Jose Cano Figueroa ’26 placed second after Millard in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:33.93.
Meulemans took second after Finch in the 50-yard freestyle in 20.65, and Elliot Lee ’28 placed third in the 100-yard butterfly in 49.55.
In the 1000-yard freestyle distance event, Figueroa finished first, edging out the competition with his time of 9:27.80. Konstantinos Zachariadis ’27 and Finn Henry ’26 finished fourth and fifth in 9:44.09 and 9:44.34, respectively.
Manoli Mountantonakis ’28 placed second in the 100-yard backstroke, touching the wall in 50.16. Brown came in fourth at 50.22. Mountantonakis also finished second in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:50.51.
On the breaststroke side, Egeland claimed second in the 100-yard breaststroke in 54.91, and Deng followed in 55.23. Egeland also took second in the 200-yard breaststroke in 1:59.54.
As the Elis continue their undefeated streak, they celebrate the win but are continuing to prepare for the competition, knowing that they are at the peak of their season and there is more to be done.
“We started this year with another win, maintaining our undefeated record…I am so excited to continue trying my best to help this team to win!” Zachariadis wrote to the News.
The Bulldogs will travel to Ithaca, New York, to face Cornell on Sunday, Jan. 19 and Monday, Jan. 20.