MEN’S SWIM: Bulldogs remain undefeated, crushing Cornell
In their second meet of 2025, the Elis defeated the Big Red.

Yale Athletics
The Elis (6–0, 5–0 Ivy) defeated Cornell (5–3, 3–3 Ivy), with a final score of 181.5–118.5, maintaining their undefeated streak.
Over the holiday weekend, the Bulldogs traveled to Ithaca, New York, to face off against the Big Red. In their sixth meet of the season and second of 2025, the Elis continued to dominate the competition, maintaining their first-place ranking in the Ivy League.
“The team has built a strong foundation with their focus and determination since the beginning of the school year,” Coach Jim Henry wrote to the News.
On Sunday, the divers took on the Big Red and won both the 1-meter dive and the 3-meter dive. Junior Nicholas Chau ’26 claimed first place with a score of 317.78 in the 1-meter dive, and first-year Jackson Lipscomb’s ’28 score of 328.58 in the 3-meter dive earned him first place.
“The meet was a very exciting one with wins, new pool records, and contributions from both divers and swimmers,” Chau wrote to the News. “I feel like we’ve been building a lot of momentum being undefeated, which will help our confidence going into HYP.”
The success continued for the Bulldogs on Monday with notable victories in the relays. Lucius Brown ’26, Charlie Egeland ’27, Nick Finch ’28 and Deniel Nankov ’27 clocked in first in the 200-yard medley with a time of 1:28.98. In the 400-yard freestyle relay, Finch, Jake Wang ’28, Nareg Minassian ’26 and Noah Millard ’26 took first in 2:58.51.
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Minassian shared that it was a team effort, with each member playing an integral role in the Elis’ success.
“It was a great team effort win … and we had to fight for some wins,” Minassian wrote to the News. “We’re really happy with how the season has gone so far, staying undefeated … has us all excited going into HYP and Ivies.”
In the individual events, sprinter Finch claimed first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 47.43. On the breaststroke side, Egeland won, touching the wall in 1:58.93. Nankov took first in the 100-yard freestyle in 44.84.
Millard and Arshak Hambardzumyan ’28 were strong performers on Monday, each claiming two individual first-place victories. Millard excelled in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:36.85 and the 200-yard backstroke in 1:44.24. Distance swimmer Hambardzumyan won the 1000-yard freestyle in 9:23.66 and the 500-yard freestyle in 4:33.74.
Konstantinos Zachariadis ’27 is a proud member of this winning team.
“Another big win for the team … so happy to be part of it, and we are still undefeated this year. We are excited for HYP next week!” Zachariadis wrote to the News.
Captain Alex Deng ’25 echoed Zachariadis’ sentiment, expressing that he is pleased with the team’s performance thus far and eagerly anticipates the upcoming meets and the Ivy Championship.
“The team is looking great coming off of the training trip. We are super excited for what is to come,” Deng wrote to the News. “We want to move up, and I think we have really made a name for ourselves this year.”
As the team gears up for the highly anticipated HYP meet this weekend, Coach Henry says that they will continue training hard, hoping to secure two more victories.
“Carrying the momentum created early into the HYP and Ivies meets will be crucial,” Henry wrote to the News. “We are confident their positivity and drive seen throughout the year will help tremendously as we look to move up at the upcoming championship season.”
The Bulldogs will return to the Kiphuth Exhibition Pool on Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1, to honor the seniors before facing Harvard and Princeton in a tri-meet.