Courtesy of Noah Millard

The men’s swimming and diving team (7–1, 6–1 Ivy) put up a strong performance at the Ivy League Championships this past weekend, winning 23 medals and placing third with their team score of 1212.5 points. The Princeton Tigers took first place with 1330 points, and the Harvard Crimson edged out the Elis with a score of 1262.5.

“This Yale team is moving in the right direction, and we can tell we’ve started something absolutely incredible,” Noah Millard ’26 wrote to the News, reflecting on the team’s performance. “This was the closest three-way team race I’ve seen at Ivy champs in a long time, so to be able to be in contention for a win against Harvard and Princeton showed just how much potential we have and was super motivating for us all.” 

Day One: Wednesday, Feb. 26

The Bulldogs kicked off the Championships on the right note, with the relay team of Lucius Brown ’26, Nick Finch ’28, Alexander Hazlett ’26 and Deniel Nankov ’27 taking the gold and breaking a team record in the 200-yard medley relay. Their time of 1:24.00 was the second fastest time in Ivy meet history. 

The Elis kept up the momentum with Jake Wang ’28, Nankov, Charlie Egeland ’27 and Millard earning silver in the 800-yard freestyle relay with their team record time of 6:13.98. This impressive finish was the second fastest time in meet history, after the winning Princeton team, and qualified them for the NCAA A 800-yard freestyle relay. 

With these two victories, the Elis led the competition with 120 points. Princeton and Harvard trailed behind with 112 and 108 points, respectively.

Day Two: Thursday, Feb. 27

Day two began with a strong swim by Hazlett in the prelims in the 200-yard individual medley. His team record-breaking time of 1:44.36 qualified him for the A final, in which he finished eighth in 1:44.76. 

First-year Wang’s team record time of 1:44.10 earned him the championship title in the 200-yard IM B final. 

Next, Millard dominated in the A final of the 500-yard freestyle, earning the Ivy title and gold medal with his time of 4:07.68. His time broke the pool and team records and was an NCAA A standard time. His finish is the second fastest 500-yard freestyle time in the United States this year, making him the ninth fastest in the event’s history. Arshak Hambardzumyan’s ’28 time of 4:19.39 in the 500-yard freestyle earned him a fourth-place finish in the A final. 

Fellow first-year Finch won gold, becoming the Ivy Champion in the 50-yard freestyle in 19.07, a pool record and the second-fastest time in meet history. Nankov took fourth in the A final of the same event in 19.49. 

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Brown, Finch, Nankov and Millard took home the gold with their time of 1:16.48, breaking pool, team and meet records and also qualifying for the NCAA tournament. 

On the diving side, Jackson Lipscomb ’28 came in sixth place in the 1-meter dive with his score of 312.45, and Nicholas Chau ’26 followed directly behind with 300.00 points.

With these top finishes, the Bulldogs advanced their first-place lead to 486.5 points, with Princeton in second with 407.5, and Harvard coming in third with 360.5. 

Day Three: Friday, Feb. 28

On the third day of competition, the Bulldogs secured seven medals. 

Finch kicked off the victories with a team and pool record in the 100-yard butterfly prelims in 45.36. His time of 44.57 in the A final won him the gold and Championship title, breaking not only meet, pool and team records but also the Ivy record. 

Distance swimmer Hambardzumyan triumphed over the competition with his final gold-medal finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle in 8:51.82. His time was the ninth fastest in meet history, and his title marked Yale’s fifth event win.  

“Competing in my first Ivy League Championship was an incredible experience … I’m really happy with my performance, and winning a title in my freshman year means a lot,” Hambardzumyan wrote to the News. 

In the 400-yard IM, Jed Jones ’25 took eighth in the A final with his time of 3:47.88. Millard took silver in the 200-yard freestyle with his team record time of 1:31.86. 

Egeland and Hazlett competed in the 100-yard breaststroke A final, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively, in 52.58 and 52.96. 

The divers posted impressive scores in the 3-meter dive B final, with Chau taking 10th with his score of 330.00, Brady Stanton ’28 in 11th with 314.90 and Lipscomb 12th with 303.00. 

In the 400-yard medley relay, the quartet of Finch, Egeland, Millard and Manoli Mountantonakis ’28 had a silver-medal finish with their team record time of 3:06.43 to bring day three to an end on a high note. 

Although Yale dropped to third at the end of day three with 836.5 points, with Princeton claiming first with 847.5 and Harvard advancing to second with 846.5, Head Coach Jim Henry was proud of the team’s performance.

“So many outstanding performances by the team. We are rewriting our record books. Proud of the way we are competing in an extremely fast meet,” Henry told Yale Athletics.

Day Four: Saturday, March 1

The team closed out the tournament with six more medals on day four. 

In the 1,650-yard freestyle — the mile — the Bulldogs swept first and second places. Millard’s gold finish in 14:34.72 earned him the Ivy Champion title and was an Ivy meet and pool record, earning him a spot in the NCAA tournament. Hambardzumyan finished closely behind to win silver in 14:56.65.

“On a personal level, I’m super proud with how this meet went. Being able to break my own school records in a few events and even a few Ivy / pool records along the way is great positive reinforcement of all the work I’ve been putting in the last few months,” Millard wrote to the News. “It’s a great stepping stone for NCAAs in a couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to delivering my best again.” 

The 100-yard freestyle also proved to be a strong event for the Elis with Nankov and Finch earning silver and bronze, respectively, with their times of 42.52 and 42.63. Egeland took eighth in the A final of the 200-yard breaststroke in 1:57.62.

The team finished the championship tournament with a big win in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Finch, Millard, Nankov and Wang earned the gold, breaking Ivy League, pool and team records, while also qualifying for NCAA A with their time of 2:48.74.

While Millard is very proud to represent the Elis individually at the NCAAs, he is more looking forward to swimming with his teammates in the relays.

“Qualifying a few relays for NCAAs is one of the absolute highlights of my career thus far. It’s a different feeling qualifying individually versus being able to go with a team,” Millard wrote to the News. “Being able to race on the highest possible stage and experience this top tier meet with my teammates is something I’ve been looking forward to for years, so I can’t wait to show the country the talent the Ivy League has.”    

At the end of the four days, the Bulldogs walked away with 23 medals and finished third.

Millard attributed his and the team’s successes to his supportive teammates. 

“The energy on deck and the amount of support for each other through the week was easy to see, and it made competing that much more fun to see your best friends going crazy on the sidelines, rooting for you all the way along,” Millard wrote to the News. 

He is proud to be an Eli and represent Yale.

“I think a championship team is so much more than just people scoring points in the pool, and the quality of people we have on this Yale team is some of the most amazing I’ve ever been a part of. You feel so proud stepping up on the blocks each day doing what you can for the team,” Millard wrote to the News.

Hambardzumyan is also incredibly proud of the team and is already looking forward to next season.

“The whole team performed amazingly, and the atmosphere was electric throughout all four days … I see so much potential for next year’s championship, and I’m excited for what’s to come!” Hambardzumyan wrote to the News.

The qualifying Bulldogs will head to the NCAA Championships at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington from Wednesday, March 26 through Saturday, March 29.