HMSD UPDATE

Hello from Blodgett Pool! Some time has passed since I have spoken
with you and a great deal has happened. Let me bring you up to date
working backwards.

Coach Sean Schimmel has moved on to be an Assistant Coach with
LSU.  Sean made a significant contribution to Harvard Swimming
during his 7 years as my assistant. We greatly appreciate his efforts
and wish him and his family all the best.

I have hired Mike Spring as an interim assistant coach. Mike is a graduate
of the University of Buffalo where his also served as an assistant for
4 years. Most recently Mike has been the Head Coach/Owner of the Magnus
Aquatic Club for the last 12 years here in the Boston area. We are excited to have Mike on board and looking forward to the 2nd half of the season.

Meets
Georgia Invitational  Dec 1-3
   We had numerous lifetime and in season best times. The meet gave us a clear picture of what we have done and what we need to do for the next eight
weeks. Below are some highlights of the last day of competition
ATHENS, Ga. -- Harvard's men's swimming and diving team enjoyed a third day of solid performances at the Georgia Invitational Sunday, as six Crimson individuals reached the top-level finals in their respective events. Harvard finished the meet in fourth place - the same position it occupied through the three-day event. Southern California won the meet with 951 points, while Georgia took second with 884. Missouri was third with 635 points, followed by Harvard (610.5), Georgia Tech (447.5) and California (155). Eric Lynch began Sunday's individual action by taking third place in a fast 1,650-yard freestyle that saw the first- and second-place finishers register NCAA-qualifying times. Lynch touched the wall in 15:36.30 to give the Crimson 16 points. Sam Wollner followed in fifth place, clocking 15:38.10. Geoff Rathgeber continued his excellent meet with a second-place showing in the 200 backstroke in the next event Sunday, as he turned in a 1:47.40. Jason Degnan-Rojeski also reached the A final, finishing seventh overall in 1:50.22. Pat Quinn reached the top-level final in the 100 freestyle and delivered a sixth-place finish in that event (45.59). Harvard then got a solid 4-5 finish in the 200 butterfly from Dan Jones and Bill Jones. Dan took fourth in 1:49.18, while Bill was exactly one second behind in 1:50.18. Harvard closed the meet by taking third in the 400 freestyle relay, clocking 3:01.95. The meet was Harvard's last formal competition until a Jan. 5 dual meet against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. You can find complete results at gocrimson.com, click Mens Swimming, click schedule
Alumni Meet
  We had a very nice turnout and some exciting races. It was great to see
some old and recent faces and it seemed like everyone had a nice time. The
alumni kids relay added a new and exciting event to our meet. Thank you to Hillary, Carlos, and Denis for helping to make the day a big success. The BBQ and weather capped off a really nice day.
   We greatly appreciate your continued support as a member of the
Friends of Harvard Swimming and Diving. We depend on your financial
contributions to continue Harvard's tradition of success. Visit our website for alumni news, pictures and information at:. www.hcs.harvard.edu/~swim/

Columbia
    I was especially pleased with the teams response to avenging last years defeat along with coming off a defeat at Cornell.

HMSD rebounded nicely from its first setback of the 2006-07 season with a solid 171-127 win against Columbia Friday at Blodgett Pool.
Harvard opened and closed the meet with wins in the relays and saw its eight individual victories come from four familiar names as the Crimson improved to 3-1 both overall and in the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League. Columbia took the first-place points in six of the 16 events as the Lions fell to 1-2. Junior Sam Wollner took both distance freestyle events, senior Jason Degnan-Rojeski won both backstroke races, junior Geoff Rathgeber took the breastroke events, and sophomore Dan Jones swept the butterfly competitions to pace the Crimson.
Harvard began the meet by winning wire-to-wire in the 200-yard medley relay as the Crimson touched in 1:32.46 to the Lions' 1:33.92. Wollner sparked the Crimson to a sizable early lead in the following event as he led a 1-2-3 Harvard finish in the 1,000 freestyle, finishing in 9:28.18.
The Lions made up three points by taking first and fourth in the 200 freestyle as Harvard's Bill Jones took second. But Degnan-Rojeski answered by leading a 1-2 Crimson finish with Pat Quinn in the 100 backstroke, edging his teammate, 51.59 to 51.63. Rathgeber then took the 100 breaststroke (56.36) before Dan Jones grappled the first-place points in the 200 butterfly (1:51.40) with Wollner taking second. Columbia's Tobin White sandwiched wins in the 50 and 100 freestyles around Justin Reardon's winning effort in one-meter diving to give the Lions three straight first-place finishes. But Degnan-Rojeski again put Harvard in control as he took first in the 200 backstroke (1:52.96), sparking a string of four straight event wins for the Crimson. Rathgeber came in first in the 200 breaststroke (2:04.13), Wollner completed his double with a strong 4:34.59 in the 500 freestyle, and Dan Jones led a 1-2 finish with his brother in the 100 butterfly (49.86). Columbia followed with wins in three-meter diving and the 200 individual medley, but the Crimson closed the meet by taking a half-second win in the 400 freestyle relay, with Pat Quinn anchoring the group to a 3:04.50 finish.
Rathgeber added the two relay wins to his two individual victories to finish with four total first-place efforts. Quinn and Bill Jones also swam legs on the two winning relays.

Cornell / Dartmouth
  Our trip to Cornell handed us our first defeat of the season. Cornell
 swam well from top to bottom and their victory was was well earned.
View larger Courtesy: DSPics.com

ITHACA, N.Y.—Juniors Sam Wollner and Geoff Rathgeber won twice each to lead Harvard to a split in a double-dual meet against host Cornell and Dartmouth Saturday at Teagle Hall. Sophomore Dan Jones also won for the Crimson (2-1, 2-1 Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League), which picked up a 230-65 win against the Big Green, but fell to the Big Red, 167-131.

 After Cornell took the opening 200-yard medley relay, Wollner won the first individual contest of the day, taking the 1,000 freestyle in 9:37.92. Sophomore Eric Lynch and freshman Mason Brunnick made it a clean sweep of the first three spots in the 1,000. Wollner came right back with a second-place showing in the 200 free and later set a pool record with his winning time of 4:331.17 in the 500 free. Rathgeber also left his mark on the Teagle pool, setting a pool record in the 200 breaststroke in 2:03.18. His second win came in the 200 individual medley, where he led another Harvard top-three sweep. Rathgeber finished in 1:54.88 and was followed by sophomore Tim Parent and junior Michael Bowen. Rathgeber was second in the 100 breast. Jones edged Cornell senior Mike Smit by 0.08 seconds in the 100 butterfly, with a winning mark of 50.08. Brother Bill Jones was third in 50.31. The Jones brothers also placed second and third in the 200 fly.

 Senior Jason Degnan-Rojeski took second in the 100 backstroke, and junior Pat Quinn was the runner-up in the 50 free.
 
Penn
    The season began a week earlier and against
a different opponent than normal.
Crimson Races Past Penn In Season-Opener, 189-101

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard won the first 10 events of the meet and took 14 of the 16 scored events to cruise to a 189-101 win against Penn Saturday in both schools' season-opener at Blodgett Pool. Junior Geoff Rathgeber was the top scorer for Harvard as he won three individual events and swam a the opening leg on the winning 200-yard medley relay. Sophomore Bill Jones won two events, as did sophomore Tom Hehir, who took both diving competitions. Harvard opened the meet by taking the top two places in the 200 medley relay, and the Crimson followed by taking first, second and third in the 1,000 freestyle, with freshman Mason Brunnick touching the wall first in his collegiate debut (9:41.58).
Jones turned in a 1:42.39 performance in winning the 200 freestyle, and senior Jason Degnan-Rojeski led a 1-2 Crimson finish in the 100 backstroke by swimming 52.83 in that event.
Rathgeber took his first individual win of the day in the 100 breaststroke as he easily outpaced the field in 56.50 seconds. Sophomore Dan Jones won the 200 butterfly in 1:51.15 before junior Pat Quinn made it seven straight for Harvard by taking the 50 freestyle in 21.36.
  Hehir took his first win in one-meter diving as he totaled 263.32 points before sophomore David Guernsey led a 1-2 Crimson finish in the 100 freestyle (47.36). Rathgeber made it 10 straight event wins for the Crimson as he won the 200 backstroke by nearly six seconds, touching the wall in 1:50.89. Penn got its first event win from Yuchi Zhang in the 200 breaststroke, but Harvard came right back by taking the top two places in the 500 free, with junior Sam Wollner clocking 4:37.29.
Bill Jones edged his brother for a 1-2 Harvard finish in the 100 butterfly, with Bill touching in 50.03 seconds and Dan turning in a 50.09. Hehir completed his sweep of the diving events by scoring 270.30 on the three-meter board. Rathgeber completed his hat trick with his best performance of the afternoon as he won the 400 individual medley by more than 17 seconds. Rathgeber turned in a time of 3:57.44, while Penn's second-place finisher touched in 4:15.19. The Quakers won their second event of the day in the final 200 freestyle relay. Harvard's entries swan that event as exhibition heats with the dual meet victory assured.

We wish everyone a happy holiday season and a healthy 2007.