Both the men and women’s swimming and diving teams competed against Yale at home in dual meets this weekend. The men’s team defeated the Bulldogs by a large margin, but the women’s team was unable to secure a victory in a close dual meet.
The men’s team took a resounding 199.50 to 100.50 win, shutting the Bulldogs down and keeping them off the podium.
Harrison Powe ’25, Jack Kelly ’25, Nathan DePiero ’24 and Jonathan Gim ’27 took first in the 200 medley relay to earn an early 11 points. The Bears’ second team followed up with a third-place finish to grab another two points.
“That was a tremendous win for our program today. We jumped on a very good Yale team early, winning the opening relay, and did not let up,” wrote Kevin Norman, the men’s swimming & diving head coach, in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics. “We got huge contributions from so many people and I could not be more proud of how tough we were today. Winning always feels great, but that was a special one.”
The team’s win streak continued into the 1000 freestyle as Aidan Wilson ’24, Max Hardart ’26 and Andrew Berzolla ’24 swept the top three for a quick 16 points.
Wilson went on to dominate in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:31.22, about three seconds ahead of Yale’s best swimmer. Berzolla would also achieve second — less than two seconds behind Wilson — in the 500 for another 4.
Kelly took second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:58.24, nearly two seconds ahead of the second place Yale swimmer.
The Bears were unable to take first in the 200 freestyle but positioned themselves second, third and fourth on the podium to outscore Yale in that event as well.
“You can win dual meets by taking a few very talented athletes and spreading them throughout your lineup to win events. This was not one of those wins,” Norman wrote in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics. “We had several people step up and have the best dual meet performances of their collegiate careers. Everyone contributed in a big way which is why the score ended up being more lopsided than we anticipated. I would say this was probably our best dual meet performance as a team since I've been at Brown.”
The closing stages of the meet were characteristic of Bruno’s dominance throughout the whole day, sweeping the top three positions in the 100 butterfly, taking the top 2 in the 200 IM and closing the day finishing with first and second in the 400 free relay.
“A big win like this definitely provides a huge team morale boost as we enter a very critical time of the year, both academically and athletically,” Norman wrote. “This team has lofty goals on both fronts, in order to achieve those goals you need to be dedicated to putting in the work.”
The women’s team didn’t find the same success, losing in a 149-151 heartbreaker.
Bruno was unable to take home the win in the 200 medley relay, with a team of Jenna Reznicek ’25, Gillian Tu ’27, Hannah Ahn ’27 and Morgan Lukinac ’26 grabbing second with a time of 1:41.72, only half a second behind the winning Yale team. Bruno also achieved third in the relay.
Kelly Dolce ’26 took home second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.98 and second in the 100 free with a time of 51.36.
The big wins of the day came from Reznicek, who won both the 200 and 100 backstrokes to give the Bears a much-needed 18 points.
Lukinac was able to take home the win in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.28, but was isolated at the top of the podium.
“For short sprints, I visualize my race before I swim. I think about going from a 0 to 100 effort level as fast as I can,” Lukinac wrote in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics. “In the relays, there's always so much energy from my teammates that the adrenaline makes the race feel super fast.”
The Bears belly flopped in the long distance but achieved first, third and fourth in the 100 fly for a late points boost.
Despite winning first and second in the 400 free relay, the Bears were unable to take home the overall points victory after their third place team was disqualified.
“Off the top of my head, I think we still have some work to be done on the efficiency of our relay exchanges. I think we all swam really well but it’s those little things that can make or break a meet with really close competition,” wrote Lukinac. “That being said, we were really excited to have such a competitive meet, and although it was tough that it came down to something so close, it only makes us more excited to see them again during championship season!”
Swimming season will resume in the spring when the Bears take on Columbia in a home dual meet on Jan. 13.
Dennis Carey is a Sports editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting vinyl records and poorly playing the guitar in his spare time.
