Diving into Action: Women’s Swim Team Takes on Hawai’i and Arkansas This Thursday!

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard Women’s Swimming and Diving team steps back into competition on Thursday afternoon, aiming to compete in Honolulu against Hawai’i and Arkansas. The event at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex will be divided into two segments, with diving commencing at 8 p.m. ET/3 p.m. HT and swimming events organized to start at 10 p.m. ET/5 p.m. HT.

What to Understand

• The Crimson returns to the pool for the first occasion since securing third place at the four-day Minnesota Invitational, which took place from Dec. 4-7 in Minneapolis. Harvard achieved a total score of 897.50, placing it behind No. 9 California (1,873.50) and No. 23 Minnesota (1,390), while finishing ahead of Denver (795.50), Rutgers (702.50), and UNLV (559).
• Harvard showcased several impressive performances at the Minnesota Invite, including the second-fastest 50 and 500 free times recorded in school history. Sydney Lu achieved a 50-free time of 22.56, and Alexandra Bastone completed her race in 4:41.69. Samantha Holtz also recorded the second-best platform dive since the 2017-18 season, scoring 250.95.
• In dual meets, Harvard boasts an impeccable record of 5-0 (4-0 Ivy League) this season, although it has not faced another team since Nov. 22, when it triumphed over Columbia in its Pride Meet at Blodgett Pool, finishing 206-93.
• The Crimson is pursuing its sixth and seventh consecutive dual-meet victories. The last time Harvard achieved six wins in a row was in 2022-23, and the previous record for seven consecutive dual meets was in 2012-13, when it concluded the season at 9-0.
• Harvard is up against the Rainbow Wahine for the third time, having divided the previous pair of contests. UH won against Harvard, 76-67, in January 1986. The Crimson leveled the series with a December 1994 win in Honolulu, 152-75.
• Hawai’i enters the meet following a 179-83 defeat against UC Santa Barbara in the Big West, reducing UH’s record to 2-2 (0-1 Big West) for the season.
• Harvard is competing against Arkansas for the first time and is prepared to face an SEC school for only the fourth occasion. The Crimson lost dual meets to Florida in 1989 and 1995, before securing a victory against South Carolina in 2015.
• The Razorbacks are returning from an extended break, having not participated since Nov. 21-23 at the Iowa Invitational, where they finished in third place. In dual meets, Arkansas holds a 5-3 overall record and is 0-1 in conference.

Next Steps

Harvard will host Penn on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. ET for its Senior Day competition. The Ivy League matchup is scheduled to broadcast live on ESPN+.