Last week, the men's swimming and diving team placed fifth at the Ivy League Championships at Harvard University. Even though the Bears finished last, Bruno posted some record-breaking times over the weekend.
It was a disappointing Wednesday for the team, which finished seventh in the 200-yard medley relay and eighth in the 800-yard freestyle relay, but the Bears will look to reverse their luck in the individual events going forward.
Thursday's race was a big start for Bruno. During qualifying, in the fourth of five heats, Andrew Versola '24 broke the 500-yard freestyle program record, finishing in 4 minutes, 20.17 seconds. His final time was only 0.63 seconds slower, and he finished 7th overall.
“Breaking the 500 freestyle record was an incredible moment,” Versola wrote in a message to the Herald. “I saw the reactions of my coaches and teammates and immediately had a smile on my face, even before I even knew what my time was.”
Along with Versola, Jack Kelly ’25 played a pivotal role in the Bruno team’s success. On the same day, Kelly broke his own program record for his 200-yard individual medley, improving his time to his 1 minute, 44.03 seconds. Kelly finished fourth overall due to program records, just shy of the podium.
“(Kelly) was a real pleasure to coach for three years, not only because of his work ethic and the way he fought, but also the way he treated his teammates and coaches,” head coach Kevin Norman said in an email to the Herald. It's all thanks to you,” he wrote. “He came into the season with high goals and expectations, but also has 100% confidence in the coaches and our work.His mentality going into any game is that he is going to win. That was his approach to the Ivy Championship.”
Racing alongside Kelly was fellow “IM-er” Harrison Power ’25, who placed 8th in the A final.
The rest of Thursday was uneventful for the Bears. Although no members of Bruno's team participated in the A final of the 50-yard freestyle, Marcus Lee '25 scored 17 points and placed 10th overall in the B final, which included athletes ranked 9th to 16th in the preliminaries. It was the final match.
The Bears' relay team continued to struggle on Thursday, with their 200-yard freestyle relay unit unable to finish higher than sixth place.
“The relays in this competition were very close, with little spacing between some teams. Unfortunately, we were not able to get such close contact,” Norman wrote. . “Our emphasis in the lead-up to the championships was to be cautious in replacing relays, as a disqualification of a relay could result in the loss of so many points that it could cost you a spot in the final standings. That’s why.”
Norman added that the team may have been “too conservative” in aiming to prevent disqualification. This is because “these interactions accumulate during the relay” and “could result in differences” between rankings.
He also noted that three of the four athletes in that day's sprint freestyle relay were making their Ivy League Championship debut. “Along with the young talent participating in the relay, we look forward to them coming together, learning from this experience and being an even bigger factor next year and beyond,” he wrote.
At the end of the day, the Bears achieved their first podium finish of the tournament. Roland Rover '26 placed second in the 1-meter diving event, earning Bruno a silver medal.
Friday began with the 1,000-yard freestyle, where Versola '24 and Aidan Wilson placed fifth and eighth, respectively, giving the Bears a total of 47 points.
“Being a long-distance freestyler can be tough and unforgiving, but I'm so grateful to have been a part of this long-distance group for four years,” Versola wrote. “We constantly push each other up through practice and very difficult training. That hard work and camaraderie puts us in a position to succeed in the big races.”
The Bears ran away from the A final for most of Friday until the fateful 100-yard breaststroke. Kelly and Power met again in the A final. This time, Kelly defeated not only his teammates but all the racers, giving Brown his first gold medal in 10 years. Not only is this win a huge gold medal for Brown's program, Kelly also set pool, program and Ivy her league records with her incredible time of 51.58 seconds in qualifying.
“He had already checked off a lot of boxes in his first two seasons, from school records to NCAA and Olympic selection trials, but what he hadn't accomplished until this weekend was the Ivy individual It was about winning the title,” Norman wrote.
“Three of the best breaststrokers to ever swim in the Ivy League are in (Kelly's) class. He has his hands full with Penn's Matt Fallon and Colombia's Demircan Demir, and he came close to the title last year. “Both races were DeMille's wall,'' he added. “I know that's what really drove him all year and toward the Ivy Championship. Watching him get to 100 wins on Friday night was the highlight of my career. It was one of those things because I know how much it meant to him and his teammates.”
Get the Herald delivered to your inbox every day.
Although they finished last in the 400-yard medley relay once again, Zach Lenguen broke the record with a time of 25, Kelly and Tucker Peterson with a time of 26, and Lee with a time of 3:11.00.
The Bears entered the game in good spirits on Saturday. Kelly finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:51.63, ninth in the nation. Wilson and Versola met again at the 1650 meet, posting two times in the NCAA qualifiers, with Wilson taking second place overall. Lee placed fifth in the 100-meter freestyle, and Rover placed fourth in the 3-meter diving.
“The Ivy League is competitive, so I knew I would have to swim many tough races throughout the meet,” Versola wrote. “But as a program, we are proud of the effort we put in throughout the season so that when the difficult moments came, we were ready.”
Overall, the Bears finished the season with a fifth-place finish in the Ivy League Championship and are looking forward to an exciting 2024-25 season.
“I'm very optimistic going into next season. Our class of 2027 is very talented and if you look at the results throughout the year, not just at the Ivy Championship, I think they'll be on our team. ,” Norman wrote. “I know some of them didn't perform as well as they expected in the championship, but that comes with experience. There was a lot of learning in the first season for both sides. I will.”
With just two days left until the championship, Norman and the rest of the coaching staff have already begun working on their training plans for next season. “We're also very excited about next year's incoming class. It's a big group with a lot of talent and versatility that will cover a lot of ground for us,” he wrote.
Dennis Carey is a sports editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting records, and playing the guitar poorly in his spare time.
