Sophomore Weifan Zhang practices breaststroke on Nov. 19, 2024.
Credit: Weining DingAdversity just makes you work harder.
Penn men’s swimming and diving has not had a perfect regular season, ending the season with a 4-6 overall record and 1-6 conference record while persevering through the loss of Sheerr Pool.
However, heading into the Ivy League Championships — held this week from Feb. 26-March 1 at Brown — several stars for the Red and Blue are set to shine, including Olympian and senior breaststroke/individual medley specialist Matt Fallon in his last Ivy championships.
“We are excited to race and finish off the season strong. This group has shown a lot of adversity with the disruption to our training this year,” team captain and senior backstroke/individual medley specialist Daniel Gallagher wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Fallon is no stranger to adversity, especially during a championship season. In 2023, Fallon suffered an injury that led to less-than-ideal finishes at that year’s Ivy championships and an absence from the NCAA Division I Championships. However, the Warren, N.J. native persevered and won bronze at the World Aquatics Championships later that summer.
This season seems no different. After an exciting summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Fallon returns to the conference stage for the last time as the top seed in the 200-yard breaststroke and the top returner in the NCAA in the event. At last year’s Ivy championships, Fallon touched the wall in a nation-leading time in the 200 breast. But even as an Olympian, it’s not an easy road to an NCAA championship.
“[Fallon has] got some very solid competition at that meet. There’s a couple of guys at Power Five schools that have come back for fifth and sixth years that Matt’s gonna have his hands full with,” coach Mike Schnur said. “It’ll be interesting for Ivies. … As Matt’s coach, it’s always a lot of fun to watch him race when he’s prepared and ready to go. And I’m not going to get to do it too many more times, so I’m looking forward to it a lot.”
While the team’s star is a veteran, the rest of the roster is relatively young — freshmen, sophomores, and some juniors who’ve never been to the Ivy championships before.
“It’s a very different team this year. Last year … we were very experienced, very mature, and the best kids had all been [to the Ivy championships] a lot,” Schnur said. “This year, we’re the exact opposite. … We’re a lot less experienced. It’ll be really interesting to watch how they react to a big pressure meet. … Hopefully, they’ll all get fired up and go nuts the way the women did.”
Fittingly, the young talents to watch are in the breaststroke events alongside Fallon. In the 100 breast, freshman breaststroke specialist Watson Nguyen sits as the fifth seed, just behind Fallon in third.
Similarly, in the 200 breast, sophomore individual medley specialist Peter Whittington also sits in fifth while freshman breaststroke/individual medley specialist Colin Zhang is just behind, seeded ninth. In his strong Ivy championship debut last year, Whittington finished seventh in the 200 breast.
“It’ll be interesting to see which one, hopefully, all of them step up. [The freshmen] are all guys who can finish pretty high with their speed and when they swim to their potential. It’ll be their first time, so we’ll see how they do,” Schnur said.
That’s not to say there is no upperclassman talent to keep an eye on this year.
Gallagher competed at the United States Olympic Trials in the 200-meter backstroke this past summer and finished seventh in the finals of the yards version of the event at the 2024 Ivy championships. The Suwanee, Ga. native is seeded 11th in the 200-yard backstroke and will look to savor his last Ivy championships with the Red and Blue.
Junior backstroke specialist James Curreri is also one to watch after having a standout performance in the Ivy championships last year in the distance freestyle events. The Kinnelon, N.J. native took home two bronze medals in the 500 and 1000 freestyle. Curreri has some tough competition in the 1650 freestyle, where he is seeded fifth. Yale freestyle/backstroke specialist Noah Millard, who is seeded first by over 30 seconds, currently ranks in the top five in the NCAA.
“[Curreri] will be a contender in the 1000 and the 1650. … If [Millard] does not swim the 1000, James [has] a great chance in that event,” Schnur said. “Hopefully, [Curreri] hits second in 1650 and be at a level where he qualifies for [the] NCAAs. … He’s a warrior, and he’ll battle hard all weekend.”
From limited experience to relocating to alternative practice sites, the men’s swimming and diving team has overcome significant adversity this year — something that makes the team even more motivated to swim fast at this week’s Ivy championships.
Sports reporter Derek Wong contributed reporting to this story.
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