Diver Paige Lai ’26 represented the Bulldogs at the University of Tennessee from Mar. 15 to Mar. 18 for the women’s meet. And swimmers Noah Millard ’25 and Connor Lee ’24 and diver JP Ditto ’23 headed to the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center from Mar. 23 to Mar. 25 for the men’s.

“It was enlightening being at that level of competition,” said Ditto. “I learned that I was able to hold my own against the greatest divers in the nation, and it has given me a new view on the sport and a greater sense of confidence in my abilities.”

Ditto scored 321.40 on the 1-meter dive and placed 28th in the prelims. The next day he took on the 3-meter dive, scoring 324.70 and placing 35th all-around in the event. 

It “was not [his] best performance,” he said, as he missed a couple of the dives he set out to do. 

On the morning of his departure from New Haven to Minneapolis, he slipped off the end of the diving board and injured his foot. Luckily, the pain subsided in time for his first event, but he said that he still felt “timid” on the board.

“I managed to ease up and enter a focused and confident meet mindset as the rounds advanced,” Ditto said. “Going into future meets, I plan to remind myself to start the meet off in such a mindset, where I am controlled yet aggressive in my diving.”

Fellow diver Lai was the only representative from the women’s swim and dive team at the University of Tennessee. Lai, who was named to the USA Diving National Team late last year, scored 254.25 off the 3-meter board and 231.95 in the 1-meter. 

She was “shocked” when she made it past the zones part of the season, not even expecting to qualify for championships. However, the turnaround was quick after zones — only four days — so she had to plan her dives before leaving for Tennessee. 

“Just being there was such a privilege and eye-opening experience, and I hope to be able to take what I learned this year and bring it into the upcoming seasons, hopefully with a couple more teammates alongside,” she said. 

This was Lai’s first season at Yale, saying she now feels more prepared to train for the upcoming season and “plan[s] out when to hit that peak level of competition performance.”

Back in Minnesota, Millard  capped off a strong season at the second NCAA championship event of his career. He missed the cut-off for the top-16 finishers that advanced to finals in the 500 freestyle, placing 23rd. He finished 39th in the 200 freestyle and 34th in the 160 freestyle.

Teammate Lee, the school record-holder in the 100-yard butterfly, finished 24th in the event.

“I went into the meet excited because I felt that I had little pressure on myself to do well. I was able to just race and enjoy the moment,” he said. 

Later in the competition, he placed 39th in the 200 butterfly, but he is “proud” of his performance, considering that he had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last year. The surgery put him out of the pool for 8 months, so he could only finally start swimming again last spring.

Looking ahead, one diver is looking to work “harder than [he] ever has” ahead of the 2024 Olympics, as Ditto can possibly represent the Turkish National team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. 

“I learned that my diving can hold up against some of the greatest in the sport,” he said. Lee is deciding between NCAA’s again, the Olympics or both, ending on the note that “everything is up in the air at the moment, but anything is possible.”

Lee was a 2019 Phillips National Championships and 2020 Olympic Trials qualifier.

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The Ivy League Championships at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, which spanned from Wednesday to Saturday for the men’s swim and dive team, saw Yale place third overall behind Harvard and Princeton. In addition to Millard’s standout performances, team captain Joseph Page ’23 won the 100 freestyle. The men’s third-place finish came one week after the women’s team placed third overall in their Ivy League tournament. 

“We all bought into the vision of a top three finish at Ivies and have been working for it day in and day out,” said Millard. “The leadership and camaraderie on this team is outstanding and unlike any other team I’ve been on. Swimming for something bigger than yourself is an amazing thing and it felt great to contribute to the team.”

Millard was on a winning and record-breaking streak as he won the 200, 500 and 1650 freestyle, hitting a personal best time in each event. In addition, he broke the Yale, Ivy League and Brown pool record in the 500 freestyle and earned himself the Phil Moriarty High Point Swimmer of the Meet Award on the last night of the competition. 

Millard was “extremely satisfied” after hitting every goal he set out to accomplish at this meet. He received an NCAA A cut, putting him in the top 10 in the country and ensuring himself an invitation to the NCAA Championships in Minnesota next month. 

“In 2022, we left Ivies feeling like we missed our potential and had a lot of unsatisfied swimmers and divers,” Millard said. “This year across the board we had every athlete make a final and the number of personal bests being put up at each session was fantastic.”

The best moment from the meet, Millard said, was seeing his best friend and team captain Page win an Ivy title for the last event of the meet — the 100 freestyle. Millard and Page have a long-standing friendship, having met on their recruitment trip before officially competing for Yale.

“I can safely say I’ve never been more proud of someone else’s success than how I felt watching him last night,” Millard said. “We both swam on the 4×100 relay at the end and swimming for him at his last meet was super emotional — we all wanted to give him and the senior class the sendoff they deserved.” 

Female swimmer Alex Massey ’24 felt a similar sentiment for her senior teammates, noting that her favorite moment from Ivies was hearing Ava Franks ’25 sing the national anthem to kick off the women’s Ivy Championships. 

“Ava is such a talented swimmer but hearing her sing is ethereal  — or [my favorite part might have been] celebrating each senior swim their last races ever,” said Massey.

Massey placed second in the 200 butterfly while the other women worked together to help Yale finish second in the 400 freestyle relay. 

In men’s diving, Jean Paul Ditto ’24 placed second in the three meter dive. Fellow three meter diver Ray Wipfli ’25 attributes the team’s success to the bond the team shares. Looking forward, Wipfli said he hopes that the team “can keep the ball rolling and continue to push for better and better performances.”

Aidan Thomas ’25 placed third on the one meter dive, scoring a personal best. He told the News that he was pleasantly surprised to score ninth place on the three meter dive after a shaky preliminary round. Thomas said that he had worked all year to improve on his one meter dive, which was his weakest event coming into this season.

The “energy” of the team helped him stay focused for the rest of the events, and Thomas called it a “main factor in [the team’s] success.”

A group of men’s swimmers are going to The Ohio State University next to try to qualify for the NCAA Zonals in the 200 freestyle relay. Currently, they are only 0.3 seconds off from qualifying.

“Standing up on the block was an easy task knowing that you could look to the side and see your brothers being there for you ready to go crazy in support,” said Millard.

Millard will not be on the block with his teammates at his next meet as he will be fighting for a spot on the podium at the NCAA Championships.

The regular season is over, and now the top swimmers including Millard will compete at the NCAA Championships Mar. 22-25. Meanwhile, the divers will compete in NCAA Zone Diving Mar. 6-8.

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The women’s team has swept their two rivals at HYP in six of the last seven years. This year’s victories were also significant as they closed out the team’s second consecutive undefeated run through Ivy League competition. The men also carried out several impressive individual performances.

“It’s been amazing seeing all of our hard work pay off in what turned into an undefeated season for the second year in a row,” Hayden Henderson ’25 of the women’s dive team said.

While the Bulldogs breezed past the Harvard women by a score of 210–90, Princeton University proved to be much stiffer competition. While the Tigers led the Bulldogs by one point heading into the second day of the meet, the Blue and White prevailed by an 11-point margin.

Meanwhile, while the men did not necessarily have the same team performance, several individuals recorded impressive finishes.

“This time of the year is everyone’s favorite, because as we head into championship season we get to taper off our training: meaning the volume and intensity comes down and we increase our rest to prepare for optimal performance,” Noah Millard ’25 said. “The light at the end of the dark tunnel of winter training is here, and the vibes are great because people are sleeping more and training is easier! It’s also super exciting because we get to show off what we have been working for since the start of the season.”

Millard started HYP off in strong form, winning the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:34.38, as well as winning the 400 individual medley in 3:48.94. In the subsequent days of the meet, Millard added to his HYP triumphs by dominating the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:19.28.

Last year’s HYP at Yale’s Kiphuth Pool saw Millard finish second in the 200 freestyle, almost an entire second slower than his time this year. The Australian native won the 500 freestyle last year as well. 

“Although we are aiming to peak at the upcoming championship meets of Ivy Champs and ECAC’s, this meet was a great stepping stone and sign of what is to come,” he said. According to Millard, the men’s team treated this as “a normal ‘dual meet,’” getting in some more practice within a high pressure environment against two other high-level teams.

In the end, however, the men’s squad fell to Princeton and Harvard (231–122), with Harvard beating the Tigers 181–172. 

Many other Bulldogs also placed well this past weekend. Joseph Page ’23 and Alex Deng ’25 placed second in the 100 freestyle and 200 breaststroke. Both Page and Deng placed in the top three at last year’s HYP as well.  

On the diving side, Aidan Thomas ’25 stood on the podium in third place in the men’s 3-meter dive among a “very competitive group of divers,” he told the News. He said that the team could have performed better at this meet but that one of the biggest positives was that they did better at this year’s HYP than last year’s, which “definitely raised the morale of the team.”

“We all understand that this is the final push, so in the next few weeks, I think everyone is just focused on making the most out of every practice and working to improve the minute details in our craft that will make the biggest differences come Ivies,” he said. 

Other divers, such as Jean Paul Ditto ’24, also had some success, finishing in sixth place twice. The women also did very well this past weekend, with first-years Paige Lai ’26 and Lily Horenkamp ’26 winning the 3-meter event and earning second-place at the close-call 1-meter event, respectively.

Ray Wipfli ’25 says the pressure of the event got to some of the team members, including himself. 

“I personally felt like I underperformed, potentially as a result of this meet’s higher stakes,” he said. 

However, he believes that the entire team has the potential to perform much better at the Ivies coming up in 3 weeks.  

According to Wipfli, “how we capitalize on the next 3 weeks of training will determine the outcome at Ivies, so we are all doing our best to outwork the competition.” He said it is good to measure where the team currently stands scores-wise before moving into the season’s final stretch before championship events. 

The teams will have three weeks of intense training before facing all of the Ivies at the Ivy League Championships in Providence, RI, at the end of February. 

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Both teams have recently beaten Cornell University, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania since returning from the winter recess. The men’s team celebrated Senior Day by capping off a four-meet winning streak against Dartmouth and Penn, while the women’s team also secured victories against the two schools in their last home meet of the season.

“Because it was our seniors’ last home meet, we wanted to send them off with all our support which only bolstered our confidence and energy at that meet,” said Alex Massey ’24 of the women’s swim team. 

Both teams spent a week in Puerto Rico over the break to bond and train ahead of the recent Ivy League competitions. According to Massey, “it was nice to be outside and in the sun, but most of our time was structured around practices which forced us in a way to get so much closer as a group.”

The ten-day trip allowed the team to get into “fantastic shape,” said Alexander Hazlett ’26. The team started off the new year with a win against Cornell on Jan. 10-11 in Ithaca, posting a score of 166.5 to the Big Red’s 133.5. 

California native Jean Paul Ditto ’24 headlined the competition by winning the 3- and 1-meter diving events. Ditto continued his success by winning the 3-meter board at the next meet on Jan. 13. 

“Our training in Puerto Rico helped us finish strong against both Penn and Dartmouth and come away with 2 wins,” Hazlett said.

Hazlett attributed the team’s recent successes to “team unity” and “great effort.” He added that the combined program is “close-knit,” so they race for each other. The recent training camp on the tropical island has also helped the team produce season-bests at the most recent meets. 

Hazlett said that “it definitely was not our best performance” against Cornell, even though the Bulldogs secured a victory. However, he was “proud” of the way the team responded, saying, “we were forced to put that behind us just days later and race.”

During the women’s team’s Senior Day meet, the team was just as successful as the men’s. Massey won three events for the Bulldogs — the 200 butterfly, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley.

Meanwhile, Raime Jones ‘23 and Ophelia Pilkinton ’24 won the 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke and the 50 and 100 freestyle, respectively.

“As the end of season approaches, our focus as a team remains sticking together as one,” Massey said. “We’re working towards a common victory, so we’re leading with the mindset that if we can each help other teammates improve, then the whole team will benefit.”

Massey said that she is most proud of the team’s “camaraderie,” pointing to the endless support of her teammates.  

Both the men’s and women’s swim and dive team will compete in Cambridge from Jan. 27-29.

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The divers are traveling to West Virginia The USA Winter Diving Nationals — set to take place Dec. 14-18 at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park. The swim and dive team also competed at the meet against Southern Connecticut State University yesterday, scoring one last victory in their final meet of 2022.

“The idea is to go and perform in a high-intensity environment that resembles what we’ll experience in our championship meet, hopefully giving us an advantage when the time finally comes to take on our rivals in the Ivy League,” said Ray Wipfli ’25.

The competition is an opportunity for the team to compete against the best divers around the country in preparation for the Ivy league championships later in the winter.

“Placements at this meet won’t be important,” according to Wipfli. “We’ll be looking to capitalize on some of the improvements we’ve been making in practice and hopefully walk out of there feeling just a little more confident.”

Fellow diver Aidan Thomas ’25 has “high hopes” because he knows that all of the team’s divers are strong individually. He has been putting effort into improving his weakest dives for the national event and the rest of the season.

Wipfli saw yesterday’s meet against SSCU as a “great opportunity to get qualifying scores for NCAA Zones and to get more competition experience.”

To help secure their victory, diver Nicholas Chau ’26 won the 1-meter event, and Wipfli was the 3-meter winner.

This meet came after a close defeat against Columbia’s strong team. Wipfli said, however, that he is confident they can “flip the script” when Ivy Championships come along.

“Ultimately, that loss is only going to make us work harder for the rest of the season,” Wipfli said.

The team will take a training trip to Puerto Rico over winter recess to prepare for their upcoming meets against the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Harvard University and Princeton University.

Swimmer Noah Millard ’25 is “excited” for the momentum that mid-season competitions have brought the team, he said.

The swim team so far has reached four new team records: Noah Millard 500 Free 4:14.65, Alex Deng 100 Breast 53.81, Joe Page, Alex Deng, Connor Lee, Noah Millard 400 Medley Relay 3:11.22, Jessey Li 100 Breast 1:00.11.

Millard enjoys swimming against teams outside of the Ivy League, like SCSU yesterday, since it allows swimmers to try events they don’t usually compete in. For example, some of their freestylers will swim butterfly, while some sprinters will race longer distances.

Millard set a pool record in the 400 individual medley yesterday.

In Puerto Rico, Millard hopes “to get a solid block of training without any external distraction,” he told the News. The team will also spend some quality time bonding, sightseeing, and experiencing what the seniors on the team have talked highly about, having been on the trip in the past.

Once returning from break, the team will start facing the Ivies one by one until the Ivy League Championships in late February. 

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At the Kiphuth Exhibition Pool on Friday, Nov. 5, the men’s team dominated Brown in a 194–106 victory, and the women’s team did the same with a 184.5–115.5 win. The next day,  both teams beat UMass, finishing off the perfect opening weekend. 

“After spending weeks discussing our individual and collective goals, it was satisfying to put our words into action and see the first part of the process unfold,” men’s swimmer Noah Millard ’25 said. “Fuelled by our family and friends in the stands, I was really impressed with the intensity we brought from the very first event that gave us momentum for the rest of the competition.”

Millard, who won his three events — the 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 500 freestyle — headlined the Bulldogs’ successful start to the season. He told the News that his personal goals for the year are to set the school record in the 200 freestyle and chase the 500 freestyle record. In addition, he aims to finish the season as the Ivy League champion and even qualify for his second NCAA Championship. 

According to Millard, the team’s “mental toughness” has improved from last year, and he is excited to see the “hunger and determination” from returning athletes and the new first years.

Iszac Henig ’23 and Millard both qualified for the NCAA Championships last year, where Henig earned All-America recognition, and Millard finished 24th in the nation in the 1650 freestyle.

On the women’s swim team, Alex Massey ’25, Ophelia Pilkinton ’23 and newcomer Lilly Derivaux ’26 won multiple events for Yale against Brown. Lily Horenkamp ’26, another newcomer, won the 1 and 3-meter dive. 

The women’s team also won the 200 medley and the 400 freestyle relays on Friday. 

“This time of year is not known for fast times due to the high intensity of the training,” associate head coach Kyle Schack said. “Given that, our results were quite positive, and that meant a lot.”

Schack noted that both the Brown and UMass teams were well coached, which is why Yale’s “group effort” was crucial to winning the overall meets. 

California native Ray Wipfli ’25 finished this weekend with a new personal best against UMass in the 1-meter dive. He noted the “tough” loss against Brown last year and the contrasting “dominance” Yale had against Brown this year. 

“It was great to see how the first years filled in some of the holes in our roster and to see many of the returning athletes improve on their performances last year,” Wipfli said.

At last year’s Ivy League Championship, the men’s team placed sixth. This year, however, the team is looking to greatly improve upon these results. The women’s team placed second at the Ivy League Championship last year after a perfect regular season. 

Wipfli said that beating Brown was a “promising step” towards the goal of improving their Ivy ranking this year.

“There was a significant amount of time spent reviewing what went wrong last season by our coaches and us, so we have identified the areas that we can improve on and are working towards doing so,” Millard said. 

Two new coaches have joined the swimming and diving team this year, including Dani Korman and Joey Reilman as assistant swimming and diving coaches. 

The men’s team will host Columbia University back home at the Kiphuth Exhibition pool once again this Saturday, while the women will travel to New York City to face the Lions.

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The Yale men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will open their season at the Blue & White Exhibition on Friday, Oct. 7. The scrimmage will take place at the historic Robert J. H. Kiphuth Exhibition Pool in Payne Whitney Gymnasium, where two squads drawn from the roster will be pitted against each other in a friendly competition. It will overlap with Family Weekend — which runs from Friday, Oct. 7 to Sunday, Oct. 9. 

“No pressure, yet it’s also high pressure because of the parents here this weekend,” said diver Aidan Thomas ’25. “I need the pressure though. I haven’t felt it for almost seven months now, since March.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams will follow up the exhibition with a scrimmage against the University of Delaware on Oct. 22. Afterwards, they will kick off their Ivy League season at home against Brown on Nov. 4.

The competitive swimming and diving season runs from November through February, culminating with the Ivy League Championship in February and the NCAA Championship in March.

“The exhibition is more of a developmental thing — it’s supposed to give us a good idea of where we are, and where we need to be for the season,” said Thomas. 

The women’s team hopes to rekindle their form from last year’s regular season, which they ended with a perfect 9–0 record. 

Ancient Eight rival Harvard beat the Bulldog squad at the League Championship with the Blue and White finishing second overall. The team will be looking to get even this season in their bid to bring home their first Ivy League Championship since 2017.

The men’s swim and dive team also have much to look forward to this season. For one, they will be looking to build upon their 5–4 record, which placed them third in the Ivy League last season. 

The Bulldogs will also be keen to track the development of swimmer Noah Millard ’25, who drew the limelight last season for setting a new school record en route to a second-place finish in the 200 Freestyle at the Ivy League Championship. The Melbourne native finished off the season in the same mercurial vein, ranking 24 in the nation at the NCAA Championship. 

“I’m excited to see how strong we are after the preseason moving into competition, and to see how the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s team compare to last year’s,” said swimmer Ray Wipfli ’25. 

Debuting this weekend will be the Bulldogs’s new recruits, with the team on the lookout to see how they mesh in. Other fresh faces include two assistant swimming and diving coaches who joined the team over the summer. 

Coming from the University of Tennessee, Joey Reilman held his school record in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Returning to Yale, Dani Korman will be rejoining Bulldog coach Jim Henry’s staff after a stint at the University of California, Berkeley. Korman had previously spent three seasons, from 2012 to 2015, as an assistant women’s coach at Yale.

“We all really miss the seniors that graduated last year. They were great leaders of the team and I wish they didn’t have to go,” said diver Hayden Henderson ’25. “But I’m also super excited to see the freshmen compete this season. 2026 is a great class and they have a lot of potential. I think that we’re going to have a great year.”

Dive will begin the exhibition this weekend at 2 p.m. while swim will follow at 4 p.m.

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Now a student-athlete who swims the “short, fast stuff” on the Yale women’s swimming and diving team, Henig has been a star player throughout the season. For the Bulldogs, he swims the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle events as well as the 100-yard butterfly. He has already set several program and pool records despite the cancelled 2020-21 season. 

This past weekend, against Harvard and Princeton, Henig won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.37 seconds, starting off the team on its path to victory, where they defeated Harvard 211-89 and Princeton 182-118. But for Henig, it is not so much about the wins as it is about the joy. 

“Swimming has just brought me so much joy, so much community,” Henig said. “I think everyone deserves access to those things.”

This season has been an unprecedented one for Henig — both as a swimmer and as a person. Not only has he been a key player in rocketing the women’s swim team to win after win, but he has also had to navigate coming out as a transgender man.

This was something Henig came to terms with when he took a gap year over the pandemic. During his time away from New Haven, he continued to train as well as self-reflect. From home, he sent a video to his team, coming out. Henig said he was met with a “phenomenal” response and was sent resounding love and support from his teammates and coaches. 

“Iszac Henig is an outstanding person, student, athlete and teammate,” head coach Jim Henry wrote in an email to the News. “We are all fortunate to have him on our team. He leads by example every day with his commitment to the sport and this team.”

Women’s captain Ashley Loomis ’22 emphasized that Henig brings a “tremendous amount of positivity and support” to the team. 

According to Loomis, Henig shows up to meets and practices “ready to do the best for the team,” while also fostering confidence in his teammates.  

“We as a swim team strive to create a supportive and safe environment for every single member. Iszac has been on the forefront of that goal,” men’s captain Nathan Stern ’23 said. “The team culture would not be as strong as it is if it weren’t for Iszac’s presence.”

Lia Thomas, a transgender female who competes on the Penn women’s swim team, made headlines after a string of record-breaking performances, sparking debate over the fairness of transgender athletes in competitive sports. 

Henig found his own name in national news after beating Thomas in a race on Jan. 8. The attention has been difficult, Henig said, but the love and embrace of his team and other support networks, such as family and friends, has helped get him through challenging times.  

According to NCAA guidelines, a transgender man who is not taking testostrone in relation to gender transition “may participate on a men’s or women’s team” as a student athlete. However, a transgender man who undergoes testostrone treatment can then compete on a men’s team, but is “no longer eligible to compete on a woman’s team.” Henig is in full compliance with these rules.  

“It is tough existing as a man on a women’s team,” Henig said. “I think that it is difficult in two ways. I think people’s perceptions of it are not necessarily understanding right away. And, on the other hand for me, there’s a piece of it that feels a little bit incongruent. But, my team has been incredibly supportive.”

The California native found his love for swimming at a local rec center, where he first came across a summer swim team called the “Dolphins.” Henig, enraptured by the dolphin suits which the team members wore, begged his mom for one. When his mom told him he had to be on the team to get a suit, he quickly signed up. Henig started swimming competitively over the summer at the age of four, and at nine started competing year-round, falling more in love with the sport every day.

In middle and high school he continued to swim, practicing six days a week. With Dana Kirk, a former Olympian, as his coach, he led his high school team as captain and set school records in the 50, 100, 200 and 500-yard freestyle races. 

Henig also qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials in the 50-meter freestyle event. The nerves got the best of the 15-year-old, who flinched after taking his marks during the preliminary round. He was disqualified from the race and Olympic contention. 

When Henig visited Yale, he said he “couldn’t stop smiling.” By his senior year of high school he knew he was recruited and set his mind on swimming for the Blue and White. He said he loved the team, the coaching staff and the University’s academic and athletic rigor, which he mentioned are both incredibly important to his life and served as the deciding factor in his decision to enroll at Yale.

Outside of the pool, Henig spends his time working in a paleobiology lab where he examines “60 million year old fish teeth and shark scales.” He first fell in love with marine biology in high school, recalling the California beaches and his adoration for the waters and creatures within them. The University lacks a Marine Biology department, so he majors in Earth and Planetary Science and is a part of the energy studies certificate program. According to Henig, balancing academics and athletics ultimately comes down to “really solid time management.”

“I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t sacrifice things for my sport, you know, like the Friday nights out. But, it is so worth it to have this team around me and the opportunity to swim at this collegiate level which I’m incredibly grateful for,” Henig said. 

In the pool, Henig had a successful 2019-20 season, when he finished in third place at the Ivy League Championships in the 100-yard freestyle and second in the same category at the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet. But it was this season that he really came to play.

Last month, Henig set a new pool record at Penn’s Sheerr Pool in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.76 seconds, breaking a record set 32 years ago.

Earlier in the season against Columbia, he also delivered a strong performance by completing the 100-yard freestyle in 49.30 seconds, setting a Kiphuth Pool record.

He went on to improve his personal best in the event with a time of 48.03 seconds in a meet against Brown in Providence.

Recently, he was also a key player in this season’s HYP meet with a performance that allowed Yale to seal the victory, with a time of 48.37 seconds in the 100 yard freestyle.

“Those were some pretty cool moments for me,” Henig recalled. “I had done a lot of work in the fall this whole season, just trying to get faster and I think seeing it pay off was absolutely incredible. And being able to put my name but also put Yale’s name up on the wall and then to have my name in the Yale record book is really special for me.”

But, Henig maintains that his favorite memories at Yale are the small moments. He said what he remembers is not what his times were but getting out of the water and hugging his teammates. 

Throughout the past year, Henig said that he has learned the importance of living life authentically, and how by doing so he helps other people do the same. He wishes this is something he could have told his younger self, and he now hopes to pass along the message to younger swimmers, younger trans people and younger trans swimmers, “to not be afraid of living their own lives.” Henig said that getting in touch with that part of himself for his own life, “made everything easier.”

“It made getting dressed in the morning easier. It made me feel better about myself as I walked through the world … I think being able to live my authentic life was incredibly important. And also being able to live my authentic life in sports,” Henig said. “For me, that was life saving.”

But, at the end of the day, Henig said he is “really just some guy.” A guy who loves the ocean. A guy who loves swimming. A guy who loves to fly.

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Meanwhile, the Yale men’s swimming and diving team (4–4, 3–4) slipped below .500 with losses to both Harvard and Princeton this weekend. The men’s team was bested by Harvard (8–1, 7–0) 104.5–248.5 and by Princeton (7–1, 6–1) 163.5–189.5 at the Robert J. H. Kiphuth Exhibition Pool this past weekend. 

“It was a great performance by both teams against strong competition. HYP in the Kiphuth Pool brings out the best in our team,” head coach Jim Henry said. “We look forward to improving upon the HYP success at the Ivy championship in a few weeks.”

All eyes were on the women’s competition as all three schools were undefeated in conference play going into the meet. In the end, the Bulldogs finished on top, claiming both the HYP title and the top spot in the Ivy League standings.

The women’s 64-point margin of victory over the Tigers is the squad’s second-smallest this season, after a 162.5–137.5 defeat against Penn.

“The team had a phenomenal meet this weekend. Not only were we racing our rival schools Harvard and Princeton, but it was also our seniors’ last home meet,” swimmer Claire Michalik ’25 said. “The energy throughout the weekend was a huge component of our success in the pool and on the boards. It was amazing to watch my teammates’ faces light up as they touched out the competition or set a new personal best time.” 

Yale has claimed the HYP crown in five of the last six seasons, and over this span the Bulldogs have posted a 64–2 dual meet record. Iszac Henig ’23 got the Bulldogs off to a great start by winning the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 48.37. Alex Massey ’25 reigned champion in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 1:57.32. Yale nearly swept the 200 breaststroke, with Ava Franks ’25 winning with a time of 2:12.56, and MaryKate Buckley ’23 coming in second with a time of 2:16.23. A Princeton swimmer eked out third, just 0.05 seconds ahead of Olivia Paoletti ’23.

The Bulldogs also shined in team events, dominating the 400 yard freestyle relay. Henig, Ophelia Pilkinton ’23, Lindsey Wagner ’23 and Marlise Moesch ’22 won with a time of 3:17.61. In second place was the Yale team of Marissa Healy ’23, Vivian Weng ’24, Junseo Kim ’25 and Raime Jones ’23.

As this was their final home meet of their college careers, seniors Alessandra Baldari ’22, Marisa Conner ’22, Ashley Loomis ’22 and Moesch were all honored.

“We are very pleased with the finish to our senior weekend,” assistant coach Molly Chamberlain told Yale Athletics. “Our group’s intensity and camaraderie were the keys to these wins. I’m grateful to our senior class who led the way. We are looking forward to championship season.”

While Yale finished first in the women’s competition, the men’s team will aim to turn things around at the Ivy League Championships next month.

This past weekend, Harvard earned the HYP title, with Princeton coming in at second in front of Yale.

Yale swimmer Noah Millard ’25 made the most of his first HYP meet. The Australian took the 500 freestyle by storm, posting a winning time of 4:18.99. 

Other standout performances for the Bulldogs came from JP Ditto ’24, placing second in the three-meter diving event. Jack O’Connor ’23 finished third in the 400 individual medley, clocking in at 3:54.24. Marcus Hodgson ’24 and Alex Brehm ’25 also made the podium with third-place finishes in the 100 yard butterfly and 200 yard breaststroke, respectively.

Before the men’s competition began on Saturday afternoon, Princeton diver Griffin Brooks adorned the Tigers’ bench with two transgender pride flags. 

“It seems like transgender rights have been a source of debate recently… and I wanted to make sure that people knew where I stand. I am gender nonconforming [and] non-binary and thus I fall under the trans umbrella and I identify as trans.” Brooks wrote to the News. “I’m proud of who I am, and I think that Ivy League Athletics should be a place free from judgement and any discrimination.”

Griffin also mentioned that they also displayed the trans flags at the Princeton-Columbia-Navy meet the weekend prior to HYP.

The Bulldogs remain hopeful about their chances to earn the Ivy League crown in February. With the women’s team being undefeated, hopes are high. 

“Building off the momentum of an undefeated season and HYP championship, our eyes are set on the Ivy title and our best swimming is still to come,” Michalik said.

The Bulldogs will begin their fight for the Ivy title on Feb. 16 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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