The men's swimming team remains undefeated after defeating the Babson Beavers, 132-100, and the Bowdoin Polar Bears, 137-105, this past week. The Jumbos will now take a 4-0 record to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for their annual winter break training trip.
The swimmers faced a strong Babson team that was 4-1 going into the meet last Thursday at Hamilton Pool. While the Jumbos entered the meet 2-0, those victories came against mediocre teams, and Babson proved to be their first true test.
The Tufts men posted ten first place and seven second place finishes in the 13 events. The underclassmen were a deciding factor again as freshmen Aeric Solow and Tyler Duckworth, along with sophomore Ed Edson, all standouts at the team's first two meets, performed strongly. Each had two first place finishes and the three combined for 45 of Tufts' 132 points.
"Our freshmen swam really well," Edson said. "We're not relying on them, but we have about six freshmen that score points. That's a lot."
Solow swam a 10:16.32 to edge out Babson's Rich Chute for first place in the 1000-yd. freestyle and his 4:56.28 was 6 seconds faster than Chute's time for first place in the 500 free.
Duckworth, who swam an impressive 2:14.49 in the 200 breaststroke against Bridgewater State on Nov. 20, only needed a 2:16.04 to take first against Babson. His time was more than ten seconds faster than second place finisher, Babson's Justin Phfister. With a 2:02.27, Duckworth also took first in the 200 butterfly.
Edson captured first in the 100 and 200 freestyles. Edson's 1:48.58 in the 200 free was a significant improvement over his time against Bridgewater when he posted a 1:54.74 to finish second to teammate Nic Anderson.
"[My time] is fine for now. It doesn't really matter what you swim now." Edson said, referring to how early in the season it still is.
Anderson, a senior and tri-captain, had two second place finishes in the 200 free and the 200 butterfly. He also swam the butterfly leg of the 400 medley relay which Tufts' won. The relay squad consisted of Anderson, Duckworth, freshman Kaili Mauricio and junior Scott Cohen.
Other underclassmen also scored points in the Jumbos' victory. Sophomore Ryan Lahey finished second in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 free. Sophomore Shane Mason contributed with a second place finish in the 200 individual medley and a third place finish in the 200 backstroke.
Always dependable divers, senior Pat Girvin and sophomore David Liebenstein finished one-two, respectively, in the one- and three-meter contests. They combined for 26 of the team's points.
Against Bowdoin, many swimmers swam different events than they had in the previous contests as coach Don Megerle tried to offset the opponents' strengths. Bowdoin, which held a 0-1 record, didn't pose much of a threat to the team. The Jumbos' succeeded in posting nine first place finishes in 16 events against the Polar Bears on December 2 meet. Solow swam the 200 free against the Bowdoin placing first with a time of 1:49.24, beating freshman teammate Kaili Mauricio to the wall by more than two seconds.
Solow also had a second place finish in the 200 backstroke. Edson and Duckworth again had first place finishes in the 500 free and 200 butterfly, respectively. Duckworth was again part of the winning medley relay squad but was teamed with Solow, Lahey, and Cohen. Anderson scored the most individual points with two first place finishes, edging out Bowdoin's Elliot Dickson in the 100 free with a time of 49.11. He also took first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.08.
Other first place finishes included Shane Mason's 10:39.49 in the 1000 free event, edging out teammate sophomore Scott Hanchar. Lahey led a one-two-three Jumbo assault in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.41. Sophomore Jimmy Heagle and freshman Sam Burlingame finished second and third, respectively, with times of 58.49 and 58.89. Led by Edson, the Jumbos again took the top three spots in the 500 free with senior Brian Bettencourt (5:12.56) and sophomore Brendan Smyth (5:17.33).
Divers Girvin and Liebenstein also contributed points. Girvin collected his seventh and eighth victories by sweeping the one- and three-meter events. He remains undefeated in both events so far this season. Liebenstein finished second in the one-meter and third in the three-meter event.
The team will head to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for a week-long training trip over the winter break. While the team has started off strong, it cannot afford to relax. After the break, the season continues with meets against powerhouse MIT, the only other team to beat Babson, and perennial favorite Williams.
"We come out of [the trip] in really good shape, ready to swim fast," said Edson. The Jumbos will need to swim fast to continue their winning ways next semester.
