The men's swimming and diving team continued its undefeated season and improved its record to 6-0 with impressive victories this weekend against NESCAC rivals Trinity and Wesleyan.
The Jumbos, refreshed after their training trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., traveled to Hartford, Conn. on Friday where they crushed the Trinity Bantams 178-55. Trinity, which entered the meet with a 1-3 record, was no match for Tufts, as the Jumbos placed first in every race.
The 200 yard medley relay team, comprised of senior tri-captain Nic Anderson, sophomore Ryan Lahey, and freshmen Aeric Solow and Jamie Meyers began the meet by edging out the Bantams at the wall by .71 seconds. Anderson also had individual victories in the 50 and 500 freestyles. Still, it was the underclassmen who once again carried the team.
In addition to competing in the relay, Solow placed first in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.15, while his 56.43 was enough to beat teammate, junior Scott Cohen, in the 100 butterfly.
Freshman standouts Tyler Duckworth and Kaili Mauricio also contributed significant points to the victory by combining for four first place finishes. Duckworth won the 100 breaststroke (1:01.39) and 400 individual medley (4:24.33), while Mauricio reached the wall first in the 100 backstroke (57.82) and 1000 freestyle (10:25.79).
"They've really stepped it up," Anderson said of the freshmen and sophomores. "They make our job easier."
Senior diver Pat Girvin, who had been undefeated in both the one and three-meter diving events this season, fell to Trinity's Bradford Albus, 245.475 points to 235.5. Girvin bounced back to win the three-meter event, while sophomore diver Dave Leibenstein scored points with two third place finishes.
On Saturday, the Jumbos traveled to Wesleyan to hand the Cardinals a 160-139 defeat. The Cardinals entered the meet with a 1-3 record but still proved a tough match for the Jumbos, who once again relied on their underclassmen for the victory.
"We were okay on Friday but really good on Saturday," coach Don Megerle said. "We couldn't have planned it better. We thought [Wesleyan] would kind of be pushovers, but they really came at us."
The men swam to seven first place and nine second place finishes in 16 events. Tufts again exhibited its depth by easily capturing first and second in the 200 free relay. Meyers, Anderson and sophomores Ed Edson and Brendan Smyth combined to finish first with a time of 1:30.11. They beat out teammates, freshmen Jeffrey Held and Mauricio (1:42.96, fourth) and seniors Brian Bettencourt and John Gunselman (1:32.87), who held on for second. Wesleyan's top team, which captured third, posted a time of 1:37.56.
In the 200 medley relay, Tufts was edged out of first by .26 seconds as Solow, Duckworth, Lahey and Cohen swam a 1:40.65 to finish second. Tufts' team of freshmen Meyers, Sam Burlingame, Greg Schmidt, and senior tri-captain Steve Capozzi (1:43.62) took third.
Duckworth scored the most points for the Jumbos, posting first place victories in the 200 IM (2:03.64) and the 200 breaststroke (2:11.88), as well as a second place finish in the 200 fly (1:59.75). He contributed 22 points to the team's total score.
"The best swim of the weekend was Duckworth's 200 fly," Megerle commented. "Even though we lost that one, it was great."
Solow swam to a first place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.82. Solow also posted a second place finish in the 500 free. However, his time of 5:07.15 was well below the 4:56 that he typically swims in the event.
"Everybody expects to swim better coming back from training but the distance guys never do." Megerle said.
The divers were solid again, though Girvin again couldn't come up with a win. Wesleyan's Abbott Willard, an all-New England diver last season, captured first in both events while breaking his team's record in the one meter event. Willard broke the team record on the low board with a 275.77 and has already qualified for NCAAs on both platforms. Girvin's 257.85 earned him a second place finish in the three meter event.
While the team now stands at 6-0 on the season, it will face its biggest challenges over the next few weeks as Bates and undefeated Williams await.
"We are swimming better this year than we were last year at this time," Megerle said.
"Our team attitude is better than I've ever seen it," Anderson said. "I think these guys are mentally prepared for what comes next."
