The men's swimming and diving team will head into 2002 with an undefeated record. Its winning streak grew to four after a 131-110 win over powerhouse Babson, and a close 123.5-112.5 victory against NESCAC rival Bowdoin. After these strong showings, the Jumbos remain confident and are still striving to finish first at the NESCAC championships by the end of the season.
The win over Babson proved to be a motivating victory for the Jumbos, considering that the Beavers are a top-notch team for the NEWMAC, finishing fourth in the competitive conference last year. It was also the first true swimming race for Tufts.
Though the Jumbos entered the race 2-0, their victories came from Clark and Bridgewater State, who were not of the same level as that of Babson. Many breakthrough performances helped the Jumbos secure the victory.
"I think we had a little bit of a rivalry against Babson," sophomore Kaili Mauricio said. "We went in there real fired up to win and came out on top."
In the victory over Babson, the Jumbos had more depth, and held on to some strong finishes. Sophomore Aeric Solow and freshman Seth Baron took the first and second place spots in the 1000-yard freestyle with the respective times of 10:23.0 and 10:23.9. Sophomore Tyler Duckworth and freshman Rich Halpert improved their performances in the 400 individual medley for their best season finishes thus far, with times of 2:00.9 and 2:05.2.
"The outcome at Babson was really good," freshman Seth Baron said. "We swam really fast, and altogether just pulled together."
In the race, coach Don Megerle used one of his best lineups for the year thus far. Though Tufts had more depth, the coach attributed the win to other attributes.
"I thought have the psychological edge over them," Megerle said. "We appeared to be a much bigger team, and they seemed to have been taken by that."
With one win under its belt on the two game road trip, Tufts arrived at Bowdoin with much confidence. However, the Polar Bears kept accumulating more points throughout the course of the race to hold a small cushion. The meet came down to the very last relay, with the Jumbos barely edging an upset by taking the 1000 freestyle.
"As much as we were getting ready for Babson, Bowdoin was getting ready for us," Megerle said. "They got us off guard, and we knew what we had to do."
Competing in the 1000 freestyle were by Edson, Mauricio, Halpert, and freshman Alex Turner, who completed the race in 3:16.83. Baron and sophomore Aeric Solow finished first and second in the 200 individual medley, finishing with the respective times of 2:03.84 and 2:05.06. Divers Jonathan Perry and Connell Cloyd also made great contributions as they took second and third in the 1-meter dive, with the scores of 160.87 and 151.35
With no more meets for the remainder of December, the Jumbos will be headed to the sunny skies of Fort Lauderdale, FL, where they will extensively train at the Swimming Hall of Fame for their mid-season hiatus.
"I'm definitely looking forward to the trip to Florida," Baron said. "Though we will be going through rigorous training regiments, it will also be a great opportunity for the team to really bond."
With a 4-0 record, the Jumbos will return to face some heavy competition from NESCAC powerhouses Middlebury, Amherst, and Williams, but are looking to have a solid finish to the season.
"These are absolutely top of the line teams," Megerle said. "The Florida trip will be good for recovery and to get a good handle."
Tufts faces league action against Wesleyan at Hamilton Pool on Jan. 19.
