Jumbos lose perfect record in season finale

High on spirits but lacking the necessary points for victory, the Tufts men's swimming and diving team lost for the first time this season on Saturday, falling 144-114 to the Williams Ephs in Williamstown, MA. The Jumbos end their season with a record of 8-1.

Saturday's contest ended the regular season for the Jumbos as well as for the Ephs, who both entered the meet undefeated with identical 8-0 records. Williams finishes the season an unbeaten 9-0.

The loss was not as much of a sting for the team however, thanks to Tufts' eight wins this year. Many Jumbos strove for personal bests instead of simply stacking races in hopes of a team victory. Because coach Don Megerle can only carry 24 swimmers on to the New England Championships later this month, Saturday's dual-meet served as a time for those swimmers not going on to try to achieve personal and seasonal bests.

Seniors Nate Brown, Macey Harrington-Woodard, Jeff Held, Joseph Butterfield, Josh Edwards, and Michael Burr all finished the day with outstanding swims, many of them either being seasonal or personal bests. For these seniors who swam in their final contest, their superior performances were added to by the camaraderie of their fellow teammates.

"What made me most proud was to watch kids like [Gabe Poliboy] and [Jeff Longcor] who got up and performed so incredibly well, and every time they were out of the water they were out cheering for their team," Brown said of two of his underclassman teammates.

Brown took off .41 of a second on his 50 yard backstroke time, 1.64 seconds off his 100 freestyle time, and an incredible 3.43 seconds off his 100 backstroke, breaking bests he had achieved last year at Middlebury.

"Also, watching people like our captains [Jamie Meyers] and Aeric Solow, they were cheering for the entire team and that spirit made it so great," Brown added.

Fellow senior Harrington-Woodard agreed, who also turned out bests in the 200 and 500 freestyle.

"This was my last meet ever, and that was a factor. It was very exciting, and a lot of fun to swim in," Harrington-Woodard said. "One of the amazing things about this team is how supportive of each other we are, and it helps your performance. I will walk away with a lot of fond memories. Swimming has been a very fond and positive part of my Tufts experience."

Harrington-Woodard dropped an impressive 3.58 seconds on his 200 freestyle for a time of 2:08.12 and his 500 freestyle time was clocked at 5:49.8, knocking off 5.40 seconds from his previous best this season at Trinity.

Held took almost two seconds off from his 100 breaststroke time, while Butterfield and Burr had strong showings in the 100 freestyle. Edwards, meanwhile, dropped over six seconds from his time in the 200 freestyle, clocking in at 2:00.77 against Williams.

Juniors Chris Valente and Matt Cable also turned out strong showings, both swimming freestyle with Valente also undertaking breaststroke while Cable raced in the butterfly.

Despite the superb performances and improvement from the Jumbos, their success continues farther than the swimming pool. In the fall semester, the Jumbos recorded a 3.48 team GPA. Although no official statistics are kept, Megerle believes it to be one of the highest in the area.

Post-season play will begin February 27th, where the Jumbos will look to test their regular-season success at the NESCAC Championships in Maine.