Interim head coach Adam Hoyt could not be more proud of the men's swimming and diving team's performance this season.
Under his leadership, the team set eight school records, had 11 National B qualifying swims, had six swimmers earn All-NESCAC honors at the championship, and qualified two swimmers for the nationals meet over the Feb. 25-27 weekend.
The meet followed a regular season in which Tufts finished 6-0 in dual conference meets.
"I was really proud of our team," Hoyt said. "I think the guys worked really hard this year and they deserved the results we saw in this championship."
Hoyt, who had been an assistant coach at Trinity for three years, proved himself here as Tufts finished with a 7-1 dual meet record and was undefeated in the NESCAC, suffering its only loss to the Boston College, a Div. I team.
Tufts capped off its successful season with a fourth place finish out of 11 teams at the 2005 NESCAC championship meet, finishing about 729 points behind first place Williams.
The upperclassmen were the key to Tufts' strong performance this season. Seven individuals earned National B qualifying times but only juniors Brett Baker and Jon Godsey are officially swimming in the Div. III NCAA's.
Baker qualified in the 200 meter freestyle with a time of 1:41.53 seconds. The star freestyler is seeded eighth in the NCAA, only two seconds slower than top seeded Chris Pearson from Carnegie-Mellon.
Godsey qualified in the 100 backstroke with his time of 51.83, which seeds him 14th overall in the NCAA. Senior Seth Baron missed the cutoff in the 200 butterfly by only .21 of a second.
In addition to qualifying two swimmers for Nationals, Tufts had six swimmers named to the NESCAC All-Conference Team. To qualify, a swimmer must finish in the top-three in an event at the championship meet. Baker earned All-Conference honors in the 200 and 100 freestyle, as did Godsey for his second place finish in the 50 backstroke. Baron also earned All-Conference honors for his third place finish in the 200 butterfly. Sophomore Greg Bettencourt qualified for his third place finish in the 200 freestyle.
Tufts relays are also represented on the All-Conference team. The 800 freestyle relay of Bettencourt, sophomore Justin Fanning, Baron, and Baker finished second and the 400 freestyle relay of junior Jason Kapit, Bettencourt, Fanning, and Baker finished third.
The individual performances from the meet were the highlight, but it was a team effort at championships that earned Tufts its 1,133.50 points at NESCACs.
"Team performance as a whole far exceeded my expectations." Hoyt said. "Everyone had lifetime best swims."
Some of those career bests were enough to break Tufts records. Baker broke Brian Herrick's nine-year old 200 freestyle record of 1:42.33 by 0.8 seconds and Godsey bettered his own record in the 50 backstroke by .06 of a second. Godsey also broke Herrick's 100 backstroke record by about three tenths of a second in his leadoff swim of the 400 medley relay. Baron bettered his own Tufts record in the 200 butterfly. His time of 1:54.27 was exactly one second faster than his previous record. Kapit broke the 400 individual medley record with his time of 4:10.56. The 800 freestyle relay, 200 medley, and 400 medley relay teams also broke school records.
The diving team also contributed to Tufts' success at the meet. Junior diver Todd Putnam, whose performance has been crucial this season, placed seventh in the 3-meter event to earn Tufts 356.95 points.
Part of the team's successful foundation was set back in January. The men's team conducted a three-week training trip in Florida during that month, putting the squad in great shape by the time they tapered for championships.
Coach Hoyt is looking forward to next year as most of the swimmers are returning next season.
"As my first experience as head coach, I couldn't have been happier." Hoyt said. "I couldn't have asked more from the guys."
