One of the biggest stories in the conference this week came at the Middlebury Invitational for men's and women's swimming, but it had nothing to do with the competition in the pool.
While the Middlebury women's team was in attendance hosting Tufts, Williams, and many other New England schools, the Panther men were nowhere to be found at their own home meet.
The team's absence was the first since the implementation of a season-ending, full-team suspension. Panther coach Peter Solomon, who confirmed that the suspension would include next weekend's NESCAC Championships, would not go into great detail about the suspension, but did concede that it was an alcohol-related violation.
"We are addressing a violation of some team and college policies revolving around drinking," Solomon said. "And we felt like we need to get our message across to teach our swimmers a lesson."
Without any specific knowledge of the incident at Middlebury, Tufts men's swimming and diving coach Adam Hoyt expressed his disappointment with the premature end to Middlebury's season.
"All I really know is that [Middlebury] won't be participating in our conference meet, and that's really too bad," Hoyt said. "I feel bad for the athletes because they put a lot of work in this season."
"It was a drinking situation having to do with our swimmers," Solomon said. "They are being held accountable for it. It was a situation that I felt needed to be addressed swiftly." Beyond that, Solomon refused to go into specifics about the incident.
Although he could not comment on the situation at Middlebury, Hoyt addressed how seriously hazing is taken at Tufts.
"[Hazing] definitely hasn't been a problem on our team," Hoyt asserted. "We make it very clear that hazing is unacceptable and definitely not a team-building activity. There's a clear line between hazing and bonding that any sports team needs to adhere to. There are better ways to get to know teammates than to take part in any hazing activity. I'm proud of the way this team handles itself outside of the pool."
While the Panthers' coach has the full backing of his athletic department, it was a decision he made independently of Middlebury Athletic Director Russ Reilly.
"It was a decision I made by myself, supported by our school," Solomon said.
Middlebury ends its season with a 5-4 record.
Around the NESCAC: There was plenty of actual swimming action at the Invitational. Tufts junior Michael Kinsella's time of 21.59 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle was the best time in the NESCAC this winter in that event, and Middlebury sophomore Marika Ross posted the conference's best time of the season on the 50 butterfly (26.86).
In other NESCAC swimming news, two other conference bests were posted this past weekend. Wesleyan senior Ben Byers set the league's season-best time in the 1000 freestyle (9:36.06) at the Cardinals' meet against Coast Guard, and the Amherst women's 400 medley relay team of Brittany Sasser, Piper Petterson, Margaret Ramsey, and Mary Marvel clocked in at 3:59.71 in the Lord Jeffs' meet at Springfield.
On the court, Tufts' men's basketball team will host Williams in the first round of the NESCAC basketball tournament in a much-anticipated matchup.
