The men's swimming and diving team started its rigorous workout schedule earlier than usual this season. Four months ago, in mid−October, senior Lawrence Chan and his fellow quad−captains were leading the team in grueling practices and weightlifting sessions.
During these hours in the pool, when his arms and legs turned to jelly, Chan kept telling himself, "One day, all of this work will pay off."
This weekend, at the NESCAC Championships in Williamstown, Mass., the culmination of weeks of preparation will finally arrive.
The Jumbos will attempt to snap Williams College's seven−year streak of winning NESCAC championships. And the Tufts team has every reason to be optimistic, after it last year garnered its best performance at the meet — second−place, only 237.5 points behind the first place Ephs — in the last decade.
"I would say that the main difference between last year and this year is experience," coach Adam Hoyt said. "The majority of these guys were at last year's meet and know what it's all about. We have a large group of juniors and seniors who have been there and know how to be successful."
Last year, when the NESCAC meet was hosted by Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., the Jumbos surprisingly sprinted to a lead after the first day. Then−senior quad captain James Longhurst (E '09) was a part of two first−place victories on that Friday, including the fastest 50−yard breaststroke performance (25.82 seconds) in NESCAC history and the 400−yard medley relay. The three swimmers with whom he swam that relay will return to the championship meet this weekend: current senior Patrick Kinsella and juniors Matthew Glenn and Andrew Altman.
While Longhurst and talented sprinter Andrew Shields (E '09) — who finished third in last year's NESCAC 50−yard freestyle and is a part of the fastest Jumbo teams of all time in the 200− and 400−yard medley and freestyle relays — have graduated, the 2010 Jumbo team features many swimmers who are favored to contend in the sprints.
Sophomore Owen Rood, who currently holds the program record in both the 100− and 50−yard freestyle events — the latter of which he set last year at the NESCAC championships when he finished second in the event — is one such swimmer.
And with Kinsella looking to contend in the short butterfly events, sophomore Chris Vorlicek hoping to improve on his third−place performance last year in the 200−yard individual medley and junior Gordy Jenkins anchoring the 200−yard freestyle relay team that returns three out of four swimmers from last year's record−breaking team, the Jumbos expect to repeat their strong performance on the first day of competition and get out to another early lead.
"I think that we're better than last year," Jenkins said. "We lost a lot of good swimmers, but all of the guys that were there last year are faster now. I think we'll get ahead early and have a better chance to beat Williams."
If Tufts is able to get the early edge, the deciding factor this weekend will be whether the Jumbos can hold onto the lead in some of the long−distance events that take place on Saturday and Sunday.
In last year's final day, no Jumbo was able to finish in the top five in either the 500− or 1,000−yard freestyle events. But junior Joe Lessard, who finished fourth in the 1650−yard freestyle event last year, and sophomore Alex Strittmatter lead a distance unit that has been working hard on turning what was a weakness last year into a strength this season.
"I feel like the coaches have split us up better this year, into sprinters and distance guys," Jenkins said. "The distance guys have worked more on their specialties, and I wouldn't be surprised to see us pull out the 500 [−yard freestyle] and the [1,650]."
"We have a more balanced team this year," Hoyt added. "People have done a better job improving their weaker events … It's clear that we've definitely improved in that area, and I think we'll do well across the board."
The team's depth will be tested over the course of the three−day competition, and a group of young freshmen, led by Jack Thomas, Brian Marko and Dylan Portelance, hope to give the team a boost in their first NESCAC Championship appearances.
"What they've told us has been to get ample rest and not to let anything affect us during the meet — not to over−analyze the swimming, not to think about all of the races at once, but to take each one individually," Thomas said.
In the two diving events, senior quad−captain Rob Matera will be looking to finish his final year of eligibility with wins in the 1− and 3−meter diving events. Matera and junior teammate Trevor Stack hope to capitalize on the graduation of then−senior Kai Robinson of Amherst, who dominated the competition last year. But the Tufts duo's primary competition this year should come via Wesleyan sophomore Gianfranco Galluzo, who finished within a point of first place in the one−meter dive against Matera in a meet earlier this season.
The team's plan this week is to take it easy and continue to taper off its workout routines leading up to Friday's races. After beginning the season with some of the hardest workouts in his time at Tufts, Coach Hoyt is making sure that his swimmers are staying relaxed and loose. Fresh legs are paramount to Tufts's quest to both set personal records and achieve team glory.
"We've been swimming well all year, but there's nothing like swimming when you're tapered," Thomas said. "We're all so excited."
