Williams College, winner of eight conference titles, will look
to add to its legacy this weekend when the Ephs host the 2010
installment of the NESCAC Men’s Swimming & Diving
Championships. The three-day meet begins Friday, Feb. 26 at the
Muir-Samuelson Pool in Williamstown, Mass., and concludes on the
evening of Sunday, Feb. 28.
Although Williams won the 2009 title over Tufts by 237.5 points,
the closest margin since 2003, the Ephs had to battle past the
Jumbos in order to obtain their seventh-straight title. Tufts held
the lead after day one last year before Williams moved to the front
of the pack on day two with a 52.5 point advantage over the Jumbos.
The Ephs left little doubt on day three, as strong performances in
the morning qualifiers allowed Williams to gain an extra 185 points
during the evening finals en route to a successful title defense.
The Jumbos came in second for the third time in the last four
years, scoring 1,538 points. In third was Amherst with 1,364
points, followed by Connecticut College in fourth - the best finish
for the Camels ever at the league meet - with 957 points. Wesleyan
rounded out the top five, accumulating 815.5 points.
"I expect this meet will be very competitive with our biggest
challenges coming from Amherst and Tufts," Ephs' head coach Steve
Kuster said. "If we are going to keep our conference winning streak
going we will need to rely on our depth and have all 24 guys
contributing in every race. I am looking for the upperclassmen to
lead the large group of first timers we have at the meet, and I
think if we have a great team effort, keep focused on what we need
to do and race well, we will have a shot of being where we want to
be on Sunday night."
The mid-distance freestyle events could be a key battleground
between Amherst and Williams this weekend. Junior Alex Fraser
(Willowbrook, Ill.) will look to have a strong set of performances
for the Lord Jeffs after capturing the 100, 200 and 500-yard
freestyle races last winter. Fraser placed second in the 200 and
500 free during his first championship appearance two years ago,
then broke the meet record in the 100 and 500 last year. A host of
challengers, including a few familiar faces, will look to unseat
Fraser. In the 100, seniors Tad Homchick (Mercer Island, Wash.) of
Amherst and Grant Moryan (Westfield, N.J.) of Connecticut College
both finished in the top five, with Moryan edging out Homchick for
fourth. Moryan won the 100 free in 2008 and set the championship
record in the 50 in 2009, however he may be hard-pressed to repeat
in the latter event with the likes of sophomores Ben Wampler
(Glencoe, Ill.) of Williams and Bowdoin’s Nathan Mecray
(Cumberland, Maine) posting some of the fastest times this year.
Newcomers Sheng Hu (Lake Bluff, Ill.) of Amherst and Tom Vieth
(Louisville, Ky.) of Williams could pose a threat in the 200, while
junior Gary Roberson (Tigard, Ore.) from the Ephs and sophomore
Ryan Lichtenfels (McLean, Va.) of the Lord Jeffs will be in the mix
for the 500. Lichtenfels and Roberson were second and third,
respectively, in the 500 last year.
Roberson blew away the field in the 1,000-yard freestyle a year
ago, as he won the event for the second-straight time with a record
performance of 9:20.56, over 27 seconds faster than classmate David
Thompson (Wellesley, Mass.). Eph Rookies John Armstrong (Gladwyne,
Pa.) and DJ Taylor (Dallas, Texas) will be in contention along with
Roberson for the 1,000 and the trio hope to provide Williams with a
1-2-3 finish for the third consecutive year. Lichtenfels had his
own record performance last year, establishing a new standard in
the 1,650 and denying Roberson a repeat win in the race.
The 2010 breaststroke events will feature a new champion, as the
winners at the 2009 NESCAC meet have all graduated. Heading into
the weekend, Bowdoin’s Mecray, the top returner in the
100-yard breaststroke, holds the best time in the conference in
that event along with the 50. Other competitors to watch for in the
breaststroke races are seniors Sam Perley (Charlotte, N.C.) of
Connecticut College and Lawrence Chan (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) of
Tufts along with the sophomore tandem of Bart Federak (Towaco,
N.J.) and Mike O’Connor (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) from
Amherst. Federak touched the wall nearly two seconds ahead of
O’Connor for second in the 200-yard breaststroke last
year.
Connecticut College sophomore Tim Walsh (Lincoln Park, N.J.)
became the first swimmer to sweep the breaststroke events in meet
history at last year’s championship. Walsh’s record
time in the 200-yard backstroke edged out Amherst sophomore Tim
White (Centerport, N.Y.) by less than half a second, however White
enters the weekend with the top time in the conference in the 200.
Along with White, a host of competitors will look to deny
Walsh’s repeat bid in all three events, including Tufts
sophomore EJ Testa (Cheshire, Conn.) and rookies Daniel Schwab (San
Diego, Calif.) of Amherst and Basyl Stuyvesant (Allison Park, Pa.)
of Bowdoin.
The butteryfly events should feature a battle between Connecticut
College senior Pat Troy (Bradford, N.H.) and Middlebury junior John
Dillon (Wellesley, Mass.). Troy was the runner-up to 2009 Swimmer
of the Meet Norman Scott from Williams in all three of the fly
races last year. With Scott having moved on due to graduation, Troy
will look to claim his first individual title, as he currently owns
the top times in the conference in the 50 and 100-yard butterfly
events. Dillon won the 100-yard breaststroke as a sophomore at the
2008 championship after placing second in 2007 and has also earned
a second place showing in the 200 race at his last two NESCAC
meets.
In diving, Tufts senior Robert Matera (Trumbull, Conn.) enters the
weekend with the highest scores this season in the 1 and 3-meter
events. Matera placed second in both dives at last year’s
NESCAC championship. Other divers to watch for include junior
teammate Trevor Stack (Northbrook, Ill.), Wesleyan sophomore
Gianfranco Galluzzo (Durham, Conn.), and Middlebury freshman Omar
Carmical (San Leandro, Calif.). Galluzzo turned in a third place
performance in both events during his first championship appearance
last winter.
Connecticut College had a strong showing in the relay events at
the 2009 meet, finishing among the top three teams in three races
and winning the 200-yard freestyle relay. The Camels may be poised
to repeat in the 200 free relay and could also come away with
titles in the medley relays. Other teams in the relay hunt will
include Amherst, Middlebury, Tufts, and Williams.
Competition will get underway each day with preliminary heats at
10:00 a.m. Finals will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 5:50 p.m.
Saturday, and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $6 per session
or $30 for an all-session pass for adults and $2 per session for
children and students or $10 for an all-session pass. Doors will
open two hours prior to the heats and finals. A complete
championship schedule along with real-time results will be
available at www.nescac.com. A webcast of final events will be
available through the Williams athletics website at
athletics.williams.edu.
2010 NESCAC MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday, February 26 - Sunday, February 28
at Muir-Samuelson Pool, Williams College
Order of Events
Friday, February 26
Trials, 10:00 A.M.
200 yard Freestyle Relay
50 yard Breaststroke
50 yard Butterfly
500 yard Freestyle
50 yard Backstroke
200 yard Individual Medley
50 yard Freestyle
400 yard Medley Relay
1 Meter Diving
Finals, 6:00 P.M.
200 yard Freestyle Relay
50 yard Breaststroke
50 yard Butterfly
500 yard Freestyle
50 yard Backstroke
200 Individual Medley
50 yard Freestyle
1-meter Diving (Top 8 Qualifiers)
400 yard Medley Relay
Saturday, February 27
Trials, 10:00 A.M.
200 yard Medley Relay
400 yard Individual Medley
100 yard Butterfly
200 yard Freestyle
100 yard Breaststroke
100 yard Backstroke
1000 Freestyle (Timed Finals)
Finals, 6:00 P.M.
Senior Ceremony
200 yard Medley Relay
1000 yard Freestyle
(Last Heat of Timed Finals)
400 Individual Medley
100 yard Butterfly
200 yard Freestyle
100 yard Breaststroke
100 yard Backstroke
800 yard Freestyle Relay
Sunday, February 28
Trials, 10:00 A.M.
200 yard Backstroke
100 yard Freestyle
200 yard Breaststroke
200 yard Butterfly
400 yard Freestyle Relay
1650 Freestyle (Timed Finals)
3-meter Diving
Finals, 5:30 P.M.
1650 yard Freestyle
(Last Heat of Timed Finals)
200 yard Backstroke
100 yard Freestyle
200 yard Breaststroke
200 yard Butterfly
3-meter Diving (Top 8 Qualifiers)
400 yard Freestyle Relay
NESCAC Awards & Team Awards
