MIDDLEBURY, VT - The Tufts men's swimming & diving team defeated conference rival Middlebury but fell to Connecticut College in the first meet of their opening weekend for the 2011-12 season.
The Jumbos started official training just two and a half weeks ago and have been working extremely hard both in and out of the pool.
"The members of the team who have stayed healthy have trained very well, but many guys have struggled with injury and illness that have really held them back," head coach Adam Hoyt said.
Sophomore Andrew Berman (Miami, FL) had the best performances of the day finishing first in the 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley in 2:15.94 and 2:01.93, respectively. He also finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.25. Classmate Kyle Savidge (South Windsor, CT) won the 1,000 freestyle in 10:12.58. He used an impressive back half to beat the Connecticut College swimmer who was keeping up with him the whole race. Savidge set the tone early for the Jumbos by taking the second event. He also finished third in the 200 backstroke with a 2:02.97.
Returning All-Ameriacn Johann Schmidt (Nanuet, NY) won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, scoring key points for the team.
The other victory of the day came in the last event as freshman Will Parker (Frederick, MD), senior EJ Testa (Cheshire, CT), freshman John Devine (Oxford, MA) and senior co-captain Owen Rood (Branford, CT) won the 200 yard freestyle relay in 1:26.88.
Parker finished fourth in the 50 freestyle in 22.45 while Testa finished fourth in the 100 backstroke with a 56.79. Devine went a personal-best to finish second in the 100 freestyle in 48.59.
Another freshman beginning to make a name for himself with fast swimming on the day was Mike Napolitano (Fanwood, NJ). He finished second in the 200 butterfly in 2:01.02.
"I was excited to start the season and set a baseline for what is to come," he said. "I have a lot of room to improve as the season progresses."
Seniors Testa, Peter Debbaut (Hood River, OR), Brandon Ching (Honolulu, HI), and Rood finished second in the 200 medley relay in 1:39.04 to open the meet. This was Debbaut's first time on the A relay and said, "I felt amped up swimming with the other guys." Sophomore Austin Wood (Fort Washington, PA) used a fantastic first half to finish third in the 200 freestyle in 1:49.86. Ching finished third in the 100 butterfly with a 54.32.
"I thought it was a good start to the season and there are some things that everyone can work on," Coach Hoyt said. "While the team puts a lot of emphasis on the dual meet record, it's ultimately about using these meets as benchmarks for our championship season."
The Jumbos are back in action tomorrow against Keene State at home at 1 pm at Hamilton Pool.
Meet results
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Written by Reed Shimberg
