NORTON - The Tufts University men's swimming and diving team had a very strong performance at the Wheaton Invite this weekend. For half the team this was the last meet of the season as they will not be swimming in the conference meet. The meet was unscored, however the Jumbos made a huge statement against national powerhouse MIT, Wheaton, and Clark.
Having the strongest performances of the meet were freshman Andrew Turk (Westlake Village, CA), junior Andrew Vidikan (Littleton, CO), junior Brandon Ching (Honolulu, HI) and sophomore Fred Teumer (Honeoye, NY).
Turk had the fastest breaststroke leg on the 400 medley relay of which his team finished second behind another Tufts team. He also led off the wining 400 freestyle relay in a 47.67, good for eighth in the conference and fastest for the Jumbos this year. Turk had a stellar 200 freestyle going 1:45.48, which is tenth in the conference and again fastest for the Jumbos. He also won the 200 breaststroke in 2:13.77 ahead of teammate Mathew Richmond (Portland, OR). Turk showed some versatility with a sixth place finish in the 100 butterfly with a 53.59 and led off the 200 freestyle relay in 21.99.
Vidikan swam the backstroke leg of the 400 medley relay in a time of 54.40, good enough for third fastest on the team this year. Vidikan went 1:59.06 in the 200 butterfly, good for seventh in the conference and fastest on the team thus far. He was runner-up in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:57.04 that is sixth in the conference and first on the team. Vidikan finished sixth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.32, third on the team this year.
Ching swam the breaststroke leg of the winning 400 medley relay with teammates E. J. Testa (Cheshire, CT), Teumer, and Gordon Jenkins (Kansas City, MO). Ching went 2:01.23 in the 200 IM good for 12th in the conference and first on the team. Ching split a 23.30 on the butterfly leg of the 200 medley relay that finished second with teammates Craig Olynyk (Redmond, WA), Drew Berman (Miami, FL) and Owen Rood (Branford, CT). Ching finished second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:59.02. His most impressive swim of the night was his 100 butterfly in a time of 52.67 good for sixth in the conference and second on the team. Ching also led off the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 22.06.
Teumer swam a blistering 100 butterfly leg in the winning 400 medley relay (52.28). He finished fourth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.04. He finished third in the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.72 and finished eigth in the 100 butterfly in 54.19. However, he saved his best swim for last as he went 23.42 in the 50 butterfly which is the fastest time in the conference this year.
Other notable swims for the Jumbos included Matthew Wiens' (Mercer Island, WA) first place in the 1650 freestyle, Olynyk's second place effort in the 100 backstroke and first place effort in the 100 freestyle, Richmond's first place in the 100 breaststroke, Rood's first place 50 freestyle, Drew Berman's first place 400 IM and Testa's second place 100 butterfly (good for 5th in the conference).
This was the last meet of the season for seniors Eddie Mayerson (Teaneck, NJ), Brian Canter (Willow Grove, PA), and Andrew Meyendorff (Crestwood, NJ).
"The team would like to thank them for their four years of dedication and fast swimming," coach Adam Hoyt said.
Meet Results
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Game release written by Reed Shimberg
