MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Tufts University men's swimming & diving team totaled seven first-place finishes at Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon, as the Jumbos defeated Wesleyan (238-74) and lost to Williams (195-124) and WPI (183.50-137.50) in Middletown, Connecticut.
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| Roger Gu claimed two first-place finishes in individual events. |
The Jumbos' claimed first-place honors in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as sophomore Kingsley Bowen, junior Zachary Wallace, junior Lorenzo Lau and freshman Roger Gu worked as a cohesive unit and posted a time of 3:06.18. The Jumbos' "B" squad, consisting of junior Kai McGuire, sophomore Ross Wood, junior Michael Brienza and junior James McElduff, earned a fifth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:15.10.
"Coming off of a tough week academically and a heavy week of training, I was pleased with how the team performed," said head coach Adam Hoyt. "Having the opportunity to compete against some of the best swimmers and divers in the conference is a great way to wrap up our semester of competition. I believe each of our athletes has identified a few things to improve upon over the coming month, and we will look forward to a good stretch of training over the next month and look forward to putting ourselves in a great position to race and dive well the back half of the season."
Senior captain Matt Rohrer and Gu led the way on the individual side, as each athlete posted a pair of first-place finishes. Rohrer took home first-place honors in the 3-meter (333.60) and the 1-meter diving events (277.20). Gu was the first to touch the wall in the 50-yard freestyle (21.11) and the 100-yard freestyle (46.34).
Wallace finished first overall in the 400-yard individual medley (4:09.72), while McElduff garnered first-place recognition in the 200-yard butterfly (1:55.76). Wallace was also the Jumbos' top-performer in the 50-yard backstroke (fifth overall, 24.79), while McElduff finished fourth overall in the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.96).
Bowen excelled on the individual side, by placing second overall in the 200-yard backstroke (1:51.36) and the 100-yard butterfly (50.96), while finishing in a tie for fourth overall in the 50-yard butterfly (23.36).
Lau was the team's top-finisher in the 200 freestyle, as he placed third overall with a time of 1:45.82. The Culver City, California, native additionally collected a sixth-place finish in the 100 freestyle (48.18). Senior captain Luca Guadagno tallied a third-place finish in the 400 IM (4:14.14) and a ninth-place finish in the 200 backstroke (2:00.45).
Senior Jasper Du placed eighth overall in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.36), ninth in the 50-yard breaststroke (28.07) and ninth in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:15.44), while freshman Eric Shi finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.23) and 10th in the 50 breaststroke (28.09).
Sophomore James Wu recorded 10th-place finishes in the 50 backstroke (26.25) and the 100-yard backstroke (56.56), while sophomore Chris Simotas was the Jumbos' top-performer in the 100 backstroke (seventh overall, 55.68).
In the 500-yard freestyle, sophomore Brandon Jinn placed eighth overall (4:55.10), McGuire placed ninth (4:56.63) and freshman Thomas Gillespie placed 10th (4:57.87). McGuire also earned an eighth-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:48.04).
The Jumbos received strong performances from junior Scott Simpson (eighth in the 50 breaststroke), Brienza (eighth in the 50 backstroke), freshman Alex Burnam (ninth in the 100 breaststroke, 10th in the 200 breaststroke), junior Neil Spazzarini (eighth in the 200 butterfly), Wood (ninth in the 100 freestyle), freshman Ryan Luu (10th in the 50 butterfly), freshman Costa Camerano Spelta Rapini (ninth in the 50 freestyle) and junior Craig Drennan (ninth in the 400 IM).
The Jumbos will host MIT in Senior Day action on Jan. 15, 2017, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Written by Trevor Wenners, Athletic Communications Intern
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