MEDFORD - Adding a dramatic conclusion to an outstanding weekend at the 2016 NESCAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championships, Tufts passed Connecticut College in the final event to take second place at the meet on Sunday night. The Jumbos finished with a 1,410.5 score, edging the Camels' 1407 total.
The runner-up finish is the best for Tufts since 2010 when they were also second. Sunday also featured two victories by the Jumbos, giving them four at the meet which matches their total in 2012 as the best in program history at NESCAC's (2001-16). Two new records and seven NCAA B times were also a part of Sunday's Jumbo effort.
A little bit of luck was on the Jumbos' side in the 400 freestyle relay, the 24th and final event. Tufts was third with a 1,336.5 score entering the race, 16.5 behind Connecticut College's 1,353. The top Camel foursome placed third in the race just ahead of fourth-place Tufts, increasing the margin of their lead to 18.5 points. However, Tufts' second foursome scored 22 points for finishing 13th and Connecticut College's second group was disqualified for an early take-off. That moved the Jumbos past the Camels in the final standings. Host Williams College won the meet with a 1,789.5 score.
Jumbo senior tri-captain Michael Winget capped his final day at NESCAC's by winning his first-ever conference title in the 200 backstroke. His 1:47.30 time set a new school record and was an NCAA B mark. Tufts freshman Kingsley Bowen was right behind him in second place with a 1:47.34 final. Bowen had established a new Tufts record with his 1:47.57 in the preliminaries on Sunday, improving upon Winget's 1:47.70 mark from last season. However, Winget won the race in the final as both Jumbos surpassed the 1:51.73 NCAA B mark.
Junior diver Matt Rohrer won his third conference title in as many years by taking the three-meter event on Sunday. He had been edged by Amherst's Asher Lichtig for the one-meter conference crown on Monday. However, on Sunday Rohrer earned his revenge by scoring 503.10 points to defeat Lichtig (494.60). The Jumbo All-American added this 2016 three-meter title to his three-meter win as a freshman in 2014 and his one-meter victory as a sophomore last year. Tufts has now taken 10 of the last 14 conference diving championships from the past seven NESCAC meets. Two-time NCAA champion Johann Schmidt earned three conference victories on each board from 2011-14 and Rob Matera was the 2010 one-meter titlist.
Tufts scored massive points in Sunday's 200 butterfly. They had six finishers in the top 14 of the event, led by senior Anthony DeBenedetto. He had broken his own school record in the preliminaries with a 1:49.77 NCAA B cut. That was better than his 1:50.55 time trial on Friday which set a new school mark. Today's time was also under the 1:53.87 NCAA B qualifier. In the final, DeBenedetto was fifth (1:51.21). Also swimming NCAA B times in the 200 fly were sophomore James McElduff (1:51.75) and sophomore Chris Flynn (1:53.43).
Sophomore Morgan Ciliv and freshman Brandon Jinn added NCAA B standards in the 200 breaststroke and 1,650 freestyle, respectively. Ciliv took almost four seconds off his 2:08.45 in the prelims with a 2:04.91 in the 200 breast final, which was under the 2:05.58 B cut. Jinn's 16:12.13 for fourth in the 1,650 freestyle was more than four seconds better than the 16:16.65 NCAA B cut.
In the 400 frestyle, McElduff, senior tri-captain Cam Simko, sophomore Lorenzo Lau, and sophomore Michael Brienza were fourth (3:04.54), while sophomore Scott Simpson, freshman Noah Cagley, freshman Ross Wood, and senior tri-captain Harry Wood ultimately provided the points which lifted Tufts over Connecticut College with a 3:06.06 time for 13th.
Lau was also seventh in the 100 freestyle (46.91) on Sunday.
Over the three days, Tufts established NCAA B times in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke (two swimmers), 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly (three swimmers), 1,650 freestyle, and 400 individual medley (three swimmers), as well as in the 200 and 400 medley relays. The Jumbos will wait to hear which of their marks will gain entrance into the NCAA Championships coming up March 16-19 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Jumbo school records were set in nine events - the 50 backstroke, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay.
With the second-place team finish and four titles won along with the B cuts and school records, the 2016 NESCAC performance is arguably the Jumbo program's finest.
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