MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The No. 13 Tufts University men's swimming & diving team posted a pair of first-place finishes during opening-day action on Friday at the Middlebury Invitational in Middlebury, Vermont.
Freshman Thomas Gillespie collected a first-place finish in an individual event for the first time in his career, as he placed first overall in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:34.31. The Jumbos also collected first-place honors in the 400-yard medley relay, as the squad's "A" team, featuring sophomore Chris Simotas, senior Michael DeCortin, sophomore Brian Honicky and freshman Timothy Gronet posted a time of 3:35.10, clearing second place by 1.76 seconds.
Honicky, Gronet, sophomore Nick Berger and freshman Gregory Callahan worked together during the 200-yard freestyle relay, as the "A" unit reeled off a second-place finish, clocking a time of 1:26.68 and trailing first place by 1.08 seconds.
On the individual side, junior Jacob Siegelbaum garnered runner-up recognition and was the team's top-finisher in the 200-yard individual medley (1:58.51), while freshman Jose Avila recorded a third-place nod in the 1,650 freestyle (17:15.91).
Gronet was the first Jumbo to touch the wall in the 50-yard freestyle (21.77) and he finished third overall in the event, while Honicky and Simotas placed fourth in the 200 IM (1:59.79) and the 50 freestyle (21.90), respectively.
Freshman Michael Brunelli was the team's top-finisher in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:50.26), while Callahan was the fifth swimmer to touch the wall in the 50 freestyle (22.36).
Other strong performers in individual-oriented events included senior Russell Weeks (2:00.96, 200 IM), senior Tim Savidge (2:04.42, 200 IM), DeCortin (2:07.33, 200 IM), freshman George Katilus (23.07, 50 freestyle), sophomore James Wu (23.20, 50 freestyle), junior Craig Drennan (17:23.52, 1,650 freestyle) and sophomore Robert Toscano (10:52.57, 1,000 freestyle).
Savidge, Katilus, Siegelbaum and Wu formed the Jumbos' "B" squad in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing fifth overall with a time of 1:30.75, while Siegelbaum, Katilus, junior Tyler Shapiro and Callahan earned a third-place finish in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:36.92.
The Jumbos, who have won a trio of dual meets this season, rested many of their top-performers on Friday, as the squad is also preparing for the NESCAC Championships on Feb. 17-19 at Wesleyan in Middletown, Connecticut.
The Jumbos will compete in final-day action at the Middlebury Invitational on Saturday in Middlebury, Vermont.
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