MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 14 Tufts University men's swimming & diving team totaled six top-five finishes in the finals during second-day action at the NESCAC Championships at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, on Saturday, as the Jumbos' sit in third overall out of 11 teams heading into final-day competition on Sunday.
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| Chris Flynn collected 13th-place honors in the final of the 100 butterfly. |
Williams College sits in first place with 1,145 points, while holding a 96-point lead over second-place Amherst College (1,049 points). The Jumbos have collected 1,008 points and Connecticut College is currently in fourth with 989.5 points, as only 59.5 points separate second from fourth in the standings.
Sophomore Kingsley Bowen posted a program-best time of 22.80 in the preliminaries of the 50-yard backstroke on Friday morning, and then he broke his own record on Saturday, as he posted a time of 22.78 in the 50 backstroke when he led off the Jumbos in the final of the 200 medley relay.
Bowen posted a fifth-place finish and was the Jumbos' top-performer during the final of the 100 butterfly (49.06, 25 points) on Saturday, while he also tallied a third-place finish in the preliminary round of the event.
Junior James McElduff performed exceptionally during second-day competition, including being the first competitor to touch the wall during the preliminaries of the 400 individual medley (3:59.58). The Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, native then trimmed 1.63 seconds off his time during the final of the 400 IM, en route to finishing second overall and collecting 28 points.
Junior Zachary Wallace was the third swimmer to hit the wall during the final of the 400 IM (3:58.78, 27 points), as the La Jolla, California, native boasted a 4.24-second improvement over his preliminary-round performance.
Senior captain Luca Guadagno was the third Jumbo to finish in the top-five overall during the final of the 400 IM, as he placed fifth overall (25 points) with a time of 4:05.91. Sophomore Brandon Jinn (9:38.44, 23 points) and junior Lorenzo Lau (1:41.99, 23 points) were the Jumbos' top-performers in the finals of the 1,000 and 200 freestyle, respectively, as the two swimmers' finished seventh overall in their respective events.
Freshman Costa Camerano Spelta Rapini earned sixth-place accolades, clocking a time of 50.08 and earning 24 points during the final of the 100 butterfly. McElduff, Wallace, sophomore Noah Cagley and Bowen grabbed runner-up honors during the final of the 800 freestyle relay, tallying a time of 6:44.84 and grabbing 56 points.
In the final of the 200 medley relay, Bowen, freshman Eric Shi, Wallace and freshman Roger Gu garnered fifth-place honors with a time of 1:32.05, which was good for an additional 50 points. Shi placed 12th overall during the final of the 100 breaststroke (57.69, 15 points) and junior Michael Brienza garnered 12th-place acknowledgement during the final of the 100 backstroke (52.11, 15 points), as the two competitors were the team's top-finishers in their respective events.
The Jumbos' showcased their depth in the finals with numerous swimmers rising to the occasion, which included Cagley (10th in 200 freestyle, 1:41.49), Gu (11th in 200 freestyle, 1:42.53), junior Scott Simpson (12th in 400 IM, 4:08.16), junior Chris Flynn (13th in 100 butterfly, 51.20), sophomore Ross Wood (13th in 200 freestyle, 1:43.25), senior Jasper Du (58.52 in 100 breaststroke), junior Neil Spazzarini (1:42.93 in 200 freestyle,), junior Jacob Siegelbaum (52.65 in 100 backstroke), freshman Timothy Gronet (52.68 in 100 backstroke), freshman Alex Burnam (58.91 in 100 breaststroke), freshman Ryan Luu (52.57 in 100 butterfly), freshman Matthew Manfre (59.69 in 100 breaststroke) and sophomore Adon Shapiro (10:00.31 in 1,000 freestyle).
The Jumbos will compete in final-day action on Sunday at the NESCAC Championships in Middletown, Connecticut, with swimming trials slated for 10 a.m., diving preliminaries for 2 p.m. and the finals for 5:30 p.m.
Written by Trevor Wenners, Athletic Communications Intern
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