CAMBRIDGE – The Tufts University men's swimming & diving team finished as the runner-up at the MIT Winter Invitational which ended on Sunday.
The Jumbos scored 1,369.5 points in the three-day meet that started on Friday. Host MIT won the competition with a 1,788 score. RPI was third (924) out of five teams total.
Tufts senior Roger Gu won the 100 freestyle in a time of 43.97 seconds, which was a new MIT pool record and an NCAA B-cut. The mark was 0.53 off Gu's school record (43.44). Junior John LaLime also won the 500 freestyle with a 4:35.15 time, one of three Jumbos in the top four spots of the event. Freshman Evan Szablewski took third (4:40.43).
Tufts opened Sunday's action with a 1:30.07 NCAA B-cut time in the 200 medley relay by sophomore Nate Tingen, senior Matt Manfre, freshman Joshua Balbi and Gu. The strong early-season time was just 0.94 off the school record.
Sophomore Tar Tar Jarusinchai finished a good weekend with a 1:52.51 time for third place in the 200 individual medley, just missing an NCAA B-cut.
Tufts finished the weekend with a second and a fourth in the 400 freestyle relay. Freshman Peter LaBarge, Gu, freshman Dylan Brown and junior Tyler Tatro combined on a 3:03.56 for second. The fourth-place mark of 3:08.18 was performed by Tingen, Balbi, freshman Otto Laasko and junior JJ Batt.
Tingen had been fourth in the 200 backstroke with a 1:52.37 finish, while Balbi was also fourth in the 100 butterfly (49.52). Senior Alexander Burnam was Tufts' top finisher and fourth overall in the 200 breaststroke (2:07.99).
The MIT meet was the final competition of the first semester for Tufts. They will next be in action at Boston College on January 14.
