Men's Swimming & Diving Closes NESCAC Meet With Two More Titles and 2nd Place Finish

WATERVILLE, ME (February 25, 2024) - Junior Eric Lundgren won his third straight conference title in the 200 backstroke, and the 400 freestyle relay closed the meet by winning with a conference record time as the Tufts University men's swimming & diving team finished up at the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships on Sunday.

Head coach Adam Hoyt's Jumbos placed second at the meet with a 1730.5 score, behind conference champion Williams College (1898.5). Amherst College finished in third place with a 1065.5 score. Colby College hosted the meet.

Lundgren, who has now won the NESCAC 200 backstroke as a freshman, sophomore and junior, swam a 1:45.05 time to win tonight's final. He led four Jumbos who finished among the top 14 in the race, including sophomore Jack Madden placing fifth with a 1:48.78 mark. Senior Edwin Liang-Gilman submitted a 1:51.45 time for 11th and junior Brian Uribe's 1:51.57 tied for 14th.

Tufts had a strong finish to the meet, winning the 400 freestyle relay in a 2:56.43 time that was a conference, championship meet and school record. Graduate student Peter LaBarge, junior Soeren Euvrard, senior Will Stearns and junior Armaan Sikka were the foursome, as Tufts won the 400 free relay for the second straight year. LaBarge, Stearns and Sikka were all part of last year's winning team. The Jumbo foursome of freshman Oliver Grossman, junior Charlie Duffy, senior Eli Houlton and junior Emmett Adams posted a 3:00.70 mark tonight that like the winning time was an NCAA "B" cut for the Jumbos.

In addition to the 400 free relay, Tufts also had new school records set by freshman Jack Nussbaum in the 200 breaststroke and by freshman Rafae Shafi in the 1650 freestyle. Nussbaum established record times twice, with a 2:00.01 in the preliminaries and then with his 1:59.72 mark for third place in the finals. Shafi broke his third school record of  the meet with a 15:27.77 time in the 1650 freestyle where he was the runner-up. Both broke marks that were originally set earlier this season, with Nussbaum topping senior teammate Bora Calis' 2:01.20 in the 200 breaststroke, and Shafi improving upon his own previous record of 15:29.61 in the 1650 free.

Tufts scored very well in the 200 breaststroke. In addition to Nussbaum, junior Darrien Johnsen was fifth in a 2:00.50 finish, Duffy won the consolation final (ninth overall) at 2:03.08 and sophomore Connor Townson swam 2:03.11 for 10th place.

Behind Shafi for Tufts in the 1650 free was freshman Dan Godino in seventh place with a 15:55.63 mark.

Junior Ethan Schreier added second-place points for Tufts in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:47.94. Sophomore Nate Pfeffer touched 13th in the race (1:52.59).

The Jumbos had a strong score in the 100 freestyle finals where LaBarge was third (44.35), Euvrard was fourth (44.50) and Sikka placed sixth (44.97). Also in the 100 free, junior Emmett Adams had tied for 26th in the prelims with Bowdoin College's Getchell Gibbons at 46.54 and they had a 50 freestyle swim-off. Adams timed 20.02, one of the fastest marks in Tufts history and a strong NCAA B cut.

Tufts finished the four-day meet with five conference champions and 10 new school records. They recorded over 30 NCAA B cuts. Today's other national qualifying times came from Lundgren and Madden in the 200 back, LaBarge, Euvrard and Sikka in the 100 free, Nussbaum and Johnsen in the 200 breast, Schreier in the 200 fly and Shafi in the 1650 free. 

Next up for the Tufts team is the NCAA Diving Regional back at Colby College next Friday and Saturday (Mar. 1-2).