Men's Swimming & Diving Aims for Conference Title This Week at Colby

MEDFORD, MA (February 18, 2026) - The Tufts University men's swimming & diving team is the top seed in seven events heading into the 2026 NESCAC Championships which start on Thursday at Colby College.

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Championship Details:
2026 NESCAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championships - Championship Website
Dates: Thursday, February 19 through Sunday, February 22
Location: WATERVILLE, ME – The Aquatics Center at the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation
Coverage: PSYCH SHEET – LIVE RESULTS – LIVE VIDEO

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Junior Rafae Shafi has the top seeds entering the NESCAC meet for four events - the 200, 1000 and 1650 freestyles along with the 200 butterfly. With sophomore Ron Lyubman's #1 ranking in the 200 freestyle, Tufts has four top seeds in that event group overall. Max Gerke, part of a talented freshman class on the Jumbos, has the top ranking in the 100 butterfly.

Senior Armaan Sikka brings the most championship meet experience to the Jumbos. NESCAC's Rookie of the Year in 2023, Sikka has won an individual title in the 100 butterfly (2024) as well as playing a  role in four relay championships. Junior diver Jay Wilkinson won the one-meter and three-meter conference contests in 2024.

The Jumbos have been the team runner-up at the last six NESCAC Championships and will be looking to challenge for their first conference title since 2018 this week. With 23 top-three seeds entering the 2026 conference championship, head coach Adam Hoyt's group should be in the mix for a top finishing spot once again this year.

"Following a great regular season, our men are in a great position to step up and perform well at championships," head coach Adam Hoyt said. "Having graduated a large group of seniors last year, and having a large group of first-years on our squad, we're excited to realize what potential our team has. We'll look for a full team effort through all classes on our team.  We have great leadership from many and are excited to compete against the best in the NESCAC."

Here's a closer look at the team in each event:

BACKSTROKE: Following the graduation of Eric Lundgren, who won all three backstroke events at NESCAC's last year and is one of the most decorated swimmers in conference history, the Jumbos rebuilt solidly here with the freshman class. Newcomer Nico Ogawa leads the Jumbos and is seeded fourth in the 50 and fifth in the 100, also ranking ninth in the 200. Classmate Aidan Cole is the top Tufts seed (seventh) in the 200. Freshman Spencer Thompson is top eight in all three races with a #5 slot in the 50. Sophomores Campbell McFall (#6 in the 50) and Sam Harris and freshman Luke Davis could add on significantly.

BREASTSTROKE: Junior Jack Nussbaum leads the Jumbos here, including owning the #2 seed in the 200 (2:00.54). He's also #5 in the 100 and #9 for the 50. Junior Will Kaminski is highly-ranked at third for the 50 breast, and is ninth in the 100 event. Tufts' depth in the 200 is excellent with senior Connor Townson (#6 seed), freshman JJ Arbuckle (#8), freshman Seth Graber (#10) and sophomore Timmy Brady (#11) all behind Nussbaum. Additionally, Graber is eighth for the 100.

BUTTERFLY: The Jumbos have two of the top times out of the three events with Shafi's 1:49.09 in the 200 and a 48.74 by Gerke in the 100. Freshman Isaac Shang is the top Jumbo in the 50 at #3. Sikka, the former 100 fly champion, should be a big contributor in the 50 and 100. Five Jumbos have top-eight times in the 100, including Sikka in fourth. Gerke is also fourth in the 50 and Shang is eighth in the 100 too. Adam Li is another freshman with good times this year, in the 100 (#5 seed) and 200. Davis has the 10th time in the 50.

DIVING: Wilkinson was the NESCAC Diver of the Year as a freshman and has shown a return to form with good health this season. His 457.95 seeded mark is second for one-meter, while his 423.60 in three-meter is seeded third this week. Junior Elias Brandt was a finalist in both events at NESCAC's last year including a fourth-place finish in one-meter. His 2025-26 scores are ranked #2 for three-meter and #3 for three-meter.

FREESTYLE: Tufts has a strong group here with Shafi's three top seeds (1:38.51 in the 200, 9:24.08 for the 1000/1650) as well as the best 500 time of 1:38.51 from Lyubman. Shafi is #2 behind Lyubman in the 500. Kaminski is very solid in the sprint events (#4 in both the 50 and 100), as is junior Dan Godino in the longer races (#3 in the 1650 and #4 in the 1000). Junior Jan Springer and Gerke in the 100, Shang and McFall in the 50, Lyubman in the 200 and Godino in the 500 all enter the meet with top eight seeds. Thompson in the 100, Harris in the 200 and sophomore Ryan Manson in the 500 add to great depth in the freestyles.

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY: Brady had a great meet at the Boston Winter Open, swimming times that landed him second in the 400 IM and third in the 200 entering the conference meet. Graber also has top-four marks in the two events, including third in the 400. Townson's 400 is fifth, while Arbuckle (#6 400 IM), Ogawa and Nussbaum will also factor in here.

RELAYS: Tufts' 6:43.12 seed time for the 800 freestyle relay, which kicks off the meet on Thursday, is #1. The Jumbos are seeded second in the other four relay events at NESCAC's this year. Exact line-ups are to be determined at the meet. The other Jumbo times this season are 1:20.63 for the 200 freestyle relay, 3:01.56 in the 400 free relay, 1:30.02 in the 200 medley relay and 3:19.48 in the 400 medley relay. The team will be seeking to win back-to-back titles with their 200 and 400 medley foursomes, which won last year in 1:26.82 and 3:13.81 marks, respectively.

In the College Swimming Coaches Association of America's February national rankings, Tufts at #13 is the top-ranked school in NESCAC. Amherst College (#16), Connecticut College (#20), Williams College (#21) and Bates College (tied for #24) follow. If these rankings were to predict a finishing order at NESCAC's - which they did for the Women's Championship last week - the Jumbos look to have a shot at competing for a title this year.