WATERVILLE, ME (February 19, 2026) - The Tufts University men's swimming & diving team opened at the 2026 NESCAC Championships on Thursday night at Colby College with an NCAA B cut time in the 800 freestyle relay.
The Jumbo A foursome of junior
Rafae Shafi, sophomore
Ron Lyubman, sophomore
Sam Harris and freshman
Harry Belbot combined on a 6:37.92 time for third place in the 800 free relay. It's under the NCAA B requirement (6:39.86) and is the fifth-fastest time in Tufts history. Shafi's 1:38.40 opening leg is also a NCAA B cut in the 200 freestyle and is the team's best time of the year in the event.
Tufts' B foursome in the 800 free relay was freshman
Adam Li, senior
Nate Pfeffer, freshman
Nico Ogawa and freshman
Aidan Cole. Their 6:44.42 mark scored 13th in the event. Li's 1:40.50 to start snuck him into the team's top 10 for the 200 free.
With their 800 free relay results tonight, Tufts scored 76 team points and is tied with Connecticut College for second place. Williams College leads with a 90 score.
Jumbos swam in two time trials tonight as well. Sophomore
Max Gerke's 20.49 in the 50 freestyle was his lifetime best and ranks him seventh at Tufts. Freshman
Seth Graber timed 55.72 seconds in the 100 breaststroke, also a lifetime best and earning him fifth all-time at Tufts.
On the first full day of the meet Friday, the preliminaries will begin at 10 AM and finals will begin at 6 PM.
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