New London, CT.-- The Williams men wrapped up a victory in their opening conference dual meet with an impressive 202-135 win over the host Connecticut College Camels. While their opponents as a whole rarely threatened in the upset, the Ephs were challenged in the pool by a variety of top rate and talented individual swimmers, which had them battling hard for each and every point. Ultimately the depth of the Williams roster proved to be the deciding factor in the meet.
The Ephs were led by senior co-captain Gary Roberson, who captured two individual events, winning the 200 freestyle and the 200 Individual Medley with times of 1:42.77 and 2:01.97 respectively. Roberson led a Williams sweep in the Individual Medley, ably assisted by Sophomores Chris Corbett and John Armstrong, who took second and third. Roberson also was part of the Williams sweep of the 200 yard breaststroke, coming in second behind Junior Greg McElroy. First year Chris Greeno placed third in that event.
Another Eph who won two events was senior diver Rob Gearity, who won both the 1m and 3m springboard. A former walk-on, Gearity outclassed his opponents and scored a season high on both boards.
The ferocity of the entire Williams roster was on full display as the whole team came together to power to victory. Rookie Martin Soderstrom lead a Williams sweep of the 50 breaststroke with a time of 28.10. He was followed in the next three spots by Senior Co-captain Andrew D'Ignazio, McElroy, and Greeno. In the 100 breaststroke the talented trio of Soderstrom, McElroy, and Greeno again combined for a sweep, behind Soderstrom's time of 1:00.67.
Sophomore John Armstrong led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 1000 freestyle, finishing in a time of 9:49.69. He was followed up by classmates Paul Dyrkacz and Corbett. Dyrkacz would also win the 100 freestyle in a time of 48.25.
Overall, head Coach Steven Kuster has a lot to proud of the way his swimmers performed. "It's really great to open up our conference schedule with a win," he said. "Conn's got a lot of talented swimmers, and I'm proud of the way we rose up to that challenge." The Ephs now have the opportunity to rest up before leaving for their annual training trip in Florida over Winter Break. The team will then return to swim against archrival Amherst in their home opener of January 8th.
