Williamstown, Mass.-- In their second meet of a long weekend, and competing against two NESCAC opponents in Tufts and Wesleyan, Men's Swimming and Diving showed that they are rounding into peak condition and form nicely, coming away with wins against both opposing teams. The Ephs would defeat the Jumbos by a score of 184-105 and the Cardinals 213-61.
Coupled with an earlier win over Amherst, the Ephs collected the 2013 Little Three title by downing Wesleyan.
Prior to the meet Williams honored the four year contributions of their 14 strong senior class. Inspired by the opportunity for one last meet at Samuelson-Muir pool, the seniors rose to the occasion to lead the way forward. Senior Paul Dyrkacz had two impressive swims, winning both the 200 yd freestyle (1:41.40) and 400 yd Individual Medley (4:01.28). In the 200 Dyrkacz was the first of five straight Williams swimmers into the wall, a testament to the tremendous depth of the Eph squad. Classmate Tom Vieth (2nd, 1:41.77) was just behind Dyrkacz, while first year Alex McCarter (3rd, 1:43.70), sophomore Andrew Nemeth (4th, 1:46.90) and rookie Jake Tamposi (5th, 1:47.26) rounded out the talented quintet. In the Individual Medley Williams once again took the first five spots. First year Knox Young (4:09.54), sophomores Timothy Lattimer (4:09.83) and Christian Gronbeck (4:15.90), and rookies Tamposi (4:17.69) and Peter McDonald (4:17.71) provided the talent to spur the Eph sweep.
Having taken second place in the 200, Tom Vieth captured an individual victory of his own in the 500 yd freestyle, taking first with a time of 4:40.14. Classmate John Armstrong took second place with an equally impressive time of 4:44.45. Armstrong would take first place in the grueling 1650 yd freestyle, earning first place in 16:33.17. Sophomore Adrien Downey (2nd, 16:43.51) and first year Alex Flick (3rd, 17:00.81) made it another Williams sweep.
The Ephs also got strong performances from their underclassmen. Sophomore Rohan Bhatt, facing off against the defending national champion in the 1m springboard, Johann Schmidt, came out on top in a fierce battle between two of the top divers in the region. Bhatt scored 300.35 on the 1m to take first place, ahead of Schmidt's second place score of 291.95. In the 3m, however Schmidt would reassert himself and Bhatt would settle for second (307.80) behind the winning 333.90.
Sophomore Will Brown, meanwhile, won both the 100 yd butterfly (52.83) and 50 yd freestyle (21.78). The 50 saw a close finish in a flurry at the wall, as first year Nels Snyder (21.94) and senior Chris Faux (22.08) all were within three tenths of a second from the top spot.
Williams had another sweep in the 100 yd freestyle. First year Nels Snyder claimed the overall victory in 48.02, just ahead of sophomores Thad Ricotta (48.18) and Alexander Nanda (48.30). Senior Philip Treesh was the final Williams swimmer in the lead pack, turning in a swim of 48.60. In the 200 yd breaststroke first year Knox Young eased to victory ahead of the main pack, finishing with a time of 2:12.02, over four seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. Junior Martin Soderstrom took third place (2:17.07) while classmate Christopher Greeno came in fourth (2:19.04). In the 100 yd breaststroke freshman Jon Yin took home first place with a fast in season time of 59.86. Senior Daeus Jorento took third (1:01.80), just ahead of classmate Chris Corbett (4th, 1:01.93).
With the dual victory Williams is now 7-2 on the year. Next on the schedule is the final dual meet against NESCAC foe Middlebury. The Ephs will visit Mioddlbeury for two weekends in a row as the Ephs travel for the Middlebury Invitational the weekend after the dual match for the traditional start of their championship season.
