Complete Results:
Events 1-4 | Events 4-10 | Events 11-20 | Events 21-26 | Events 27-32
SCHENECTADY, NY -- After opening their season the previous evening at home, the Williams men were victorious on the road against the Dutchmen of Union College. The Ephs were looking to prove that even in these early stages of the season they have put in sufficient work to handle back-to-back days of competition. Strong individual and relay performances in this second-day meet show that Williams has consistency in addition to speed and talent.
The first event contested against Union was the 200 Medley Relay, where Williams took the top three spots. The winning relay of Ben Lin, Knox Young, Nels Snyder and Grant Johnson was able to narrowly touch out two other Williams relay teams to finish with a time of 1:36.61. From the runner-up relay team junior Jake Tamposi delivered another quick Breaststroke leg for Williams as he did the night prior. His split was a 26.53.
In the 1000 Freestyle Williams swimmers took all top three, and four of the top-five spots. First-year Dan Needham finished with in 10:04.54 and was able to secure first place over teammates Jack Ferguson, Dan Druckman, and Spencer Alpaugh, who finished in second, third and fifth places, respectively.
Another display of Williams' talent and depth came in the 200 Freestyle. Four Williams swimmers from three different graduating classes dueled to come out with the top four fastest times in the event. Coming away with the victory was senior Will Brown (1:45.88) who was able to chase down sophomore Grant Johnson (1:47.73). Freshmen Mike Cassidy and senior Alex Nanda rounded out the top four on behalf of the Ephmen.
The 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke were two more wins for Williams. Ben Lin took the 100 Backstroke in an astounding time of 50.27. Lin is the current Williams record holder in the 50, 100, and 200 Backstoke events, and through the first two meets of the season he has shown his continued dominance across all these distances. Meanwhile, Jake Tamposi won the 100 Breaststroke, an event in which he holds the Williams record, in front of two Union swimmers. Tamposi posted a time of 59.13, which puts him among the fastest swims this year in the NESCAC.
Thad Ricotta competed in his signature event, the 200 Butterfly, for the first time as a senior. Ricotta won the event in 1:53.42 after getting out to a quick start in the first 50 and holding on with three consistent 50 splits to follow.
In the 100 Freestyle, seniors Will Brown and Alex Nanda were able to best Union College's Benjamin Nadareski, who moments earlier had won the 50 freestyle as the only competitor under 22.00 seconds. And in the 200 Backstroke another pair of Wiliams swimmers, Alex McCarter and Colin Hogan, were able to grab the top two spots. McCarter continued the impressive start to his season beating out Hogan and others with a time of 1:53.86.
Knox Young and Jack Ferguson battled hard in the 200 Breaststroke, but Union's John Enquist had an impressive last 50 (32.96) that would leave Young and Ferguson in second and third positions in the event. Williams rebounded by taking the top three spots in the 500 Freestyle. Tamposi, Adrien Downey and Mitchell Towne were those three for Williams, and all three came in faster than the 5:00 benchmark.
Ricotta and Freshmen Tim Kostolansky put in very fast times in the 100 Butterfly at 51.32 and 52.21, respectively. And Tim Lattimer led an impressive group of 400 IMers for Williams at 4:07.83.
Williams closed out the meet by having its top two relays beat out the top team from Springfield in the 200 Freestyle Relay. McCarter, Weihs, Johnson and freshmen Mike Cassidy were able to beat out their teammates Nanda, Brown, Snyder and Ricotta.
Coach Stone commented: "I wanted to show that we could have two very fast days of racing in a row, and I am very proud of how the team was able to work and stay focused today to accomplish our goals."
The Ephmen now move to 2-0 on the season. Their next meet will be at home against Division I foe Boston College on December 6th. And after a fast first weekend of racing, Williams looks fired up and should be ready for the challenges ahead.
