COMPLETE RESULTS
SPRINGFIELD, MA -- The Williams men's swimming & diving tam began their 2015-16 campaign at the Art Linkletter Natatorium at Springfield College this evening. The team earned their first victory, 177-98, over Springfield Collge and head coach Steve Kuster and his staff were excited at their energy throughout the night.
This was the first opportunity for the new assistant coaches to be on deck with the team during a meet, and Dave Dow commented on the atmosphere. "The pool was definitely buzzing with excitement before we got underway," he said. "The most memorable part of tonight for me was watching the start of the very first relay. Watching fast swimming, loud cheering, and pride in our group is exactly why I am so thrilled to be at Williams."
That first relay was the 4x100 Medley Relay, where Williams got out to a quick lead by finishing first and second. And the team never looked back from the early lead.
In the first three individual events of the evening that followed, Williams freshmen notched three more victories.
In the 1000 Freestyle Williams took the top three spots, with Kenny Liu winning the event in a time of 9:58.65 after a second half surge. Another freshman, Curtis Maher, led a group of Ephs to the wall in the 200 Freestyle. Zach Ottati won the 100 Backstroke and was followed closely by teammates Seth Montgomery and Matthew Lennon.
The Ephs would go on to post the top time in 11 of the evening's 12 individual swimming events, and displayed their depth along the way by finishing first and second in nine of those events.
In the diving well, Andrew Lyness returned from injury to compete on the 3 meter board for the Ephs. He finished second to Springfield's Nick Sullivan, who would also win the 1 meter diving event.
Coach Kuster was excited for the team to be competing again. "It's great to get some racing after a bunch of weeks of good work," he said. And like his staff, Kuster commented on the enthusiasm he felt on deck. "One of the best things from tonight was how we raced and how the team's energy fueled performances throughout the meet."
The freshmen class made their presence known in the water and with their energy on deck en route to this 177-98 victory. They will get another chance to help their team to victory as Union visits the Samuelson-Muir pool in Williamstown on Saturday Nov., 21 at 1 PM.
