COMPLETE RESULTS
NEW LONDON, CT -- The Ephs improved their record to 7-1 after defeating Connecticut College by a score of 197-90 on Saturday afternoon. The Camels are one of the stronger teams in the NESCAC, having finished third at last year's championships by only a few points, so the decisive victory bodes well for Williams moving forward.
Notably, on the diving board today first-year Steven Kreuch set a team record in the 1-meter 11-dive competition. Due to safety concerns with the 3-meter board, competition was held only off the 1-meter. Kreuch tallied 539.85 points. Both Ephs took advantage of the opportunity to compete a full 11 dive program; behind Kreuch's record setting performance, senior Andrew Lyness also marked a personal best performance today. Both Ephs' phenomenal diving was a huge boost to the team.
About the swimming side of things, assistant coach Dave Dow said, "We always expect Conn to bring us their best - they know how to get up and race. [Our] team did a great job coming together and putting a full meet together. In particular, we were able to finish the meet very well."
Characteristically, Williams this year has jumped out to early leads in the scoring, so closing out the meet well today allowed the Ephs to run away with the score.
Their strong finish was marked by wins in the last five events, including the 200 freestyle relay. There the team of Ben Lin, Jamie Finnegan, Curtis Maher and Grant Johnson won by nearly a full second over a strong Connecticut squad.
But in their fashion, the Ephs commanded an impressive early lead. In the 200 medley relay both the Williams 'A' and 'B' relays got to the wall before the 'A' team from Connecticut.
While the Williams 'A' finished comfortably ahead, Curtis Maher of Williams had to fight off Camel's senior Niko Brosnihan. Maher hit the pad 0.01 seconds ahead of Brosnihan to win big points for Williams.
Some familiar faces for the Ephs won races early on: Andrew Trunsky in the 1650, Grant Johnson in the 200 freestyle, and Colin Hogan in the 100 backstroke. But an energetic performance from Kenny Liu in the 1650 helped Williams win big points early. With 300 yards to go in the race, Liu was 5 seconds behind Skaperdas of Conn. But by bringing the race home faster than anyone else in the field, Liu was able to grab second place.
Conn would strike back, winning the 100 breaststroke and 200 butterfly, back-to-back. But then a 1-2-3 finish by Williams in the 50 freestyle from Lin, John Freeman and Finnegan, respectively, squashed the Camel's momentum. After the 50 freestyle Williams would go on to win six of the remaining seven events.
Notable swims from the second half of the meet included Johnson's 47.20 100 freestyle, Kostolansky's 1:55.92 200 backstroke, Dan Needham's 4:46.77 500 freestyle, and Kenny Liu again with a 4:14.16 in the 400 IM.
Next weekend the Ephs are on the road again at M.I.T. on Friday and at Middlebury Saturday to close out the regular season.
