COMPLETE RESULTS
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- For the last home meet of the 2016-2017 season, Williams honored the senior class in a ceremony before the meet. Led by captains Zihan Su and Grant Johnson, fellow seniors Jack Ferguson, John Freeman, Colin Hogan, Ben Lin, Andrew Lyness and Cody Niles all received recognition from Eph head coach Steve Kuster and the fans.
This senior class entered the evening with a losing 1-2 dual meet record versus Amherst College. Both of those losses to Amherst were on the road. The Ephs prevailed today 147-95 and in the process won the LIttle Three title.
Ben Lin was among the seniors who were set on defending the home pool and evening that score. He got out to a fast start in the backstroke leg of the 400 medley relay, splitting a NESCAC-best time of 48.87. Sophomore Jack Melnick took the breaststroke leg, and his split of 57.72 was the fastest in the field. Tim Kostolansky carried the momentum, and set up Jamie Finnegan's anchor leg of 47.40, which was also the fastest in the field.
Williams then managed to place 4 swimmers in the top-5 finishers in the 1000 freestyle, including a 1-2-3 sweep from Andrew Trunsky, Kenny Liu and Dan Needham, respectively; Karl Thomas rounded out the group as the fifth place finisher.
Even with such a strong start, it will be the 200 freestyle that stands out in the memory of this meet. Grant Johnson won the event in dramatic fashion, coming back on Wong of Amherst to win the event by 0.12 seconds. Johnson's last 50 yards were at least half a second faster than the rest of the field.
Amherst made the middle portion of the meet competitive, and traded blows with the Ephs for a few events. In the 50 freestyle Amherst men Jack Koravos and Alex Dreisbach took the top two spots in a fast heat. But Ephs Lin, Kostolansky and Hogan struck back with a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200 IM.
Williams first-year Lucca Delcompare won the 200 butterfly, and he managed to do it in come-from-behind fashion. He beat out Amherst's Sam Spurrell and John Janezich by posting a time of 1:54.27. Then Dreisbach of Amherst returned to win the 100 freestyle, where his strong last 50 was able to best Williams sophomore Curtis Maher.
The duo of Lin and Kostolansky swept the 200 backstroke. Not without a fight, Amherst's Wong was able to win the 500 freestyle, but by placing second through fifth Ephs were able to wash away the point-differential.
Amherst was also able to win the 200 breaststroke. But by winning both diving events, Williams' Steven Kreuch was able to put the meet out of reach for Amherst. Senior Andrew Lyness also performed well, finishing second on both the 1 meter and 3 meter boards.
Though the meet didn't depend on it, the Ephs lost the 400 freestyle relay. This is the second NESCAC foe that has beaten Williams' 400 freestyle relay, exposing a potential weakness; Tufts also bested the Ephs in the event.
By beating Amherst the Ephs improve to 6-1 on the season. They enter a difficult stretch in their season, facing Connecticut College and MIT in successive upcoming weekends. Connecticut is one of the strongest teams in the NESCAC while MIT is a perennial NCAA contender that will push the Ephs to be their best. The rest of the dual meets will be on the road.
