Williams Men's Swim and Dive Takes Decisive Victory Against Amherst College

Williamstown, MA - The Williams Men's Swimming and Diving Team took on the Amherst Mammoths in their rivalry meet at the Samuelson-Muir pool today. The energetic meet ended in victory for the Ephmen, with a score of 196-90.
 
As the final home meet of the season for Williams, the meet recognized the team's seniors. Honored seniors were Alex Atherton, Ev Nichol, Sasha Shashkov, Jacob Grover, Quinton Hastings, Cole Mason, and Jack Marquardt. 

Today also marked the 2^nd annual Williams Pride Meet, which celebrates queer swimmers and divers and draws attention to the importance of inclusivity within athletic spaces. Williams athletes also credited and thanked the Amherst Swimming and Diving team for inspiring the first Williams Pride Meet in 2023.

Head Coach Steven Kuster commented that "the men did a good job this afternoon. We had big contributions in all facets of the meet today: in realys, on the boards, and individually in the lanes."
 
The Ephmen started the meet off strong in the 400-medley relay, earning 1^st, 3^rd, and 4^th places. The A relay won the event by more than 3 seconds, with Charlie Venci '25 leading off in backstroke at 51.17, Michael Grover '26 swimming breaststroke at 57.56, Barrett Heritage '25 taking the butterfly leg at 48.37, and Oliver Schalet '25 anchoring with freestyle at 45.65.
 
Next, the Williams distance group swept the field in the 1000 freestyle, capturing 1^st through 4^th place. Sam Reynoso-Williams '27 won his first 1000 as a Williams swimmer in 9:48.79, an outstanding in-season time. Zach Houlton '25, Michael Ma '26, and Henry Campbell '27 posed impressive swims as well, with times of 9:51.63, 9:52.05, and 10:00.03 respectively. Later, the Ephmen distance freestylers dominated the 500 freestyle as well, again sweeping 1^st through 4^th place. Ryan Nunez '27 took 1^st at 4:42.51, while Harrison Williams '26 (4:46.09), Michael Ma '26 (4:46.21), and Carter Anderson '25 (4:46.66) swam close races to out-touch an Amherst swimmer.  
 
Nunez also comfortably claimed victory in the 200 butterfly, with a well-split 1:53.39. Nathaniel Tunggal '25 swiped 3^rd place at 1:55.09. Noah Labich '25 had an incredible last 50 to overcome an Amherst swimmer and earned 4^th place at 1:56.22. In the 100 butterfly, Barrett Heritage '25 shot ahead in the first 25 and maintained his lead to win the event at 49.15, just 2 tenths of a second off his best time. Heritage could not race in the 22-23 season due to a wrist injury yet has been posing impressive times this season. The pair of Tunggal and Labich once again earned 3^rd and 4^th places, with respective times of 51.29 and 51.51.
 
In the 100 backstroke, Charlie Venci '25 fought through a close race with an Amherst swimmer to win at 51.06, a season best time for Venci. Gabe Lee '26 (52.27) and Colin Kavanagh '27 (53.04) swam to 3^rd and 4^th places. In the 200 backstroke, Lee took decisive victory in a time of 1:52.85. Kavanagh placed 2^nd with a well-split 1:55.33, while Venci out-touched an Amherst swimmer for 3^rd at 1:55.57.
 
The Mammoths had strong showing in today's breaststroke events, placing 1^st and 2^nd in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke races. Cole Mason '23.5 held to 3^rd place in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:10.37, and Michael Grover '26 maintained 3^rd place in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 58.47.
 
The 200 freestyle was another strong event for the Ephmen, with Williams capturing 1^st through 4^th places. Oliver Schalet '25 decisively won the event with a well-split 1:42.04. Alexander Atherton '24 had an excellent performance and finished second at 1:43.27, a season best for the senior by over a second. Harrison Williams '26 and Carter Anderson '25 earned 3^rd and 4^th places, with times of 1:43.51 and 1:44.70. Schalet went on to win the 100 freestyle, in an incredible 46.25. Theo Randall '27 was close behind, finishing 2^nd at 46.68. Kevin Whitworth '26 swam a gutsy race but was out-touched by an Amherst swimmer and earned 4^th place at 47.83. In the 50 freestyle, Randall once again demonstrated his sprinting ability and won the event in 21.37. Barrett Heritage '25 had a strong showing but was edged out by an Amherst swimmer by 0.03 and earned 3^rd at 21.63. Ev Nichol '23.5 (21.82), Mason Green '27 (21.96), and Jack Marquardt '24 (21.98) sprinted to capture 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th places.
 
On the diving boards, first-years Haochen Liu '27 and Gabe Swisher-Rosa '27 both had phenomenal performances. Liu won both the 1-meter and the 3-meter with scores of 284.47 and 244.80, earning his season best score in the 1-meter. Swisher-Rosa placed 2^nd in both events, with 146.17 in the 1-meter and 145.58 in the 3-meter. Swisher-Rosa also posed incredible performances in dives he had learned just the week before.
 
In the 200 IM, Oliver Schalet '25 won his third event of the day, cruising to a 1:53.42. Charlie Venci '25 won a battle against two Amherst swimmers and earned 2^nd place for the Ephs at 1:56.31.
 
The final event of the meet was the 400 freestyle relay. The A Williams relay won by almost 3 seconds, and consisted of underclassmen talent. Ryan Nunez '27 led off with a strong season best time of 47.36. Theo Randall '27 took the 2^nd leg with an outstanding split of 45.67. Gabe Lee '26 gapped the Amherst competition with a split of 46.35, while Harrison Williams '26 brought the Ephmen home with a split of 46.75.
 
Overall, the Williams Men's Swimming and Diving Team demonstrated a lot of spirit and determination at their rivalry meet, walking away with their 4^th consecutive dual meet win against the Mammoths. The Ephmen will take on Connecticut College next Saturday in New London, CT to continue their dual meet season.