New London, CT – The Williams Men's Swimming and Diving team traveled to New London today to face off Connecticut College for their third dual meet of the season. Williams ultimately took victory (188.5-105.5), maintaining their all-time undefeated record against Connecticut College.
The Camels brought a fierce competitive energy today, wearing technical suits and posing several impressive races. But the Ephmen rose to the occasion and defended their winning streak. Eph head coach
Steve Kuster was thrilled with the day's energy and performances. "I thought today's performance was a testament to what the guys are capable of doing when they are fully committed to competing as a team," he commented. "I'm looking forward to them building on that leading into championship season."
The meet began with the 200 medley relay, which proved to be a tight race between the Ephs and the Camels.
Charlie Venci '25 led off as the backstroke leg for the Williams A relay, finishing even with a Conn back stroker at 24.37.
Michael Grover '26 picked up the breaststroke leg, splitting 26.32 and building a solid lead for Williams.
Barrett Heritage '25 widened the gap in his 50 butterfly, charging to a speedy 21.90. Conn's relay closed in during the freestyle leg, but
Theo Randall '27 was able to maintain the lead and bring the Ephs to victory in completing his leg in 21.06.
The next event was the 1650 freestyle, the first opportunity for Williams swimmers to compete in the mile this season. The Camels had an impressive showing, capturing 1
st and 2
nd places by a large margin.
Zach Houlton '25 put on a strong fight for 3
rd in a time of 16:32.57, while
Carter Anderson '25 earned 4
th with a time of 16:38.65. In his first 1650 for Williams,
Henry Campbell '27 swam a gutsy race and placed 6
th at 16:49, despite losing his cap halfway through the race.
The Ephmen excelled in the meet's shorter freestyle events, sweeping 1
st through 3
rd in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle races. The 200 freestyle was won by
Oliver Schalet '25, who last week was named NESCAC Men's Swimming Performer of the Week for his performances against Amherst last weekend. Schalet cruised to victory with a time of 1:42.71.
Alex Atherton '24 finished next with an impressive 1:43.76, and
Kevin Whitworth '26 bested two Conn competitors to take 3
rd at 1:44.64.
Theo Randall '27 dominated the 100 freestyle, winning by almost a second and finishing in 46.90.
Kevin Whitworth '26 again finished 2
nd, with a time of 47.78.
Alex Atherton '24 earned 3
rd with a time of 47.99, just 0.07 seconds off the senior's best time. Randall also won the 50 freestyle in a stellar 21.39.
Barrett Heritage '25 was close behind, touching in at 21.48, and
Quinton Hastings '24 out touched a Conn swimmer by 0.02 for 3
rd place in 22.10.
In the 500 freestyle,
Ryan Nunez '27 put on a strong fight against the defending NESCAC Champion from Conn. After trailing close behind his competitor for the first 350 yards, Nunez surged ahead in the 8
th 50. Nunez held on to his lead until the last 25, when the Conn swimmer drew even. Coming into the wall, Nunez was out touched by 0.1 seconds, but earned his season best time at 4:36.97.
Michael Ma '26 was also in a close race against a Conn swimmer but maintained his lead throughout the race and earned 3
rd with a time of 4:45.83.
Harrison Williams '26 trailed close behind, placing 5
th at 4:46.51.
The Camels excelled in the 200 fly, with the defending NESCAC Champion winning the event.
Ryan Nunez '27 swam a gritty race with a speedy first half, and finished 2
nd in 1:52.01.
Noah Labich '25 swiped 4
th for the Ephs with a well-split 1:55.91, while
Nathaniel Tunggal '25 and
Harrison Williams '26 earned 5
th and 6
th places. The Ephmen went on to conquer the 100 fly, with classmates
Barrett Heritage '25 and
Noah Labich '25 capturing 1
st and 2
nd places. Labich posted a speedy 51.65 to earn 2
nd place, while Heritage's winning time of 49.08 marked a season best for the junior.
Williams cleared the field in the 100 breaststroke, earning the top four places.
Michael Grover '26 decisively won the event in 58.70, and was followed by
Cole Mason '23 (59.93),
Kevin Jiang '26 (1:01.41), and
Tate Chutkow '25 (1:01.64). Later, Mason won the 200 breaststroke with a well-executed 2:08.97.
Oliver Schalet '25 was on his tail, placing 2
nd in 2:09.04. Classmates
Kevin Jiang '26 and
Michael Grover '26 swam to 5
th and 6
th places, with times of 2:15.11 and 2:15.49.
The Camels had the edge over Williams in today's backstroke events, winning both the 100 and 200 backstroke races. In the 100 backstroke,
Charlie Venci '25 sped to a 2
nd place finish at 52.50. He was followed by
Gabe Lee '26, who touched in at 52.80. Venci and Lee went on to race in the 200 backstroke, where Lee placed 3
rd in 1:55.69 and Venci earned 4
th at 1:58.63.
In the 200 IM,
Oliver Schalet '25 captured his second win of the day with a time of 1:55.81.
Nathaniel Tunggal '25 was tied with a Conn competitor after the breaststroke leg, but tore away with a fiery freestyle split of 26.87 to secure 2
nd place at 1:56.74.
The Williams divers had incredible performances on the boards today, with
Haochen Liu '27 and Gabe Swisher-Rosa '27 earning 1
st and 2
nd in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions. Liu earned 260.70 points in the 3-meter competition to win the event. Swisher-Rosa obtained 160.58 points for 2
nd place. Off the 1-meter, Swisher-Rosa dove to 172.21 points, and Liu won the event with 250.87 points. Swisher-Rosa earned personal best scores for both the 1-meter and 3-meter, while Liu scored well in his first competitive back 1.5 pike.
The meet concluded with the 200 freestyle relay. The Williams A relay sped ahead from the start, with
Barrett Heritage '25 leading off in 21.53.
Ryan Nunez '27 took the second leg, racing in at 21.26.
Theo Randall '27 posed a spectacular split of 20.50 in the third leg, before
Oliver Schalet '25 brought the Ephs home to victory in 21.27. The Williams B relay of
Quinton Hastings '24 (22.14),
Alex Atherton '24 (21.63),
Kevin Whitworth '26 (21.46), and
Harrison Williams '26 (21.80) charged to 3
rd place in 1:27.03.
Overall, the Williams Men's Swimming and Diving Team had a great day of racing against Connecticut College. The Ephmen are gearing up to face MIT and NYU in Cambridge, Mass. next weekend, in what is expected to be a tight meet.
