Ephs Kick Off Season with Wins Over Wesleyan, Springfield

SPRINGFIELD. MASS. -- The Williams Men's Swimming and Diving team kicked off their season at Springfield College today with a tri-meet against Springfield and Wesleyan. The Ephmen put together a solid performance, closing off an energetic debut meet with decisive victories over both Springfield (172.5-121.5) and Wesleyan (198-90).
 
Acting head coach Allie Clark left the meet with excitement for the rest of the season. "It was a blast kicking off our competition season with the team today," commented Clark. "We've been looking forward to competing for a while, so it was fun to watch the team come together and get after their dives and races. There were lots of good things coming out of this meet that makes me excited for our future competitions."
 
For the first-years, today was the much anticipated start of their collegiate careers. Whitman Horton '28 had the following to say: "Today was an energetic and fun day. It was a great collegiate debut for the first years, and it was an awesome way to set the tone for the rest of the season."
 
The 2024-25 season began with the 400-medley relay. Wesleyan took a slight lead at 52.32 in the backstroke leg, but Williams back strokers Gabe Lee '26 (52.84) and Aidan Lee '27 (52.60) were just behind. In the breaststroke leg, Michael Grover '26 blazed to a 58.92 split in the A relay, closing the gap and touching just behind Wesleyan, while Ian Fournier '28 split a 1:00.25 to touch in at 3^rd for the B-relay. Noah Labich '25 dove in for the butterfly leg of the A relay, overtaking the Wesleyan competition and pulling ahead of the field in the last 25 to split a 51.20. First-year Whitman Horton '28 split a 52.10 in the butterfly leg of the B relay, closing in on the Wesleyan team. Finally, Theo Randall '27 anchored the A relay with an incredible split of 45.30, speeding ahead of the field to touch the wall in 1st. In the B-relay, Kevin Whitworth '26 overtook the Wesleyan competition with a speedy 47.62 split, closing the race one second ahead of the other teams and securing a 1-2 finish for the Ephs. 
 
Last season, the Ephmen were dominant in distance freestyle events, taking 4 of the top 8 spots in the 1000 freestyle at NESCACs. This year's team builds on the distance specialty, adding first-years Nye Hanan and Will Hook to the group. Hanan and NESCAC record holder Carter Anderson '25 took on the 1000 freestyle, winning 1^st and 2^nd place finishes for Williams. Anderson swam his way to a winning time of 9:54.67, while Hanan executed a well-split 10:02.14 in his first collegiate race. 
 
Williams continued to flex their distance depth in the 500 freestyle, sweeping the field with a 1-2-3-4 finish. In his first collegiate event, Will Hook '28 maintained a solid lead throughout the race, finishing 1^st with a time of 4:46.99. Michael Ma '26 (4:49.29), Henry Campbell '27 (4:58.22), and Zach Houlton '25 (4:58.26) followed, earning 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th place finishes for the Ephs. 
 
Springfield and Wesleyan had impressive performances in today's breaststroke events. In an exciting race, the 100 breaststroke was a tie between Williams' IMer Oliver Schalet '25 and a Springfield breast stroker, with both swimmers speeding into the wall at 58.91. At his first collegiate meet, Seth Riley '28 swam a fast back-half to out touch a Wesleyan swimmer for 4^th place in 1:02.17. Seniors Dylan Aldana-Taylor (1:03.05) and Tate Chutkow (1:04.68) secured 7^th and 8^th place finishes for the Ephs. The 200 breaststroke was won by a Springfield swimmer, with Wesleyan coming in 2^nd. Williams' Charlie Venci '25 (2:13.23), Nathaniel Tunggal '25 (2:14.00) and Michael Grover '26 (2:15.42) earned 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th places. 
 
Backstroke specialist Gabe Lee '26 took victory for the Ephs in the 200 freestyle today, winning by over a second and touching in at 1:45.81. "My game plan was to do 2 underwaters off each wall, and I executed," commented Lee on his race. Henry Campbell '27 comfortably won the first heat, finishing 3^rd overall with a time of 1:48.70. Zach Houlton '25 (1:50.39) and Aidan Lee '27 (1:50.62) touched in at 4^th and 5^th places.
 
Williams was incredibly strong in today's backstroke events. The underclassmen trio of Ryan Nunez '27, Nye Hanan '28, and Aidan Lee '27 swept the 200 backstroke with a 1-2-3 finish. Nunez had a speedy final 50 to win the event in 1:55.45, while Hanan and Lee followed with impressive times of 1:57.31 and 1:57.51, respectively. The 100 backstroke was won by Charlie Venci '25, who finished well ahead of the competition in 51.99. Whitman Horton '28 touched in at 3^rd in his first individual event at 53.93, and William Hook '28 secured 5^th for the Ephs at 55.00.  
 
Theo Randall '27 cleared the field in the 50 freestyle, winning by 0.4 seconds and stopping the clock at 21.05. Mason Green '27 followed with an impressive 21.74 to swipe 3^rd place, while Michael Grover '26 and Kevin Whitworth '26 placed 6^th and 7^th. The 100 freestyle was narrowly won by a Springfield swimmer, with Harrison Williams '26 0.1 seconds behind in 2^nd at 48.07. Mason Green '27 and Noah Labich '25 placed 4^th and 5^th with times of 49.85 and 50.74, respectively. 
 
The Ephs put a strong foot forward in the 200 butterfly, which was won comfortably by Ryan Nunez '27 in 1:54.76. Nathaniel Tunggal '25 swam a speedy second 100 to finish just behind Wesleyan in 3^rd at 1:58.51. Harrison Williams '26 (2:00.56) and Noah Labich '25 (2:01.39) followed to win 4^th and 5^th places. The top finishes in the 100 butterfly went to Wesleyan and Springfield swimmers, but Oliver Schalet '25 was close behind in 3^rd with a time of 51.11, while Gabe Lee '26 touched in 4^th at 52.59. 
 
The final individual event of the day was the 200 IM, a well-fought race between Williams swimmers Charlie Venci '25, Whitman Horton '28, and a Wesleyan swimmer. The Wesleyan swimmer blazed ahead to build a one-second lead after the butterfly, but was caught by Venci and Horton in the backstroke. All three swimmers split high-34 in the breaststroke leg to draw even at the 150, but after a tight race in the final 50 the Wesleyan swimmer out-touched the others to win by 0.1 seconds. Venci was just behind in 2^nd with a time of 1:58.67, while Horton earned 3^rd place for Williams in 1:58.75.  
 
The Ephs excelled on the diving boards today. The Williams Diving Team is looking strong this year, with first-years Ben Lowy and Calder Biondi '28 joining sophomores Hacohen Liu and Gabe Swisher-Rosa '27. This underclassmen squad competed in 6 dives on the 1- and 3- meter boards. The 3-meter competition was won by Biondi with an outstanding 330.35 points. With this score, Biondi secured qualifying marks for the NCAA-qualifier regional meet. In 2^nd was a Springfield diver with 277.20 points. Liu took 3^rd with 261.70 points, performing a superb 107c (front three and a half somersaults in the tuck position). Lowy came in 4^th with 235.10 points Swisher-Rosa earned 5^th with 184.10 points. Both Swisher-Rosa and Lowy had exceptional 405c dives (inward two and a half in the tuck position). 
 
Springfield claimed victory in the 1-meter competition, just 3 points ahead of Biondi (287.25) and Liu (277.30). With these scores, Biondi and Liu secured qualifying marks for the NCAA-qualifier regional meet. Lowy closed off his first collegiate meet in 4^th for the Ephs (224.75), performing an exceptional 5233D (back one and a half somersault with one and a half twists in the free position). Swisher-Rosa picked up 185.25 points to finish in 5^th with a stellar competition debut of a 105c (front two and a half somersaults in the tuck position).

Diving head coach Brandon Pearson was pleased with the meet's results. "We had many strong performances from each athlete resulting in some exceptional outcomes," commented Pearson. "Two eyes looking forward to the future and one team dedicated towards growing the momentum we've been cultivating day in and day out. What more can a coach ask for?"
 
Finally, the Ephs closed off the meet with the 400 freestyle relay. The top Williams relay was led off by Harrison Williams '25, who split a 47.98 to build a solid lead for the Ephs. Carter Anderson '25 went second, splitting a 48.69, and William Hook '28 dove in third to split a 48.32. Nunez brought it home for the Ephs in an astonishing 45.79, touching in just 0.25 seconds behind Springfield's relay to finish in 2^nd place. Williams also secured 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th places in the last event.
 
Overall, the Williams season started off strong with two sound wins over Wesleyan and Springfield. The Ephmen excelled in the pool and on the boards, showcasing their potential for the 2024-25 season. The team will compete in Worcester next Saturday against Tufts and WPI.