Ephs With Sweeping Wins Against WPI and Trinity, Narrow Victory Over Tufts

WORCESTER, MASS. -- The Williams Mens' Swimming and Diving team traveled to Worcester, MA today to compete in three dual meets against Tufts, Trinity, and WPI. In an electric meet, the Williams team walked away with 3 victories, narrowly defeating the Jumbos by just one point. The Ephmen earned sweeping victories against WPI (229-69) and Trinity (241-52), and edged the Jumbos to secure their third win 149-148.
 
Tufts is the largest rival for Williams in NESCAC Swimming and Diving. The Jumbos have placed 2^nd behind the Ephs at every NESCAC Championships since 2022, last year with a score of 1898.5-1730.5. At last year's dual meet match-up, the Jumbos came out on top beating the Ephs by only 11 points. Today's victory over the Jumbos extends the Ephmen's undefeated season to 5-0. 
 
Acting Eph head coach Allie Clark was happy with today's results, walking away from the meet with excitement for the rest of the season. "I'm incredibly proud of how the Ephmen showed up to race, dive, and cheer for each other today," she commented. "It's exciting for a meet to come down to a point or two – it takes a full team effort and shows what this team is made of. I think they made a statement about who they want to be as competitors, and I'm looking forward to building on this momentum!"
 
Outstanding performances by the Williams Dive Team of Haochen Liu '27, Ben Lowy '28, and Calder Biondi '28 were integral to today's success. In the 3-meter competition, the Ephs earned a 1-2-5 finish. Biondi '28 won the event in 299.10 after an amazing 5152 (full-out). Liu performed a stellar 405c (inward 2.5 tuck) to place 2^ndwith 277.50 points, and Lowy '28 completed an impressive 105b (front 2.5 pike) to earn 5^th for the Ephs in 209.70. A Tufts sophomore won the 1-meter competition, but Liu secured 2^nd with 269.95 points for Williams after a high-scoring 105c (front 2.5 tuck). Biondi was just 0.15 points below, scoring high on his 305c (reverse 2.5 tuck) to place 3^rd. Lowy earned 6^th place for Williams at 210.70 with a solid 5233d (back 1.5 with 1.5 twist).
 
Women's senior captain Adelaide Herman was proud of her diving teammates' success: "The Ephmen divers did extraordinarily well at this meet," she attested. "We came in with a goal to show off all the hard work we've been putting into practice. All the divers competing today definitely showed off, showed up, and showed out."
 
On the swimming side, the first event of the meet was the 200 medley relay. The Jumbos found an early lead in the backstroke leg, touching in 0.28 seconds ahead of Charlie Venci '25 (23.75). Michael Grover '26 dove in next, blazing to a speedy 25.77 split. Barrett Heritage '25 took on the butterfly leg, closing in on Tufts with an incredible 22.08, but the Jumbos maintained their lead going into the freestyle leg and won the event, despite Theo Randall '27 speeding to an outstanding closing split of 19.99. The Williams 'B' relay of Gabe Lee '26 (24.27), Ian Fournier '28 (26.84), Noah Labich '25 (22.69), and Ryan Nunez '27 (21.06) had a strong performance as well, placing well ahead of the Tufts B relay and earning a 2-3 finish for the Ephs. 
 
The 1000 freestyle was a close match up between Carter Anderson '25, Michael Ma '26, and a Tufts competitor. In this event at last year's NESCAC Championships, Carter Anderson '25 swam an exceptional final 100 to overtake a Tufts swimmer and earn the NESCAC title. At today's race, Anderson was matching a Tufts swimmer stroke-for-stroke until the 950 mark, when Anderson closed in an unbelievable 26.84 to pull ahead and secure the win by nearly a second. Ma put together a strong swim, finishing in 9:56.51 comfortably in 3^rd against Tufts for the Ephs. 
 
The 500 freestyle was a dominant event for the Ephs by Ryan Nunez '27, Harrison Williams '26, and Nye Hanan '28. At the 200 mark, the field was even between two Tufts swimmers and the three Williams swimmers. In the 3^rd 100, the Ephs surpassed the Jumbos and extended their lead in the back half to earn a 1-2-3 finish for Williams in the event. Nunez, who placed 4th in the event at the NESCAC Championships last year, took victory with a time of 4:42.52. Hanan was just behind, completing his collegiate debut in the event with a 4:42.60. Harrison Williams earned 3^rd for Williams, touching the wall in an impressive 4:48.04. 
 
Hanan '28 and Williams '26 also competed in the 200 freestyle, alongside captain Oliver Schalet '25. A Tufts first-year sped to the front of the pack in the first 100, but was caught by Schalet in in the 3^rd 50. Schalet extended his lead in the final 50, closing in a 26.02 to win the event in 1:42.27 after even-splitting the last three 50s. Williams '26 crept up on the Tufts competitor in the 3^rd 50, but was out-touched by 0.3 to win 3^rd for the Ephs in 1:43.19. Hanan was just behind (1:43.64), securing a 1-3-4 finish for the Ephs.
 
Later in the meet, Schalet '25 had a close battle with Tufts senior Soeren Euvrard '25 in the 100 freestyle. At last year's NESCAC Championships, Euvrard out-touched Schalet by 0.01 seconds to place 4^th. In today's event, Schalet touched the wall just 0.04 seconds behind Euvrard to earn 2^nd for the Ephs with a time of 46.37. Williams' sprinter Theo Randall '27 sped to a 46.64 to place 3^rd against Tufts. Tufts' Euvrard '25 went on to win the 50 freestyle, but Randall '27 was just behind in 2^nd at 21.10. Barrett Heritage '25 crashed in at 21.48 to place 3^rd for the Ephs. 
 
Today's 200 backstroke was won by the defending NESCAC Champion Eric Lundgren '25, but the Ephs gained points from their depth in the backstroke. Gabe Lee '26 touched the wall in 2^nd at 1:54.76, and Colin Kavanagh '27 placed 3^rd against Tufts in 1:55.65. Whitman Horton '28 (1:56.80) and Aidan Lee '27 (1:57.42) followed, closing out a 2-3-4-5 finish for the Ephs. Tufts' Lundgren comfortably won the 100 back as well, but Gabe Lee '26 sped into 2^nd at 52.13, while Colin Kavanagh '27 (52.20), Aidan Lee '27 (52.89), Charlie Venci '25 (52.95), and Whitman Horton '28 (53.35) finished 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th respectively. 
 
Tufts outscored Williams in the breaststroke events today. The Jumbos earned a 1-3-4 finish against the Ephs in the 100 breaststroke, and 1-2-3 sweep over the Ephs in the 200 breaststroke. Michael Grover '26 had a sharp 58.27 swim in the 100 to touch the wall in 2^nd. Ian Fournier '28 stopped the clock at 1:00.49 to place 6^th, and Kevin Jiang '26 was just behind at 1:00.64. In the 200, Jiang '26 had a valiant swim to earn 4^th for the Ephs in 2:12.43. Seth Riley '28 finished later in 2:14.15, and Michael Grover '26 completed his race in 2:18.05. 
 
Williams bested the Jumbos in the 100 butterfly today, despite Tufts earning 4 of the top 8 spots in the event at last year's NESCAC Championships. Barrett Heritage '25 led the charge for the Ephs, overtaking a Tufts swimmer with an early lead to win the event by 0.6 seconds at 50.63. Noah Labich '25 had a great showing, earning a 3^rd place finish for the Ephs in 51.28 and just 0.05 seconds behind Tufts in 2^nd. Nathaniel Tunggal '25 finished in 52.22 in 4^th place against Tufts, bringing up the Ephs point tally. 
 
The 200 butterfly was another exceptional event for the Ephmen, who again placed 1^st, 3^rd, and 4^th over the Jumbos. The event was swiftly won by Ryan Nunez '27, who maintained his lead to cruise to victory in 1:53.55, 4 seconds ahead of Tufts in 2^nd. Labich '25 (1:57.58) and Tunggal '25 (1:57.59) touched the wall in 3^rd and 4^th, respectively, nearly catching the Tufts swimmer in 2nd but falling short by 0.05 seconds. 
 
In the first 400 IM of the season, the Ephs were represented by Aidan Lee '27 and NESCAC record-holder Oliver Schalet '25. Schalet sped ahead of the field in the butterfly leg, but turned even with a Tufts competitor after the backstroke. In a powerful breaststroke leg, Schalet regained the lead by over a second. The senior extended his gap in the final 100 to decisively win the event by over 2 seconds. Aidan Lee '27 had an impressive performance as well, turning even with two Tufts competitors at the 300-mark. Lee touched the wall at 4^th for Williams with a solid 4:14.57. 
 
To close off the meet was the 200 freestyle relay. Theo Randall '27 led off the A relay for the Ephs, bringing the Ephs to the front in a fiery 21.02. Ryan Nunez '27 dove in next, speeding to a 21.27 finish, before Barrett Heritage '25 zoomed to a 21.61. Oliver Schalet '25 anchored in 21.12, and the Ephs touched in at 2^nd to the Jumbos by 0.3 seconds. The B relay of Harrison Williams '26 (21.88), Colin Kavanagh '27 (21.62), Kevin Whitworth '26 (21.43), and Gabe Lee '26 (21.64) placed in 4^th behind Tufts B relay at 1:25.02. 
 
At the conclusion of the meet, it was announced that the Ephmen had claimed victory over the Jumbos by just one point. The Williams section immediately exploded, with the athletes coordinating a team cheer before ending the day with a resounding "EPHPRIDE!"
 
Following Thanksgiving, the Ephs will suit up to race at the Gompei Invitational on December 6^th and 7^th at WPI.