Ephs Down Mammoths 172-126

The fiery rivalry in the pool has historically favored Williams, with the Ephs winning 74 of the last 113 dual meets against the Mammoths. Williams last fell to Amherst at the 2019 dual meet, when the Mammoths won the meet by a mere 13 points over Williams. In 2024, Amherst placed 3rd and finished 833 points behind Williams at the NESCAC Championships. 

Today's meet marked the first of the season for Eph head coach Steve Kuster, who returned from sabbatical in December. Assistant Coach Allie Clark was pleased with the competitive energy at today's meet. "I look forward to the Amherst dual meet every season — rivals bring the best out of each other," she commented. "It was exciting to see the team rise to the occasion and start off 2025 with some great racing and diving."

The meet kicked off with the 200 medley relay. For the A relay, Charlie Venci '25 led off strong, touching in first simultaneously with the Amherst lead in 23.94. Michael Grover '26 dove in next, splitting 25.69 and edging the Amherst breaststroker by 0.03. Barrett Heritage '25 represented Williams in the butterfly leg, splitting a 23.00. Theo Randall '27 anchored in a blazing 19.89, nearly catching the Amherst relay but touching in 2nd at 1:32.52. Williams' B relay of Gabe Lee '26 (24.27), Ian Fournier '28 (22.60), Noah Labich '25 (20.92), and Mason Green '27 (20.92) out-touched the Amherst B relay by 0.15 seconds to secure 3rd in 1:34.18. 

The 1000 freestyle was won comfortably by an Amherst swimmer, but Williams showcased their distance depth. Zach Houlton '25 trailed the field until the 750 mark, when he surged ahead and split sub-30 in the last 5 50s to place 2nd in 9:52.56. Carter Anderson '25 followed close behind, placing 3rd in 9:53.67, and Michael Ma '26 earned 4th in 9:58.52.

Williams dominated the 200 freestyle, going 1-2-3 in the event. An Amherst swimmer was leading at the 100-mark, but captain Oliver Schalet '25 blasted ahead in the 3rd 50 and claimed victory in 1:42.14. Harrison Williams '26 and Nye Hanan '28 also overtook Amherst, speeding in to 2nd (1:43.36) and 3rd (1:44.58), respectively.

Amherst bested Williams in breaststroke today, earning the top spots in both events. In the 100 breaststroke, Michael Grover '26 placed 3rd for Williams in 58.62, while Ian Fournier '28 (59.48) and Kevin Jiang '26 (1:00.40) swiped 5th and 6th. Jiang went on to place 4th in the 200 breaststroke in 2:11.63, while Seth Riley '28 earned 5th place points for the Ephs. 

Williams excelled in the backstroke events. The 100 backstroke was won by Gabe Lee '26 in 51.91, who edged Charlie Venci '25. Venci touched the wall in 2nd at 51.93. Colin Kavanagh '27 touched in at 4th in 53.17. Lee went on to win the 200 backstroke, speeding in to a 1:52.37. Whitman Horton '28 trailed, even-splitting his last 100 to finish 2nd in 1:53.30. Aidan Lee '27 completed the 1-2-3 sweep for the Ephs in 3rd with a 1:56.80. 

The 200 butterfly was won by Ryan Nunez '27, who zoomed ahead of the field in the final 50 to touch first at 1:53.45. Noah Labich '25 put together a stellar final 100, closing in on an Amherst swimmer but getting out-touched by 0.1 seconds to earn 3rd in 1:55.72. The 100 butterfly was a strong event for the Mammoths, who placed 1-3-4. Noah Labich '25 had a solid race to place 2nd in 51.22, beating an Amherst swimmer by 0.07. 

Oliver Schalet '25 cleared the field in the 200 IM, speeding in to a 1:53.49 and winning by over 2 seconds. Nathaniel Tunggal '25 had the fastest 50 freestyle split of the event, placing 4th in 1:56.89. Charlie Venci '25 followed, placing 5th with a 1:59.82. Colin Kavanagh '27 had an outstanding swim in the exhibition heat, with an incredible backstroke leg to stop the clock at 1:53.91. 

The Ephs earned major points on the diving boards today. In the 1-meter competition, Calder Biondi '28 took first with 291.3 points, nearly 60 points ahead of the Amherst diver in 2nd. His classmate Ben Lowy '28 placed 3rd with 207.75 points, and Gabe Swisher-Rosa '27 took 4th with 196.42 points. Biondi went on to win the 3-meter competition as well, with 273.21. Haochen Liu '27 was close behind, winning 2nd with 250.50 points after achieving a score of 9.5 on an inward dive. Lowy had a great inward 2.5 (405c) to earn 4th place points for the Ephs with 179.55 points, while Swisher-Rosa placed 5th with 156.37 points after a high-scoring back 2.5 (205c). Biondi secured another regionals cut at the meet, after performing a stellar full out (5152d). 

The final event of the meet was the 400 freestyle relay. Williams narrowly took the win with the A team of Gabe Lee '26 (47.7), Harrison Williams '26 (46.73), Oliver Schalet '25 (46.89), and Theo Randall '27 (45.52). In the final leg, Randall dove in even with the Amherst anchor in the next lane. After turning together at the 50, Randall blasted ahead of the Mammoths to secure Williams victory in 3:06.84.

With Amherst alumni and fans packing the stands, Williams posted a resounding victory in an intense match-up. Today's win extends the team's undefeated season, bringing their record to 5-0. The Ephs will return to competition next Friday to take on NYU and MIT at home.