WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Williams hosted Connecticut College for a dual meet today in the Samuelson-Muir pool. The Ephs dominated the competition, ending their double-meet weekend with a decisive 199-99 victory. This marks the 18th dual meet win over Conn for the Ephs, who are undefeated against the Camels.
17 seniors from the men's and women's teams were celebrated as part of the Williams senior meet: Dylan Aldana-Taylor, Carter Anderson, Tate Chutcow, Barrett Heritage, Adelaide Herman, Issy Hiller, Zach Houlton, Noah Labich, Liz Ramoy, Oliver Schalet, Nathaniel Tunggal, Charlie Venci, Sophia Verkleeren, Zora Vujovic, Charlotte Wishnack, Rika Yahashiri, and Amy Zhao.
Head Coach Steve Kuster was pleased with the competitions from this weekend. "It was good to see the Ephmen compete in back to back meets this weekend and bring a good amount of energy and grit to the pool today," he commented. "Along with the great swimming and diving, it was a great chance to recognize and celebrate our senior class -- it's a group we'll miss very much!"
The first event of the meet was the 200 medley relay. Charlie Venci '25 led off strong in 23.52, building a solid lead for the Ephs. Michael Grover '26 dove in next for the breaststroke leg, speeding to a 25.96 split. In the butterfly leg was Barrett Heritage '25, who touched the wall at 22.46. The Conn anchor took off 0.3 seconds ahead of Theo Randall '27, but Randall once again executed a fiery anchor split of 20.43 to bring the Ephs to victory in 1:32.37, 0.3 seconds ahead of Conn in 2nd. The Williams B relay of Gabe Lee '26 (24.63), Ian Fournier '27 (26.36), Noah Labich '25 (22.58), and Mason Green '27 (21.20) had an excellent race to secure 3rd in 1:34.77, over 3 seconds ahead of the B relay from Conn.
The next event was the 1650 freestyle, the second mile of the weekend for Williams' distance swimmers. The event was won decisively by a Conn first-year, who stopped the clock at 16:18.81. Zach Houlton '25 earned 3rd place points for the Ephs in 16:32.82. Michael Ma '26 held off a Conn sophomore to secure 4th in 16:52.12, and Henry Campbell '27 swam a well-executed 16:54.23.
Williams excelled in the 200 freestyle, which was won by Theo Randall '27 on his birthday. The sophomore took the lead early and kept the edge over a Conn swimmer to claim victory in 1:42.42, 0.2 seconds ahead of 2nd place. Harrison Williams '26 (1;43.81) and Nye Hanan '28 (1:44.29) overcame a Conn sophomore in the final 100 to place 3rd and 4th, respectively.
Randall (the birthday boy) went on to earn his second win in the 100 freestyle. He finished in 46.27, an in-season best time for the sprinter. His classmate Colin Kavanagh '27 completed the 1-2 finish for the Ephs, holding off a Conn sophomore to take 2nd in 47.36.
The Ephs swept the backstroke events today, with 1-2-3 finishes in the 100 and 200. Charlie Venci '25 took 1st in the 100 backstroke with an incredible time of 50.70, an in season best by a large margin for the senior. Gabe Lee '26 touched the wall in 2nd at 52.51, while Whitman Horton '28 zoomed in to 3rd at 52.87. The 200 backstroke was won by distance specialist Nye Hanan '28. Aidan Lee '27 was just behind, placing 2nd in 1:56.98. Ryan Nunez '27 completed the Williams sweep in 3rd with an even-split 1:57.67.
Conn outscored Williams in the 500 with a 1-2 finish. Will Hook '28 had outstanding closing speed, narrowing in on NCAA Champion Justin Finkel in the final 100, but ultimately touched in at 3rd in 4:47.08. Carter Anderson '25 was at the front of the pack throughout the first half of the race, but finished 4th in 4:51.63. Henry Campbell '27 earned 6th place in 4:56.70.
Williams was deep in the 50 freestyle, with Mason Green '27 taking the win in 21.53. Barrett Heritage '25 earned 3rd place in 21.75, Ian Fournier '28 placed 4th in 22.09, and Kevin Whitworth '26 swiped 5th in 22.12 to complete the 1-3-4-5 finish for Williams.
Oliver Schalet '25 stepped outside of his usual IM and freestyle lineup to triumph in both breaststroke events today. The senior out-touched a Conn swimmer by 0.12 seconds to win the 100 breaststroke in 56.87. Michael Grover '26 placed 3rd in the 100 with a 59.04, while Seth Riley '28 and Kevin Jiang '26 tied for 4th in 1:00.92. In the 200 breaststroke, a Conn swimmer was over a second ahead of the field at the 100 mark. Schalet swam an outstanding 3rd 50 to out-split the Camel by 2 seconds, and maintained his lead through the end of the race to win the event in 2:06.99, a new personal best time for the captain. Charlie Venci '25 was eager to debut his first 200 breaststroke of the year today, and secured 3rd place for Williams in 2:11.55. Ian Fournier '28 also went his in season best time to place 4th in 2:16.93.
The 100 fly was swiftly won by Barrett Heritage '25, who confidently took the lead and finished first in 50.78, over a second ahead of the competition. Backstroker Whitman Horton '28 tried his hand in the butterfly, earning 4th place points for the Ephs in 52.99, 0.05 seconds behind the Conn first-year in 3rd. The 200 butterfly was won by the NESCAC record-holder Justin Finkel. Ryan Nunez '27 swam a well-executed race to earn 2nd in 1:55.75. Noah Labich '25 touched in next, securing 4th place in 1:56.41. Aidan Lee '27 (1:57.60) and William Hook '28 (2:01.60) finished 5th and 6th, respectively.
As usual, the Ephs were exceptionally strong in the 200 IM, sweeping a 1-2-3 finish. The event was won by Colin Kavanagh '27, who had incredible backstroke and breaststroke legs to claim victory in 1:55.52. Harrison Williams '26 (1:57.19) and Ryan Nunez '27 (1:57.75) were passed by a Conn sophomore in the breaststroke, but surged ahead in the final 50 freestyle to complete the Williams sweep. Gabe Lee '26 stopped the clock at 1:58.86 after a solid swim, warranting an enthusiastic celebration from the junior. Seth Riley '28 had an impressive breaststroke leg to finish in 1:59.99.
The Ephs continued to shine on the diving boards today, with Calder Biondi '28 taking victory in both the 1- and 3-meter competitions. Biondi won with 298.20 points on 1 meter and 326.17 points on 3 meter. Haochen Liu '27 placed 3rd in the 3 meter competition with 285.15 points and overcame Conn diver to get 2nd in the 1 meter with 276.78 points. Ben Lowy earned 4th place on 1 meter with 207.97 points and 5th in the 3 meter with 218.48 points, while Gabe Swisher Rosa placed 4th on 3 meter with 207.52 points and 6th in 1 meter with 196.37 points.
Head Diving Coach Brandon Pearson was proud of the results from this weekend. "Some strong performances from the men's team all weekend, despite some injuries and ailments," he commented. "They pushed through the hardships, found the drive to compete, and that is reflected in new personal best records from them all. Onward to next week!"
To close off the meet was the 200 freestyle relay. Barrett Heritage '25 built a major lead in the first lap with a 22.10, and butterfly-specialist Nathaniel Tunggal followed up with a 21.12. Oliver Schalet '25 expanded the gap in the 3rd leg with a 20.52 before 20-year-old Theo Randall '27 split a 20.35 to bring home victory in 1:24.09.
Overall, the Ephs took a decisive win over the Camels at the senior meet, and closed off a successful weekend of fast racing and quality diving. Gabe Lee '26 was proud of the team's effort: "It was a long weekend, but we fought hard and finished strong," he commented.
Today's win brings the Ephs' record to 8-1 for the season. The team will compete in the Samuelson-Muir pool for the final time of the season next weekend, in a tri-meet against Middlebury and Hamilton.
