Ephs Conclude Dual Meet Season With Victories Over Hamilton and Middlebury

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- The Ephs hosted teams from Hamilton and Middlebury in the Samuelson-Muir pool today for their final dual meet of the season. The Williams team shone on the boards and between the lanes, recording sound victories over both Middlebury (201-98) and Hamilton (202-95). These two wins close off the 2024-2025 dual meet season, bringing Williams' record to 7-1.

Today's meet marked the 3rd annual Pride Meet hosted by Williams. The tradition was inspired by the Amherst vs. Williams Pride Meet in 2023, and is meant to celebrate and uplift queer identities in swimming and diving. In honor of the Pride Meet, the Williams team decorated the pool with posters and flags, and sported a new cap design containing a bold rainbow 'W'.

Assistant coach Allie Clark was pleased with the results of the meet. "There was a lot to celebrate today — our pride meet, our senior's last time competing at home, and two wins," she commented. "It was a feel-good end to our dual meet season. Now we are looking forward to kicking off our championship season on Friday at the Middlebury Invite!"

Starting off today's meet was the 200 medley relay. On the 'A' team, Charlie Venci '25 once again took off blazing with a 23.48 backstroke split, giving the Ephs the lead by over a second. Oliver Schalet '25, known to excel in IM and freestyle events, was thrown in for the breaststroke leg and recorded an impressive 25.52. Barrett Heritage '25 dove in next, flying to a 22.23 split and extending the Williams lead. Theo Randall '27 anchored to bring Williams victory in a fiery 20.51. 

The 'B' relay of Gabe Lee '26 (24.89), Ian Fournier '28 (26.28), Noah Labich '25 (22.65), and Mason Green '27 (20.86) came from behind to out-touch the Middlebury 'A' team by 0.18 seconds and secure a 1-2 finish for Williams. 

The 1000 freestyle was taken on by distance-pair Carter Anderson '25 and Henry Campbell '27. Carter Anderson cruised to the lead early on, and maintained his place at the front to win the event in 9:52.95. Henry Campbell '27 had a controlled start to the race and overcame swimmers from Hamilton and Middlebury to earn 2nd in 10:01.57.

The 200 freestyle was won comfortably by Hamilton's Nathaniel Taft '27, who was a DIII runner-up in the event last year. Williams out-scored both Middlebury and Hamilton in the event, claiming 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th places. Butterfly and IM specialist Nathaniel Tunggal '25 earned 2nd in his off-event with a 1:43.82 after an incredible back half. Gabe Lee '26 touched the wall next in 3rd with a 1:45.12, Zach Houlton '25 placed 5th in 1:46.37, and Kevin Whitworth '26 earned 6th in 1:46.57. 

Williams swept a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 butterfly. Barrett Heritage '25 had an incredible race to win the event and earn his season-best time of 50.12. Noah Labich '25 followed in 2nd, stopping the clock with an impressive 51.42, and Ryan Nunez '27 was just behind in 3rd at 51.71. 

The 50 freestyle featured Oliver Schalet '25, who claimed victory with a speedy 21.24. Harrison Williams '26 tried his hand in the sprint event and placed 5th with a notable 22.09. 

Williams once again dominated on the diving boards, with the divers sweeping the top places in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions. Haochen Liu '27 took first in both events, with impressive scores of 255.90 on 1-meter and a new personal best score of 338.35 on 3-meter. Calder Biondi '28 followed up with 2nd on both boards, tallying 233.35 points on 1-meter and 296.50 on 3-meter. Gabe Swisher Rosa '27 completed the 1-2-3 sweep with 215.70 points on 1-meter and 216.70 points on 3-meter. 

"I'm pretty happy with how I did today," said Liu. "this is an important transition into championship season and getting the momentum going with this meet was great. I'm really excited for the next few weeks to see what our team can do at the upcoming championship meets."  

In between his 1-meter dives, Liu also made an appearance on the 'D' team of the 200 freestyle relay, re-living his high school swimming competition days for a 50 freestyle leg. The diver put down a commendable 23.94 split towards the relay's 10th place finish in 1:30.59. This was a highly anticipated race, as Liu stunned the distance relay by posting faster times than them in this relay last year.  "I went easy on distance group today, since diving was still happening," Liu commented. "They aren't ready for next year when I learn how to do a step over."

Williams distance swimmers were thrown into the 100 freestyle today. The first two finishes were won by Hamilton swimmers. Michael Ma '26 in his sprint-debut placed 4th in 47.55, just ahead of Ryan Nunez '27 who touched in 5th at 47.55. Kevin Whitworth placed 6th in 48.38, and Nye Hanan '28 placed 7th in 48.65.

Oliver Schalet '25 claimed his third victory of the day in the 100 backstroke. In his off-event, the senior captain cruised into the wall in 1st with a 52.11. Aidan Lee '27 stopped the clock next at 53.62, earning the 1-2 finish for Williams. Freestylers Harrison Williams '26 (54.89) and Carter Anderson '25 (55.51) also made appearances in the event, placing 6th and 9th. 

Middlebury and Hamilton swimmers took the top spots in the 100 breaststroke. Colin Kavanagh '27, known to excel in the backstroke events, led the charge for Williams and placed 3rd in 59.83. Nathaniel Tunggal '25 placed 7th in his off-event with a 1:00.98.

Sprint group advocate Theo Randall '27 took on the 500 freestyle today. The sophomore led throughout the race, soundly winning the event in 4:46.69 and earning a new best time. Gabe Lee '26 also took on the distance challenge. The junior made up 1.5 seconds on a Middlebury first-year in the final 100, drawing even in the final 10 yards before getting out-touched by 0.01 seconds. Lee placed 3rd in the event with a time of 4:52.00. 

This tri-meet included 50s in each stroke, rather than 200s. Theo Randall '27 experimented with the 50 backstroke, coming from behind after a slow start but being out-touched by a Middlebury swimmer. Randall placed 2nd with a time of 24.42. Whitman Horton was just behind, earning 3rd in 25.15. 

Middlebury took victory in the 50 breaststroke, as well, with Hamilton earning 2nd place in the event. Williams first-year Ian Fournier '28 was close behind, touching the wall in 3rd with an impressive 26.79. Colin Kavanagh continued his day as a breaststroker and placed 4th in 27.10.

Williams senior duo Barrett Heritage '25 and Noah Labich '25 swept top finishes in the 50 butterfly. Heritage won the event with a speedy 23.05, and Labich was the runner-up with a solid 23.45. 

In a spectacular performance, Oliver Schalet won the 100 IM in 50.74. The senior set a new pool, school, and NESCAC record for his final race in the Samuelson-Muir pool. Colin Kavanagh '27 placed 2nd in the event with a 52.70, while Harrison Williams '26 (54.22) placed 4th and Charlie Venci '25 (54.72) placed 5th. 

The final event of the meet was the 200 freestyle relay. Mason Green '27 led off the Williams 'A', reaching the wall in 21.64, 0.03 seconds ahead of the Hamilton lead-off. Barrett Heritage '25 took the reins, extending the Williams lead to 0.12 in 21.33. Ryan Nunez '27 took off next, with stellar underwaters to split 21.19 and build the Williams lead. Theo Randall '27 dove in to anchor, crashing in to a 20.46 split and claiming Williams victory by 0.08. 

The Ephs concluded their dual meet season and wrapped up their final meet in the Samuelson-Muir pool with two dominant wins over Middlebury and Hamilton. The Ephs face the Middlebury Panthers again next weekend at the Middlebury Invitational, which will kick off the championship season. Six swimmers from the mens' team will be competing in their final meet at the Invitational, which contains 3 sessions: Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Saturday evening.