Middlebury, VT – The Men's Swimming and Diving Team had an outstanding day of swimming and diving to close out the 2025 NESCAC Championships. The team was victorious by a landslide: the Ephs won the meet with 1801.5 points, 363 points ahead of Tufts in 2nd. This marks Williams 6
th consecutive NESCAC Title and 23
rd in program history.
"The meet for sure had its ups and downs for us, but ultimately this team stepped up in so many ways and got the job done," commented head coach
Steve Kuster. "Very proud of this total team effort and excited to be bringing home a title."
Williams won 9 of 23 events, with
Oliver Schalet (400 IM, 200 IM, 200 Br),
Ryan Nunez (500 Fr, 1000 Fr),
Haochen Liu (1-,3- meter), and
Carter Anderson (1650 Fr) making it to the top of the podium in individual events. However, the Ephs success is largely attributed to the team's depth. Williams recorded 28 individual A-final performances and 14 All-NESCAC finishes, the most of any team in the conference.
Senior Captains
Oliver Schalet '25 and
Carter Anderson '25 earned NESCAC Career High Point Honors. Schalet recorded the highest number of career points at NESCAC Championships of all seniors, accumulating 358.5 points and 8 NESCAC titles. Anderson was the Career High Point runner-up, acquiring 350 points and 5 NESCAC titles throughout his collegiate career. "I'm super proud of the grit camaraderie our team showed this weekend," said Schalet. "Winning a NESCAC title is a team effort, and everyone stepped up to do their part. It's been a great ride with the seniors, and we couldn't ask for a better group of guys to finish it off with."
The Williams Coaches
Steve Kuster,
Allie Clark,
James Singewald, and
Brandon Pearson were named Coaching Staff of the Year for both swimming and diving. This is the 2
nd year in a row that the Williams coaches have earned this honor, and the 5
th time out of the last 6 seasons.
Williams was particularly stellar on the diving boards this weekend.
Haochen Liu '27 and
Calder Biondi '28 swiped the top two podium spots on both boards this weekend. Liu was recognized as Diver of the Meet for his sweep of the events. Head diving coach
Brandon Pearson was proud of the weekend's performances in the diving well. "Both Haochen and Calder dove exceptionally well, and were exceptionally consistent at that. They came to the meet determined to show what they could do, and they delivered on that promise."
"
Haochen Liu is a fierce competitor, and I have a feeling that he has only just begun to show Division III what he can do," Pearson continued. "
Calder Biondi competed the hardest list on the 1-meter that the NESCAC has seen in a long time, and he continues to surpass his goals time and time again."
The first event was the 1650, an especially deep event for Williams. From the morning,
Zach Houlton '25 and Nye Hanan '28 lit up the pool. Houlton closed out his collegiate career, winning the morning heat with a time of 15:48.46 to place 7
th overall. Hanan dropped 9 seconds off his best time to touch in at 15:50.83 and earn 8
th.
In the evening session,
Carter Anderson '25 had a controlled start to the race. The senior overtook a Conn competitor at the 300 mark, and held an even pace to cruise to victory in a pool record 15:27.43. This marked Anderson's 3
rd consecutive title in the event. Will Hook '28 dropped an unbelievable 42 seconds from his previous best time. The first-year accelerated through the final 300 to chase down two Tufts swimmers, placing 4
th in 15:42.04.
The 200 backstroke was a strong event for the Ephs, with 3 swimmers qualifying for the A-final.
Whitman Horton's swim was a highlight of this morning's prelims. The first-year dropped 2 seconds to sneak in the A-final with a time of 1:49.73 Tonight, he finished in 8
th with a solid time of 1:50.69.
Charlie Venci '25 and
Colin Kavanagh '27 joined him in the A-final. Venci had a strong swim to place 7
th in 1:49.75. Kavanagh had an outstanding race this morning to drop a new best time of 1:46.78, a top-20 time in Division III this season. At finals, Kavanagh flew to the front in the first 100 but was out-touched by 0.02 in the last 50 by a Bates swimmer. Kavanagh earned All-NESCAC honors in 3
rd with a time of 1:47.66.
Swimmers from Bates, Hamilton, and Tufts took the top times in the 100 freestyle. Sophomores
Theo Randall '27 and
Mason Green '27 both competed in the A-final. Randall touched the wall in 7
th with a time of 45.81, while Green put down a time of 46.83 for 8
th. In the B-final,
Kevin Whitworth '26 wrapped up his junior season with a new best time of 45.76, to place 2
nd in his heat and 11
th overall.
The 200 breaststroke is a weaker event for the Ephs, as the team was represented by only two swimmers in finals.
Ian Fournier '28 achieved a best time by over a second in the event this morning to qualify for the B-final. The first-year matched his best time tonight to close off his first NESCACs in 14
th place in 2:05.03. In an unexpected twist,
Oliver Schalet '25 appeared in the 200 breaststroke. The freestyler bagged a best time in his off event to log the 5
th fastest time from the morning. At night, Schalet paced even with the field throughout the first 100. Then, the captain swam a brilliant third 50 to take the lead, out-splitting all other swimmers by at least a second. Schalet maintained the gap to secure his third victory of the meet with a new best time of 2:00.13.
The 200 butterfly was won by the defending champion from Conn.
Ryan Nunez '27 had a beautiful race to safely take the runner-up spot, pulling ahead of 3
rd place with a strong back half. Nunez earned 2
nd with an impressive time of 1:48.46. Also in the A-final,
Noah Labich '25 closed off a phenomenal collegiate career for the Ephs. After earning his collegiate best time in the morning, the senior butterflier stopped the clock in 1:50.30 tonight to earn 5
th place for Williams. His classmate
Nathaniel Tunggal '25 also finished his career in the C-final, dropping a second from this morning to touch the wall in 1:54.32.
The meet ended with the 400 freestyle relay. For Williams,
Colin Kavanagh '27 led off strong with a 46.50.
Theo Randall '27 followed up with a terrific 44.96 to move the relay ahead, before
Ryan Nunez '27 matched with a fiery 44.74.
Oliver Schalet '25 brought it home with an incredible split of 44.30, holding off the Hamilton anchor to clench a podium finish. Williams' overall time of 3:00.50 placed 3
rd. In the B-relay, the team of
Harrison Williams '26 (46.24),
Kevin Whitworth '26 (45.51), Nye Hanan '28 (46.02), and
Barrett Heritage '25 (45.09) earned 2
nd of the B-relays to place 13
th in 3:02.86.
Williams earned a resounding victory after an exceptional weekend of racing and diving. After the team scores were announced, the Ephs stormed into the pool in their warm-ups, producing a chorus of loud yelling and tremendous splashing.
In reflecting on the weekend,
Noah Labich '25 holds that the Williams victory was a true team effort: "Every single member of the team distinctly contributed to the great energy we had on the pool deck, and that was what carried us to victory."
The diving pair of
Haochen Liu and
Calder Biondi will compete next weekend at Diving Regionals in Springfield, where they will aim to qualify for NCAAs. Swimmers and divers who qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships will compete next in March in Greensboro, NC.
