Williams Claims Seventh-Straight Men's Swimming & Diving Championship
Courtesy Wesleyan Sports Information
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MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - After carrying a tenuous 52.5-point lead into the final day of the three-day 2009 NESCAC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships hosted by Wesleyan University, Williams rolled away with its seventh consecutive team crown and eighth overall in the nine-year history of the event. Williams outpointed second place Tufts by a whopping 185 points over the final seven events completed Sunday to collect 1,775.5 points in total. Tufts, with 1538 points, was runner-up for the third time in the last four years. Amherst placed third with 1,364 points.
Leading the Ephs to victory was Swimmer of the Meet senior Norman Scott, who completed his sweep of the butterfly events with his third NESCAC meet record, covering the 200-yard fly in a time of 1:49.41. Also winning for a third time in individual events during the meet was Connecticut College freshman Tim Walsh as he won the 200-yard backstroke in NESCAC meet record of 1:50.06 to go along with his earlier wins in the 50 and 100 back.
Amherst sophomore Alex Fraser made it three wins in the freestyle when he captured the 100-yard event. He had previous taken both the 200 and 500 free. The three remaining individual winners on Sunday each won for the second time over the weekend. Diver of the Meet Kai Robinson, a senior from Amherst, won the three-meter event to complement his one-meet win on Friday. Amherst freshman Ryan Lichtenfels was clocked in 15:29.99, setting a NESCAC, NESCAC meet and Wesleyan pool record. Lichtenfels was the 400 individual medley winner on Saturday.
Williams senior Tyler Bonewell, who received the Senior Swimmer of the Year Award as the senior with the most points accumulated over four years at the NESCAC Championships, added the 200-yard breaststroke title to his list of credits. He was triumphant in the 100 breast on Saturday.
Amherst ended the meet with its second win in the relays, coming out ahead in the 400-yard freestyle relay by setting a NESCAC, NESCAC meet and Wesleyan pool record with a time of 3:01.89. Surprisingly the time was still almost a full second above the automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Division III meet.
Additional award winners were Wesleyan senior Dave Wilkinson as the Four-Year High-Point Diver, Amherst’s Mary Ellen Clark as Diving Coach of the Year and Williams’ Steve Kuster as Swimming Coach of the Year.