Tufts continued their dual meet domination with a resounding 164-124 win over Wesleyan University last Sunday, improving their record to 5-1 under coach Adam Hoyt. Wesleyan has one of the finest swimming facilities in the NESCAC conference and the Jumbos took advantage of the opportunity by performing at a high level.
The strenuous two-and-a-half week training trip the team underwent in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. over winter break had the swimmers extremely broken-down physically from two practice sessions per day. However, the trip helped to prepare the team to face off against Wesleyan. Tufts posted multiple in-season best times against Wesleyan, which is a rare occurrence coming immediately after such an intense two weeks of training.
Junior Jason Kapit attributes the team's success to the rigorous training.
"Coach Hoyt used the trip to put us in the best shape we've all been in [for] a long time," Kapit said. "And all the work paid off."
Kapit had an outstanding meet, winning three individual events. He won the 50 yard freestyle in an impressive time of 22.33, just touching out Wesleyan's Tom Cleveland by .11 seconds. Kapit also sprinted to victory in the 100 butterfly in a time of 53.74. Just minutes later, he captured the 200 individual medley in 2:01.07, over three seconds faster than the time posted by Wesleyan's Ben Byers.
By the end of the meet, Kapit had accumulated 27 individual points for the Jumbos.
"Some days you're going to feel great and others you're going to feel pretty awful in the water," said Kapit. "I was just lucky that I happened to feel good on that day."
Brett Baker, also a junior, had an impressive meet as well, winning both the 200 and 100 freestyles. The 200 freestyle was one of the Jumbos' strongest events as Tufts claimed first, second, and third in the event. Baker won in a blistering 1:46.43, barely touching out Greg Bettencourt who swam an equally impressive 1:46.51. Following close behind in third was Justin Fanning with a time of 1:48.37. In the 100 freestyle, Baker won again with a 48.64, beating Wesleyan's Dan Devine by almost a second.
Senior diver Todd Putnam also contributed to the Jumbo victory by winning the one meter board with 252.38 points and the three meter board with 244.72 points. Putnam practiced his dives over winter break in the Dominican Republic along with several other divers.
The seniors, along with Putnam, scored considerable points for the team. Senior tri-captain Mike Rochette won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:01.89 and senior tri-captain Seth Baron won the 200 butterfly in 1:57.61. Sophomore Nate Cronin won the 200 breaststroke in 2:18.48.
By the end of the meet, the men's team had sealed the victory, and cruised to a win in the 400 free relay with a 3:15.22, besting Wesleyan by over three seconds. The winning relay consisted of Baker, Bettencourt, Fanning, and Baron.
The Jumbo swimmers have two away meets this weekend. On Saturday, Tufts travels to Trinity and on Sunday they face off against MIT.
