The men's swimming and diving team won its first two meets of the season on Saturday, beating Middlebury College and Conn. College in a tri-meet hosted by Middlebury.
"These two victories over [Connecticut and Middlebury] were big steps in the right direction for our season," senior tri-captain diver Johann Schmidt said. "We had some amazing swims from a majority of the guys, so the scores were not very close."
Tufts beat both opponents handily by winning 10 of 16 events, including two wins apiece by Schmidt and sophomores Michael Winget and Anthony DeBenedetto. The Jumbos set the tone by winning the meet's first four events and cruised from there, defeating the Panthers 216-84 and the Camels 170-124.
Beating Conn. College, which finished just ahead of Tufts at the NESCAC Championships last year, was especially sweet for Schmidt.
"Losing to Connecticut at NESCACs last year was a big disappointment, but this weekend allowed us to regain confidence in our ability to beat them," Schmidt said.
DeBenedetto was the first Jumbo to double, winning the 200-yard freestyle and the 200 butterfly with times of 1:46.50 and 1:54.50, respectively. He also finished second in the 500 freestyle. Schmidt took both diving events (the one-meter and three-meter), while freshman Matt Rohrer finished right behind him in each one.
With so many Jumbos pitching in, Winget was proud of what he described as a true team effort.
"I felt every team member was a major contributor in our victories," he said. "We all worked really hard this offseason, harder than we have before, and it is showing off now."
Senior Christian Jones and a pair of freshmen - William Metcalfe and Greg Spiropoulos - also placed first in their individual events. Jones won the 1,000-yard freestyle with 0.28 seconds to spare. Metcalfe and Spiropoulos earned their first collegiate wins late in the meet by taking the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke, respectively.
The duo headlined a formidable freshman class that helped carry Tufts to victory. Sophomore Cam Simko, impressed by his rookie teammates, praised their strong debuts.
"Seeing all the freshmen really race for the first time was my favorite part [of the meet]," he said. "They're a vital part of the team, and they really stepped up this weekend."
Winget received NESCAC Performer of the Week honors for his dominant performance - the first Tufts athlete of the winter season to bring home the award. Winget won both the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes with times of 51.89 seconds and 1:57.51, respectively. He also finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly and swam the opening leg of the 200-yard medley relay, which Tufts won with a 1:35.99 time. In total, Winget scored 22.75 points for the Jumbos.
Winget, who also won a Performer of the Week award last season, thought his achievement reflected more on the team than it did on his own swimming abilities.
"I was very happy with my performances this weekend," Winget said. "I am humbled and honored to have won the award, but all the credit goes to my teammates and coach [Adam] Hoyt. They all push me to do my best in practice, which in turn helps me swim my best at meets."
The Jumbos look to remain undefeated when they host Keene State College at home on Saturday.
