Green in Greensboro: Gu's national title marks another top 10 showing for men's swimming and diving

Junior Roger Gu and the Tufts Jumbos had the green light to success at the NCAA Championships in Greensboro, N.C., placing 10th overall to mark the third successive season in which the Jumbos finished in the top 10 nationally.

“There are a lot of teams that crack the top 10 from time to time,” coach Adam Hoyt said. “Our goal for our program [is] to be there consistently, [and for us to do that] speaks volumes about these athletes and the culture they’ve help[ed] create.”

Gu, who had the trademark moment of the four-day championships, was one of the athletes responsible for the showing; On Wednesday, the Jumbo junior became Tufts’ first national swimming champion since 1982.

Gu entered with a seed time of 19.77 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle and broke his personal best by swimming a 19.69 in the preliminaries. Emory senior Trey Kolleck was his closest competitor, who swam for a 19.84 mark. While Kolleck was able to improve in the finals with a 19.69 time, Gu managed to stay ahead of his challenger. In the finals, he boasted a staggering 19.49 mark to claim Tufts’s first individual national crown since Jim Lilly (LA '82) won the 100-yard butterfly in 1982.

“Nationals is really the cherry on top [to the season]," Gu said. "All season we work for conferences, we try to perform well there, and being able to represent Tufts at [an even] bigger stage is really such an honor.”

Gu was not done for the week, let alone the day. He was also part of a four-man medley relay featuring fellow juniors Matt Manfre and Costa Camerano with senior captain Kingsley Bowen for a seventh-place showing, with a time of 1:29.44. These strong performances put the Jumbos in sixth place after the end of racing on the first day.

However, the Jumbos weren’t done with their podium finishes, and Gu was right back in the center of the action the next day. On Thursday, a 200-yard freestyle relay team of Gu, Bowen, Camerano and sophomore JJ Batt set another NESCAC record with a 1:20.66 time, good for second overall and marking Tufts’ best relay finish in program history. This score helped the Jumbos stay in seventh after Thursday’s races and then ninth after Friday.

On Saturday, the final day of competition, Gu faced off against Emory’s Kolleck for one last showdown. In the 100-yard freestyle, Gu got the better of Kolleck in the preliminaries (43.87 vs. 43.98) but fell just short in the final (43.70 vs. 43.31) to cap off a valiant week for the Jumbo.

“It was fun [competing] against Kolleck," Gu said. "He swam a good race, I happened to be a bit off and he got me in the finals ... that one was well deserved.”

Hoyt recognized Gu for his outstanding performances.

“It’s very special for Roger, it’s very special for our team and says a lot about his commitment level to our sport, his ability level and the work he’s put in,” Hoyt said. “To go from not scoring an individual point at NCAAs [his first two years] to finishing first and second in the 50- and 100-[yard freestyle], it’s just a great accomplishment and we’re really proud of him, [especially] to be there with him and celebrate that title with him, everyone on the team and the coaching staff.”

In all, Tufts walked away with 11 All-Americans. This also stands as the final meet for seniors Bowen and Noah Cagley. The former finishes his Jumbo career with 20 All-American awards, and the latter with three.

“Kingsley’s [first] year we had three men at the [National] meet, including Kingsley,” Hoyt said. “He has really helped continue this developing program. If Kingsley hadn’t come to Tufts we would not be where we are right now. We’re going to miss him a ton, we’re going to miss his leadership ability, his swimming ability ... As his coach I’m just really appreciative of everything he’s given us, he and the rest of his classmates, they’ve done a lot for our program, and certainly won’t be anything we overlook, ever. Kingsley will graduate as the most decorated men’s swimmer ever — it’s pretty special.”

There will be no more tapering for the Jumbos this season. Tufts will enter the off-season on the heels of another successful season, and led by Gu, will seek another top 10 showing at Nationals next spring. If the team’s success in relays is a testament to the strength in numbers stance of the team, the Jumbos have the depth to remain in good hands.

"Now we’ve all seen what’s possible," Gu said. "This year we definitely made a statement, and having everyone do so well really sends a message that we’re here and we’re here to swim.”