The Tufts men’s swim and dive teams took on Bowdoin this past weekend, coming out on top 197–90 on the score sheet.
The Jumbos recorded a plethora of wins on Saturday. Senior All-American Eric Lundgren started the season off hot, coming in first in the 100m backstroke with a time of 50.24, over three seconds faster than the second-place competitor. Lundgren also contributed to a win in the 200m medley relay with fellow seniors Emmett Adams and Soeren Euvrard, who swam the breaststroke and freestyle legs, respectively, and junior Armaan Sikka, who swam butterfly.
Meanwhile, Adams recorded a win of his own in the 100m breaststroke, and Euvrard came first in the 50m freestyle. Sikka, who is also an All-American, logged an individual win in the 100m butterfly.
Sophomore distance swimmer Dan Godino came out on top in both the 500m free, winning by over eight seconds, and the 1000m free, winning by over 10 seconds. Sophomore Elias Brandt and senior Cameron Yuen were the only divers at the meet, with Brandt winning the one-meter event and Yuen winning the three-meter event.
Graduate student Bora Calis achieved his first career win in the 200m breaststroke, posting a time of 2:09.09.
“I was happy with all of my swims,” Calis said. “It’s great to have some confidence going into the championship season.”
The training leading up to the swim and dive season is intense, with rigorous conditioning in practices.
“Considering the amount of training we are currently doing and the physical stress on our bodies, I think as a team, and also individually, we did a great job,” Calis said.
Euvrard started his final season as a Tufts swimmer with a win in the 50m freestyle event. He discussed battling through injury and the road to recovery leading up to the start of the season.
“I feel confident. [I’ve] been struggling with injury, and I can see a path to the end of the season as a team,” Euvrard said.
Despite Bowdoin having a smaller squad than Tufts, Euvrard mentioned their talent and tenacity. “It just goes to show the NESCAC is more competitive than last year,” Euvrard said, referencing some of Bowdoin’s successes during the meet.
The Bowdoin Polar Bears seized victories in the 200m backstroke and 200m butterfly, as well as the 200m freestyle relay. Despite some important wins, Bowdoin was still defeated by Tufts in the majority of events, creating a massive 107-point difference by the end of the meet.
Both Bora and Soeren discussed areas of improvement for the squad, acknowledging the long season ahead that their preseason training has prepared them for. “We are in a heavy training mode right now,” Calis said. “We’re all really tired, but as the energy builds, we can support each other more,” Soeren added. Further into the season, the swimmers will begin to taper and train with less overall volume, ensuring they are rested for meets.
Though the start to the season came with a positive result, this meet is by no means the end goal for the team. The two upperclassmen expressed passion and high hopes for the season.
“My goal is to get better every day,” Calis said when talking about his hopes for the end of the season. “I really want to win a conference title as a team, which we have never done before while we have been at Tufts.”
The Jumbos have produced several NCAA winners, but have not had a NESCAC championship since 2018.
“We have a new culture of hard work and being better every day,” Euvrard said, crediting the team’s success to their unwavering work ethic in all aspects of training, as the Jumbos seek to add up wins and continue preparing for the fast-approaching postseason.
When asked about how the team maximizes their success, Euvrard commented on the importance of team culture, saying, “We have a very close group.”
Calis added that, “Instead of focusing only on winning, we try to focus on the things that will help us win in the end.”
Men’s swim and dive will have their next meet this Saturday in Worcester, where they will match up against Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Williams College and Trinity College. As they strive for greatness during each part of the training process and improve every day, the 2024–5 season is looking bright for the Jumbos.
