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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Jumbos look to shake up NESCAC championships

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Tufts men's swimming and diving competes at the NESCAC Championship on Feb. 18, 2016.

The Jumbos are a formidable force heading into the most important weekend of their season. The past three months have tested the 46-man team as they’ve worked to become faster between the lanes and more precise off the diving boards. The successes are evident — Tufts has consistently broken personal records, Tufts records and NESCAC records, and the NESCAC Swimmer of the Week has been awarded to three different Jumbos so far this season.

Senior tri-captain Michael Winget, who was a three-time finalist at last year’s championships, has spent his final season continuing to break records and increasing his speed. At last year's NESCACsWinget came away with two third-place finishes and one fourth place, all in backstroke. He has been building upon his times ever since, recently improving upon his 50-yard back by half a second. Winget was named to the NESCAC all-conference team last year and will be hoping for the same success next weekend at Williams.

“This year the guys have put together some good consistent training, and come out with good attitudes, so I think they have a great chance to improve their standings,” coach Adam Hoyt said. “It’s definitely my goal to move up in the conference, but this year is different. I think this year we’ll be disappointed if we don't.”

The meet will be interesting for sophomores Morgan Ciliv and Zachary Wallace. At last year’s championship, Ciliv swam national B cut times with his 200-yard and 100-yard breaststrokes, taking seventh in the 200-yard final.Wallace also previously swam under the NCAA B cut for the 200-yard backstroke and 400-yard individual medley, coming seventh in the individual medley final.

“I think we have put ourselves in a really good position for NESCACs. We have put in a lot of hard work, and I think it will pay off at NESCACs,” Winget said. “We have a very realistic shot at competing, as will Conn. [College] and it should be a great meet for our team.”

Historically the Jumbos have been narrowly defeated by Conn. College, with a margin as narrow as 18 points separating the teams’ final scores at the 2013 championship. The past three seasons have been somewhat frustrating for the Jumbos and other NESCAC competitors as the top four finishing order has remained unchanged, with Williams topping the board, followed by Amherst, Conn. College and then Tufts. The team has put a strong emphasis on finishing above Conn. College this season, with Hoyt and tri-captains Winget, senior Cam Simko and junior Harry Wood all expressing their desire for a change-up in the results. Tufts emerged triumphantly from a tri-meet against Conn College and Middlebury in November, which raises exciting prospects for its upcoming swims.

"We’ve gotten closer to beating Conn. almost every year that I have been here, and I think this could be the year that we do it,” Simko said. “We’ve beaten Middlebury every year, and had a strong win against them this year in our dual meet, so I have a lot of confidence that we will beat them again this year.”

Williams’ Benjamin Lin won all three backstroke events last year, but will face serious competition from Winget and first-year Kingsley Bowen. Another first-year, Brandon Jinn, is dominating the distance events, holding the top times in the 500, 1000 and 1650-yard freestyles. Overall, Tufts has a swimmer seeded in the top three in 17 different swimming events and in both diving events.

In the diving competition, junior Matt Rohrer looks to defend his title as 2015 one-meter champion, while sophomore Aaron Idelson is seeded first in the 3-meter diving competition. Both Idelson and Rohrer have had impressive seasons, with both divers improving upon their personal bests and both qualifying for the NCAAs. Last year, Rohrer was a two-time finalist at the NCAAs, and he will be looking to replicate his success in this year's competition.

Tufts already features several swimmers who have the qualified for the NCAAs this year — Winget, Bowen and Jinn — with other members of the team looking to further Tufts' representation at nationals. Should they achieve qualifying times during the NESCAC championships, they will compete in Greensboro, North Carolina from March 16 to 19. 

The Jumbos are also looking to extend their recent impressive record at nationals. Last year, Winget finished fifth in the 500-yard backstroke, the highest Tufts finish at the NCAA meet in 30 years.Between Rohrer and Winget, last year's NCAAs saw three All-American honors, two new school records and one All-American honorable mention. Though this type of success will be difficult to replicate, a deeper team means more chances for national honors this year.

The 24-strong roster will be traveling to Williams this weekend for their most important test of the season. The Jumbos head out this morning fired up and looking to shake up the standings and take third place for the first time since 2012.