Men's swimming and diving start championship season at Boston Winter Open, prepare for NESCACs

The Jumbos kicked off their championship season at the Boston Winter Open at Boston University this weekend. The arduous championship season began with a Friday and Saturday showing by Tufts featuring a smattering of top three finishes in a competitive field.

With an eye on repeating last season’s exciting NESCAC victory, the Jumbos got the ball rolling with strong results.

“At our big meets [and] both times we've been up against really good competition, guys really rose to the occasion and put out their best performances all year," coach Adam Hoyt said. "[The team] likes to rise to the occasion, likes the pressure, [and] pressure brings out the best in them … every single guy on the team has put in a ton of effort [and] I'm grateful to coach a team that’s willing to work that hard."

There were a slew of strong performances across the fly events; in the 50-yard fly, the Jumbos finished first through fifth in a dominant display featuring first-year Devon French coming out on top with a time of 22.9 seconds. Following French was senior Brian Honicky (23.37 seconds), who was proceeded by sophomores Noah Zhang (23.51 seconds), Christian Schoen (23.80 seconds) and Spencer Schmid (25.19 seconds). French also finished second in the 100-yard fly, clocking in at 50.30 seconds. In the 200-yard fly, junior Trevor Serman came in the silver position with a 1:51.41 showing.

Serman also swam his way to a 4:17.17 performance in the 400-yard individual medley (IM) time trial for the top spot. In the 200-yard IM time trial, first-year Ryan Lynch took the top spot on the podium with a 1:57.00 time.

Not to be breasted by anyone, fellow first-year Tommy Simon came out on top in the 50-yard breaststroke time trial with a 28.66 second time. First-year Ethan Webster swam to a second place finish in the 200-yard backstroke (1:50.07). First-year Jack Freeman was part of a winning quartet in the 400-yard freestyle relay time trial (3:10.71) with seniors Adon Shapiro and Ross Wood along with Zhang.

“Since I was at Tufts it was as good of a championship meet we’ve had," Hoyt said. "There were a lot of good performances ... It was just impressive and it set a great tone. It’s the first one, it’s a big one, [and] it really puts us in a great place to swim well [going forward]."

However, the championship drive didn't end at BU for the Jumbos. On Thursday, Feb. 21, the team will embark on a four-day journey at Middlebury College to retain their title atop the NESCAC. The meet last year was a smashing success, and senior captain Kingsley Bowen, who won the 50-, 100- and 200-yard backstroke races, played a major role in the Jumbos' victory.

“Defending a title is always harder than getting a first one," Bowen said. "Everyone ... finds out about our title last year, [then] you've got a target on your back. We’re trying to focus on having the title in our scope. Even though we were the champions last year, that doesn’t have [any] implications for what [this] year will bring."

Bowen set six program records in the NESCAC championship weekend last year, while current junior Roger Gu set a conference record time in the 50-yard freestyle with an astonishing sub-20 second showing (19.95, to be exact). Bowen and Hoyt both explained that while individual finishes are important, the performance of the team as a whole reigns supreme.

“It’s an intense competition," Hoyt said. "The strength of the team is going to be in their ability in how they can lean on each other. If you’re solely focused on individual performances, you can only be so successful ... the closeness of a team can really impact a championship."

Expectations for the team seem to come in the form of team performances instead of individual ones.

“My primary goal for NESCACs is to be the best leader," Bowen said. "This meet is more important than any of my individual swims."

Bowen is right: This team has a ways to go before they can be crowned as champions once again. With an infectious team-first mentality breathing of success and competition from the top down, big results seem to be in store for the Jumbos once again. From NESCACs, Tufts can work on dreaming even further; after all, nationals are only a couple of weeks away.

"The guys are ready to rise to the challenge," Hoyt said. "And that confidence has been built over the course over the entire season, not only through athletic performance. [It's about] competing for Tufts versus competing for yourself."