Swim and dive cruises past Brandeis University

After wins against Wesleyan and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the season-opening meet, the Tufts women’s and men’s swim and dive team traveled to Brandeis University for their second meet of the season. Both teams dominated during the meet, with the women’s team winning 252‒44 and the men's team winning222‒74.

The women's team had substantial wins across all 16 events. The Jumbos fared well during the 200-yard medley relay, with sophomore Jeanette Khowong, junior Lily Kurtz, junior Sasha Fong and sophomore Hannah Spencer placing first. They finished in 1:51:32, and despite slower performances compared to the quad meet earlier in the season, each relay team placed higher than Brandeis. 

The women’s swim team also had a commanding lead in all other events and showcased their incredible determination, finishing first across all of the stroke disciplines. Notably, first-year Chloe Deveney had a pair of freestyle wins at the meet, with a 1:57.38 time in the 200-yard freestyle and a 5:13.16 time in the 500-yard freestyle. First-year students Hannah Lesser and Camille Ross snagged wins in the 50-yard freestyle (25.38) and the 100-yard butterfly (59.29) respectively. The team also won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:40.10.First-year student Sydney Ho won both diving events, with a final score of 189.53 for the 1-meter dive and 266.63 in the 3-meter dive.

Coach Adam Hoyt commented on the team's performance at the meet.

“I thought that the team performed well,” Hoyt said. “We had a lot of season-best swims ... and diving performances at the meet It’s nice to see us progressing in the direction of improvement. We had a really challenging week of training leading up to the meet. Not a whole lot of rest for the meet. It was great to see our teams step up and perform well even though I know they were fatigued.”

For the men’s competition, the Jumbos maintained a versatility similar to the women’s team, placing first in nearly every event, excluding the 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 50-yard butterfly. Senior Roger Gu anchored the 200-yard medley relay, opened by sophomore Nate Tingen and followed by senior Matthew Manfre and senior co-captain Costa Camerano. This relay team finished with a 1:35.91 time, beating Brandeis for this event by a little under two seconds. Tingen also logged two individual victories in the 100-yard backstroke with a 52.49 time and the 200 individual medley with a 1:58.79 time. 

With the 200-yard medley relay already under his belt, Manfre was able to put up the winning time in the 50-yard breaststroke, finishing in 28.02 seconds. Teammate and junior Kuan Lee touched the wall just after Manfre, finishing in 28.08 seconds.

The men's team also scored well during the diving portion of the competition. First-year Zach Lawrence nailed victories in both diving events for the Jumbos, further emphasizing the first-year presence on both teams.

Hoyt shared what his team plans on doing for their upcoming meet against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“I think just continuing to build upon past meets and the information we are getting through those meets and through practices,” Hoyt said. “MIT is a great facility, There's a fast pool, there is great competition there. It will definitely be a challenging contest and environment."

Hoyt also spoke about the competition the Engineers will bring for the Jumbos.

"I think it will be some of the best competition we have seen all season," Hoyt said.  “We are going to be the best prepared we have been all season to race fast.So, this meet being the final meet of the semester, we are really looking to put together some performances. This will then give us information about what we need to do between the end of our semester and through winter break and into our second semester meets to continue to improve.”

Gu added two more victories for the team, winning the 100-yard freestyle with a 45.86 time and swimming as the anchor leg for the 400-yard freestyle relay, which won with a time of 3:13.37.Other members of this relay included first-year Peter LaBarge, first-year Dylan Brown and junior Noah Zhang.

Senior John LaLime placed first in the 500-yard freestyle, coming in with a 4:51.04 time. LaLime commented on the team's performance of the meet.

“We performed really well, the swimming was really good, but more importantly our demeanor on deck was really good," LaLime said. “We maintained a level of high energy which was really important for us. All of us being on the same page for the goals for the year and the meet, how we are going to support each other. I think that all played a big role.”

With an impressive victory against Brandeis, Tufts will face the MIT this weekend during the MIT invitational for their final fall semester competition. This will take place from Dec. 6–8 away at MIT.