Teams: Men's Swimming & Diving: Press Releases

Wednesday, February 2, 2005

MENS' SWIMMING AND DIVING FINISHES WITH 7-1 MEET RECORD
Written by Jason Varney

MEDFORD -- The Tufts University Men's Swimming and Diving team had its final dual meet of the season this past weekend, finishing with an overall record of 7-1. Interim head coach Adam Hoyt's team now looks forward to the championship season.

The Jumbos were dominant throughout the season, sweeping all Division III opponents, and putting up a strong fight in their only loss to Division I Boston College.  Tufts' most dominant performance came this past Saturday, January 29 against Bates College.  The Jumbos won 12 of 16 events, going on to more than double the score of their NESCAC rival, 160-65.  Several Jumbos contributed to the cause, with first place finishes from ten different team members.

Throughout the season, the Jumbo freestylers were led by juniors Brett Baker (Englewood, CO) and Seth Rosenberg (Shaker Heights, OH), along with sophomores Justin Fanning (Concord, MA) and Greg Bettencourt (West Granby, CT) and senior tri-captain Seth Baron (Dallas, TX).  Baker and Fanning led the freestyle sprint squad, consistently finishing in top places for Tufts.  Baker's time of 1 minute, 46.43 seconds in the 200 is currently fourth fastest in NESCAC this season.

When it came to the longer distances, Baron and Rosenberg were the Jumbos' top finishers, while Bettencourt fared well in both distance and sprint freestyle events. Bettencourt swam a 4:49.90 500 that is currently fourth-best in NESCAC.

Baron and Bettencourt also doubled as the Jumbos' top racers in the butterfly, pulling up top times against the competition.  A season-best 200 time of 1:57.55 against Bates ranks Baron fourth in the league to date. Junior Jon Godsey (Dallas, TX) repeatedly performed as Tufts' top backstroker, with sophomore Ray Radovich (Branford, CT) and freshman Sean Sullivan (Chelmsford, MA) consistently scoring points for the Jumbos in these events as well.  Godsey swam a time of 25.27 seconds in the 50 back to ranked fifth in the conference currently.

Senior tri-captain Mike Rochette (Cumberland, RI) saw success in the breaststroke for the Jumbos, placing in a scoring position every time he swam a breaststroke event, with several first place finishes. His 50 time of 27.62 seconds at Trinity is the fastest in NESCAC this season. Well-rounded and strong in each stroke, Rosenberg and sophomore Nathan Cronin (Foxborough, MA) led the Jumbo IM squad, taking many top spaces in the individual medley events.

The diving crew was a one-man show, as junior Todd Putnam (Andover, MA) won all but three diving events over the course of the entire season, never finishing lower than second place.  His 266.85 points scored in six dives off the 1-meter board at Trinity is NESCAC's fourth best.

Two Tufts relays are ranked among NESCAC's top fice. The 400 foursome of Baker, Bettencourt, Fanning and Baron swam a 3:15.22 at Wesleyan to rank fourth. The 400 medley relay group of Radovich, Rochette, Bettencourt and Baker is also fourth in the league with a 3:39.50 finish against Babson.

The Jumbos conclude the regular season this Saturday at the MIT Invitational in Cambridge.  Qualifying swimmers will advance to the NESCAC Championships, held February 25-27 at Wesleyan.

#