Teams: Men's Swimming & Diving: Team Overview

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The Tufts University Men's Swimming & Diving team is a competitive force in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and on the NCAA Division III level. Coached by Adam Hoyt, now in his sixth season, the Jumbos regularly finish among the leaders at the conference championships and annually earn All-American awards at the national meet. In the past five seasons, Tufts swimmers have rewritten the school record book with 36 new marks.

The Jumbos took second place at the competitive NESCAC meet last winter. That marked the second consecutive year and the third time in the last four years that Tufts was the conference runner-up. Fifteen Tufts records were broken at the NESCAC meet, where the Jumbos won two conference titles, recorded four second-place efforts and swam several NCAA qualifying times. Nine Jumbos earned All-Conference honors for placing among the top three at NESCAC's.

Three Tufts relays swam honorable mention All-American times (top 16) at the 2009 NCAA Division 3 Swimming & Diving Championships. Diver Rob Matera was an All-American on the 1- and 3-meter boards at the 2008 NCAA Championship meet. In 2007, Greg Bettencourt swam two national top 20 times at the NCAA meet. The Jumbos earned a 10th place finish at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Tufts swimmers won All-American honors in five events and Honorable Mention All-American honors in four events that year.

Hoyt was hired to lead the Jumbos after veteran coach Don Megerle retired from coaching after 33 years in 2004. Under Hoyt's training, the Tufts program has continued its run as one of New England's top programs. Hoyt was named NESCAC Coach of the Year in 2006. That was the third Coach of the Year award in four years for the Tufts program. Megerle was the conference's Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004.

The assistant men's and women's swimming coach at Trinity College from 2001-04, Hoyt is a native of Orange, Connecticut and a 2001 graduate of Hamilton College. He took over a Tufts program that was in the national spotlight under Megerle, a five-time regional Coach of the Year, longtime NCAA championship meet coordinator and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. With last year's 6-3 dual meet record, the Tufts team now has an impressive 38-8 record in five seasons under Hoyt. Tufts defeated Division I Boston College each year from 2006-08.

Members of the NESCAC, Tufts is part of the nation's most competitive small college conference academically and athletically. The NESCAC is a group of highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities that share an academics-first philosophy for intercollegiate athletics. The 2008-09 Jumbos were ranked among the top 20 in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Academic Team rankings with a 3.34 cumulative grade point average. Five team members were awarded CSCAA Individual Scholar All-American honors.

Located right outside of Boston, Tufts offers a well-rounded collegiate experience to student-athletes. Within its picturesque small-college campus, Tufts is a major university with "an unprecedented diversity of programs, exceptional faculty and staff, and bright and talented students," according to President Lawrence S. Bacow. The Athletics Department sponsors a varsity program of 28 sports that is among the most competitive in the NCAA's Division III. Tufts finished 10th in the 2009 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, which awards points based on NCAA performances. The University's proximity to a world-class city renowned for its academic institutions is also a major draw.

Hailing from across the world, the men of Tufts Swimming & Diving maintain an unparalleled sense of team camaraderie, resulting in its consistent level of success. Each year during the winter recess, the team travels to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for a fun and intensive two-week training program, increasing the physical strength and endurance of each swimmer and enriching the bonds within the program.

Veteran diving coach Brad Snodgrass was the NCAA Division III Diving Coach of the Year in 2008. Now in his 23rd season coaching with Tufts, he has developed one of the area's strongest programs. His success as a diving coach includes two NCAA national champions and several All-Americans. A New England High School champion who competed collegiately at Maine and Columbia, Snodgrass is also active in United States Diving, recently serving as the regional technical director, registrar and treasurer for New England.