WATERVILLE, Maine -- Junior Nathan Berry won the NESCAC title in the 50 yard backstroke on Friday to highlight day two of the conference championships for the Bates men's swimming and diving team. 

Berry (Augusta, Maine) broke his own school record in the event, racing to the finish in the championship final in 22.02 seconds, a new pool record at host Colby College.

Senior Andrew Hall (Little Silver, N.J.) finished runner-up in the conference in the 200 yard IM, breaking the school record in the prelims (1:49.20) and recording an NCAA "B" Cut time of 1:49.75 in the final. 

For the second straight day, a Bates freestyle relay record fell. This time, the 200 yard freestyle relay team of senior captain Pieter Cory (Dublin, Calif.), Berry, senior Dan Waterland (Chadds Ford, Pa.), and junior John Marcolina (Mystic, Conn.) set a new program standard with a time of 1:21.79, an NCAA "B" Cut that was good for fourth place in the event. On top of that, the 400 yard medley relay team of Berry, junior Nate Sommer (Terre Haute, Ind.), Hall, and Cory, broke the school record and placed fourth in the conference as well with an NCAA "B" cut time of 3:19.06.  

Sophomore Mark Gregory (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) took fifth place in the 500 yard freestyle, with a prelim time of 4:29.52, good for a new program record, and an NCAA "B" cut of 4:31.42 in the championship final.

Sommer made the podium in the 50 yard breaststroke, finishing sixth in the conference with a finals time of 25.93. And Cory made the podium in the 50 yard freestyle, taking seventh in 20.67 seconds.

Through two days, the Bobcats have 415 points, good for fifth out of 11 schools. They are currently only 28 points out of third place, with two full days of competition remaining.