WATERVILLE, Maine -- Senior captain
Max Cory successfully defended his 100-yard freestyle title, junior
Tim Johnson won the 200-yard backstroke, and for the second straight year Bates took first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay, capping off a remarkable NESCAC Championships for the men's swimming and diving team Sunday at Colby College's Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center.
The Bobcats scored 1,041.5 points at this year's NESCAC Championships, good for fifth place out of 11 schools. It's the first time Bates men's swimming and diving has surpassed 1,000 points at NESCACs. Overall, Bates won five individual NESCAC titles, prevailed in four of the five relays, and turned in 13 All-NESCAC performances.
Sunday Highlights
- Cory (Dublin, Calif.) broke the meet and pool record and won his second straight conference title in the 100-yard freestyle, touching the wall in the championship final in an NCAA 'A' cut time of 42.92 seconds.
- Johnson (Brewster, Mass.) broke his own school record in the 200-yard backstroke, racing to the finish in the championship final in an NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:46.11 to capture the NESCAC title.
- The Bates 400-yard freestyle relay team of junior John Weigel (Iowa City, Iowa), Johnson, senior Nate Pierce (Fairfield, Maine), and Cory closed the meet the same way the Bobcats did last year, by taking first place. The Bobcats touched the wall in an NCAA 'B' cut time of 2:56.96, breaking the school record in the event.
- Junior Liam Friedlander (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned All-NESCAC honors for taking second place in the 200-yard butterfly, racing to the finish in the championship final in an NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:48.05. That mark breaks his own school record.
- Sophomore Nate Oppenheim (Easton, Conn.) placed eighth in the championship final of the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:01.40 after recording a prelims time of 2:01.01. Meanwhile, senior captain Marrich Somridhivej (South Windsor, Conn.) won the consolation final in an NCAA 'B' cut time of 2:00.10.
February Invitational
Sunday also marked a chance for the Bates women's 200-yard medley relay team to lower their season-best time. They did exactly that, as sophomore
Erin Barisonek (New Vernon, N.J.), junior
Sarah Palmer (Brunswick, Maine), first-year
Lily Dunn (New Canaan, Conn.), and senior captain
Lianna Rosman (Bethesda, Md.) raced to the finish in an NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:43.62. They now have to wait to see if they qualify for NCAAs.
The NCAA Championships for men's and women's swimming are set for March 18-21 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. Selections will be announced this week.
