The men’s swimming team traveled to Williamstown, Mass. on Thursday to compete in the NESCAC Championships hosted by Williams. The Cardinals ended the three-day competition placing seventh out of eleven teams with a score of 723.5 points, dropping two spots from last year’s fifth-place finish.
Even though they took a step back in the standings this time around, Wesleyan had some strong performances over the course of the weekend, particularly on the diving boards. On the first day of competition, J.P. Valette ’10 and Gianfranco Galluzzo ’12 placed first and second, respectively, in the one-meter dive. The first-place performance by Valette was particularly meaningful for the Cardinals, as it secured the first Wesleyan diving title in the ten years that the Championships have been held. Valette and Galluzzo continued their impressive efforts on the last day placing fifth and fourth, respectively, on the three-meter board.
In addition, diving coach Jeff Miller was honored as the Diving Coach of the Year in his fifth season working with the Cardinal divers.
On day one, Brendan Fortin ’13 also found success for the Cardinals. Fortin placed eleventh in the 500 free with a time of 4:45.06. He continued to cut through the water to secure the team-best effort in the preliminary round of the 100 individual medley with a time of 4:08.31. This 100 IM performance beat the school record, which was set in 1994, by 1.26 seconds. Furthermore, Fortin’s 100 IM time was of a National “B” cut standard, giving him a chance at competing in the NCAA championship. Dan Storms ’10 also had a earning run on day one, placing sixth in the 200 free with a time of 1:43.42.
Williams took the team crown with a score of 1,937.5 points, its eight straight NESCAC title and ninth overall. The only other team that has taken first place at either the men’s or women’s NESCAC Championships is Middlebury, which finished 122 points ahead of the Ephs at the 2002 meet held at Wesleyan.
The last time the NESCAC meet was held at Williams, in 2006, the Cardinals placed fourth, their best-ever finish at the event. Wesleyan finished eighth and ninth at the first two Championships (in 2001 and 2002) but has not finished lower than seventh since.
With the close of the season, the Cardinals will lose Valette, Storms, and swimmer Ryan Beck ’10 to graduation. The team still retains the bulk of its roster, but they will miss the consistency of the senior class next season. However, a strong returning class, led by Galluzzo, Fortin, and Kuan Huang ’12, ensures the Cardinals will remain a force in the pool in the years to come.
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