Pool stars grab NESCAC silver

Author: Zamir Ahmed

After a three-week layoff from competition in which to rest and ready themselves for the end-of-the-year championship meets, the Middlebury men's swimming and diving team was anxious to get back in the water and put up a good performance. On Feb. 25 to 27 the Panthers did just that, posting a second-place finish at the NESCAC Championship, which was hosted at Wesleyan College. The team's strong showing also helped Head Coach Peter Solomon to be named NESCAC Men's Coach of the Year.

Williams College won the event for the third straight year, finishing with 1,862 points, followed by the Panthers with 1,351 points and Amherst College with 1,264 points. The Ephs put up the highest point total ever at a NESCAC Championship and their 510.5-point margin of victory was also a conference record.

The Panthers were led by three individual champions at the meet, including three-event winner Tim Lux '07, who swept all three breaststroke events. Lux won the 50yd in a school-record time of 26.52 seconds, finishing ahead of teammates Peter Bell '08 and Alex Demas '06, who finished second and third, respectively.

Lux also posted a victory in the 100yd breaststroke with another school-record of 57.66 seconds. Teammate Demas finished second in the same event in a time of 58.49 seconds. Lux's time in the 100yd was also good enough to surpass the NCAA "B" mark, qualifying him for the NCAA Championship. Lux also won the 200yd under the NCAA "B" mark.

Also posting individual wins were Robert Collier '07 and David Hawkins '05. Collier took first in the 100yd butterfly in a time of 50.28 seconds, setting a school record and NESCAC Championship meet record. Collier added a second in 200yd IM, meeting the NCAA "B" cut with a time 1:51.72 and a third in 200yd backstroke. Hawkins won the NESCAC title in the 50-meter butterfly in 22.75, good enough to set a new NESCAC Championship meet record.

The relay teams also earned valuable points for the Panthers. The 400yd medley team set a new school record with a time of 3:25.51 and a second place finish. The team was composed of Lux, Collier, Hawkins and Jason Korsmeyer '05. Lux, Hawkins and Korsmeyer also teamed up with John Rayburn '06.5 to take third in the 200yd medley relay while the 400yd freestyle relay team of Korsmeyer, Hawkins, Demas and Robbie Burton '08 finished third.

"It was a complete team effort," said Solomon. "The guys did a super job of coming together. It was the perfect meet for a perfect season. Everyone on the team scored for us. The guys all managed to get to the finals. That shows the depth of the team."

Collier, Korsmeyer, Lux and Hawkins will represent Middlebury at the NCAA Championships held March 17 to 19 at Hope College.