NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's swimming and diving team opened the 2023-24 season with a 190-108 victory over Middlebury College on Saturday afternoon at Lott Natatorium.

The Camels captured first-place finishes in 14 of the 18 events to lock up the win. Justin Finkel (Cheshire, Conn.) grabbed the top spot in four events, three as an individual and one as a member of the 200 medley relay squad. Matthew Morris (Alexandria, Va.) also had a big day and contributed four wins—two individual and two relay—to highlight the returners.

Several new faces also turned in impressive efforts. Diver Cam Bizjak (Willoughby, Ohio) won both the 1M (260.62) and 3M (240.82) competitions in his collegiate debut. Evan Lyons (Longmeadow, Mass.) picked up a pair of individual wins, and Gabe Frank (Northbrook, Ill.) and Zach Quitkin (Stratham, N.H.) also nabbed victories.

The Camels set the tone right from the start, as the team of Morris, Finkel, Frank and Patrick Henry (Livonia, Mich.) won the 200 medley relay by more than two seconds. Lyons followed with a win in the 1,000 free (9:45.71) as the Camels took the top four spots in the event, and Finkel and Morris extended the early lead with wins in the 200 free (1:41.86) and 100 back (51.20), respectively.

Finkel added wins in the 50 free (20.89) and 100 free (48.00) while Quitkin won the 200 fly (1:55.32). Morris then tacked on his second individual win of the meet in the 200 back (1:52.85).

Matthew Laclef (Bethesda, Md.) took first in the 500 free (4:45.44) as the Camels captured the top three spots, continuing their dominance in the distance events. Frank later picked up his first collegiate win in the 100 fly (51.24), and Lyons added a win in the 200 IM (2:00.37).

In the final event of the meet, the team of Morris, Henry, Frank and Cooper Voss (Glen Ridge, N.J.) edged the Panthers by six-hundredths of a second to win the 200 free relay. 

Conn College will next compete at the Connecticut Cup on December 1-2 at Wesleyan University.