WORCESTER, Mass. – Competing in its second meet in as many days, the Connecticut College men's swimming and diving team edged Division I Holy Cross by a 151-147 final on Sunday afternoon at the Hart Pool Center.
The meet was decided in the final event of the day, with the Camels claiming victory by virtue of first- and third-place finishes in the 400 free relay. It capped a strong day for Conn that included wins in 10 of 16 events and four pool records.
A total of seven Camels won individual events, led by
Justin Finkel (Cheshire, Conn.),
Matthew Morris (Alexandria, Va.) and
Cam Bizjak (Willoughby, Ohio) with two wins apiece. Morris broke two pool records while Finkel claimed one, and they both contributed to one in a relay.
Evan Lyons (Longmeadow, Mass.) and
Matthew Laclef (Bethesda, Md.) got the Camels off to a good start in the 1,000 free, taking the top two spots with times of 9:38.46 and 9:41.36, respectively. In the ensuing event, Finkel missed out on a win in the 200 free by one-hundredth of a second.
Morris picked up his first win—and pool record—with a time of 50.73 in the 100 back. He later duplicated the feat in the 200 back, touching the wall first in 1:49.95.
On the boards, Bizjak turned in winning performances in both the 1M (275.90) and 3M (267.05) competitions. His score in the 1M was also an NCAA Regional qualifying score.
Zach Quitkin (Stratham, N.H.) gave the Camels a win in the 200 fly (1:54.89) while
Patrick Henry (Livonia, Mich.) followed suit in the 100 free (48:18). Finkel's time of 20:97 was a pool record in the 50 free, and he later added a win in the 500 free (4:38.42).
Trailing 143-138 heading into the final event, Conn needed a first-place finish to guarantee a tie and a third-place finish to claim the team victory. It got both results, as the top team of Henry, Finkel,
Gabe Frank (Northbrook, Ill.) and Morris powered to a pool record time of 3:06.50, and the squad of
Will Nash (Chatham, N.J.), Laclef,
Ian Sullivan (Naples, Fla.) and
Cooper Voss (Glen Ridge, N.J.) took third in 3:11.18.
Conn (7-2 overall) will next compete at Wesleyan University on Saturday, February 3 at 2:00 p.m.
