New England Small College Athletic Conference –Men
- Dates: Friday, February 19 – Sunday, February 21; prelims 10 AM, finals 6 PM (5:30 on Sunday)
- Location: Williamstown, MA (Eastern Time)
- Defending Champions: Williams (13x) (results)
- Live Results: Available
- Live Video: Available
- Championship Central
Williams won their 14th consecutive NESCAC title, but that was to be expected. What was really exciting was the race for number two. That place has been reserved for Amherst for the last umpteen years, but this time around it was up for grabs. Connecticut College had been in the lead for the runner-up position on Day One and Day Two, but everything changed on the final day of competition. Tufts came through with some big performances and pushed past Connecticut and Amherst. The rest of the leaderboard could have gone either way, with many slots in contention, but it finished as it had started, with Bates beating Bowdoin and Middlebury for fifth, and Wesleyan at eighth, edging Hamilton, Trinity and Colby.
1650 Yard Freestyle
- Michael McGean, Middlebury – 16:02.45
- Stephen Skaperdas, Connecticut College – 16:06.17
- Bobby Rowledge, Williams – 16:06.34
Middlebury junior Michael McGean, who won the 1000 free on Saturday, opened the final session of the meet with a win in the 1650. McGean went 16:02.45 to earn the title. Connecticut junior Stephen Skaperdas, second in the 1000, was in third place for most of the race, but turned on the jets over the final 100 yards to claim the silver medal with 16:06.17. Third place went to Bobby Rowledge, a sophomore at Williams, in 16:06.34.
200 Yard Backstroke
- Michael Winget, Tufts – 1:47.30
- Kingsley Bowen, Tufts – 1:47.34
- Benjamin Lin, Williams – 1:47.62
After a fourth in the 50 back and a second in the 100 back, Tufts senior Michael Winget finally got his win in the 200. Teammate Kingsley Bowen had an incredible last 50 and just out-touched defending champion Benjamin Lin of Williams, 1:47.34 to 1:47.62, for second.
100 Yard Freestyle
- Jamie Finnegan, Williams – 45.27
- Theodore Pender, Bates – 45.35
- Karl Sarier, Bowdoin – 45.48
Williams freshman Jamie Finnegan climbed to the top of the pile in the final sprint free event, claiming first with a 45.27. Bates sophomore Theodore Pender, who already had a gold in the 50 and a silver in the 200, was runner-up with 45.35. Sophomore Karl Sarier of Bowdoin, the 2016 NESCAC champion in the 200 free, took third with 45.48.
200 Yard Breaststroke
- Greg Han, Amherst – 2:04.01
- Jack Ferguson, Williams – 2:05.34B 28
- Daniel Walpole, Bates – 2:05.48
After a second-place finish in this event in 2014 and a sixth last year, Amherst junior Greg Han finally made it to the top of the podium this time around with 2:04.01 Williams junior Jack Ferguson placed second with 2:05.34, coming to the wall just ahead of Bates junior Daniel Walpole (2:05.48).
200 Yard Butterfly
- Jeff Anderson, Amherst – 1:49.68
- George Tilneac, Connecticut – 1:50.06
- Ali Pourmaleki, Wesleyan – 1:50.55
Amherst senior Jeff Anderson swam a controlled and steady race, inching his way from third at the 100 to second at the 150 to first at the 200. Connecticut sophomore George Tilneac (1:50.06) came in second, touching just in front of Wesleyan sophomore Ali Poumaleki (1:50.55).
3-Meter Diving
Tufts sealed its second-place team finish with a big win from junior Matthew Rohrer on the 3-meter boards. Rohrer scored 503.10 points for the win. Amherst senior Asher Lichtig claimed the runner-up spot with 494.60 points, while Wesleyan sophomore Brandon Pearson rounded out the podium with 482.15 points.
400 Yard Freestyle Relay
- Williams College 3:00.79
- Bates College 3:03.25
- Connecticut College 3:03.79
Lin, Finnegan, Alex McCarter, and Grant Johnson combined to give Williams a 3:00.79 victory in the 400 free relay. The Ephs earned meet and pool records with their time. Bates placed second with 3:03.25, just in front of Connecticut with 3:03.79.
Men’s Final Standings
- Williams College 1789.5
- Tufts University 1410.5
- Connecticut College 1407
- Amherst College 1315
- Bates College 956
- Bowdoin College 834.5
- Middlebury 801.5
- Wesleyan University 480
- Hamilton College 437
- Trinity College 418
- Colby College 366
This story misses the real drama of the result – and the real underlying issue. Conn were robbed of 2nd Place when the equipment registered an early take-off for their B relay in the final event.
In spite of video evidence showing that the turn-over in question was good by a factor of about .7 (versus the -.09 reported), the officials at the pool and subsequently NESCAC were incapable of dealing with the false dq in an appropriate way to maintain the integrity of the competition.
Very minor league.