Every Tuesday throughout the swimming & diving season, the NESCAC Performers of the Week will be announced. 

Men’s Swimming & Diving Performer of the Week
Nathaniel Taft – Hamilton – Jr. – Fairfield, Conn.
Taft played a pivotal role in the two dual meet victories against Colby and Trinity. The junior started the meet by setting a school and pool record in the 50 backstroke (22.98). Taft later captured first in the 50 freestyle (20.85) and won the 100 freestyle in a controlled (46.06), both pool records. Anchoring the 200 freestyle relay, Taft closed in a (19.69) to touch first in a 1:24.29 relay time.

NESCAC Honor Roll
Amherst – Owen Vale (Avon, Conn.) had great back-to-back meets against Middlebury and Wesleyan, punctuated by his conference-leading and Pratt Pool record-breaking 400 IM time of 3:59.19. The time breaks an 11-year-old Amherst mark. At the meet against Middlebury, Vale finished second in the 150 freestyle (1:16.67), won the 150 backstroke (1:24.84), and 200 IM (1:56.25). Against Wesleyan, the first-year also placed second in the 100 breast (59.46) and 100 IM (53.33).  

Bates – Nate Oppenheim (Easton, Conn.) had an excellent meet against Wesleyan last weekend.  The sophomore won the 200 breaststroke in a NESCAC-leading time of 2:05.9 after winning the 200 freestyle (1:45.3). Oppenheim also led off the winning 200 freestyle relay in a time of 21.3.

Bowdoin - David Xu (Princeton, N.J.) started his college career with several solid swims on Saturday against a powerful MIT team. The rookie was second in the 200 butterfly (1:54.96), third in the 200 backstroke (1:55.24), and third in the 200 IM (1:57.83). 

Colby – In the tri-meet with Hamilton and Trinity, Brandon Morrison (Cypress, Texas) set Trinity pool records in the 100 butterfly (51.16) and as a member of the 200 medley relay team (1:33.30). The junior was also second behind his teammate Alex Ruckel-Bekefi in the 50 butterfly (23.40) and anchored Colby's 200 freestyle relay with a lifetime best split of 20.73.

Trinity – Ben Lyons (Longmeadow, Mass.) had a great weekend filled with personal and season bests. The sophomore swam the 1000 on Saturday in a quad meet with Tufts, Williams, and WPI and placed second overall with a time of 9:58.70 - just a few seconds off his best time. Lyons also swam the 100 freestyle and finished with a personal best time of 51.87. On Sunday, in a meet with Colby and Hamilton, Lyons swam both the 200 and 500 freestyle, and was just off his personal best time in the 200.

Tufts - Armaan Sikka (Mumbai, India) had a great weekend of racing.  On Saturday, in a quad meet against Williams, Trinity, and WPI, the senior had two individual event wins (100 freestyle - 46.30 and 100 butterfly - 50.05) and was part of one relay win (200 freestyle relay anchor - 20.63). Sikka followed up on Sunday against Brandeis with a win in the 50 freestyle - 21.60 and some great relay splits. 

Wesleyan – Jeremiah Tomioka (Emerson, N.J.) delivered a standout weekend, opening with a win in the 1000 freestyle at Bates, posting a season-best time. The rookie followed it up with another season best in the 500 freestyle and showcased his versatility by stepping into butterfly events against Amherst on Sunday

Williams - Calder Biondi (New York, N.Y.) delivered a standout performance on the boards, officially punching his ticket to the NCAA Regionals in just the second meet of the season. Biondi swept the diving events, winning the 1-meter competition with a score of 279.85 and the 3-meter with a score of 293.55, both comfortably surpassing the regional qualifying standard.