WATERVILLE, Maine – The Williams Ephs erased a 30-point deficit on the final day of competition to claim their seventh consecutive NESCAC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship and 23rd in program history.
After the opening race of the final session, the 200 backstroke, Williams erased a 30-point deficit to take a 19-point lead over Tufts. The Ephs lead grew to 41 after the 100 freestyle, but Tufts sliced the margin to 13 points after the 200 breaststroke race. Ryan Nunez’s win in the 200 butterfly helped the Ephs push their lead to 51 points and eventually a 37-point victory, the closest finish in the 25-year history of the event.
Williams totaled 1599 points for the win, while Tufts finished as the NESCAC Runners-Up for the seventh year in a row with 1562 points. Amherst placed third (1217 points) and was followed by Conn. College (1077 points) and Bates (1041.5 points) to round out the top five teams in the standings.
1650 Freestyle
All heats of the 1650 freestyle were held during the morning session in a modified schedule. Conn. College junior Evan Lyons won his second NESCAC title of the weekend. He posted an NCAA B-cut time of 15:29.51 to take first place and is the first Camel swimmer to win the event since Matthew Laclef in 2022. Amherst rookie Benjamin Robins finished second (15:40.80) and Colby first-year Brendan Kirberger was third (15:41.97).
200 Backstroke
Tim Johnson of Bates won the 200 backstroke in the first event of the final session of the championship. Johnson posted an NCAA B-cut time of 1:46.11 to become the first Bobcat to claim the conference title in the event. Whitman Horton of Williams finished second (1:46.90) and Eph teammate Aidan Lee was third (1:48.76).
100 Freestyle
Bates senior Max Cory added to his impressive meet, setting a NESCAC Meet and Colby Pool Record to win the 100 freestyle with a time of 42.92. Cory resets his own record from last year’s NESCAC Championship meet. Nathaniel Taft of Hamilton took second place with a time of 44.02, and Tufts’ Armaan Sikka placed third (44.19).
200 Breaststroke
Conn. College’s Carrick Shea had a strong swim in the 200 breaststroke, setting a NESCAC Record, NESCAC Meet Record, and Colby Pool Record with a winning time of 1:55.21. Shea lowered the record set by Jacob Grover (Williams) at the 2022 NESCAC Championship by 1.45 seconds. The Ephs’ Michael Grover finished second (1:58.95) while Tufts’ Jack Nussbaum placed third (1:58.97).
200 Butterfly
Ryan Nunez became the first Williams swimmer to win the 200 butterfly since 2022, posting a winning time of 1:46.19. Nunez is the 10th Eph to win the event. Bates’ Liam Friedlander finished second (1:48.05), and Amherst’s Fyn Nadel was third (1:48.16).
400 Freestyle Relay
In the final event of the 2026 championship, Bates won its fourth relay of the meet and repeated as NESCAC Champions. The team of John Weigel, Tim Johnson, Nathaniel Pierce, and Max Cory posted a winning time of 2:56.96. The Tufts relay finished second (2:57.48), and Bowdoin placed third (2:58.82).
