Williams Men Win Sixth Straight NESCAC Title By Over 350 Points

2025 Men’s New England Small College Athletic Conference Championships

• Dates: Thursday, February 20–Sunday, February 23
• Location: Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
• Defending Champions: Williams (5x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: NESCAC Network
• Championship Central
• Teams: Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams
• Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap | Day 3 Recap

Courtesy: NESCAC 

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Williams won the NESCAC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship for the sixth year in a row and 22nd time overall. The Ephs won nine events and finished the championship with 1801.5 points.

Tufts finished as NESCAC Runners-Up for the sixth straight year with 1438.5 points while Amherst finished third for the seventh consecutive year, registering 1252 points. Conn. College (948 points) and Bates (941.5 points) rounded out the top five teams.

1650 Freestyle
Williams senior Carter Anderson won the 1650 freestyle for the third year in a row and is the second swimmer in championship history to win the event at three consecutive championships. Anderson posted a pool-record time of 15:27.43. Conn. College sophomore Evan Lyons was the runner-up (15:35.52 NCAA B-cut) and Amherst senior Gabriele Lunardi placed third (15:40.44 NCAA B-cut).

200 Backstroke
Eric Lundgren claimed the NESCAC title in the 200 backstroke and set a NESCAC Meet record with a time of 1:44.10. Lundgren, a senior, is the first swimmer to win the event at four consecutive championships. Sophomores Tim Johnson of Bates (1:47.64 NCAA B-cut) and Colin Kavanagh of Williams (1:47.66 NCAA B-cut) finished 2-3, respectively.

100 Freestyle
Max Cory set a NESCAC Record, a NESCAC Meet Record, and a pool record in the morning prelim swim with a time of 43.20. The junior won the event in the championship final with a time of 43.55 (NCAA B-cut) and is the second Bobcat to win the conference title in three championships. Hamilton’s Nathaniel Taft, last year’s champion, was the runner-up with a time of 43.85 (NCAA B-cut) and Soeren Euvrard of Tufts finished third (44.93 NCAA B-cut).

200 Breaststroke
Williams senior Oliver Schalet won the 200 breaststroke with an NCAA B-cut time of 2:00.13. The win marked the 16th time an Eph has won the conference title. Middlebury junior Paul Shen placed second (2:01.09) and Bates newcomer Nate Oppenheim was third (2:01.71).

200 Butterfly
Justin Finkel earned his second butterfly conference title with a victory in the 200 butterfly. Finkel, who also won the 100-yard distance, posted a pool-record time of 1:44.76. The senior is the third swimmer to win the conference title at three straight championships. Sophomores Ryan Nunez of Williams (1:48.46 NCAA B-cut) and Liam Friedlander of Bates (1:49.62 NCAA B-cut) finished second and third, respectively.

400 Freestyle Relay
In the final event of the 2025 championships, the Bates relay of Nate Oppenheim, Tim Johnson, John Weigel, and Max Cory combined for a pool-record time of 2:57.42 to claim the conference crown. They are the first Bobcat relay to win the NESCAC title in the event in program history. Tufts was the runner-up with an NCAA B-cut time of 2:58.12 and Williams also posted an NCAA B-cut time (3:00.50) to finish third.

NESCAC Men’s Individual Awards
As voted on by the conference coaches the following individual awards were handed out:

NESCAC Rookie of the Year: Jack Goepfrich, Amherst
Goepfrich earned All-NESCAC honors with a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle. The newcomer is the first Mammoth to be selected for the NESCAC Rookie of the Year honor since Scott Romeyn in 2019 and is the fourth Amherst swimmer to win the award since its inception in 2013.

NESCAC Diver of the Year: Haochen Liu, Williams
Liu became the second Eph diver in program history to sweep the conference titles on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards at the 2025 NESCAC Championships. The sophomore is the second Williams diver to garner the NESCAC Diver of the Year award (Kobe Tray in 2022 & 2023).

NESCAC Swimmer of the Year: Justin Finkel, Conn. College
Finkel is the NESCAC Swimmer of the Year for the third consecutive championship and the first swimmer to win the honor three straight years since former Williams swimmer Paul Dyrkacz (2011, 2012, 2013). Finkel won the 100 and 200 butterfly events and was a member of two other Conn. College relays that earned All-NESCAC honors. In the 100 butterfly, Finkel’s winning time of 46.49 was an NCAA A-cut time and set a NESCAC Record, NESCAC Meet Record, and pool record, breaking the previous mark set in 2022. In the 200 butterfly, Finkel’s time of 1:44.76 set a pool record and he became the third swimmer to win the event three straight years.

NESCAC Career High-Point Diver: Ivan Knoepflmacher, Colby
Knoepflmacher is the second Colby diver to earn the honor in as many years.

NESCAC Career High-Point Swimmers:

• First Place: Oliver Schalet, Williams – 358.5 points
• Second Place: Carter Anderson, Williams – 350 points
• Third Place: Eric Lundgren, Tufts – 348 points
• Fourth Place: Justin Finkel, Conn. College – 345.5 points
• Fifth Place: Alexandre Grand’Pierre, Bowdoin – 339 points

NESCAC Diving Coach of the Year: Brandon Pearson, Williams
Pearson is the second Williams diving coach to be voted as the NESCAC Diving Coach of the Year (Devon O’Naulty in 2022 & 2023).

NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year: Williams
Head Coach Steve Kuster and assistants Allie Clark, Brandon Pearson, and James Singewald earn the NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year award in back-to-back championships. It marks the 11th time Kuster and the Williams staff have been honored by their peers.