No. 15 MIT Swims Past Tufts, 154-144
Jan. 26, 2008
MEDFORD, Mass. - MIT's 15th-ranked men's swimming and diving team improved its dual meet record to 6-1 on Saturday afternoon, as the visiting Engineers edged past Tufts University, 154-144. Laurent Charpentier, Luke Cummings, Rastislav Racz and Toomas Sepp were each a part of three victories to help pace the Cardinal and Gray.
The Jumbos fell to 4-2 with their second consecutive loss.
A trio of 1-2 finishes proved vital for the Engineers in helping their slim advantage stand up at the end of contest. Sepp led MIT sweeps of the top-two spots in both the 100-yard (53.21) and 200-yard (2:00.99) butterfly events, as the rookie was followed by Charpentier in the 100 (54.57) and Deke Hu in the 200 (2:03.31) to earn Tech a majority of the events' points. The Cardinal and Gray also took first and second-place in the 100-yard freestyle, as Charpentier touched the wall at 48.62, just ahead of teammate Cummings, who clocked in at 48.74.
A pair of narrow victories that went the Engineers' way also had a great effect on the final outcome. Racz secured crucial first-place points in the 100-yard breaststroke by beating Tufts' James Longhurst by just 0.18 seconds, while Cummings was fastest in the 50-yard freestyle by an incredible 0.04 seconds over the Jumbos' Andrew Shields.
As it has all season, MIT was once again dominant in the relay events, winning both the 400-yard medley and the 200-yard freestyle. Jeff Zhou led off the medley relay to be followed by Racz, Sepp and Cummings, and the crew touched the wall first at 3:33.42, while Cummings, Zhou and Peter Wellings were then anchored by Charpentier in the freestyle relay, which the Engineers finished fastest with a time of 1:26.58.
Freshman Michael Dobson, who set the Institute record in the 1000-yard freestyle less than one week ago with a time of 9:47.07, was yet again a force in the distance freestyle events. The native of Houston, Texas won both the 500-yard (4:48.67) and 1000-yard (9:56.22) versions of the swim to continue his phenomenal rookie campaign.
MIT's other victories came through Racz, in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:12.16), and Charpentier, in the 200-yard freestyle (1:46.04).
The Engineers will conclude their dual meet schedule on Saturday, Feb. 2, when they will host New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) power Amherst College at 1:00 p.m. Tufts will also compete on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., as it will be on the road at Wheaton College with fellow NESCAC foe Bates College.
