COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's swimming team defeated Gettysburg for the first time in program history this afternoon, outlasting the five-time defending Centennial Conference champions for a 132-129 triumph in a thriller at Elliott Pool.

After Gettysburg's "A" team prevailed in a tight 200-yard medley relay to open the meet, Ursinus (5-1, 2-1) answered back with a 1-2 finish in the 1000-yard freestyle, as junior Marcus Wagner (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas) took first with a time of 10:17.86, nearly four seconds ahead of freshman Kevin Gill (Seaville, N.J./Ocean City).

Junior Dylan Cooper (Southampton, Pa./William Tennent) was runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle before classmate William Benn (Summit, N.J./Summit) touched the wall first in the 100-yard backstroke with a clocking of 54.50, a full tick in front of the Bullets' second-place swimmer. Freshman Devin Nielsen (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown), senior Keith Larkin (Glen Mills, Pa./Garnet Valley), and freshman Maxwell Coulter (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) concocted a 2-3-4 showing in the 100-yard breaststroke to deliver the Bears nine critical points.

Ursinus proceeded to dominate the 200-yard butterfly, with senior Alec Heckman (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser Area) leading a three-man Bear pack in 2:01.73, a mere seven-hundredths of a second ahead of classmate Christian Hoops (Phoenixville, Pa./Great Valley) in second.

After Gettysburg scored a 1-2-3 finish in the 50-yard freestyle and 1-2-4 in the 100-yard freestyle, the Bears went back to work. Benn touched first in the 200-yard backstroke (1:58.55) for his second win of the day. Coulter and Larkin placed second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Ursinus took command with a dominating effort in the 500-yard freestyle. Wagner sailed to victory in 4:56.77, with sophomore Christopher Barthold (Chadds Ford, Pa./Unionville) right behind in 4:57.81 and and Gill edging out a Bullet challenger to place third. Hoops followed with a victory of his own in the 100-yard butterfly (53.96) before Nielsen, Larkin, and freshman James Callaghan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) went 2-3-4 in the 200-yard IM to provide enough of a cushion for the Bears to clinch their watershed win.

Benn, Nielsen, Hoops, and Cooper teamed to place second in the opening 200-yard medley relay, while rookie Johnathan Myers (Menlo Park, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) finished third in the 200-yard butterfly and Cooper matched him in the 100-yard freestyle. Senior James Marrone (Croton on Hudson, N.Y./Croton-Harmon) was third in the 200-yard backstroke.

Ursinus returns to Centennial Conference action on Saturday, December 5, when they head to Swarthmore for a 1:00 p.m. duel.