COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's swimming team gave a game effort, but fell short in a 150-112 Centennial Conference verdict against undefeated Washington College after honoring its six-man senior class with a pre-meet ceremony.
The Shoremen (8-0, 4-0), who received votes in the most recent CSCAA Division III poll, won the 400-yard medley relay, with the Ursinus (6-3, 2-3) foursome of junior William Benn, freshman Devin Nielsen, senior Christian Hoops, and junior Dylan Cooper placing second in 3:38.00.
Junior Marcus Wagner swam away with the 1000-yard freestyle crown, posting a time of 9:59.01 to outpace the field by a full 16.64 seconds; freshman Kevin Gill was third and sophomore Christopher Barthold fourth.
Cooper finished less than a second off the pace set by Washington College junior Pat Elliott (1:47.63) in the 200-yard freestyle, where freshman Daniel Becker placed fourth.
Benn captured victory in the 100-yard backstroke with a mark of 53.95, almost a second ahead of Washington College's Charles Logan. Senior James Marrone placed fourth, and Nielsen was third in the 100-yard breaststroke, where he was followed by freshman Maxwell Coulter and senior Keith Larkin.
Freshman James Callaghan was runner-up in the 200-yard butterfly (2:02.41), with seniors Alec Heckman and Hoops landing in fourth and fifth, respectively. Freshman Travis Venables placed third in the 50-yard freestyle, where sophomore Colin McNamara was fourth and senior Nick DiPalo fifth. Cooper put forth a third-place effort in the 100-yard freestyle (50.02), with Venables in fifth and Nielsen in sixth.
Benn added a second individual victory in the 200-yard backstroke with a clocking of 2:00.92, as Marrone placed third and senior James Nonack fourth.
Coulter followed by going second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:21.05), with Larkin in third and freshman Reid Luksic fourth.
In one of the top heats of the day, Wagner and Elliott battled stroke for stroke in the 500-yard freestyle, with the Shoreman edging out the Bear junior by just over a second in 4:46.70. Barthold was third and Gill fourth. Callaghan landed in third in the 200-yard IM, where Larkin was fourth.
Ursinus closed the meet on a high note, as Hoops teamed with Cooper, McNamara, and Venables won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:29.33, just ahead of Washington's second-place unit.