Men’s Swim Team Dominates in Thrilling Dual Meet Showdown with Middlebury

LEWISTON, Maine — The Bates men’s swimming and diving squad triumphed over the visiting Middlebury team on Sunday, while the Bates women’s squad fell short against the Panthers in a dual meet held at Tarbell Pool.

The Bobcats accumulated a score of 170-118 against Middlebury on the men’s roster, whereas the women’s team faced a 197-93 defeat against the visitors.

“Today posed a challenge for many swimmers – with some genuinely remarkable highlights, without a doubt,” head coach Peter Casares remarked. “The past 10 days have been very productive for this team in training, and it’s understandable that they’re fatigued. These moments will shape the season. Do you begin to doubt your training and confidence, or do you recognize that a tiring competition occurs and trust in the effort that brought you to this point? They’ll need to perform at their peak if they aim to finish strong as they move ahead against Tufts, the CBB, and the NESCAC Championships.”

Bates Men’s Highlights

• The Bobcats secured the top two positions in the 200-yard medley relay. Sophomore Tim Johnson (Brewster, Mass.), junior Marrich Somridhivej (South Windsor, Conn.), sophomore Liam Friedlander (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and junior Max Cory (Dublin, Calif.) clinched first place in 1:32.66, while sophomore John Weigel (Iowa City, Iowa), sophomore Noah Katz (Hallowell, Maine), junior Trent Hieber (Granby, Conn.), and first-year Nate Oppenheim (Easton, Conn.) achieved second in 1:33.57. 
• First-year Anton Kondratyev (Belle Mead, N.J.) and junior Matthew Kunkiewicz (Hillsborough, N.J.) finished in the top two positions in the 1650-yard freestyle, with Kondratyev reaching the wall at 16:49.20 and Kunkiewicz posting a time of 16:56.61.
• Oppenheim claimed victory in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:43.06.
• Johnson took first place in both the 100-yard backstroke at 50.59 seconds and the 200-yard backstroke in 1:51.07.
• Somridhivej, Weigel, and junior Kailer Tom (Daly City, Calif.) locked in the top three positions in the 100-yard breaststroke, with Somridhivej claiming victory in 57.80 seconds.
• Friedlander finished first in the 200-yard butterfly at 1:54.29.
• Cory and first-year Eyton Ng (Brooklyn, N.Y.) took the top two spots in the 50-yard freestyle, with Cory winning at 20.55 seconds and Ng recording a time of 21.81 seconds.
• Cory and Oppenheim achieved 1-2 in the 100-yard freestyle, as Cory won at 45.80 seconds and Oppenheim placed second in 48.01 seconds.
• Weigel triumphed in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 51.14 seconds.
• Oppenheim shattered the Tarbell Pool record in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:09.37. Senior Jaewoo Kim (San Ramon, Calif.) finished in second place in the event, clocking in at 4:14.82.
• Cory, Johnson, Weigel, and Somridhivej collected a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:24.19.

Bates Women’s Highlights

• Sophomore Sarah Palmer (Brunswick, Maine) clinched the 100-yard breaststroke title with a time of 1:06.26 and secured the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:23.49.
• Junior Emma Burke (New Hartford, N.Y.) achieved victory in the 200-yard butterfly at 2:09.14 and took second place in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 59.51 seconds.
• Senior captain Stephanie Tropper (Solon, Ohio) finished second in both the 1650-yard freestyle in 18:13.31 and the 500-yard freestyle in 5:22.63.
• Junior Lianna Rosman (Bethesda, Md.) placed second in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing in 25.54 seconds.
• Sophomore Amber Zeng (South Windsor, Conn.) secured third place in the 100-yard breaststroke, clocking in at 1:09.12.

The Bobcats will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 24, hosting Tufts at 5:30 p.m. for a dual meet at Tarbell Pool.
 

Gallery: (1-12-2025) Swim vs. Middlebury (Matthew Hamilton)