Dive Into Action: Wheaton Faces Off Against Swimming & Diving in Saturday Showdown at Morse Pool!

Swimming & Diving vs. Wheaton

Saturday, January 18| 12 p.m. 

Morse Pool | Babson Park, Mass.

HISTORY OF THE SERIES

• The Babson men’s team currently holds a 19-12 advantage in the all-time series against Wheaton after the Lyons triumphed over the Beavers in the last two seasons.

• The Beavers have not secured a victory against Wheaton since 2001 in the women’s segment of the competition and have an overall record of 6-25 against the Lyons.

LAST SEASON’S ENCOUNTER

• Last winter, the Beaver men’s team narrowly lost to Wheaton by a score of 146.5-141.5 in a tri-meet that included Connecticut College held in Norton, Mass. The Beavers’ highlights were in the diving events, where sophomore David Krol achieved first place on both the 1-meter (280.20 points) and (240.37) 3-meter boards.

• Senior Pat Anutarasoti stood out as the top competitor for the Babson swimmers, seizing second place in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 27.08 seconds and third in the 50 freestyle (22.01). Classmate Matthew D’Elia also delivered strong performances, finishing third in the 100 fly (53.14) and fifth in the 50 fly (24.72).

• In the women’s portion of the meet, Babson succumbed to Wheaton 237-57, which also included Connecticut College. The standout individual performance for the Beavers was in the 50 back, where senior Emily Tran finished third with a time of 28.88.

• Senior Audrey Daniels secured fourth in the 50 breast with a season-best time of 32.38, while classmate Elina Sung achieved fourth in both diving events, including a season-best score of 116.32 on the 3-meter board.

ASSESSING THE BABSON MEN

• The Beavers (5-2) are fresh from a convincing 193.5-94.5 victory over Wesleyan on January 4 in Babson Park, claiming 12 of the 16 events.

• Anutarasoti spearheaded the Beavers with three individual wins (50 breast, 50 free, 50 fly) and contributed to a relay win. Krol earned a pair of individual diving victories, while first-years Thomas Ambelang (50 back) and Tommy Hannenian (100 free) each secured individual race victories and participated in both winning relay teams.

• Additional individual victories for the Beavers came from first-year Nathan Huynh in the 100 breast, sophomore Anthony Taslakov in the 200 free with a season-best performance, and first-year Ilaan Garware in the 1000 free.

ASSESSING THE BABSON WOMEN

• The Beavers (6-3) aim for their fifth consecutive win after a narrow victory over visiting Wesleyan, 146-144, in a dual meet on January 4 at Morse Pool. This marks their first triumph over a NESCAC opponent since November 2000 when they defeated Bowdoin.

• The Green and White clinched the meet by winning the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Trailing by three points, the Babson team, consisting of graduate student Anya Pelshaw, sophomore Sylvie Racicot, and first-years Samantha Gilbert and Julia Netishen, secured first place with a time of 3:43.35.

• The Beavers dominated nine out of the 16 events that day, with individual victories from Pelshaw, Netishen, and first-year Tuana Turhan, each securing two wins. Pelshaw, in her Babson debut, claimed first in both the 50 breast and 50 fly, while also winning the 100 fly and 100 IM. Netishen triumphed in the 50 and 100 free, while Daniels earned Babson’s last individual victory in the 100 breaststroke.

ABOUT THE LYONS

• The Wheaton men’s team (2-3) commenced the new year with a 148-58 win against Clark last Friday in Norton, Mass.

• Eight different athletes achieved first-place finishes, prominently featuring seniors Colton LaBrecque (200 free) and Sean Hill (100 fly), along with juniors Will Larson (50 free) and Gavin Cullinan (100 back). Sophomore Andrew Gust excelled in the 500 free, classmate Kevin Rice topped the 1000 free, junior Andrew Tean won the 200 IM, and first-year Koby Wulfmeyer finished first in the 100 free.

• The Wheaton women’s team (6-1) commenced January with two wins over Clark (142-70) and Mount Holyoke (147-80) last Friday in Norton, Mass.

• The Lyons secured 10 out of 13 events in the competition, with seniors Katie Walz (200 free, 100 free) and Morgen Coughlin-Doyle (1M, 3M diving) both capturing two victories. Junior Vivian Van Holland won the 500 free, senior Reese Hartman achieved the fastest time in the 100 back, classmate Alexa DiCenso took the 200 IM, junior Garin Stone was first in the 100 fly, and junior Talia Dalton won the 1000 free.

LEADING THE BABSON MEN

• Anutarasoti has recorded the fastest time on the men’s team this season in seven events: the 50 free (21.13), 100 free (47.44), 50 breast (25.84), 100 breast (55.68), 50 fly (22.61), 100 fly (49:29), and 100 IM (53.06).

• Taslakov has achieved the top time in four events, the 200 free (1:45.31), 500 free (4:47.48), 200 back (1:53.98), and 400 IM (4:13.24), while Ambelang (50 back-24.56, 100 back-52.18) and first-year William Iglar (1000 free-10:20.02, 200 breast-2:09.93) excelled in two events. D’Elia (200 fly-1:53.63) and first-year Dom Crisafulli (200 IM-1:57.06) each own the fastest time in one event.

LEADING THE BABSON WOMEN

• A pair of first-years have logged the fastest time on the women’s team in four events: Netishen in the 50 free (24.15), 100 free (54.20), 50 back (27:39), and 100 back (55.45); Turhan in the 200 breast (2:26.30), 100 fly (58.25), 200 fly (2:08.75), and 100 IM (1:03.84).

• Sophomore Nicolette Newsome leads with the quickest times in the 200 free (2:01.10) and 500 free (5:21.94), while first-years Marta Gershanok and Gilbert also claim top times in two events, with Gershanok leading in the 200 back (2:11.32) and 400 IM (4:46.98), and Gilbert in the 100 breast (1:08.98) and 200 IM (2:11.84). Other prominent Beavers include Daniels in the 50 breast (31.97), Pelshaw in the 50 fly (27.38), and senior Kendall Garvey in the 1000 free (11:15.57).

TOP PERFORMERS AMONG WOMEN

• Numerous Babson swimmers have solidified their places on the Babson all-time top performers list.

• Netishen holds the program record in the 50 free (24.13) and ranks second in the 100 back (58.45), ninth in the 200 back (2:15.00), and seventh in the 100 free (55.03), while Turhan holds the program record in the 100 fly (58.25) and ranks second in the 200 fly (2:08.75), third in the 200 breast (2:26.30), and fifth in the 200 IM (2:12.90).

• Gershanok has climbed to third in the 400 IM (4:46.98), fourth in the 200 back (2:11.32), and 10th in the 100 fly (1:01.50), while Gilbert ranks third in the 200 IM (2:11.84), fifth in the 100 breast (1:08.98), sixth in the 200 breast (2:31.65), and ninth in the 100 fly (1:01.35).

• Newsome now stands fourth in the 500 free (5:21.24), eighth in the 1000 free (11:37.48), and ninth in the 200 free (2:01.10), with Garvey being 10th in the 200 back (2:15.40).

TOP PERFORMERS AMONG MEN

• The Beaver men have significantly impacted the all-time program rankings, led by Anutarasoti, who has set the program record in the 100 breast (55.68) and ranks sixth in the 100 IM (53.06).

• Ambelang places fourth in the 100 back (51.97) and fifth in the 200 back (1:55.69), while Iglar makes his mark at 10th in the 1000 free (10:20.02) and 200 breast (2:09.93).

• Additional standout performers include Huynh in fourth in the 100 breast (57.45), first-year Nehemiah Rhee in fourth in the 200 fly (1:53.67), first-year Liam Mahoney in fifth in the 200 fly (1:54.81), Taslakov ranking seventh in the 400 IM (4:13.29), and Crisafulli in 10th in the 100 back (53.21).

UPCOMING

• The Beavers are set to return to the pool on Saturday, January 25, for a dual meet against Bridgewater State, starting at 2 p.m.