Three NCAA provisional standards highlight Wheaton men's NEWMAC Swimming and Diving Championship weekend

February 25, 2007

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's swimming and diving team met three NCAA provisional qualifying standards over the weekend as host of the three-day New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship, where the Lyons settled for seventh place with 231 points in Balfour Natatorium.

The United States Coast Guard Academy successfully defended its title with 990.5 points, as the Bears have now won five of the nine conference championships. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) placed second with 856 points, while Springfield College was third with 724.5.

On day one, senior All-American Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) became the first athlete in NEWMAC history to win the same individual swimming event at four straight championships, as he was triumphant in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 20.82. Roberts' trials and finals times were each good for NCAA Championship provisional qualifications, as was his 50-yard performance during the leadoff leg of the 200-yard free relay trials.

During the one-meter diving competition, freshman Mike Koltz (Columbia, MD/Boys' Latin School of Maryland) came within 2.05 points of a six-year-old school record during the finals after falling just 5.05 points shy in the trials. Junior Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth) had a 52.99 showing over 100 yards of the backstroke discipline during the leadoff leg of the 400-yard medley trials, falling just 0.20 seconds shy of a national meet time.

Jordan highlighted Saturday's events, notching an NCAA provisional time of 52.66 in the 100-yard backstroke. His third-place finish was just 0.04 ticks off his school record. Jordan did break his program mark in the 50 back, as his leadoff time of 24.48 during the 200-yard medley relay was 0.01 seconds faster than last year's NEWMAC meet finish. He, Roberts, senior Zach Hicks (Bath, ME/Morse) and junior Yunuscan Tokcan (Providence, RI/Northfield Mount Hermon School) led the Lyons to fifth in the event. Roberts took sixth in the 200-yard freestyle.

In the final day of competition, Roberts came within 0.02 seconds of defending his 100-yard freestyle title, as his time of 46.07 was good for an NCAA provisional standard. Jordan advanced to the finals of the 200-yard backstroke, where he finished eighth.

Roberts already automatically qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship in the 50-yard freestyle at the University of Houston on March 15-17. Jordan will await word as to whether his backstroke provisional qualifying times gain him admittance for the first time in his career.

Following is a complete list of the top 16 individual and relay finishers for Wheaton over the three-day competition of the NEWMAC Championship:

Individual
Name Event Time Place
Barrett Roberts 50 freestyle 20.82^ 1st
Barrett Roberts 100 freestyle 46.07^ 2nd
Matt Jordan 100 backstroke 52.66^ 3rd
Barrett Roberts 200 freestyle 1:45.94 6th
Matt Jordan 200 backstroke 2:02.85 8th
Zach Hicks 400 individual medley 4:36.61 12th
Zach Hicks 1,650 freestyle 17:58.15 13th

Name Event Score Place
Mike Koltz 1m dive 331.85 8th

Relay
Name Event Time Place
Tokcan, Jordan, Hicks, Roberts 200 freestyle relay 1:29.41 4th
Jordan, Hicks, Roberts, Tokcan 200 medley relay 1:40.93 5th
Hicks, Jordan, Tokcan, Ahern 800 freestyle relay 8:03.14 6th
Jordan, Tokcan, Hicks, Roberts 400 medley relay 3:47.44 6th
Jordan, Ahern, Tokcan, Roberts 400 freestyle relay 3:27.54 7th

* Denotes school record
^ NCAA national meet B standard

Complete Results

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