GAME OF THE WEEK Men’s Swimming and Diving Ninth at 2009NCAA Championship
With numerous outstanding performances, MIT men’s swimming and diving capped the 2008-09 season with its highest finish at the NCAA Championships in 27 years. The men finished ninth overall in the team standings, while the women’s team also closed out the year with a pair of solid swims.
The Engineers enjoyed their second-best finish ever at the national meet, and their highest finish since taking seventh in 1982. Kenyon College scored 604 points en route to its 30th consecutive NCAA title.
Rookie Timothy J. Stumbaugh ’12 authored the evening’s biggest highlight as he set new Institute and conference records in the 200 back en route to All-American honors. Stumbaugh split a sensational 1:50.09 while finishing sixth in the championship final.
The Engineers received another record-breaking effort in the 100 free as Luke R. Cummings ’10 eclipsed teammate Laurent Charpentier’s ’09 recent standard with a swim of 44.89 during prelims. Cummings split 44.97 at night to finish third in the consolation final. Charpentier missed finals in the 100 after swimming 45.56.
Amy E. Jacobi ’11 closed out her sophomore season with a time of 53.23 in the 100 free. She missed finals, as did senior Nicole M. O’Keeffe ’09, although O’Keeffe delivered a personal record with a terrific swim of 17:33.07 in the mile. Michael J. Dobson ’11 swam the mile for the men’s unit, finishing in 16:05.83 during trials.
After ripping off a marvelous swim in the 100 breast the evening before, Rastislav Racz ’10 was unable to equal the magic in the 200. Swimming a season-best 2:03.35 in prelims, Racz split 2:03.44 at night to close seventh overall in the consolation final.
MIT capped its season with an amazing effort in the 400 free relay. Once again smashing school and league records, the unit of Jeffrey Y. Zhou ’10, Cummings, Peter J. Wellings ’09, and Charpentier swam to a time of 3:01.89. Finishing third in the consolation final, Zhou ignited the relay with a lead-off leg of 47.07. Wellings split 45.56, while Cummings (44.45) and Charpentier (44.71) were both under the 45-second mark as the Engineers improved the existing Institute record by two seconds after breaking the previous mark by two seconds at the 2009 NEWMAC Championships.