MIT Begins to Pull Away From Field in Day Two of NEWMAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) began to pull away from the seven-team field through day two of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Men's Swimming & Diving Championship, as the Engineers were victorious in five of the eight finals events on Saturday at Wheaton College's Balfour Natatorium.  MIT extended its lead on three-time defending champion United States Coast Guard Academy, with the Engineers tallying 687 points to Coast Guard's 542.5.  Springfield College remains in third with 425 points.
 
MIT senior Laurent Charpentier (Aigues-Mortes, France/INSA Lyon) played a role in three swimming event victories, topping the competition with an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying time in the 200-yard freestyle while swimming legs on the winning 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relay teams.  Charpentier joined juniors Luke Cummings (Sturgeon Bay, WI/Sturgeon Bay), Rastislav Racz (Bratislava, Slovakia/Metodova) and Jeff Zhou (Buffalo, NY/Phillips Academy) to capture the 200 medley relay.  To cap the evening, he anchored the winning 800 free relay, which consisted of senior Peter Wellings (Palm Harbor, FL/Palm Harbor University), sophomore Michael Dobson (Houston, TX/Cypress Falls) and freshman Andrew Pierson (Lexington, KY/Paul Laurence Dunbar).  In addition to reaching a provisional time, the 800 free quartet also broke the NEWMAC Championship standard.
 
Racz picked up an NCAA Championship automatic qualifying time while defending his title in the 100-yard breaststroke event.  He also broke his own NEWMAC Championship record, as three Engineers placed among the top five in the race.  Freshman Tim Stumbaugh (Loveland, CO/Mountain View) rounded out MIT's top placements with a national time in the 100-yard backstroke.  Despite three Engineers finishing in the 400-yard individual medley's top five, Springfield first-year Brian Way (Beachwood, NJ/Toms River South) prevailed while eclipsing an NCAA provisional time. 
 
Later in the night, Springfield dominated the one-meter dive competition by virtue of capturing the three highest point totals, including an outstanding performance from sophomore Brian Sobel (Stratford, CT/Bunnell), who smashed the NCAA standard as well as the NEWMAC Championship mark.  Junior teammate Matt Fitzgerald (Pelham, NH/Lowell) also surpassed an NCAA mark finishing as the runner up.  Coast Guard senior Jim Okorn (Euclid, OH) touched first with a provisional time in the 100-yard butterfly.     
 
MIT's Stumbaugh and Zhou met provisional marks in the 400-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly events, respectively, with each taking second, as did Springfield's Way in the 800-yard freestyle relay.  Way sided with seniors Anthony Bruno (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) and Greg Pearsall (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) and sophomore Andrew Blakesley (West Springfield, MA/West Springfield).  Rounding out the second-place finishers, each in provisional times, were Springfield's Pearsall in the 200-yard freestyle, Coast Guard junior Timothy Berry (Houston, TX) in the 100-yard backstroke and Springfield junior Ryan Mackstutis (Torrington, CT/Torrington) in the 100-yard breaststroke.  Coast Guard's 200-yard medley relay foursome was the runner up in a national time behind Berry, Okorn, senior Jack Sauve (Colorado Springs, CO) and freshman Johnson Knox (Starkville, MS).
 
Team Standings
1.  MIT                                     687 points
2.  Coast Guard Academy          542.5 points
3.  Springfield College                425 points
4.  WPI                                    244 points
5.  Wheaton College                  235 points
6.  Clark University                   215 points
7.  Babson College                    175.5 points