On Jan. 11 came the highlight of the season when the Lord Jeffs traveled to Williamstown to face a hostile crowd and the perennial NESCAC power Purple Cows. For the first time since the 1997-98 season, Amherst defeated Williams in a squeaker, 123.5-119.5. The Jeffs and the Ephs traded victories for much of the afternoon, but Amherst prevailed, bolstered by numerous strong performances. Each team won six events and tied one, but because Amherst had more second-, third- and fourth-place performances, the Lord Jeffs came out on top. Thirteen Amherst swimmers had top-four finishes, many more than once.
"Basically we beat Williams with our depth," said Mike Pohorylo '04. "In years past we've had smaller teams and swimmers without a lot of depth. This year we really stepped up."
For the fifth time in as many meets, the 400-yard medley relay team set a high bar with a victory in the first event of the afternoon. The team of Rick Estacio '06, Pohorylo, Bryan Woo '06 and Grant Mandsager '04 finished in 3:29.68, more than five seconds ahead of Williams.
Woo came back to lead Amherst in the 50-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 21.98, 0.21 seconds ahead of a Williams swimmer. Amherst then lost the 200-yard individual medley before co-captain Ben Hopkins '03 took to the board to dominate the one-meter diving competition, winning by almost 100 points. Amherst also won the next event, as Jeff Sunderland '03 and Woo finished one-two in the 200-yard butterfly.
In the final events of the meet, strong performances were recorded by Ed Hagerty '06, Hopkins and Pohorylo, all of whom posted victories. Hagerty won the 200-yard breaststroke, while Hopkins dominated the three-meter diving and Pohorylo handily crushed the competition in the 200-yard breaststroke. However, more important than Pohorylo's first-place finish was the second-place performance of co-captain Pat Kennedy '03. Kennedy, a sprint freestyler, was competing in this stroke event, and despite this handicap managed to touch out a Williams swimmer to finish second.
"It was the swim of the meet," said Hopkins. "It was really very incredible. For a sprint freestyler to come up and swim a breast like that was very impressive."
In addition to Kennedy's important second-place finish, Jordan Bowling '05 took an important second place in the three-meter diving event, finishing with 203.63 points, behind teammate Hopkins' 302.25 total and ahead of competitors that Hopkins referred to as "some really good divers."
The final event of the meet determined the outcome. In order to come out on top, Amherst had to prevent Williams from a one-two victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Hagerty, Dan Morash '04, Mandsager and Chuck Clinton '05 did just that by coming in second, beating the third-place Williams team by less than two seconds.
Amherst began its string of victories on Dec. 7 at Middlebury's Natatorium with a 162-79 drubbing of the defending NESCAC champions. The 200-yard medley relay team of Russell Lang'03, Pohorylo, Woo and Kennedy set the tone for the meet by winning their event with a time of 3:32.95, over 10 seconds ahead of Middlebury's swimmers.
In the second event of the day, Amherst swimmers swept the 1000-yard freestyle. Adam Lewkowitz '06 placed first with a time of 10:01.69, followed by Sunderland and Dan Gach '05. The Lord Jeffs also swept the Panthers in the third event of the day for a comfortable lead in points. Hagerty won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.17, and teammates Chuck Clinton '05 and Dan Savage '06 placed second and third respectively.
Middlebury's Matt Clark '04 edged Amherst's Woo out in the 50-yard freestyle, but Amherst came back to sweep the 200-yard IM led by Pohorylo. Amherst also swept the three-meter diving competition, bolstered by the 244-point performance of Hopkins. Later on in the afternoon, Hopkins also won the one-meter diving event. He is undefeated this season in both events and looks to once again make his mark at the national level.
Amherst continued to dominate in the next event as Sunderland swam to victory in the 200-yard butterfly, finishing in 2:00.14, just .20 of a second ahead of teammate Nick Federico '05. Middlebury won the 100-yard freestyle, but Amherst came back with wins in the 200-yard backstroke, 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke before losing in the moot 400-yard freestyle relay.
Three days later Amherst recorded another resounding win over Springfield College, winning 138-91. Jeff swimmers posted wins in six of the first seven events to pull ahead early, including first, second and third place finishes in the first event of the meet, the 200-yard medley relay.
After this pair of victories, the Lord Jeffs took a well-deserved break, returning to competition on Jan. 5 versus Colby College. Steve Shapiro '04, Gach and Elan Ghazal '05 swept the 1000-yard freestyle event and Lewkowitz, Sunderland and Pohorylo followed suit in the 200-yard freestyle to carry the Lord Jeffs to a 102-89 victory coming off of a long break.
The day after the Williams victory, the team departed for the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan for a well-deserved trip to warmer weather and more intense training in an outdoor pool. However, despite the team's collective tan, it was certainly not a week of lounging on the beach. Nearly every day, the team had two practice sessions. This severe work-out schedule will pay off as the team enters the post-season in a practice strategy Pohorylo referred to as "tapering." A long season of meets and daily practices takes its toll, so as a result before the post-season the team takes some time off completely.
After over a week of hot Puerto Rico weather with temperatures in the 80s, Amherst returned to the freezing Western Massachusetts winter but stayed hot in the pool with a 164-119 victory over Hamilton College. The Lord Jeffs won the first six events of the meet for a comfortable lead and did not look back. Lewkowitz, Pohorylo, Woo and Hopkins all recorded first-place victories in two events apiece to pace the team.
In 2002 and 2001, Amherst finished both seasons with 8-1 records, each time losing to Williams. The difference this season, according to Pohorylo, is depth and a strong freshman class. Expectations were high for the Class of 2006, which boasts seven swimmers on a roster of 22. Woo, Estacio, Hagerty and Lewkowitz have all placed first numerous times, but first-years have also been key in second, third and fourth place finishes that earn points for the team.
This weekend, the Lord Jeffs take to the road with meets at M.I.T. in Cambridge and Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. Only three meets remain in the regular season before the NESCAC tournament on Feb. 28.
After an excellent start, the team's expectations are high. The Lord Jeffs want not only to "finish the regular season undefeated," said Pohorylo, but also to win NESCACs and finish in the top 10 at the NCAA competition.