Saturday's meet against MIT began with a record-breaking swim by the Jeffs' top 200-yard medley relay team. Rick Estacio '06, co-captain Mike Pohorylo '04, Bryan Woo '06 and Chuck Clinton '05 broke the pool record, set last season by Estacio, Pohorylo, Woo and Pat Kennedy '03, by a half-second.
Following the relay, Adam Lewkowitz '06, Pohorylo and Woo earned NCAA B-cut qualifications with their first-place finishes in the 1650-yard freestyle, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard butterfly.
Pohorylo continued his domination later in the day in the 200-yard breaststroke. He broke the pool record which he set two years ago with a time of 2:07.86.
Of all the accomplishments during the first meet, however, the best performance was off the diving board.
At the beginning of the season, the men's swim team had no divers. First-year Jay Buchman stepped up to the challenge with very limited competitive experience in the sport. At Saturday's meet, however, his season-long dedication to the team finally paid off. In the first diving event of the day, Buchman took first place on the three-meter board. He finished nearly 30 points ahead of MIT's second-place diver.
"I would attribute my success to the sheer amount of time I have put into it," said Buchman. He also credited "excellent coaching from Derek [Chicarilli], the great examples from Kate Shaw ['05] and Kristin [Boyd '05], and a willingness to try something that freaks me out."
In addition to his first-place finish in the three-meter, Buchman took a close second in the one-meter diving event, a mere two points behind MIT's top diver.
"Jay's first collegiate win on Saturday was not a surprise to his teammates," said Pohorylo. "He comes to the pool every evening, while the rest of swim team is on their way to dinner, ready to work hard and eager to learn more about the sport of diving. It has been amazing to watch Jay consistently top his personal best scores each weekend. We all knew it would only be a matter of time before all his hard work and dedication paid off."
The Jeff trouncing of the Engineers was thorough; Amherst swimmers came away with victories in every single event to win 163-119. MIT's record fell to 5-3, while Amherst remains undefeated.
The Jeffs hosted the Hartwick Hawks on Sunday. The meet began with a solid first-place finish by the relay team of Estacio, John Ancona '07, Nick Federico '05 and Grant Mandsager '04 in the 400-yard medley relay.
Pohorylo and Lewkowitz took first and second in the 200-yard freestyle followed by Clinton and Morash finishing one-two in the 100-yard individual medley.
The Jeffs continued to dominate the event, as Woo and Lewkowitz took first and second place in the 200-yard butterfly. Ed Hagerty '07E and Ancona finished first and second in the 200-yard breaststroke. Hagerty, after missing the first half of the season, also took first in the 200-yard backstroke, in his triumphant return to Pratt Pool.
Estacio, Federico and Mandsager gave Amherst another strong performance, taking the first three places in the 100-yard freestyle.
One of the most exciting races was the 400-yard individual medley: first-year Ethan Treat versus former Southern Connecticut State University all-American, and current World Cup swimmer, Ben Michaelson. At the end of his exhilarating performance, Treat went home with the Amherst pool record of 4:07.11, a full second faster than Michaelson's previous record.
"Michaelson is favored to go to the summer Olympics in Athens," said Pohorylo. "He is also the current American record holder in the 100-meter short-course butterfly. To have his name replaced by Ethan's is a great thing for the Amherst swimming program, and something everyone on the team is proud of."
Despite his victory, Treat remains focused on the upcoming championship season. "Although I have the best time in the NESCAC, I do not plan to take it easy," he said. "I realize that my times will only push my competitors to work harder, and I need to keep ahead of them."
The Jeffs were victorious 132-100, winning every swimming event for the second time in as many days. Amherst improved its undefeated record to 8-0.
"This weekend was really great because we all got to try events we do not swim on a regular basis," said Estacio. "The strength and versatility of our team was obvious and we are all very happy with two solid wins to add to this season."
The Jeffs return one last time to Pratt Pool this Saturday at 1 p.m. to face the Springfield College Pride in their last regular season competition.