COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's swimming team put a major scare into a loaded Swarthmore squad, saving their best performance of the season for the undefeated Garnet, who escaped Elliott Pool with a 137-125 Centennial Conference victory.
Freshman Jacob Menzer picked up individual wins in the 200 free and 500 free for the Bears, who engaged the visitors in a back-and-forth fracas that was not settled until the final few races.
Senior Marcus Wagner was a winner in the 1000 free for the Bears, posting a 10:00.26 that was 6.40 seconds faster than his previous season low and good for third in the CC.
Menzer followed Wagner's big effort with a victory in the 200 free (1:45.98), and classmate Casey Lear (1:46.60) took second as Ursinus seized an early 31-24 lead, serving notice that this meet would be tightly contested all the way.
After senior William Benn and sophomore Maxwell Coulter (1:01.40, a season low) registered runner-up finishes in the 100 back and 100 breast, respectively, the Bears brought the home crowd to its feet with a 1-2-3 showing in the 200 fly. Junior Colin McNamara led the way with a 2:01.41, almost 1.50 seconds ahead of his previous season best, with sophomores Johnathan Myers (2:03.12) in second and Kevin Gill (2:05.26) in third.
That gave Ursinus a 57-55 advantage, but Swarthmore regained the lead for good with a win in the 50 free; sophomore Travis Venables came in second for the Bears at 22.11.
Ursinus received plenty of second-place showings – including from Lear in the 100 free (48.55), Benn in the 200 back (1:58.24), Coulter in the 200 breast (2:18.05), McNamara in the 100 fly (54.30), and Menzer in the 200 IM (2:03.68) – down the stretch as the Garnet managed to hold on. Menzer claimed first prize in the 500 free (4:53.15), finishing just in front of Wagner (4:53.43) in second.
The Bears closed on a high note, as Lear, senior Dylan Cooper, McNamara, and Venables won the 200 free relay with a time of 1:28.22.
The men's swimming team is back in action from December 9-10 at West Chester's Golden Ram Classic.
