Full Results

ROCHESTER, NY (December 5, 2009) – The Vassar College men's swimming and diving team closed out 2009 with a strong performance at the Liberty League Championships, finishing fifth out of seven on Saturday at the University of Rochester.

Host Rochester took home the title with a score of 863.5, followed by Rensselaer with 779.5, and Union College with 574.5. Saint Lawrence University took fifth place with 402 points, followed by the Brewers with 349.5 points, while Clarkson University (276) and Skidmore College (159) rounded out the field.

“We had such an all-around effort from the men this weekend,” said interim head coach Paul Kueterman. “Every session started out well and the momentum never stopped. We were building on every race.”

Sophomores Jack Smart and Greg Sullivan continued their impressive seasons with top finishes in their respective events. On the diving board, Sullivan placed second in the 1-meter with a score of 403.15, complementing his second place finish in the 3-meter (421.50, new Vassar record) on Friday. Adding on to his fourth place finish in the 200 IM (2:01.78) on Friday, Smart added second place finishes in the 400 IM (4:22.24) and 200 Breast (2:14.88), and placed fifth in the 100 Breast (1:02.20).

“Jack swam so well in the 400 IM and was just out-touched,” said Kueterman. The first place finisher, Rochester's Kevin Howard, was a slim .09 seconds faster than Smart. “Once he got to the breaststroke he really got going and then followed that great race with a personal best in the 200 Breast.”

Complementing Smart's second place finish in the 200 Breast was a surprise performance from senior Jeremy Shiman who churned out a third place finish in 2:19.39 in an event he has only swum a number of times.

“Jeremy really doesn't swim the 200 Breast that much, so that was an awesome surprise for us,” said Kueterman.

In his final Liberty League Championship, Shiman took home two more top ten finishes, placing eighth in the 100 Breast (1:03.65) to add to Smart's fifth place finish, and ninth in the 200 Back (2:05.73).

Freshman Nicholas Veazie was Vassar's top finisher in the 200 Back, placing seventh in 2:04.81, to go along with an eighth place finish in the 200 Fly (2:08.57). After finishing fifth in the 50 Free (22.42) on Friday, freshman Mathue Duhaney added another top ten finish to his resume on Saturday, placing eighth in the 100 Fly in 56.79, significantly faster than his 1:00.87 seeding time.

“This was such a great culmination to the semester,” said Kueterman. “We had so many personal and season bests and it was a really fun atmosphere.”

The Brewers will open 2010 in Plantation, Florida for their annual training trip before returning to the Northeast for an away meet at Trinity College on January 13.