Courtesy of Sean Elliot
The Connecticut College Men’s swimming and diving team pulled off a huge win on Saturday, January 17, narrowly defeating Williams College 150-147 in a meet that came down to the 200 Yard Individual Medley at Lott Natatorium.
The Camels entered the meet undefeated and were looking to make a statement against one of the top teams in the NESCAC. From the very first event, it was clear that this meet was going to be close. Conn got off to a strong start by winning the 200 Yard Medley Relay, which gave the team early momentum and energy on the pool deck.
One of the biggest contributors for Conn was Carrick Shea ‘28, who had an impressive day with multiple individual wins. Shea took first place in both the 50 and the 100 Yard Freestyle, helping Conn score crucial points in the sprint events. His performances stood out in a meet where every place mattered. Distance swimmer Evan Lyons ‘27 also played a key role, winning the 1650 Yard Freestyle and adding another victory later in the 500 Yard Freestyle. His races helped Conn stay competitive as Williams pushed back with strong finishes of their own.
In the Breaststroke events, Julian Carlson ‘29 added valuable points for the Camels, keeping the score tight throughout the afternoon. Conn also picked up important points in the IM events, with swimmers like Ryan Karaca ‘27 who competed despite dealing with ongoing shoulder issues. While not at full strength, Karaca was still able to score points for the team and contribute to Conn’s overall depth, a factor that proved critical in such a close meet.
The diving events were another important factor in the win. Cam Bizjak ‘27 finished first in the 1-Meter Dive and followed it up with a second place finish in the 3-Meter, giving Conn an edge that proved to be critical later on.
Heading into the final event, the 200 freestyle relay, Conn held a slim lead. With the pressure on, the relay team (Carrick, Evan, Matthew, Julian) did just enough to secure the points needed to seal the victory. When the final score was posted, the Camels had officially earned their first win over Williams in Conn history.
Alex Pesek ‘29, one of Conn’s top performing first years, was personally shocked after looking at the scoreboard to see that they had won the meet.
“Coming into Conn, I assumed we’d be in the middle of the pack in the NESCAC like last year, but our coach gathered us into our corner and gave us a very motivating speech, and by the end of the meet, after we put our heads together, we really came through. It shocked me personally, and I felt the energy from my teammates reverberate across the pool. Our coach was actually teary eyed, not having beat Williams since he started coaching for Connecticut College”, said Pesek.
The meet also served as Senior Day, making the win even more meaningful for Conn senior Matthew Morris ‘26, who was honored pre-meet alongside his coaches and cheered on by family and teammates during his final home appearance at Lott Natatorium.
“Since my freshman year, our annual meet against Williams has been the only one with a foregone conclusion— we’d never beaten them, and it had been years since their last in-conference loss. Now that we’ve broken that glass ceiling, the sky’s the limit for the rest of the season and the years to come,” said Morris.
The close score reflected the intensity of the competition and the depth of Conn’s lineup, as swimmers across different events contributed to the final result. With the win, Connecticut College faces two more away meets and will look to carry this momentum into its next meet against Wheaton and Wesleyan.
