The DePauw men's swimming team, ranked No. 11 nationally, defeated six other teams in the DePauw Invitational over the weekend with 56 personal best times, multiple school records and the largest margin of victory in the 25-year history of the invitational.
The Tigers won the meet with a record 1,146 points, 614 more than second place Wittenberg University at 532.
The 200-yard freestyle relay opened the meet with a win in 1 minute, 23.78 seconds off the backs of freshman Alex Alfonso, sophomores Joe Hessburg and Jack Burgeson, and senior John Montgomery. Sophomore Matt Gleason also won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:54.58.
The Tigers took the top four spots in the 500-yard freestyle led by junior Robby Spichiger with a time of 4:54.93. Alfonso followed with a win in the 100-yard freestyle in 47.36 seconds as DePauw claimed six of the top eight spots.
Alfonso said this meet was crucial for the team's success and future.
"We swam well and it takes a little bit of pressure off of the team," Alfonso said. "As the season progresses you know that you will only get better. We are striving towards getting those national cuts and to do well in conference."
Head coach Adam Cohen is happy with the team's success, but realized that it is only halfway through the season with many important meets left to go.
"This is a building block for the season. We had a number of national ‘B' cuts and school records, but we need to use those as building blocks for the rest of the season," Cohen said. "We can't look at this last weekend's margin of victory. We need to look at what is clearly ahead of us and that is the best teams in the country and being able to compete with them."
Gleason's second win of Friday night came in the 200-yard butterfly in an NCAA ‘B' cut time of 1:52.46. DePauw's 800-yard freestyle relay of freshman Casey Hooker, Montgomery, sophomore Matt Haeske and Spichiger finished in an NCAA ‘B' cut time as well as a meet and pool record of 6:51.60.
With multiple important meets on the horizon, Cohen said the team needs to build off of this victory and continue to improve for the rest of the season.
On the second day of the meet, Hooker made a ‘B' cut, broke his own school record and set new meet and pool records after winning the 1,650-yard freestyle in 16:00.87. The Tigers wrapped up the meet with a 400-yard freestyle relay consisting of Hooker, Montgomery, Alfonso and junior Andrew Nash with a win in 3:06.66.
"We need to get even faster to compete at the national championships," Cohen said. "We need to use that as motivation for what is to come. The reality of every sport is you need to be motivated and focused on the next step of the season."
In the Tigers' first year in the NCAC, they have started to make a bigger splash than in the past.
"It is just a marker to show that we have improved from last year," Alfonso said. "We are not No. 1 and there are 10 teams in front of us just showing us we have more work to do."
Cohen was more interested in the No. 8 ranked team in the nation, the University of Chicago, than he was worried about DePauw's No. 11 placement. The Tigers will face off with Chicago on Jan. 28.
"The fun thing about rankings in any sport is that they are great for some arguments," Cohen said. "They motivate you a little because they reinforce other teams to notice you."
Alfonso thinks this team is headed in the right direction for an outstanding season. With multiple NCAA ‘B' cuts and a strong attitude, the team has high hopes for its inaugural season in the NCAC.
"The future of this team is looking great," Alfonso said. "The mentality behind every person is great. Everyone on this team wants to do well, especially this year moving into the NCAC. We really want to prove ourselves and are motivated to do that."
The Tigers next head to Missouri for the Washington-St. Louis Invitational Jan. 13-14.