After taking control and resetting the Division III NCAA record in prelims out of heat 1, Williams was up to it again in finals, holding off Emory to claim the victory in a time of 3:13.49. Emory was .06 behind in a 3:13.55.
The quartet of Ben Lin, Jake Tamposi, Thad Ricotta and Alexander Nanda was the same foursome who scratched out the old record this morning. They returned to do it even better this time. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of their morning times to their final splits.
| Prelims | 47.57 | 54.92 | 47.68 | 44.67 |
| Finals | 47.03 | 54.53 | 47.74 | 44.19 |
So three quarters of the relay team dropped about half a second each, and Ricotta added less than a tenth, making it a truly incredible team effort and a brilliant final relay for the second day of the 2015 NCAA meet.
As a fellow UAA breastroker, I hope he stays! Just speculation. It’s mezermizing to feel an entire building’s eyes’ on one man and adds to the fact that the UAA is arguably the most competitive conference in the divison (sorry nescac and ncac 😉 ). If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!! He’s no slouch in the long course pool either (trains with Dynamo??) so I look forward to seeing what he does post grad. But a kid with a CS degree from Emory may not even take that route. The world is his oyster!
Whoops! Double post!
My son is a freshman on the Emory team and he has told me what a dedicated swimmer Andrew Wilson is. I have no doubt from what my son has told me Andrew is an Eagle all the way!!! Every time he gets in the water he is a pleasure to watch. This is a swimmer who has combined true talent, with hard work and great training. And, he is also a gracious swimmer because he has shared his wisdom with my son who is also a breastroker. The Emory team is truly a team that cares and is proud of ALL its swimmers. But I will admit, when Andrew gets in the water it is truly a gift to… Read more »
I think it was more a compliment to Andrew’s jaw dropping swim than a slight at Emory. His time would make almost every D1 relay faster, and that is a rare feat from a d3 swimmer. If he’s happy and clearly having a lot of success so I don’t think anyone would expect or encourage a transfer after junior year.
Zack Turk was a different story, having an extra year of eligibility bc of time abroad. He swam a PG year at Michigan and is on the NCAA 200mr record team, in addition to holding the d3 record in the 50 and 100 free.
As a fellow UAA breastroker, I hope he stays! Just speculation. It’s mezermizing to feel an entire building’s eyes’ on one man and adds to the fact that the UAA is arguably the most competitive conference in the divison (sorry nescac and ncac 😉 ). If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!! He’s no slouch in the long course pool either (trains with Dynamo??) so I look forward to seeing what he does post grad. But a kid with a CS degree from Emory may not even take that route. The world is his oyster!
From where I was standing, which was at 15 meters, it looked like he was about a meter ahead of the line. So in short yes it looked illegal
But was it legal? Great swims; take nothing away from the Williams men . . . But rumors from the meet are circulating about length of the underwater on the backstroke leg; did he come up inside 15? Post your vids.
Lin did not go past 15 meters, the rule says that his head must be past the mark. But if he had taken one more kick he would have been DQ’d. The Kenyon swimmers were the one’s complaining the most about this, it seemed as though they do not know how to lose graciously.
The rule states that some part of the head must surface at or before the 15 meter mark. The chin is part of the head…..so his forehead can be submerged past the mark as long as his chin comes up at or before the mark. Only a properly positioned official can observe such an infraction and you certainly cannot observe such an infraction from the video. (I saw the video and he pushed it to the limit off the first length as is to be expected from a great backstroker).
I find the comments directed at some “griping” and “graciously” ironic…..where is the graciousness in condemning a whole team based on a few on deck comments during the heat of… Read more »
I would like to make a comment on Lin’s lead-off leg. I would like to comment that coaches on NYU, Denison, Chicago, Kenyon and others put in a challenge on the call (Lin’s first 15m). Also Lin in the individual 100 Back went 47.77 in the final and went 47.47 in prelims ,but in the relay lead off 47.03.
During the podium precession teams started leaving the podium when Williams was crowned champion, the word on deck was that it was a blown call.
I’m not saying he did or didn’t, as a swimmer on deck the talk was that it was close, but surely a missed 15m call.
Argue what you will the facts are the facts,… Read more »
By the way, Lin’s backstroke time beat the NCAA record by half a second. Tomorrow should be exciting.
Great job, Williams! (It’s pronounced “Eephs.”). Three teams broke the national record, and this is probably the first time in history that Kenyon beat a national record on a relay and got THIRD.
Huge congratulations to my alma mater Emory, and to Andrew Wilson. But, why would anyone suggest he transfer? There aren’t many colleges in D-I that offer a better educational setting than Emory. And, clearly, his training is thriving there. Jon Howell is doing a great job with that team, and has, over the last 17 or so years. Why should Andrew transfer? Scholarship money? Maybe he has an academic ride at Emory, or maybe tuition money is no big deal. What college of similar academic reputation… Read more »
Just curious when did you attend Emory, I may have swam against you once
90-94.
I was a distance swimmer.
Nah I was 2009 but I swam a last chance meet there real nice guys. They were so curious as to why there were 4 guys from Texas there
I heard Ben Lin broke the national record in the 100 back?
Yes–didn’t Barry from denison hold it at 47.5?
That’s correct. Barry was a 47.56 leading off this same relay for Denison in 2012.
Yeah go Thad!!!! Go Williams!!!! Woooohooooooooooooooooooo.