The William & Mary men's swimming team won two of the eight events on Friday night at Northwestern's TYR Invitational, including a come-from-behind victory in the opening relay.  Those wins lifted the Tribe into second place of six teams after the opening day with 235 points, behind only the host Wildcats with 387 points.

200 Free Relay
- W&M got things off to an exciting start with a win in the 200 free relay.  Junior Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.) started things off with a 20.13 lead-off, the 11th-fastest time in school history, before Evan Baker (Chantilly, Va.) dove into a 20.54 leg that left the Tribe in second overall.  Ian Thompson (Alexandria, Va.) swam 20.03 on the third leg against two 19s opponents for third place, and then Jack Doherty (Middletown, Conn.) brought the Tribe home in 20.08 seconds, almost a quarter-second faster than anyone else on the anchor, to propel W&M into the lead, 1:20.78 to 1:20.84.  That was the fourth-fastest time ever in school history.
- W&M also got a ninth-place finish out of the team of Aristides Speres (Rye, N.H.), 21.59 on the lead, Eric Grimes (Louisville, Ky.), Graham Hertweck (Greensboro, N.C.), and Ramzy Ali (Thalwil, Switzerland), who combined to swim 1:24.09.
- The Tribe's third relay of Ian Bidwell (Pelham, N.Y.), Lee Bradley (Crestwood, Ky.), Christopher Pfuhl (Charlotte, N.C.), and Joey Rento (Newport News, Va.) swam 1:25.79 behind a 21.69 lead leg by Bidwell, and finished 15th overall.
 

Place	Athletes	Time
1.	Colin Wright, Evan Baker, Ian Thompson, Jack Doherty	1:20.78	#4 performance
9.	Aristides Speres, Eric Grimes, Graham Hertweck, Ramzy Ali	1:24.09
15.	Ian Bidwell, Lee Bradley, Christopher Pfuhl, Joey Rento	1:25.79

50 Breast
- Senior Brooks Peterson (Carrollton, Va.) improved his seed time from the prelims in the 50 breast, and finished 7th overall in 26.02 seconds.
- Freshman Ryan Bebel (Westfield, N.J.) took 10th overall, swimming 26.35 seconds, and his classmate Ian Cobb (Vienna, Va.) was 15th with a time of 26.99 seconds.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
7.	Brooks Peterson	26.02
10.	Ryan Bebel	26.35
15.	Ian Cobb	26.99

500 Free
- Junior Chris Balbo (Short Hills, N.J.) swam a lifetime-best 4:28.52 in the 500 free to take third overall, and improved to 10th all-time in the event at W&M.
- Also in the championship finals, senior Carter Kale (Williamsburg, Va.) swam 4:33.95 for 6th overall.
- Bidwell and Grimes finished back-to-back in the consolation finals, with Bidwell taking 12th in 4:37.65, just ahead of Grimes who swam 4:37.79 for 13th place.
- In the bonus heat, sophomore James Mostofi (Darien, Conn.) finished 20th overall in 4:40.51.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
3.	Chris Balbo	4:28.52	#10 athlete
6.	Carter Kale	4:33.95
12.	Ian Bidwell	4:37.65
13.	Eric Grimes	4:37.79
20.	James Mostofi	4:40.51

50 Back
- Thompson had his first individual final of the night in the 50 back, and swam 22.99 to take third overall.
- Right behind him in 23.09 was Colin Demers (Virginia Beach, Va.), who tied for fourth place.
- Freshman Jack Galbraith (Vienna, Va.) won the bonus finals, placing 17th overall in 23.84 seconds.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
3.	Ian Thompson	22.99
T-4.	Colin Demers	23.09
17.	Jack Galbraith	23.84

200 IM
- Junior Ben Skopic (Mariottsville, Md.) made his top seed stand up in the 200 IM, winning the event in a season-fast 1:49.49.
- Freshman Steven Thalblum (Ashburn, Va.) swam 1:51.07 for fifth overall, and improved to 13th in school history among athletes.
- In the consolation heat, sophomore Jake Kealy (Wilton, Conn.) was 13th overall in 1:52.69.
- The C finals saw freshman Kade Younger (Newport News, Va.) finish 21st overall in 1:54.08, and Bradley come through in 1:57.71 for 23rd overall.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
1.	Ben Skopic	1:49.49
5.	Steven Thalblum	1:51.07	#13 athlete
13.	Jake Kealy	1:52.69
21.	Kade Younger	1:54.08
23.	Lee Bradley	1:57.71

50 Free
- In the 50 free, the junior Wright touched the wall in 20.39 for third place, just ahead of Thompson, 20.60 in sixth place.
- Doherty finished in a tie for 10th place in 20.97, and Baker added four more team points in 21.09 for 13th overall.
- In the C finals, the rookie Hertweck swam 21.27 for 20th overall, finishing just ahead of Grimes who stopped the clock in 21.30 seconds for 21st place.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
3.	Colin Wright	20.39
6.	Ian Thompson	20.60
T-10.	Jack Doherty	20.97
13.	Evan Baker	21.09
20.	Graham Hertweck	21.27
21.	Eric Grimes	21.30

400 Medley Relay
- The final event of the night was the 400 medley relay, where the Tribe's three teams finished back-to-back-toback in 10th, 11th, and 12th.
- The top team was led off by Thompson in 50.52 seconds, and also included Bidwell, Baker, and Grimes en route to a time of 3:22.92.
- Finished 11th overall in 3:23.14 was the team of Demers, 50.96 on the lead, Peterson, Doherty, and Wright.
- Kealy led-off the final team in 51.57 seconds, before handing off to Bebel, Thalblum, and Hertweck in turn for a 3:23.93 aggregate.
 

Place	Athletes	Time
10.	Ian Thompson, Ian Bidwell, Evan Baker, Eric Grimes	3:22.92
11.	Colin Demers, Brooks Peterson, Jack Doherty, Colin Wright	3:23.14
12.	Jake Kealy, Ryan Bebel, Steven Thalblum, Graham Hertweck	3:23.93

The TYR Invitational continues on Saturday with prelims beginning at 9 a.m. Central, 10 a.m. Eastern.  Events on day two include the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, three-meter diving, the 200 medley relay, and the 800 free relay.

2018 Northwestern TYR Invitational
Men's Team Scoring
1. Northwestern 387
2. William & Mary 235
3. Michigan State 208.5
4. Saint Louis 183.5
5. Truman State 130
6. Illinois-Chicago 129