The William & Mary men's swimming team added another event win in the first event on Sunday night at the TYR Invitational, and used that momentum to pull away from the field and finish the meet in second place overall.  The host Northwestern Wildcats won the meet with 1,225.5 points, while the Tribe finished second with 697 points and Michigan State was third with 638.5 points.  Saint Louis finished fourth with 556 points, with UIC (401) and Truman State (367) rounding out the team standings.

50 Fly
- Junior Ian Thompson (Alexandria, Va.) led things off for the Tribe, and defended his top seed from this morning to win the 50 fly in 21.96 seconds.  That performance was just .05 off of the school record in the event.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
1.	Ian Thompson	21.96

200 Back
- In the 200 back, sophomore Jake Kealy (Wilton, Conn.) continued to drop time from this morning, and improved to sixth overall in a season-fast 1:48.80.
- Junior Lee Bradley (Crestwood, Ky.) won the consolation finals in 1:50.10, placing ninth overall, and his classmate Philip Barto (Midlothian, Va.) added five more points with his 12th-place time of 1:52.14.
- Senior Joey Rento (Newport News, Va.) matched Bradley with a heat win of his own, taking the bonus finals in 1:51.32.  Freshman Kade Younger (Newport News, Va.) finished right behind him 1:52.42 for 18th overall, while his classmate Jack Galbraith (Vienna, Va.) was 20th in 1:54.01.  Sophomore James Mostofi (Darien, Conn.) rounded out the line-up in 21st overall, stopping the clock in 1:54.38.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
6.	Jake Kealy	1:48.80
9.	Lee Bradley	1:50.10
12.	Philip Barto	1:52.14
17.	Joey Rento	1:51.32
18.	Kade Younger	1:52.42
20.	Jack Galbraith	1:54.01
21.	James Mostofi	1:54.38

100 Free
- Junior Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.) earned a spot on the podium in the 100 free, finishing third overall in 44.84 seconds, and was joined in the top heat by Thompson, who took sixth in 45.53 seconds to add 13 more points to his tally.
- In the consolation finals, senior Eric Grimes (Louisville, Ky.) touched the wall in 46.27 seconds, good for 15th place and two more points.
- In the bonus heat, sophomore Aristides Speres (Rye, N.H.) swam 46.38 seconds and his classmate Christopher Pfuhl (Charlotte, N.C.) was close behind in 46.53, finishing 18th and 19th, respectively.  Freshman Graham Hertweck (Greensboro, N.C.) also swam in the heat, taking 23rd overall in 46.92 seconds.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
3.	Colin Wright	44.84
6.	Ian Thompson	45.53
15.	Eric Grimes	46.27
18.	Aristides Speres	46.38
19.	Christopher Pfuhl	46.53
23.	Graham Hertweck	46.92

1,650 Free
- Next up was an oddly placed 1,650 free, but W&M's distance athletes came through regardless of timing with all four scoring.
- Junior Chris Balbo (Short Hills, N.J.) led the way in third place overall, timing a season-best 15:37.65.  That was also the 11th-fastest time in school history, and the fastest performance in the Colonial Athletic Association this season.
- Senior Carter Kale (Williamsburg, Va.) was fourth overall in 15:51.44, the second-fastest time in the league.
- Junior Ian Bidwell (Pelham, N.Y.) was 14th overall in 16:19.36, and Mostofi made his second appearance of the night in 16:22.16 for 15th place.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
3.	Chris Balbo	15:37.65	9:30.30 1000 split, #11 performance
4.	Carter Kale	15:51.44	9:37.70 split
14.	Ian Bidwell	16:19.36	9:50.12 split
15.	James Mostofi	16:22.16	9:54.82 split

200 Breast
- Junior Ben Skopic (Marriottsville, Md.) swam the first of his two back-to-back events in the 200 breast, and finished sixth overall in 2:07.03.
- Bidwell, meanwhile, was on the back-end of his double-header, and gamely swam to eighth place in 2:10.15.
- Freshman Ian Cobb (Vienna, Va.) swam 2:07.17 for 11th overall in the consolation finals, and his classmate Ryan Bebel (Westfield, N.J.) was 15th in 2:09.24.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
6.	Ben Skopic	2:07.03
8.	Ian Bidwell	2:10.15
11.	Ian Cobb	2:07.17
15.	Ryan Bebel	2:09.24

100 IM
- Skopic dove right back in after the breaststroke to swim the 100 IM, and did so very well, breaking the school record with his time of 51.24 seconds and placing third overall.
- The man whose record he broke, freshman Steven Thalblum (Ashburn, Va.), was right behind Skopic in 51.46 seconds for fourth place, and Pfuhl swam his second event of the night in 52.74 seconds, finishing 10th overall.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
3.	Ben Skopic	51.24	School Record
4.	Steven Thalblum	51.46
10.	Christopher Pfuhl	52.74

200 Fly
- Thalblum was back in action immediately himself, and placed fifth in the 200 fly with a time of 1:51.80.
- The distance duo of Kale and Balbo also swam the championship finals, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.  Kale touched the wall in 1:53.78, and Balbo was right behind him in 1:53.86.
- The senior Rento was back for his second race of the night, and turned in the evening's fastest time for the Tribe in 1:51.66, good for 11th overall in the consolation finals.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
5.	Steven Thalblum	1:51.80
6.	Carter Kale	1:53.78
7.	Chris Balbo	1:53.86
11.	Joey Rento	1:51.66

400 Free Relay
- W&M wrapped up the week with the 400 free relay, and placed all three teams in the top eight.
- Leading the way was the "A" relay of Thompson, Jack Doherty (Middletown, Conn.), Grimes, and Wright.  After Thompson led-off in 45.12 seconds, his teammates carried the baton in three more quick legs to finish second overall in 2:58.67, the first time the Tribe has ever been under 3-minutes outside of the CAA Championships.  That was the sixth-fastest time ever in school history.
- The relay of Speres, Pfuhl, Hertweck, and Skopic covered the course in 3:03.95 for seventh overall, and eighth place went to the team of Evan Baker (Chantilly, Va.), Ramzy Ali (Thalwil, Switzerland), Thalblum, and Rento in 3:05.18.
 

Place	Athlete	Time
2.	Ian Thompson, Jack Doherty, Eric Grimes, Colin Wright	2:58.67	#6 performance
7.	Aristides Speres, Christopher Pfuhl, Graham Hertweck, Ben Skopic	3:03.95
8.	Evan Baker, Ramzy Ali, Steven Thalblum, Joey Rento	3:05.18

With the fall season now complete, William & Mary will take the next few weeks off for semester exams and the winter holidays.  Following the team's annual training trip over the winter break, the next meet on the schedule comes on Saturday, January 12, with a tri-meet against Duke and Division II powerhouse Queen's (N.C.) in Durham, N.C.

2018 Northwestern TYR Invitational
Men's Final Standings
1. Northwestern 1225.5
2. William & Mary 697
3. Michigan State 638.5
4. Saint Louis 556
5. Illinois-Chicago 401
6. Truman State 367