Men’s Swimming and Diving Defeats Charleston, 143.5-87.5

Shawn Matthews Sets Pool Record in Victory

01/12/08 6:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG - Junior Shawn Matthews (Rumson, N.J.) broke the pool record in the 200 backstroke by a quarter-second Saturday afternoon, as he helped to lead the Tribe to victory over the Cougars from the College of Charleston, 143.5-87.5. With the win, W&M improves to 4-3 (2-1 CAA) this season, while Charleston falls to 4-2 (4-0 CCSA).

Complete Results

Matthews, who set the school record in the 200 back the last time he swam the event in November, set the pool record with his second victory of the afternoon, timing 1:52.92. The old record had stood since 1998, when UNC Wilmington’s Todd Desboro swam 1:53.16 on November 7. Earlier in the day, Matthews timed 10:03.56 to win the 1000 free. His two victories give him 10 for the year, tops on the team, and also boost him into a tie for seventh all-time at W&M with 25 career victories.

Grad student Nick Duda (Vienna, Va.) won three events in the meet, including a pair of individual titles. He swept the 50 free in 21.61 seconds and the 100 free in 47.40 seconds, before anchoring the 200 free relay of Nader Amer (Yorktown, Va.), Kevin Gallagher (Bridgewater, N.J.), and Michael Naccarelli (Wallingford, Pa.) to a winning aggregate of 1:26.28. With the two individual golds, Duda also moved into the Tribe’s all-time top-10 with 24 career victories, good for ninth-most in school history.

Gallagher also earned an individual victory with his time of 1:45.12 in the 200 free, and freshman Mike Newcomb (Williamsburg, Va.) swept the two diving events with scores of 136.13 and 194.63 to earn his first two career wins. Junior Jason Brisson (Richmond, Va.) rounded out the team’s win total by taking the 200 fly in 1:56.96, the team’s season-best effort.

William and Mary returns to the pool next Saturday, January 19, with a 2 p.m. match against top CAA-rival UNC Wilmington.