The Wabash swimming and diving team started with two first-place finishes but couldn’t hold on against DePauw University Wednesday night. The Tigers handed the Little Giants a 144-97 defeat at the Class of 1950 Natatorium.
The 400-yard medley relay team of Chad Damitz (FR/Kokomo, IN/Kokomo), Colin Fahey (SR/Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard), Michael Hewitt (SO/Greenwood, IN/Center Grove), and Kyle Weaver (SO/Portland, IN/Jay County) won the event for Wabash with a time of 3:38.82.
Ben Hewitt (SR/Greenwood, IN/Center Grove) won the 1000 free (10:24.42) with teammate Brad Williams (SR/Columbus, IN/Columbus North) taking second, overtaking DePauw’s Ian Prunty in the final laps to outtouch him by four seconds with a time of 10:33.46 to put the Little Giants in front. But the Tigers would capture first and third in the next three swimming events and the top two places in one-meter diving to race ahead of Wabash.
Michael Hewitt add a first in the 200 fly with a time of 2:01.61 before DePauw swept the top two spots in the 100 free and 200 back. A win by Michael Belanger (FR/Crawfordsville, IN/Crawfordsville) (5:05.42) helped start a Wabash comeback effort.
Ben Hewitt and Fahey would make the most of the final home meet of their careers in the 200-yard breaststroke. Hewitt won the event with a time of 2:15.34, narrowly edging Fahey who was second at 2:15.35. But the Tigers won the final event of the night to ice away the victory.
"There’s no question that DePauw was the better team tonight," said head coach Peter Casares. "What I’m pleased with, however, is the fact that we had some of our best times of the season tonight despite having put in three weeks of hard work to prepare for the conference meet. We were in no condition to swim fast, yet we did. It means the guys were focused and ready to compete. They let their desire to swim fast and their passion for the sport carry them past their physical condition. I think it’s a great sign for what we can expect in three weeks."
Wabash will compete at the University of Indianapolis Saturday, January 29 at 1 p.m.