By Tiffany Williams –
WPI stormed into the new swim season with a statement performance — a double victory that mixed dominance and revenge. The Engineers crushed Hobart 248-36 and edged Ithaca 152.50-145.50 on Saturday, snapping a three-year drought against the Bombers and setting an early tone for a program that looks deep, disciplined, and hungry.
First-year phenom Lucas Brown of Viera, Florida, wasted no time announcing himself, obliterating the field in the 1000 free. He built a lead early and never looked back, hitting the wall in 9:54.59 — a full 20 seconds ahead of anyone else. He came back in the 200 fly to edge teammate junior Lucas Pralle of Wayland, Massachusetts, 1:57.52 to 1:58.18, before nearly pulling off a third win in the 500, only to be caught in the final 50 for a second-place finish at 4:50.72.
Not to be outdone, another freshman, Luke Vipond of Mahtomedi, Minnesota, went two-for-two in the breaststroke events. Vipond threw down the only sub-minute swim in the 100 breast, clocking 59.93, then took the 200 in 2:13.59 after seizing an early lead and refusing to give it back.
Senior captain Christopher Smith of Northbridge, Massachusetts, brought veteran firepower when it mattered most. After finishing second in the 100 back (53.17), Smith took control late, leading a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100 fly with a 51.30 — holding off Pralle, who took another second in 53.04, and Dean Doubek of Arnold, Maryland, who grabbed third in 53.59. Smith wasn’t done. He came back to own the 200 IM, clocking 1:59.20 — the only sub-two-minute swim in the field — while first-year Kyle Sundberg of East Northport, New York, and sophomore Keegan Rowe of Harpswell, Maine, took second and fourth.
The depth was everywhere. Smith, Sundberg, Doubek, and Sean Tesoro of Reading, Massachusetts, powered the A 200 medley relay to a 1:35.54 finish, while the B squad — Angad Ahluwalia of Attleboro, Tyson Elliot of Portland, Oregon, Vipond, and Nolan Schlessman of Sudbury — hammered home crucial points behind them.
Tesoro added flash to the speed events, winning the 50 free by a quarter of a second in 21.59. Schlessman took command in the 100 free, leading a WPI sweep of spots two through seven with a 47.78. That power carried into the 400 free relay, where Kuba Latawiec of Newington, Connecticut, Angelo Reade of Newburgh, New York, Schlessman, and Tesoro combined for a 3:10.68 win that sealed the meet.
Diving sealed the deal. Sophomore Tom Fitzgerald of East Longmeadow delivered runner-up finishes on both boards, scoring 206.05 on the 3-meter and 202.85 on the 1-meter. First-year Aaron Lakin of Hamden, Connecticut, chipped in third- and fourth-place points, posting 148.45 and 111.55, respectively — points that made the difference against Ithaca.
The Engineers’ performance was the definition of complete — rookies lighting up the board, veterans anchoring, divers delivering. And after three years of watching Ithaca celebrate, WPI finally flipped the script in emphatic fashion.
Next up, the Engineers dive back in for a Halloween clash on Friday, October 31, hosting NEWMAC foes Babson and Coast Guard, along with Brandeis, in what’s shaping up to be a fierce midseason test.
In men’s soccer, WPI couldn’t stop Babson’s second-half surge as the Beavers rolled to a 3-0 win behind a brace from junior Titus Charles of San Tan Valley, Arizona. Charles scored once in each half, while junior Alexander Yablonovskiy of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, added another.
Babson improved to 8-5-3 overall and 4-1-1 in the NEWMAC, while WPI slipped to 5-5-5 and 2-3-1 after its second straight loss.
WPI keeper Savio Ketnouvong of Paxton made three saves, but Babson’s pressure never relented. The Beavers outshot WPI 11-5 and forced mistakes all over the field.
Babson broke through in the 41st minute. First-year Adam Stetson of Granby, Massachusetts, chested down a long ball from Blake Miller of Odessa, Florida, and Huey Miller of Gill set up Charles, who drilled a low shot inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.
WPI never recovered. In the 59th minute, senior Joao Araujo of Boca Raton picked a ball in midfield and sent a perfect pass to Yablonovskiy, who ripped a half-volley past Ketnouvong for his eighth of the year. Montague made a highlight save on a 30-yard rocket from WPI’s Mike Montabana of Jamison, Pennsylvania, before Charles buried his second in the 80th minute, heading home a long service from sophomore Maxi Martinez of Miami.
Babson now turns to No. 10 Wheaton on Tuesday. WPI hosts Emerson at 7 p.m., desperate to stop the slide.
The WPI volleyball team split the day at Southern Maine, losing a five-set battle to Western Connecticut before sweeping the host Huskies. The Engineers are now 10-12, a team still searching for consistency but showing flashes of real firepower.
In the opener, WPI fought to the wire but fell 3-2. Olivia Hutchinson of Erie, Pennsylvania, was unstoppable, racking up 23 kills, six blocks, and three aces for a monster 29-point outing. Fiona Gillis of Manchester, New Hampshire, added 11 kills, and Zeala VanDamme of San Diego chipped in eight.
WPI hit .367 in the second set to even the match, then blasted through the fourth with a 12-1 run before WestConn survived late, taking the fifth 15-12. The Engineers’ blocking was elite — Hutchinson, Kelnik, and Lynch all made their presence known — but untimely errors sealed their fate.
The bounce-back was instant. Against Southern Maine, WPI crushed the Huskies 3-0, riding the hot hand of Bridget Spees of Saint Johns, Florida, who blasted 11 kills on a .643 clip with four aces. VanDamme and Hutchinson dominated the net again, combining for seven blocks and 11 kills.
WPI hit .389 in the first and .440 in the second before closing the sweep 27-25 in extras. The Huskies pushed late, but Spees and Lynch shut the door.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was gutsy — exactly what the Engineers needed.
WPI football ran into a buzzsaw Saturday, as NY Maritime jumped out fast and never looked back, rolling to a 28-7 win at Alumni Stadium.
The Privateers punched the Engineers in the mouth early, scoring on their first three drives to lead 21-0 by halftime. Quarterback Will Pickett of Rockville Centre threw two touchdowns to Nate Casaburi of Sayville, while Mark Russo of Sea Cliff opened the scoring with a short plunge.
WPI finally found the end zone late in the third when quarterback Jack Schuck of Bangor hit Jeff Quigley of Peabody from seven yards out. But every late threat was turned back — including a fourth-down stand at the four-yard line — as Maritime’s defense slammed the door.
Schuck threw for 244 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-45 passing. Michael Krevosky of Kingston led with 74 receiving yards, while Ty Csencsits added 64. Patrick Andrews paced the defense with seven tackles, but the early hole was too deep.
Pickett went 21-of-29 for 174 yards and two scores without a pick. Casaburi caught eight passes for 76 yards and both TDs, while Joshua Rogers added 86 combined yards and another score.
WPI dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in NEWMAC play, with a trip to MIT looming next weekend. Maritime, now 5-3, gets a bye before its Senior Day showdown with the Engineers on Nov. 8.
It was another long Saturday for WPI — bright spots in the pool, flashes on the court, but the gridiron told a tougher story.