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California Institute of Technology

Photos of Simon Hu swimming and a number of athletes at the start of the race during Caltech Men's Swim & Dive home meet on 10-26-2024

Men's Swimming and Diving Gavin Hyland, Sports Media Intern

Men's Swim & Dive Shines as Beavers Open 2024-25 Campaign

PASADENA, Calif. — Caltech Men's Swim & Dive hosted California Baptist University on Saturday for the Beavers' season opener at Braun Pool where multiple student-athletes posted noteworthy performances.

First-year Samuel Xie (Princeton, N.J. / The Lawrenceville School) swam one of the fastest 200-yard freestyle times in all of Division III this season as he finished in  1:51.81 to earn runner-up, just barely missing out on the victory behind his Div. I opponent who took the race in 1:51.23. With the result, Xie lands at No. 3 on the current national Div. III performance list for the 200 Free; his speedy time puts him at No. 4 all-time in school history for the event.

Caltech cleaned up 2-3-4 in the race as junior Pierre Zeineddin (Gaithersburg, Md. / Richard Montgomery) finished in 1:57.47 for third and sophomore Reid Nussbaum (Cohasset, Mass. / Cohasset) tapped the wall at 1:58.13 for fourth.

The 200-yard breaststroke saw another program top-10 showing as rookie Thomas Fenton (Lynchburg, Va. / Virginia Episcopal School) posted a 2:10.81 for seventh all-time on the school leaderboard. The first-year just barely missed out on the runner-up, who finished just .32 seconds ahead. Sophomore Tommaso Colombo (Wellington College International / Shanghai) followed in fifth at 2:11.20, moving him into eighth all-time in Caltech history.

The 100-yard breaststroke saw two Caltech athletes finish in the top-4, with Colombo nabbing third at 58.94 followed by rookie Alvin Zhang (Bellevue, Wash. / Lakeside School) who finished with a time of 58.99 for fourth. Colombo currently sits at No. 4 all time after swimming a 56.57 at the SCIAC Championships this past February; Zhang's time moves him into eighth all-time in the Caltech records.

Zhang also excelled in the men's 100-yard butterfly, grabbing third overall with a time of 50.69 seconds, good for seventh all-time on Caltech's record boards; sophomore Marcel Liu (Natick, Mass. / Phillips Academy) finished moments later at 51.13 for fourth place.

Junior Simon Hu (Clarksville, Md. / River Hill) earned major points for the team after securing second in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.21) and 200 IM (2:00.73); Xie came through moments later in the 200 IM to place third at 2:01.05.

In the 200-yard medley relay, Caltech nabbed third out of seven with a time of 1:34.19 as a result of the combined performances of first-year swimmer and diver Aaron Dumas (San Diego / Cathedral Catholic), Zhang, Liu and first-year Athanasios Boutakidis (Pasadena, Calif. / Flintridge Preparatory). Dumas led the team in the 200-yard backstroke, placing third (2:00.83).

After posting numerous Caltech top-10 times, head coach Andrew Brabson's squad will practice and prepare for their next meet as they battle the Tigers of Occidental College on the road this Saturday Nov. 2 at 10:30 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

Tommaso Colombo

Tommaso Colombo

6' 2"
Sophomore
Simon Hu

Simon Hu

6' 2"
Junior
Marcel Liu

Marcel Liu

5' 7"
Sophomore
Reid Nussbaum

Reid Nussbaum

5' 10"
Sophomore
Athanasios Boutakidis

Athanasios Boutakidis

6' 2"
First-Year
Aaron Dumas

Aaron Dumas

5' 11"
First-Year
Thomas Fenton

Thomas Fenton

6' 4"
First-Year
Sam Xie

Sam Xie

5' 7"
First-Year
Alvin Zhang

Alvin Zhang

6' 0"
First-Year
Pierre Zeineddin

Pierre Zeineddin

Junior

Players Mentioned

Tommaso Colombo

Tommaso Colombo

6' 2"
Sophomore
Simon Hu

Simon Hu

6' 2"
Junior
Marcel Liu

Marcel Liu

5' 7"
Sophomore
Reid Nussbaum

Reid Nussbaum

5' 10"
Sophomore
Athanasios Boutakidis

Athanasios Boutakidis

6' 2"
First-Year
Aaron Dumas

Aaron Dumas

5' 11"
First-Year
Thomas Fenton

Thomas Fenton

6' 4"
First-Year
Sam Xie

Sam Xie

5' 7"
First-Year
Alvin Zhang

Alvin Zhang

6' 0"
First-Year
Pierre Zeineddin

Pierre Zeineddin

Junior