Fresh off a promising 2023-24 season, Caltech Men's Swim & Dive kept its momentum in 2024-25, setting new program records and establishing itself as a formidable opponent in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
On the individual side, two Caltech swimmers made history at the same meet Nov. 24 at Occidental. In the three-school invite, first-year Aaron Dumas (San Diego, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic) broke the program record for the 100 Backstroke en route to winning the event with a time of 50.31. Sophomore Marcel Liu (Natick, Mass. / Phillips Academy) finished second in that event (51.67) while setting a program record of his own in the 100 Fly. Liu won the latter event with a history-making time of 48.61, helping the Beavers win the invite
The Beavers updated the record books at more than just one meet in 2024. Various Caltech swimmers set program-top-10 times in three of the season's first five meets. Caltech was not just successful in swimming events during that stretch, as its sole diver, first-year Anthony Wang (San Jose, Calif. / Evergreen Valley), earned two first-place finishes and three podiums early in the season. He also finished first at Whittier Jan 26 and represented Caltech at NCAA regionals.
As a team, Caltech wasted no time getting into the win column, dismantling Occidental in the Tigers' own pool, 206-82, Nov. 2 for the Beavers' first SCIAC dual victory of the year. The dual was the starting point of stretch in which Caltech won four meets in five competitions. After the history-making Nov. 24 invite at Occidental, Caltech went on winter break before defeating Cal Lutheran, 198-81, and Redlands,192-87, both on Jan. 4 at home. During the hot stretch, Caltech took first place on more than 20 event podiums.
The Beavers ended their SCIAC dual meet schedule on a high note as well, with back-to-back wins against Whittier Jan. 26 and – on senior day – La Verne Feb 1. Caltech then traveled to Monterey Park for the SCIAC Championships Feb 19-22, earning a more-than-respectable 4th place.
Caltech Men's Swim & Dive set a high standard outside of the pool as well, as four Beavers earned Academic All-District honors. Seniors Jason Lin (Los Angeles / Taipei American School) and Evan Zhang (Great Falls, Va. / Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology), and juniors Simon Hu (Clarksville, Md. / River Hill) and Siddhartha Ojha (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) each accomplished the feat.
After two consecutive seasons of competitive and academic dominance, excitement runs high for Caltech Men's Swim & Dive heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
