Greencastle, Ind. - The DePauw men's swimming and diving team turned in a strong showing Friday evening at Erdmann Natatorium but ultimately fell to Centre College, 135–108, in the Tigers' dual meet.
DePauw claimed four event wins and finished among the top three in more than half of the evening's races.
The Tigers opened with a statement swim in the 200-yard medley relay, as the team of Sam Wolfe, Tyler Farkas, Brady Hinshaw, and James Anderson surged to first place in 1:35.29. DePauw's "B" relay of Adison Mayes, Kai-Wen Minnich, Eli Vanhaaren, and Jake Anderson followed in third at 1:39.12, giving the Tigers two of the top three finishes to start the night.
DePauw continued its momentum with a pair of early podium finishes in the distance events. Franco Chirinos placed second in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:26.66), followed by Will Longfellow in fourth (10:59.82). Chirinos' steady pacing down the stretch held off Centre's third-place finisher by nearly five seconds.
In the 200 freestyle, Andrew Thompson took runner-up honors with a time of 1:49.17, and senior Alexander Bridgmohan followed in third at 1:51.50, while junior Will Gardy claimed sixth (1:54.45) to round out another strong team showing.
Freshman Hinshaw continued his breakout campaign, winning the 50 freestyle in 21.51. Seniors Anderson (22.17) and Jeremy Stutzman (22.41) made it a 1–3–4 finish for the Tigers.
Freshman Daniel Schwendinger led DePauw in two key mid-meet events, taking first in the 200 individual medley (1:58.27) and later returning to win the 100 freestyle in 48.25, edging Centre's Jake Holmes by nearly a full second. Ethan Williams Fonner (50.19) and David Daniels (51.07) placed fourth and sixth, respectively, to keep DePauw close on the scoreboard.
In the 100 backstroke, Wolfe continued his strong meet with a runner-up finish (54.31), followed closely by Stutzman (56.28) and Mayes (56.37), giving DePauw three swimmers in the top five.
The 500 freestyle saw junior Farkas earn second place in 4:51.99, with Thompson finishing third in 4:54.33 and Bridgmohan fourth (5:04.52) — another deep scoring event for the Tigers.
On the boards, freshman Brodie Morken led the DePauw divers with a fourth-place finish on both the one-meter (212.75) and three-meter (157.60) events.
The night concluded with an emphatic relay victory as Hinshaw, Anderson, Wolfe, and Farkas combined to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:26.05, securing DePauw's final event win of the evening. The "B" relay of Williams Fonner, Vanhaaren, Stutzman, and Schwendinger followed in second (1:27.89).
Despite the final score, the meet showcased DePauw's depth and promising youth across the lineup, particularly among its freshman class. The Tigers return to action next weekend when they travel to compete at the Gail Pebworth Invitational hosted by Wabash College, November 21-23.
