WORCESTER, Mass.—Senior Matthew D'Elia (Old Bridge, N.J.) and sophomore Anthony Taslakov (Sherborn, Mass.) both set school records and the Babson College men's swimming & diving team broke three program marks in all during the final session of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships on Sunday night inside WPI's Sports and Recreation Center Pool. 

The Beavers totaled 196 points on Sunday and finished fourth for the second year in a row with 704 points, which is their third highest total going back to 2002. Ninth-ranked MIT captured its 16th straight conference title with 1,334 points, while Coast Guard came in second with 1,079 points. Springfield finished in third position 13.5 points ahead of the Green and White. 

Taslakov capped an impressive weekend that included a pair of all-conference honors and five school records by taking second place in the 200 backstroke in a record time of 1:48.76. He swam 1:52.72 in the prelims before finishing nearly four seconds faster to break Babson's five-year-old mark in the event by 0.96 seconds while achieving an NCAA B cut. 

D'Elia recorded an unforgettable finish to his career by touching the wall in a time of 1:52.48 in the A final of the 200 breaststroke to break Alex Damiecki's '20 record set back in 2019 by 0.33 seconds. D'Elia qualified seventh in the prelims before sliding up two spots to take fifth in the final. 

The Beavers' third school record of the evening came in the final event as Taslakov teamed with seniors Pat Anutarasoti (Bangkok, Thailand) and Aidan Downey-Lamprey (Norwell, Mass.), and first-year Tommy Hannenian (Sacramento, Calif.) to finish fourth with a time of 3:03.22. Their time was 0.93 seconds faster than the previous mark set back in 2023. 

In addition to the records, first-year Liam Maloney (Tampa, Fla.) posted a season-best time of 1:54.13 in the prelims and placed eighth in the A final of the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:54.14. Fellow first-years William Iglar (Bernardsville, N.J.) and Nathan Huynh (Naperville, Ill.) both posted their top times of the season o the way to qualifying for the A final of the 200 breaststroke. Iglar swam 2:06.28 in the prelims and was almost two seconds faster in the final recording a time of 2:04.34 to finish fifth, while Huynh touched the wall in 2:07.55 in the prelims and was just 0.01 seconds off his season best to come in eighth. 

Ambelang finished third in the B final of the 200 backstroke with a season-best time of 1:56.49, first-year Philip Spiridonov (Ridgewood, N.J.) was two spots behind him in fifth with a season-best time of 1:57.06 and classmate Dom Crisafulli (Natick, Mass.) placed ninth with his best time of the year (1:59.02). Babson also had three swimmers qualify for the B final of the 100 free led by Anutarasoti, who was the runner-up with a season-best time of 45.90. Hannenian took sixth in 46.73 and sophomore Chase Stevens (Suffield, Conn.) finished 10th in a time of 47.76. 

Friday-year Nehemiah Rhee (Paramus, N.J.) finished third in the B final of the 200 butterfly with a season-best time of 1:56.33, while graduate student Cole Seeger (Lakewood, Ill.) came in seventh in the B final of the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:12.86. First-year Ilaan Garware (Pune, India) placed 13th overall in the grueling 1650 free with a time of 17:21.07 and sophomore Jason Zeliph (Vorheesville, N.Y.) was two spots behind in 15th position with a time of 17:30.33. 

MEET NOTES
•    The Beavers put together their most successful conference meet in more than two decades, which includes earning four all-conference honors, achieving five NCAA B cuts and setting 10 program records. 
•    Anutarasoti became Babson's first NEWMAC champion since 2007, and first by a swimmer since 2002, with his victory in the 100 breaststroke on Saturday night. 
•    Taslakov earned All-NEWMAC honors with his runner-up finishes in both the 200 free and 200 back, while sophomore David Krol (Grafton, Wis.) came in second to claim all-conference accolades on the 3-meter diving board on Thursday night. 
•    Anutarasoti (100 butterfly, 100 breast), Taslakov (200 free, 200 back) and the Beavers' 800 free relay team of Taslakov, Iglar, Hannenian and Maloney recorded NCAA B cuts. 
•    Taslakov (200 free, 200 IM, 200 back) and Anutarasoti (100 breast, 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly) both set three school records.