The Middlebury men's swimming and diving team dropped its home opener against #20 Amherst by a 183.5-86.5 final on Saturday. The Panthers secured three individual event titles during the meet.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Luke McNamara won the 100-yard backstroke, touching the wall in 54.05 seconds to edge a pair of Mammoths by 0.5 seconds. The senior also took third with a 2:02.46 in the 200 individual medley (IM).
• Andrew Dou and Cal Hale headlined the 50 freestyle. Dou finished first in the event with a clocking of 21.63 seconds, while Hale tied Amherst's Ethan Van De Water for second at 21.85 seconds.
• Chaz Witter dove unopposed on the 1-meter board, garnering 166.28 points for his efforts.
• The Panthers took second in three events. John Masiello was the runner-up in the  100 breast (59.28), while Keith Hartman clocked an 8:05.97 in the 800 free. The quartet of Dou, Masiello, McNamara and Rodin McKenna grabbed silver in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:36.30.
• Owen Currie placed third in the 300 (2:54.29) and 800 (8:16.04) freestyle events, respectively.
• Masiello, Jason Chiappinelli, McKenna and Dou posted a third-place time of 3:13.97 in the 400 free relay.

The Panthers have two weeks of preparation for the three-day Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Invitational, which begins on Friday, December 5 at 6:30 p.m.