LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Husson University men's swimming & diving team turned in a strong showing on the opening night of finals at the 2026 ECAC Open Championship on Friday evening at Bucknell University, highlighted by two relay performances that scored team points against a deep field.

The Eagles opened the evening in the final of the 200-yard freestyle relay, where the quartet of seniors Alex Walsh, Ryan Emerson, Sam Peiser and Brady Hand delivered an 8th-place finish in 1:26.88 to earn 22 team points.

Walsh led off in 22.21, followed by Emerson (21.47), Peiser (21.69) and Hand closing in 21.51 as Husson raced among some of the top Division I and Division III programs in the championship field.

Husson closed the session with another strong relay effort in the 400-yard medley relay B final. The team of Emerson, Hand, Peiser and Walsh finished ninth overall in 3:32.22, touching nearly ten seconds faster than their preliminary time to collect 18 additional points, while also setting a new program record.

Emerson led off in 53.50 on the backstroke leg before Hand split 58.63 in the breaststroke. Peiser posted a 53.02 butterfly leg and Walsh anchored in 47.07 to cap the performance.

After Friday's finals through 12 events, Husson sits 10th in the men's team standings with 40 points, competing in a championship field led by the U.S. Naval Academy and featuring multiple Ivy League and MAAC programs.

The Eagles will return to the pool on Saturday for day two of competition at the ECAC Open Championship as they continue to chase additional finals swims and valuable team points.