The swimming & diving teams spent two weeks in Hawaii on a training trip and returned rejuvenated. The men (3-3, 2-3 EISL) beat Army and Navy over break and fell to Yale. The women (2-4, 1-4 Ivy) split a pair of meets, beating St. Bonaventure and losing to Yale.
In a tri-meet with Navy and Yale on Jan. 12, the Cornell men triumphed over the Midshipmen 128-115 and lost to the Bulldogs 137-106.
At Navy, the Red won two events overall. The medley team of senior Ryan Buckham, sophomore John Dyste, and juniors Forrest Kennedy and Jeremy Sample opened the meet with a winning time of 3:51.20. Dyste also finished first in the 200 breaststroke (2:20.18), gaining momentum for the team. He also grabbed a third-place finish in the 200 IM (2:09.20).
“We had a great meet, the guys were up for it. The distance freestyle events were the key to the meet. We swept them. [Seniors] John Kenny, Eric Gonzalez, and [freshman] Scott Paavola had great swims,” head coach Joe Lucia said.
Kenny placed second in the 800 free event (8:26.34) and Paavola finished second in the 400 free (4:06.86). Freshman Danny Diette nabbed two second-place finishes for the Red, in the 200 free (1:54.37) and the 200 back (2:05.33).
In the diving events, freshmen Tony Schultz and Andrew Wolf led the team. Schultz finished fifth in the 1-meter event with a score of 223.10. Wolf was seventh in the 3-meter event with 221.00 points.
“We had a really good training trip in Hawaii. We came back and swam well. We haven’t beaten Navy in seven years. We also swam competitively against Yale,” Lucia added.
The win over Navy, along with the victory over Army, brought the Red to a .500 record. It also improved the team’s standing in the EISL.
On Jan. 19 the Red visited Army to avenge last season’s home loss. Cornell trounced the Cadets 138-100. The Red scored seven first-place wins, as well as four second-place finishes.
Cornell opened the meet with a victory in the 400 medley relay (3:28.19) with the team of Buckham, Dyste, Kennedy and freshman Paul Teta.
“Again the distance free events were important — we swept both of them. The key swims in this meet were Danny Diette in the 200 free and Danny Royce in the IM. He beat their top IM-er, and it really took the stream out of them,” Lucia noted.
Diette finished first with a time of 1:42.78 and Royce nabbed first-place with a time of 1:55.84. Other first place finishes were Kenny in the 1000 free (9:37.36), Buckham in the 200 back (1:52.59) and Paavola in the 500 free (4:41.07).
In diving Wolf finished second in the three-meter event with a score of 236.48, while Schultz placed second in the one-meter event with a score of 248.85.
“We are really excited about the second-half of the season. The team has a confident attitude and the team believes in each other. Our focus is still on the championship meet, but we have to do before then. We are mentally and physically ready,” Lucia finished.
On Jan. 13 the Red women traveled to New Haven to swim against Yale. Cornell fell 179-114 to the Bulldogs. The Red won three individual events and the 400 free relay with the team of freshman Elissa Kline, sophomore Megan Gutman, senior Kari Tornabene, and freshman Sydney Freas finishing with a time of 3:37.78.
Junior Deanne Moyer won the 100 breast (1:08.17) and senior Whitney Yates placed first in the 200 back (2:08.56). Yates also finished fourth in the 100 back (1:02.40). Freshman Alyson Melin received first-place honors in the 200 IM (2:13.70). Yale swam the IM and the 400 free relay as exhibition events. Kline nabbed two third-place finishes, in the 200 free (1:56.84) and the 100 free (54.65).
In diving, freshman Kara Neal finished third on the one-meter board (225.37) and fourth in the three-meter event (231.52).
On the 18th the Red hosted its first home meet, against visiting St. Bonaventure. The Red won 133-110.
The Red dominated the sprint free events, winning the 50, 100, and 200 free events, along with both relays. Kline had another big meet, placing first in the 100 (53.69) and 200 (1:55.86) free events.
Freas won the 50 free (25.06), Yates took top honors in the 200 back (2:08.55), and senior Shayne Geneva finished first in the 200 breast (2:25.65).
Cornell opened the contest by winning the 200 medley relay with the team of Tornabene, Moyer, sophomore Vanessa Rai, and Freas. They finished with a time of 1:52.93.
The Red also beat the Bonnies in the final relay — the 400 free — with the team of Kline, Tornabene, Gutman, and Freas, finishing with a time of 3:42.23.
Neal nabbed two second-place diving scores, gaining 222.59 points on the one-meter board and 254.10 on the three-meter board.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be in action on Jan. 26, when the Red hosts Colgate at 12 p.m.
Archived article by Cammy Kandiko