When the Cornell men’s swimming and diving team visits Hamilton, N.Y. tomorrow to face off against the Raiders of Colgate, the team will be seeking its fifth victory of the season in only its seventh meet. With a 4-2 mark thus far, the Red will be looking to finish with a perfect 2-0 record in matches outside of the EISL. Although the team is coming off a win at Army, the inter-session training has worn down many of the Red swimmers and a win at Colgate will not come easy.
“Again, we are swimming really tired right now,” said senior co-captain Danny Royce. “It is the hardest period of training of the year for us right now and we are going to have to swim tough to pull out a victory.”
The Red will rely on the continued success of many of its swimmers including Royce and fellow senior co-captain Jeremy Sample. Against Army, Royce collected a pair of first place finishes, including the 200-yard IM and 200-yard breaststroke. Freshman Kevin Fraley, senior Rob Payne, sophomore Stefano Caprara, freshman Mike Smit, and freshman Luke Baer also snagged individual crowns against the Black Knights. Smit continues to impress in his first year, as he has been a consistent contributor in the long distance events. Although the Red has been swimming well as of late, head coach Joe Lucia will shift around the lineup in order to provide the team with some needed rest.
“A lot of guys will be swimming different events than they are used to and it will give them a chance to try some new things,” said Royce.
After tomorrow’s meet, the Red will head back home to finish up the remainder of its schedule with meets against EISL rivals Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Brown.
The women’s swimming and diving team will also make tomorrow’s trip to Hamilton to face the Raiders. The Red is coming off a tough win against the Black Knights by a narrow 10-point margin and is looking to build upon the victory and, in the process capture its third win of the season. Cornell is also seeking to string together its first two-meet winning streak of the year. Senior co-captain Jayme Majek is confident in the Red’s chances of doing so.
“I think that it is a mental thing right now,” said Majek. “If we show up to swim and race we should be able to pull out a win against Colgate.”
Although the Red appears to be in its best shape of the season, a win at Colgate will not come without a fight. The Raiders have an 8-4 record including a 4-2 mark in Patriot League play.
“We had a meet against Army with a 10-point spread and they had a meet against Army with a 10-point spread,” said Majek. “We should technically come out in a tie. It is going to be a very close meet.”
As in the meet against Army, the Red will rely upon strong individual performances from Majek, along with junior Alyson Melin and sophomore Kristin Rayhack. All three captured first place finishes in multiple events against the Black Knights and have been solid contributors throughout the season.
The Red travels to Hamilton in the midst of a road trip that will complete its regular season, as it will visit Brown and Buffalo over the next few weeks.
Archived article by Bryan Pepper