The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams exhibited some of the depth yesterday that leaves fans optimistic about the remainder of the season. Both squads competed against Binghamton at home in their final meets before winter break. The men’s team (3-2, 2-2 Ivy) beat the Bearcats by a score of 132-100, while the women’s squad (1-4, 0-4) cruised to victory, 170-71.
“I think we’re on track,” said men’s head coach Joe Lucia. “The team’s swimming well, competing hard, and we’re in a fairly good position.”
The men’s team looked especially impressive in the 200-yard individual medley, as the Red placed in each of the top-3 spots. Junior Mike Smit finished first with a time of 1:55.43, followed closely by freshman Wes Newman (156.83), and sophomore Bobby Nitto (1:59.28). Smit also finished first in the 200-yard butterfly, scoring nine points for the Red with a time of 1:52.67 – his lifetime best in the event. The men dominated the 400-yard medley relay as well, taking first, second, and third.
Wes Newman continued his first-year assault in the pool, finishing first in the 200-yard backstroke (1:54.54). The Red swam well in the 200-yard freestyle as well, as freshman Ryan McCreery finished first (1:45.50), senior captain Jared Levan took second (1:47.31), and sophomore Nick Oates came in third place (1:50.49).
As for the diving team, junior Luke Baer put forth a strong performance – taking first on both the 1- and 3-meter boards, scoring 308.25 and 305.70 points, respectively.
The women’s swimming and diving team also outperformed its opposition yesterday. The Red easily won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:39.01.
Individually, the team had many strong performances. Senior Elissa Kline took first in the 500-yard freestyle (5:16.72), followed by freshman Rebecca Harris in second (55.78). Kline also won the 100-yard freestyle with her time of 54.07.
“One of the markers we use is how fast we are relative to last year’s Ivy championship times,” said women’s head coach John Holohan. “Some of our top kids are right around the times they were at last year.”
Junior diver Kristin Rayhack continued her stellar performance on the boards yesterday. Rayhack won the 1-meter with her score of 243.22, while finishing first in the 3-meter board as well (286.28).
Senior Jessica Brookman has not let up her intensity either. Brookman won the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 5:16.72.
“Jess has been swimming extremely well,” Holohan said. “She had a really good training summer.”
Brookman will be representing the Red at the U.S. Open tomorrow in Auburn, Ala. The Open is a three-day international meet that attracts some of the fastest swimmers in the world.
The squad swept the 200-yard backstroke, with sophomore Leah Tourtellotte coming in first (2:13.47), junior Kristen Conway in second (2:18.07), and sophomore Shana Brennan finishing third (2:20.53).
Archived article by Matt Sarnak
Sun Staff Writer