Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams claimed commendable victories this weekend. These wins got the teams off to a great start, making the men’s record 1-1 and that of the women’s 2-0.
The teams competed against SUNY Brockport on Saturday, and each was successful in obtaining several first and second place wins.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
The men swam to a 129-94 finish, obliterating the competition.
“The team’s prospects look good,” junior Zack Freed said. “We are getting into good form going into a tougher stretch of the season for us, where we can really test ourselves.”
Freed swam to a first place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, followed by teammate and freshman Eric Fischer in second place. Freed also participated in the 400-yard relay at the beginning of the meet.
Another participant in the successful 400-yard relay was junior Craig Matt, who was also victorious in the 500-yard freestyle. Sophomore Nick Stadnyk excelled as well in the 500-yard freestyle, placing second.
“You can expect more of the same from me and my teammates,” Freed said.
The 200-yard backstroke was another success, won by freshman Ryan White. He was also a member of the winning 400-yard medley relay with Freed and Matt.
Other first place finishes were produced by freshman Bruce Maki in the 200-yard individual medley and junior Anthony Furstoss in the 200-yard freestyle. Furstoss was able to put more points on the board with a third place finish in the 100-yard freestyle.
For the diving portion of the meet, senior Ted Elton won both the one-meter and three-meter events. The men hope to create a winning trend and will face SUNY Geneseo – who already won their first two meets – this Saturday at home.
Women’s Swimming
and Diving
The women’s swimming and diving team had similar success this weekend, easily overcoming the competition. They won with a large margin, 161-64.
“Brockport wasn’t much of a challenge for us as a team, so I placed well but my times weren’t spectacular,” senior Erin Szajta said after winning multiple events.
Spectacular times or not, Szajta placed first in the 100-yard freestyle and second in the 50-yard freestyle. Freshman Jill Endres placed first in the 50-yard freestyle.
Senior Kathryn Monti, juniors Kari Joyce and Michelle Gruen and sophomore Kelly Fischer won the opening 400-yard medley relay. Three of these women were also individual winners.
Monti was triumphant in the 200-yard freestyle, Joyce won the 500-yard freestyle and Gruen won the 200-yard IM. Fischer swam well in the 200-yard breaststroke as an exhibition event, placing third in the event.
“The team is really looking strong this season,” Szajta said. “Our goal is to go undefeated, and the major test of that will be this coming weekend against Geneseo. If we can pull that off, it looks good for the rest of the year.”
As long as future performances continue to mirror that of last weekend’s, the women should be tough to beat throughout the rest of the season.
Another tough competitor was sophomore Becky Fallon, with a win in the 200-yard backstroke. Senior and diver Patricia McHale succeeded on the one-meter board and junior Shannon Kahabka was first on the three-meter board.
“Overall, all of us have been training really hard, and it will be nice to see the big payoff at UAAs in February,” Szajta said.
Myers can be reached at smyers@campustimes.org.
