The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had mixed results at their meets this weekend in Canton, Ohio. Both teams were victorious over the St. Lawrence University Saints, while losses were recorded against the tough Union College Dutchmen.
Women’s Swimming and Diving
The women competed against St. Lawrence on Friday and were able to improve their dual meet record to 3-1 with a decisive victory. The final score was 129-112.
Strength and diversity were the themes of the meet. The Yellowjackets won multiple events and scored points in many more.
Junior Michelle Gruen dominated in the 200-yard inter-medley relay and the 500-yard freestyle. Gruen, a strong competitor, improved her record with each individual meet.
Gruen’s performance was mirrored by that of several teammates. Senior Kathryn Monti was first in the 100-yard butterfly, and sophomore Kelly Fischer captured a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke. In a distance event, another first place finish was claimed by junior Kari Joyce in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
Senior Patricia McHale added more points to the board on the diving side of the meet. She won both the one-meter and three-meter dives.
Despite the win against SLU, UR was unable to emerge with a win against the Dutchwomen the following day. Saturday’s final score was 127-115.
The Dutchwomen had many wins, but the Yellowjackets still was able to put up a strong fight. Gruen was a double winner again. This time she won the 500-yard freestyle, along with the 1,000-yard freestyle.
Joyce also gave a solid performance for the Yellowjackets. She took first-place in the 200-yard freestyle and swam to a close second in the 200-yard backstroke, trailing Amy Nestlerode by tenths of a second.
The diving team had another successful day, with McHale once again winning the one-meter board and taking third on the three-meter board. Her teammate, senior Crystal Hoffman won the three-meter board.
Overall, the girls gave a great performance this weekend, and more should be expected throughout the rest of the year.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
UR easily overcame the competition on Friday against the SLU. The final score came out to 152-81. This success gave the men an even dual meet record of 2-2.
“If we can keep up this intensity and continue with improvements, we’ll have no problem winning most of our upcoming meets,” freshman Bruce Maki said of the team’s overall performance.
Maki certainly held up his end of the bargain. He dominated both the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard inter-medley relay. Four other men were able to claim double wins on Friday. UR diving was successful, with senior Ted Elton winning both the one-meter and the three-meter boards.
Junior Craig Matt was another double winner, winning both the 100-yard freestyle and the 1,000-yard freestyle. Junior Zach Freed joined Matt in the winner’s stand. Freed was able to capture first place in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breast. Jon Dennison was a victor in the 50-yard freestyle, and he capitalized on the win with another in the 100-yard backstroke.
The solid performance of the men on Friday was repeated again the following day. Unfortunately, the Yellowjackets couldn’t come up with a win against Union College. The Yellowjackets lost, 129-110.
Elton won the one-meter and three-meter dives again, proving to be a strong opponent.
Maki added more points to the board with a win in the 500-yard freestyle. He also was able to secure a second place finish in the 200-yard inter-medley relay.
The 1,000-yard freestyle was conquered by Freed, who battled his way to first place in that event.
Myers can be reached at smyers@campustimes.org.
