The UR men’s swimming and diving team found their groove last weekend when they beat St. Lawrence University on Friday and Union College on Saturday. While the women didn’t fare quite as well, they still came away with a weekend split and crowned numerous individual champions.
The host Yellowjackets were greeted by a large and enthusiastic crowd at the home opener Friday, and the teams did not disappoint. The men’s team started fast and ran away with a 153-86 victory over SLU.
The star of the day was senior Craig Matt, who won two individual events as well as a relay. Matt started the day by teaming up with sophomore Ryan White, junior Jonathan Dennison and freshman Tim Anderson to win the 400-yard medley relay by over five seconds. He also won the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard freestyle in convincing fashion, while White took second in the 200 free.
The Yellowjacket men swept the podium in the 400 individual medley and the 500 free. Sophomore Bruce Maki won both events, with senior Zach Freed second in the 400 IM and freshman Garrett Lam third. In the 500 free, freshman Matt Kaule placed second and junior Joe Subjeck took third.
It was a total team effort, as three more male swimmers won individual events. Dennison won the 100-yard breaststroke and Lam took the 100-yard backstroke crown. Kaule and Subjeck took first and second, respectively, in the longest race of the day, the 1000 free.
The divers also helped the cause, as freshman Stephen Graves took second on both the one and three-meter boards. Sophomore David Mitsche placed third on the one-meter board.
Not to be outdone, the women matched their male counterparts with an equally impressive 146-87 win over the visiting Saints. The team was paced by junior Danielle Scherry, senior Kari Joyce, senior Michelle Gruen and junior Nancy Tremblay, each of whom won two events that day.
The Yellowjackets continued their dominance in the distance events. Scherry won the 1000 free, with senior Sonja Brun second and junior Sara Tomaski third. Joyce won the 500 free with Scherry right behind her in second place.
Gruen won the 400 IM and the 100 free for the ‘Jackets. Junior Denise Moseman placed first in the 100 breast and second to Gruen in the 400 IM. Sophomore Jill Endres had a strong showing in the sprints by winning the 50 free and placing third in the 100 free.
Scherry rounded out her day by taking the top spot in the 100 fly, and Joyce was the first to touch the wall in the 200 free.
That rounded out the individual champions in the lap pool, but the Yellowjackets weren’t done scoring points. They swept both the one and three-meter boards, with Tremblay taking top honors on each. Completing the sweep were senior Shannon Kahabka and sophomore Cheryl Blechman, who placed second and third on both boards, respectively.
The victories could only be savored for a moment, however, because the teams faced Union College on Saturday. The men were up to the task, embarrassing their second straight foe by a 153-88 score.
The first relay team set the tone for the meet. Lam, Dennison, Matt and White dominated the 400 medley relay, winning by almost seven seconds.
From there it was smooth sailing for the ‘Jackets. Maki took first in the 1000 free and the 500 free. It marked the fourth time this year he has won the 500. Freed was close behind in the 500, placing second.
UR controlled the sprint races against the Dutchmen as senior Anthony Furstoss won the 100 free and White was first to the wall in the 50 free. Rounding out the individual swimming winners were Matt in the 200 free and Lam in the 200 back.
On the boards, Graves and Mitsche once again had strong showings with Graves taking first on the one-meter board and Mitsche third. On the three-meter board, Mitsche placed second with Graves just behind him in third.
To finish the rout, UR went 1-2-3 in the 400 free relay. Anderson, Kaule, Furstoss and Freed took first and were followed by the team of Maki, junior Nick Stadnyk, Subjeck and freshman Pat Messmer. Completing the sweep was the all-freshman team of Daniel Estrada, John Burrows, Dave Madar and Chris Jenson.
Unfortunately, the women could not duplicate the men’s success as they fell by a score of 100-143.
As usual, Joyce and Gruen enjoyed success in their events, as both were triple winners. They teamed up with Endres and senior Karen Gromer to win the 400 free relay. Joyce won the 200 free and 200 back, while Gruen took the top spot in the 1000 free and 500 free.
Second place finishes were earned by Gromer in the 200 fly, Scherry in the 1000 free and Tremblay on the one-meter board. The 400 medley relay team of senior Mary Carol Karl, junior Kelly Fischer, Tomaski and freshman Libby Cavagnaro also placed second.
Both the men and women travel to Brandeis University to battle the Judges on Saturday.
Moeller is a member of the class of 2009.
