The men’s swimming and diving team fell to Union College, 132.5-97.5 in Schenectady on Saturday.
Freshman Craig Matt and sophomore Ted Elton won two events a piece for the Yellowjackets, who fell to 2-1. Matt took home the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly and Elton placed first in the one- and three-meter dives.
In the 200-yard fly, Matt finished in a time of 2:02.41, coming in ahead of second-place finisher Aaron Phillips. In the 500-yard freestyle, Matt won by less than a second, edging out Union’s Chuck Kinet with a time of 4:56.71.
Leading for most of the race, Matt didn’t panic when he saw Kinet gaining on him in the last lap.
“I was working hard throughout the entire race and just used whatever adrenaline was left at the end,” Matt said. “I knew he was catching up with me so I really started to pour it on at the end and held on for the win.”
As opposed to the 200-yard, where Matt started at a fast pace and focused on holding it for the remainder of the race, the 500-yard required him to develop and follow a slightly steadier and more balanced plan.
“Because [the 500-yard] is longer I can’t take it out quite as fast as the 200,” he said. “So I took it out at a decent pace and then, for the last 100 [yards] I did what I had to win it.”
Matt also came in second in the 200-yard freestyle, swimming it in 1:45.30. Dutchman Elliot Sequin won the race, finishing with a time of 1:44.13.
A Branford, Conn. native, Elton scored a 193.65 in the three-meter, defeating Union’s Adam Bekiaris by just over three points. Later, in the one-meter, he bested Bekiaris again, beating the Dutchman senior, 199.56-139.73.
Several other swimmers posted good showings against Union, as well. Freshman Zachary Freed earned second place in the 1,000-yard freestyle, completing the race in 10:11.79. He was also runner-up in the 200-yard individual medley and finished the 500-yard freestyle in third.
In the 100-yard freestyle, junior Peter Maxwell and sophomore Ian Areces finished second and third, respectively. Brian Immerman was defeated by Union’s David Hogenkamp in the 200-yard backstroke. The senior came in second with a 2:14.44. Freshman Anthony Furstoff finished in fourth and classmate Alexander Wang came in fifth.
Senior Mike McCormick turned in a season-best performance in the 200-yard fly, finishing in third place.
Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, a valiant effort in the pool did not result in a victory on the scoreboard.
“We showed a strong, tight effort throughout the meet. It came down to the last few events and they pulled it out,” Head Coach Eric Stefanski said. “Union is definitely beatable, though. We should be able to beat them in the [Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association Championships].”
On Saturday, UR will host Nazareth and Brandeis Colleges at Speegle Wilbraham Aquatic Center. Local rival Nazareth comes in with a record of 1-5 while Brandeis currently stands at 4-1.
Though the Golden Eagles don’t appear to pose a major threat to the Yellowjackets, UR certainly has its work cut it for it against the Judges.
“Like against Union, we have a chance to show our strength against a great team in the Judges,” Stefanski said. “We’re going to need to show heart to win.”
Gerton can be reached at mgerton@campustimes.org.
