The men’s swimming and diving team put forth a valiant effort last week against heavily favored Brandeis University, but fell short in a 170.5-123.5 loss.
“It was our first meet swimming a full, 32-event format,” Head Coach Danielle Herring said. “All of our swimmers swam four events, and many were not used to this. I was happy to see that they could still perform under [bad pool] conditions.”
“It was reassuring to see them perform through those conditions,” Herring said. “We won’t always swim in the best of pools, and we need to be able to race hard even when we are uncomfortable.”
Sophomore Zachary Freed led the way for Rochester, winning the 1,000-yard freestyle, the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly.
He also swam season-best times in both the 1,000-freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly. Senior Pete Maxwell won the 100-yard backstroke.
“[Brandeis] had some very fast swimmers, and we all got to face some pretty stiff competition,” Freed said. “It was a good experience, and great preparation for the rest of the season.”
The diving team also put forth a strong performance. For the first time all season, they dove in a championship format, with a full list of 11 dives. Senior Ted Elton continued to dominate, winning both events.Freshman John Park also performed well, taking second in both events.
“I really liked what I saw out of our divers,” Head Diving Coach Greg Brandes said. “Every single meet we improve a little more, and every practice we add something new to our arsenal. We are getting to be very dangerous.”
The team did not swim last weekend. Instead they spent the time preparing for the Liberty League Championships, which will be held at Hamilton College. This contest serves as one of the biggest meets so far on the team’s schedule.
“We are very excited to swim,” Herring said. “We will be well rested, and ready to perform beyond our expectations.”
Nissan can be reached at dnissan@campustimes.org.
