The UR swimming and diving teams each came home from Case Western Reserve University with a win on Saturday, but the way the teams took care of business could not have been more different. The women dominated Case, winning by a score of 145-92, while the men won the final event of the day to capture a close 123-114 victory.
Coming into the last race of the meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the UR men were tied with Case 110-110. With the pressure turned up, the Yellowjackets relay team of senior Craig Matt, sophomore Ryan White, senior Zach Freed and sophomore Michael Hoffman won the race by less than half of a second to secure the win for UR, their sixth straight meet win.
The relay win was Matt’s third of the day, as he captured the 200 free and 200 butterfly crowns earlier in the meet. Also recording two individual wins for UR was sophomore Bruce Maki, who won the 500 free and 1000 free. In the 1000 free, Freed took second and freshman Matt Kaule placed third, giving the ‘Jackets an important podium sweep.
Rounding out the individual swimming winners for UR was freshman Garrett Lam, who won the 200 backstroke and finished almost five seconds ahead of the nearest Case swimmer. White placed second in the event, two seconds behind Lam.
The divers played a large role in securing the victory for UR as well. Freshman Stephen Graves won the one-meter board and sophomore David Mitsche was first on the three-meter board.
While the men were locked in a tight match-up, the women were cruising past their opponent. The ‘Jackets had six individual champions, two of which were double winners.
Senior Karen Gromer paced UR in the pool, claiming first in the 200 fly and 200 individual medley. Junior Danielle Scherry took second in the 200 fly.
In the diving events, senior Nancy Tremblay gave UR 18 points with wins on both the one-meter and three-meter boards.
Just before the men swept the podium in the 1000 free, the women stepped up and outclassed their foes in the same event. Winning the race was senior Michelle Gruen, with Scherry in second and sophomore Megan Miller placing third.
The other individual winners for the ‘Jackets were freshmen Nora Hoefer in the 100 free and Kari Joyce in the 200 back.
On Jan. 12, the Yellowjackets hosted SUNY Cortland in what was the final home meet for the senior swimmers. Before the meet, head coach Pete Thompson acknowledged each of the seniors, highlighting their collegiate careers.
The meet was tight for both teams, but in the end UR came away with a split. The men handed the Red Dragons their first loss by a score of 160-136, while the women dropped a tough 155-145 decision.
Matt once again ruled the men’s side, raking in three event wins. In the 100 free, he took first by less than .1 seconds over his Cortland foe. The 100 fly was also a nail-biter, with Matt winning by just .23 seconds. He completed his personal trifecta by winning the 200 free.
Double winners for the meet were Maki and Lam. Maki asserted his dominance in distance events, capturing the 500 and 1000 free races, and UR again swept the 1000 free with Freed second and Kaule third.
Lam took care of the backstroke events, winning the 100 and 200 back.
The other backstrokers followed Lam’s lead in the 200, as White took second and freshman David Madar placed third.
Junior Jonathan Dennison touched out the fastest Red Dragon to take first in the 200 IM. Rounding out the first place finishes for UR was the relay team of White, Freed, Maki and Hoffman, who won the 800 freestyle relay by more than 13 seconds.
While the women were not able to conquer unbeaten Cortland, there were numerous outstanding performances.
Gruen set the tempo by winning the 200 free, 500 free and 1000 free. Gromer took first in the 200 IM and 200 fly, while Joyce captured the 50 and 100 free.
All three combined with Hoefer to win the 800 free relay by over seven seconds.
The teams travel to Ithaca College on Saturday and host a diving invitational at the Speegle-Wilbraham Aquatic Center on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Moeller is a member of the class of 2009.
