After a strong rookie season, sophomore Gunnar Zemering has come out to a strong start as a big contributor for UR men’s swimming this season. When the UR men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to the Grove City Invitational in Grove City, PA last weekend, Zemering and several other ‘Jackets had stellar performances, winning numerous individual races.
Zemering led the team to three first place wins, taking first in the 50-freestyle and the 100-freestyle. He also swam one of the legs in Rochester’s first-place-finishing 200-freestyle relay. The other members of that winning relay team were junior Ryan Berger, junior A.J. Brewer and freshman Danny Aronson. In addition to contributing to the success of the team, Zemering’s results earned him the title of Liberty League Men’s Swimmer of the Week.
Other winners for the men’s team included freshmen Eric Feirouz and Elliot Schwinn, who took first in the 200-backstroke and men’s 1000-freestyle, respectively.
On the women’s side, the ‘Jackets more than held their own. UR claimed first place in five races, including two races won by sophomore Annie Thayer. Thayer was victorious in the 200-butterfly and 400-individual medley. To add to the team’s successes, freshman Becca Selznick won the 200-freestyle, junior Alex Veech took the 100-breaststroke and senior All-American Vicky Luan reached the wall first in the 50-freestyle, an event that is only one trip across the pool and back, making it short and incredibly intense.
The ‘Jackets will now go into a period of intensive training until their next meet, which is scheduled for Dec. 4 and 5, when they travel to Troy, N.Y. for the Liberty League Championships hosted by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Although that both the Rochester men’s and women’s squads finished first at last year’s Liberty League Championships, both teams will be facing tough competition as they go in with targets on their backs.
Shapiro is a member of the class of 2016.
