Tension was running high last week at the Lions' dual swim meet on Saturday, Nov. 18 against Bloomsburg University.
The men's team had lost its undefeated record only six days before to Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in a close 125-114 meet, but it regained its footing against Bloomsburg for the win, 142-103.
The men took first place in 12 individual events and in two relays. Averaging about 29.14 seconds a lap, sophomore Mike Molloy snagged first in the 1,650-meter freestyle and again in the 500-meter freestyle.
Freshman Jon Waltz placed first in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:49.62. In the next event, junior Kevin Oliver won the 50-meter backstroke in 25.31. Sophomore Ted Yoa gave the Lions two wins in both the 50-meter breaststroke in 28.02 time and in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:00.40. Freshman Herman Chu captured first in the 100-meter butterfly in 54.66 and in the 50-meter butterfly in 24.58.
Senior Kyle King contributed to the team with another two wins in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle, cutting more than a second off of his 100-meter freestyle time against SCSU days before. In the 100-meter backstroke, junior Liam Gallagher beat out his opponents in an impressive 55.04 and again in the 400-meter individual medley in 4:21.16.
The College took first in the 200-meter freestyle relay and the 200-meter medley relay in 1:29.17 and 1:37.95, respectively. Additionally, sophomore diver Greg Lloyd earned NCAA qualifying scores with 279.30 in the three-meter diving event and 270.68 in the one-meter.
The women's team, despite strong individual times and NCAA diving qualifiers, lost to Bloomsburg's Huskies 137-125. The women earned eight first-place finishes in the meet. The medley relay, made up of junior Christine Marino, sophomore Emily Reichard, junior Stefanie Rashti and senior Catherine Benigno, finished with a time of 4:19.34.
Taking first place in the 200-meter freestyle, junior Ava Kiss finished in 1:56.53. She also won the 100-meter freestyle in 54.44. Reichard placed first in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:10.27 and the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:29.63.
Rashti finished first with a time of 2:18.19 in the 200-meter butterfly. Freshman Stephanie Seto took first in the 500-meter freestyle in 5:21.64, averaging about 32.16 per lap. Senior diver Lee Swanson also placed first with NCAA qualifying scores in the three-meter diving event and the one-meter diving event with scores of 260.70 and 252.68, respectively.
The Bloomsburg meet sets the men's record at 3-1 while the women's team moves to 1-4.
The Lions will now rest up for Winter break, as its next meet is not until Jan. 19 against West Chester University.
