The home openers for both of the College's swimming teams had mixed results but showed much promise for the remainder of the season. The College hosted Franklin and Marshall College Sunday afternoon at the Aquatic Center.
The men's team beat the Diplomats with an overall score of 116-81, improving to 2-0 on the season as their opponents fell to 0-2.
Before the meet, head coach Brian Bishop said the meet would give the team "a chance to see where we are." The meet did exactly that, showing that the Lions are poised to compete at a high level for the duration of the season.
The team was led by freshman Tom Medvecky, who won the 1,000-meter freestyle in 9:57.95, defeating a returning All-American in the process. Medvecky also took first in the 200-meter butterfly (1:59.04).
"I felt I did very well for this point in the season," Medvecky said. "I've already made improvements and they are visible."
The College also won the 400-meter medley relay with a time of 3:37.06. Seniors Kevin Oliver, Liam Gallagher and Josh Forsman and sophomore Myles O' Connor contributed to the winning team effort.
Commenting on his personal effort, Oliver said he "was happy with (his) performance during the meet."
"Everyone was excited to be swimming in front of the crowd," Oliver said. "Not just me, but our whole team was pumped."
The Lions also won the 400-meter freestyle relay to finish the meet with a time of 3:17.00. Contributors to the victory were Forsman, O'Connor, freshman Shawn Kircher and junior Mike Molloy. Molloy and Forsman finished first and second in the 200-meter freestyle with times of 1:46.27 and 1:49.38, respectively.
Kircher won the 100-meter freestyle (48.63) and Gallagher took first in the 200-meter individual medley in 2:00.43. Junior Thomas Nawrot placed first in the 50-meter freestyle, posting a time of 22.24.
The women's team also swam against Franklin and Marshall College on Sunday but had less favorable results, falling to the Diplomats 104-101. With the loss, the Lions dropped to 1-2 on the season.
A bright spot in the loss was senior Ava Kiss who came in first in the 200-meter freestyle (2:01.10) and finished second in the 200-meter butterfly (2:15.24).
Freshman Margaret Molloy also performed well, finishing first in the 500-meter freestyle (5:25.66) and coming in second in the 1,000-meter freestyle in 11:01.17.
The Lions also finished first, second and third in the 50-meter freestyle thanks to freshman Ashley Robb, senior Lauren Pfeifer and freshman Michele Wilson, respectively. Wilson won the 100-meter freestyle as well (57.09) and junior Stacy Delehanty took second in the individual medley (2:20.47).
This close meet came down to the final event, the 400-meter freestyle relay, but the College was forced to settle for second place. Although the Lions did not win, Robb was still optimistic about the team's performance.
"I think as a whole this was our best meet so far this season," Robb said. "We have a really strong freshman class who have stepped up and really pushed the upperclassmen to do better."
Head coach Jennifer Harnett was proud of her team.
"It was anybody's meet," she said. "The girls are performing better at this point in the season than last year."
The teams will continue their seasons on Saturday when the College hosts Division II Southern Connecticut State University.
"I think this season has been a lot tougher than last season," Robb said. "I think our positive attitudes paid off and now we're starting to realize how far we can take our team this year."
