A much-needed win for the College's men's and women's swimming and diving teams came this weekend against a conference rival. The Lions traveled to Wayne, N.J., on Saturday to test their swimming skills against William Paterson University.
The men posted a final score of 134.5-96.5, improving their record to 6-3, while the women defeated the Pioneers 137-95 as they added to their win column and now stand at 3-7. Both teams face Ramapo College for their final dual meet of the season on Feb. 8.
Junior diver and record holder Greg Lloyd yet again posted NCAA provisional qualifying scores in the one- and three-meter dives to win both with scores of 288.45 and 340.20, respectively. The College finished first in both the 200-meter medley relay (1:43.23) and 200-meter freestyle relay (1:30.92) and freshman Tim Rauch added a victory in the 1,000-meter freestyle, winning the race in 9:58.60.
Freshman Shawn Kircher took first in two events to contribute to the victory, winning the 50-meter freestyle in 22.30 and the 500-meter freestyle in 4:56.65.
Junior Mike Molloy won twice as well on Saturday, finishing first in the 200-meter backstroke (2:00.61) and 200-meter freestyle (1:49.01). The Lions finished first through third in the 200-meter freestyle with senior Jonaid Lone taking second and freshman Peter Goldsmith finishing third.
Other victories included freshman Joe Tseng's win in the 200-meter individual medley, sophomore Herman Chu's first-place finish in the 200-meter butterfly and freshman Andrew Hessler's win in the 200-meter breaststroke.
Regarding goals for the end of the season, men's head coach Brian Bishop said, "We are perfecting everything. . No mistakes."
The College's women's team also dominated with a number of first-place finishes. Freshman diver Amanda Obst took first in the one- and three-meter events scoring 186.30 and 196.40, respectively.
Other highlights included freshman Margaret Molloy's win in the 200-meter butterfly (2:12.63) and senior Liz LaCava's second-place finish in the same event (2:30.58). The Lions placed first through third in the 1,000-meter freestyle with freshman Michele Wilson taking the event, junior Brittany Collyer finishing second and senior Kristin Udicious finishing third.
Senior Ava Kiss won the 50-meter freestyle in 25.27 and freshman Jennifer Rashti took first in the 200-meter freestyle in 2:05.75. Freshman Melissa Wallace and sophomore Christina Falcone came in first and second in 2:24.50 and 2:25.87, respectively. Freshman Katie Zadova came in first in the 100-meter freestyle as well, finishing in 56.99, and junior Emily Reichard won the 500-meter freestyle in 5:30.21.
After the meet with Ramapo on Friday, the Lions will be put to the test in the Metropolitan Conference Championships at Rutgers University beginning Feb. 22, and eventually in the NCAA Division III Championships, hosted by the College of Wooster.
"The level of competition in the last two meets allows us some flexibility in our lineups," women's head coach Jennifer Harnett said. "They should be easy wins for us, which will add to our confidence going into the (Metropolitan Conference) Championships."
