The Lions stroked into first for the win this weekend in the meet against Franklin & Marshall College on Friday Nov. 13 at the College. The women’s swimming team remained undefeated (5-0, 2-0 NJAC) with 127-74 win, while the men’s team won its fourth meet of the season, 133.5–71.5 (4-1, 2-0 NJAC).
Junior Margaret Molloy led the Lions with two first-place finishes, along with contributing to the 400-yard relay win. Molloy won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:57.76, and gained first in the 500-yard free in 5:14.99.
Our team is really pumped this year," Molloy said. "We were confident going to the meet and the positive attitude on the team helps make everyone excited for every swim."
It was sophomore Tom Medvecky and junior Mike Vernoia who paced the Lions for the win. The winners helped the Lions dominate, winning 10 of the 11 meet events.
Medvecky took first in the 500-yard in 4:45.77, and also helped win the 400-yard medley relay and the 200-yard relay. Vernoia placed first in the 100-yard free with a time of 48.84 and the 200-yard free also, finishing in 1:47.27.
“We were very confident going into the meet,” Vernoia said. “We only lost once to Stevens, but there’s no doubt we could’ve have won. We’re over that and we’re back in business now.”
The women’s team, on the other hand, did not only win because of Molloy. Sophomore Laura Pierce not only helped to win the 200 and 400-yard relays, but she qualified for the NCAA’B’ by three hundredths of a second with a time of 58.47 in the 100-yard butterfly.
The Lions also had sophomore Traci Hofer, freshmen Kayleigh Shangle and Kristin Wikoff, and junior Katie Morgan add to the win. Hofer took first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.82, while Shangle took the top spot in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:15.47. Wikoff earned first in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.64 and Morgan finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:09.64.
The men’s team also had other contributors to the win. Lions’ junior Joe Tseng raced to the finish in two events, including the 400-yard medley relay and the 100-yard backstroke. Senior Myles O’Connor added to the 400-yard medley relay and placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.82. Freshman Evan Paulan took first with a time of 54.23 in the 100-yard butterfly.
The Lions also had sophomore divers T.J. Burns and Billy Cavallo lead the way in the one and three meter diving events.
O’Connor, Medvecky, Vernoia, and junior Tim Rauch also competed in the Princeton Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 14, placing in the top three spots of each of their events. O’Connor took first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.17 and placed third in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing in 2:09.42. These times helped O’Connor to qualify for the NCAA ‘B’ cut team for his second time this season.
Vernoia finished second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:41.96 and Medvecky came in second place in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:56.64. Rauch competed in the 1650-yard free, finishing in third with a time of 16:03.81.
The Lions swam against Division I athletes from Princeton University, Bucknell University, New York University, and Fordham University.
Both teams will return to the pool on Dec. 5 at the Franklin and Marshall College Invitational in Lancaster, P.A.
