By Christine Houghton
Sports Editor
The swimming and diving teams swam in several meets over winter break. The men faced two teams while the women took on three opponents.
On Jan. 17, the women’s team took on Kean University and won by a score of 119-52. This was the 100th victory for head coach Jennifer Harnett (’93), marking a successful day for the women’s team.
On Jan. 18, the Lions traveled to Southern Connecticut State University. The men won their meet 169-124 and the women fell by a score of 175-123.
The men’s 400-meter relay team of sophomores Andrew Thompson and Griffin Morgan, senior Alex Skoog and junior Harrison Yi topped the competition with a time of 3:13.05.
Freshman Matthias Altman-Kurosaki took the 1650-meter freestyle with a time of 16:55.80. Freshman Brett Clauhs took third, clocking in at 17:36.25.
Yi took first in the 200-meter freestyle at 1:45.76 while Morgan followed close behind, posting a time of 1:46.35.
The team took the top three spots in the 100-meter backstroke with Skoog taking first, Thompson placing second and junior Daniel Kneisel coming in at third with times of 52.25, 52.74 and 53.12 respectively.
Skoog then took the 50-meter freestyle at 21.71 and Morgan followed in second place, clocking in at 21.90.
Skoog topped the competition for a third time in the 100-meter freestyle swimming with a time of 46.94, while Yi took second at 48.27.
Yi also grabbed the 500-meter freestyle with a time of 4:49.43. Thompson won the 200-meter backstroke, posting a time of 1:57.28. Kneisel took the next spot at 1:58.38.
Despite losing the meet, the women’s team put up a valiant effort in the pool. The Lions’ 200-meter medley relay team placed second with senior Hailey Thayer, junior Annie Menninger, freshman Zoe Chan and sophomore Elise Fraser putting up a time of 1:38.25.
Chan took the top spot in the 100-meter backstroke as well as the 100-meter butterfly touching the wall at 1:01.44 and 59.11 respectively.
Fraser finished on top in the 50-meter freestyle at 25.42 and freshman Melanie Fosko clinched the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 56.26.
Menninger placed first in the 100-meter breaststroke at 1:09.39 and sophomore Hailey Crispell was right behind in second with a time of 1:13.29.
Menninger also went on to win the 200-meter breaststroke, stopping the clock at 2:31.56.
On Saturday, Jan. 26, the swimming and diving teams traveled to Rowan University, where they both unfortunately lost their meets. The men fell by a score of 167-133 and the women were defeated 218-82.
The men’s 400-meter relay team of Yi, Thompson, Skoog and Morgan placed first with a time of 3:10.16.
Sophomore Jay Soukup was able to place second in the three-meter dive, scoring 266.10 points. Morgan took the 1000-meter freestyle clocking in at 9:53.89.
Morgan also won the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley with times of 1:55.17 and 2:00.23 respectively.
Yi was able to come out on top in the 200-meter freestyle at 1:41.95, as well as in the 500-meter freestyle with a time of 4:48.68.
Thompson won two races as well, putting up a time of 1:53.79 in the 200-meter backstroke and 51.75 in the 100-meter butterfly.
Skoog also took two races, clocking in at 52.16 in the 100-meter backstroke and at 46.87 in the 100-meter freestyle. Sophomore Patrick Bakey placed second in the 50-meter freestyle, putting up a time of 22.04.
Kneisel took third in the 200-meter backstroke, touching the wall with a time of 2:00.78. Senior Sam Maquet also placed third in the 200-meter butterfly, clocking in at 1:57.68.
For the women’s team, Chan had an eventful day, placing first in the 200-meter butterfly and 100-meter butterfly stopping the clock at 2:12.12 and 59.32 respectively. She also took second in the 200-meter backstroke, touching the wall at 2:13.86.
Menninger took first in the 100-meter breaststroke at 1:08.81 and placed third in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:30.96.
Junior Kazia Moore placed third in the 100-meter freestyle, clocking in at 57.10. Fraser took second in the 50-meter freestyle at 25.56.
Freshman Gabi Denicola placed second in the 500-meter freestyle and third in the 1000-meter freestyle with times of 5:27.82 and 11:09.48 respectively.
Freshman Kori Jelinek also placed third in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:17.88.
The Lions return for their next meet on Saturday, Feb. 2 at home against William Paterson University.
