It was a tough weekend for the men's and women's swimming and diving teams, as both suffered losses. On Friday, the women's team lost to the C.W. Post Pioneers by a score of 145-92. Overall, the women are 1-2 on the year.
Senior Lee Swanson earned first place in the one-meter and three-meter diving events with scores of 257.18 and 301.50, respectively. Although it's only the second meet of the year, the victory gives Swanson a qualification for the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships. Swanson also broke a college record, surpassing former Lion Diane Maiese in the three-meter event. Maiese previously held the title for nine years with a score of 292.82.
Junior Ava Kiss also had a first place finish for the night. Kiss finished in 1:57.62 in the 200-freestyle and earned second place in the 100-butterfly with a time of 57.78. The Lions' 200-medley relay team earned second place in 1:54.66. The team consisted of junior Christine Marino, junior Lauren Pfeifer, sophomore Brittany Collyer and Kiss.
On Sunday, the men and women's teams competed against Division II opponent Southern Connecticut State University. Both teams suffered losses, with the men losing 125-114. The men lost for the first time and now stand at 2-1. The women lost 127.5-109.5 and are now 1-3.
Once again, Kiss had an exceptional night, earning two first place finishes. Kiss was also a member of the 400-freestyle medley relay team, which took home first place also. Kiss won the 200-freestyle in 1:57.04 and the 100 in 54.56. The 400 freestyle medley team consisted of Collyer and freshmen Julie Nami and Stephanie Seto.
Seto earned second in the 500-freestyle in 5:24.95 and second in the 1,000-freestyle with a time of 11:13.10.
Sophomore Emily Reichard also took home a first place finish in the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:33.40. Swanson continued to have a strong showing, taking home first place in the three-meter diving competition and capturing second place in the one-meter event with a mark of 235.90.
Although suffering a loss, the men's team had an impressive start with the 400-medley relay team placing first in 3:36.38. Junior Kevin Oliver, sophomore Ted Yoa, junior Josh Forsman and senior captain Kyle King were all members of the team.
The 400-freestyle relay team also captured the victory with junior captain Liam Gallagher, sophomore Mike Molloy and sophomore Thomas Nawrot, who finished the race in 3:13.85.
"They are a strong team," Nawrot said. "We knew that going in, we only beat them by one point last year; some things just don't go our way."
Gallagher earned first place in the 200-individual medley and took home second in the 200-backstroke with a time of 1:59.74.
"Almost everyone swam faster than we did last year, which is great," Nawrot said. "This isn't something to look back on and be upset about; it's a learning experience."
In diving action, sophomore Greg Lloyd won the three-meter diving event with a score of 241.05 and earned second in the one-meter event in 248.65.
Both teams return to the pool on Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. at home as they take on Division II Bloomsburg University.
