By Joseph Caruso
Sports Editor
The College’s men and women swim teams posted dominant performances in the TCNJ Invitational, with the men’s team posting three consecutive first place finishes, and the women finishing in the top two all three times, ending the invitational in first place.
The men’s team has started the season with back to back wins heading into the Invitational. On the first day, senior Andrew Kidchob continued his legendary collegiate career, as he set a new program record of 48.98 in the 400-Medley Relay on the backstroke.
Kidchob’s dominance set the tone for the Lions who completely controlled day one, taking the top two spots in all of the championship heats. After the first day, the College sat comfortably in front with 425 points.
On Saturday, the College continued to widen the gap between them and the other schools, registering a plethora of impressive performances. The Lions secured a win in the 200-Medley Relay, as their lead grew with a total of 953 points heading into the final day.
On the final day, the College punctuated a great performance by tallying a total of 1429 points, nearly doubling the team that finished in second place to cap off an excellent showing that saw them taking home the TCNJ Invitational.
On the women’s side, the College couldn’t end the day in first place, but gathered enough points to finish in second with 263.5, led by a win from junior Sarah Mendy, who dominated the 500 free. The Lions closed the gap on the second day, but still trailed despite their impressive total of 693.5 points.
On the final day, the College leaped Stevens to claim first place in the Invitational, led by senior Bridget Cleveland who earned the win in the 200 back with a time of 2:09.59. The College showed how dangerous they could be by coming back and grabbing the championship, and despite the 1-2 start, they have lots to look forward to with New Jersey Athletic Conference play coming up.
The Men’s team will resume play on Saturday, Dec. 6. The Women’s team will wait until Jan. 16 for their next match when they face Rowan.
