On their annual senior day, the Ithaca College swimming and diving teams sent their seniors out with one of its biggest dual meet wins of the season Jan. 25 at the Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium. The Bombers took down the Gannon University Golden Knights, with the men’s team winning 195-96 and the women’s team winning 204.5-93.5. It was the largest margin of victory for the men and the third largest for the women this season.
Swimming
Both teams set the tone from the start with the 200-yard medley relays. The women’s A-team of sophomore swimmer Samantha Bender, first-year student swimmer Sydney Koehler, sophomore swimmer Kathleen Papiernik and junior swimmer Elke Beaumont won with a time of 1:46.80. Meanwhile, the men’s A-team of sophomore swimmer Alec Kutsner, first-year student swimmer Will Stanczewski, senior swimmer Matthew Mitros and first-year student swimmer Spencer Alderson touched the wall first in 1:32.33.
After a win for the men’s team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Jan. 18, Mitros said the team’s dominant win against the Golden Knights was important for the team to keep the momentum rolling.
“Watching everyone swim so much faster than last week was electric,” Mitros said. “Probably our best dual meet of the season. Everyone swam a lot of personal bests today, which was awesome to see.”
The individual events were off to a hot start for the Bombers, as junior swimmer Ava Palfreyman took home the win in the women’s 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:42.27. On the men’s side, senior swimmer Matthew Stevens swam a season-best time of 9:46.05 for the win.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Beaumont won at the wall on the women’s side with a time of 58.87 seconds, narrowly beating Golden Knights first-year student swimmer Juliana Romero Castro, who swam a time of 59.07 seconds. while Kutsner won the men’s race, passing the flags in 51.19 seconds. First-year student swimmer Elizabeth Bodie and sophomore swimmer Evan Wardrop finished third in their events, touching the wall in 59.23 and 52.31 seconds respectively.
In the 100-yard butterfly, Papiernik and Bodie closely paced each other to earn first and second place with times of 55.66 and 57.34 seconds, respectively. For the men, Mitros eclipsed the 50-second mark for the first time this season, seeing the excitement of his teammates as he finished second with a time of 49.84
Senior swimmer Kerry O’Brien said both the individual and team performance against the Golden Knights was one of their best this season and that the positive outlook from the meet will power the team in the coming weeks.
“I feel like this was a really big confidence boost for us this weekend,” O’Brien said. “Taking that and carrying it into next week is going to be crucial.”
Diving
In the diving events, both the men and women swept the scoring. Junior diver Eliza Salus and senior diver Kailee Payne won the 1- and 3-meter dives with scores of 393.14 and 552.66, respectively. Senior diver Samuel Smith won both the 1- and 3-meter dives, scoring 277.57 and 431.99 points in each.
With the Liberty League Championships approaching, Mitros said that breaking down the fundamentals will be a huge determining factor toward the men’s team’s pursuit of its first Liberty League Championship.
“We have to attack the relays, especially on the take-offs,” Mitros said. “Every individual race has to be swam at its very best. It’s going to be a tough fight this year, but I think the guys are up for it.”
In her final home meet before the Liberty League Championships, O’Brien said the women’s team’s support for each other was present throughout the meet, helping to carry the team to the decisive win.
“Everyone really came together,” O’Brien said. “It was awesome to see not only individuals do well, but collectively being able to support each other was awesome to be a part of.”
The Bombers’ next matchup finds them on the road at 1 p.m. Feb. 1 at SUNY Geneseo, their last competition before they host the Liberty League Championships Feb. 19–22.
