The swimming and diving team took to the pool this past weekend against Loyola University in its first meet of the year. The men’s and women’s teams lost to the Greyhounds 204-95 and 184-116, respectively.
On the men’s diving side, sophomore Landon Orth led the way, breaking both the school and pool records in the 1-meter dive while taking first with a score of 315.30, reaching an NCAA Division I Zone A qualifying standard. Orth also took first in the 3-meter dive with a score of 297.93.
“I always had some nerves going in, but I mostly felt really good about the meet,” Orth said. “We practiced a lot, trained as hard as we could. I felt really good during the meet. I was relaxed and just enjoying myself.”
On the women’s diving side, two records were broken by sophomore Mia Guster in the 1 and 3-meter dives. In the 1-meter, she scored 258.23 to secure first place and break her previous record. In the 3-meter, she won with a score of 253.13, breaking the school record held by Alana Anzalone ’04 of 244.80.
The Maroon and White did not stop at diving with some good personal performances for the swimmers, as senior Maggie Ivie took home first and second-place finishes in the 100 (59.89) and 200-yard backstroke (2:10.68).
Junior Isabella Van Ess secured a first and second in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.67) and 200-yard IM (2:10.95). Freshman Ever Ferguson won the 200-yard fly with a time of 2:10.36, and sophomore Abigail Bebel was not far behind in second (2:11.52).
For the men’s swimmers, sophomore Alexander Zoldan placed second in both the 500 and 1000-yard freestyles with times of 4:45.63 and 9:51.43, respectively. Sophomore Alexander Reihl secured second in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, and senior Peter Kawash had two second-place finishes in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard IM.
Kawash said that something the team emphasizes is to not “make the moment bigger than it is.”
“Just like you’re racing the boys on a Saturday practice, it’s the same idea,” he said. “You just got to go out there and try to swim fast.”
Although both teams lost overall, according to Orth, head coach James Dailey praised the team for its performance.
The Leopards look to rebound next meet at Colgate University this Saturday.
“One of the ones we always kind of circle is Colgate,” Kawash said. “It’s a meet usually, at least my full time here, we’ve won every time.”