The swimming and diving team faced off in a quad meet against Bucknell University, American University and host Naval Academy on Saturday. Both the men’s and women’s teams fell to all three opponents.
With the Patriot League Championship being held at Navy in February, the meet allowed the Leopards to get an early feel for the pool and their competition.
“It gives us a good idea of where our mindset should be towards the future,” junior Landon Orth said. “It also gives us a really good opportunity to see how the facility is before champs.”
For the men, freshmen Augustus Sefcik and Justin Tucker finished with season-best performances, clocking in at 46.94 in the 100-yard freestyle and 4:41.79 in the 500-yard freestyle, respectively. Senior Tommy Weber took home fifth in the 50-yard freestyle at 21.62 while also managing sixth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 52.93.
Junior Trey Telleen garnered bronze in the one-meter dive, scoring 264.15. Orth finished closely behind at 263.45 while also pulling out a 289.70 mark on the three-meter dive, placing fourth in both.
“I was sick coming into this meet, but I didn’t want to miss it,” Orth said. “I know I could have nailed some dives better than usual, but it happens.”
Ten men’s swimmers were scratched from the quad lineup due to illness, allowing the Leopards to dig into their depth and get more inexperienced athletes into the pool.
“We weren’t able to send our best, but I still think, given the circumstances, we did a pretty good job,” Orth said.
On the women’s side, senior Isabella Van Ess notched a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke at 2:24.27. Freshman Frankie DiGiovanni continued to make early strides, clocking in at 10:58.26 in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
Junior Caroline Schenck took eighth in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:57.72 finish, acquiring a season-best.
“I transitioned to focusing more on the 200 this year,” Schenck said. “The 200 free is kind of painful, but it’s something you have to fight through the whole time.”
Sophomore Ever Ferguson and freshman Luca Pirone both finished in eighth place with team-bests for the season, punching in at 2:12.33 in the 200-yard butterfly and 25.03 in the 50-yard freestyle, respectively.
Both women’s divers took bronze in their respective events. Senior Katie Hensell scored 246.50 in the three-meter, while junior Mia Guster collected an even 242 in the one-meter.
The Leopards will return to action at Lehigh University on Nov. 21 to kick off Rivalry Weekend.
“We feel really confident going into Lehigh,” Schenck said. “Since I’ve been here, this is definitely the best place we’ve been in as a team in terms of times and how everybody’s feeling about their swims. We just need to keep the momentum coming.”