Buffalo, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's and women's swimming and diving teams took on Canisius University in their first meet since the Magnus Cup in late November on Saturday afternoon. The meet was split as it marked the men's program's first victory against a Division I foe as they came away with a 139-102 victory, while the women's team dropped the meet, 166-76.
"We had a tremendous training period, first in Syracuse, then West Palm Beach, Fla. We started gearing up for the meet a week ago," said head coach Adam Zaczkowski '04. "I spoke with the athletes about mind over matter. We were all sore and tired. We knew Canisius was too."
"I was really impressed with our women's diving squad. Freshman Gabby Williams (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) won both the one-meter and three-meter boards and junior Riley Brennen (New Hartford, N.Y./New Hartford) was tough as usual as her two second-place finishes really separated us from them."
"I thought freshmen Shannon Swezey (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) and Kim Velazquez (Fairfield, C.T./Fairfield Warde) both had breakout performances. Swezey was battling injury in the first semester and is finally healthy while Velazquez is continuing her hot first-half start."
"Our women's 200 Freestyle Relay was barely touched out and would have been a great ending to the meet."
"On the men's side, I have to tip my hat to our freshman and sophomores. Freshmen Michael White Jr. (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker), Alex Pilieci (Ottawa, O.N./John McCrae), and Lucas Clay (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker), and sophomore Justin Enser (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) all won individual events, while both the 400-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays were victorious."
"Our three divers dominated the boards today and will be a real force in the NEC Championships at the end of February.
"We knew that we had a real shot at winning today. We bested the Canisius side at mid-season championships and I knew going in it would have taken a special effort from them to get us. This first win is a collaboration between our great strength and conditioning coaches, Ben Gaal and Lucas Brey and our team trainer, Sam Familo."
"We close out the regular season with three home meets against LIU, Niagara and Cornell with LIU coming at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 13."
Women's Squad:
Velazquez placed second in the 1000-yard freestyle with a final time of 11:22.02.
Sophomore Kayleigh Bigwarfe (Glenmont, N.Y/Glenmont) finished second in the 100-yard freestyle, coming in at 55.93.
The squad consisting of sophomore Lucy Catalano (Glenville, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), freshman Kaiya Fraley (Watervliet, N.Y./Shaker), Swezey, and Bigwarfe took second in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:42.33.
Williams, Brennan, and freshman Alyssa Kearns (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) took the top three spots in the one-meter dive with scores of 222.45, 183.08, and 152.78, respectively. Williams and Brennen finished first and second again in the three-meter dive with scores of 224.85 and 165.83.
Men's Team:
The relay team consisting of sophomore Enser, Clay, Pilieci, and freshman Jack Milligan (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) nabbed first place in the 400-yard medley, coming in at 3:27.72.
Enser came in first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.57.
White claimed the top spot in the 200-yard IM with a final time of 1:56.17, as well as the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.31.
Pilieci came out on top in the 200-yard butterfly, wrapping up at the 1:55.85 mark.
Clay finished with a time of 2:04.81and grabbed first place in the 200-yard breaststroke.
White, Enser, sophomore Michael Han (Auckland, N.Z./Pakuranga College), and junior Xavier Silaika (Rexford, N.Y./Shenendehowa) claimed first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay, coming in at 1:25.20.
Junior Patrick Scott (Utica, N.Y./New Hartford/Niagara), freshman Louis Allison (Queensbury, N.y./Queenbury), and sophomore Adam Kaszovitz (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) finished first through third in the one-meter dive with scores of 237.15, 212.70, and 197.18, respectively. The trio finished Allison (218.25), Scott (206.40), Kaszovitz (191.70) first through third in the three-meter dive, as well.
What's Next:
The Dolphins will return to Rev. Vincent B. Ryan, S.J. Pool for their first home meet in two months as they host LIU starting at 11:00 a.m.
