Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's and women's swimming and diving teams hosted Cornell University and wrapped up their regular seasons at Nottingham High School on Saturday afternoon. Both 'Phins teams dropped the dual meet with the women coming away with a 180-108 loss and the men falling, 174-115.

"Today's contest versus Cornell was a great end to the dual meet season," said head coach Adam Zaczkowski '04.

"On the women's side, we saw season-best swims from many of the squad. Junior Brooke Sommo (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) was at or better than her lifetime bests in the 100 Butterfly and Backstroke and sophomore Maddie O'Dea (Milton, O.N./Milton District) had a really encouraging relay split in the 100 Breaststroke.

"A pair of freshmen, Kim Velazquez (Fairfield, C.T./Fairfield Warde) and Kaitlyn Thompson (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) had great 500 races. Thompson had a lifetime best in the 100 Backstroke earlier in the meet, as well," Zaczkowski added. "Sophomore Kayleigh Bigwarfe (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem) had personal bests in the individual races and sophomore Lucy Catalano (Glenville, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) is getting speedy at the right time."

"Senior captain Alexandra Welliver (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Notre Dame) had best times in the 50 and 100 freestyle while women's senior co-captain Gina Cittadino (Utica, N.Y./New Hartford) had a lifetime best in the 100 backstroke and our women's 200 Freestyle relay was right off of our season best"

"On the men's side, we were battling through some sickness and injury that sidelined some of our front line swimmers."

"Junior Xavier Silaika (Rexford, N.Y./Shenendehowa) had a great 50 freestyle and I was impressed with freshman Nolan Carner (Weedsport, N.Y./Weedsport) who swam his first 1650 and then was fastest in the 50 Butterfly."

"Junior Nathaniel Kwait (Farfield, C.T./Fairfield) was only 10 seconds off his mid-season time in the 1650, freshman Jack Milligan (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) was good in the 100 Freestyle and Butterfly, and our 200 freestyle relay was only a few tenths off of our mid-season time," said Zaczkowski.

"All of this shows our work and preparation is paying off. We had a great attitude and will be ready for conference championships at the end of February."

Women's Squad:
The relay team of sophomore Zoe Coburn (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephens), O'Dea, Velazquez, and freshman Kaiya Fraley (Watervliet, N.Y./Shaker) took third in the 400-yard medley relay, coming in at 4:04.07.

Freshman Shannon Swezey (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) earned third in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 29.08 and second in the 100-yard freestyle at 55.44.

Sommo earned second place in the 100-yard backstroke, coming in with a time of 59.36.

Velazquez, Thompson, and sophomore Abigail Jaros (New Hartford, N.Y./New Hartford) took the top three spots in the 500-yard freestyle with times of 5:22.27, 5:32.77, and 5:39.89, respectively. 

Sophomore Victoria Hewitt (Fulshear, T.X./Jordan) claimed first in the 50-yard butterfly with a time of 28.25 just ahead of Fraley (28.33) and O'Dea (28.79).

Bigwarfe, freshman Sydney Stalbaum (Austin, T.X./Dripping Springs), and senior Brenna Horan (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point/SUNY Geneseo) claimed first-third in the 100-yard IM with times of 1:03.60, 1:07.69, and 1:08.61, respectively. 

The relay team consisting of Sommo, Bigwarfe, Catalano, and Fraley took first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a final time of 1:40.04.

Men's Team:
The team of sophomore Justin Enser (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton), freshmen Lucas Clay (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) and Alexander Pilieci (Ottawa, O.N./John McCrae), and Milligan claimed second in the 400-yard medley relay with a final time of 3:25.75.

Clay placed third in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing at the 1:44.05 mark and led the charge in the 500-yard freestyle, coming in at 4:50.65, ahead of freshman Jacob Griffin (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse), who came in at 5:16.19, and sophomore Jackson James (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield), with a time of 5:16.57.

Silaika took second place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.79.

Freshman Andrew Hartman (Slingerlands, N.Y./Bethlehem) came in third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.53.

Carner, Pilieci, and James took the top three spots in the 50-yard butterfly with times of 23.55, 23.73, and 25.85, respectively. 

Silaika (4:26.94), sophomore Zachary Kilburn (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown), with a time of 4:45.53, and senior Colby Randall (Mannsville, N.Y./South Jefferson), at 5:05.76, finished first-third in the 400-yard IM.

The relay team of Enser, Griffin, Milligan, and Carner earned first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a final time of 1:25.18.

Junior Patrick Scott (Utica, N.Y./New Hartford/Niagara) claimed the top spot in the one-meter dive events with scores of 160.00 and 252.50, respectively.

What's Next:
The Dolphins will prepare in the coming weeks for the Northeast Conference Championships at Spire Institute in Geneva, O.H. from Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 19-22.