Women and men swimmers post first wins of the season

The women’s and men’s swimming teams posted first wins of the season in action on Nov. 13, winning against Alfred, with divers from the women’s team called on to do double duty.

After finishing one-two in the 3-meter diving event, Meghan Bartlett (Johnstown/Johnstown) and Sam Kowalewski (Cowlesville/Attica) were called upon to race in the 200-yard freestyle relay at the end of the Nov. 13 home swimming and diving meet against Alfred. Unexpected shortages on the women's swimming team forced the divers to team up with Taylor Chwalinski (West Seneca/West Seneca West) and Danielle Dembrow (Lockport/Lockport) to finish second in the event (1:50.77), less than one second behind the first place team from Alfred (1:49.86).

Sam Rokos (Delanson/Duanesburg), normally the team's top sprint freestyler, was called on to race in both the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly. She won both events with times of 1:04.74 and 1:03.59, respectively.

The unusual line-ups were part of the team's first win of the season against the Saxons, 121-107.

"The divers did really well in more ways than one," head coach Arthur Wang said. "They contributed quite a bit to our victory as they swam in a relay and went one-two-three in both boards. Sam won the events we needed her to win."

In addition to aiding in the relay, Bartlett finished first in the 1-meter dive (273.60), ahead of freshman Julie Coomer (East Aurora/ Iroquois) who took second. Kowalewski took third in the event (225.30).

Chwalinski also won the 100-yard freestyle (58.51), while Dembrow and Lauren Goeing (Clarence/Clarence) went one-two in the 100-yard breaststroke with times of 1:11.16 and 1:13.42.

"We had people do things that weren't typically in their repertoire tonight," said Wang.

Freshman Jake Favret won the 100-meter breaststroke against Alfred on Friday.

On the men's side, freshman Jake Favret (Watertown/Watertown) highlighted the progression of the men's swimming and diving team Friday night, winning the 100-yard breaststroke against Alfred.

Finishing with a time of 1:01.89, Favret bested teammate Adam Clouthier (Fairport/Fairport), who won a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship in the event during the 2014-2015 season. Clouthier finished just behind Favret at 1:02.27. The one-two finish helped the team pick up its first win of the season, beating the Saxons 153-90.

"It's good to get the first win," head coach Wang said. "Jake is coming along really strong. Beating Adam is saying something after Adam won a championship in the event last season."

Troy Lubanski (Leicester, N.Y. / York) and Will Baker (East Amherst/Williamsville North) were both double-winners. Lubanski won the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.24) and the 100-yard backstroke (56.52), while Baker won the 50-yard freestyle (22.48) and 100-yard freestyle (48.57).

Divers Rafael Santiago (Middletown/Middletown) and Arron Carlson (LeRoy/Notre Dame) came away with NCAA provisional qualifying marks in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. Santiago took first in the 3-meter dive with a score of 304.00, just ahead of Carlson who landed in second at 303.55. The order was reversed for the 1-meter event with Carlson at 288.30 and Santiago at 281.60.

The decisive win was a testament to the improvement the team has made early in the season.

"Everyone's progressing, that's the best part," said Wang. "It's nice to see."