Spring cleaning came early for the Boston University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, as they swept the University of Vermont at Forbush Natatorium in Burlington, Vt. Saturday.
Both the men and women dominated their opponents, winning 219-61 and 214-81, respectively. BU also took home first place in all but two events, pouring it on against a less-talented Catamount team.
“This was a great meet for us,” said BU coach Reagh Wetmore. “We swam exceptionally well, and everyone improved their times.”
The meet could not have come at a better time. After being manhandled by Boston College last week, the Terriers needed to rebound strongly and put another notch in the win column before the America East Championships.
“This was a big win for us,” said senior captain Ryo Takano. “Most guys didn’t swim as well against BC, so they came into this one wanting to prove to the coaches and the other guys that they could do it – they really stepped it up.”
By the end of the day, the men’s team broke three of Vermont’s pool records, and many swimmers won their first collegiate races.
Sophomore Michael Kelly earned a first in the 50-yard freestyle (21.65 seconds) and the 100-yard butterfly (52.70) to break the previous pool record in both events. The Terriers (3-4) also broke a record in the 200-yard medley relay, with the team of senior Jay Touant, freshman Griffin Moodie, junior David Brown and Kelly taking the blue ribbon.
Moodie also took first place in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke. Touant and junior Chris Collins finished first and second, respectively, in the 100-yard backstroke, and then switched positions in the 200-yard version. Brown swam to a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle and won the 100-yard freestyle decisively.
Sophomore Brian Patton and freshman James Lands had their own competition, finishing within six-tenths of a second of each other on each occasion. Patton finished first and Lands second in the 200-yard freestyle, but Lands returned the favor, finishing second in the 100-yard freestyle while Patton hit the pad third. Lands also won the 400-yard individual medley.
Takano earned third in the 50-yard freestyle, and moved up to second in the 500-yard race.
Other notable finishers included freshman Michael Bear’s first-place in the 500-yard freestyle (5:04.53) and sophomore Michael McGrath’s two third-places finishes, adding points to BU’s total.
“It was a good race,” Takano said. “Everyone got involved and it really gave us our confidence back. We still need to work hard, but it was a good meet to prepare for upcoming events.”
The diving team had similar luck, sweeping both sets of points. Junior Victor Paguia dominated both the one- and three-meter dives, racking up a combined 560 points. Freshman Joseph Mikulka and junior James Yon rounded out the top three, then flip-flopped spots in the three-meter dive.
The women (3-4-1) matched the men almost point for point, also breaking records. The 200-yard medley relay team of senior Kelli Sweeting, sophomores Lidija Breznikar and Meagan Breiland and freshman Marina Morie swam a record-best 4:06.22.
Breznikar remained undefeated on the season in dual meets (24-0), as she took first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:08.84), the 200-yard breaststroke (2:22.77) and the 400-yard individual medley (4:32.32), all records at Forbush Natatorium.
Junior Lauren Foster set the tone early, winning the first event, the 200-yard freestyle, and later took the 100-yard freestyle.
BU did not look back, as freshman Tanazi Irani grabbed 18 points for the Terriers, winning first in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.
Sweeting finished second in the 100-yard backstroke, but her endurance and conditioning shined as she outlasted the competition to win the 200-yard backstroke. Marina Morie claimed firsts in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 500-yard freestyle.
“Everyone swam really well,” Foster said. “I mean, we won all but two events, and we broke pool records, which is pretty cool to do. It was a real confidence booster.”
Everything was working right for the Terriers, as the women’s diving team also had no troubles. Seniors Kristin Stratton and Stacey Gallacher controlled the contest, switching off for first and second place in the two events.
BU left the pool on Saturday with celebratory smiles, realizing that it was a “huge win,” as Takano said, for multiple reasons. Although the Catamounts are not one of the stronger teams in the conference (the men are 3-13 and the women are 7-11), BU did not give them any ideas of an upset, leaving that thought at the bottom of the pool.
The Terriers have one more conference meet this Saturday when they host the University of Rhode Island. The America East Championships follow, starting Feb. 20. Both squads will be looking to finish the season at a respectable .500.
“We finished how we should have,” Wetmore said. “We swam very well, but there were meets that we just had no chance in – against the [University of Connecticut], for one. They’re all starting to get the same attitude about winning, and I’m expecting a lot more from now on.”