The Boston University men’s and women’s swimming and diving season kicked off with a splash Saturday, as the two teams took on conference rival Binghamton University in BU coach Bill Smyth’s first meet heading an NCAA team and the first time that the Fitness and Recreation Center held a swim meet.
“I was satisfied with our teams’ performances,” Smyth said. “Although the guys couldn’t pull off the win, they swam exceptionally well, and the girls stepped it up and did a nice job in all of their events.”
Smyth, an All-American swimmer and eight-year assistant coach at the University of Virginia, watched his women (1-0, 1-0 America East) hand the 1-1 Bearcats (0-1) their first loss of the season, 177-118, while his men dropped their season-opener, 163-128.
He replaced Reagh Wetmore, a bastion of coaching at BU, who led the swimming programs since their inception 30 years ago and retired last year.
Both familiar veterans and promising newcomers pitched in for the Terriers as they split the dual meet.
Junior Lidija Breznikar and senior Mike Kelley swam well in their first meet since leading their respective teams in overall points at last year’s America East Championships. Breznikar won the 200-yard fly with a time of 2:08.95, and Kelley finished second in both the 50-yard (22.44) and the 100-yard freestyle (49.47).
But it was two freshmen, Christina Ruggiero and Brian Lawler, who made the most noise as the only Terriers to notch first-place finishes in multiple events.
Ruggiero shined in her Terrier debut, winning the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.82) and the 200 backstroke (2:13.85) in her first-ever collegiate meet.
“Christina has an outstanding work ethic,” Smyth said. “Christina has a very bright future ahead of her.”
Lawler swept the men’s diving events, scoring a 343.13 in the 3-meter dive and a 312.60 in the 1m.
The freshman now steps in to continue the momentum started by Victor Paguia, who graduated last year after winning four straight America East titles in diving.
“Brian has a very excellent résumé tower diving and spring-board diving, so this level of competition is nothing new for him,” Smyth said. “He’s very experienced at the junior national and national level, and he continues to improve and contend for the chance to compete at the NCAAs later this year.”
And with a team full of variety in both background and ability, Smyth knows he must maintain a sense of team unity in a sport based on individual performances.
“We have some talented upperclassmen looking to finish their college careers on a winning note, and some good young swimmers as well,” Smyth said. “It’s a challenge to come together, but that’s part of the challenge of coaching – to jell and to mold together a team.
“Our team was making lots of noise and the crowd’s cheering helped to create an exciting atmosphere that made it easy to swim fast in,” Smyth added. “Whenever the kids are working hard and having fun, good things will come.”
But the Terriers left room for improvement, and Smyth said they have to pay attention to details and work to refine the little things.
“The biggest issue right now is trying to perfect race strategy,” he said. “We have some work to do to improve our turns and our relay starts.
“My number one goal is consistency,” Smyth continued. “When it comes to attitude and the excitement during practice and meets, we need to approach each day with the same solid attitude and work ethic.”
And for the first time, the Terriers have an appropriate venue to show off the results of that attitude and work ethic. FitRec, which opened last year, dwarfs the old site, Faneiul Pool at the Case Center. The old, tiny pool, which allowed only shards of light to enter, also had very little spectator room. FitRec, on the other hand, has not only stacks of seating, but huge glass windows allowing even passers-by to watch the meet.
And when the women host Northeastern University on Saturday, Oct. 29, and both teams host the University of New Hampshire Nov. 5, they’ll get their next chance to show off their pool and the results of their work.
