The Boston University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams consider the Terrier Invite the midpoint of their season –– and after three days of competition from Nov. 22-24 — the Terriers found reasons to believe the best is yet to come.
The women’s team (2-2, 1-2 Patriot League) finished in second place out of six teams with 1,057.5 points, only falling behind the Northeastern University Huskies (3-1) with 1,435 points. The men’s team (3-1, 2-1 PL) (1,237.5) also finished in second, behind the Boston College Eagles (1-2) with 1,685.5 points.
“I’m just really impressed with this team,” BU head coach John Sica said. “It’s something that we’re proud of, and we’re gonna keep inching closer to that top spot.”
The first day of competition saw strong performances on both the men’s and women’s sides.
On the springboard, senior Sophia Souza finished second in the women’s 3-meter (268.95) and sophomore Zein Mahana finished third in the men’s 1-meter (286.90).
Freshman Charles Schreiner posted a personal best time of 4:26.68 in the men’s 500-yard freestyle, dropping more than 17 seconds from his entry time of 4:43.75. The time is also the fourth fastest in program history.
To cap the night off, sophomore Jonny Farber led his 400-yard medley relay team with a blistering 48.91 backstroke leg, the second-fastest 100-yard backstroke performance in program history.
The Terriers found two wins on day two, with junior Haley Newman winning the women’s 400-yard individual medley (4:22.20) and Farber winning the men’s 100-yard backstroke (49.29).
“This is midseason, so it’s a step in the right direction,” Sica said. “We’re at the top, and we’re getting better. That’s awesome. We’re not quite where we want to be … so the focus always remains the same.”
The final day of competition was the strongest for the Terriers. Farber completed the backstroke event sweep, winning the men’s 200-yard backstroke (1:46.34) in a tight race that came down to the last 25 yards.
The freshmen also scored big that day.
Schreiner finished third (15:35.11) and fellow distance swimmer Giovanni Sullo finished second (15:28.98) in the men’s 1650-yard freestyle. Not only did their swims make it to the five fastest times in BU history, their 1,000-yard splits — Schreiner’s 9:22.38 and Sullo’s 9:23.56 — made the top five fastest 1,000-yard freestyle swims of all-time in the program.
Freshman Diego Rosario won the consolation final in the men’s 200-yard butterfly. His time of 1:50.45 not only cracks the top-10 all-time list in the event, but it would have put him in fourth place in the championship final.
On the women’s side, freshman Cambria Jewett posted a final time of 2:00.68 in the 200-yard backstroke to settle in third place. Her preliminary time of 1:59.41 is the second fastest in program history.
“We talk a lot about the better the energy, the better the outcome is going to be and [the freshmen] bring a lot of really good energy,” Sica said.
The teams resume competition on Jan. 10, when they take on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, and then host Colgate University in a Patriot League dual meet Jan. 11.
