With two weeks until the University Athletic Association championships, the men's swimming and diving team started the weekend with a 138-101 victory over the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at the Palladium Athletic Facility on Friday.
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Freshman Jeremiah Crowley captured first place in the 50 and 100 freestyle with times of 21.78 seconds and 47.51, respectively. In the 1,000 freestyle, NYU took home the top three spots with senior co-captain Bryson Naylor finishing first (10 minutes and 7.4 seconds), freshman Nick Paganelli taking second (10:23.24) and junior Danny Isaacson earning third (10:25.25).
Head coach Bob Sorensen spoke of the team's momentum beginning the new year.
"The team felt good psychologically after our win over Springfield College," Sorensen said. "No matter how tired they were physically after our training trip, they would be getting stronger and swimming faster."
Sophomores Charlie Wu in the 200-yard individual medley (1:58.11) and Cole Talbott in the 500 freestyle (4:53.92) rounded out the list of notable first-place finishers.
The Violets also dominated the boards sweeping the one- and three-meter events. Junior Adam Winerip registered an NCAA-qualifying score of 283.95 on the one-meter dive, followed by freshman Austen Blease (277.28) and freshman Brian Blum (232.20). Blease won the three-meter dive with a score of 279.68, followed by Winerip (251.68) and Blum (230.63).
The men's team won their second meet of the weekend on Saturday, defeating Vassar College, 189-95, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Freshman Matt Kendall won the 200 (2:17) and 100 (1:02.82) breaststroke races. In the 200 medley relay, Wu, Naylor, Crowley and senior co-captain James Bedell notched a victory with a time of 1:38.94. Naylor also finished first in the 100 and 200 butterfly. Other victories included Bedell's in the 1,000 freestyle (10:34.41), Crowley's in the 100 freestyle (50.61 seconds) and freshman Ryan Lowery's in the 200 backstroke (2:04.47).
Blease again showed himself as NYU's top diver, posting a 330.30 first-place score in the one-meter dive and a 304.94 second-place total in the three-meter dive.
The women's team also traveled to Vassar and defeated the Brewers, 211-88.
The Violets, led by senior Kristen Fujii, juniors Savanna Keator and Noel Elgamal and sophomore Nina Rusiewski, opened Saturday's competition with an impressive 200-medley relay victory (1:54.59).
Other victories included senior Megan Rappa in the 1,000 freestyle (10:45.69), freshman Silke Herold in the 100 backstroke (1:04.31), Keator in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.10) and co-captain Patti Meringer in the 200 butterfly (2:19.68).
"[Saturday's] meet was definitely a result of the training and hard work we've put in this past season," Elgamal said. "Heading into UAAs, we're ready to step up and race."
In diving, senior Kelly Dietz and freshman Kate Donnelly came in first and second in the one- and three-meter dives, respectively. Dietz registered NCAA-qualifying scores of 284.62 in the one-meter dive and 294.75 in the three-meter dive.
Both the men and women's swimming and diving teams will participate in the UAA Championship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland from Wed., Feb. 15 to Sat., Feb. 18.
