By Scott Padula
Writer
The Orange and Blue swimming and diving team kicked off competition with an exhibition meet against UMBC Saturday afternoon in Kinney Natatorium. The men won 14 of 22 events, while the women took nine events of their own.
Christian Treat ’13 and Patriot League Champion Mike Nicholson ’14 led the charge, capturing three first-place victories each. Treat won the 50 , 100 and 200 freestyle, while Nicholson took the 100 , 200 and 400 individual medleys. Eric Sokolosky ’12 and Taylor Harris ’12 won the 50 fly and 50 back respectively, and Billy Krause ’13 finished the 400 IM just behind Nicholson in 4:07.65 seconds. First-years Ben Seketa, Tim Perley and Collin Greene each won a race in their first collegiate meet.
“After losing only two swimmers to graduation, our freshman class showed tremendous poise in their first collegiate meet and swam very well. We have been training very hard this year, and it is no surprise that our entire team performed so well. We look forward to continuing our high level of intensity and improving upon our already impressive performances,” Sokolosky said.
The Bison women also swam well behind Kelly Pontecorvo ’14, a multi-race winner. Her first victory came in the 500 freestyle where she finished in 5:08.09. She also won the 1,000 freestyle in 10:25.03.
Katie Hetherington ’15 and Lauren Perry ’15 also captured multiple wins in their first college competition. Hetherington won both diving events. Her one-meter score of 264.68 was more than six points better than best in program history. Her three-meter score of 252.53 put her fourth all-time. Perry won the 100 and 200 freestyle and placed second in the 50 freestyle.
“The team looked great on Saturday and almost everyone improved from this meet last year. Our goals for this year are to improve our league and meet placing from last season and I think we are off to a great start in pursuing those goals. I am very excited to see what this season has in store and how we are going to continue to work on our goals in and out of the pool!” Pontecorvo said.
The Bison host the George Washington Colonials Oct. 22 to officially start their season. The meet will start at 1 p.m. in Kinney Natatorium.
