Sophomore Nick Markert (Lincoln Park, N.J./Boonton HS) won two individual events and swam the anchor leg of a winning relay as the Bentley men's swim team improved to 4-1 with a 150-91 win over Saint Michael's.
Junior Liza Connolly (Washington, Conn./Shepaug Valley HS) and sophomore Kaitlin Chepeleff (Vernon, Conn./Rockville HS) each won two individual events and participated in a winning relay as the Bentley women's swim team extended its winning streak to seven with a 158-85 win over St. Michael's College on the road Saturday afternoon.
Markert's triumphs all came in freestyle events, winning the 200 meter race with a 1:57.02 and the 100 meter with a 51.90. Markert also closed the meet by swimming the final leg of the winning 200 free relay team (1:38.37) along with freshman Woody Benson (Sharon, Mass./Sharon HS), sophomore James Cote (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip HS) and senior Joe McFadden (Wenonah, N.J./Gateway Regional HS).
The Falcons bookended the meet with relay victories after opening with a win in the 200 medley relay from the all-freshman team of Willie Connolly (Washington, Conn./Shepaug Valley HS), Samuel Laden (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire HS), Tony Tryonis (Knox, Ind./Knox HS) and Greg McFadden (Wenonah, N.J./Gateway Regional HS), posting a time of 1:45.18.
Other winners for the Falcons were senior Chris Booth (Cumberland, Maine/Greely HS) in the 50 meter freestyle (23.57), junior Brian Stinchfield (Darien, Conn./Darien) in the 200 meter individual medley (2:08.71), junior Ned Kraweicki (Bristol, Conn./St. Paul Catholic HS) in the 200 meter breaststroke (2:25.87) and junior Kyle Reese (Hamden, Conn./Notre Dame HS), who swept the two diving events.
Bentley's women opened the meet by capturing the 200 yard medley relay in 1:59.35 with Connolly and Chepeleff partnering with junior Arden Brust (Newark, N.Y./Newark HS) and freshman Kristen Reinckens (Hudson, N.Y./Hudson HS).
Connolly followed that up with victories in both the 200 individual medley (2:21.56) and the 100 freestyle (57.32), while Chepeleff posted wins in the 500 free (5:39.69) and the 200 breaststroke (2:36.85).
Brust, in addition to her efforts in the medley relay, captured the 200 backstroke (2:18.45) and swam a leg on Bentley's winning 200 free relay team (1:49.31). Freshman Alex Bergantz (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull HS) swept both one-meter diving events, with scores of 161.45 and 217.35.
Bentley's other individual winner was sophomore Kristen Thuerk (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire HS), who touched first in the 200 butterfly (2:24.16) before helping the Falcons to a first in the 200 free relay.
Bentley, 7-1, will be back in the pool Sunday afternoon with a meet at the College of Saint Rose.
A day later, the Bentley men took a 131-97 loss to the College of Saint Rose while the women pushed their winning streak to seven with a 160-77 win.
Stinchfield went the distance the fastest in the 1000 yard freestyle, posting a time of 10:39.16, while Laden captured the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.15. Stinchfield also placed second in the 500 free, with a time of 5:06.21.
Also recording seconds for the Falcons were junior Arthur Engelhard (Apalachin, N.Y./Owego Free Academy) in the 100 backstroke (56.04), senior Chris Booth (Cumberland, Maine/Greely HS) in the 100 free (51.40) and junior Kyle Reese (Hamden, Conn./Notre Dame HS) in both diving events (141.85, 222.40).
Saint Rose, which improved to 4-0, saw both Sean Molloy (200 free and 100 back) and diver Brendan Birchak win two individual events apiece.
Connolly and Brust both won two individual events and also participated on a winning relay team. Connolly, after swimming the third leg in the 200 medley relay, outswam the field in both the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 free, with times of 26.09 and 57.01. Brust captured the 200 individual medley in 2:18.51 and the 100 backstroke in 1:03.56 before anchoring the winning 200 free relay team (1:48.28).
Bentley's other individual winners included senior Amanda Albertian (Hopkinton, Mass.)/ Hopkinton HS) and sophomores Kristen Thuerk (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire HS) and Kaitlin Chepeleff (Vernon, Conn./Rockville HS), with all three participating in a winning relay as well. Albertian prevailed in the 500 free (5:40.74), Chepeleff was the fastest in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.95), and Thuerk outdistanced the field in the 1000 free (11:26.96).
Bentley also captured both one-meter diving events with freshman Alex Bergantz (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull HS) taking the first in 158.45 and senior Kaitie Faria (Needham, Mass./Needham HS) the second (216.75).
Bentley is back in action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Wheaton College (1 p.m.).
