The Army swimming & diving teams hosted Massachusetts in a dual meet competition Saturday afternoon at Crandall Pool. The Black Knight men cruised to a, 183-117, victory on the heels of four triple-winners, while the UMass women took a 116.5-127.5 decision to split the day.Army senior James McLaughlin, sophomores Chuck Zhou and Brody Blickle and Freshman Dan Foky comprised the winning 200 medley relay (1:34.01) while each won two individual events apiece throughout the day.
The reigning Patriot League Male Swimmer of the Week, Blickle, finished first in the 200 IM (1:56.73) and first in the 100 butterfly (50.11). He also finished runner-up in the 100 back (52.51) to Zhou, who registered winning times in both the 100 (52.41) and 200 (1:52.70) backstroke events while also logging a third-place effort in the 500 free (4:45.97).
McLaughlin swept the breaststroke events, registering a 57.47 clocking in the 100 and a 2:09.17 in the 200. Foky kept the fast start to his Army career going by touching the wall first in the 50 (21.31) and 100 (46.60) freestyle events.
Said Army head coach Mickey Wender, “Our men had a very good meet, especially our young guys who showed a lot of maturity as far as their ability to get up and race when it really mattered. I was impressed with all our young guys, especially (sophomore) Cody Reeb who was swimming for the first time for us. His comeback in the 500 free was huge. I am really pleased with where our men are. They showed a lot of heart today.”
Reeb was a long-distance double-winner, logging a first place in the 1,000 free (9:42.42) before overtaking a UMass swimmer on the last lap to win the 500 free (4:41.47) by .12 seconds.
Freshman Alex Ford led a 1-2-3 Army sweep in the 200 fly with a 1:55.38 time, followed by freshman Ayman Andrews (1:56.48) and sophomore Taylor Whitten (1:56.60). Andrews also finished runner-up in the 100 fly behind Blickle in 50.97
Other solid swims were posted in the 200 breaststroke by freshman Carter Kelly and sophomore Sam Lough, who finished second (2:10.45) and third (2:13.57), respectively, while junior Matt Leegan finished second in the 100 breast (59.24) and freshman Chris Corbett was second in the 200 back (1:56.55).
For the women, freshman Alyssa Tran notched three winning performances along with a second-place effort. Individually, she was victorious in the 50 free (24.11) and the 100 free (53.13), while taking second in the 200 IM (2:15.07). Tran also joined classmates Juliana Lynch, Becky Malone and Christina Esachina to take top honors in the 200 medley relay (1:50.67).
Esachina was the day’s top finisher in the 100 breast (1:08.23), while Lynch was second in the 200 back (2:14.46) and third in the 100 back (1:02.17).
Junior Corri Payne logged a tie for first place in the 200 free (1:57.44) along with runner-up showings in the 1,000 free (10:40.60) and the 500 free (5:12.67). Senior Amy Tang won the 100 fly race (58.59) and swam to second in the 200 fly (2:10.84).
Freshman Montana Sweet was the runner-up in the 100 back (1:02.17), while Malone added a third-place showing in the 200 breast (2:29.81) and freshman Megan Metts was third in the 50 free (26.13).
Senior Lindsey Adao won the 3-meter diving event with a score of 224.55 after finishing runner-up on 1-meter with a 214.57.
“Our women have a lot of potential,” continued Wender. “We had a lot of chances today, but our youth and lack of experience showed in some cases. There was a lot we can build off, learn from and make better as we mature.”
Army will return to action in two weeks, hosting Connecticut at 1:00 p.m at Crandall Pool.
