Salisbury Swept by Rowan

The Salisbury University men's and women's swim teams dove into the pool for the first time of the 2010-11 season on Tuesday evening, squaring off against Rowan University. Though both teams suffered narrow losses, the season-opening meet saw both the men and women post several impressive finishes.

Freshman James Gough garnered two of those noteworthy finishes, winning both the 100-meter backstroke (1:03.09) and the 200-meter backstroke (2:18.93). Gough wasn't the only freshman to excel in the pool – newcomers Mike Bengston and Jeffery Helferstay each posted second-place finishes, with Bengston touching the wall in the 100-meter backstroke in 1:15.86 and Helferstay finishing the 200-meter butterfly in 2:29.04.

The women's side also saw a slew of top-three finishes, both individually and in relay events. One of those finishes came from junior Robin Stone, who took second place in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:12.76. Freshman Danielle Dunn had

Salisbury's best chance for a top finish but missed first place in the 100-meter breaststroke by a tenth of a second (1:17.70). Her second-place finish still earned valuable points for the Sea Gulls but the team came up just short, falling to Rowan by a score of 148-105. The men's team lost 139-114.

The Sea Gulls will open up Capital Athletic Conference competition on Nov. 6 at noon, traveling to Frostburg State University for a meet. Salisbury's next home meet will be on Nov. 10 when the maroon and gold square off against Washington (Md.) College. That meet will begin at 5:30 p.m.