One day after sweeping the Simpson College Storm the Loras College Swimming and Diving team took on the Pioneers of Grinnell College on Saturday afternoon in San Jose Pool. The Duhawks were swept on the day as both the men (160-61) and women (183-48) fell to the Pioneers.
The meet kicked off with the 200 medley relay. The relay team made up of senior Mary Kathryn Maher, senior Clare Ehlbeck, freshman Kimberly Breaux, and senior Renee Beach took third place with a time of 1:59.69. They were battling for the lead early on, but could not make that move to get the lead. The men's side of the meet was an exciting one as the relay team of of junior Gregory Cormier, senior Matthew DeWane, junior Zachary Benson and senior Grant Duncan battled back in the race to take second place (1:44.54). Trailing early, Benson split a 24.03 in his butterfly, to catch them up, and opened the door for Duncan to bring the race home.
The women's side had its fair share of excitement, as junior Elise Amo, edged out junior Josie Bircher from Grinnell for second place in the women's 1000 freestyle (11:34.47).
In the women's 200 free, it was Maher for the Duhawks who kept up with the pack before finishing second (2:05.40).
The men's side of the meet continued with some excitement with the 50 yard free. Ike Casey for the Duhawks had a strong performance, finishing in first place with a time of 21.97. His time was 0.63 seconds away from a school record. When he started the race he was definitely in the top two, but what separated him from everyone else was his great pull out on his flip turn that gave him the edge and eventually the victory.
Sophomore Ike Casey kept up the excitement in the men's 50 free. At the start of the race Casey found himself neck and neck with Grinnell's top swimmer. A strong pull out of his flop turn provided him the necessary edge down the stretch as he edged out the Pioneers to earn the first top place finish of the day for the Duhawks. Finishing in 21.97, Casey's time was just 0.63 seconds off the school record.
Swimming in the 400 individual medley, senior Alexis Mollahan began the race alongside a pair of Pioneer swimmers. While the first place swimmer distanced herself from the pack, Mollahan found herself in a tight race for second place. A strong push in the end was not enough to catch the Pioneers, as Mollahan ultimately finished in third place (5:01.33). Benson paced the Duhawks on the men's side. A stellar start gave him the early lead but Grinnell's Ian Dixon-Anderson paced him in the backstroke to take first, leaving Benson to finish second.
After the first session of diving came to a close, with Grinnell winning uncontested the women's 200 butterfly resumed swimming events. Attempting to keep up with Grinnell's Katherine Su early on, Breaux used a strong pull out on her way to her third leg to close the gap. With the race nearly level, Breaux's comeback fell short as she finished second (2:19.99).
In the women's 100 free, Mollahan was the top swimmer for Loras. In her first leg of the race she split a 27.62 and was right there in the battle for first, but could not edge the winner, ending up in second (56.87) in her heat and third overall.. Casey notched his second individual event first place finish of the day by winning the men's 100 free with a time of 49.15. A strong opening split gave Casey all the room he needed as he held the lead the entire race.
For the women's side of the 200 yard backstroke, Maher finished the race in second place with a time of 2:20.07. Unable to catch Grinnell's Maria Venneri, Maher edged the rest of the field to take second.
In the final event, Amo and junior Heather Black notched second and third place finishes in the 500 free. Amo made up an early deficit but ran out of gas in the end to take second (5:41.23) while Black held steady in third for most of the race.
With the losses, the teams fall to 3-2 (2-0 IIAC) on the year but is confident in the future of the season.
"Our squad knows they're not the best so, they have to keep working," Loras Head Coach Doug Colin said. "There are things we have to continue to work on. Every practice, every meet, is a chance to improve."
After tackling two meets in two days, the Duhawks will enjoy nearly two weeks off before competing in the Grinnell Invitational on December 5. The invite is scheduled to start at 6 pm.
