The University of Delaware men’s and women’s swimming and diving team were unable to win their final home event of the season Saturday afternoon as Towson swept the Blue Hens in a Colonial Athletic Association dual meet at Rawstrom Natatorium.
The Towson men (7-1, 3-0 CAA) defeated UD 178-120 while the defending CAA champion Towson women (9-0, 4-0 CAA) remained undefeated and were able to down the Blue Hens by a margin of 205-95.
“Towson is a very good team and they put together some very impressive races this afternoon,” said University of Delaware head coach John Hayman. “A lot of the races were very close, but we were unable to come away with as many wins as we wanted. In a meet like this, you cannot let those opportunities slip through your hands, but we will regroup and get ready for tomorrow’s meet.”
Tim Ware (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks South) led the men’s squad (2-6, 0-4 CAA) with two victories on the day. The senior tallied a win in the 100 backstroke with a time of 50.49 and was also first to touch in the 200 backstroke.
Another bright spot for the Blue Hen men was their performance on the diving board. Patrick McCann (Annandale, Va./Annandale) and Colin Hall (Princeton Junction, N.J./West Windsor Plainsboro South) finished first and second in both the 1-meter and 3–meter diving events. McCann won the 1–meter competition with a score of 283.80 and Hall was victorious in the 3–meter event with a 276.90 score.
Morgan Whyte (Chevy Chase, Md./St. John’s College H.S.) was a standout for the UD women (8-3, 4-3 CAA) as the junior tallied wins in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Reigning CAA Diver of the Week Kristina Congdon (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) notched the only other win for the women’s squad with a victory in the 3–meter diving competition.
UD will have a quick turnaround as the Blue Hens will travel to Iona tomorrow to compete in a tri-meet with the Gaels and St. Peter’s.
Hen Scratchings
· In addition to Ware, Hall, and McCann. Nicholas Badsky also earned a victory Saturday. Badsky was the first to touch in the 100 freestyle event.
· Patrick Savidge finished third in the 1,000 freestyle event with a time of 9:34.96, which was his fastest time in the event this season.
· Laura Askin tallied her fastest time of the season with a time of 2:06.35 in the 200 butterfly.
· The Delaware women have not defeated the Tigers since 2006.
· After tomorrow’s meet at Iona, the Blue Hens will travel to Penn next weekend for their last meet before the CAA Championships at the end of February.
· Before the meet, Tim Ware, Tim West, Brian Wilson, Lauren Ahrens, Laura Askin, Hailey Farrell, Brittany Lazear, Calli Marando, and Maggie Tracy were honored as a part of the Senior Day ceremony to commemorate the last home meet of their careers.
