Cleveland State
For the second-straight year, the Cleveland State men's swimming and diving team won the CSU Magnus Cup. While the men took first out of the six team field, the women's team competed strong all weekend, finishing in fifth place of 10 teams.
"Coming into the Magnus Cup, nearly the halfway point in our season, we really just wanted to find out exactly where we were at," Cleveland State head coach Paul Graham said. "We found out a lot about who we were as a team and what we really need to focus on going forward for the Horizon League Championships," he continued, "as far as winning goes, it's a great building point for the rest of the season. We were more concerned about where we're at as a team and it's great for the men and for the women to stay in front of (Horizon League member) Youngstown State who we lost to earlier in the year."
The teams completed the 1650 Free, 100 IM, 50 Fly, 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 50 Back, 200 Fly and 400 Free Relay on Sunday, the final day of the three-day event.
For the third consecutive day, a record fell for the men's team. Szymon Golczyk grabbed a new varsity record in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:46.30, beating the old record by .20 seconds.
Golczyk's first place was not the only top finish for the Vikings on the day as Tommi Wolst finished atop the 200 Back field with a 1:47.63. In the 100 Free, CSU had an impressive showing as Philipp Sikatzki (44.08), Adam Ingledew (45.71), Robert Tolson (45.90) and Phillip Brittain (46.14) all finished first, second, third and fourth respectively.
CSU finished the event in style as the 400 Free relay team of Sikatzki, Wolst, Ingledew and Tolson (3:00.39) finished in first-place.
The Vikings also had several other top performances throughout the day, gaining contributions from many members of the roster.
Leading off the day, Patrick Walsh used his stamina to complete a third-place finish in the 1,650 Free (16:16.62). In the 50 Back, a virtually opposite race than the 1,650, Jon LaValle finished second (23.84) and Aidan Burton fourth (24.57).
Gage Alleman and Jared Stergar also finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 200 Breast with times of 2:05.75 and 2:06.50.
Alex Strawser pulled out a hard-fought third-place finish in the 100 IM, swimming to a time of 56.12.
For the women, the team continued its consistencies from the first two days.
Molly McNamara found herself matching Szymon Golczyk as she too re-wrote the 200 Fly varsity record book with a time of 2:01.12, beating the previous time of 2:02.42. Miraculously, McNamara's finish was good for just second as the first-place finisher, Akron's Erin Seiler, broke the Busbey Natatorium record.
McNamara also finished second in the 50 Fly with a time of 24.90.
The women's side was able to register three more top-10 finishes as Jamie VanDewerker (51.68) finished sixth in the 100 Free and teammate Anna Evans (52.66) finished ninth.
In the final event of the day and ultimately of the women's event, the 400 Free relay team of Evans, VanDewerker, Claudia Zido and McNamara finished eighth (3:30.76) in a down-to-the-wire race.
Michaela Bargardi, Ashleigh Bennett, Jillian Rothgery, Kimberly Jiminez, Tobie Zeller, Bethany Robertson and Meghan Miller all had notable performances as well.
The teams will be off for a weekend before heading down I-77 for the Akron Zippy Invitational December 4-6.
FINAL MEN'S TEAM SCORES:
1.) Cleveland State, 1801.5
2.) Xavier, 1625
3.) George Washington, 988
4.) Saginaw Valley, 740.5
5.) Cumberlands, 636
6.) Notre Dame, 384
FINAL WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES:
1.) Akron, 1713.5
2.) Duquesne, 1651
3.) Xavier, 1022.5
4.) George Washington, 696.5
5.) Cleveland State, 574.5
6.) Youngstown State, 464
7.) Saginaw Valley, 238
8.) Cumberlands, 188
9.) Saint Francis, 168
10.) Notre Dame College, 12
Akron
Following day three of competition, the Akron swimming and diving team captured the Magnus Cup Invitational crown for the first time with a total team score of 1,713.5 on Sunday afternoon.
Akron (1,713.5), Duquesne (1,651) and Xavier (1,022.5) finished as the top three teams out of 10 schools.
"Congratulations to our ladies on their efforts this weekend. It was a lot of fun having a battle for the Magnus Cup Trophy. I am very proud of how they handled the peaks and valleys of a championship format invitational. We dove tough, we raced tough, and we kept pushing through the very last event," said head coach Brian Peresie. "When it is all said and done, we learned more about each other and will use that information to make us better the next time out."
Akron secured the Magnus Cup title by ending day three strong with 12 top-three finishes including seven first place times out of nine events.
Freshmen Ragen Engel (Springfield, Ohio) and senior Erin Seiler (Phoenixville, Pa.) continued their success at the invitational by coming in first and third place in the 50 butterfly. Engel clocked in at quick time of 24.84 to take the top spot and Seiler touched in at 25.01 to take third place.
In the B final of the 200 backstroke, junior Laura Savariau (Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud) broke the Robert F. Busbey Natatorium pool record (2:00.11) by two seconds, finishing in a time of 1:58.98. That record was then broken moments later by a fellow teammate, junior Luka Szynal (Lublin, Poland) with a time of 1:55.52, three seconds faster than Savariau's for first place. Szynal and Savariau's times both put them in the record books of the Akron program at second and sixth, respectively. Sznyal's time is now also the ninth-fastest in the NCAA.
Engel claimed her second top-time of the afternoon in the 100 freestyle (50.67), which is the fifth-fastest time in program history. Senior Hannah Raspopovich (Crown Point, Ind.) found herself in the top-three of the event with a time of 50.97. Her time positions her as the seventh-fastest time in program history.
The Zips swept the top-four spots in the 50 backstroke. Freshman Madison Myers (Akron, Ohio) captured first place (25.48), Szynal earned a second place finish (26.06), freshman Sadie Fazekas (Windsor, Ontario) grabbed the third place spot (26.07) and senior Ashley Niznik (McDonald, Pa.) completed the Akron times for fourth (26.47).
Seiler overtook the Cleveland State pool record in the 200 butterfly with a first place finish in a time of 1:59.57. Seiler's time is the second-fastest time in the program, .31 seconds behind the time she set a year ago.
In the final event of the invitational, the Zips grabbed first and third place in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Engel, Fazekas, Raspopovich and Myers set a new pool record with their time of 3:21.28. Each swimmer swam their leg in under 51 seconds. Engel paced the Zips by swimming the first leg in 50.38 and Myers hammered it home with a split of 49.59. The teams combined time sits as the 10th fastest time in the NCAA.
The Akron swimming and diving team returns to action on Dec. 4, as they host the annual Zippy Invitational at the Ocasek Natatorium.
George Washington Men
The George Washington men's swimming and diving team placed third at the three-day Magnus Cup Invitational hosted by Cleveland State after the final day of competition on Sunday at the Vikings' Busbey Natatorium.
The Colonials amassed 988 points, behind only the host Vikings (1,801.5) and Xavier (1,625). GW finished ahead of Saginaw (740.5), Cumberlands (636) and Notre Dame College (384).
"I'm very happy with how we ended up finishing here at the Magnus Cup," said first-year head coach James Winchester. "I'm very happy to have finished third overall against some extremely strong opposition. We had some really good swims this evening, especially out of the younger members of our team."
Junior Bogdan Balteanu notched GW's highest finish on the day, placing second in the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 53.53.
Senior Oliver Keegan and junior Ben Fitch placed third (1:54.37) and fourth (1:54.88), respectively, in the 200-yard butterfly for the Colonials' next best performances.
The Buff and Blue posted a trio of strong efforts in the 1,650-yard freestyle, as junior Liam Huffman grabbed fourth (16:25.00), followed by freshman Nicolas Reeves in sixth (16:48.18) and sophomore Connor Hart in seventh (16:50.33).
Fitch and Keegan again appeared in A Finals, this time in the 50-yard butterfly, as Fitch touched the wall sixth (23.70) and Keegan finished ninth (23.91).
Freshman Harrison Boubon and Reeves then finished back-to-back in the 200-yard backstroke, as the former took eighth (1:55.68) and the latter snagged ninth (1:57.97).
"Nick Reeves really stepped up today and had a couple of really good swims in the top-10 to round out a really good weekend," said Coach Winchester. "Harrison also stepped up today, and I was really happy with Bogdan's second-place finish in the 100-IM, but we have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be come time for the Atlantic 10 Championships in February."
In the 100-yard freestyle, sophomore Adam Drury placed sixth (46.90) and rookie Alexander Auster finished eighth (47.11), before freshman Josh Monacelli took sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:08.90.
The trio of Boubon, freshman Patrick Lersch and junior Ryan O'Malley rounded out GW's top-10 finishes on the day, placing seventh (25.11), eighth (26.32) and 10th (26.36) in the 50-yard backstroke, respectively.
Drury, Lersch, Auster and Balteanu teamed up to close the meet with a fifth-place performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay, posting a time of 3:08.25.
"This weekend was a good learning experience for our men," said Coach Winchester. " We have some big goals for the end of the season, and for us to achieve them we definitely have to get back to work - keep doing what has worked for us this season so far, and create new plans for where we haven't been as successful. I definitely believe in our gentlemen to achieve our goals at the end of the season."
The Colonials take over a month hiatus from competition before returning to the pool on Jan. 9, when GW hosts William and Mary at the Charles E. Smith Center Pool.
George Washington Women
The George Washington women's swimming and diving team placed fourth out of 10 squads at the three-day Magnus Cup Invitational hosted by Cleveland State after the final day of competition on Sunday at the Vikings' Busbey Natatorium.
The Colonials wrapped the meet with 696.5 points. Akron claimed the Magnus Cup with a score of 1,801.5, followed by Duquesne (1,651) in second and Xavier (1022.5) in third. GW placed ahead of the host Vikings (574.5), Youngstown State (464), Saginaw (238), Cumberlands (188), Saint Francis (168) and Notre Dame College (12).
"Today was our toughest day of the meet," said first-year head coach James Winchester, "but the highlight was Lucy Castro in the mile, as well as team captain Lauren Law continuing to produce."
Freshman Lucy Castro's victory in the 1,650-yard freestyle highlighted the final day of competition, as the rookie clocked a time of 17:10.21 - good for seventh on GW's all-time list - to begin Sunday's finals. Senior Hannah Schaeferalso posted an A Final performance in the mile, taking ninth in 17:29.18.
Freshman Emily Zhang tallied GW's next best performance, placing fifth in the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 58.45, followed by junior Lauren Law in seventh (59.46).
The Colonials were well represented in the 50-yard backstroke A Final, as sophomores Abigail Fusco and Hannah Kopydlowski and senior Maggie Hofstadter finished in seventh (27.23), eighth (27.63) and ninth (27.74), respectively.
Law rounded out her stellar weekend of individual performances with a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, posting GW's fifth-best time in program history in 2:06.15.
The Colonials wrapped the Magnus Cup Invitational with a fourth-place performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay as Law, Kopydlowski and Zhang were joined by senior Madison Reinker to touch the wall in 3:29.53.
"We definitely learned a lot this weekend," said Coach Winchester. "We have some ambitious goals for this season, and we need to get back to work and focus on the small things to work toward our goals at the Atlantic 10 Championships at the end of the season. The Magnus Cup was a great experience for our team and will help us get better moving forward."
The Colonials return to the pool when they host defending A-10 Champion Richmond on Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Charles E. Smith Center Pool.
St. Francis (Pa.)
The Saint Francis swimming team concluded the Magnus Cup, hosted by Cleveland State, on Sunday. The Red Flash competed in the three-day meet, which included nine events on Sunday. Saint Francis finished the Magnus Cup with a team score of 168 to place ninth out of 10 teams. Akron, Duquesne and Xavier had the top three team scores.
Sophomore Katie Lafferty (Bremen, Ind./Bremen) was one of the top Red Flash performers of the day. Lafferty set a new season-best time of 52.26 in the 100-yard Freestyle to win her heat and record the ninth-best time out of 40 swimmers. Lafferty also had SFU's top time in the 50-yard Butterfly, with a pace of 26.57, to finish 17th out of 39 competitors.
Lafferty was one of three Red Flash to finish in the Top 20 of the 50-yard Butterfly. Junior Paige McLean (Bolton, Ontario/St. Michael Catholic Secondary) placed 18th, with a time of 26.61, while sophomore Mary Kish (Glendale, Ariz./Bourgade Catholic) finished 20th, with a pace of 26.66. Senior Catherine Rogers (Nokesville, Va./Seton School), with a time of 27.14, placed just outside of the Top 20 at 23rd.
The Red Flash also placed three in the Top 20 of the 50-yard Backstroke. Senior Sara Dieterich (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) led with a time of 28.78 to finish 16th out of 29 swimmers. Sophomore Alicia Tiberino (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill) came in 18th, with a pace of 29.39, while junior Jessie Reilly (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Upper St. Clair) placed 20th, with a time of 29.49. Dieterich was also the Red Flash's top finisher in the 200-yard Backstroke, with a time of 2:12.87.
Freshman Jessica Crumm (New Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley) recorded the Red Flash's top time in the 200-yard Breaststroke, with a pace of 2:29.61, to place 21st out of 38 competitors. McLean was Saint Francis' top finisher in the 1650-yard Freestyle, with a time of 18:29.97, to finish 26th out of 32. Sophomore Emma Karell (Norrtlje, Sweden/Tby Swim Club) led SFU in the 200-yard Butterfly, finishing in 17th out of 30 swimmers, with a time of 2:11.43.
In the 400-yard Freestyle Relay, Karell, Lafferty, Reilly and Rogers combined for a time of 3:35.60 to place 13th out of 27 teams. The team of Amanda Crnic (Conway, Ark./Conway), Kish, Natalie Tedjasukmana (Anaheim, Calif./Mater Dei) and Tiberino also finished in the Top 20, with a time of 3:41.25.
Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 5 when it hosts Duquesne. The meet starts at 1 p.m. in the Stokes Natatorium.
