Miami Men
Capturing wins in ten of 14 events, including a pair of one-two-three sweeps, the Miami University men’s swimming and diving team opened their season with a 159-98 win over Xavier University on Saturday afternoon at the Nixon Aquatic Center.
RedHawk veterans and newcomers boasted strong performances throughout the day.
Junior Lucas Brock made some impressive contributions with two individual first-place finishes in both a distance and a sprint event in addition to a relay win. Despite a back-and-forth race in the 1000-yard freestyle, Brock ultimately came out on top with his final time of 9:47.40. He was followed by freshman Nick Potter in second. Brock returned later in the meet to capture a win in the 50-yard freestyle, clocking a time of 21.07.
Freshman Robert Newman led the RedHawks in the 200-yard butterfly with his time of 1:58.49, earning him first. Newman claimed second in the 100-yard butterfly, touching the wall at 52.53. Also highlighting the list of freshman was Jake Precious, who took first in the 500-yard freestyle (4:45.69) and second in the 200-yard backstroke (1:59.09).
Led by senior Christopher Dieter, Miami swept the top three spots in the 200-yard freestyle. Dieter secured first with his time of 1:42.79, followed by sophomore Ross Westrick (1:44.28) and junior Jack Strauss (1:45.91). Junior Maximilian Jelen led another top-three sweep in the 100-yard backstroke. Jelen clocked a 52.69 to seize first, followed by senior Sean Neri (52.85) and sophomore Peter Simcox (52.58) tying for second.
In the final event of the meet, the 200-yard freestyle relay, Brock, Westrick, junior Jack Strauss and freshman Will Pieseski came together to earn another first-place finish for the RedHawks, clocking a final time of 1:24.67.
The RedHawks are off until they face Purdue on Saturday Oct. 30, at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
Miami Women
After winning 13 events, the Miami University women’s swimming team earned its first victory of the season. The RedHawks dominated the Xavier University Musketeers with a score of 144-96 in the Nixon Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Stephanie LeMire added another individual win, securing a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.93. She was also on the two winning relay teams on the day. The 400-yard medley relay was won in 3:54.64 by the team of junior Brittany Dudzinski, LeMire, sophomore Morgan Quesnel and junior Logan Klinsky. The 200-yard freestyle relay was won by senior Gabby Very, senior Natalie Rohr, LeMire and senior Sara Krueger, clocking in at 1:37.85.
Three RedHawks won two individual events. Sophomore Shay Spelman touched the wall first in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:34.59) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:09.78). Krueger earned her first victories on the season in the 50-yard freestyle (24.35) and 100-yard freestyle (52.98). Sophomore Holly Schuster clocked in first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:21.66) and the 400-yard IM (4:32.48)
Four other Miami swimmers won individual events. Klinsky won the 200-yard freestyle, clocking in with a time of 1:53.98. Sophomore Katie Kuhl touched the wall in 58.22, winning her the 100-yard backstroke. Senior Emma Szczupakiewicz won the 200-yard butterfly, coming in with a time of 2:10.05. Senior Michele Rielly clocked in at 2:04.55, winning her the 200-yard backstroke.
The RedHawk women will open up their MAC schedule when they head to Eastern Michigan on Saturday, October 24 at 1 p.m. in the Michael H. Jones Natatorium.
