The Fordham swimming & diving team sent off its senior class in style on Wednesday night, as the Rams swept their meet with St. Francis Brooklyn at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center. The men posted a 140-77 victory over the Terriers, while the women won by a score of 110-62.
Fordham's senior class had a hand in five of the 20 event wins on Wednesday, led by Steve Sholdra and Megan Gray. Sholdra was a dual event winner, taking the 500-yard freestyle in 4:40.43 and the 100-breaststroke in 59.50 seconds. Gray won the 100 butterfly in 58.83 seconds and was a part of both winning relay teams. She joined Katerina Lisitsin, Siobhan Dale, and Julia Day to win the 200 medley relay in 1:53.05, while in the final event of the night, she along with her sister, Erin Gray, and fellow seniors Shannon Lulley and Chandler Lulley won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:39.81.
For the remaining 13 individual event wins, Wendy Espina-Esquivel led the way as the only dual event winner, taking the one-meter diving event with a school record score of 288.52, breaking her previous mark of 286.65 set back on October 30th of this season, as well as the three-meter event with a score of 279.60. Wendy Espina-Esquivel broke her own school record in the one-meter dive on Wednesday.
Other individual winners on the women's side included Natalie Malicki in the 200 freestyle (1:59.82), Clare Dillon in the 50 freestyle (25.81), Kalena Laurent in the 200 individual medley (2:10.58), E. Gray in the 100 freestyle (55.55), Lisitsin in the 100 backstroke (1:00.87), Kelly Czochanski in the 500 freestyle (5:21.75), and Amie Ko in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.65).
Besides Sholdra in the men's competition, four individuals and both relays won their events. Miguel Mattox captured the 200 freestyle in 1:44.92, while Liam Semple won the 200 individual medley in 2:01.46. Tommy Christensen then won the 100 freestyle in 48.60 seconds with Matt Luther taking the 100 backstroke in 55.18 seconds.
In the men's relays, Isiah Magsino, Robert Simkins, Luther, and Scott Brown teamed up to win the 200 medley relay in 1:37.26, while Alex Tunaru, Mattox, Christensen, and Semple won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:29.66.
The Rams are now off until February 17-20, when Fordham competes at the 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship, hosted at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
