The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's swimming and diving teams both earned a win over Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday at the Meek Center in Delaware, Ohio, with the 14th-ranked women's team prevailing 272-22 and the 23rd-ranked men's team winning 253-27.
Both Spartan teams improved to 1-0 in dual meets this season, while the Battling Bishops both fell to 0-1. CWRU won all 32 events at the meet, sweeping both the men's and women's duals.
The Spartans started the meet with a first-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay by juniors Erica Rice and Gabriella Chambers, first-year Lillian Paley, and sophomore Claire Kozma in 1:51.75. Chambers, Paley, and Kozma each added event wins as individuals. Chambers won the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle events, completing the shorter race in 24.86 seconds and the longer race in 53.80 seconds. Kozma touched the wall first in the 200-yard butterfly at 2:11.32, and Paley took first in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:31.09. Additionally, Chambers and Kozma teamed with juniors Adriana Kamor and Kelly Vann to win the 200 Free Relay in 1:40.17, with Vann contributing a victory individually in the 200 Free in 2:02.64.
Six additional CWRU swimmers won events in the meet, with first-year Ava Ellis placing first in both the 100 Breast (1:10.16) and 500 Free (5:23.05). Junior Selah Dean took first in the 1000 Free, touching the wall at 11:13.02. In the backstroke events, sophomores Kate Trembly (100 Back) and Lauren Valentine (200 Back) claimed wins for Case Western Reserve, finishing with times of 1:00.70 and 2:12.99, respectively. Juniors Erin Quinlan and Isabel Verheyen completed the Spartan victories, with Quinlan winning the 100 Fly in 1:01.10, and Verheyen taking the 400 IM in 4:48.63.
On the boards, junior Abigail Wilkov placed first in the 1-meter dive with 257.86 points, and senior Rei Miyauchi won the 3-meter dive with a score of 247.05 points.
For the men's team, the 200 Medley Relay of sophomores William Froass and Mason Bencurik and juniors Jiro Batt and Ben Zuo started the meet with a win in 1:37.34. Bencurik, Froass, Zuo, and sophomore John Drumm also won the 200 Free Relay in 1:26.68. As individuals, both Froass and Bencurik placed first in two additional races. Froass swept the backstroke events, winning the 100 Back in 53.24 seconds and 200 Back in 1:56.11. Bencurik touched the wall first in a pair of sprint free events, emerging victorious in the 50 Free in 21.86 seconds and 100 Free in 48.40 seconds. Drumm took first place in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:56.76.
Three further Spartans on the men's team won two events each. Junior Stephen Hogeman claimed two freestyle events, winning the 200 Free in 1:44.87 and 500 Free in 4:57.21. Sweeping the breaststroke events was sophomore Spencer Ahten, who touched the wall in the 100 Breast at 59.09 seconds and in the 200 Breast at 2:11.09. Junior Alex Waltman won both diving events with scores of 232.75 points in the 1-meter dive and 225.70 points in the 3-meter dive.
Junior Michael Butler won the longest freestyle event at the meet, claiming victory in the 1000 Free in 10:07.59. Sophomore Milo Balzer added a win in the 100 Fly in 53.27 seconds, and junior Kevin Hu finished the 400 IM in 4:19.57 for the final CWRU victory.
The Spartans will host Carnegie Mellon on Saturday, October 28 at the Veale Natatorium for the first home dual of the season. The Tartan men's team is ranked 10th in Division III, and the CMU women's team is ranked 12th. Action is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
