Both the 14th-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's swimming and diving team and the 16th-ranked CWRU women's swimming and diving team upset Kenyon College on Saturday at the Veale Natatorium in Cleveland for the final dual meet of the season.
The Spartan men's team, which defeated the sixth-ranked Owls 169-128, concluded the season with a dual record of 5-1, while the Owls dropped to 1-5. The CWRU women's team, which bested the top ranked Owls 158-140, also ended the season at 5-1, while the Owls fell to 2-4.
Senior Gabriella Chambers matched the school record in the 50 Free with a time of 23.42 seconds. She tied former Spartan Suhan Mestha, who recorded the same time at the 2018 Wooster Invite, and recorded a B cut time. Chambers also secured a B cut time with her winning mark of 51.16 seconds in the 100 Free.
In the 1000 Free, senior Peter Meng broke both the school and pool record with the winning time of 9:26.40. Meng bested his previous school record of 9:27.83 set at last year's University Athletic Association Championships. The previous pool record in the event of 9:33.43 was set by Bruce Milburn of Emory at the 2007 conference championships.
The 200 Medley Relay of Chambers, seniors Simone Vale and Kate Menzer, and junior Claire Kozma started the day with a win in 1:48.10. Vale added a first-place finish in the 100 Back in 59.30 seconds, and Kozma swept the butterfly events, claiming the 100 Fly in 57.86 seconds and the 200 Fly in 2:07.31.
CWRU won both distance free events as sophomore Ava Ellis was victorious in the 1000 Free with a time of 10:49.86. On the diving boards, senior Abigail Wilkov had the highest score in both events, winning the 1-meter dive with a tally of 308.25 and the 3-meter dive by scoring 314.18.
For the men's team, the 200 Medley Relay of juniors Emil LaSida, Julian Kim, William Froass, and Mason Bencurik won the opening race in 1:30.63. LaSida, Froass, Bencurik, and junior Ben Borvendeg also closed the competition with a win the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:22.71, just 0.30 seconds from breaking the pool record. Individually, Bencurik placed first in both the 100 and 200 freestyle races, winning the shorter race in 45.78 seconds and the longer race in 1:40.41.
Junior John Drumm took the 100 Fly in 50.26 seconds, and first-year Edgar Rutkauskas touched the wall first in the 200 Breast at 2:06.23.
In diving events, senior Nico Billoni won the 1-meter dive with a score of 314.10, and fellow senior Alex Waltman claimed the 3-meter dive with a score of 304.80.
After taking a week off from competition, the CWRU swimming and diving teams will next travel to Atlanta for the 2025 UAA Championships. Emory University will host the four-day competition that begins on Wednesday, February 12 and ends on Saturday, February 15.
Spartan Notes
- Prior to the dual meet, the Spartans recognized the 18 graduating members of the men's swimming and diving team as part of the program's Senior Day. Those who were celebrated by the team included Jiro Batt, Billoni, Michael Butler, Andrew Cedar, Anthony Colangelo, Cole Davin, Griffin Gushman, Stephen Hogeman, Kevin Hu, Adam Knorz, Sam Lathrop, Meng, Jackson Pollard, Paul Racanelli, Zach Toothman, Waltman, Jadon Wyant, and Ben Zuo
- For the women's team, the victory marked the first over Kenyon since January 2000
- The Spartan men's team secured its first win over Kenyon since November 2011
