In the second meet of the year for both teams, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams handily defeated the University of Maine Saturday to maintain their unblemished records as they prepare to open their Ivy League schedules.
The men marked their second straight blowout win with a 226-55 margin over the Black Bears this weekend. Bruno claimed first place in each of the 15 races, and took the top three spots in 10 events.
Brown’s two divers claimed first and second in both diving events as well. The Bears are now 2-0 after trumping the University of Massachusetts Amherst 201-93 last weekend.
The women won by a similar margin, taking Maine down 198-97. Brown swimmers won 14 of the 15 races, sweeping the podium in four races.
Maine divers won both women’s diving events, but Brown placed the next three divers in each competition. With wins last weekend over Northeastern University and UMass-Amherst, the women’s team is 3-0.
Head Coach Peter Brown said he was happy to see his teams gain experience and learn more about themselves.
“Once you get a couple of meets under your belt, you start to evolve. … We saw some good things,” Brown said.
Brown said the team improved its overall depth, a shift certainly on display as Bruno collectively won 29 of 30 races. “Both swimming- and diving-wise, we’re covering our bases pretty well,” he said.
The swimmers agreed with their coach’s assessment. Men’s Captain Brian Barr ’15 said the meet was “a step in the right direction,” adding, “We got done what we needed to get done.”
“The win definitely keeps our motivation and momentum going,” said Women’s Captain Ellen Sellinger ’14.
A few performances stood out from the rest. Brown said his divers did “a really nice job” after struggling in the previous meet.
Barr highlighted the strong performance from Connor Lohman ’17, who won the 400-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke, in addition to being a member of a first-place 200-yard medley relay team. For the women, Megan Viohl ’17 and Leigh Holmes ’14 each won two individual events.
Up next for the Bears is the Princeton Invitational, which will be the first time this season either squad faces Ivy League competition.
“We’ll have a better sense of where we’re headed after the Princeton meet,” Brown said. “We need that next barometer.”
The swimmers are ready to take on the next level of competition, aided by the additional rest period the team will have before the Dec. 6 meet, the captains said.
“It’s going to be the first meet we rest a little bit for,” Barr said. “We’re rested and excited to race.”
Sellinger said he was looking forward to the time off and how it might help the team prepare. “We’ve been training harder than we’ve ever been before.”
Overall, team members said they looked forward to finally facing their rivals. “There’s a lot more hype and excitement before Ivy League meets,” Barr said.
“We’re going to have some tests and we’re going to be ready for them,” Brown said.
The Princeton Invitational takes place at Princeton Dec. 6 to 8.
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