Men’s swimming completed a come-from -behind win at the Big East Championships to capture its fourth conference crown last Saturday.
Heading into the final day of the event, the men’s team trailed Georgetown, but Xavier was able to pass the Hoyas.
The men’s team finished on top by just 35.5 points, totaling 779.5 points compared to Georgetown’s 744. In addition to capturing the overall team win, men’s swimming took home six individual event wins.
Senior Matthew Dyer got the win in the 100 meter breastroke with a record-breaking time of 54.29.
Junior Landon Clark won the 200 meter butterfly with a time of 1:49:27.
The 200 meter relay team made up of sophomores Alex Sironen and Christian Thomas along with junior Brandon Abboud and senior Enrique Hernandez claimed first. Their time of 1:21.23 also earned them the school record in the event.
The foursome of Dyer, Abboud and seniors Sam Johanns and Nathan Runyon emerged victorious in the 400 meter free relay. The team clinched the win in 3:00.24.
The same group also won the 400 meter medley relay with a time of 3:13.84, which broke the school record.
Individually, Runyon acquired sole posession of the school record in the 100 meter backstroke and 200 meter backstroke.
Xavier won the 200 meter medley relay as well, with the group of senior David Bunnell, Johanns, Dyer and Thomas earning the win for the Musketeers.
The 800 meter freestyle relay team of sophomore Jared Ritz, Abboud, freshman Ben Quon and Johanns picked up Xavier’s sixth school record at the meet, with a time of 6:35:34.
The women’s swim team also had a strong finish to the 2018-19 season with a second-place finish at the Big East Championships.
Villanova’s 1007.5 points won it the Big East women’s crown, while Xavier’s 662 points placed it second and Georgetown finished third with 643.5 points.
It marked the highest finish women’s swimming has achieved since Xavier joined the Big East Conference.
The result is also tied for the best finish ever by the program, matching a runner-up finish at the Atlantic Ten swim championships dating back to 2008.
The women’s team picked up one event championship in the 200 meter medley relay event. The team, which was made up of senior Caroline Gaertner, juniors Emily Conners and Ali Fort and freshman Lydia Schaeffer, claimed the top spot with a time of 1:40.26.
This was one of four school records the women’s team earned at the meet.
Freshman Tilly Baldwin’s 17:01.28 in the 1650 meter freestyle was a Xavier best, as was the 200 meter free relay’s team time of 1:31.85 that featured Conners, seniors Tianna Vozar and Laura Dicus and sophomore Maureen Cummins.
The 800 free relay team of senior Katie Kerr, juniors Abigail Garner and Emily Saugstad and Gaertner also etched their names into the Xavier record books with a time of 7:10.63. \
By: Joe Clark | Staff Writer
