It has been a busy week for the Stony Brook Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Team as both teams look to improve their record. Each team had yet to make a big splash in the NCAA standings, with the men’s team off to a slow start with a 2-3 record and the women off to a lowly 0-5 record.
Despite their records, the men’s and women’s team took their first step this weekend last Saturday in trying to make a comeback. The result, however, was less than stellar.
The Seawolves traveled to Boston last weekend to take on the Boston University Terriers, a perennial tough match-up. Despite efforts from top swimmers Lukasz Ochmanski, from Lodz Poland, and Andrew Kissel from Amityville, New York, the Men’s team lost to the Terriers 175-120.
Freshman Ochmanski finished first in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a remarkable time of 16:09.89, and also took top honors in the 400-yard individual medley with another outstanding time of 4:06.49. The senior Andrew Kissel did his best to propel the team into a win with a first place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, with fellow Seawolves teammate Matt Descovich close behind in second.
Kissel was also a part of the 400-yard freestyle relay team, which also included freshman Jonathan Eldor, from South Setauket, New York, freshman Eric Gaffey from Bohemia, New York, and the junior Omer Ozcan from Brooklyn, New York. Despite the team’s efforts, which placed first in that event with a time of 3:12.59, the team failed to garner enough points for a decisive win.
The women, searching for their first win of the season, traveled to Boston with high hopes. Although they put up a stringent fight, the team lost to BU 176.5-117.5.
The scoreboard did not show how well the women’s team did. Anastasia Kiryushkina, a freshman from Moscow, Russia, continued her triumphant first season by placing first in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke, with times of 1:07.76 and 2:24.54, respectively.
Contributing to a strong effort by the Seawolves were freshmen Maja Gudelj, from Split, Croatia, and Lisa Jackson, from Saratoga Springs, New York. Gudelj beat out the field of swimmers in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.91 and Jackson took top honors in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:45.96.
Before the men could take first place in the freestyle relay, the women had done it first, beating the BU relay team with a time of 3:41.16. The team consisted of seniors Nyisha Green-Washington from Highland Mills, N.Y., Courtney Teague from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and freshman Adrienne Policht, of Mississauga, Canada.
Spirits were low following the teams’ defeat in Massachusetts, but they didn’t last long as the team came back to Stony Brook to compete against the Iona University Gaels and the St. Francis Prep Terriers at University Pool in the Sports Complex.
With a head full of steam, both the men’s and women’s teams swept the Gaels and the Terriers. With the wins, the men’s team moved to a respectable 4-4, and the women improved to 2-6, on the fast track to winning back the not-so-forgone season. The men beat the Gaels with a score of 76-35 win, and an 87-20 win over the Terriers. The women, similarly, beat the Gaels with a score of 76-35 win, and an 87-20 win over the Terriers.
Spotlighting the men’s races was once again freshman Lukasz Ochmanski, shattered the Stony Brook record in the 500-yard freestyle. The previous owner of the record, none other than Ochmanski himself which he broke on the road, was overtaken with a time last night of an astounding 4:31.64, a good 35 seconds before the next place finisher.
Ochmanski continued a dominating night with a first place finish in the 200-yard IM, or Individual Medley, with a time of 2:01.25. When asked about Lukasz’s performance on the night, Coach Dave Alexander could only come up with one adjective for his speed, short and to the point, ‘scary!’
Not to be overshadowed by the individual effort of Ochmanski alone, the men’s team finished with eight more first place finishes, along with Ochmanski’s two. The Gaels and Terriers heads were spinning from the speed and ease with which Stony Brook was placing first in the events. They went in looking for the proverbial fight, and came out licking their wounds as the men’s team looked for a convincing win.
The men’s 200-yard relay dominated the event, placing first ahead of the Gaels by five seconds. Individually, freshman Nathan Fleshman finished first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:34.23, Eric Gaffey finishing first in the 200-yard freestyle, Jonathan Eldor in the 50-yard freestyle, Alexander Demin in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, Alexander Kissel in 100-yard freestyle, and Raphael Labour, Jr., in the 100-yard backstroke. A convincing win over Iona and St. Francis indeed.
Looking to prove they were better than the 0-6 record, the women showed up for their own events, taking first place in seven races. Gudelj finished first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.08 and the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.11. Once again, the men’s and women’s relay teams swept the 200-yard medley, as the women’s team finished in first with a time of 1:53.72. Rounding out the other five top winners was Lisa Jackson in the 1,000-yard freestyle, Courtney Teague in the 200-yard freestyle, Talia Schizzano in the one-meter dive, and Lucy Liu in the 100-yard butterfly.
The men’s team will take their .500 record against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy here at the Sports Complex, while the women’s team will not see action until Jan. 16, where the men and women travel to Pennsylvania to take on Lafayette University and Binghamton University. Come cheer on the men at 1:00 PM on Saturday.
