POOL, TEAM RECORDS FALL AS SAINTS SPLIT DUAL MEET AGAINST ALFRED

Feb. 9: Two broken records highlighted the last dual meet of the season for the St. Lawrence University men’s and women’s swim teams, as the women went on to defeat Alfred University 123-104, while the men were defeated by the Saxons, 127-99, in Alfred, NY.

The women finished 5-5 overall in the dual meet season, while the men went 4-6.

The women’s 400-yard medley relay team, which consisted of senior captain Kim Watcke (Cheshire, CT/Sacred Heart Academy), first-years Hannah Grimes (Hamden, CT/Hamden) and Megan Derby (Cropseyville, NY/Berlin Jr./Sr. High), and sophomore Abbey Lynch (Norwood, NY/St. Lawrence Central) broke the Alfred pool record, previously held by SUNY Geneseo (4:13.62) by just under a tenth of a second with a time of 4:13.54.

Junior Alida Gerritsen (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) broke her own previous team record in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:31.34) with a 2:31.23, also earning the Saints one of their eight first place finishes on the women’s side. Grimes followed closely behind with a second place finish, touching at 2:32.83. Gerritsen also won the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:20.22.

Grimes touched the wall first in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing with a 2:04.57, followed by teammate Derby, who touched at 2:08.30.

The Scarlet and Brown finished 1-2-3 in each of the two sprint races with junior Ashley Bogosian ( Massena, NY/Peddie) leading the way, finishing first in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle races. In the 50, Bogosian touched at 25.73, ahead of Lynch (25.88) and first-year Katy Kozminski (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford). The 100 saw the same three girls fight for the win, with Bogosian earning first place honors with a 56.34, a season-best time, and Lynch (56.51) and Kozminski (56.96) closely behind.

Watcke came in first in the 200-yard back with a time of 2:16.53 and was followed by teammate and first-year Cassie Dudar ( North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex Regional), who touched at 2:29.17. Dudar had one of the best meets of her rookie season, posting a first place finish in the 200-yard butterfly (2:31.46) and also came in second behind Gerritsen in the 200-yard IM at 2:26.54.

In the distance races, sophomore Kate Waters (East Dorset, VT/Burr and Burton) took two second place finishes in the 1650 and 500-yard freestyle races, touching at 19:16.27 and 5:47.22, respectively. Her time in the mile was a career-best time by nearly ten seconds. Senior Katie Alexander ( North Tonawanda, NY/ North Tonawanda) had a season best in the 1650 (20:48.19) and placed third in the 500 (6:02.78). Waters also had a second place finish in the 200 fly, touching at 2:35.16.

First-year Jared Pellerin ( Plattsburgh, NY/Seton Catholic Central) continued to swim well for the Saints, as he led the men’s team with two first place finishes in the distance races. Pellerin swam a 17:43.69 in the 1650 free, well under his previous season best time, and a 5:12.15 in the 500, also a season best. Senior co-captain Dave Burnham (Wilton, CT/Wilton) touched behind Pellerin in the 500, earning second place points with a time of 5:27.40, while sprinter Brandon Barone (Westport, CT/Staples) took third place, touching at 5:35.77.

Also grabbing a first place finish was junior co-captain Matt Feldman (Weston, MA/Weston) in the 200-yard back (2:11.44). Feldman led another 1-2-3 punch for the Saints as senior Geoff Walano (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) finished second (2:14.41) and junior Russ Hendrick (Rochester, NY/Greece-Athena) touched third (2:20.32).

Stephen Dally (Tonawanda, NY/Canisius) earned first place honors in the 200-yard breaststroke with a 2:24.23, while first-year Rob Sibley (Hudson, NH/Alvirne) came in second with a season-best time of 2:28.73, while junior Chris Judge (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) came in third place.

Sophomore Matt Kirkpatrick (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) contributed to the Saints' effort as he grabbed a second place finish in the 200-yard IM with a season best time of 2:08.56.

The men’s 400-yard free relay, which included Feldman, Sibley, Burnham, and senior Steve Walano (Cranford, NJ/ Cranford), also took first place with a time of 3:34.68.

The Saints will compete in their last meet of the season at the end of February as the women will travel to Syracuse, NY February 20-23 for the NYSWCAA Championships, while the men will travel to Syracuse February 27-March 1 for UNYSCAA Championships. Both meets will be held at Nottingham High School.