By James Sica, Swimming World College Intern
CAMBRIDGE – As we move into November the six teams of Empire 8 swimming (Ithaca College, Stevens Institute, Hartwick College, Nazareth College, Alfred University, and Utica College) are buckling down into some heavy training, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see some fast swimming this week across the conference.
Looking Back…
On the women’s side in Empire 8 competition, Hartwick defeated Nazareth in a convincing fashion (164 – 119) while showing the strength of many of their returning upperclassmen. Out of conference, both Stevens and Ithaca impressed at their respective meets. Steven’s sophomore Danielle Caruso recorded wins in the 200 freestyle (1:56.73), 500 freestyle (5:08.24), and the mile (17.49.84) at the NYU Invitational, while senior Brittany Geyer also brought home two wins for the Ducks in the 400 IM (4:41.78) and the 200 breaststroke (2:26.12). Ithaca sophomore Grace Ayer continued to demonstrate her versatility through the week, winning the 50 freestyle (25.77) against William Smith, as well as the 200 freestyle (2:00.52) and 200 breaststroke (2:32.67) against SUNY Cortland in the Lady Bombers two dual meets.
On the men’s side, Nazareth also fell to Hartwick (177 – 108), with the Hawks taking wins in 13 of the 16 events. Senior Miles Blaney was impressive in the 200 freestyle (1:45.77) and 500 freestyle (4:54.38). In out of conference competition, Steven’s had a strong showing at the NYU invite, which included wins from junior Joshua Lefeber in the 200 IM (1:56.19), junior Tommy Walinski in the 200 free (1:43.91), junior Ravi Sun in the 100 backstroke (52.06) and 200 backstroke (1:52.30 – an NCAA B cut), and senior Price Hu in the 200 butterfly (1:55.48). Ithaca came away with a win against SUNY Cortland, with junior Adam Zelehowsky leading the way with impressive wins in the 200 freestyle (1:45.11), 100 freestyle (48.22), and 200 IM (2:01.86) that showcased his versatility and value to the Bombers roster.
Ithaca and Stevens will both be out of competition this week, which is a good opportunity for some of the other teams in the Empire 8 to step up and challenge some of the top times both schools have posted.
Alfred University
Alfred has a busy week, taking on SUNY Fredonia at home on Friday and then traveling to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on Saturday. SUNY Fredonia should provide a nice challenge for both the men and women’s teams, while the Bradford Panthers weakness in some areas of their roster will give the Saxon’s some flexibility in the lineup while on the road. Regardless of the outcome, it will be interesting to see how the Saxons hold up through two days of travel and racing as they continue to look toward the conference championships at the end of the year.
On the women’s side, Fredonia has strong relays and a great core group of sprint, including Rachel Morgano, Ellie Brijon, and Sam Rokos. Expect Alfred to look to Chrissy Behr to take home wins in the sprint events (top times of 25.19, 56.22) while also looking to sophomore Dylan Staniszewski (top times of 5:29.71, 11:22.77) to capitalize on Fredonia’s weakness in the distance events. The Saxon men should have an easier time coming away with a win, but still expect to see them relying heavily on the upperclassmen trio of Dave Coombes (sprint/middle distance free), David Luke (sprints), and Zac Toth (Butterfly/IM) to bring home the wins and the big points against Fredonia.
On the road, the Saxon’s should have an easier time on Saturday at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. With a limited women’s roster expect the lady Saxons to try out some off events and see where they can potentially fill some holes in their roster. The men’s team may provide a bit more of a challenge with a larger and more complete roster, but the Panther men still won’t have enough depth to challenge the Saxons. However, expect Bradford sophomore Felipe Suntaxi to challenge both Coombes and Luke in the sprint freestyle events.
Hartwick College
Similar to the Saxons, the Hartwick Hawks are facing a weekend full of racing, going against SUNY Oneonta at home on Saturday and traveling to Rensselear Polytechnic Institute on Sunday. Both SUNY Oneonta and RPI should provide a challenge to the Hartwick men and women, and the biggest challenge for Hartwick may be overcoming the mental and physical price of travel and back to back racing.
The Hawks have already faced Oneonta at their opening Hartwick Relay Meet. In that contest, Oneonta finished first to Hartwick’s fourth on the women’s side, while the Hartwick men finished first to Oneonta’s fourth. It’s a whole different game in the traditional duel meet line-up, however, so expect Hartwick to continue looking to their strong collection of upperclassmen to lead their teams to victory. On the women’s side, the Hawk’s are fairly evenly matched with Oneonta and should be able to challenge in nearly every event. Expect the Hawks to try and capitalize in the freestyle events where Gwen Mathias (5:27.46; 10:10.01), Imma Rutigiliano (2:00.02, 5:20.06), and Kelsey Elliot (25.70, 55.33, 2:02.68) are all within striking distance of Oneonta’s top swimmers. The men’s meet should be a bit easier for Hartwick to come away with a win, as they have the opportunity to score some major point lying in the multiple events. Senior Miles Blaney will be a force in the freestyles (47.63, 1:45.77, 4:54.38), junior Matt Plunkett in the backstroke (54.80, 1:56.69), junior Ben Detar in the butterfly events (54.58, 1:58.25), and sophomore Luis Santiesteban in the 200 IM (2:01.81).
On the road at RPI the Hartwick women will again have a very tough contest. RPI was able to challenge Ithaca earlier this season, and although they came away with a loss RPI still demonstrated some impressive versatility and some strong relays. Look again for Rutigliano, Mathias, and Elliot to capitalize on RPI’s relative weakness in the freestyles. On the men’s side expect a similar story, and the Hawks should have their hands full trying to overcome RPI’s always strong contingent of breaststrokers. However, the combination of Blaney, Plunkett, Detar, and the strength of Hartwick’s relays should be enough for them to overcome the Engineers.
Nazareth College
Nazareth will travel to St. Lawrence this weekend. Previous meets have exposed some of the holes in Nazareth’s roster, but against the Saints the Golden Flyers may have a chance to come out on top. On the women’s side, expect Cameron Hess to capitalize on her strength in the distance events (5:31.77, 11:02.84), while the rest of the Golden Flyers will be fairly evenly matched with the Saints in the stroke events. Bridget Geary and Kimberly Pedrotti will be challenged to get a win in the butterfly and breaststroke events, but if Nazareth can pull in enough wins this meet could be theirs. On the men’s side it looks like the Saints have a lot of the same holes that the Golden Flyers seem to have. Junior Daniel Burke to easily take the backstrokes given his top times this season (53.81, 1:57.22) and could also get some big points in the 100 fly or 200 IM. Similar to the women, Nazareth will need to win some head to heads in their weaker events to come out with a win.
Utica College
Utica College will take on Cazenovia at home this weekend. This is the second time both teams have met, the first being at the early season Hartwick Relay meet where both the Utica men and women beat Cazenovia handily. Cazenovia has a fairly limited roster, particularly on the men’s side, and shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge for the Pioneers. On the women’s side, freshman Pheobe King has proven to be an assest in the 100 back, 100 free, and 200 IM, while freshman Alyson Baribault has been competitive in the breaststrokes for the Pioneers. On the men’s side, junior Raphael Warnon should continue to be the top performers for the Pioneers, having performed well in both backstrokes (57.69, 2:00.38) and the 100 butterfly (57.71) this season.
Ithaca College
No meets this week
Stevens Institute of Technology
No meets this week
Upcoming Schedule
November 14: SUNY Fredonia at Alfred University; Cazenovia College at Utica College
November 15: Alfred University at University of Pittsburgh at Bradford; SUNY Oneonta at Hartwick College; Nazareth College at St. Lawrence
November 16: Hartwick at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Empire 8 Swimmer of the Week for Week of November 3 – November 10
The Empire 8 named Ithaca’s Lake Duffy and Steven’s Ravi Sun as this week’s swimmers of the week based off their performances in the week of November 3rd – November 10th. Lake Duffy earned the award through her wins in the 50 (25.25), 100 (56.37), and 200 (2:02.75) freestyles between Ithaca’s two duel meets against William and Smith and SUNY Cortland this past week. Ravi Sun impressed at the NYU Invitational, posting wins in the 100 (52.06) and 200 backstroke (1:52.30), and a fourth place finish in the 400 IM (4:13.10). Sun’s time in the 200 back was an NCAA B cut. Sun was also a part of both of Steven’s second place medley relays behind NYU.
James Sica is a volunteer assistant coach with the Harvard women’s swimming and diving program. Previously, he coached and swam at Ithaca College in the Empire 8.
what a great grip on the Empire 8