GRANVILLE, Ohio, October 15. The highly anticipated 2011-12 men's swimming & diving season is underway and the Big Red kicked things off with a 181-96 win over visiting Asbury (Ky.) University from Gregory Pool in Granville, Ohio.
Denison racked up 11 victories on the night and was led in wins by junior Quinn Bartlett and first-year Ben Snader who each won three events.
Bartlett picked up right where he left off last spring with a convincing win in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:51.02. He also won the 50 free in 21.46 and swam the anchor leg of the winning 200 medley relay along with Robert Barry, Snader, and Mike Barczak. The foursome combined for a time of 1:35.66.
Snader made a splash in his first collegiate meet by taking first place in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. In the 100 breast he touched in 1:00.55 and in the 200 breast he posted a time of 2:13.41.
Other multi-event winners were Barry, Barczak and first-year diver Connor Dignan. Barry took home wins in the 100 backstroke in 51.05 and the 200 medley relay while Barczak also swam on the 200 medley relay to go along with his victory in the 100 freestyle in 47.47 seconds.
Dignan, who has plenty of competition on his own team in All-American Gabe Dixson and former North Coast Athletic Conference champion, Phil Meyer, held off his teammates with a score of 265.53 in the 3-meter and a 291.60 in the 1-meter. Dignan's score in the 1-meter was less than eight points shy of breaking the six-dive school record set by Stephen Julka in 2008.
In the 3-meter dive, Meyer finished just behind Dignan with a score of 259.50 and Dixson posted a score of 249.90.
Rounding out the winners for DU were sophomore All-Americans Al Weik and Carlos Maciel. Weik, the national record holder in the mile, posted a time of 9:36.28 to win by more than 13 seconds in the 1,000 yard freestyle. Maciel would go on to win the 200 freestyle in 1:45.12.
DU returns to the pool next Saturday when the swimmers travel to Gambier, Ohio for the Kenyon Relays. Denison's divers will stay in Granville for the Denison Diving Relays.
The Denison women's swimming & diving team opened its 2011-12 schedule with a convincing 186-94 victory over Asbury (Ky.) University on Saturday in the final season-opening meet from Gregory Pool.
The Big Red racked up 12 first-place finishes en route to the 92-point victory. Junior Alyssa Swanson and sophomore Natalie Lugg paced Denison with three victories each. Three first-years also logged first-place finishes in their inaugural collegiate competition.
Swanson earned her wins in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.20 seconds. She also won the 100 free in 52.24 while anchoring the winning 200 medley relay along with Sarah Yu, Lugg and Brenna Broadus that touched in 1:48.47.
Lugg's wins came in the 200 medley relay, the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.52 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:28.42. Yu followed with a pair of wins in the aforementioned 200 medley relay and the 100 backstroke in 1:00.03.
Senior Emily Schroeder picked up a victory in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:08.53 and classmate Hilary Callen bested Marit Wangstad by two-tenths of a second in the 200 freestyle with her time of 1:56.59.
Denison's rookie winners were Elizabeth Flaherty in the 1000 freestyle in 10:54.36; Michelle Howell in the 200 butterfly in 2:11.62 and Katie Collins in the 1-meter dive. She posted a score of 209.70 to win that event. She would go on to place second in the 3-meter dive with a score of 204.53. The winner of the 3-meter competition was sophomore Rachel Keselring who posted a score of 219.93.
DU returns to the pool next Saturday when the swimmers travel to Gambier, Ohio for the Kenyon Relays. Denison's divers will stay in Granville for the Denison Diving Relays.
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