On Saturday, Oct. 19, the Blue Jays men and women’s swim teams hosted their first alumni swim meet. The meet included 18 alumni—five of whom recently graduated this past May.

Senior Megan Leppo and 2011 Etown graduate and Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Caitlin Koller started planning the meet this past summer. The graduating years  of alumni ranged anywhere from 1982 to 2013. Leppo, the women’s swim team captain, decided to start this event because it was something she wanted to see happen before she graduated.  She felt that being the women’s swim team captain gave her a position of authority and responsibility to start an event that would benefit both the current team and alumni for years to come.

“I enjoyed interacting with the alumni swimmers and seeing the current team do the same,” Leppo said.  “All of the alumni were really excited about the event and eager to provide any necessary assistance to continue it.  It was energizing to see the birth of a new tradition,” Leppo continued.  Senior Andrew Malik also commented on the meet and stated, “I enjoyed seeing swimmers who I had swam with in the past, and it was neat meeting others who I had never swam with before.”

The alumni meet took the place of time trials. The events during the meet were similar to those at typical meets, but also a mix of fun relays, even a mix of men and women. The current team competed against alumni.  The current Blue Jays were put into events that Head Coach Mark Wilson wanted to see them practice. Wilson has been coaching for the Blue Jays for five years. The purpose of the alumni swim meet was to kick off homecoming.  It also gave the team a good chance to catch up, have fun and see what alumni have been doing since graduating. Senior Megan Leary commented, “There wasn’t any pressure like there is in dual meets. It was nice to catch up and see all of our alumni swimmers.”  Malik agreed that the meet was fun because he got to race old friends.