Before the storm postponed the men’s and women’s swim teams’ meets against McDaniel College , the teams each faced Frostburg State University at home on Jan. 18, 2016. The men clinched a win for the final meet at home, while the women were defeated by just three points.
The men won 111-87 against Frostburg. First-years Sam Hirshberg, Tommy Kuhn and Nick Petrella, as well as sophomore David Foery produced two wins each to play large roles in the victory.
In the 400-yard medley relay, Petrella, Kuhn, Foery and first-year Guillaume Gournoc achieved first with a time of 3:50.17. The time was a season best for the four swimmers. This time was 8.5 seconds faster than the team’s best time for the season.
Kuhn and Foery each performed well in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100 free, respectively. Hirschberg competed in the 200 free and reached a new personal record with his first win with a time of 1:58.29. His time was faster by over a second compared to his former best time.
Kuhn continued to be a force for the Jays in the 200 fly, with a first place finish.
For the women, a victory was in sight, but Frostburg was able to capture the win with a 99-102 victory over the Blue Jays. First-year Dayna Stewart captured first in the 200-yeard butterfly, while senior Rachel Engelhardt earned first in the 500-yard freestyle.
Stewart had the 13th fastest time in the Landmark Conference with a time of 2:29.87, which was more than 40 seconds faster than the runner up in the event.
In the 400 free relay, the team of Stewart, senior Amanda Long, junior Mariselle Parisi and first-year Erika Cole had a time of 4:03.22 for a first place finish.
Elizabethtown had a chance to win, but Macey Nitchie captured a victory for Frostburg in the 400 medley relay, with her split of 54.16, which sealed the deal for the visitors Monday night.
“For the Frostburg meet, we should have added more swimmers into all the events for more depth to gain more points,” Engelhardt said. “Because we lost by 3 points, we could have won that meet if we had more depth in all events.”
The Blue Jays were to finish the regular season Saturday, Jan. 23 at McDaniel College, but Storm Jonas postponed the meets. The meets have been rescheduled to Wednesday, Jan. 27.
“This is our last meet before championships so we all want to have fun, but do everything we can to get our best times,” Engelhardt said. “We need to remember everything we have practiced all season, fast starts, good turns, and hard finishes, and put all of that together into these last races.”
The Blue Jays will compete in the Landmark Conference Championships, Feb. 12-14.
