The Geneseo men's and women's swimming and diving teams were both dominant at RIT last Saturday.
For the men, senior James Kallio was superb, setting a school and pool record in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 58.08 seconds. He also finished first in the 200 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard individual medley. In the men's 50 yard freestyle, sophomore Charlie Hake and seniors John Zolna and Jerry Hinman captured first, second and third place for Geneseo. Hake also finished first in the 100 yard freestyle, followed by sophomore Sig Culhane in second place and Zolna in third. In the 400 yard medley relay, Kallio, Hake and Zolna helped the men's "A" and "B" teams finish ahead of RIT's "A" team.
Meanwhile, the women were equally impressive. Freshmen Sierra Achin, Katie Linehan and Mae Lankes finished first, second and third for Geneseo in the women's 100 yard breaststroke. Sophomore Jessie Cocco, junior Maren MacDonald and Lankes captured the top three spots in the 200 yard breaststroke, and junior Justine Diaz finished first in the 100 yard backstroke. Diaz also took the top spot in the 500 yard freestyle, with seniors KC Monahan and Amanda Cavarella taking second and third. Freshman Molly Fullenbaum, freshman Caitlin Ryan, sophomore Katie Kimball and freshman Jessica Frank finished first, second, third and fifth respectively in the 50 yard freestyle time trial.
Overall, the women's team defeated RIT 162-131 and the men won by a similar score of 152-136. Both teams have dominated the competition in dual meets this season and both stand undefeated with only one meet left before SUNYACs.
Coach Paul Dotterweich, who manages both squads, has come to expect this out of his men's team, but the success of his female swimmers this year has been a pleasant surprise. The men have eight consecutive SUNYAC titles under their belts, including last year's embarrassing 200-point defeat of Cortland in the final meet.
The women's team, meanwhile, has been considered more of a rebuilding project for the last few years, but it seems to have come together and solidified itself this season. The results of last weekend's meet suggest that the freshman and sophomore swimmers are adjusting quickly to the team and performing very well.
The team may be ready for SUNYACs right now. Dotterweich knows the upcoming meet at Oswego represents a significant challenge for his swimmers, but at this point in the season he says it's hard not to think about SUNYACs.
"This is a training-based sport," he said. "We're actually focused on the SUNYACs all season long."
Dotterweich, now in his sixth year as the head coach of the Blue Wave, was the recipient of the SUNYAC Men's Coach of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2005. It's hard to imagine that he doesn't have his eye on another one this season, but when asked about it, Dotterweich insisted that the award reflected more on his athletes than it did on him as a coach.
"Would it be nice to win it? Absolutely," he admitted. But that's not where his focus lies right now.