On Dec. 2, the Blue Wave competed at the three-day Ithaca Invitational in their final meet of the fall semester. Out of the nine teams competing, the men's team finished fifth and the women's team finished second, right behind Division I Cornell University.
"I was really pleased. It went as well as I could have expected … It was a good experience for us," head coach Paul Dotterweich said.
Over the course of the weekend, 90 percent of the women's team and 82 percent of the men's team recorded individual season-best times.
"I think it's important that they see progress, realize that the training is working, trust what we are doing and see that there is a plan. It's in place and it works," Dotterweich said.
Freshman Abby Max once again had a phenomenal meet for Geneseo, winning the 500 freestyle in a pool record and NCAA provisional time of 58.32 seconds. She also finished third in the 200 backstroke in 2:08.72, and won the 800 free relay with sophomores Lily Powell and Corinne Vairo and junior Elyssa Max in a pool record time of 7:49.02. Max was also a part of the second place 400 medley relay, the second place 400 free relay team and anchored the fourth place 200 free relay team.
Although there were multiple Division I teams, Dotterweich said, "It's nice to have those teams there raising the bar a little bit, giving us something to shoot for. Also, it is easier to perform well when you're going against someone of equal or greater ability."
Freshman John Nasky placed third – the highest finish on the men's side for Geneseo – with a time of 16:22.65 in the 1,650 freestyle. Senior Josh Kaplan finished fourth in the 100 and 200 backstroke events with times of 53.09 and 1:58.06, respectively.
Dotterweich said that he feels that the success at the Ithaca Invitational set the stage for his swimmers to have some good training over the 16-day winter break.
Geneseo resumes its season on Jan. 13 at SUNY New Paltz.