The Geneseo Blue Wave crushed Ithaca College on Nov. 18, showing that both the men’s and women’s teams are on track for another fantastic season.
The men won 183-117, sweeping 10 events. The women claimed first in 12 events and won 206-94.
Senior swimmer Jeff Doser performed well, taking the individual 50 and 200 freestyle and the 200 freestyle relay, teaming with swimmers senior Derek Secord, junior Matthew Modelewski and freshman Harry Harkins. Doser also placed 2nd—behind Harkins—in the 100 freestyle.
Sophomore swimmer Matt Mattera also swam superbly, winning the 500 and 1,000 freestyle, and placing third in the 200 freestyle. Senior diver Samuel Randall triumphed in the 1 and 3-meter dives. The men claimed the first three spots in two events—the 200 and 500 freestyle.
On the women’s side, six swimmers swept two or more events. Freshman swimmer Deidra Osula finished first in three events; the 50 and 100 freestyle, and the 200 freestyle relay along with swimmers freshman Noelle Staso, sophomore Annabelle Anich and senior Kaitlin Doherty. Staso also won two individual events—the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Head coach Paul Dotterweich was pleased with the victory and believes the 5 p.m. start time played to the Blue Wave’s advantage.
“For the most part, everybody swam well,” Dotterweich said. “I think swimming later in the day helped. We were able to relax and readily prepare before it started.”
Despite the convincing performance, Dotterweich believes there is always room for improvement.
“After every meet, there are little things we have to fine tune,” Dotterweich said. “We look to learn from each race and come out stronger in the next one.”
Both teams’ widespread skill level is a solid attribute.
“Every meet there is someone different who performs very well. It could be anyone on the whole team. We obviously have our superstars, but I’m pleased across the board,” Dotterweich said.
In swimming, there are both long and short races. Some are finished in what seems like the blink of an eye, while others last for well over 10 minutes. The different lengths swimmers compete influences their training and mindset. Doser, a sprinter, focuses mainly on his explosiveness.
“The three things that I always focus on are my start, my turn, and maintaining a really powerful stroke as opposed to just moving my arms as fast as I can,” Doser said. “Since there is such little room for error, if one thing goes wrong in the race it is hard to recover from it.”
Doser said he works extensively on these details during practices, and it translates to races.
On the other hand, Mattera, a long-distance swimmer, stresses his stamina.
“Distance requires a lot of practice yardage-wise to gain endurance for longer events like the mile,” Mattera said. “We also train on pace, which helps us set into a rhythm, instead of going out too fast and dying or going out too slow and being forced to catch up.”
At this point in the season, Dotterweich thinks both teams show promise for future success.
“There’s not really a difference in the quality of swimming between the men and women,” Dotterweich said. “Both teams not only have the potential to win another conference championship, but to send players to the NCAA Tournament.”
Even with the break from classes, the team does not rest. Dotterweich sent the swimmers home with workouts to stay active over Thanksgiving break.
The Blue Wave heads back to Ithaca for the Ithaca Winter Invitational on Friday Dec. 1, where they plan to continue adding victories to their record.u