At the Hamilton College quad meet on Saturday, Nov. 20, the Geneseo Blue Wave emerged from the competition against Ithaca College, Hartwick College and Hamilton with a 5-1 record.
The meet’s only blemish came when the women fell to Ithaca, always a tough competitor. For the women, this defeat was especially tough to swallow because their previous loss was to Ithaca at the same meet last season.
“We had opportunities to win, but there were a few races where we were just not at our best,” said head coach Paul Dotterweich.
Dotterweich did say, however, that he felt the loss could be beneficial in teaching the team lessons that will allow the members to be at their best for the remainder of the season. “They know all of the races are important, and that they all have to be performing at their best … no one likes that taste of defeat, especially when you’re not used to it.”
In spite of the team loss, senior Michelle Rodriguez added to a remarkable season, recording two NCAA provisional qualifying times. Although her winning time in the 200 freestyle of 1 minute, 54.47 seconds and Hamilton pool record of 52.41 in the 100 freestyle were provisional NCAA qualifiers, Dotterweich said Rodriguez will need to improve those times slightly to secure a lane at the NCAA national meet.
Sophomore Meghan Green also excelled during the meet, touching first in both the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:19.97 and the 1,000 freestyle, 10:54.90.
On the men’s side, junior Nate Foley led the Blue Wave to sweep the meet with victories in both the 500 and 1,000 yard freestyles. Junior Josh Kaplan won the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:59.54 and also propelled the 400 medley-relay team to victory.
Sophomore Frank Schiappa had a successful return to the pool, contributing a first place finish in the 50 freestyle. Schiappa has been benched since the Buffalo State meet due to injury.
“It’s always good to see one of your national level swimmers back in the pool,” Dotterweich said.
The Blue Wave competes next at the ECAC Division III Championships, Dec. 3 - 5.