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The University of Maine men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams took on Boston College last weekend in a dual-meet at the Stanley M. Wallace Pool Complex in Orono.
The women’s team found victory against BC for the first time since 1988, winning 17 separate events en route to a 210–143 win over the Eagles. The men’s team suffered their first loss in the team’s last three scored meets, falling 276.5–75.5.
Both teams’ head coach, Susan Lizzotte was impressed with her teams’ performances.
“The girls came out and did what they were supposed to,” she said. “At the beginning of the year, in November, we swam against [BC] and only lost by 40, so we’ve kind of had it in our minds since then that we could beat them.”
Sophomore swimmer Lauren Dwyer and freshman swimmer Naja Harvey led the women’s team with a combined total of seven first-place finishes. Dwyer was victorious in the 200-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke and also swam a strong first leg on the Black Bears’ winning 400-yard freestyle relay team.
Harvey’s individual victories came in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes, where she won both races by an average of 2.3 seconds. She was also the second leg of the Black Bears’ winning 200-yard medley relay team.
Both Dwyer and Harvey combined for a win on the Black Bears’ 200-yard freestyle relay team.
Sophomore diver Kara Capossela swept the women’s diving events, winning both the 1- and 3-meter dives by 21.45 and 1.28 points, respectively.
Sophomore swimmers Shannon Bender and Erica Smrcina, junior swimmers Carmen Linden and Jen Trodden, and senior swimmers Helaina Sacco and Lauren Thornbrough took individual first-place finishes in the 1,000-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medly, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly, respectively.
“We just set it up strategically, the best way we could, and put some people in different places,” Lizzotte said. “[We] just tried to do the relays the best we could and lined it up to beat them.”
On the men’s side, junior swimmer Yuri Chornobil led UMaine, placing second in three different events — 1,000-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle.
Senior swimmer Andrew Meehan was individually responsible for 16 of the Black Bears’ 75.5 points, scoring in five different events — three individual and two relays.
The team finished with seven second- and third-place finishes overall.
Last weekend’s meet marked the last opportunity for the men’s team to race before America East Championships at Boston University’s Aquatic Center in Boston from Feb. 23 to 26.
“The men’s team has been solid all year and a lot of them took [this last] opportunity and raced well,” Lizzotte said. “Most of them did their regular events and are excited for championships in four weeks.”
The women’s team will get another chance to race before they travel to BU for the AE championships, when they travel to Durham, N.H., this Friday to take on the University of New Hampshire in a dual-meet at the Henry C. Swasey Pool.
Bangor Daily News