Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Men’s and women’s swim and dive teams dominate Colgate Fall Classic

 

Collegian File Photo
(Collegian File Photo)

The Massachusetts men’s swim and dive team walked off its bus at the Colgate Fall Classic in New York this weekend with high expectations.

They boarded the bus after the two day event with their hopes fulfilled, as the Minutemen submitted a dominating performance in defeating Colgate and Le Moyne in their first meet of the season.

After winning the Atlantic 10 Championship one year ago, UMass returns many proven athletes, and is poised for another run at a league title.

UMass finished the meet with 12 first place finishes and a team total of 1,395 points. Neither Colgate nor Le Moyne came close to the Minutemen, as they finished with 692 and 597 points, respectively.

Highlighting the weekend for the men in the pool was Heath Magin and Oliver Wyeth.

Magin finished first in the 400 meter individual medley with a time of 4:14.04 and he also tied for first in the 200 meter backstroke in 1:54.87.

Wyeth, a sophomore from New Zealand, tied for first with his teammate Magin in the 200 meter, and stood alone on the podium in the 100 meter backstroke, finishing with a time of 51.26 seconds.

Owen Wright, Kyle Stefanides, Alex Mesisca, Alessandro Bomprezzi and Ben Sloan were also among the men’s swimmers to place first in their respective events.

On the boards, sophomore Trent Kindvall tallied 260.85 points in the three meter dive to clinch first place and junior Nolan Burns followed close behind totaling 225.08 points for a solid second place finish.

The opening weekend’s success for the Minutemen bodes well for their future as they look to repeat under coach Russ Yarworth as conference champions.

UMass will travel to Army next Friday for a 5 p.m. meet.

Women’s team glides to victory

Coming off a second place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference last season, the Massachusetts women’s swim and dive team entered the Colgate Fall Classic on a mission to finish what it started in 2014-15.

After dominating the weekend with a first place finish, the Minutewomen took a step in the right direction in completing that very mission.

Competing alongside host team Colgate, UMass also faced off against Long Island University Brooklyn, Le Moyne and Lock Haven.

Like the men’s team, the Minutewomen were far and away the best team in the pool during the two-day event in Hamilton, New York. UMass totaled 1,028 points over the course of the weekend and led for most of the competition.

In the pool, junior Meriza Werenski took first­ place in the 400 meter individual medley (4:34.95) followed by freshman Jen Robeson who placed second. Werenski also added a second ­place finish in the 200 meter breast to complete a solid weekend for the South Hadley native.

Senior Jocelyn Yuen stood atop the podium for the Minutewomen after winning the 200 meter fly and she added a second place in the 100 meter fly.

The damage wasn’t just done in the pool for the Minutewomen as UMass swept all three spots in the three meter dive, with sophomore Emma Roush taking first.

Other notable performances from the Minutewomen included Cassie Sosnovich’s second place finish in the 100 meter free and third place finish in the 100 meter fly along with Ansley Baker’s second place in the 100 meter breaststroke.

Senior Rebecca Quirie also recorded a second­ place finish in the 100 meter backstroke, while freshman Steph Campo finished second in the 1,650 meter freestyle.

The depth of this Minutewomen team will prove to be vital to their future successes and hopeful conference championship run, as they will need to continue receiving contributions across the lineup.

UMass will continue its hunt for a conference championship next Friday, at 5 p.m., in West Point, New York against Army.

Ryan Donovan can be reached at [email protected].

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