Friday, Feb. 2, Elizabethtown College’s men’s and women’s swim teams took on Frostburg State University at home. Seniors Megan Anderson, David Foery, Dru Schneider, Molly Templin and Morgan Taylor were honored as part of the teams’ senior night, as the five Blue Jays swam in their last home meet of their Etown swimming careers.
The men’s team defeated Frostburg 132-130, improving their record to 6-5 to achieve their first season with a winning record since the 1996-1997 season. Etown only won four of the 14 contested events, but took second and third in eight events. Ultimately it was the team’s depth that kept them in the meet and helped them get the win.
The Blue Jays placed second and third in the men’s 200-yard medley relay, with Foery anchoring the race for the top Etown team. Foery, the only senior on the men’s team, also took third in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard IM. First-year Austin Dolaway and junior Sam Hirshberg also scored for the Jays in the 200-yard freestyle, earning second and fourth, respectively, behind Frostburg first-year Luke Holloway. Holloway won all of his events of the afternoon, including one relay and three individual events.
First-year Alex Pecher had a big win for Etown in the 100-yard backstroke, putting the Jays within four points of the Bobcats. Sophomore Casey Marshall also had two important individual wins in the 200- and 100-yard butterfly races. Marshall out-touched the second-place finisher, Frostburg first-year Brady Peterson, by five seconds, tying the score at 56 halfway through the meet. The Jays fell behind again after the 200-yard breaststroke and 500-yard freestyle, but Marshall’s win in the 100-yard butterfly brought Etown back within ten points of the Bobcats.
Down 11 points going into the final event of the afternoon, Pecher, Marshall, Foery and sophomore Alec Schneider made up the deficit with a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Dolaway, sophomore Brian Sylvestri and juniors Tristan Koehler and Ben Spangler came in second, earning the team the points they needed to win the meet.
Frostburg won all 14 events on the women’s side, winning the meet over the Jays 180-80. Sophomore Sara Lingo earned second place in both of her individual events. Lingo finished 14 seconds behind Frostburg sophomore Rebecca Marsh in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Lingo finished behind Marsh again in the 500-yard freestyle, this time getting to the wall six seconds after her opponent.
The Jays also earned second-place finishes from Anderson, Schneider, first-year Julia Argentati, sophomore Sadie Hawkins and juniors Erika Cole, Cheryl Errichetti and Maddie Lasko. Cole earned a season- and team-best time in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing in 26.13. Lasko earned a team-best time in the 200-yard breaststroke, taking over five seconds off her previous season-best time and finishing in 2:48.80.
With the loss, the Jays’ record dropped to 4-8. Despite the tough loss, Templin reflected positively on her time swimming for Etown. “I love the team and they have been my family for the last four years,” she said.
Both the men’s and women’s teams now look toward the Landmark Conference this weekend. “We are all really focusing on our individual events and endurance while getting ready for Landmarks,” Templin said. The team has been wearing leggings during practice to create drag, so when the swimmers get in pool at championships they will feel lighter and faster in the water. “We are making our muscles work harder, build endurance and trick our minds into thinking that is how much energy we need to put in to our swims when we take those dang things off,” Templin said. The Landmark Conference Swimming & Diving Championships will be held this Friday, Feb. 16 through Sunday, Feb. 18 at the Germantown Indoor Swim Center in Boyds, Maryland.
