Under interim head coach Tom Wilkens, Fordham Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving started the 2023-24 campaign undefeated after beating each of their first five opponents.
The women’s program has not lost a meet since they lost to Boston College by one point back on Jan. 17, 2020. The men’s team, on the other hand, got off to its best start since its inaugural 1995-96 season.
The season started with a dual sweep of Manhattan College at home. The men’s and women’s teams separately notched 163 points, winning every event, including five Rams claiming the top spot in multiple.
The second meet of the season was another easy win for the women’s team, blowing out Marist College 188-104 and taking first in all 16 events. However, on the men’s side, it came down to the final event for the second straight year, with the Rams prevailing and edging Marist 150.5-140.5 to complete back-to-back sweeps.
The 400-meter freestyle event determined if the meet would be a split or a sweep, with the team of Wojciech Dutkowiak, Guy Gropper, Noah Althoff and Christian Taylor outlasting Marist by just under five seconds.
The first away meet was a dominant performance by both teams, as the Rams took home first in 23 of the 28 events at Monmouth University. Fordham finished out the meet, winning the final 16 events swimmingly.
History was made for the fourth matchup of the season with the first-ever dual sweep for Fordham at Georgetown University. The women’s team won handily as they have all season with a 50-point win, with Mya Bokerman, Leire Martin, Ainhoa Martin and Manon Compagner all taking home multiple first-place finishes and eight of their 10 wins.
For the men, it again came down to the final event in the 400 freestyle relay to close out the sweep and win narrowly 151-147 after another just under five-second win. The men placed first in eight events, including the final one, to secure the win.
The final regular season meet of 2023 was another sweep at home over Bryant University. The men’s team recorded four season’s best times in this one en route to the 185-113 win, while the women handled the Bulldogs 193-105. In total, the Rams claimed first in 23 of the 32 events.
Fordham rounded out the 2023 year with the Bucknell Invitational at the beginning of December. The Ram’s dominant start came to a halt at the tournament, with the women’s team finishing in third of the seven teams while the men’s team ended in fourth of the six teams.
Both teams traveled to La Salle University this past weekend to start the second half of their campaigns. The women’s team continued their domination, winning 165-135, while the men’s team, on the other hand, lost 169-129 for their first loss of the season. The men’s loss squashed the possibility of the program’s first dual undefeated season.
So far, leading the way for the women’s team are graduate students Manon Compagner and Jane Brown, alongside juniors Emilie Krog, Ainhoa Martin and Jessica Zebrowski. Sophomore Mya Bokerman leads the way in the diving sector.
Compagner holds the top times in the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle events, along with the 100-yard butterfly. Krog has the top times for the 500, 1000 and 1650-yard freestyles. Brown has the top times in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke contests. Martin holds the number one time for the 200 and 400-yard individual medley and the top 200-yard breaststroke time. Zebrowski leads the way in the 200-yard butterfly. Lastly, Bokerman owns the top diving scores for the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
For their efforts, both Compagner and Zebrowski have won Atlantic 10 awards over the course of the season. Most recently, Compagner was named the A-10 women’s co-performer of the week in early December, while Zebrowski held the title alone in late October on the same week Gropper earned the A-10 men’s performer of the week.
On the men’s side, graduate students Gropper and Dutkowiak, senior Noah Althof, sophomore Taylor and lone diver sophomore Marco Petit all hold multiple top times.
Gropper claims the top times for the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. Dutkowiak in the 200, 500 and 1000 yard freestyles. Althof is the top scorer in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley. Taylor holds number one for the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes and the 50-yard freestyle. Being the only diver, Petit holds the top spot for the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
The two teams will look to lean on their top scorers as they aim to continue their incredible season. They will both be in action on Wednesday, Jan. 24, at Iona before finishing the season off at home for the last two meets of the season.
