By Drew Casey

The Fordham swimming and diving team hit the ground running this past week, opening its season with three consecutive dual meets. The team hosted Marist on Thursday, Oct. 23, traveled to Fairfield on Friday and welcomed the University of Connecticut to Fordham on Saturday.

“Our team had an incredibly tough weekend with three meets back-to-back, but we rose above the difficulty and performed really well,” said junior Steve Sholdra. “All three teams were good competition, and it was fun having the opportunity to race great swimmers over and over again.”

After finishing second in the Atlantic 10 last year, the women’s team started its season off right, taking down Marist 145-93 at the Colonel Frances B. Messmore Aquatic Center.

Sophomore Megan Polaha and junior Shannon Lulley led the way for the Rams, winning two individual events each. Polaha took the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard butterfly, while Lulley touched first in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle. The two returning swimmers were also part of the winning 400-yard medley relay team.

The men’s team did not fare as well against the Red Foxes, falling 126-111 in its opening meet. Despite the loss, Sholdra and freshman Liam Semple turned in good performances. Sholdra won both the 500-yard and 1000-yard freestyle, and was also quickest in the 200-yard butterfly. In his Fordham debut, Semple was victorious in both the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle.

Friday’s action featured a carry-over performance from Thursday for the women’s team. The squad took down Fairfield 180-115. Junior Megan Gray was the top performer for the Rams, finishing first in three events. She captured the 200-short course meter butterfly, and was part of the winning 200 SCM medley and 200 SCM freestyle relay teams. The Fordham women’s team also won nine other events in against the Stags.

On top of the women’s victory, the men’s team defeated the Stags. The team dominated, winning 11 events to take the meet 171-118. Sophomores Joe Mercurio and Thomas Shetler were each involved in three event wins for the Rams. Mercurio touched first in the 100 SCM butterly, while Shetler was quickest in the 50 SCM freestyle. Both were also part of the winning 200 SCM medley relay and 200 SCM freestyle relay teams.

Saturday’s opponent proved to be the toughest of the opening three-meet stretch. The Connecticut Huskies downed the women’s team 165-135 and defeated the men’s team 182.5-106.5.

Polaha was the Rams’ best swimmer of the afternoon, winning both the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly, and capturing the 200-yard individual medley. Sholdra was victorious in both the 1000-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly for the men.

“Being able to compete just as fast (or faster) in the third day of racing as we did in the first day really shows the result of our team’s work ethic over the past five weeks,” Sholdra said. “We have been training hard week after week, and this past weekend gave us a chance to prove our peak physical conditioning.”

The women’s team is 2-1, while the men’s team is 1-2. Both will next be in action on Nov. 8 against Boston University at Rose Hill at 1 p.m.