By Drew Casey
In front of a packed crowd on Wednesday evening at the Colonel Francis B. Messmore Aquatics Center, the Fordham swimming and diving team honored its 17 seniors and blew Saint Francis College out of the water.
The women’s squad took down the Terriers 126-68, winning every event, while the men’s team bested the Brooklyn school 127-81.
Prior to the meet, each of the seniors was recognized for their commitment to the swimming program at Fordham and received a framed photo collage from head coach Steve Potsklan.
“It was special for me since I was able to see the senior ceremony from the other side,” senior captain Savannah Coe said. “I really enjoyed running through the tunnel and celebrating our last dual meet with my class.”
Coe transferred her energy from the ceremony directly to the pool as she anchored Fordham’s winning relay team in the meet’s first event, the 200yd medley relay.
In the other 11 women’s events, unlikely faces led the way. Senior Theresa Santoro, and freshmen Sarah Barrett and Regina Foley all touched first in two events. Santoro, a Miller Place, New York native, took the 50yd freestyle in 25.35 and the 100yd freestyle in 54.44
“It was really great to win my two individual events at my final home meet ever,” Santoro said. “Finishing out my last meet with two wins made my hard work pay off and it really made the entire night even better.”
Barrett was quickest in both the 200yd and 500yd freestyle, touching in 1:57.46 and 5:12.62 respectively. Foley won both diving events, posting a 200.92 in the one-meter competition and recording a 217.52 on the three-meter board.
Senior Spencer Chappell was also a winner for the Rams on the evening. She out-swam the field in the 200yd individual medley and could not have envisioned a better night.
“Winning an individual event at my last home meet was the best way for me to cap off my time at the Francis B. Messmore Pool,” Chappell said.
On the men’s side, seven different Rams won individual events. Notably, seniors Zach Jacobsen and Patrick Militti touched first in the 50yd freestyle and the 100yd butterfly, respectively.
“I always find it special to win an event, but being the senior meet made it more important to me,” Militti said. “Knowing that it would be the last competitive 100 fly at our home pool got me pretty excited.”
Junior Steve Sholdra, sophomores Nicholas D’Souza and Joe Mercurio, and freshmen Liam Semple and J.T. Klimko were the other individual event winners for Fordham.
The Fordham women’s team concludes the regular season at 10-1, while the men’s squad finishes at 4-5. Both teams will travel to Geneva, Ohio for the four-day Atlantic 10 Championship, beginning Feb. 18.
“The team is more than ready for A10s,” Santoro said. “A couple more weeks of hard work is going to put us over the edge.”
