By Drew Casey
The Fordham swimming and diving team split its meet with the University of Massachusetts this past Saturday at the Colonel Francis B. Messmore Aquatics Center.
The women’s team took down the Minutewomen 176-119, while the men’s team fell to its Atlantic 10 foe 172.5-115.5.
“We went into Saturday with competitive spirit and drive that really helped us put forth some great racing, despite our hard training the last month,” sophomore Kalena Laurent said. “I was really proud of how we all stepped up.”
After opening with a victory in the 200yd medley relay, the women’s squad went on to win 10 of its final 15 scored events. Laurent, together with sophomores Morgan Fairclough and Megan Polaha, led the way, winning two events each.
Laurent was quickest in the 200yd freestyle and touched first in the 500yd freestyle in 5:02.68. Polaha took two butterfly events, recording a 57.23 in the 100yd race and a 2:02.74 in the 200yd swim. Fairclough beat out the field in both the 100yd and 200yd backstroke.
Senior Victoria McGovern, and juniors Megan Gray and Shannon Lulley each won an individual event on the afternoon as well.
“I think we had some strong performances against UMass,” senior captain Savannah Coe said. “We had swimmers who aren’t going to A-10s, who tapered and wore race suits, who performed extremely well and were able to get best times, which was exciting to see.”
Freshman Erin McBride, Gray, and the Lulley sisters concluded the women’s program with a win in the 200yd freestyle relay.
The men’s team did not fare as well, winning five of the 16 scored events.
Junior Steve Sholdra turned in a stellar performance in the loss, touching the wall first in three individual events. The Renton, Washington native won both the 500yd and 1000yd freestyle events, posting times of 4:38.74 and 9:34.95, respectively. He also was quickest in the 200yd butterfly.
“Our team performed incredibly well this weekend against UMass,” Sholdra said. “UMass is a really fast team. They train very hard, and are great competition. Nonetheless, our men’s team stepped up and raced very fast, especially on our relays. I believe that this was the some of the best racing our Fordham team has done all season long.”
As Sholdra mentioned, the team turned in good performances in both relay events. Freshmen J.T. Klimko and John Furlong, sophomore Joe Mercurio and junior Thomas Shetler were quickest in the 200yd medley relay. Shetler, Mercurio, junior Christopher Daniell and senior Patrick Militti wrapped up competition with a win in the 200yd freestyle relay.
Before the Atlantic 10 Championship, both the men’s and women’s teams will host St. Francis and LIU-Brooklyn on Wednesday Feb. 4. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with senior night ceremonies preceding competition.
“The last meet of the season is a great opportunity to fine tune our strokes, race strategies and relay starts, so that we are ready to perform at our best at A-10s,” Coe said.
The A-10 Championship begins Feb. 18 in Geneva, Ohio.