The State University of New York at New Paltz men’s swimming team kicked off its 2013-14 season by placing fifth out of six squads with 48 points at the annual Union Relays hosted by Union (N.Y.) College on Saturday.
Host Union (N.Y.) won the meet with 128 points, while the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (126), Montclair State University (78), Vassar College (56), New Paltz (48) and Mount Saint Mary College (18) rounded out the remainder of the field.
New Paltz next faces Ramapo College in its first dual meet of the season on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. at Elting Pool.
New Paltz’s top finish came in the 200 freestyle relay, as the contingent of senior Matt Distler (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls), sophomore Rod Taskindoust (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown North), senior Austin Collins (Remsenburg, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) and freshman Luke Zenir (Cherry Valley, N.Y./Cooperstown Central) clocked a third-place1:33.20.
The Hawks claimed fourth in four different relay events: the 300 butterfly relay, the 500 freestyle crescendo relay, the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay.
New Paltz Women’s Swimming Places Runner-Up at Union Relays in 2013-14 Debut
The State University of New York at New Paltz women’s swimming team ended up narrowly missing out on the team title at the annual Union Relays hosted by Union (N.Y.) College on Saturday, finishing second out of six squads with 108 points. Host Union (N.Y.) won the meet with a 116-point total.
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy (78), Montclair State University (72), Vassar College (66) and Moutn Saint Mary College (20) rounded out the remainder of the field.
New Paltz next faces Ramapo College in its first dual meet of the season on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. at Elting Pool.
The Hawks were largely done in by diving, as Union (N.Y.) collected 24 points on the boards. New Paltz, however, countered with five relay victories in the nine-event portion of the swimming program.
The 400 medley relay squad of sophomore Casey O’Connor (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield), junior Samantha Granan (Hyde Park, N.Y./Franklin D. Roosevelt), sophomore Ella Graffin (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) and senior Victoria Scalise (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) kicked off the meet with a winning time of 4:14.89, while the 300 breaststroke relay trio of Granan, senior Chelsea Allocco (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) and sophomore Krista VerMeersch (Newark, N.Y./Newark) clocked an event-winning 3:37.33 just two events later.
New Paltz bounced back from a third-place result in the 300 butterfly relay, as the 500 freestyle crescendo relay quartet of sophomore Zoe Papetti (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach), sophomore Cassidy Griger (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown Central), Scalise and Allocco charted a first-place 4:54.70. The Hawks followed that up in the 200 freestyle relay with another event victory, as Papetti, Griger, Graffin and Scalise combined for a time of 1:43.02. Finally, in the last event of the meet, Griger, Graffin, O’Connor and Scalise teamed up to post the winning standard of 3:46.45 in the 400 freestyle relay.
This release was provided to SwimSwam and is courtesy of New Paltz Swimming.