Men Win, Women Split

This week we traveled out to Lewisburg, PA for a dual meet against Bucknell for the men and a double dual meet against Bucknell and St. Francis for the women. The men completely dominated the meet, winning 11 of the 14 swimming events and walking away with a 155-125 victory. The guys started the meet out right taking 1/3 in the 200 medley relay with a winning time of 1:34.23 and 1:38.22. Roman Becicka paced the field in the 1000 with a winning time of 9:49.49, followed by Brian Bouvier in fourth with a time of 10:06.03. The men weren't done there as Ed Leblanc took first in the 200 free with a time of 1:42.15. Bucknell got one in the 100 back but Mitch Smith (53.11), Greg Matuszewski (54.23) and Dan Doyle (55.33) put up some solid times. Ian Walsh bounced back for the Red and Blue winning the 100 breaststroke with a time of 58.47. Walsh was followed by freshmen teammate, Mark Krchnak with a time of 59.08. Roman Becicka continued his winning ways, posting a victory in the 200 fly with a time of 1:52.47. Matt Wollensclaeger (1:57.93) and Tim Mancuso (2:01.99) also posted some solid swims. In the 50 freestyle Jim O'Hara and Brendan Schilling took 2/3, respectively with times of 21.35 and 21.38. After the break Ed LeBlanc hit the pool in the 100 free with a winning time of 45.10. He was followed by teammate Jim O'Hara in third with a good early season time of 47.14. Bucknell bounced back in the 200 back but Greg Matuszewski (1:57.65) and freshmen Mitch Smith (1:58.62) both posted sub 2 minute performances. In the next event, the 200 breaststroke, senior Ian Walsh and freshmen Mark Krchnak delivered the 1-2 punch again with times of 2:10.98 and 2:11.57, respectively. Ed Leblanc took the 500 free in 4:44.20, while senior Chris Kobela (4:52.91) and junior Matt Wollenschlaeger (4:55.08) posted a third and a fourth. In the next event, junior Jim O'Hara set the pace winning the 100 fly in a time of 50.70. He was followed by senior Brendan Schilling in third with a time of 52.68. The 200 IM was paced by Roman Becicka in a winning time of 1:53.66, Ian Walsh in 4th with a time of 2:00.31 and Krchnak in fifth with a time of 2:01.66. The men wrapped up the meet with another relay victory as the team of Schilling, Chad Houck, Doyle and LeBlanc posted a winning time of 1:25.21.

All-in-all for the men it was a very good meet. We got up and raced and were competitive in every event. The upperclassmen are doing their part, and the freshmen are beginning to get a grasp of collegiate swimming and the importance of racing each race to the wall. Although Bucknell was a solid meet for us, the real test for the men's team will come next week as we travel to Buffalo to take on perennial A-10 powers St. Bonaventure and LaSalle.

On the women's side, the outcome was not quite as dramatic but we were able to salvage a split, loosing to Bucknell 114-184 and winning against St. Francis of PA 142-120. The women started the meet a little slow, giving both teams the edge in the 200 medley relay, recording two solid times of 1:50.30 and 1:50.63. Hannah Kondrotas put together a very solid 1000, with a time of 10:28.22. The next Duke in line was freshmen Karissa Gorman with a 10:38.21. In the 200 freestyle, Kristi Magee lead the way with a 1:57.98, followed by teammate Amanda McClelland (1:58.07) and senior Annie Hayles (1:58.22) and sophomore DeAnn Pertz (2:00.35). The 100 backstroke saw Morgan Claycomb lead the Dukes with a 1:00.27, followed by Kirstie Shumaker (1:00.99), fellow juniors Briana Mangis (1:01.14) and Tara VanNatta (1:02.19). The women dominated the 100 breaststroke taking 1-2 as freshmen Hillary Hocson recorded her first collegiate win with a 1:07.44. She was followed by fellow freshmen Caitie Zajko with a time of 1:07.52. The next event saw freshmen Miriam McGeath see her first collegiate action, taking the 200 fly with a time of 2:07.72. Kondrotas followed for the Dukes with a 2:14.05 and junior Lori Yeaman with a 2:14.63. In the 50 free, junior Kim Schade paced the Dukes with a time of 25.03. She was followed by fellow teammates Magee (25.21), McClelland (25.26) and freshmen Lauren Leon with a time of 26.42. In the 100 free Magee was back in the action recording a second place finish of 54.21. Mclelland was the next Duke to touch the wall with a time of 55.27, followed by Kim Schade (56.08). In the 200 back, the Dukes put together three solid swims with junior Mangis leading the group in a 2:10.34, followed by sophomore Morgan Claycomb (2:10.49) and junior Tara VanNatta (2:12.36). In the 200 breast, the Dukes again had two of the top three spots, with McGeath recording a fast early season time of 2:23.68. She was followed in third by Zajko (2:26.25) and Hocson in fifth with a time of 2:27.09. The 500 free was lead by senior Annie Hayles with a second place time of 5:12.36. In the 100 fly, junior Kirstie Shumaker registered a second place with a solid time of 58.74. The next Duke to touch the wall was Erin Cawley with a time of 1:00.45, Yeaman (1:01.12) and Kondrotas (1:01.66). In the final individual event of the day, McGeath lead the Dukes with a time of 2:11.12, followed by Zajko (2:12.06), Cawley (2:14.26) and Mangis (2:17.17). The team finished the meet with the 200 free relay, with the team of Schade, Shumaker, Katy Hare and Magee recording a 1:40.22.

Overall, despite our slow start, the team really stepped up the second half of the meet. As we begin to piece together the team we will get better and better every week. If we can begin to approach every competition as an opportunity to get better, race and expect more from each other we will continue to grow.

The women will also be in action next week as we travel to Niagara for a Friday meet and to ECC, the home of the conference meet, for a double dual against St. Bonaventure and LaSalle. You can find all of the results from the Bucknell meet at:
http://www.goduquesne.com/sports/m-swim/stats/2009-2010/bucknell.html


See you around the pool,
Dave

Duquesne v. Buffalo

Both Mens and Womens teams opened the dual meet season this afternoon against the University of Buffalo. After 8 weeks of training both teams were excited to finally get up and race in a first class facility. Despite a timing system failure, the teams posted some very fast times on our watches.

The mens team won eight of the 11 swimming events, only giving up victories in the 200 fly, 200 back and 400 free relay. The 400 medley relay of Mitch Smith, Ian Walsh, Jim O'Hara and Ed LeBlanc opened up the meet recording an early fast season time of 3:25.50. Roman Becicka followed in the 1000 swimming an unofficial 9:43.35. Eddie Leblanc put up a great swim in the 200 free with an unofficial time of 1:40.29, Jim O'Hara followed up in the 50 with a winning time of 21.31, followed by Brendan Schilling with a time of 21.41. Roman Becicka wrapped up the first half of the meet winning the 200 IM in a time of 1:53.52. Following the break, Ed LeBlanc recorded a winning time of 45.94 in the 100 free. Roman Becicka followed suit in the 500 free with a winning time of 4:41.89 and Ian Walsh won the 200 breast with a time of 2:11.77. Despite heading into the meet with a 32 point diving deficit, the men's team only lost by a narrow margin of 114-123. Overall it was a great meet and a great learning experience for the upstart freshmen.

On the womens side the ladies opened up with a nice 3:59.53 400 medley relay. Hannah Kondrotas posted a solid time of 10:36.31 in the 1000 free as well as a winning time of 2:10.57 in the 200 fly. The women had solid 200 freestyles with Kristi Magee and Amanda McClelland swimming unofficial times of 1:57's. Morgan Claycomb and Briana Mangis both posted solid swims in the 200 backstroke registering times of 2:11.44 and 2:11.76, respectively. Freshmen Caitie Zajko and Hillary Hocson both posted solid 200 breaststroke times of 2:29.13 and 2:29.53, respectively. Despite loosing the meet, the women had some very solid performances, laying the groundwork for the rest of the season.

We'll be back in action next week as we travel to Bucknell for a 2 PM start time.

See you around the pool,
Dave

Red and Blue Meet

With five weeks of the swim season under our belt, it was time for the swimmers to have an opportunity to get up and race and the parents to get back into the swing of Duquesne Swimming at the annual Blue/Red Meet. This meet was a great opportunity for us to really get a look at the new swimmers, see what they are capable of and to build upon what we see. The format was a high school format with all of the 400 IMr's doing all of the stroke events.

The meet was highly contested with several swimmers registering some new All-Time Top Tens, one pool record and some personal best times. Although the Red team was the favorite, in the end, the Blue Team, coached by me, won out over the Red Team, coached by Coach Bocci, 1,331-1,089.

The Blue Team will have bragging rights for the season and can parade around the pool deck with the chalice that goes to the winning team.

We officially kick off the season in two weeks as we travel to Buffalo to take on The University of Buffalo. Hopefully we'll see some of you there.

See you around the pool,
Dave

Alumni Meet

I am happy to report to all that the Alumni Meet this past Friday was a great success! We had over 20 alums show up, strap on a suit and compete once again. Swimmers in attendance at the meet or the social included: Kevin Ferguson, Craig Smith, Brad Masterson, Amy Turocy, Jillian Rupinski, Elena Pollock, Brendan Speers, Clayton Dean, Scott Darwin, Doug Yeager, Dan Wargo, Liz Yager, Erin McEvoy, Ian Walsh, Kyla Favret, Katie McHugh, Dulcie Swope, Tony Herzog, Dani (Newcomb) Wicker, Christina Sherrard, Katrina Streiner, Mallory Marx and Susie Morrow.

We kept the meet simple and short, not sure what kind of physical shape the former Duquesne Dukes would be in. The meet consisted of a 50 free, 50 butterfly, 50 breaststroke, 50 backstroke, 100 free and 100 IM, with many breaks sprinkled in between when needed. It was great to see that no matter how long it has been since any one of the former swimmers competed, they still had that competitive fire.

Following the meet, Coach Bocci and I hosted a social at the Red Ring and beyond. Here many coach and athlete stories were told. I found out how Craig Smith ran 3 miles after a thief while he was life guarding to save a purse stolen from another student. It also amazed me to hear some of the stories told by Clayton Dean and Brendan Speers. There were also many stories told that I cannot reveal to protect the names of the innocent and the guilty. Needless to say, I am certain all the alumni enjoyed their time here at Duquesne!

It was also enjoyable for me to see so many people make the time and come back after being away from Duquesne Swimming for 2 years up to 25 years. Hopefully for the alums that returned and the ones that could not make it, Duquesne Swimming is not just a four year experience but an experience that lasts a lifetime. Thanks!

I also want to send out a special thanks to Katie McHugh who did most of the leg work to put all of this together.

See you around the pool,
Dave