Army vs. Drexel

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, January 21. THE Army men's and women's swimming & diving teams swept Drexel in a non-league dual meet Friday afternoon at Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Black Knight men took a 207-90 decision from the Dragons, while the Army women picked up a 154-144 victory.

The Army men, who have won three straight dual meets, improve to 7-4 on the season. The Black Knight women, who won for the first time since defeating C.W. Post in November, up their record to 4-7.

"This was a great team win and I am proud of both teams, but especially our women," said Army head coach Mickey Wender. "The women are getting better and better every week, and we can see them mature with each meet. It was a great win and I'm very proud of them. They have come a long way."

Sophomore Alyssa Tran continued her spectacular season for the Army women as the second-year performer had a hand in four victories for the Black Knights. The Yorba Linda, Calif., native began her productive day by teaming with freshman Lara Stouffer, junior Paige Brink and freshman Grace Hamilton to win the 400-yard medley relay in a time of 4 minutes, 1.32 seconds.

The versatile Tran, who excels in a variety of disciplines, went on to capture gold in the 50-yard freestyle (24.29), 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.85) and 100-yard butterfly (58.84).

"Alyssa Tran continues to race extremely hard," said Wender. "She is able to build on her performances from week to week and just continues to improve. She has been as close to automatic as anyone we've ever had here."

Elsewhere, Hamilton and Brink placed first and second, respectively, in the 100-yard freestyle. Hamilton won the race with a clocking of 54.39, while Brink finished runner-up with a time of 55.14.

Hamilton, Brink, freshman Juliette Wallerstein and senior Corri Payne teamed up to lead the Black Knights to a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:38.63).

"I was very pleased with the way our relays came together today," added Wender. "The girls are learning how to swim well together, and those two relay wins set us up to be victorious this afternoon."

Payne also picked up a first-place ribbon in the 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall in a time of 1:57.15.

The Army men dominated Drexel from the outset, winning 11 of the first 12 swimming events. Sophomore Ayman Andrews, who had a hand in three wins in the pool, spurred the Black Knights' effort against the Dragons.

Andrews helped Army sweep the top three positions in the 100-yard butterfly, winning the event with a clocking of 50.86. Freshman Wesley Trumbauer (53.82) and senior Pete Colbert (54.00) placed second and third, respectively, in that race.

Andrews completed a sweep of the butterfly events as he won the 200-yard discipline in a time of 1:54.18. The Sussex, N.J., native also teamed with freshman Kenny Yacynych and sophomores Carter Kelly and Dan Foky to take gold in the 400-yard medley relay (3:30.98).

Freshman Brock Redondo was a double-winner for the Black Knights in the pool, taking gold in the 200-yard backstroke (1:55.73) and the 1000-yard freestyle (9:41.00).

Freshman Michael Drives picked up right where he left off last weekend by winning the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:45.06.

Junior Chuck Zhou (53.22) and Yacynych (53.65) led a 1-2 Army finish in the 100-yard backstroke. Foky (21.90) and sophomore Bill McCarty (21.91) finished first and second, respectively, in the 50-yard freestyle.

McCarty, who also placed runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.39), chipped in a victory of his own in the 100-yard freestyle (48.04).

Kelly added a victory in the 200-yard breaststroke, besting the field by touching the wall in 2:09.71.

Sophomore Scott Aron rounded out the Black Knights' list of winners in the pool as the second-year swimmer won the 500-yard freestyle (4:48.78).

Junior distance specialist Cody Reeb turned in a pair of runner-up finishes, taking the silver in the 500 free (4:48.80) and 1000 free (10:01.81).

Sophomore Chris Nguyen led the Black Knights in the diving events as the Cheshire, Conn., native took gold off the three-meter board with a season-best score of 353.10 points.

"Our guys came out today and swam very well," said Wender. "Today's meet will serve as a very good preparation for tomorrow's meet, which is a very important competition for us.

"Saturday's meet will be a good preview of what we can expect at the Patriot League Championships. We will be able to develop some of the skills that we'll need at the conference meet against three very talented teams. Tomorrow will be a long day, but we're excited. Our performance today sets us up very well for tomorrow."

The Army swimming and diving teams return to action on Saturday, Jan. 22, when the Black Knights travel to Fairfax, Va., to compete in a quadrangular meet hosted by George Mason University. Army will face Patriot League rival American, Old Dominion and George Mason at the event, which is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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