PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, February 2. THE La Salle University men's swimming and diving team closed out its regular season with a 153-145 win over city-rival Drexel. The Explorers won their third meet in a row as they head into the Atlantic 10 Championships.
Grant Chin and David Ellerson led the Explorers, each earning two first-place finishes. Chin took first in the 1,000-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM, while Ellerson posted season-best times in both the 100-breast (59.04) and 200-breast (2:10.17).The Explorers swept the top three spots in the 100-breast, as Chris Tiano and Tom Whelan finished second and third, respectively.
Whelan took first in the 100-yard freestyle, while Chris Cefalo placed first in the 50-yard freestyle.
Ellerson, Stuart Barr, Matt Harner and John Welsh teamed up for a victory in the 200-yard medley relay, while the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Whelan, Harner, Brandon Hargraves and Chris placed first in the event.
For the women, Carleen Caldwell earned three first-place finishes to pace the La Salle University women's swimming and diving team to a 173-124 win over Drexel. Jessica Carbin and Shannon Duval each won a pair for the Explorers.
Caldwell took first-place in the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle events. Carbin notched victories in the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes. She registered personal-best times of 57.58 in the 100 and 2:07.13 in the 200. Duval took first in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events.
Freshman Holly Biro earned a victory in the 100-yard butterfly.
The Explorers' relay team of Carbin, Duval, Biro and Aubrey Cefalo took first in the event, registering a time of 1:49.77, while Caldwell, Biro, Cefalo and Duval earned a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Special thanks to La Salle for contributing this report.