Swarthmore vs. Gettysburg

GETTYSBURG, Pennsylvania, January 31. THE Gettysburg College men's and women's swimming teams each remained undefeated against Centennial Conference opposition with a pair of big decisions on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Swarthmore. On the men's side, the Bullets won nine of 14 events en route to a 146-100 decision, while the women were even more dominant, winning all but two events on their way to a 193-69 victory.

The Gettysburg men got off on the right foot as the 200 medley relay of sophomores Donald Bennett (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) and Brian Kaehler (Manassas, Va./Brentsville) and freshmen Tom Everett (Timonium, Md./McDonogh School), and Drew Close (Berwyn, Pa./Haverford School) notched a season best with a time of 1:39.82 to grab the top spot in the first event of the day.

The first three members of the 200 medley each added individual wins as Bennett claimed top honors in the 100 back (56.23), Kaehler won the 200 individual medley (2:05.42), and Everett hit the wall first in the 100 fly (54.87). Close just missed a pair of wins, posting runner-up showings in the 50 free (22.92) and the 100 free (49.97).

Senior Matt Rush (Lenox, Mass./Lenox) tacked on a pair of freestyle wins, posting a 48.74 to edge close in the 100 and claiming the 200 over teammate Adam Taft (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) in 1:48.97. In addition to his runner-up showing in the 200 free, Taft grabbed top honors in the 200 fly (2:07.12) and the 200 back (2:00.15).

Freshman Pat McDevitt (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) finished right behind Taft in the 200 fly at 2:03.83 and won the 1000 free in 10:22.15. Sophomore Stephen Stopenski (Merchantville, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) was second in both the 1000 (10:30.50) and the 500 free (5:09.38).

Similar to the men, the 200 medley relay set the tone for the women's team. The Bullets swept the top two positions in the race as the foursome of senior Emilie Youmans (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus), sophomores Maxine Kutner (Millwood, N.Y./Yorktown) and Maggie Mulderrig (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep School), and senior Caitlin Reilly (Farmington, Conn./Farmington) touched the wall first in 1:55.19.

Reilly continued her afternoon by earning top finishes in three more races. She edged a pair of teammates in both the 100 and 200 free with times of 55.52 and 1:59.50, respectively, while teaming with senior Demery Close (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga), Youmans, and Mulderrig for a victory in the 400 freestyle relay (3:43.94) to conclude the day.

Junior Keira Heath (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) kept it business as usual with three easy victories in the 200 IM, 500 free, and 1000 free, winning by four, 15, and 24 seconds, respectively. In both the 500 and 1000, she beat out teammate Alex Newman (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel) for the top spot going 5:14.47 and 10:43.74, respectively, before wrapping up her day with a time of 2:18.04 in the 200 IM.

Senior Stelanie Mpazicos (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) swept the breaststroke events, posting a 1:13.39 in the 100 and a 2:35.81 in the 200. Kutner, who was second in the 100 breast (1:13.54), earned third-place finishes in the 200 breast (2:37.47) and the 200 IM (2:23.26).

Mulderrig and Close each went 1-2 in the 50 free, the former swimming 25.43 and the latter coming in at 25.71. Close led a 1-2-3 Gettysburg finish in the 200 back with a mark of 2:16.13.

Next up for the Gettysburg swimming teams is a home meet against conference rival Dickinson College on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m.

Special thanks to Gettysburg for contributing this report.

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