Swimming Sweeps Bridgewater State University
CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore Keegan Goan (Westbrook, Maine) clocked a new school record in the 50-meter butterfly and sophomore Devon DeGrazia (Westport, Mass.) shattered a pair of school marks in the 800-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle to help pace the Blazers to a sweep of Bridgewater State University in Wednesday evening's men's and women's swimming dual meet at Partyka Natatorium.
The men's team posted a 128-107 victory to improve to 2-2-1 on the season, while the women's team secured a 149-109 win and move to 4-4 overall.
On the men's side, Goan bested his time in the 50-meter butterfly, posting a 27.29 to win the event. He also won the 50-meter backstroke (31.54) and the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:06.08.
Junior Mark Gehring (West Springfield, Mass.) secured a pair of first place finishes in the 800-meter freestyle (9:50.71) and the 400-meter freestyle (4:49.36) while coming in second in the 100-meter freestyle with a mark of 1:01.26.
Freshman Jeffrey Ludington (Killingworth, Conn.) added two top finishes, securing times of 2:12.91 in the 200-meter freestyle and 1:13.26 in the 100-meter backstroke, while senior Garrett Brune (Lakeville, Mass.) won the 100-meter and 50-meter breaststroke events with respective times of 1:18.16 and 35.21.
Sophomore Aaron Starke (Chicopee, Mass.) powered his way to first place in the 50-meter freestyle (26.79) to round out the Blazers' top individual performances.
The 200-meter medley relay squad of Ludington, Brune, Goan and Starke touched the wall first with a time of 1:59.35, beating Bridgewater State by 4.36 seconds.
For the women, DeGrazia reeled in three first place finishes including a pair school records in the 800-meter freestyle (10:03.02), as well as the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 4:55.79. DeGrazia also swam to a first place finish in the 50-meter backstroke (33.57).
Sophomore Ashley Kirchner (Dalton, Mass.) earned top honors in two events including the 50-meter butterfly in a new school record time of 32.22, and the 100-meter butterfly in a time of 1:16.18.
Junior Chalis Bird (Windsor, Mass.) was also stellar in the water, surging to three victories in the 200-meter freestyle (2:23.77), the 50-meter freestyle (30.30) and the 100-meter freestyle (1:06.37).
Junior Tessa Dudunake (Northampton, Mass.) added wins in the 50-meter breaststroke and the 100-meter breaststroke with respective times of 36.67 and 1:20.93 to cap Elms' individual highlights.
The relay team of Bird, DeGrazia, Kirchner and Dudunake won the 200-meter freestyle relay in a time of 2:01.30, edging Bridgewater's squad which registered a time of 2:01.96.
Both teams are back in action at Partyka Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 11:00 a.m. when Elms hosts Mount Saint Mary's College (N.Y.) in dual meet action.
