Swimming Battles Gordon In Season Opener

BOSTON, Mass. - The Elms College men's and women's swimming team opened the 2017-18 season with a double dual meet at Simmons College Saturday afternoon. The men's team raced against Gordon College, while the women's squad swam against Gordon and the host Sharks. Elms' women defeated Gordon, 106-97, while the Elms' men earned a 148-79 victory over Gordon.

Senior Aislinn Carrier (Charlestown, Mass.) and sophomore Kelly Scianna (Milford, Conn.) were the top performers for Elms with a pair of first place efforts against Gordon. Carrier won the 100-yard freestyle (1:01.29) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:26.43), while Scianna recorded winning times of 12:24.80 and 32.85 in the 1000-yard freestyle and 50-yard backstroke, respectively. Gordon saw Bee and junior Caris Lyons (Orrville, Ohio) each tally a pair of first-place finishes against Elms. Lyons defeated Elms and finished second overall in the 200-yard freestyle (2:07.11) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:46.00) and Bee won the 50-yard butterfly (29.16) over Elms to go with a win in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:08.93. Gordon's Leanne Hallenbeck (Bedford, N.H.) and Hannah Denney (Lemoore, Calif.) each scored wins over Elms in the 50-yard breaststroke (39.32) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:10.81), respectively. First year Brittany North (Palmer, Mass.) recorded a win over Gordon in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:49.58 for Elms.

Senior Nick Bergstrom (Derry, N.H.) led Elms' men with three first-place showings, winning the 50-yard breaststroke (30.15), 100-yard freestyle (50.89) and 50-yard butterfly (25.76), while Gordon senior Jack Cicchelli (Middletown, R.I.) matched him with a trio of triumphs as well. He won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:02.91, the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:17.65 and capped the individual races with a mark of 2:23.88 to take the 200-yard individual medley. Junior Michael Grippo (Longmeadow, Mass.) won a pair of events for Elms with first-place finishes in the 50-yard backstroke (27.08) and the 100-yard backstroke (59.19), while Aaron Lewis (Mystic, Conn.) won the 1000-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle with respective times of 11:35.49 and 5:35.30 for Gordon and followed his 1000 win with a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle, which was the very next event. First year Eddie Capoldo (Brunswick, Maine) earned his first collegiate victory with a time of 1:59.58 to win the 200-yard freestyle for Elms, while sophomore Jeff Davis (Willow Grove, Pa.) took the 50-yard freestyle in 23.96 for Gordon.

Elms hosts Saint Joseph's College (Maine) in their 2017-18 home opener at Partyka Natatorium Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Source: (Simmons College Athletics)