The Drexel University men’s swimming and diving teams swept their meets at the Oct. 27 competition at Loyola University Maryland. They topped the Lafayette College Leopards 220-80, Seton Hall University Pirates 165.50-132.50, and the Loyola Greyhounds 170-118. The women’s team, on the other hand, had disappointing losses over the weekend. They fell to the Pirates 183-111, the Leopards 174-120, and the Greyhounds 163.50-131.50.
Freshman Kyle Lukens was at it for a second week in a row, finishing first in the men’s 100-yard butterfly as well as the 200-yard medley with freshman Joel Berryman, who was named one of the CLEAR Athletes of the Week, and junior Alex Bagshaw for a combined time of 1:34.72 — the fastest dual meet time in Drexel’s school history. The other individual win came from sophomore Chad Smith in the 100-yard breaststroke, where he clocked in at 59.31. Sophomores Alex Chialastri and Mike Krohn, along with Berryman and Bagshaw, teamed up in the 400-yard freestyle relay, stopping the clock with the winning time of 3:09.45.
The women had a number of first-place finishes, including the 100 fly, where senior Lauren Faykes finished just ahead of sophomore teammate Brianna Bentz; the 50 free; and the 200 medley. Bentz clocked in with a time of 24.40 for first in the 50 free and later teamed up with Faykes and sophomores Katie Duggan and Jessica Gidzinski for a first-place time of 1:50.32 in the 200 medley.
The diving teams also had strong showings from freshmen David Sanchez and Madison Kramer, who placed first in their events. Sanchez, in the men’s 3-meter dive against seven other divers, scored a 307.05. Kramer, matched up against nine others, finished with a leading score of 254.15.
Next, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams travel south to Washington for a meet in the Smith Central pool at George Washington University Nov. 3. Hopefully the momentum from last week can be carried as the men look to extend their winning streak to four meets and the women try to get back on track after coming up short last weekend. For the George Washington Colonials, both their men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are coming off Oct. 27 loses against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In last year’s meet against the Colonials, the Drexel men took the victory and the women’s team came up short.