The men’s swimming/diving team celebrates Senior Day at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Jan. 31.
Drexel University’s swim team hit the water this weekend on senior day, a very emotional occasion for both teams. The men’s and women’s teams honored their seniors and went to work in the pool. It was tough battling the emotions of senior day, but both teams performed well.
The match was against Lehigh University. The women’s team showed notable performances across the board. The match opened with Gillian Gress, Rachel Bernhardt, Charlotte Myers and Emily Lau swimming the 200 medley relay. The squad took first in the event with a time of 1:49.30.
The Dragons swept the 100 breast, with Bernhardt taking first place with a time of 1:05.11 and her teammates, Rebecca Churchill and Sarah Cahill, taking second and third with respective times of 1:09.09 and 1:10.55.
Bernhardt had a very good day overall. Not only did she win the 200 relay and the 100 breast, but she also found herself in first place for the 200 breast and second place for the 50 free. In the 200 breast, Bernhardt finished with a time of 2:26.99, and in the 50 free she had a time of 24.18. In the 200, Churchill came in second, behind Bernhardt. She finished with a time of 2:29.33.
In the 200 back, Gress took third place with a time of 2:14.31. In the 500 free, Miranda Rouse took second place with a 5:13.34 time. She also took third in the 100 free. In the 200 individual medley Rouse finished second with a time of 2:11.24.
Unfortunately, the women’s team was unable to pull out the victory, but overall the team fought hard and swam well. They put on a good show for their senior and alumni day onlookers.
The men’s team has a bit more luck in their match. They rode a four-match winning streak into this match, so their confidence was riding high.
The men’s team has six graduating seniors. Joel Berryman, Ryan DeMott, Mathew Klotz, Kyle Lukens, David Sanchez and Brian Woo were all racing their final home match as Drexel Dragons. They took it upon themselves to make this a memorable last home match.
Kyle Lukens broke the pool record in the 100 fly with an astounding time of 49.39. He also finished second in the 200 fly, touching the wall at 1:52.69.
Brian Woo took first place in the Individual Medley with a time of 1:59.72. He also took first in the 100 breast with a time of 59.13.
Matthew Klotz took second in the 200 free, swimming one of his fastest meets ever and touching the wall at 1:42.93.
Joel Berryman took first in the 100 free with a time of 46.57 and went on to take second in the 50 free at 21.47.
In the 200 medley relay, J.T. Lumpkin, Ralph Cannarozzi III, Lukens and Liam Kelly took first with a time of 1:34.56. Joel Berryman, Brian Woo, Luke Hanner and Sean Swartz took second place with a final time of 1:35.69.
In the 1000 free, Dane Bell took second place with a time of 9:52.06. His teammate, Zoltan Gercsak, came in third with a 9:55.70 time. Lumpkin had a nice day, winning the 200 medley relay, the 100 back and the 200 back. He took times of 52.15 in the 100 back and 1:55.62 in the 200.
The team swept the 200 breast with Joseph Brown taking first, then Gercsak taking second and Harrison Schultz coming in third.
Senior David Sanchez was impressively named Colonial Athletic Association diver of the week for the third time this year.
The Men’s team extended their win streak to five straight wins with their victory against Lehigh. The women’s and the men’s teams with be competing in an invitational in New York City, Feb. 5 and 6.