By Taylor Konyk
Elm Staff Writer
“This is going to be a great day,” said freshman Charles Logan as he unzipped his warm-up suit and vanished into a crowd of swimmers making their way to the starting blocks for Washington College’s swimming home opener.
Despite losing to the defending conference champions 140 to 112, the Shoremen swam inspired against the Gettysburg Bullets, making a statement to the conference.
The meet kicked off in dramatic fashion, beginning with the 200-yard medley relay. For three men, this would be their first collegiate swim—for one it was business as usual. Greg Lee, the lone sophomore surrounded by the new freshmen talent, was proud despite narrowly slipping into second place.
“We’re right up there with the fastest team in the conference, I think it shows this team’s potential,” Lee said between events.
Unfortunately, freshman Eric Burcin faced adversity rather quickly, sustaining a leg injury during in the relay. Looking on at the controlled chaos he said, “It’s frustrating… I didn’t want this to be my first college meet.” Sadly, his meet ended abruptly, but his teammates licked their wounds and fought on.
Freshman Lucas Morgan had a nearly flawless individual collegiate debut, winning two of his three races. In his first race, Morgan stepped up the starting block, bracing himself for the longest swim of the day—the 1,000 meter freestyle.
“It’s pretty nerve wracking,” said Morgan before taking on the nearly 11 minute dash.
If Morgan was rattled by the pressure he certainly didn’t show it—because he nearly broke the Washington College record. “I took it hard then coasted through the middle and kept it long,” he said. “Then I just finished as hard as I could.” Upon being asked if he has the record in his sights, Morgan—calm as always—just smiled and said, “I will surpass the record.”
Later in the meet, the Shoremen dominated the Bullets in the 200-yard butterfly, earning 14 points by finishing first, second, and fifth in the event. First place finisher and freshman Chris Kelly has high hopes for his new team’s chances in the future.
“We’re going to have the presence in the conference,” Kelly said after his race. “It was a good race. It got the jitters out, and now I can improve upon this. It feels good to go 1-2 with a teammate,” referring to sophomore Steven Bilinski.
While the freshmen got their feet wet—pun intended—Greg Lee buried the competition during the 100 meter butterfly. Winning by a body length, Lee’s performance marked a victory for his team and himself. Lee battled a shoulder injury that left doubts in his mind about his performance prior to the season opener.
“I was a little unsure [of my swim], because I haven’t swam the butterfly until this week,” Lee said. “After my first lap I thought to myself, ‘Let’s go, it’s time to turn it on.” And he did.
Being around the men, you wouldn’t sense that they had just lost a meet.
“This team is only going to get better, and more successful,” Lee said.
“This is a very exciting time to be a swimmer at Washington College,” junior Tad Derrick echoed.
If the attitude of the Shoremen could be summed up in one word it would be determined. The men are hungry to compete—with the talent of nine freshmen swimmers the team is largely unproven. With eight dogged veterans, the Shoremen swim team is ready to disrupt the conference.