By Maegan White
Elm Staff Writer
The Shoremen and Shorewomen swim team traveled to Gettysburg College on Saturday, Oct. 22 for their season opener against Gettysburg College, Dickinson University, and Brynn Mawr College.
After the season opener, the Shoremen’s record stands at 1-1 as they beat Dickinson 142-119, but lost to Gettysburg 149-112. Shoremen showed out strong with some outstanding performances form senior Gage Mandrell and sophomores Chase Hensen and Zach Affeldt.
Mandrell won all three of his individual events including 50 yard freestyle, 200 yard freestyle, and the 200 yard backstroke. Hensen took first in the 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. Affeldt took first in the 200 yard individual medley and the 200 breastroke. He also secured a podium finish alongside Hensen taking third in the 100 breaststroke.
Sophomores Justin Fitzpatrick and William Schmidt also had top three finish, with Fitzpatrick placing second in 100 yard fly and Schmidt placing third in 100 yard backstroke.
The Shoremen’s relay also dominated with a second place finish in the 200 yard medley relay composed of Schmidt, Affeldt, Fitzpatrick, and Hensen. Mandrell, Hensen, Schmidt, and Fitzpatrick ended the meet with a first place finish in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay.
Affedlt shared that the Shoremen’s performance puts them at a good start for the season. “Overall, our team did a great job going out and competing. We were able to win the races we needed to and I think we surprised the other teams in our ability to get up and race,” he said. “This sets us up great for the rest of the season, we just need to make sure we keep the energy up. Big things are going to be coming from our team.”
The Shorewomen beat Brynn Mawr 142-117 but fell to Dickinson 170-87 and Gettysburg 196-63. The Shorewomen’s record now sits at 1-2.
Sophomores Emily Iampieri, Lilly Hartmann, and Kylee Smith lead the Shorewomen in points at the meet. In the 50 yard freestyle, Iampieri placed second, just .02 seconds behind Dickinson. Hartmann and Smith took third in the 200 yard backstroke and 100 yard butterfly respectively.
The 400 yard freestyle relay also performed well with a third place finish. The relay was composed of Iampieri, Smith and juniors Emma Shultz and Anna Miller.
Iampieri said, “I think overall the meet went really well. Time wise I think everyone set the standard for themselves really well. This is the first meet so our times are only gonna go down from here. Although no individuals took home a first place finish, we definitely had high energy and are ready to win next time.”
Senior captain Kristina Curley and Mandrell shared their excitement for the team’s season opener and are optimistic about the rest of the season. Curley said, “The expectation at the first meet isn’t particularly to go your fastest times but rather to think about your race technique and compete with the people next to you. I think everyone competed phenomenally and put 100% effort into every one of their races. This places us in a great spot for time drops and more fantastic races.”
Mandrell shared that the men’s team is currently ranked fifth in the Centennial Conference and the team’s goal is to finish higher in the conference. “This season our team is really trying to work as a unit and upset the pre-season conference ratings. We’ve done a great job so far and want to continue to surprise,” Mandrell said, “We have a lot of young talent that can build on the future of this program.”