By Ella Kozlowski
Features Editor
This season for men’s swimming at Washington College has been a turbulent one with almost an equal number of wins to losses. Nevertheless, the team is confident as they go into the Centennial Conference Championship from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23 with their most recent win being 150-54 versus Susquehanna on Feb. 1.
The beginning of their season did not start with such a win, however. On Oct. 19 at Lancaster, Pa., the team did lose to Dickinson, 98-163. They also lost against Franklin and Marshall, 101-159. At this meet, they did not walk away completely empty-handed however, with a win against Ursinus, 141-118, which started their season out with a 1-2 win-lose ratio.
They won their next meet against McDaniel, which took place here at Washington College’s Casey Swim Center on Oct. 26. Then on Nov. 3, the men’s team secured another win at 149-45 against St. Mary’s, who was hosting the event. This was then followed by another win at St. Mary’s against Stevenson, 192-62.
The win streak was then broken on Nov. 9 at Salisbury where the Shoremen then lost 59-203. This loss was followed by another on Nov. 15 at Swarthmore where the team scored 49-155.
As the team neared the end of the fall semester, they did secure another win at York on Nov. 16 where they won 133.5-128.5. After that, it was the Franklin and Marshall Invitational where the team was eighth overall with a score of 588.5.
Finally, at the end of the semester, the team ended with a 108-154 loss against Widener in their home pool at Washington College on Dec. 7. After this, the team came back with power as they won at Elizabethtown 165-93 on Jan. 18, making a strong comeback for the spring semester.
The final two games brought a collection of wins and losses, with a loss on Jan. 25 at Gettysburg, 85-172. Then finally, on Feb. 1, the team won against Susquehanna, 150-54, here at Washington College.
With such an intense season with equal parts ups and downs, the team is gearing up for the Centennial Conference Championships taking place in Lancaster, Pa. on the Franklin and Marshall campus from February 20-23. Leading up to the conference, the team has been on a tight regime in order to be fully prepared for the competition ahead. They have been slowly increasing their routine to be more intense, with a steep drop before the official conference as well as focusing on bonding with the team.
“In the last couple weeks, there has been a lot of good team chemistry where vibes are high, so I am confident we will do well as we go forward,” sophomore and recent Shoreman of the Week James Hackett said.
It is safe to say that the Shoremen on the men’s swim team are confident going into this conference and they are all working hard to make WC proud. While the conference championship is not taking place here, the meet is still available on the WC website or on centennialconference.tv.
Photo by Selena Francese.
Photo Caption: Shoremen Swimming will partake in the Centennial Conference Championships on February 20 to conclude their season.