Swimming opens season with impressive showing at ECU Pirate Duels
Greenville, N.C. - The Catawba College men's and women's swim teams opened their season at East Carolina University, competing in the Pirate Duals Meet. The men would finish 153.00/221.00, while the women would finish 195.00/243.00/118.00
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Catawba would end the Meet with three team wins, two for the women and one for men, as well as seven individual wins on the men's side and one on for the women
- Elias Hysing (1000 Yard Freestyle), Joao Oliveira (200 Yard Freestyle), Rodrigo Yus Fernandez (100 Yard Backstroke), Balazs Meszaros (100 Yard Breastroke, 200 Yard IM), Maks Minichowski (50 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Freestyle) all recorded wins for the men
- Hannah Koopmans had the win for the women, taking the 200 Yard IM
200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
- Catawba's women opened the meet with three teams competing in the 200-yard medley relay, with the team of Taylor Wilson, Koopmans, Rebecca Possenti, and Marit Reckmann taking fifth with a time of 1:49.09. Ashley Fortin, Gabi Moll, Brinkley Watson, and Bridgette Pearson notched a seventh-place finish with a time of 1:51.93, and Diamond Mosley, Alana Derringer, Alix Henras-Marouf, and Emily Heim would take seventh with a 1:54.22 effort
- The men put two teams into the top three, with the second place squad of Rodrigo Yus Fernandez, Balazs Meszaros, Joao Oliveira, and Maks Minichowski putting up a time of 1:35.39 while Isaac Haut, Rowan Viles, Nolan Lacjak, and Marshall Wells placed third with a mark of 1:37.55
1000-YARD FREESTYLE
- For the women, Fiona Byrne, Jolina Franke, and Lillie Martin competed; Byrne would finish second with a time of 10:40.53, while Franke and Martin landed in fifth and sixth with times of 11:09.69 and 11:25.80, respectively
- On the men's side, Hysing took the win with a time of 9:58.34, with Lewis Mikesell and Leon Heiermann placing sixth and seventh with times of 10:23.09 and 10:24.45, respectively
200 YARD FREESTYLE
- Ella Gutenwick would finish fourth at 1:55.83, followed for Catawba by Watson in seventh at 1:59.75 and then Mackenzie Peurifoy and Heim in 11th and 12th with times of 2:07.03 and 2:07.30, respectively
- Oliveira secured a second victory in an event for the men, pacing the field with a time of 1:45.80. Ryan Case finished fourth at 1:47.86 and Enrique Rodriguez would place sixth with a time of 1:49.04
100 YARD BACKSTROKE
- Taylor Wilson and Fortin led the way for Catawba in fourth and fifth with marks of 59.20 and 1:00.11, while Mosley and Derringer finished in 10th and 11th with times of 1:02.67 and 1:04.47, respectively
- On the men's side, Yus Fernandez made it three event wins for Catawba with a 53.09 effort, while Lacjak's time of 54.84 was good for fourth place
100 YARD BREASTSTROKE
- For the women, Koopmans took third with a time of 1:06.68, with Moll and Laurel Keasler finishing seventh and eighth at 1:10.10 and 1:11.63, respectively. Derringer would place 13th, at 1:14.32
- Catawba's men took first and second place, as Meszaros led the field with a mark of 57.44 and Viles finished right behind him at 58.79. Wells placed seventh with a time of 1:01.03
200 YARD BUTTERFLY
- Possenti and Franke took fourth and fifth with times of 2:10.80 and 2:16.77, and Berta Vidal-Carnero finished seventh with a 2:21.77 effort
- Oliveira (1:57.21), Rodriguez (2:03.52), and Mikesell (2:05.03) all took second, third, and fourth in another excellent showing for the men
50 YARD FREESTYLE
- For the women, Reckmann notched second place at 24.44, with Watson coming in seventh at 25.11. Henras-Marouf (25.37) and Pearson (25.81) placed 10th and 11th
- Maks Minichowski won Catawba's men their fifth event of the day thanks to a 20.94 effort, while Case finished fourth at 21.88 and Haut placed seventh with a time of 22.18
100 YARD FREESTYLE
- Reckmann notched fourth place with a time of 54.13, followed by Gutenwik in seventh at 54.90, Peurifoy in ninth with a mark of 57.49, and Heim right behind her in 10th at 58.68
- Minichowski continued to roll, racking up his second win of the meet and the sixth for the men with a time of 53.01. Haut and Case finished fourth and fifth with times of 49.06 and 49.14, respectively
200 YARD BACKSTROKE
- Wilson (2:09.20) and Fortin (2:10.83) would take fourth and fifth, while Vidal-Carnero would finish ninth with at 2:15.03
- Yus Fernandez came close to adding another win, placing as the runner up with a 1:57.25 effort. Lacjak would finish seventh with a time of 2:01.81
200 YARD BREASTSTROKE
- Koopmans (2:23.89) and Moll (2:28.40) led the charge for Catawba's women, with Koopmans taking third and Moll taking fifth. Keasler (2:35.46) and Derringer (2:36.00) would finish in eight and ninth, respectively
- Oliveira and Viles would finish back-to-back again, this time in fourth and fifth with respective times of 2:13.17 and 2:13.83. Wells would place eighth with a 2:21.29 effort
500 YARD FREESTYLE
- Gutenwik and Byrne led an excellent effort for Catawba's women, taking second and third with marks of 5:09.91 and 5:13.69 as Franke (5:29.06) and Martin (5:35.82) would place seventh and eighth
- Hysing would finish as the runner-up at 4:48.44, with Rodriguez (4:59.48) taking fifth and Heiermann (5:04.62) nabbing seventh
100 YARD BUTTERFLY
- Possenti led for Catawba with a time of 59.62 and sixth place finish, followed by Wilson (1:02.00) in eight, Henras-Marouf (1:03.03) in 10th, and Mosley (1:04.31) in 13th
- Meszaros made it two straight events with a Catawba swimmer in finishing as the runner-up, this time with a 51.1 effort. Lacjak would place in seventh with a time of 55.73
200 YARD IM
- Koopmans secured the first win of the meet for Catawba's women, taking the victory by several seconds with a time of 2:13.85. Moll (2:18.66), Vidal-Carnero (2:18.67), and Keasler (2:21.70) rounded out the top-five in third, fourth, and fifth, respectively in a dominant showing
- The men were just as impressive, as Meszaros cruised by several seconds to his second win of the night and their seventh overall with a time of 1:54.35. Yus Fernandez would place third with a 2:01.84 effort, and Heierman took 10th at 2:14.33
400 YARD FREESTYLE RELAY
- Catawba would close the meet out with a dominant overall showing, as both the men and women had teams emerge victorious.
- For the women it was Gutenwik, Reckmann, Fortin, and Brinkley who took the win with an effort of 3:36.73. Possenti, Henras-Marouf, Peurifoy, and Heim (3:48.90) would combine for fourth, while the team of Franke, Pearson, Byrne, and Martin (3:53.33) took sixth
- On the men's side, it would be Alvarez, Minichowski, Case, and Haut who combined for the winning time of 3:09.59. Hysing, Rodriguez, Viles, and Mikesell put together a 3:24.08 effort, finishing fifth
UP NEXT
- The Catawba College men's and women's swim teams return to action on Thursday, Oct. 12, hosting the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears for the Oktober Swim Fest