ITHACA, NY – It was an outstanding finish for the Vassar College men's and women's swimming & diving teams as the Brewers concluded action at the 2021 Bombers Invitational on Sunday at Ithaca College. The men finished fifth overall out of 10 competing teams, while the women were fourth of 11 squads at this year's meet.
SUNY Geneseo won the men's meet with a score of 1863, followed by Ithaca (1436.5), University of Rochester (1143), Shippensburg (650) and the Brewers (603.5). The women's side also saw Geneseo claim victory with a score of 1675. They were followed by the host Bombers (1257.5), the University of Rochester (1042) and the Brewers (849).
After two days of outstanding action, the Brewers were back in the pool on Sunday morning, beginning with the grueling 1650-yard freestyle. The women's side was paced by Abby Jenkins in 23rd place, as she recorded a solid time of 19:54.23.
The men's event saw junior
Robbie Perot with a fantastic effort, taking second overall with a time of 16:35.83 in his first mile swim of the season.
Next up came the women's 100-yard individual medley as sophomore Jolie Walker finished 15th with a season-best time of 1:06.86 (previous-best: 1:09.33). Classmate Karlie Porter posted 18th overall (1:07.75), while sophomore Szofia Lewis was 25th with a time of 1:10.51 – a huge season-best eclipsing her previous mark of 1:18.12.
On the men's side, rookie
Ben Glazebnik took ninth overall with a time of 56.29 – eclipsing his previous season-high mark of 59.33. Senior
Brandon Li was close behind in 11th with a time of 56.51 (previous best: 1:01.33), while rookie
Hayden Ehrenfeld was 15th overall with a mark of 57.70.
In the women's 100-yard freestyle, junior Abby Whittington shined with a seventh-place finish, posting a season-best time of 53.92. Rookie Maya Luongo took 11th overall with a time of 54.74 (previous best: 57.18), junior Grace Myers was 15th with a time of 55.29 and sophomore Alanna Muello earned 19th with a 55.55.
The men's event saw Glazebnik finish eighth overall with a season-best time of 47.39. That mark was also a school record for the Brewers, eclipsing the previous mark of 47.49 – set by Anthony Walker in Feburary of 2017. Senior
Nikolas Pham finished 20th in the event with 48.80 – a lifetime best time – while Ehrenfeld was 29th in 49.34.
Next up was the women's 200-yard backstroke, which saw senior Jesse Ecklund pick up the victory in her signature event in a season-best time of 2:04.25. That mark was just a fraction off the time needed for an NCAA B Cut (2:03.37). Sophomore Sarah Quintana also took top-10 in the event, touching the wall in ninth with a time of 2:11.87, while Walker was 15th overall with a season-best time of 2:14.54 (previous best: 2:21.97).
The men's event was paced by senior
Max White, who posted eighth overall with a time of 1:57.30. It was a season-best mark, eclipsing his previous time of 2:00.59. Rookie
Tyler Tsukuda was 21st overall in 2:08.23, while junior
Leroy Wang was 31st in 2:17.11.
Vassar picked up another victory in the women's 200-breaststroke as junior Lillian Lowenthal was the winner in a season-best time of 2:26.43. Her previous season-high was 2:34.90. Robins also finished well in the event, earning 14th overall in a time of 2:34.46. The men's event saw sophomore
Hanlin Wang earn 17th overall in 2:17.49.
In the final events of the meet, the women's 400-yard free relay shined with a fourth-place finish. The group, comprised of Myers, Muello, Ecklund and Whittington, combined for a time of 3:36.28. The men's event saw the foursome of White, Perot, Pham and Ehrenfeld power their way to fifth in a time of 3:13.23.
Vassar is now heads into the holiday break, but returns to the pool in 2022 with a meet in Hartford, Conn. The Brewers men will square off against Trinity, while the VC women are in tri-meet action against the Bantams and Mount Holyoke College. Action will get underway at 1pm.
