Both men and women’s swimming secured victories in their meets this weekend as the men’s team defeated NJIT in the Steadman Natatorium on Friday by a score of 169-93 while the women’s team defeated Sacred Heart by a final score of 155-107 this past Saturday.
Men’s swimming held their Senior Day in their meet against NJIT. Prior to the event Monmouth honored Austin D’Angelo, Frank Nicola and Nate Lardieri, who represents the Hawks senior class.
Sophomore Callen Smith was a big contribution to the blue and white’s win. Smith contributed three individual victories in the 1000 free, 100-yard backstroke and the 500-yard free with times of 10:06.48, 52.80 and 4:55.53 respectively. After Friday’s performance, Smith now has 20 first place finishes for the 2019-20 season as well as 51 for his career.
Freshman Blake Reynolds also had two first place finishes in the contest as he won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.39 and a 100-yard butterfly where he swam a 51.17. Reynolds now has 16 first-place finishes on the season.
Junior Trevor Askew won the 100-yard breaststroke as well as the 200-yard breaststroke. Askew finished the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.66 and the 200-yard-breakstroke with a 2:10.62. This gives him 15 first place finishes for the year and 21 for his career.
Other Hawks that recorded first place finishes were freshman Dylan Edge in the 200-yard backstroke as well as junior Hunter Klingener who won the 200-yard Individual Medley. With their performances, Edge and Klingener secured their 11th and first victories of the season respectively.
Monmouth also won the 200-yard medley with a time of 1:33.47. Contributing to the victory were Askew, Reynolds, and sophomores Valance Washington and Kevin Del Giorno. The Hawks also won the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:27.06 with Reynolds, Washington, Del Giorno and Smith combining for the win.
“Our team was sharp right from the start, from the first relay and that is a positive sign heading into the MAAC Championships,” said Head Coach Matt Nunnally. “I think the big thing this year is every time we’ve face a challenge with teams, we have been close with, we’ve stepped up and I am excited with where we can be.”
The women’s swim team held their Senior Day on Saturday as they honored their senior class prior to the meet. The seniors that were recognized were Mary Emich, Toniann Feigel, Jaclyn Greening, Bradie Keelen and Brooke Weber.
Sophomore Camryn McHugh and freshman Tahlia Botha were able to secure three individual victories for the Hawks. Mchugh won the 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard butterfly, and 200-yard backstroke. Her times for the events were 1:00.75, 58.58 and 2:10.26 respectively. McHugh now has 16 first place finishes this season as well as 40 for her career. Botha won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:08.99, 200-yard IM finishing at 2:15.45 and 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:28.91. After Saturday’s performance, Botha has 21 first-place finishes in her freshman season.
Sophomore Sarah Brennan also earned two first place finishes in the as she won the 1000-yard free and the 500-yard free. Brennan now has three first place finishes for the season as well as seven for her collegiate career. Freshman Alexandra Ho also recorded her 14th win on the season after winning the 50-yard freestyle.
Monmouth also won the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 4:03.49. Mchugh, Botha, Ho and Keelan helped contribute to the win.
After securing wins on both their senior days, both the men and women’s team turn their attention towards the MAAC Championships which are set to start on February 12th in Buffalo, New York.
PHOTO TAKEN by Karlee Sell
