The Monmouth University men’s and women’s swimming teams opened their 2022-2023 seasons in matchups against Fairfield University on Saturday, Oct. 15.
The men fell to the Stags 207-81 while the women also dropped their competition 221-73. Both teams competed at the Leslie C. Quick RecPlex Pool, a short course meter pool that is longer than the 25-yard pool Monmouth’s teams traditionally compete in.
On the men’s side, graduate student Callan Smith won two individual events: the 100m backstroke in 57.74 and 200m backstroke in 2:04.49. These were Smith’s first victories of the season, bringing him to 75 wins in his career. Smith was also the runner up in the 200 IM with a time of 2:08.03. His pair of victories and second place finish saw Smith named CAA Swimmer of the Week.
For the women, sophomore Jensen Ritter took the 200m butterfly in 2:27.31 for her first victory of the season and sixth of her career.
“It is always exciting to get the dual meet season underway. Today we were focused on setting a benchmark, engagement and effort. Swimming in a short course meter pool added an additional challenge versus the standard pool we normally race. Overall, the team performed well in their first opportunity to compete with several outstanding individual performances,” said head coach Matt Nunnally.
The Hawks then competed against Fordham on Friday, Oct. 24 at Messmore Aquatic Center in Bronx, NY. Again, both teams fell to the competitors. The men suffered a close loss, falling to the Rams 146-134. On the women’s side, the Hawks lost 183-90.
Smith secured his third and fourth wins of the season after taking first in the 100 backstroke in 50.84 and 200 backstroke in 1:53.88, bringing the graduate student to 77 career victories.
Sophomore Dean Beyer also put up a fight for the Hawks, winning two races after taking first in the 500 free in 4:42.99 and the 1,000 free in 9:51.35 to bring his total career wins to four. Senior Blake Reynolds won the 50-yard freestyle for Monmouth in 21.16, securing his first victory of the season and raising his career total to 25. Senior Cole Dyson also secured a victory for the Hawks after winning the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:44.54 in his first victory of the season and 13th of his career.
Smith, Reynolds, and Dyson were joined by freshman Owen Dyson as they claimed a victory in the 200-yard medley relay, finishing in 1:33.24.
On the women’s side, graduate student Camryn McHugh claimed a victory in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.81. This was her first win of the year and raised her career total to 52.
Senior Alexandra Ho also took a first place for the Hawks, claiming the top spot in the 50-yard freestyle in 24.74 to earn her first win of the season and the 28th of her career. Freshman Bailey Rynkiewicz won the first race of her career, taking first in the 400 IM with a time of 4:46.43.
Ho, Ritter, and McHugh competed in the 400 free relay with freshman Edie Ancell, winning the event in 3:43.08.
Looking ahead, the Hawks will travel to Seton Hall for a matchup on Friday, Oct. 28 in South Orange, NJ.
