The Monmouth University men’s and women’s swimming teams posted their first victories of the season in dual meets against Manhattan at the Loria Family Aquatic Center in Riverdale, NY on Saturday, Nov. 12.
The men’s team posted a decisive 204-52 win over the Jaspers. Blake Reynolds, Dean Beyer, James Leitz, and Callan Smith each won two races to lead the Hawks to victory.
Reynolds earned first-place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle and 50-yard butterfly, finishing in 21.25 and 22.75 respectively. With these wins, he increased his career victory total to 31 and has seven wins on the season.
Beyer won the 1000 freestyle in 9:43.73 and the 500 freestyle in 4:44.09, bringing his record to four wins this year and six over the course of his career.
Leitz saw victories in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 52.91 and 53.58 to secure his first two wins of the year and bring his career total to four.
Smith was the final Hawk to post two victories on the day, winning the 100-yard freestyle in 47.35 and the 100-yard IM in 52.81. He now has nine wins this year and 82 across his career. Several other Monmouth swimmers put up an impressive performance. Owen Dyson earned his first win of his career in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing in 1:45.03. Teammate Kevin Del Giorno took first in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 23.58 to secure his first win of the season and fourth of his career. Fellow Hawk Sean Cook won the 50-yard breaststroke in 27.09, also posting his first victory of the season to bring his career total to five.
Del Giorno, Cook, and Reynolds competed in the 200-yard medley relay with teammate Thomas Svane-From, winning the event with a time of 1:34.26.
Similar to the men’s team, the Lady Hawks overpowered the Jaspers 181-69. Alexa Houseknecht won three individual races to help lead Monmouth to the team’s first victory of the season. She posted first-place finishes in the 50-yard breaststroke (33.13), the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.74), and the 100-yard IM (1:03.35). These were her first wins of the year, bringing her career total to four.
Five Hawks won their first-career races. Julia Bocaj earned a first-place finish in the 1000 free with her time of 11:23.43. Jenna Pryne won the 50-yard backstroke in 26.68. Edie Ancell earned a win in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.36. Isabella Aguanno swam a 1:11.17 to win the 100-yard breaststroke. Hannah Parker’s 5:23.07 earned her a first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle.
In her second win of the year, Bailey Rynkiewicz won the 200-yard freestyle in 2:00.85. A Monmouth team of Ancell, Aguanno, Rynkiewicz, and Morgan Fredette won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:52.90, an event won by both the men’s and women’s teams during the day’s dual competitions.
Up next, the Hawks will return to NY to compete in the ECAC Winter Championships from Friday, Dec. 2 through Sunday, Dec. 4.
