Senior captain and fourth year Criminal Justice major Casey Burns shares a moment with a member of the SUNY Brockport team after RIT won, 165-76.
Josh Kuckens

With the first buzzer, the girls sprung off the wall and bolted across the pool to begin the 200-yard medley relay. Initially, the match on Jan. 6 looked grim, with the Brockport Golden Eagles gaining on RIT’s Melissa Harrison, a third year Mechanical Engineering major, during the first lap. As the second leg of swimmers leapt into the water, Taylor Whalen, a second year Accounting major, was almost a full second behind. It almost seemed a forgone conclusion, but Whalen would not have it; and by the end of her lap, the Lady Tigers had turned the tables and taken the lead by almost 10 feet. Molly Woods, a second year Graphic Design major, entered with a splash, blasting the competition and extending the relay team’s lead to nearly 4 seconds. Katie Baldwin, a first year Engineering Exploration major and the team’s anchor, also proved her worth, completing her freestyle run in less than 25 seconds.

The Tiger men and women have definitively debunked the misconception that felines dislike water, with both teams trouncing the competition. The Golden Eagles were certainly not soaring as RIT garnered the win for both the men, 165-to-76, and the women, 128-to-86.

RIT’s men’s team has been able to establish an impressive record this year, remaining undefeated with a 5-0 season. The women have also worked hard, recovering from a losing streak at the beginning of the season to secure their second win against SUNY Brockport.

Whalen continued racking up accomplishments, winning both the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke. Not to be left out, Baldwin won her own pair of individual events with the 100-yard and 50-yard freestyle races. In all, three girls were able to take home an impressive three wins apiece.

The Lady Tigers, after starting the night on a high note, held the lead from start to finish. They ended with an exciting race; anchor Courtney Schwarting, a third year Graphic Design major, brought it home in her leg of the 4x100 freestyle relay. Schwarting also added both the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle to her small but dazzling list of wins.

The men, not to be outdone, took home 10 wins of their own. Several races pitted Tiger against Tiger, as RIT’s athletes fought for first place. Teammates Steve Brown, a third year Mechanical Engineering Technology major, and Austin Lopez, a first year Biotechnology major, took first and second in the 1000-yard freestyle, separated by only 6 seconds in a race that lasted nearly 11 minutes. Bryan Minicucci, a third year Software Engineering major, came out over Peter Coutts, a first year Mechanical Engineering major, by less than a quarter of a second in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Evan Wendt, a third year Mechanical Engineering Technology major, once again proved his talent on the diving board by earning second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, scoring a slew of points for RIT. Though the men fell one gold short of the women lead scorers, Minicucci; Nate Marshall, a first year Software Engineering major; Ryan Marchant, a fourth year Engineering Technology major and Frank Zelinger, a fourth year Mechanical Engineering major, each took two wins apiece.

Both the Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams really showed their skill this meet. If there was any lack in tension or excitement, it was only because of the sheer dominance and superiority both teams demonstrated; an impressive spectacle without a doubt.