Saturday, October 30, the RPI Swimming and Diving team traveled to central New York to take on the 2003-2004 state champion Bombers of Ithaca. The men faired well, upping their record to 2-0 with a 127-115 win. The women had a tougher time at Hill Center Pool, falling to the Ithaca women 154.5-75.5, and dropping their record to 0-2.
Head Coach Shannon O’Brien was content with her team’s split this weekend. “I was pleased with the way we came out of it,” said O’Brien. “Ithaca, being state champions for both men and women [last season], you can go into their pool and just totally get crushed by them.”
In topping the Bombers in Ithaca, the men’s team accomplished a feat that no team has done since 1997. “To beat Ithaca, that’s a huge, huge win for the men,” commented O’Brien.
The men were led by freshman upstart, Matt Hiltner, who tallied wins in the 200-yard individual medley and 200-yard butterfly. Those events marked Hiltner’s fourth and fifth wins of the young season. “I expected [this start] from him,” said O’Brien of this week’s Liberty League Co-Swimmer of the Week. “He’s been training hard.” The men also received strong performances from sophomores Mike Scibelli, winner of the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke, and Greg Derevianko, winner of the one-meter and three-meter diving events.
Derevianko wasn’t the only Red Hawk diver to have a solid meet. Junior Bobby Monahon and senior Anthony Motisi finished second and third in the one-meter event and third and second in the three-meter event, respectively. O’Brien credits her male divers with the spark that helped the men’s squad upset Ithaca.
“We were out of it on the men’s side and our divers got us back into it,” praised O’Brien. For the women, senior diver and captain Melissa Hershey won both the one and three meter events. In doing so, Hershey made a cut for nationals. “This is earlier than she’s been in the past,” remarked O’Brien.
This success isn’t new for the Red Hawk divers. In RPI’s first meet of the season against Rochester, both the men and women swept the diving events. “That’s one of our strongest points, is our divers,” boasted O’Brien. “[Diving coach] Maria [Coomaraswamy-Falkenstein] has done a great job with them.”
Hershey was not the women’s team’s only bright spot in Ithaca. Freshman Kelly Owens continued her solid season, as she won the 200-yard breaststroke and was a part of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team. She was also named Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Week. “She’s been working really hard and it’s paying off,” said O’Brien of Owens.
Looking ahead, on Saturday, November 6, at 1 pm, the Red Hawks welcome Hartwick College to Robison Pool. The men will be looking to stay on a roll, while the women will be looking for their first win. The women will no doubt be looking to avenge last year’s slim loss to Hartwick, who prevailed with a win in the final relay.
