The RPI’s men’s and women’s swim team hosted the Skidmore Thoroughbreds at the Robison Pool last Saturday. Both teams overwhelmingly triumphed over the Thoroughbreds. The Rennselaer women’s team more than doubled the opponent’s score and the men’s team respectfully withdrew themselves from scoring during the meet when it became apparent that Skidmore had been defeated.
Despite the laid-back atmosphere of the meet, a number of RPI swimmers had strong performances as they swam in what ordinarily would not be their events. Freshman Janina Hill won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 6:04.92. The freshmen men had an excellent showing in the 1000-yard freestyle as Mark Schopmeyer, Mike Bongiorni, and Bill Striepeck took first, second, and third place. Rounding out the freshman performances was Sara Chadwick with two first places in the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard breaststroke with a 1:09.01 and a 2:44.23.
Junior Mike Budris took first place in 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:01.29, while Junior Bill Harris had a stellar performance fresh from a semester on co-op with a win in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.63). The women’s team finished off the meet with a first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The relay team was made up of Emily O’Connor, Sara Chadwick, Cater Ortolano, and Hill.
This weekend both teams will be in action in the Robison Pool when they take on the Continentals of Hamilton at 2 pm on Saturday.
