The RPI men’s and women’s swim team hit the road on Sunday in a trip to archrival Hartwick for what turned out to be a great meet. Both teams had very strong showings as the men beat Hartwick 145 to 92 and the women fell to Hartwick with a score of 98 to 143. Both teams had a number of first-place finishes from relay teams and individual swimmers, complemented by a large number of second-, third-, and fourth-place finishes which racked up the points.
The men’s team started and ended the meet with relay wins. The 400-yard medley relay team made up of Alvin Peh, Bill Harris, Pat Fell, and Paul Gaffuri started off the meet with a first place finish in a time of 3:45.59. The meet was capped off by Ben Fell, Bryant Eadon, Eric Johnson, and Gaffuri, who won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:20.20.
The women’s team had an impressive number of individual performances and fielded a number of first-place finishes. Junior Allison Geer swam three events: the 200-yard freestyle, 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle, finishing first in all three with times of 2:00.23, 25.91, and 55.55. Sophomore Meghan Hartman finished first in the 1000-yard freestyle (11:14.15) and 500-yard freestyle (5:39.07). Junior Maureen Desi finished first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:39.77) and freshman diver Melissa Hershey took first place with a score of 172.00.
The men’s team complemented the women’s team impressive individual performances with a number of individual first places of their own. Diver Randy LaFleur took first place in both the one and three meter diving events. Peh took first in the 200-yard backstroke (2:03.00), junior Steve Finkle finished first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.91), Bill Harris took the 200-yard breaststroke (2:17.25), and Ben Fell won the 500-yard freestyle (5:03.33).
Bolstered by the men’s team’s win, both teams are now preparing to host Vassar this Wednesday at 6 pm at Robison Pool. Anyone who is interested in watching the RPI swimmers in action is encouraged to come out and enjoy the meet.
