Niagara vs St. Bonaventure
- October 5, 2024
- Olean, New York
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Niagara Athletics
OLEAN, N.Y. — Niagara University’s men’s and women’s swimming team delivered strong performances in a dual meet against St. Bonaventure University on Saturday, with several swimmers claiming multiple victories. As a team, the Niagara women defeated the Bonnies, 147-133, while the men, fell to St. Bonaventure, 150-144.
Alaina Pitton led the women’s team, securing three first-place finishes. The sophomore won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.43), 200-yard breaststroke (2:19.91), and 200-yard individual medley (2:08.34). Her 100 and 200 breast times were good enough to break the Niagara program record.
Natalie Killion, also excelled with two individual wins in the 200-yard backstroke (2:04.67) and 500-yard freestyle (5:01.82). Killion opened the meet by anchoring the winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:44.82) alongside Pitton, Maria Mitova, and Paige South.
On the men’s side, the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay team set a new program benchmark (3:07.29) as Reid Tichy, Nathan Dragon, Jake Wade, and Levi Morgan closed the meet with a win.
Dragon and Sean Finley each claimed two individual victories. Dragon, a senior, touched first in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.75) and 100-yard freestyle (46.20). Finley, a graduate student, dominated the breaststroke events, winning the 100-yard (57.39) and 200-yard (2:06.55) races.
Other notable performances included, sophomore Shani Fridman, who won the women’s 200-yard butterfly (2:10.24), and freshman Jordan Grab taking first in the men’s 500-yard freestyle (4:49.12).
Niagara’s depth was evident throughout the meet, with the team securing multiple top-three finishes across events. The Purple Eagles showed particular strength in the breaststroke and freestyle events.
Up Next
Niagara will host Cleveland State for a men’s and women’s dual meet on Friday, Oct. 11. The meet is set to begin at 4 p.m. and air on ESPN+.
Courtesy: St. Bonaventure Athletics
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Senior Halle Myers tallied three individual wins in the St. Bonaventure women’s swim and dive home opener, however, the Bonnies came up just short against the MAAC preseason favorites Niagara, 147-133.
Myers, the reigning Atlantic 10 Conference Performer of the Week, tallied individual wins in the 50-free, 100-free, and 100-fly. The senior’s time of 53.42 in the 50-free is the quickest by an A-10 athlete this season. Myers also owns the conference’s fastest times in the 100-free (51.49) and 100-fly (55.49).
Freshman Phoebe McClaren added to the Bonnies team points total with a victory in the 1000-freestyle, posting a time of 10:33.90. McClaren also earned a second-place finish in the 500-free.
Sophomore Anna Bojana Forjan earned a pair of runner-up finishes in the 100 and 200-backstroke. Daciana Colon finished third in both of those events as well.
In the 100 and 200-fly, Nele Vetter earned a spot on the podium, finishing second and third in respective events.
Myers, Hana Wienckowski, Vetter, and Bojana Forjan combined for a time of 3:34.54 in the 400-free relay to record the win.
In diving action, Sanaiya Joefield registered scores of 220.5 in the 1-meter and 218.7 in the 3-meter.
Prior to the meet, the Bonnies unveiled their new record board, dedicated to alumnus Joe Murphy, ’00.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MIKE SMIECHOWSKI
“The women had a hard-fought battle against a championship MAAC team. We saw some good things and some things to build on. I’m excited to see us continue moving forward into October.”
UP NEXT
The Bonnies are set to participate in the Colgate Invitational Oct. 11-12.
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure men’s swimming and diving team secured their first win of the season over Little Three rival Niagara Saturday afternoon in the Reilly Center Pool. Prior to the meet, the Bonnies unveiled their new record board, dedicated to alumnus Joe Murphy, ’00.
The Bonnies earned a 150-144 team win over the Purple Eagles. Six different Bona swimmers recorded individual wins in the victory.
Freshman Connor Peck picked up the first win of the day for SBU, finishing the 1000-free event with a time of 9:56.02. Mikolaj Synowiec earned the runner-up spot with a time of 9:56.77.
Luigi Termine (49.90), Henry Wilkes (51.29) and Quinn Borchers (52.90) combined for a podium sweep in the 100-backstroke.
Wilkes and Termine traded positions in the 200-back as Wilkes recorded the win with a time of 1:53.05.
In the 200-fly, Mark Mizsei and Denton Smith earned a 1-2 finish, posting times of 1:51.80 and 1:57.77.
Graduate student Sam Matthews added nine more points for Bona in the 50-free with a time of 21.07.
Alexander Behr was the sixth Bonaventure swimmer of the day to earn an individual win as he touched the wall in 49.82 in the 100-fly. Behr also posted a second-place finish in the 200-free and a third-place time in the 100-free.
In diving action, Ben O’Neill took the top spot in the 1-meter with a score of 308.48. Ben Giera had the best score in the 3-meter competition at 334.73.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH MIKE SMIECHOWSKI
“I’m happy about the first win of the season. It was an emotional day honoring Joe Murphy and the impact he had on this community. We picked up a big win against a great team and it’s a good step going into October.”
UP NEXT
The Bonnies will participate in the first invitational event of the season at Colgate Oct. 11-12.
