Fordham Sweeps Manhattan to Open 2021-22 Season

Fordham vs. Manhattan

• Friday, October 15, 2021
• Bronx, NY

Courtesy: Fordham Sports (No recap available from Manhattan of publishing)

It was 601 days ago since the last full competition for the Fordham swimming & diving team, that is until Friday, where the Rams were back in the pool to kick off the 2021-22 season against Manhattan College at the Messmore Aquatic Center.

The Rams’ return to action was a solid one, sweeping the meet by scores of 187-73 for the women and 167-79 for the men.

The Fordham women took first in every event on the night with five individuals winning multiple events.  Becky Kamau earned first place in the 50 (30.39) and 100 (1:05.96) breaststroke events, while Leire Martin was first in both the 50 (26.98) and 100 (58.12) backstroke events.  In the butterfly, Victoria Navarro was first in both the 50 (25.86) and 100 (56.59) events with Emilie Krog taking the top spot in the distance freestyle events (500 – 5:09.35; 1000 – 10:36.06).  The final multiple event winner was Natalie Ortof, who score first in both the one-meter (252.70) and three-meter (266.40) diving event.

Other individual event winners included Clare Culver in the 200 freestyle (1:55.73), Madeline Bergin in the 50 freestyle (24.76), Alex Antonov in the 100 freestyle (54.03), and Vaula Vekkeli in the 100 individual medley (59.94).

In women’s relay action, the 200 medley relay team of L. Martin, Kamau, Jessica Zebrowski, and Bergin started the night with a first place finish in 1:47.86, while the 200 freestyle relay team of Antonov, L. Martin, Krog, and Navarro capped the night with a win in 1:39.40.

In the men’s competition, four individuals took home multiple event wins, starting with Ethan Murray finishing first in the 200 (1:45.60) and 500 (4:49.82) freestyle events, while Spencer Clarke was the top performer in the 50 backstroke (24.13) and the 100 individual medley (53.08).  Kevin Zahariev won both breaststroke events, clocking in at 27.21 seconds (50) and 1:00.34 (100), with Vitalis Onu taking the top spot in the 100 butterfly (51.85) and 100 freestyle (48.03).

Four other Rams earned an event win on Friday, as Evan Trout won the 1000 freestyle (10:20.96), with Nicholas Chao winning the 50 freestyle in 21.79 seconds.  Alex Wilhelm was first in the 100 backstroke (52.37), while Len Ray won the 100 butterfly (24.17).

In men’s relay action, Clarke, Julius Ekstrand, Onu, and Chao were first in the 200 medley relay in 1:34.86, while Stan Stevens, Evan Fenska, Murray, and Onu combined to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:28.76.

The Fordham swimming & diving team will next be in action on Thursday, October 21^st, when the Rams host Marist at 6:00 PM.