University of Pennsylvania men’s and women’s teams hosted the University of Delaware in a combined dual meet on Saturday during Senior Day at Sheerr Pool. The Quaker men (4-5, 2-5 in Ivy League play) won, 184-98, while the women (5-4, 3-4 in Ivy League) came out ahead, 174-126.
Penn opened the score with matching wins in the 200 medley relay. Lauryn Brown (26.25), Haley Wickham (29.86), Taylor Sneed (25.65), and Rochelle Dong (23.94) came in just ahead of Alyssa Sanders, Annie Nunes, Kristen Bishop and Morgan Whyte of Delaware, 1:45.70 to 1:46.52. The Quaker men went 1-2, with Philip Hu (24.20), Kyle Yu (25.00), Michael Wen (22.49), and Johnny Germanis (20.46) leading the way in 1:32.15. Teammates James Jameson, Bobby Francis, CJ Schaffer, and Eric Schultz touched second in 1:32.44.
Delaware’s Nunes was the most prolific point-earner of the day with three individual wins. She claimed titles in the 100 breast (1:04.71), 200 breast (2:20.29), and 200 IM (2:08.09). The Blue Hens were also the fastest sprinters of the day. Whyte outpaced the Quakers’ Dong in the 50, 23.55 to 24.02, then beat Meagan Dollard 52.01 to 52.87 in the 100 free. Delaware’s Dominique Montoya placed third with 53.72.
Diving was another strong event for Delaware. Caitlin Stockwell won the 3-meter event with 291.00 points. Kristina Congdon and Stockwell went 1-2 in 1-meter diving with 277.95 and 275.85 points, respectively.
Individual highlights for the Quaker women included seven first-place finishes. Sneed notched two of them with a 2:07.93 in the 200 fly and 57.24 in the 100 fly. Delaware’s Laura Askin was second in the 200 (2:08.15) and fourth in the 100 (59.64); in the latter, she finished just behind Penn’s Kimberly Phan (59.11) and Dong (59.13). Penn dominated the backstrokes, too, as Lauren Church finished first in the 200 back (2:05.59) and Brown won the 100 (57.32). Church was runner-up in the 100 (57.53), just edging Whyte of Delaware (57.66).
The Quakers were also first to the wall in the 200-500-1000 free events. Dollard eked out a win over teammate Virginia Burns in the 200, 1:52.52 to 1:52.70. The Blue Hens’ Dominique Montoya touched third (1:54.25). In the 500 it was Burns’ 5:01.01 that scored the big points. Brittany Lazear of Delaware was runner-up in 5:09.11. Lazear also placed second in the 1000 behind Penn’s Ryan Alexander, 10:19.02 to 10:30.01.
Penn was even more dominant in men’s meet, finishing first in every swimming event and often taking the top two spots. A large and varied group of Quakers won individually, but two produced double golds. Schultz was first to the wall in the 200 free (1:39.57) and 100 free (44.52). Teammate Kevin Su was second both times (1:40.69 and 46.440), while Chris Dryden (1:42.90) and Alexander Hillsley (48.55) led the charge for the Blue Hens in the 200 and 100 free, respectively.
Samuel Haley was the other double winner for Penn, with 1:53.31 in the 200 fly and 51.06 in the 100 fly. Haley just barely beat teammates Wen (1:53.36) and Hunter Brakovec (1:53.48) in the 200; Delaware’s Brian Wilson went 1:54.27 for fourth. In the 100, it was the Blue Hens with three near-simultaneous finishers: Tomas Elder (52.70), Wilson (52.92), and Matthew Daniel (52.99). Brakovec notched a win with a 9:41.05 in the 1000 free.
Cole Hurwitz went 57.16 to lead a Quaker 1-2-3 sweep in the 100 breast. Wes Thomas did the same in the 200 breast, touching first in 2:04.65. CJ Schaffer won the 200 IM with 1:55.33. Brendan Crystal was runner-up in both the 200 breast and 200 IM, while Delaware’s Brian Murphy was his school’s first finisher in all three events.
The 100 back was a close contest, with Jameson (51.43) edging Dillon McHugh (51.48) and Delaware’s Ian Milburn (51.54) for the title. Penn’s Brian Foley came in ahead of Milburn in the 200 back, 1:52.89 to 1:53.45. The 50 free was another exciting race: Germanis led the way for Penn in 21.37, and Zach Fisher beat out Nick Badsky of Delaware by 2/100 for second place, 21.49 to 21.51.
Delaware’s Patrick McCann and Colin Hall each won one diving event and was runner-up in the other. McCann came out on top in the 3-meter event, 285.98-282.07, while Hall won the 1-meter, 283.72-278.70.
