Geneseo’s swimming teams secure their second wins of the 2023 season

Blue Wave women’s swimming competing in the breaststroke which led to a win against Alfred State College on Saturday, Oct. 21 (Courtesy of GeneseoKnights.com).

On Saturday, Oct. 21, Geneseo’s men's and women's swim and dive teams both took home wins against Alfred State College. The men’s team left Erie Community College, where the meet took place, with a 210-90 win while the women’s team left with a 232-60 victory. 

In the 200-yard medley relay, the women’s team took the three top spots as the team of freshman Courtney Sorbello, freshman Emily Thomas, junior Alise Hale, and senior Mackenzie Fischer pulled ahead with a time of 1:50.75. The team seemed to work well together and led the way while setting the tone for the rest of the meet. 

Sophomore Abby Funk and junior Karly Brayaking took first and second place in the 1000-yard freestyle while helping to keep the Blue Wave points increasing in the pool. Taking the top spot for the Knights was sophomore Madison Sargent in the 200-yard freestyle relay, as she recorded an impressive time of 1:59.06. 

Sobrello earned her second win of the meet in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:02.60, paving the way for the rest of the team to keep running up the scoreboard. As expected from the squad, senior Jessica Gordon posted nine more points, after tallying a victory for the Knights in the 100-yard breaststroke. Gordon put her hand to the wall at a stunning time of 1:11.78. 

Freshman Alex Sotek recorded a win in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:18.10, shortly after. In the 50-yard freestyle, Fischer led the way for the Knights with a time of 25.34, as well.

Freshman Sinead Devaney took first place in the 200-yard backstroke while recording a time of 2:16.12. Meanwhile, sophomore Hannah Brockman took second, senior Ashely Felber took third, and freshman Olympia Frisoni took fourth with nothing but Geneseo swimmers in the top spots. 

For dive events, junior Alexandra Pucci-Schaefer competed in the one-meter dive with a score of 235.30, and the three-meter dive with a score of 235.30, taking first place in both. 

The men’s team was just as successful in their meet against Alfred State, opening up with an impressive performance in the 200-yard medley relay. Graduate student Ben Ludlow, freshman Brian Pabisch, senior Jordan Nielsen, and sophomore Jake Nielsen came in clutch with a win and a time of 1:35.17. Taking the top four spots in the 200-yard freestyle with Colin Babbitt leading the way, the Knights kept their momentum going and stayed on top for the rest of the meet. 

Ludlow earned his second win of the day with a time of 53.35 in the 100-yard backstroke, where his teammates took second and third, keeping Geneseo at the top of the leaderboard.

In the 200-yard backstroke, Ludlow yet again earned another win, touching the wall with a time of 1:57.95. His teammate, freshman Connor Baird, took first place and added nine points to Geneseo’s score, with a time of 2:17.8 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Freshman Colin Babbitt earned Geneseo another win with a 500-yard freestyle time of 4:55.32. 

In the diving events, senior Trent Makowiec came in second in the one-meter dive and earned a score of 328.90. In addition, he won the three-meter dive event with a score of 334.05 and finished the meet at the top for Geneseo. 

The Knights return to the pool at Erie Community College on Saturday, Oct. 28, against Canisius College at 12 p.m.