The State University of New York at New Paltz women’s swimming team had a solid showing in its final dual meet of the calendar year, topping Vassar College, 159-135, at Kresge Pool on Saturday afternoon.
Seven different Hawks posted a first-place finish individually, led by sophomore Victoria Scalise’s (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) wins in the 50 freestyle (25.83) and the 100 freestyle (55.82). Furthermore, New Paltz won both relay events, with the 400 medley relay squad of sophomore Casey O’Connor (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield), junior Samantha Granan (Hyde Park, N.Y./Franklin D. Roosevelt), sophomore Kim Kallansrude (Muttontown, N.Y./Jericho) and Scalise notching the top time of 4:12.44 in the meet’s first event and the 400 freestyle relay foursome of sophomore Cassidy Griger (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown Central), sophomore Ella Graffin (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca), junior Kat Buyes (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./John Jay) and Scalise charting the fastest standard of 3:46.56 in the final women’s event of the afternoon.
New Paltz rises to 3-0 and next competes at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Winter Championships from Friday-Sunday, Dec. 6-8, at Lehman College. Vassar drops to 1-2 and next competes at the Liberty League Championships during the same time frame.
Griger paced the field in the 1,000 freestyle (11:11.19), while senior Chelsea Allocco (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) took home top honors in the 200 freestyle (2:00.83). Grannan clocked a first-place 1:09.75 in the 100 breaststroke, while Graffin’s 2:19.87 led the pack in the 200 backstroke. Buyes and sophomore Maggie Heaton (New Milford, Conn./New Milford) rounded out the Hawks’ event winners with victories in the 500 freestyle (5:32.77) and the 100 butterfly (1:02.42), respectively.
Second-place finishes came from freshman Ann Fici (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) in the 1,000 freestyle (11:25.17) and the 200 individual medley (2:21.78), Graffin in the 200 freestyle (2:04.58), O’Connor in the 100 backstroke (1:04.68), Heaton in the 200 butterfly (2:19.09), Grannan in the 100 freestyle (57.61), Griger in the 200 backstroke (2:20.67) and Allocco in the 200 breaststroke (2:35.05).
Diving the Difference in New Paltz Men’s Swimming’s 144-135 Loss to Vassar
With diving spotting host Vassar College an 18-point cushion, the State University of New York at New Paltz men’s swimming team was unable to edge the Brewers in a dual meet at Kresge Pool on Saturday afternoon, falling by a 144-135 final.
The Hawks, who do not having a diving facility on campus and therefore do not field divers at competitions, were not able to find an answer to Vassar’s strength in the non-freestyle events. Vassar only had one diver at the meet, who picked up the standard first-place total of nine points on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards.
New Paltz drops to 0-3 and next competes at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Winter Championships from Friday-Sunday, Dec. 6-8, at Lehman College. Vassar rises to 2-1 and next competes at the Liberty League Championships during the same time frame.
Sophomore Rod Taskindoust (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown North) touched first in two individual events—the 200 freestyle (1:52.96) and the 500 freestyle (5:11.54)—and contributed to the Hawks’ first-place performance of 3:25.91 in the 400 freestyle relay. Taskindoust, who swam the anchor leg, was joined by sophomore Ethan Cooke (Middletown, Conn./Middletown), senior Matt Distler (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls) and freshman Luke Zenir (Cherry Valley, N.Y./Cooperstown Central) on that winning relay.
Spader won the 1,000 freestyle once again, covering the 40-lap race in 10:52.66. Distler also posted an individual event win for the Hawks, charting a first-place time of 50.95 in the 100 freestyle.
Second-place performances came from freshman Thomas Whittico (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) in the 1,000 freestyle (11:17.51) and the 500 freestyle (5:13.64), Cooke in the 200 freestyle (1:56.43), Distler in the 100 backstroke (58.81) and the 50 freestyle (23.29), freshman Vitaut Gurskiy (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.47), freshman Rob Cahn (Bellmore, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) in the 200 butterfly (2:12.72), Spader in the 200 backstroke (2:13.99) and Taskindoust in the 200 individual medley (2:09.01).
This release was provided to SwimSwam courtesy of New Paltz Swimming and Diving.