INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP men's and women's swim teams each cruised to dual meet victories over Clarion on Friday night at the Pidgeon Natatorium. The men won 136-66 while the women defeated the Golden Eagles 132-67 as each team saw their first official action of the 2016 calendar year.
It was the third dual meet victory in as many tries for the IUP men, who posted nine overall victories in 11 events and had 14 swimmers combine for 21 times that were fast enough to hit Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying marks.
Eight of the men's wins came in individual victories, with
Andrew Richey (Warminster, Pa. /William Tennent) taking first place in both the 50 freestyle (22.09) and the 100 freestyle (49.36). Also winning freestyle events were
Yuri Fernandes (Brazil) and
Alex Plimpton (Harrison City, Pa. /Penn-Trafford), winning the 200 (1:44.93) and 500 (4:52.90), respectively.
Also grabbing event wins were
Russell Oliver (Barbados/Kelly College) in the 200 backstroke (2:02.65),
Shane Hallett (Boiling Springs, Pa. /Boiling Springs) in the 200 breaststroke (2:11.68),
Colter Long (Hollidaysburg, Pa. /Hollidaysburg Area) in the 200 IM (1:57.93), and
Mace Long (Hollidaysburg, Pa. /Hollidaysburg Area) in the 200 butterfly (1:56.41).
In addition to their wins, Plimpton and Fernandes added second place finishes in the 1000 free (10:08.62) and 200 IM (2:02.97), respectively.
Sterling Tate (York, PA/Dallastown) had a pair of second place finishes in the 200 freestyle (1:48.35) and 200 backstroke (2:03.82), with
Chris Strauss (Allentown, Pa. /Parkland) (500 freestyle, 4:59.44), Corey Stauffer (50 freestyle, 22.40), and
RJ Hammond (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) (100 free, 49.47), also getting second place finishes in their respective events.
Rodrigo Feller (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Santo Ivo), fresh off of his 19-medal performance at the Pan America Maccabi Games, finished in second place in the 200 butterfly (2:02.66).
On the women's side, mid-year Towson transfer
Bria Otwell (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) made her IUP debut with three PSAC qualifying times and two individual victories. She took home first place in the 500 freestyle (5:17.46) and 1000 freestyle (10:49.72), while also finishing in third in the 200 butterfly (2:14.39).
Those were two of nine total event victories for the Crimson Hawks, who had 15 PSAC qualifying times spread out among nine swimmers.
Sara Bertram (Alexandria, Va. /West Potomac),
Taylor Cisik (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) and
Paige Spradling (Lancaster, Pa. /Hempfield) each posted a pair of victories on Friday night. Bertram picked up hers in the 200 freestyle (1:59.76) and 200 butterfly (2:13.99), Cisik had hers in the 50 freestyle (25.25) and 100 freestyle (55.29), while Spradling picked up her wins in the 200 IM (2:13.52) and 200 breaststroke (2:26.57).
Aniella Janosky (Dover/Dover Area) had a pair of second place finishes in the 200 butterfly (2:14.03) and 500 freestyle (5:27.31) while Maddie Graham had a second place finish in the 200 back (2:16.03).
This was the first of two straight competition weekends for the Crimson Hawks as they prepare for the 2016 PSAC Championships in February. IUP will host Gannon and Bloomsburg in the Pidgeon Memorial Invitational next Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP swimming on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPSwimming.
