Photo via Athletic Communications

Senior day for the St. Lawrence Swimming and Diving team proved to one of best weekends for the team all season. Not only were the seniors honored for their hard work and dedication to the team, but for the first time this season both the men and women’s teams won their meets, making this final event at St. Lawrence for this year’s senior class that more special.  As Captain Gabriella Marchetti ‘17 puts it, “Senior week is always super special.  It’s our last dual meet in our home pool.  The team puts up balloons and other decorations all over.  The team has been working really hard all year, especially the men’s team, whose numbers have been down this year.  Going into the event there were a lot of emotions, and everyone was super motivated.  Having both teams win and run out to ring the victory bell was a perfect end to our season!”

Marchetti finished second in her events, the 1,000 free and the 100 sprint.  Although not her best finish for the season, she says it was definitely her most special: “I just remember thinking with 10 laps left, wow, this is my last event with my 1,000 partner Taylor.  It was hard not getting emotional thinking about it.”  She also added, “I couldn’t be more proud of the team, after going through all our grueling practices and the sacrifices we each made for the team, this was just the perfect way to end our season.”

Madeline Holodnik ‘20 also had a strong performance, winning two individual events, the 200 free in 2:04.31 minutes and as the 500 free with a time of 5:23:75 minutes.  Holodnik combined with Becca Raab ‘17, Claire Anderson ‘19, and Heather Foley ‘17 combined to win the 200 free relay.

Foley also won the 100 butterfly. Christina Felchner ‘20 contributed to the win as well, winning both the 50 and 100 sprint events, while Taylor McClung ‘19 won the 1,000 free and Meg Musser ’18 won the 100 backstroke, leading to an impressive 115 to 93 win over Saint Michael’s College.

For the men, Alex Blake ‘17 and Henry McCormick ‘17 led the way.  Blake not only won his three-meter diving event with a score of 240.1, but also won a swimming event, taking the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.82 seconds.  McCormick won the 200 individual medley, and then won the 200 free relay along with Christopher Fleming ‘19, Calin Arnold, and Issac Brinkman ‘20. Robert Burke ‘19also had a strong afternoon, winning the 1,000 free and 100 butterfly events, while Matthew Edkins also chipped in winning the 1-meter diving board with a score of 275.10, capping of a resounding 123 to 102 win over Saint Michael’s for the men.

The team will now move onto to the UNYSCSA championships on February 15^th at Ithaca College.