Mixed results for Tigers
By: Chris Wells, Staff Writer
Towson capped off its regular season versus Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Delaware Saturday at Burdick Pool.
The men’s team ended their season with a tough loss, 169.5-124.5.
“We had a number of people entered in events they don’t typically compete in and do very well,” Acting Head Coach Jake Shrum said. “We have done a great job building it day to day with the way we have been training, and it’s started carrying over into the way we compete.”
The men’s team was lead by senior Matt Hans, who won the 50-yard freestyle in 20.97 and earned another victory in the 100-yard freestyle event with a time of 46.29.
Hans solo performance was only part of his success on the day as he teamed with senior Zach Brech, juniors Nick Breschi and Jeremy Liu to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:33.03.
Junior Brandon Ress won the 500-yard freestyle event with a time of 4:39.72.
The men would claim top two places in the 200-yard butterfly lead by freshman Jack Saunderson (1:50.70) and fellow freshman Stefan Keller (1:55.91).
Saunderson didn’t stop there as he kept the momentum going and won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 49.19, followed by Brech in second-place (50.80).
The young Tiger’s strong day ended with freshman diver Jake Casey finishing third-place in the one-meter (141.90) and three-meter (139.28) diving events.
“Jack Saunderson broke the school’s freshman record in the 100fly in Annapolis on Wednesday, and then lowered it yesterday,” Shrum said. “Emily Wilson has been coming on incredibly strong over the past few weeks.”
The women’s team ended their season on a high note as they earned a victory with a score of 165-135.
Seniors Charlotte Holz, Jenna Van Camp teamed with junior Melissa Toy and freshman Tara Goss to start the meet off with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:45.79.
Van Camp’s impressive day continued winning the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.13) and 200-yard breaststroke (1:18.93) events.
Freshman Ashley Illenye earned a victory in the 1000-yard freestyle event in 10:18.41 with senior Christine Hammond following in second-place (10:20.85).
Illenye won the 200-yard butterfly event (2:05.29) and Holz earned first place respectively too in the 100-yard backstroke event (57.40).
Freshmen Lady Tigers had a string day as well, as Hannah Snyder earned a victory in the 200-yard individual medley (2:09.08) and Natalie Obando won the 200-yard backstroke event in 2:04.19.
Fellow freshman Emily Wilson continued the trend and won the one-meter diving event with a score of 260.70.
After a chaotic few days that saw a blizzard put the Tigers on skates and compete three times in four days, Towson now has its sights set on the postseason beginning with the two-day CAA Diving Championship on Feb. 20-21 at University of Delaware’s Rawstrom Natatorium. The CAA Swimming Championships is on Feb. 24-27 at the Collegiate School Aquatics Center in Richmond, Virginia.
“While having meets close together can be challenging, the CAA swimming championship meet is done in seven sessions across three days, so it’s actually pretty good practice to be able to shake off one meet and get ready for the next,” Shrum said. “We are in a great place right now.”
