Tigers Find Their Form
By Cyan Thomas, Staff Writer
File Photo by Brittany Whitham/ The Towerlight
The Tigers overpowered the Delaware Blue Hens 382-198 Saturday afternoon at Rawstrom Natatorium, combining for 12 first place finishes in a sweep.
The men took home first place in the 100-yard backstroke (50.01) and the 100-yard butterfly (47.35) thanks to senior Jack Saunderson.
Senior Richard Keller took first in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:08.29 while senior Andrew Snyder came in second with a time of (4:12.93)
Freshman Devin Gaul led the diving portion with victories in both the 1-meter (189.60) and 3-meter (214.00) dives.
“These performances are a springboard to championships in February,” said Head Coach Jake Shrum. “It speaks highly of them that they are able to perform like this.”
The women continued the dominant performance as junior Meghan Jones (10:32.38) and freshman Meagan Clark (10:34.23) took first and second respectively in the 1000-yard freestyle.
Towson swept the 200-yard backstroke as senior Haley Sutton (2:06.02), freshman Gabby Cervone (2:06.76) and freshman Elise Devlin (2:06.94) took the top three positions.
“It’s always a big momentum boost when that happens,” Shrum said. “That one was special because Elise and Gabby will compete in this event in the future.”
The women had an impressive senior day while the men faltered against Drexel on the team’s first meet of 2019 on Jan. 12 at Burdick Hall.
The men lost 169-127 while the women came out victorious with a matching 169-127 score.
Coach Shrum was anxious to get back to the regular routine with the team.
“At this point our focus is getting our kids ready for their championship meets,” Shrum said. “First meet coming out of winter break is always tough. We’ve only been back on campus for less than two weeks and shift our training during that time.”
For the women, junior Annemarie Schnoor made her mark with wins in the 50-yard freestyle (24.03) and the 100-yard freestyle (51.74).
Freshman Meagan Clark clinched the 1000-yard freestyle (10:41.99) while junior Sarah-Margaret Locke captured wins in the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.25) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:07.06).
Juniors Meagan Cowan and Jacki Schoening each took two wins for the Tigers. Cowan won the 200-yard butterfly (2:05.80) and the 200-yard individual medley (2:09.00), while Schoening was successful in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.69) and the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:22.18.
Junior Maddi Mangum won the 100-yard butterfly (56.04) and senior Emily Wilson rounded out the team with two wins in the 1-meter dive (274.05) and the 3-meter dive (292.43).
For the men’s team, juniors Matt Essing, Ryan O’Leary and Owen Robinson along with senior Jack Saunderson won the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:31.13.
Saunderson and Essing took two solo wins each. Saunderson won in the 100-yard butterfly (47.68) and the 200-yard butterfly (1:46.38). Essing clinched the 50-yard freestyle (20.72) and the 100-yard freestyle (47.42).
Sophomore Will Canny also won two events. Canny won the 1-meter dive with a score of 277.65 and the 3-meter dive (310.85).
“Will Canny stepped up the biggest, defeating last year’s CAA Diver of the Year on both boards which made the men’s meet much more competitive than last year,” Shrum said.
The Tigers next meet is the JMU Diving Invitational on Feb. 2 and 3 in Harrisonburg, VA a the Savage Natatorium.
