Both the AU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had rough afternoons Nov. 3 at the Reeves Aquatic Center, falling to Patriot League foes Navy and Bucknell.
The men’s squad lost 208-81 to the Midshipmen and 196-98 to the Bison, while the women fell 220-61 to Navy and 252-36 to Bucknell.
Despite the lackluster team scores, there were some bright spots on the afternoon for AU, highlighted by Bobby Ballance’s performance in the 100-yard backstroke. Balance finished ahead of 12 other competitors to earn the win, which was the only individual title on the AU men’s side. The junior capped his afternoon by registering fourth-place finishes in the 200 back and 200 individual medley.
Matt Wurm also posted strong performances, finishing in the top three in three different events. Wurm’s best swim came when he finished second in the 200 back, and he also placed third in both the 200 and 500-yard freestyle events.
Dylan Rasnick posted three top five finishes, coming in third in the 200 IM, fourth in the 1000 free and fifth in the 500 free. Other notable results came from Harrison Volaski (fourth, 100 back) and Tyler Pham (fifth, 100 butterfly).
After closing October by being named Patriot League Female Diver of the Week, Melissa Parker carried that momentum into Saturday’s tri-meet with a pair of solid performances. Parker led the way for the AU women, as she finished third out of 13 competitors in both the one-meter and three-meter diving competitions.
The team of Olivia Lasché, Lesia Olesnyckyj, Ellie Liang and Abby Weingarten placed fourth in the 200 freestyle relay. But the women struggled in individual competition, with no swimmer finishing in the top five in any of the events.
The Eagles will next head to Fairfax, Va., for the George Mason Invitational, which begins Nov. 15 and concludes Nov. 17. Both the AU men’s and women’s finished sixth of eight teams at last year’s GMU Invite.
ttomea@theeagleonline.com
