Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
La Salle
Swimming and Diving Defeat La Salle in Home Opener
10/19/2013 3:24:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
Drexel vs La Salle RESULTS
PHILADELPHIA- Drexel men's and women's swimming and diving teams defeated La Salle in their season and home opener. The men finished with a strong 174-126, while the women ended with a score of 171-128. The day saw pool record finishes, and impressive showings from up and coming underclassmen.
The hard work of preseason certainly paid off for the Dragons when they kicked off the afternoon's competition against the Explorers. The men's and women's relay teams swept La Salle in the first two races and each broke pool records.
In the first two relays of the meet, teammates Katie Duggan, freshman Rachel Bernhardt, freshman Emily Lau, and Brianna Bentz set the tone when they broke the pool record and stopped the clock at 1:46.30. Next in the water, Joel Berryman, Chad Schmidt, Kyle Lukens, and Alex Bagshaw breezed through the pool record and landed themselves a 1:33.82 finish.
For the men, freshman Zoltan Gercsau made his debut in the 1000 free where he finished in second place with a time of 9:56.20. In the 200 free Chialastri grabbed first, touching the wall at 1:44.16. Next up, Lukens battled hard and took first in the 100 back stopping the clock at 52.48. After a small break of La Salle wins, Mike Krohn brought it back for the Dragons in the 200 fly, finishing in 1:57.69. Berryman and Bagshaw followed right behind as they took first and second in the 50 free, going 21.47 and 21.67, respectively. Chialastri came back for another victory in the 100 free, stopping the clock at 47.83. Berryman then followed, capturing the win in the 200 back with a speedy time of 1:54.67. Lukens also took home another win in the 100 fly with a 51.18. Teammate Krohn finished in second with a 52.19.
On the women's side, Lau made her mark when she swam a 1:57.77 in the 200 free and captured first place. In the 100 back, Duggan swam to first with a 59.52 and Gizem Yali followed close behind with a 1:00.20 , taking second. The next win for the women came from Bentz and freshman Claudia Duguay when they dominated the 50 free, going 24.25 and 24.53, respectively. In the 100 free, freshman Aubrey Murray, Bentz, and Duguay swept through the competition and grabbed the top three finishes in 52.88, 53.31, and 54.03, respectively. Yali came back to take first this time in the 200 back, stopping the clock at 2:09.38. In the 100 fly, Lau continued her winning streak as her and Murray captured first and second, in 59.71 and 1:00.21, respectively. From there, Lau brought home yet another first place finish in the 200 IM with a 2:12.62. Rebecca Heffernan followed in close second with a 2:14.21, and teammate Jess Gidzinski grabbed third in 2:18.35.
Drexel also captured the final two relay races of the day, ending the meet strong. Bentz, Bernhardt, Duguay, and Murray finished in 3:33.03, while for the men, Chialastri, Bagshaw, Lukens, and Berryman ended the swimming portiong of the day in 3:09.27.
On the boards, Madison Kramer captured first place in the 1 and 3 meter dives, scoring 254.93 and 260.02, respectively. For the men, David Sanchez followed suit and also brought home first in the 1 and 3 meters, scoring 253.65 and 296.10, respectively.
Drexel swimming and diving will return to the pool on Saturday, October 26 as they travel to Loyola, Md. to take on Loyola, Lafayette, and Seton Hall.
