Swimming and diving lose three out of four meets

By Jillian Shutt

Rider’s swimming and diving team didn’t fare as well as it had hoped in a tri-meet on Saturday, Nov. 13, against LaSalle and Delaware.

The women came away with a 162-135 win against LaSalle, but a 186-101 loss against Delaware. The men also had a tough weekend, losing to both the Explorers and the Blue Hens, 195-104 and 208-91, respectively.

“These last two meets we came together as a team and worked really hard and ended up winning,” said senior Brianna Burns. “It was a great past two weeks with the wins and I only see success down the road for us.”

The women were led by Burns, who won the 100 free (53.13) and 200 free (1:53.80), sophomore Addie Oswald, who won the 200 back (2:06.71), and freshman Melanie Leonhard, who won the 500 free (5:06.93). Senior diver Aisley Carter was runner up in both the three-meter (212.10) and one-meter (206.55). These top finishers helped secure the win over the Explorers.

“It was definitely exciting winning the 100 and 200 free the past weekend because we went up against some tough teams,” said Burns. “We are continuing to work hard now and I can’t wait to see how we end up doing at the end of the season.”

The men’s top performers were sophomore swimmer Johnny Funk, who won in the 100 back (51.89) and 200 IM (1:55.48), and junior diver Brendan Cavallaro, who won the three-meter (351.15) and one-meter (295.20). The MAAC recognized two of Rider’s members of the swimming and diving team for the week of Nov. 8-14. Carter was named MAAC Female Diver of the Week and Funk was named the MAAC Male Swimmer of the Week.

“Being named MAAC Female Diver of the Week has been on my goal list for a while now, and I’m really thrilled I finally accomplished it with the help of my four guy teammates supporting and pushing me along,” Carter said.

Funk believes Rider is progressing nicely, but can perform at a higher level.

“As a team, we did pretty well for the most part, but we can get better,” he said. “On the men’s team, we need to keep setting the example and hope the women’s team can follow. Once this is achieved, we can bring our program to the next level.”

Carter is currently the only female diver on the team and has handled the pressure tremendously.

The next stop for the Broncs is Princeton’s Big Al Open this weekend, a meet Carter and Rider are both excited for.

“As a team right now, we’re training really hard, pushing one another, and getting really pumped for the Princeton invite, where we will compete against bigger, super competitive non-conference schools that we don’t usually go against,” Carter said.