After impressive season-opening wins against Gannon University, the Shippensburg University men’s and women’s swim teams traveled to take on Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). The men moved to 2–0 with a 112–93 win, while the women fell short, 122–80.
Junior Jeff Beyer and sophomore Hunter Keck both had strong performances for the second contest in a row. Beyer grabbed first in the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyles, while Keck mastered the sprints, claiming the victories in the 50 and 100-yard freestyles. Beyer finished first in each of his contests in the win against Gannon, claiming the 1,000, 500 and 200 freestyles.
Beyer and Keck were joined by freshmen Trevor Woolwine and Andrew Hale for the 200-yard freestyle relays. The super-team claimed first in just 1:26.44. Woolwine and Hale were strong in their own individual events. Hale competed in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. He finished first in the 200 and was second to Keck in the 100.
Hale continued his strong start to his Raider career after claiming second last week in both the 100 free and the 100-yard breaststroke. Woolwine matched his second-place finish in the 200 free and third-place in the 100-yard butterfly last week with second only to Keck in the 50 free and a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying time of 48.89 in the 100 free.
Matt Bochanski — another freshman — was a standout in his first two weeks on the team. He claimed two victories in his debut against Gannon, with first in both the 200-yard individual medley and 100 breaststroke. He followed that performance with another win in the 100 breaststroke. He also led the SU swimmers in the 200 IM for the second week.
There were 14 PSAC qualifiers on the day for the Raiders in another successful meet early in their season. The women had success, but were unable to replicate their performance against Gannon.
The women’s swim team swam well overall against IUP, but it didn’t result in the same success that the team had in their opening meet against Gannon.
After the loss of former standout Stephanie O’Toole, the team will be looking for another leader on the squad. Senior Carly Alvarado has started the season off at a hot pace. She only competed in one event against Gannon and captured first in the 200 free.
Alvarado was more active against IUP, competing in three different races. She grabbed first in the 100-yard backstroke, also finishing second in the 1,000-yard free and helping the 200 medley relay team claim second as well.
Junior Gabriella Johnson — a dual-sport athlete in volleyball — entered the pool only one night removed from a five-set match with the volleyball squad the night before. She swam well, claiming second in the 100 breaststroke and third in the 200 free. Her time of 1:09.20 in the breaststroke was a PSAC-qualifying mark.
One other swimmer who has put in a pair of strong meets is freshman Tomomi Nakano. Nakano took first in her debut swim last week in the 50 free.
She returned to finish second in the 100 backstroke, right behind Alvarado. With her times, she earned PSAC qualifiers two weeks in a row. Nakano also joined the 200 free relay squad to earn second with a total time of 1:44.68.
The men’s team now 2–0 on the season and the women an even 1–1, both squads will next travel to participate in the West Chester University Tri-Meet. The event kicks off Friday with the Golden Rams and Southern Connecticut State.
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