STAFF WRITER

Over winter break, the swimming and diving team traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico for an intensive training trip. Although the trip was delayed by snow, it was a great success.

BOTH THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING TEAMS HAVE LOOKED IMPRESSIVE IN THEIR MEETS FOLLOWING A TRAINING TRIP TO SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO. (RAM ARCHIVES)

“During the trip, our team really demonstrated the dedication and work ethic that is necessary for a successful season-culminating championship meet,” sophomore Steve Sholdra said.

Following the trip and the return to school, the swimming and diving team resumed competition, with two meets in less than 48 hours.

On Friday, Jan. 17, the team traveled the short distance to New Rochelle, N.Y. to face the Iona Gaels. Both the women and men submitted dominant performances, with the women winning 144-77 and the men came away with a 136-88 victory.

Fresh off its victories, the team made the journey to Philadelphia for a meet with La Salle University and the University of Richmond. The women’s squad defeated La Salle 193-106, but narrowly fell 157-142 to Richmond. The men only competed against La Salle and were bested 202-97 by the Explorers.

“There’s no denying that it was difficult having back to back meets right after the training trip,” Sholdra said. “But we rose above the difficulty and raced very well as a team.”

Over the two meets, many team members won multiple individual events. Senior co-captain Shintaro Noguchi led all Fordham swimmers and divers with four event wins. Noguchi captured the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly on Friday before touching first in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly in Philadelphia.  The Tiburon, Calif. native was also a member of the winning 400-yard medley relay team at Iona.

Freshman Kalena Laurent also had a very successful weekend, winning three events. In New Rochelle, she was victorious in the 200-yard butterfly. At La Salle, Laurent was fastest in the 200-yard freestyle and the 50-yard freestyle. The freshman was also a member of Sunday’s winning 400-yard freestyle relay team.

Additionally, Sholdra posted three event wins for the men’s squad. Sholdra took the 200-yard freestyle on Friday and won both the 200-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle in Philadelphia.

Freshman Natalie Malicki and Garden City, N.Y. native Megan Zarriello each won two events for the women’s team as well. Malicki was fastest in both the 1000-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle on Friday, while Zarriello took the 200-yard backstroke at Iona and the 1000-yard freestyle on Sunday.

The team also swept the diving portion of Friday’s meet against the Iona Gaels. Claire Parker won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events. Kevin Jimenez-Cowell took the one-meter diving event for the men, while Hanul Moon captured the three-meter diving event.

The other individual event winners included Megan Gray, Kara Field, Theresa Goehring, Megan Polaha, Chandler Lulley, Nicholas Belfanti, Chris Indudhara and Michael Grimmett-Norris.

The team will next be in action on Saturday, Jan. 25 in Piscataway, N.J., where they will compete with Rutgers University, Rider University and Yale University.

The Atlantic 10 conference championship is less than a month away and the team is prepared to put up a strong fight.

“I’m very excited for my team to make a dent in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships,” Noguchi said. “Our team this year [is made up of] very dedicated athletes and friends who have been pushing each other to become the best.”

Categories: Sports, Swim and Dive