The Fordham swimming and diving team concluded its season on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Atlantic 10 championship with the women placing fifth and the men finishing in eighth place.
The women’s squad concluded competition with 425 points, 161 short of Richmond’s first place performance, while the men’s team amassed only 272.5 points. Massachusetts took the crown on the men’s side, narrowly beating out St. Bonaventure.
The highlights of the four-day event in Geneva, Ohio included three event wins and six times that qualified Ram swimmers for the NCAA “B” cut. In addition, seven school records were broken and seven Rams were named as All-Atlantic 10 performers.
Junior Steve Sholdra amassed a majority of these distinctions on the men’s side, crediting his accomplishments to both the coaching staff and his teammates.
“Doing well at [the] conference [championship] was the result of many things, namely the good coaching and the good team atmosphere that we have on Fordham swimming,” Sholdra said. “Having an entire team cheering and supporting each other throughout every single day of the meet really boosts our team spirits and ability to do well.”
The Renton, Washington native placed first in the 400yd individual medley in 3:52.72, took second in the 200yd butterfly in 1:47.93 and finished third in the 1650yd freestyle in 15:27.55. Each of these performances qualified as an NCAA “B” cut, and Sholdra will now wait to see if he is invited to the NCAA men’s championship, which begins on March 26.
The international political economy major’s times in the 400yd individual medley and 200yd butterfly also set new school records. He earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors in the 400yd individual medley and second team honors in the 200yd butterfly.
The women’s team featured a more balanced attack at the Spire Institute. The crew started off strong, placing second in Wednesday’s 200yd medley relay. Sophomore Morgan Fairclough, juniors Chandler Lulley and Shannon Lulley and senior Kelly Carroll earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors for their performance in the event.
After a brief first day of competition, the women’s side turned it into gear in the individual events, according to senior captain Savannah Coe.
“I think our team did well,” Coe said. “We had some real stand out performances by Meg[an] Polaha and Shannon Lulley, but the rest of the team performed well too.”
Polaha, who won the 200yd butterfly at last year’s conference meet, out-swam the entire field and touched first in the 200yd individual medley. Her 2:01.31 set a school record, qualified as a “B” cut, and earned her first team all-Atlantic 10 honors. Polaha also took third in the 200yd butterfly at this year’s competition.
Shannon Lulley followed up her day one performance later by finishing second in the 100yd butterfly in a school record and “B” cut time of 53.82. Lulley was also second quickest in the 50yd freestyle, posting 23.06, another new school record.
“Going into the meet, I kept reminding myself that I had put in all the work that was necessary to succeed,” Lulley said. “I really try to have fun and enjoy myself in all my races and I think that sort of lighthearted attitude translated into a good performance.”
The Smithtown, New York native earned second team all-conference honors in these two events as well.
The Rams were also victorious in the 400yd medley relay, beating Richmond to the wall by .07 seconds. Fariclough, the Lulley sisters and senior Victoria McGovern earned first team All-Atlantic 10 honors after winning the event.
Aside from her two impressive relay performances, Fairclough also turned in top finishes in both backstroke events. She placed third in both the 100yd and 200yd backstroke, and her time of 55.03 in the 100yd distance qualified as a “B” cut.
The final two school records came in the men’s 500yd freestyle and the women’s 200yd freestyle relay. Freshman Liam Semple set the new mark at 4:28.24 in the 500yd freestyle, while freshman Erin McBride, junior Megan Gray and the Lulley sisters changed the record books in the 200yd freestyle relay, posting 1:33.96
While the women’s team was disappointed with their overall finish, according to Coe and fellow senior captain Frances Warren, the team is proud of their season as a whole.
“I think that overall we had an amazing season,” Coe said. “I watched so many girls have amazing performances and best times, even in-season, so I’m proud of what our team accomplished this year, even though we didn’t place as high as we wished to at A-10’s.”
The four Fordham swimmers with NCAA “B” cuts continue to wait patiently to see if they will be invited to the NCAA championship.
