By Pat Costello
The Rams had numerous strong finishes in the meet, including from Joe Vizza and Joe Mercurio. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics).
The aquatic Rams returned to the pool last weekend for the Bucknell Invitational. Both the men’s and women’s teams came in fourth place out of nine teams in the competition. “The best part of the weekend is the energy and enthusiasm brought to the competition by both squads,” said head coach Stephen Potsklan. “This is only because of their commitment to becoming a better racers and winners.”
The Rams had multiple competitive races from both the men’s and women’s teams. On the men’s side, freshman Joe Vizza clocked an impressive 45.37 in the 100 meter freestyle on Sunday, earning second place in the event. Senior Joe Mercurio wasn’t far behind, coming in with a time of 46.94, an eighth place finish. In the 1650 meter freestyle, junior Liam Semple posted a third place time of 15:40.13, with freshman Christopher Sleutjes also placing in the top five. His fifth place time was 15:40.13. Senior Miguel Mattox led the Rams in the 200 meter butterfly after a fifth place swim, resulting in a time of 1:50.17. In the 200 meter breaststroke, sophomore Travis Monahan had the best swim for the Rams, finishing in 2:08.88, good enough for 11th place.
On the women’s side, senior Megan Polaha continues to impress in the pool. She was an impressive three events on the weekend, including an incredible performance in the 200 meter butterfly, which she won in an NCAA “B” cut time of 1:58.92. “Megan has talent, is steadfast hard worker, and is very coachable,” said Potsklan. Freshman Amelia Bullock came in right behind her, posting her own time of 2:00.70. Senior Kalena Laurent took fifth place with a time of 2:04.40. In the 200 meter breaststroke, junior Nele Albers led the way, placing in third and doing so in 2:19.61. Senior Marie Feneron came in seventh place, completing her swim in 2:21.47. Sophomores Amie Ko and Yvonne Kang came in 18th and 22nd, respectively
On the diving board, junior Wendy Espina-Esquivel led the way, coming in fifth place while posting 272.30 points. Behind her were freshman Stephanie Kerkeles and junior Natalie Wodniak, who finished in 11th and 20th, respectively.
Towson, Bucknell and North Dakota finished in front of the Rams on the women’s side. Fordham put up an admirable fight, scoring a total of 1,096.5 points. All of the teams in the top four scored over 1,000 points. On the men’s side, Towson (1,271.5) finished in first again, with La Salle (1,049) and North Dakota (983) trailing them. The Rams finished in fourth place with 932.5 points.
The Rams return to the pool on Wednesday, Dec 7, when they host Manhattan College at 6:00 p.m.
