The Oswego State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are back in the pools for the 2018-2019 season. Wednesday night, the Lakers kicked off their season with a meet against Rochester Institute of Technology. Both the Laker’s teams lost Wednesday, the men by a score of 130-108 and the women by 140-95.
On the men’s side, Cameron Ellis took care of his business, winning the men’s 3-meter board with a score of 206.25. The Lakers’ next victory came a few events later, when Alexander Davie captured the 100-yard freestyle in 48.62. Ellis collected another nine team points on the 1-meter board, taking first over the runner-up by more than 25 points (227.35). For the women, Miranda Frascatore (204.50) and Megan Maquet (200.90) combined a total of 13 team points on the women’s side by finishing in first and second place in the 1-meter event, respectively.
Oswego State will be featuring six home meets at Laker Pool and six away meets on the road. The Lakers will travel to SUNY Oneonta to take on the Red Dragons at 1 p.m. on Oct. 20.
Continuing its tradition since the 2010-11 season, Oswego State opens the season against on Oct. 17 in Rochester.
Next, the Lakers return home for four consecutive meets. They start by hosting Wells College for their home opener at 1 p.m. on Oct. 27. The next three Saturdays, Oswego State plays host to Clarkson University, Alfred State and The College at Brockport. Both the men’s and women’s teams were victorious over all four of their home stand opponents during the 2017-18 season.
Oswego State wraps up the calendar year at the Hamilton Invite, which takes place on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The new year brings four remaining regular-season matchups, including meets at home against the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons on Jan. 16 and Roberts Wesleyan College on Jan. 26.
With the conclusion of the regular season, the SUNYAC Championships will take place from Feb. 20 through Feb. 23 in Buffalo.
But this year is a whole different year, as head coach Mike Holman looks for both the men’s and women’s teams to be very competitive heading into SUNYACs. For the men’s side, Holman lost a total of four seniors including Sam Carwile, Brian Greene, Alex Kemper and Luke Snyder. Not only did they lose four seniors, but Holman also lost his best swimmer, Daniel Rodriguez, as he is now swimming at Florida Southern University competing in NCAA Div. II.
“He was a great asset to our team,” Holman said. “We just have to move forward and work with our players we have now. We have some great swimmers that are young and talented, and I’m really looking forward to working with them.”
Last year, the men’s team finished with an overall record of 10-0 and finished third in in the SUNYAC Championship. However, the expectations are much higher than it was last year.
“If we can finish second or come in first, then I call that a great season for the men’s,” Holman said.
The men have a bunch of swimmers returning, including junior Ryan Kreuser. Last year, the Newark native recorded his best time of the season in the 200-yard backstroke with a 2:07.92 and picked up a second-place finish against Buffalo State.
“We would like to be one of the top two teams in the SUNYAC,” Kreuser said. “We just have to figure out a way to get more guys to place in all events. Personally, I want to get personal records in all of my events this season.”
On the women’s side, they finished with an 8-2 record and finished sixth in the SUNYAC Championship. They lost three seniors, including Izzy Quinones, Aran Kilcoyne and Jalen Buckhout. However, they still have Riley Synan, who is the leader on this women’s team. Synan finished second in the 200 yard fly.
“For this year’s team, I would like to see the women’s team move up a couple places in the SUNYAC championships,” Holman said. “The girls didn’t have a good meet as a team in the championships. I’d like to see the women’s team adjust this season.”
Photo by Taylor Woods | The Oswegonian
