The Binghamton University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were in action this past weekend at the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa. The other teams involved were TCNJ, James Madison, Towson and host Bucknell.

The men’s team was led by its upperclassmen, most notably junior Brenno Varanda and senior Matt Russo. Varanda, this weekend’s star, won four individual competitions to lead the men to a third-place finish. Varanda started the weekend with wins in 100-breast and the 200-IM, and finished the weekend with wins in the 400-IM and the 200-breast.

‘It was a great competition in a fast pool,’ said BU second-year head coach Sean Clark. The wins gave Varanda 10 on the year, the most for any Bearcat.

Not to be outdone, Russo was dominant on the boards. He captured the 3-meter dive with an impressive score of 252.50.

‘Matt really stepped up and showed that he can get the job done,’ Clark said.

The Bearcat underclassmen were also very impressive, led by Brian Jacobs and Jason Chen. Jacobs was a runner-up in the 500-free, while Chen was a finalist in both the 200-back and the 100-free.

‘We came into the weekend wanting to prove that we could be prepared for a championship format, and when February comes around we’ll look back on this positive experience here and use it to our advantage,’ Clark said.

On the women’s side, the Bearcats were once again led by their freshmen, Lyndsi Worthington, Brittany Detlef and Danielle Gallo. Each finished as a consolation finalist, leading the women to a fourth-place finish. Worthington once again showed her intensity by finishing 13th in the 200-back.

The women’s team was also strong on the boards, with two divers finishing fifth and sixth in the 3-meter. Kristin Maney and Mel Gelfand were the Bearcats top finishers.

‘The women swam with some intensity, so we are feeling pretty confident moving forward,’ Clark said.

The Bearcats will next be in action on Dec. 1, when they take on Cornell in Ithaca.