After participating in the Green and White scrimmage last weekend, the Binghamton men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams opened up their regular seasons during Homecoming Weekend with double-dual meets. The Bearcat men split their contests, finishing Saturday with a victory over NJIT and a loss to Army, while the BU women dropped both their matchups, falling to Army and America East-rival Vermont.
“It was a great starting point for both programs,” BU head coach Brad Smith said. “It was terrific for the guys to start the season with a win [over NJIT], [and] we certainly gave [Army] some pretty good races. On the women’s side, they hung tough, and we were competitive for a majority of those matches … Unfortunately they just couldn’t secure any of the victories.”
The swimming and diving teams were one of just two programs — men’s soccer was the other — that competed at home for Homecoming Weekend this year. This led to an increase in crowd size and attention received by the program, which benefited the team’s performance, according to Smith.
“Having the atmosphere of Homecoming and just the way it is … definitely added something to the environment,” Smith said. “The stands were packed with swimmers’ parents, supporters and alumni, and the energy was great.”
On the men’s side, racers from Army, NJIT and BU competed against each other in the same races. Top Bearcat finishers included senior swimmer Tommy Cummings, who finished third out of 11 competitors in the men’s 100-yard breast stroke race with a time of 1:00.39 and classmate Andrew Duszynski, who also placed third out of 11 with a time of 1:46.19 in the 200-yard free event.
“What we’re looking for is tough, gritty swims from our swimmers,” Smith said. “We’re looking for guys and girls who are eager to step up to the plate and shine and who are going to hang tough. I believe [Duszynski] placed third [in the 200-free], beat all the NJIT swimmers, with that 1:46, which is an outstanding time.”
BU also performed well in the 200-yard medley relay. Binghamton’s quartet of Cummings, senior Brian McKenna, sophomore Travis Blank and freshman William Harrison finished second in the event with a time of 1:35.38.
Overall, the Bearcats finished the day in second, defeating NJIT, 218-75, but falling to Army, 170.5-117.5.
On the women’s side, senior diver Katie Ellsworth and sophomore swimmer Maria Trivino led Binghamton with third-place finishes. Ellsworth scored a 174.90 in the one-meter dive while Trivino recorded a time of 2:12.29 in the 200-yard individual medley. BU was defeated by Vermont, 229-67 and Army, 225-59.
Both the men’s and women’s teams are set to return to action on October 24 with double-dual meets against Siena and Niagara. The first event is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. from the West Gym in Vestal, New York.