The Binghamton’s men’s and women’s swimming and dive teams continued their 2024-25 season with a dual meet against Cornell. Despite their efforts, the Bearcats fell short on both sides. The men’s team was defeated with a final score of 149-94, while the women’s team concluded their meet at 153-90. Despite their losses, one Bearcat on the men’s side achieved two individual event wins.

“I thought it was good,” said Binghamton head coach Jerry Cummiskey. “I think we competed really well. I thought they were certainly resilient in terms of going down early and battling back and not quitting. We didn’t quit, and that speaks to our team’s determination.”

Senior Elijah Lanfear spearheaded Binghamton’s effort, adding to a stellar senior campaign with his 12th and 13th individual victories this season. Lanfear won a team-best two events, sweeping the 50 free and 100 fly with respective times of 20.90 and 48.58.

“[Lanfear] has been consistent since he joined us,” Cummiskey said. ”He loves to race and go fast, and he does a great job. He’s become a staple on the team.”

Rounding out the performances for the BU men was freshman Evan Peters, who came in first in the 200 free with a time of 1:41.16. On the talk of diving, BU also captured a victory on the men’s diving side, courtesy of sophomore Dylan Norby in the men’s three-meter diving event, as he collected 268.80 points in the winning effort.

“Ivy League diving is competitive, and winning two boards while splitting two with them is a positive sign,” Cummiskey said. “[Norby, junior Elizabeth Tirado, freshman Jacob Koclanis and graduate student Kylie McKee] have been strong all year, and it’s great to see them excel against tough competition … Others also posted some strong in-season times.”

For the Bearcat women, junior Maria Pignatelli led the way, capturing another individual win in the 50 free with a time of 24.94. Sophomore Ava Olsian was close behind with a second-place finish, clocking a time of 25.07. On the diving side, Tirado won the one-meter diving event, recording 226.13 points.

“[Pignatelli] is having a fantastic year,” Cummiskey said. “She’s taken a big step forward and is consistently faster than before. I’m excited to see what she’ll do at the mid-season invitational.”

Rounding out the performances for the Bearcats was sophomore Fayanne Smith-Salzberg, who secured a win in the 100 breast with a finish of 1:06.05. Elsewhere, senior Lauren Kuzma stood out in the 200 IM with a time of 2:09.99 and junior Celia Webster followed with a time of 2:13.14.

“We talked about how this was our last chance to compete before the mid-season invitational,” Cummiskey said. “Our goal is to take every opportunity to improve in the next two weeks. We had a good meet, competed well, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we’ll achieve in a few weeks.”

Binghamton will now prepare for their final meet of 2024 at the Brown Invitational, which runs from Thursday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 24. First race is scheduled to begin at a time to be determined at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center in Providence, Rhode Island.