The Binghamton men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams faced off against Bucknell on Saturday in their home opener. Both teams were unable to come out victorious, with the men suffering a 173-127 loss and the women ending with a 190-105 defeat.

“Overall it was good,” said Binghamton head coach Jerry Cummiskey. “I think we competed well and took a step forward from our first week with Canisius. It’s a very strong Bucknell team, and we knew that coming in. And I thought we did a pretty good job at racing and using it to get better for the weeks to come.”

Despite the loss, sophomore Elijah Lanfear and junior Lewis Lin each earned individual wins on the men’s side. Lanfear swept the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly with times of 46.83 and 49.89, respectively, and Lin grabbed victories in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 57.67 and the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:06.80. Both Bearcats were also apart of the first place 200-yard medley relay team, alongside junior Jake Vecchio and senior Ryan Maierle, with a time of 1:32.80.

“The men started off hot with a really good relay swim and set the tone that we could compete this afternoon with Bucknell,” Cummiskey said. “[Lanfear’s] been strong. He had a great summer and has looked good this fall and has continued to keep getting better. Lin had a great meet. It was good to see him back to form, and he’s capable of doing that week-to-week, so we’ve got to see that a little bit more consistently.”

Senior Ryan Cohn was once again another standout performer for the men. The diver entered this weekend after being awarded the America East (AE) Conference diver of the week after his victory at Canisius last meet. The senior grabbed the gold honors for the second week in a row, earning a season-best score of 308.70 in the three-meter diving event.

“[Cohn] continues to be strong and consistent which is nice to see,” Cummiskey said. “Knock on wood that he’s been healthy and feeling pretty good so far, and hopefully he can keep that rolling.”

In the women’s races, freshman Celia Webster was one of four Bearcats to achieve, a team-high, three individual victories this year, alongside Lanfear, Lin and Cohn. The freshman earned a time of 2:08.92 in the 200-yard backstroke. Senior Alyssa Martin led freshmen Saige Kazlauskas, Maria Pignatelli and Olivia Philbrick to a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay, with a 1:41.97 time.

“I think [Martin] had a good summer and [has] definitely gotten stronger and wants to end her last season on a high note,” Cummiskey said. “She’s certainly a strong piece in our relay and sprint events, so we’re gonna need her. She’s doing well, and it’s good that we’ve got a group of freshmen that have come in and been doing well right away. I think Philbrick had a great meet … She’s been strong on those relays and improved on that two back, so she’s doing well.”

In addition, freshman Melia Truong was able to earn gold in the 400-yard individual medley event with a time of 4:45.92.

“It’s just a collective group that’s been working hard,” Cummiskey said. “October is our peak training time of this semester, so they’re tired and sore. We’ve got three meets in the next two weeks before a weekend off, so we’ll be trying to compete and swim fast while we’re tired and broken down.”

Despite being swept by Bucknell, the Binghamton men’s and women’s teams both improved on its times from last week’s matchup against Canisius. Both sides sit at 1-1 as they prepare for two more dual meets this weekend.

“We talk about it as a team,” Cummiskey said. “We’re a better team when we’re into the meet and got a lot of energy and are supporting each other. We definitely did a better job of that this week, so we’ve got to keep that going. Colgate will be a tough meet on Friday, and Bryant is a new conference opponent for us. They’re a good strong team, so we’ll have to be ready to have that turnaround Friday and Saturday this week.”

Both Binghamton teams face two dual meets this coming weekend, first up against Colgate on Friday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m. in Hamilton, New York. The Bearcats will then return home to face Bryant University on Saturday, Oct. 29. First race is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at the Patricia A. Saunders Aquatic Center in Vestal, New York.