NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Before a capacity crowd at the Hynes Athletics Center Pool on Homecoming Day, the Iona University men's and women's swimming and diving teams earned a pair of victories over Wagner College while dropping a close contest to Metro Conference rival Sacred Heart University.Â
The Iona men defeated Wagner, 168.5-65.5, while the women cruised to a 172-51 victory over the Seahawks. The Iona women fell to Sacred Heart, 133-108, in a back-and-forth contest.
mEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
The Iona men recorded 11 first-place finishes on the day, including victories in the 400-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay. Kieran Egan, Max Buchen, Noah Giunta and James Gonzalez combined to win the medley relay in 3:19.61. Egan and Gonzalez teamed up with Nate Wales and Harry Platt to capture the freestyle relay in 3:02.64.
Individually, freshmen Danny Lezi, junior Joel Picard and senior Harry Platt each earned two victories. Lezi finished first in the 200-yard individual medley and 200-yard breaststroke with times of 1:54.19 and 2:04.02, respectively. Picard claimed both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events with scores of 228.82 and 245.25, respectively. Platt won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:39.84 and the 500-yard freestyle in 4:43.08.
Other individual winners for the men included Egan in the 200-yard backstroke (1:49.90), Nick Patino in the 50-yard freestyle (20.52) and Wales in the 100-yard freestyle (46.11).
woMEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
The Iona women matched the men's relay success with victories in both the 400-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay. Raegan O'Brien, Hailey Baker, Victoria Mordaunt and Mary Grace Waring won the medley relay in 3:49.60. Waring, Julia Sherrill, Mordaunt and Kate Kennedy combined to capture the freestyle relay in 3:32.51.
Individually, Francesca DeNucci, Kennedy, Mordaunt and O'Brien each claimed first-place finishes.
DeNucci, a freshman, won the 1,000-yard freestyle for the third consecutive meet, posting a personal-best time of 10:26.74. Kennedy, a senior, captured the 100-yard freestyle in 53.06.
Mordaunt added an individual victory in the 50-yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 23.68, marking the fourth-fastest time in program history. In addition to her two winning relay legs, O'Brien, a junior, claimed the 200-yard backstroke in 2:02.75.
QUOTE FROM COACH
The energy today from the swimmers and crowd was great. Every race was tight, and you have to give credit to Sacred Heart," head coach Nick Cavataro said when reflecting on the meet. "They were excellent. It will be fun to see them down the line at Metro Championships."
UP NEXT
Iona returns to action in two weeks when the Gaels host Monmouth on Friday, November 7, at 1 p.m. at the Hynes Athletics Center Pool.
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